8 years
You might be a little short on toilet and shower facilities, but you can probably still get by with that amount. If you’re shooting for independent guests as opposed to groups, then they will frequently want to shower at different times anyway. I have a hostel of about the same size in Romania, and we have one shower for every six guests, and one toilet for every seven. The only time people complain is when they don’t realize there is another shower available somewhere else.
Would it even be possible to add more toilets or showers somewhere else in your building if you decided that it were necessary?
Having most of the showers down in the basement could result in bad reviews. Especially if people end up going all the way down from the second floor and back up only to find they have been locked out of their room and have to go back down to reception in nothing but a towel. I'm always surprised how many people choose to strut through the whole hostel nearly naked rather than bringing a change of clothes with them. (simple solution: provide plenty of hooks or dry shelves and a changing space so people can get dressed before leaving the shower)
Your explanation about the great water pressure at the basement level would be more than enough to convince me to make the trip downstairs if I were your guest. As long as you can make that clear to your guests, then most people will probably appreciate your architectural choices. A cleverly worded sign near the upper showers or a verbal explanation at check-in could do the trick. If your other showers are on the first and second floor, then at least people have the convenient option if they prefer, and there are more showers available downstairs if they don’t want to wait.
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