I don't have Coyuchi Cloud Looms. I have Coyuchi Air Weight. I had problems with their shipping, with defects, and with their customer service. Even new towels in sealed plastic packages had pulls which led to multiple exchanges. The washcloths have shrunk.

While I won't say "don't go there" I don't recommend them as I feel they have quality control issues. I've also purchased their Mediterranean towels, which are lovely but two fell apart and had to be replaced.

They send Vaska tabs with new towels. That's how I found out about Vaska. I also have a Miele. I wash on Normal/Warm with half a Vaska tab and half a cap of Ecover FS, which is my current preferred brand. I only use FS for these towels. If I wash without FS the towels get stiff and scratchy. Vaska can be sudsy and I've also used Grab Green delicate pods for the towels with good results.

That said, these are light weight towels, which is what I wanted and there isn't much choice in that 400+ gram weight range. I love the colors.

In the past I've had towels from Restoration Hardware which had none of these issues but they were too heavy. RH has lighter weight towels now and different styles.

Towels are a very difficult proposition these days from the standpoint of quality, durability and texture after washing. You also might look at Cuddledown if you haven't already.

Good luck. Sorry to say it's more difficult than buying bed linens IMHO.

I'm a fan of turkish cotton for towels. I've had the RH ones - too heavy. I bought these several years ago and they've been my favorite towel. I own them in a few colors but the white is my fav. I prefer white towels and sheets so bleach can be used if necessary. I find these heavy but not too heavy. They never linted in the dryer and they dry off very well. Now it's been several years since I bought them so who knows if they've changed anything.

http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/kassatex-hammam-bath-towel-collection-100-turkish-cotton?ID=630986&CategoryID=16853#fn=sp%3D1%26spc%3D204%26ruleId%3D68%26slotId%3D52%26kws%3Dspa%20towels

I've bought a lot of towels over the years. The ones I use now, and will continue to use as long as I can, are the Rack brand at Nordstrom Rack. They're made in Turkey, they're 100% cotton, they stay softer and last longer than any other brand I've found, and they're $10 apiece for the bath towel. The only caveat is they shed like crazy the first time you put them in the dryer.

Best of luck in whatever you decide to go with!

I buy the white towels from Costco. These are the hotel version. In a 6 pack. I wash them on hot. My DH uses the hand towels for drying hands. There is always grease and grime that come off of his hands. Daily the towel gets changed. They are white after 3 years washing with us persil. Still intact. The bath towels are durable too. I'll never buy another brand now. Not that I'm a towel connoisseur.

On the pricey side, but I like them, are the Matouk "Milagro" line. Things I like about them: fluffy, absorbent, and a good size. My pet peeve with towels is some brands are skimpy on size, but you don't notice it when purchasing. Then you are getting out of the shower, and you realize that the towels you've bought are short and/or narrow. The Milagro's are a good size - e.g., the bath towel is 30" x 60". Many other brands' bath towels are 28" x 54" and similar. There is no towel on earth that doesn't shrink a bit in the first few washings. I like to start out then with a larger-size towel to allow for that.

I have tried other Matouk lines, and don't like them as much as the Milagro; the other lines are a different fabric combination, and while very pretty, aren't that absorbent and don't stay soft.

Bloomingdale's frequently has sales on the Matouk Milagro towels. There's one right now - 20% to 27% off depending on the size. I wait for these sales, and they are about 3 times a year I think.

Matouk Milagro Towels at Bloomingdale's

I have some of the PotteryBarn 600 g towels. They happen to be the best towels I have ever used. They wash up so well. I have had them for a year and they are still soft and fluffy. Although, they aren't as supple in comparison to when they were new. I always use the Whites cycle on the Duet with Line one of Tide liquid or Powder. Recently I have been using Tide Pods. I find that is a great amount and they rinse well. I alternate between a full dryer sheet and line 1 of Downy. Always are dried and all are washed weekly in HOT. On occasion I use STPP and/or Bleach. We also have a very old handtowel from PB on our stove handle. This thing is always stained and dirty. It always comes out looking great and is just as soft as the newer towels. I do wish I would have purchased the hydrocotton towels since the supposedly dry faster.

If you don't want to take out a mortgage for towels, Walmart's Better Homes and Garden Egyptian towels are great. Hold up very well in the wash and I always use LCB on all my towels. I buy white or really light colors.

Thank you to everyone who took time to share. It really helps!

rococogurl - thank you so much for your feedback on Coyuchi. This confirms my decision not to go with them. I agree that towels are more frustrating to select than bed linens!

Larsi - on my way to target to check those out for sure! I have some percale sheets from Target that I feel like were a steal for the quality.

livebetter - had not considered these before but they sound like they really fit what I want. Thanks!

kcred - wouldn’t have thought about Nordstrom Rack consistently having a specific brand of a product like towels! I don’t have a Rack close to me but I will try to get to one!

enduring - a friend of mine has also recommended towels from Costco. We don’t have one locally so I haven’t been to Costo in years - but your recommendation confirms I will find a way to check these out! (maybe just tell my friend to send me one of hers! :)

friedajune - perfect timing on the sale! and thanks for the input on the sizing

doreycrouse - impressive that the Pottery Barn can hold up to washing on hot consistently. This is great info as I really like to go as hot as possible on things like towels! The drying faster is a nice quality to have I agree both for time in the dryer and air drying between uses.

beaglenc - the mortgage comment made me smile! I definitely know what you mean about the cost feeling severe on some of these products. never thought to try walmart but I’ll swing by.

Costco sells 2 types of towels. They have a style of colored towels and then they have the "hotel" towel that is white. The hotel towel is what I have for practical reasons. I like them. I'd say they were medium weight where as the colored towels are a little heavier and a bit more fancy.

I bought two sets of the Costco hotel white wash cloths. I love them for how I use them. They wash up well.

A few months ago I was lucky and found towels at Bon Ton..I had a gift certificate and a coupon I think the towels were buy one get one but they were cheap none the less. .I did not expect them to hold up to daily use in a family of 5..we only use a towel once and they get washed at around 140 F on a looong cycle. But they have turned out to be great towels. Not heavy but very absorbant. Quick drying and still after all these months are soft and fluffy, they stillbappear ad if new. No pulling of the loops and very minor lint in the dryer screen. I HIGHLY recommend these for those that like a lihhter weight towel.

Sorry the two on top were the ones I'm ttalking about..the two bottom ones are cheapos from Target that are around 6 years old also held up fantastic.

You Americans have many more shopping options. Jealous. I miss Target :(

I just want to say I agree with larsi about the Nate Burkus towels at Target -- LOVE them. Thank you, larsi.

Costco occasionally carries a third type of towel, called Loft. They're made by Charisma but are bigger, thicker, and softer than the Charisma towels Costco carries all the time. The Loft towels come in white and very muted shades of aqua, gray, and beige.

In the case that it would help anyone I wanted to let you all know that I ended up with Frontgate Resort Cotton Towels.

After trying NB from Target, Milagro from Bloomingdales, two kinds from Costco, the Egyptian cotton BH&G from Walmart, Rack brand from Nordstrom Rack, Frette Hotel Collection, Land's End Turkish Spa and the Frontgate resort towels in addition to the Coyuchi that I started my question.

I'll try not to write a novella here - so briefly, the frontgate towels (to me) were the softest and most luxurious to touch. They were also a winner or runner up in the following categories which made them an overall win for me (in no particular order): most pleasing visually, a decent size, best value/price (with coupons and free shipping), little shedding on initial washing, reviews, had other sizing choices that I wanted like smaller fingertip towel available, absorbency and overall weight. I obviously could not factor longevity into my decision so we'll see how that goes.

Thanks again to all who posted!!

on to my bedding questions post ;)

Great to hear you have made a decision. And thanks for posting a nice summary of you choice. It will be helpful for others.

@elgable21 - great info and thanks for posting the follow up. Very useful.

I've never looked at frontgate. Thank you for the information. Might be dangerous though.

No problem. I'll try to remember to post some follow ups as I use them. I ordered some Summer Verbena Le Blanc for their ceremonial first washing ;)

Wow, sounds like you did a very thorough search of towels. Congrats on finding one you like! Now I'm off to do a search of Frontgate Resort Cotton Towels as I've never heard of them.

Elgable21 - how are you liking the Frontgate towels? I am tearing my hair out looking for towels that will stay nice. Towels all seem to look pretty good, and soft and fluffy--in the store. You looked at quite a few - are you thinking about any of those other brands any more? TIA.

@miranda33 - funny you should ask. We're moving in to our new house this weekend and the Frontgate towels are being cycled through the laundry for the first time beginning yesterday!

So far so good. I am using LeBlanc Towel Wash (in Summer Verbena which by the way is a wonderful smell IMO). Since they weren't dirty I've started out with 105 degree water and I'm drying on warm air only which takes a little longer but as I'm experimenting don't want to fry them :) I might experiment with hotter water in the future.

They are coming out very soft and "plump" feeling. Not quite as soft as when they were new in the package but still extremely good. This could be because I'm not getting all the detergent out of them - I'm still learning my new water and a couple loads did have some excessive suds.

They are putting off a fair amount of lint in the dryer but nothing excessive. The real test will be to use them and see if we get any fuzz on our skin. Haven't done that yet.

They are beautiful to look at and feel. Up to this moment they have still exceeded my expectations which is saying something.

I don't know what your timeline is, but if you give me a nudge on here (I might forget) I will update you on how things go after we starting actually using them.

Thanks so much for the update Elgable21!

Elgable21, I find myself in need of new towels now. Any update on how the Frontgate resort are holding up?

Towels are still going strong. Never had any lint transfer to body and they dry very quickly when using them. I would recommend!

Great!

Elgable21, are you still using the LeBlanc towel wash on them?

Hi Live - yes. For normal every day use (to give you some idea for me and my husband that's about a week for a bath towel and 2-3 days for a fingertip towel) I use LeBlanc. I immediately experimented with raising the water temperature and quickly settled on a 140 or 200 degree wash in my Miele LiGis. I have not noticed any destruction at all. Obviously this will have to wear them out more quickly over time but in the short term they seem to be withstanding the higher temperatures extremely well (I am on month 10ish?). I still dry them on low temperature setting. We are "clean" when we use them so I don't feel it necessary to use anything more than LeBlanc and hot water.

When I have guests who actually manage to get the towels "dirty" or use washcloths or when my nephews visit I use OxiClean and/or Persil Universal Megaperls. Guests are here maybe once a month on average and they seem fine after this as well.

I use LeBlanc Fragrance Infusion on them and the smell stays with them for basically as long as we use them before laundering.

If I can help you by answering any other questions please let me know!

Wait for 30% off at Frontgate :)