Hatchards Piccadilly

Date of visit: June 2019

I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.

I use or have experience of: disabled toilet

Overall Rating

Although this bookshop has a step-free entrance and a lift, it is a truly horrible experience for a wheelchair user because most areas are blocked off by over-large display tables. NOT recommended for wheelchair users.

Disabled Access In and Around

The entrance to the shop is step-free and there is an adequate lift to all floors. Getting around inside the bookshop is a nightmare for wheelchair users. The display tables are enormous, too close to each other, and too close to the bookshelves. There's no room for a wheelchair user to squeeze through the resulting tiny gaps. It's impossible for wheelchair users to get to most areas of the bookshop. There was a gigantic display table outside the lift on the 1st floor. I was not able to get past it. I was stuck between the lift and the table! Shocking negligence by management and staff! See my pictures below. Two side rooms can be reached only by a small flight of steps and are inaccessible to wheelchair users. No ramp provision for these rooms. See my picture below of these steps.

Parking & Transport

Green Park Station is very nearby and is fully step-free, but check before you travel because the lifts at this station are notoriously unreliable. Many bus routes run up and down Piccadilly.

Accessible Toilets

0

I didn't find a toilet.

Staff

Five stars for the friendliness of the few staff I spoke to about the accessibility barriers at the shop, but only one star for staff as a whole, who have made this shop into a no-go area for wheelchair users.

Additional Information

I don't recommend this shop for wheelchair users. It's horrible.

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