Our 3 Favorite Bath Trays

We were excited to test Anthropologie’s Angie Bathtub Caddy as an option for those who are looking for something decorative, but we were disappointed with the quality. The teak wood rapidly acquired water stains, and the brass ties fell out in our drop tests. For how expensive the tray is, we expected a better build.

The Anthropologie Maison Storage Bath Caddy is difficult to adjust—it comes with a tiny, thin Allen wrench that feels breakable as you use it—and due to the deep angle of its arms, it can’t balance in baths with smaller basins (the basin we tested in was 22 inches wide). This tray also sits very deep, and in our tests we found that it would press into the legs of bathers, becoming uncomfortable to use.

The Bambüsi Bamboo Bathtub Caddy Tray is a sturdy tray with a book/tablet holder and a secure wine-glass slot, but the finish on the wood has a chintzy and cheap feel. And the tray’s massive length—starting at 27½ inches and expanding all the way to 41½ inches—made it difficult to adjust inside our bath. If you like this kind of larger, wooden bath tray, we’d recommend the Royal Craft Wood tray over the Bambüsi.

Bed Bath & Beyond’s Haven Teakwood Bathtub Caddy had rough, unfinished wood that felt thin and poor-quality—our test unit had large cracks. The caddy has a book holder, but it’s only an outline of wood with a large, empty center that smaller books could easily fall through.

The CB2 White Marble Bath Caddy looks beautiful from the top, but along the sides you can see a messy seam where the two planks of marble meet. For the hefty price tag, we expected much better craftsmanship. At nearly 25 pounds, this tray is also much, much heavier than any other model we’ve tested—due to its being made of actual marble—and it’s very difficult to move around and adjust.

The Madesmart Expandable Bath Shelf is one of the cheapest models we tested (second only to the Mind Reader), and although it’s lightweight and very sturdy in a bath, we thought the plastic material felt and looked cheap in comparison with other models. In addition, the larger side handles easily gather dust and grime, which the white plastic readily shows.

Royal Craft Wood’s Bamboo Bathtub Caddy Tray is one of the larger trays we tested. Although we concluded that it was unwieldy and too big for small to standard-size tubs, we think it’s a good choice for tubs that are 32 inches wide or more. It’s a well-crafted tray with removable compartments, a separate soap dish, a book/tablet stand, a wine-glass holder, and a phone slot.

Target’s Threshold Bathtub Caddy appears as if it could compete with pricey metallic trays like our metal pick, the West Elm Eldred, but although it looked pretty, the spacing between the metal rungs was too wide, making it hard for us to place items on it without their tipping over. This tray was also very deep and pressed against our legs.

The suction attachment of the Uncommon Goods Swivel Bath Tray caught our eye as an interesting solution for alcove baths that don’t have an inner ledge for a tray to sit on. But it wobbled in our testing, and it did not sit level after we placed it on the side of the tub. Plus, although it’s an oval tray, the corners of each wooden slat are sharp, making it a minor hazard to brush up against.