Smart showers have moved far beyond gadgets. In hotels, resorts, and high-end multi-residential work, they are now part of the building’s digital infrastructure. This guide highlights key brands and gives AEC teams a practical framework for choosing systems that perform through commissioning, operation, and guest reviews.

Smart Showers in 2025 · What “Best Brand” Should Mean for AEC Teams

In consumer media, smart showers are often ranked on app features or voice control. In hospitality and multi-residential work, the criteria have to be broader: MEP integration, network strategy, maintainability, and multi-year guest satisfaction.

This article looks at leading smart shower brands and then outlines a decision playbook that architects, engineers, and contractors can use when smart systems are on the table.

Smart Shower Brand Landscape · Who Does What Best?

Most smart shower decisions cluster around a core set of brands. Each has a different balance of app features, hardware depth, and commercial track record. At a high level:

• FontanaShowers: Smart spa systems and digital shower sets focused on multi-outlet experiences for hospitality and commercial projects, with comparison tools against other major brands to support AEC decision-making.
• Kohler (Anthem / DTV+): Deep digital ecosystem with water, light, sound, and steam integration; ideal when the project already leans into branded wellness or smart-room experiences.
• Grohe (SmartControl): Push/turn controls with memory for spray volume and highly stable temperature control — a strong fit where intuitive hardware is more important than heavy app integration.
• Moen (Smart Shower / U by Moen): Cloud-connected platform with app and voice control, presets, and remote start; often attractive for branded residential-style suites or extended-stay properties.
• Hansgrohe (RainTunes / RainBrain): Scenario-based, multi-sensory smart showers that combine water, lighting, and sound for curated “moods.”
• Delta & others: Incremental “smart” controls and voice-enabled showering, often leveraging the brand’s wide distribution and service network.
• BathSelect: Spa and rainfall systems that pair well with digital or mechanical control strategies for hospitality bathrooms that prioritize aesthetics, coverage, and maintainable hardware.

For most portfolios, pick one primary smart platform for flagship rooms (Fontana or Kohler / Grohe, for example) and keep the rest of the property on non-networked but high-performing showers for standard rooms.

Brand Comparison Matrix · Matching Platforms to Use Cases

Once candidate brands are identified, the next step is to align them with project types and room categories. The matrix below focuses on what each brand tends to do best in hospitality and upscale multi-residential work:

Smart-Specific Criteria · What to Check Before You Commit

Once the brand shortlist is agreed, the critical work is verifying how the system behaves in your building. For smart showers, there are four major clusters of questions:

• Power & redundancy: Is the system low-voltage? What happens during an outage? Is there a safe fallback mode or mechanical override?
• Network & security: Cloud-only, local network, or offline digital? Who owns credentials, firmware updates, and data policies?
• UX & presets: Can you define branded presets (“Rain,” “Spa,” “Quick Rinse”)? Are icons and label text easy for international guests?
• Commissioning & analytics: Can engineering teams see error codes, usage profiles, and basic flow-time data?

Include smart showers in the IT design narrative and sequence of operations. They should be managed like other networked products, with a network IP strategy, firmware plans, and ownership considerations for trades and operations.

Deployment Strategies · Where Smart Showers Make the Most Sense

Smart showers will hardly ever be necessary in each room. Experts from the AEC team will be able to help residents install them in areas where the benefits will be highest without leading to inconvenience:

• Flagship/Halo Rooms: Signature Suites, Wellness Suites, or a limited portfolio of Hero Rooms can support more premium Smart Home Systems.
• Spa & Wellness areas: Group showers, hydro-therapy areas, and experience corridors where SCV can provide value additions.
• Extended stay & branded residences: Controlling through apps, including presets, can appeal to extended-stay customers.
• Back-of-house and staff areas: Usually implemented with rugged, non-smart systems. Here, more attention is given to ruggedness rather than smartness Craftsman-style bathroom featuring wood and tile shower.

Technical logic: Where the smart showers affect bookings and ADR, then everything else should be normalized.

HospitalityShowers

Specification Templates · Turning Brand Choices into Repeatable Layouts

Template A – Smart-Ready Standard Shower

For most guestrooms, keep things simple but compatible with future upgrades:

• High-quality thermostatic or pressure-balance valve from your chosen brand.
• Generous rain or multi-function head plus handshower on slide bar.
• Control layout that mirrors future digital trim locations.
• Space planned for future low-voltage and control cabling where reasonable.

Template B – Smart Spa Suite (Digital, Local Only)

For spa suites, wellness rooms, or residential-style units:

• Digital mixing valve with local in-shower controller.
• Two–three outlets (rain, handshower, optional body outlet) with presets.
• Branded scenes such as “Rain,” “Spa,” and “Quick Rinse.”
• Offline or local-network operation to avoid over-dependence on cloud.

Template C – Fully Connected Flagship Smart Shower

For a small set of hero rooms in a portfolio:

• Full-featured digital platform (Fontana smart spa, Kohler Anthem/DTV+, etc.).
• Integration with room controls for lighting, audio, and possibly steam.
• Dedicated low-voltage, network, and maintenance strategy.
• Clear owner sign-off on long-term support and update model.

As you finalize specifications, capture brand, valve/trim model, outlet count, flow assumptions, power/network requirements, control mounting heights, and finish standards in a concise smart-shower schedule that travels with the project from design to commissioning and operations.