These are all the things I’ve thought of but I expect there are more.
Outside
Plenty of Blue Badge parking bays with hatching on both sides
Forget dropped kerbs, have smooth transitions between surfaces with as few bumps as possible
Automatically opening doors where appropriate
If possible, a covered drop-off area outside main doors
Reception area
Low reception desk or at least a lowered portion (and not tucked around the side where it can’t be seen)
Seating (normal height and with arms, such as tub chairs)
Clear signage
Accessible toilet
Rooms
Wide doorway (if there is a spy hole, there needs to be one at a lower level too)
Wide access to both sides of bed
Any chairs should be normal height and with arms, such as tub chairs
If there are alarm buttons or cords, they should be on both sides of the bed (it should not be assumed which side of the bed the disabled person will be on or it may be that the room is occupied by two disabled people)
Facilities such as kettles, hairdryers etc should all be within easy reach for a wheelchair user
Bathrooms should follow industry guidelines and rooms with both right-hand and left-hand transfer toilets available
Toilets should not be the highest possible, but seat raisers should be available to borrow if necessary
Roll-in shower area
Fold-down shower seats and grab rails in shower area
Lower-level mirrors
Consider having lowered or lowerable basins
Restaurants
Tables should be designed so that a wheelchair user can pull right up to them without having to transfer to a dining chair
Plenty of space between tables
Chairs with arms available if required
General
Staff should have disabled awareness training
Wherever possible, doorways should not have a lip to get over
Other accessibility issues
Menus should be available in large print
If there is piped music, consider having a quiet area in the restaurant or sitting area
Contrasting colours on walls and doors and edges of steps
Equipment such as chair or bed raisers, vibrating alarms etc should be available
The Ashford International Hotel is theoretically accessible but I don’t think they are really committed to getting it right.
We stayed here one night before getting the shuttle the next day and, as you can imagine, chose it for its convenient location rather than its character!
How do you reach those automatic doors?
When we first arrived, we parked in a marked Blue Badge bay but then realised that to leave the car park meant negotiating a rather bumpy ramp so we decided to use the drop off space by the main door instead. There was a really rather bizarre wheelchair route from the car park to the door which involved a short pathway and then the choice of either rejoining the road or going over some very rough grass to reach the automatic doors. There was no way to get to the automatic doors without going over the grass. We were glad we decided to use the drop-off area but then realised we were going to have to use the revolving doors. Eventually we noticed a blue button with a wheelchair symbol which we pressed and I think it slowed down the speed of the revolving. It was fine but I wouldn’t really choose to use revolving doors in a wheelchair!
Weird wheelchair route Ashford International
The reception desk didn’t have a lowered portion which again doesn’t really show commitment to making things accessible. We checked in and went off to find our room which was down a lot of corridors and meant negotiating heavy fire doors. The route the receptionist indicated was actually not the shortest route!
Weird wheelchair route Ashford International
The room was good and spacious but the bathroom was rather strange. It had a very good shower seat and the basin could be raised or lowered as required but the basin was so close to the loo that you had to sort of sidle in to access the loo. Not brilliant for anyone let alone people for whom sidling is not that easy! The accessible loo in the lobby was an awful lot easier to use.
Not much room to access the loo!
This is starting to sound like a list of moans. When we went to the restaurant we discovered that the tables were not the sort you can sit at in a wheelchair so I had to transfer into one of their dining chairs. Generally, I like sitting in a dining chair but when you’re tired it can be easier to just stay put in your own chair.
Restaurant Ashford International
On entering the restaurant we were greeted with the information that I was the “Guest of the Day!” What treats did this entail? A plate was put on our table with Guest of the Day piped on it in chocolate and sprinkled with stars. Our excitement and gratitude knew no bounds. Actually, it explained the two mini bottles of prosecco in our room with a note addressed to Hayley explaining that she was Guest of the Day. I was evidently Hayley.
I can’t actually remember much about the meal, other than that we didn’t fancy any of the starters so had mains and desert. The staff were very pleasant and efficient.
Revolving door, Ashford International
We then decamped to the sitting area in the lobby which was rather chilly as the outside doors were open at the far end.
Tricky ramp to exit carpark, Ashford International
Breakfast next day was in the same restaurant so there was the same issue with seating but the breakfast was fine with plenty of choices. Could have done without a member of staff having absolutely violent BO, though.
To summarise, a conveniently placed hotel with some accessible features but we would not stay there again, it was just too much like hard work! They emailed a link to a feedback form and I ticked the box asking to be contacted but have not heard anything back, showing yet again that they are not really committed to great customer service and accessibility. Their loss!
It’s just as well we only stayed one night at La Cour de Rémi otherwise we might not have fitted through the door on the way out!
If ever you need somewhere that is a bit of a treat and within easy reach of the channel ports, this is it!
La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais
The hotel rooms and restaurant are in the stables of a château that was the headquarters of the British tank command in the First World War. Sébastien, the proprietor, has created a lovely relaxed atmosphere with his friendly team of staff, comfortable rooms and fabulous food. There’s an additional room in a treehouse.
La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais
It is slightly a work in progress still: the paths need redoing, they were very rough and there was no slope into the restaurant. The staff had to bring a wooden board but that worked a treat and everyone was very jolly and good natured about it. In other circumstances it could all have been a bit awkward but it certainly wasn’t here – all just part of the laid-back atmosphere. They will be sorting out the access so maybe we’ll just have to go back to check it out!
Parking space, La Cour de Rémi
Our room (chambre 2, if you are looking at the website) was really spacious with a sofa and two upright chairs with arms. It wasn’t entirely user-friendly as they make use of original features, so what had been the trough for the horses’ feed overhung the head of the bed and did not make a very good headboard! Also, the bed was a bit low and the bathroom floor very slippery when wet but generally it was fine as a disabled-adapted room as it had grab rails and a shower seat. The toiletries were lovely and there was also tea and coffee making facilities. Only one coffee sachet though, so we had to ask for some more but it was worth it as it was surprisingly good coffee!
Chambre 2, La Cour de Rémi
Dinner was a really fun experience. Once we had negotiated the temporary slope, we entered a restaurant with tables I could sit at in my power chair (hooray!) and with a huge wooden table down the length of the room, apparently hewn from a single tree trunk. At this, a member of staff was industriously slicing home-made bread. We were brought some of this along with a terrine dish half full of rough-hewn home-made pâté plus a stone jar full of gherkins. This was our ‘amuse-bouche’ or appetiser! Pete would happily have eaten nothing but that all evening! Our food was equally wonderful (best fish I’ve ever eaten!) and they use plenty of home-grown vegetables, fruit and herbs from their lovely walled garden as well as other regional produce.
La Cour de Rémi, Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais
Breakfast was equally fun: a brioche loaf between the two of us with two kinds of home-made jam, ham and cheese and boiled egg along with lovely coffee and hot milk. I love it when they offer you hot milk so you can have milky coffee that isn’t cold!
Tank Corps memorial, La Cour de Rémi
They are planning to add a little museum about the tank corps but if we were to visit again, it would be for the location, the atmosphere, and, yes, the food.
The chateau de Bermicourt, Pas-de-Calais
For more details about the accessibility and more photos, please see my review on Euan’s Guide.
Click here for more reviews of accessible places to stay.
We loved our two night stay at Argómaniz! We arrived ridiculously late (long story) but the staff didn’t turn a hair. I knew we might not arrive before the restaurant closed so had e-mailed them well in advance and they suggested I rang if that was the case, and they would save us some food, so when I did they asked us what we would like! Finally arriving at 12.20, we were provided with omelette, bread, a huge cold meat platter and a very welcome drink – and relaxed!
Terrace and gardens, Parador de Argómaniz
The room, an accessible one on the first floor, was a decent size and comfortable. Breakfast was varied – eggs, cold meat, cereals, bread, fruit, yogurts. Meals were served in the top floor restaurant with its amazing wooden beamed ceiling. Dinner the next day was delicious too with plenty of choices of local food and wine.
We spent the next day mainly out on the terrace looking at the wonderful view. There are lawns and trees and even a discreet children’s play area. You can order drinks and snacks of various types whenever you want.
Specific accessibility issues: some of the disabled parking spaces were on a slope and would have been impossible to use in conjunction with a wheelchair but others were fine, plus they are happy for you to pull up by the door to drop off/pick up, which is what we did.
Terrace, Parador de Argómaniz
Our room was spacious, with wide doorways and there is lift access to all floors and step-free access throughout. There is the occasional uneven flagstone but they are easily avoided. The restaurant, bar and terrace all have ample room and good solid tables.
In the ensuite bathroom, there were grabrails by the loo and wet-room style shower, but only an ordinary stool to use in the shower, which wasn’t as supportive as a proper shower stool would be. Also, the hairdryer required the button to be pressed continuously while operating it, which I’ve always found irritating!
View from the Parador de Argómaniz
The blend of old buildings and modern comforts is something that Paradors do very well and this was no exception – despite the age of the main buidling, the whole place was accessible and comfortable and the food and the staff were great. After the slightly hassled journey there, it was a wonderful place to chill out before journeying on.
Parador de Argómaniz
Other Paradors we’ve stayed at recently include Alcalá de Henares, Tordesillas, and La Granja, all of which were accessible. All Paradors are individual and not all are accessible, so it needs a bit of research before you book!
Our first overnight stop was in Wark, Northumberland at the Battlesteads Inn. Actually, our very first stop was at Witton-le-Wear, County Durham,
Witton-le-Wear church
to take a photo of the church in which my great-great-grandmother got married in 1859, then a brief loo stop at the Wentworth leisure centre (very civilised!)
Battlesteads is officially a hotel and restaurant although it’s in effect a pub with rooms and very good it is too, being accessible, eco-aware and dog-friendly. We had a ground floor room with an adapted bathroom ie it had shower seat and grabrails and the room, although pretty compact had a couple of chairs. There were very nice biscuits and a bowl of fruit and they made it clear they were happy to provide fresh milk – I can’t imagine wanting a cuppa made with ‘plastic’ UHT milk!
Battlesteads Inn
The whole of the ground floor was accessible – a couple of tight turns but nothing my scooter couldn’t handle. The décor was traditional pub style but with lots of great railway posters on the walls, advertising local attractions.
Dinner was tasty, not gourmet but not stuff we’d cook at home, so fine by me! Breakfast was good too, we had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs but they did the full English and various other cooked options plus some ‘continental’ choices – ham and cheese, some fruit but not a great deal else. It was served in the conservatory, which was pleasant and would normally have a view of the garden but this was mainly taken up with gazebos for their forthcoming beer festival.
The staff were mainly Eastern European and were very pleasant and efficient. When we checked out it seemed to be the owners we were dealing with – they were local anyway and very jolly and friendly too.
The next day we headed through gorgeous, rolling scenery and made our way to Peebles and Cringletie House with a brief stop at Galashiels’ Tesco for a newspaper and also via a short detour to see the famous gates of Traquair House which were closed after a visit by Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745 to only be reopened when there is a Stuart on the throne!
Cringletie House is a baronial castle which you would not expect to be
Cringletie House, near Peebles
accessible but it is! Getting to the ground floor involved a platform lift, other than that, it was all level or you used the normal lift to get to the first floor restaurant. For more details on this, see my review or look on Euan’s Guide.
The restaurant has fabulous views and the food was pretty good too – we had a late lunch then dinner later and both were good without being fabulous. The dinner included various ‘amuse-bouches’ which were actually better than the starter, but what with the jolly staff, the great view and a nice glass of wine, the whole experience was excellent!
Breakfast again was ‘good in parts’ – I ordered scrambled egg and while what I had was perfectly nice, it was much more akin to an omelette. Pete’s full breakfast was suitably filling!
The room, Traquair, a junior suite, was spacious and pleasant and we had fun playing with the ‘rise and recline’ chairs! The bathroom was spacious with a walk-in shower, grabrails etc and lovely toiletries. There seems to be a trend away from little bottles of toiletries – all the places we stayed had large bottles of very good shower gel etc that you use but leave in place – much greener than all those small plastic bottles.
The grounds look lovely – it was a bit chilly to explore but they looked good from inside!
Next day we headed for Oban to stock up before heading for our base for the next week at Benderloch. I’d already checked out that Oban had a supermarket, (with accessible loo – top marks, Tesco for your very good loos!) so we did our shop and made our way to Benderloch. We’d checked on
Port Selma Lodges
Streetview how to get to the place we were staying, so found the lane we needed to follow off the main road without too much hassle and there were the two wooden lodges, Port Selma Lodges, created by Jan and Willie Orr a
few years ago to accommodate both disabled and non-disabled guests in some style! They look good on the website but even better in reality – really high quality and in beautiful condition. Willie and Jan had heard the car so came to meet us – just as well as we had no ‘phone signal! – and showed us in. They told us everything we
View from Port Selma Lodges
needed to know and answered our questions about accessible things to do and made it clear they were there to help if we needed anything. There was a ‘welcome pack’ of a bottle of wine, cheese and oatcakes, local fudge, chocolates, milk in the fridge and tea and coffee supplies as well as fresh flowers!
Port Selma Lodges
The weather was rather drizzly at the start of the week – we looked at it as a good excuse to chill out and have a break from driving. On the Monday we ventured out to check out the local stretch of the Oban to Fort William cycle
Cycle path near Benderloch
track and as if by magic, the sun came out just as we got out of the car! From the carpark you could go in two directions for a fairly short distance before the (beautifully smooth!) track joined the road so we pootled along admiring the wild flowers then came to a viewing point with a great view of the sea. We back tracked and came upon an information board near the carpark explaining how the track was part of a disused railway line. You could follow it for miles but in places it is right next to the road or actually joins the road so we left that to the many cyclists who were following it – some complete with back packs, camping gear, the works!
We didn’t do a great deal during the week – drove around and took in the lovely scenery mainly, including the view of Castle Stalker – even in the
Castle Stalker
drizzle, it’s one of the most fabulous settings imaginable for a castle (it was used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, apparently!) and visited Dunstaffnage Castle (the sun obligingly came out again as we arrived!) which has a terrific setting by the harbour and we also did a gorgeous drive along the side of Loch Etive. Our return from that was blocked by some stubborn cows until a lorry driver who came along advised driving at them rapidly! We let him do that and we followed him through – it worked! We got a chance to try out the lodge’s verandah one splendidly sunny afternoon and watched the swallows flying in and out to their nests above the French windows.
Loch Etive
The week went all too fast then it was time to move on to the next adventure. We decided to take a different route to our next destination and went via Loch Lomond. The drive there via Inveraray and Loch Fyne was through absolutely beautiful scenery. Once we were at Loch Lomond, this being a sunny Saturday, you could see how it is a popular daytrip from Glasgow – the traffic going the opposite way to us was really heavy! Next it was motorways to get us around Glasgow, then we found our way to New Lanark, home of New Lanark Mill Hotel, mainly associated with Robert Owen, an enlightened factory owner in the style of Titus Salt or the Rowntrees, which is now a World Heritage Site, with a visitor centre and hotel.
There was a wedding going on when we arrived and it was sunny which
New Lanark Mills
added to the atmosphere – I can imagine in rainy weather it might look a little bleak to some, but generally the effect was charming. Who could resist somewhere with an ‘Institute for the formation of character’? After checking in someone came to our room to explain the emergency evacuation procedure which was an interesting touch – never experienced that before in a hotel.
After having some lunch, we explored the site with its great views of the Falls of Clyde and later had dinner in the restaurant which has quite an imaginative menu and was jolly good.
New Lanark Mill Hotel
It was really interesting how elements of the mill buildings are incorporated into the hotel and restaurant. The rooms are actually a bit bland, but the bathroom had a solid iron post, part of the original fabric, and there were iron braces in the vaulted ceiling, plus there are gorgeous photos everywhere of the mill at all times of year. It’s all easily accessible, and again, the staff were all very good about accommodating you – no fuss made, for example, when we preferred to sit at a different table to the one they directed us to a breakfast, which, as I’ve said before, is just how it should be. Here’s my full review and my Euan’s Guide review.
From there we headed back to York and were surprised it only took four hours!
Limitlesstravel.org is a website dedicated to providing clear information about access, whether that is physical access or other issues such as hearing loops, use of sign-language or the family-friendliness of venues and attractions – all in London and fairly central as far as I could see but all the main ones are there, with user-reviews as well as general information.
For each attraction, you can see if wheelchair hire is available, if assistance dogs are allowed, if there is a hearing loop and various other details which would help you decide whether to visit or not. The hotels list if there is a shower seat, raisable beds, grab rails, emergency cord, adjoining room and lots of other details, which, again, make the difference as to whether or not you would give them your business.
You can search for a specific attraction or filter for different types of access or search on the map.
Looking at some of the press coverage on its own site, some refer to it as a guide to London, others as a guide to the world, so presumably they intend to expand as it does appear to only be London for now, unless I’m missing something, but it is definitely worth exploring this site if it’s London you’re heading for and need access information on hotels or attractions.
accessibilityreviews 