Aesthetic over function
While the staff were lovely and friendly, sadly the room did not live up to the same standard as the rest of the hotel’s setting would lead to believe. On first glance the room was very beautiful and looked to be of the high standard the establishments cost would imply, but upon closer inspection and use it quickly became clear that this was not the case.
I am a double leg amputatee and as such I require an accessible room to stay in. The room I booked was described as an Accessible double double, but after the first impressions wore off, issues so quickly arose with the rooms setup. The beds height was several inches higher than that of my standard wheelchair seat, meaning transfers into bed require pushing up to be able to access the bed. I myself had no issue with this, but a more fragile wheelchair user would find this extremely difficult to do, especially when tired after a long day.
While there was indeed enough from for my wheelchair to go between the beds, turning space was extremely tight, and problem only continued when checking out the bathroom.
The lip at the threshold of the bathroom was considerably steep, and the position of the door meant a 90 degree turn was needed in order to enter from the hall. This, on paper, might not seem like such an issue, however an architects design based solely on measurements does not always equal functionality when put into practice. Anyone in a wheelchair will tell you that to ascend a steep ridge requires the front wheels to be straight on, something that is difficult to achieve when preforming a 90 degree turn.
Inside the bathroom there were further issues.
The shower chair, while at a correct hight for transfers, was extreme narrow to the point I would call it unsafe for use, especially when slippery during a shower. The shower bottles of body wash and shampoo where also located behind the left shoulder once sitting which again, is not very accessible if someone has upper body mobility issues. While I was very pleased with the amount and location of hand rails in the bathroom, this was little consolation when the rest of the setup was clearly chosen to fit the rooms aesthetic design and NOT the functionality needed for safe use by a disabled person.
Then there was the added issues that I can only hope were unique to my room and not a business wide problem.
The main sink, which was too high and far back to be used in the wheelchair, leaked onto the floor from the wall under the taps when used.
But the worst and most dangerous issue was I noticed that the red emergency pull cord, which is meant for alerting staff should I fall in the bathroom, was cut halfway down and did not have the pull handle on it, nor did it reach the floor as it should.
Where I staying alone in that room, I would have found it very difficult to enter the bathroom myself, and I would not have even considered risking using the shower given the clear dangers it posed.
All in all, if I were to describe the hotel in one sentence, it would be; Skin deep beauty.