I'll have to go with a sidepanel tiled or in the same stuff as i'm doing the floor - strand woven bamboo flooring (it looks more like a hardwood than the normal bamboo flooring, and it's waterproof, as the strands are set in resin and every face has 6 coats of lacquer).
Can't decide what will look better, tiled same as walls, tiled different to walls or the using the flooring, so that it looks like the floor flows up the side of the bath. I definitely dont want a white plastic side panel, they look crap IMO.
I'm using the starlight quartz tiles (300mm x 300mm) on the walls, so that side panel if it was tiled in the stuff would be one heavy lump if it was ever used for access.
As for access, i'd be able to gain access to the pump end of the bath from a recess in a bedoom which will be covered by a wardrobe, but the plumbing end of the bath meets a small cavity between the bathroom and the outside wall - I think side-panel access is the only way to go.