I sat in so many (although not either of the above two) and the only ones that I really loved were the Maax Melodie (66") and the Maax ... (can't remember the name, but it was 72" so too long for us). I LOVE the Maax Melodie! I even got it as a soaker because I didn't want the energy of jets, just hot water. I sprayed more insulation on the back, and insulated the deck into which it was installed with loose insulation. It holds its heat for over 30 mins! So there's a 66" tub to try. I do recommend that you try anything you're considering buying, because if you're picky about fit, like I am, not all tubs that people say fit them will fit you.

I'm 5'7" and I just measured my lower leg to see if it was 18". It is just under 18". If I were to step over the 18" tub I'd have to get on my tippy toes. If you never take, but the occasional bath, I'd go with the Villager as Writersblock suggests. If you don't like the Villager style, the standard alcove replacement Bellwether has a nice modern look yet is only 14" high like the Villager. Easy to step over, and it can still provide a bath:)

Thank you for the input, all. >The Beverly would need steps and I am not sure you have the room. The appeal for me of the inspiration-pic I was looking at was that combination bench that also serves as a step to access the tub? I'd count the space taken up for the bench as part of the 'bigger shower' aspect I was looking for, since I'd still have more elbow room in the open space above it, and I figured a grab bar next to that for stability stepping up, then using the seat as the step in on the other side would be workable...? My current tub height is 19" and is not an issue without a grab-bar, beyond testing the footing a bit more carefully before stepping in/out. > Have you looked at any of the walk-in tubs, Kohler, American Standard? I have, actually, but the starting prices on those are so much higher, I don't think I could take that big a hit out of my overall budget... and the shorter ones also seem to be much narrower, too, which leaves me back in the same boat.

Sorry, I guess I should clarify. (This is why I linked the product page, because I knew I would not be able to explain this properly.) The oval tub has a "preexisting" sort-of-deck with a flange on three sides, otherwise I would not be so daft as to try to put a shower over it. I like my kitchen ceiling where it is! Here, this is what it looks like: However, and this is what I was asking about with the deck question, from the instructions it appears that there must be some kind of deck on the fourth side which does not have a tile flange if one does not use the optional (icky) apron, but it does not say how wide this deck must be. We both would rather not have to clamber over a wide margin to get into the tub - DH has to use this for showering every day. I'm mostly a lay-backer, not a sit-upper - my shoulders and upper back get very very painful so I have to get them into the scalding water. Unfortunately there isn't enough room for the 5'5" tub that would let me keep both shoulders and knees underwater and actually cover up most of the protruding bits on the front, leaving pretty much just my head and hands (to hold my book, of course) out of the water. ;-) The room is only 60" wide - it was carved out of a bedroom - and even if we had budget to redo all the plumbing there isn't room to turn the tub round sideways. I dislike the look of "stuff" cluttering up tub corners so I'm considering a down-low niche for my shampoo/soap/etc. and a high-up one for DH's shower things, and there will pretty much never be any kind of decorative bits on the corners because they'd just get soaked with the shower spray anyway. Well, okay, maybe a rubber ducky. (But no flamingos!) :-) Those four were pretty much the only tubs I've found that fit the parameters of size/depth, cost (crucial!), and appearance. I'm a short-but-wide person and DH is medium-height(5'9")-and-wide and we both manage OK in a standard 60x32 oblong tub - 34" or 36" would be a nicer but pretty much all I could find in this price point were funky molded-up things that looked like they belonged on the space station. Yuck-O. The deepest of the four tubs is actually the oblong Bancroft at 15" water depth but I'm not thrilled with how it looks, the other three are 14" water depth. The oval looks like it would have less shoulder room but that's not the case? The one oval tub I've seen available for sitting in was just about big enough for a kindergartener to do laps in, so it's pretty useless for comparison!