2.5
Staying as an independent wheelchair user
The hotel unfortunately doesn’t suit an independent wheelchair user as the rooms were far away from the lift, so I had to carry my bag along a long corridor to get to the room. Once in the room, it was difficult to manoeuvre due to the amount of furniture in the room. There was a single chair that I had to ask to be removed from the room as there was no turning space. There were two beds in the room, but very little space to get in between them. There was a single and a double bed, none of which could be moved due to the bedside cabinets which are fixed to the wall. Due to the lack of space between the beds, I had to transfer on to the end of the bed, which was not ideal. My wife then had to move my wheelchair away from the bed s there was room at the bottom of the bed.
The shower room was fairly large but the actual shower area was very small with a plastic seat bolted to the wall. There was no padding on the seat and when I transferred onto the seat my knees were almost hitting the wall. I had to rely on my wife to help with transfers and to move my wheelchair, something I am usually able to do myself. There were a couple grab handles, in the shower, but not nearly enough. I could only sit on the plastic seat for a very short time as there was no padding on it at all.
The staff in the hotel were great and when I asked for the chair to be removed from the room, it was done quickly. We were looking to get a wheelchair accessible taxi to go out and the staff rang so many different companies, but unfortunately there was none available. There were plenty of accessible taxis in and around Belfast city centre, but we were unable to book one.
Overall the staff were excellent and very helpful and knowledgeable.
The hotel unfortunately doesn’t suit an independent wheelchair user as the rooms were far away from the lift, so I had to carry my bag along a long corridor to get to the room. Once in the room, it was difficult to manoeuvre due to the amount of furniture in the room. There was a single chair that I had to ask to be removed from the room as there was no turning space. There were two beds in the room, but very little space to get in between them. There was a single and a double bed, none of which could be moved due to the bedside cabinets which are fixed to the wall. Due to the lack of space between the beds, I had to transfer on to the end of the bed, which was not ideal. My wife then had to move my wheelchair away from the bed s there was room at the bottom of the bed.
The shower room was fairly large but the actual shower area was very small with a plastic seat bolted to the wall. There was no padding on the seat and when I transferred onto the seat my knees were almost hitting the wall. I had to rely on my wife to help with transfers and to move my wheelchair, something I am usually able to do myself. There were a couple grab handles, in the shower, but not nearly enough. I could only sit on the plastic seat for a very short time as there was no padding on it at all.
The staff in the hotel were great and when I asked for the chair to be removed from the room, it was done quickly. We were looking to get a wheelchair accessible taxi to go out and the staff rang so many different companies, but unfortunately there was none available. There were plenty of accessible taxis in and around Belfast city centre, but we were unable to book one.
Overall the staff were excellent and very helpful and knowledgeable.
