Generally excellent, severe toilet annoyances
4
4
Date of visit: August 2018
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
Good
In general wheelchair access into and inside this shop is OK, staff are sweet, and there is an accessible toilet on the second floor.
Disabled Access In and Around
Good
There are several entrances to the shop. Avoid the entrance with the flower-stall, as its doors are narrow and difficult - take the entrance further up Great Marlborough Street. Even with this entrance, the double doors are not automatic, they are heavy, and most wheelchair users will find it a tight fit to get through just one of the doors. Once you're inside you should be able to get around the entire shop without many problems, though some display stands are too close together and you will not be able to get between them. There is a small section of the shop reachable only by a short flight of stairs - see my photo below. There are plenty of lifts. Many of them are original Tudor period lifts. They are all small and cramped, but will accommodate one wheelchair plus a walking companion or two if you manoeuvre skilfully.
Parking & Transport
Average
There are no step-free stations nearby. Regent St is heaving with buses all the time. I wouldn't dream of trying to park in this area.
Accessible Toilets
0There is an accessible toilet on the 2nd floor. There is no signage whatsoever directing you to the accessible toilet. Instead the accessible toilet is concealed inside what is absurdly labelled 'Private Suite'. To gain access to the 'Private Suite' you have to press a doorbell. The doorbell is MUCH too high for a wheelchair user to reach. Very thoughtless. If you are lucky, someone will respond to the doorbell fairly promptly. If you are not lucky, you will have to wait for a security guard to appear to let you in. This can take a long time, as security guards are understandably concerned with far wider issues than people's toilet needs. Once you're inside the 'Private Suite' you will find that the door to the toilet cubicle is much too heavy for a wheelchair user to open whilst also manoeuvring a wheelchair. Again, very thoughtless. There was a rubbish bin blocking the wheelchair transfer area. Again, very thoughtless. This is not spare space for bins and other paraphernalia. It is where the wheelchair user needs to park to transfer to the toilet. The bin for discarded paper towels was a pedal bin. How thoughtless, when it's clear that wheelchair users will be using this toilet. Overall I was so annoyed and disgusted by the difficulties of getting to and using this toilet that I've taken the unusual step of awarding it zero stars. Shame on Liberty.
Staff
Excellent
All the staff I spoke to were sweet and helpful and charming. Five stars for them. For the managers who have organised the completely unsatisfactory toilet arrangements described above: ZERO stars.
Additional Information
If you expect to need an accessible toilet urgently while shopping, I do NOT recommend shopping at Liberty.
