My experience is the same as yours from Garnet Hill. I love what I have purchased but never tried their towels. Also the same with RL purchased years ago and ones purchased recently. RL has a number of lines-- so I suspect I bought a different line. I ended up getting bamboo towels from overstock that I am really pleased with.

I bought Garnet Hill towels, and I've been happy enough with them. I like the plain edge. The darker colors faded a tich, but that's my husband's laundry technique, I think. My old RL towels wore like iron, and I felt almost guilty replacing them.

Bamboo Towels are very good they absorbs a lot of water and are anti-bacterial.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ammantex