COule you use sheets of formica? You can buy them in many colors and I think they are waterproof. They would look like painted walls, I'd butt them together and hit the seam with silicone.

I've also seen sheets of some kind of laminate that look like tile, but aren't. They might be vinyl or pvc, and they are plain or patterned to look like tile. Ask in Depot or Lowes.

I don't know if you are looking for mainly for a short-cut, money saver, or just don't want to bother with tiling. I think the wall panels cannot be too expensive and probably install easily.

Tiling would be the most visually appealing.

Paint alone won't cut it. It will peel, you'll get moisture in the wall, and then you'll get mold, assuming the wall doesn't fall apart first.

Thanks for the thoughts cindy. I've been in a couple plaster wall showers before (bed and breakfasts in ME) and I liked the simplicity. Maybe I'll contact the owners to see what kind of problems they face. There's bad formica up now in the tub and we definitely are interesting in moving that along.

But likely you are right and we'll go with a subway tile. Might forego the wainscoting in that case as I think both might be too much.

Guess I had just hoped that others had had experience with the aura bath and spa that would help me think further.

On to thinking about shower and bath fixtures!

Cheers!