There is a reason hotels use white towels and it is not just aesthetics. White shows you exactly what you are getting. No pattern to hide thin weave, no colour to mask poor quality cotton. The towel either feels good or it does not, and when it comes out of the wash it either holds up or it starts to look tired. We have been through the ones that pill after three washes, the ones that feel stiff no matter what you do, the ones that are sold as luxury and feel like anything but. What we look for is weight that feels substantial without taking two days to dry, a loop structure that actually absorbs rather than just pushes water around, and cotton that softens over time rather than deteriorating. White also means they go with everything, which sounds obvious until you realise how rarely bathroom pieces actually do. These are the ones that earn their place on the rail.