4
Very nice fully accessible hotel in Newcastle city centre - read details however!
The room reviewed is not one of the designated accessible rooms - I chose this room due to my particular mobility needs. For a permanent wheelchair user, the hotel does have designated accessible rooms - unfortunately I didn't see one of them to review. My own mobility requirements are for a higher bed while still needing plenty of space to manoevre a small mobility scooter. While I would have liked an accessible bathroom, I can stand, walk a few steps and manage a small step into the standard shower shown in the photographs, and my priority was bed height. The beds in the non accessible rooms are approximately 64cm high, so easy to stand from. Unfortunately I wasn't able to establish the height of the beds in the accessible rooms but was informed they are lower.
I researched all the city centre hotels for accessibility and narrowed it down to 2 or 3, of which this is one. I opted for this hotel because it seemed to be the only hotel that had opening windows, and was fully accessible throughout. Having a window that opens (only slightly for safety reasons) is another priority for me, for some fresh air. If you are not too worried about having an opening window, then my second choice was the Gotham hotel - which is perhaps a bit more luxurious, also fully accessible and about the same price. I only looked at hotels in the centre of the city as the ones by the Quayside have a long steep hill up to the city centre, which could be difficult for any powerchair or mobility scooter. The hotel rooms are fairly basic, functional, modern and clean - like a slightly upmarket premier inn. There is an accessible toilet at reception level.
Pros: This is a nice, modern, fairly new hotel right in the centre of Newcastle - 10 minutes from shops, Eldon Square, cinemas and theatre. It is fully accessible throughout - the entrance is level with automatic doors, there are three lifts and all are a good size - my scooter went in easily with room to spare. I think they are wide enough for a powerchair to turn within the lift. With my scooter I needed to reverse out. Room key cards are used to operate the lifts. Tap the call button outside (good height so reachable from a wheelchair) with the key card, and then tap a pad inside the lift with the key card until a green light comes on (also good height) then select which floor. If you get stuck getting that sorted, reception are helpful. Corridors are wide enough and have contrasting colours on the carpet. As mentioned, I requested a non accessible room for a higher bed height, but I also needed plenty of space in the room to manoevre on my small mobility scooter, and get to the bathroom ok. More information below about how to choose a room. I ended up booking over the phone to check there was enough space, and the room booked was an Executive King and Single (although it was called an Executive Double Single at the time of booking but seemed to be an Executive King Single on arrival!). These are the more spacious rooms (although the accessible rooms are apparently the most spacious) but are also classed as an upgraded room so cost more than most. I paid £190 including breakfast. (The equivalent at the Gotham Hotel was £180 although the Gotham has a large accessible suite for £205 inc breakfast on a lower level (between ground and first floor). They are corner rooms with large windows. I wouldn't recommend booking any other non accessible room, if you need space, as regardless of what is shown on the website, the rooms are all different shapes and sizes. Check-in: At checkin there is a lower section of desk you can go to. The reception staff were all lovely and helpful. I asked about a PEEP form (Personal Evacuation plan) and was given one to complete - they may have been going to give me one anyway, but I asked first! My room was on the second floor. When I mentioned we were going to the theatre for my birthday, they gave me a small box of chocolates as it was my birthday! The room was very spacious and easy to manoevre in. There was one narrower area at the end of the bed (see photos) but it was still plenty of space to get through in a mobility scooter. Additionally the beds are on castors and move easily if needed. For example the tea making area was beyond the second single bed and the gap between that and a pillar was too narrow for me to get to the tea-making facilities, but we just rolled the single bed sideways a bit to make more space. The beds move easily if needed. Everything was spotlessly clean. The window opens a few inches on a safety catch and that was very welcome. Breakfast was "ok". Plenty of choice of all sorts of things, including "free-from" options, but the cooked breakfast doesn't seem to be refreshed so had been sat for a while - bacon a bit tough, and we went down fairly early. Apart from that it was all very nice and again plenty of space to manoevre. I took my own cushion for seats to raise them a bit.
Cons: The only real cons I can mention are related to advanced communications. I had emailed the hotel two weeks before planning to travel to ask about the bed heights and which room would be best for my needs. I had no response to the email a week later (and it never did get a response!). So I phoned up to ask. I had a very unhelpful incommunicative, older sounding lady on the phone who just said the beds were "standard" height, the beds in the accessible rooms were "lower" but she didn't know the heights. When I explained about needing extra space in a non accessible room she just said the accessible rooms are the most spacious. It was a difficult conversation but she said someone would have to measure the bed heights and would phone me back. And sounded quite frustrated. Nobody phoned me back! I waited a few days. This almost put me off booking this hotel at all. But I decided the beds on the photos looked plenty high enough and decided to phone again to book. I got someone called Jimmy who was extremely friendly and helpful about the room I needed when I said I wanted one of the corner ones with more space (having seen about those on various reviews elsewhere) and said it was an EDS (executive double and single) on the second floor, answered my questions about what would happen in case of fire (they have a special chair and you can fill in a PEEP). So I went ahead and booked and felt more reassured. Just before we travelled I phoned again to ask if it was actually an Executive Double and Single or an Executive King and Single as there is nothing on the website about an EDS. She was also very nice and helpful although I was still unsure what the difference was till I got there and saw it had a king sized bed. I was travelling with my partner and the more space in the bed, the better, so less chance of being accidentally kicked in the night! It seems the two are interchangeable terms though but the main thing is the executive rooms with a double (or king) and single are the corner ones with the extra space and large windows.
Both times I phoned (the second two times) the staff sounded incredibly busy. It seems to be a very popular hotel. So my only negatives were advanced communication - no response to email (to be fair two other hotels took a week to respond to email as well) and the first encounter with the grumpy unhelpful lady on the phone. After that first call, and no call back, if it hadn't been for really wanting an opening window I'd have just booked the Gotham. However, once we arrived, everyone was lovely and everything was perfect, so maybe someone was just having a bad day. I still have no idea what the height of the beds in the accessible rooms is! So if anyone finds out, please add it here! However if you do need a lower bed, then the Gotham might not be for a wheelchair user as AccessAble quotes their bed heights as 75cm high in the accessible rooms - which would be good for me but maybe not for someone transferring from a wheelchair to a bed.
The room reviewed is not one of the designated accessible rooms - I chose this room due to my particular mobility needs. For a permanent wheelchair user, the hotel does have designated accessible rooms - unfortunately I didn't see one of them to review. My own mobility requirements are for a higher bed while still needing plenty of space to manoevre a small mobility scooter. While I would have liked an accessible bathroom, I can stand, walk a few steps and manage a small step into the standard shower shown in the photographs, and my priority was bed height. The beds in the non accessible rooms are approximately 64cm high, so easy to stand from. Unfortunately I wasn't able to establish the height of the beds in the accessible rooms but was informed they are lower.
I researched all the city centre hotels for accessibility and narrowed it down to 2 or 3, of which this is one. I opted for this hotel because it seemed to be the only hotel that had opening windows, and was fully accessible throughout. Having a window that opens (only slightly for safety reasons) is another priority for me, for some fresh air. If you are not too worried about having an opening window, then my second choice was the Gotham hotel - which is perhaps a bit more luxurious, also fully accessible and about the same price. I only looked at hotels in the centre of the city as the ones by the Quayside have a long steep hill up to the city centre, which could be difficult for any powerchair or mobility scooter. The hotel rooms are fairly basic, functional, modern and clean - like a slightly upmarket premier inn. There is an accessible toilet at reception level.
Pros: This is a nice, modern, fairly new hotel right in the centre of Newcastle - 10 minutes from shops, Eldon Square, cinemas and theatre. It is fully accessible throughout - the entrance is level with automatic doors, there are three lifts and all are a good size - my scooter went in easily with room to spare. I think they are wide enough for a powerchair to turn within the lift. With my scooter I needed to reverse out. Room key cards are used to operate the lifts. Tap the call button outside (good height so reachable from a wheelchair) with the key card, and then tap a pad inside the lift with the key card until a green light comes on (also good height) then select which floor. If you get stuck getting that sorted, reception are helpful. Corridors are wide enough and have contrasting colours on the carpet. As mentioned, I requested a non accessible room for a higher bed height, but I also needed plenty of space in the room to manoevre on my small mobility scooter, and get to the bathroom ok. More information below about how to choose a room. I ended up booking over the phone to check there was enough space, and the room booked was an Executive King and Single (although it was called an Executive Double Single at the time of booking but seemed to be an Executive King Single on arrival!). These are the more spacious rooms (although the accessible rooms are apparently the most spacious) but are also classed as an upgraded room so cost more than most. I paid £190 including breakfast. (The equivalent at the Gotham Hotel was £180 although the Gotham has a large accessible suite for £205 inc breakfast on a lower level (between ground and first floor). They are corner rooms with large windows. I wouldn't recommend booking any other non accessible room, if you need space, as regardless of what is shown on the website, the rooms are all different shapes and sizes. Check-in: At checkin there is a lower section of desk you can go to. The reception staff were all lovely and helpful. I asked about a PEEP form (Personal Evacuation plan) and was given one to complete - they may have been going to give me one anyway, but I asked first! My room was on the second floor. When I mentioned we were going to the theatre for my birthday, they gave me a small box of chocolates as it was my birthday! The room was very spacious and easy to manoevre in. There was one narrower area at the end of the bed (see photos) but it was still plenty of space to get through in a mobility scooter. Additionally the beds are on castors and move easily if needed. For example the tea making area was beyond the second single bed and the gap between that and a pillar was too narrow for me to get to the tea-making facilities, but we just rolled the single bed sideways a bit to make more space. The beds move easily if needed. Everything was spotlessly clean. The window opens a few inches on a safety catch and that was very welcome. Breakfast was "ok". Plenty of choice of all sorts of things, including "free-from" options, but the cooked breakfast doesn't seem to be refreshed so had been sat for a while - bacon a bit tough, and we went down fairly early. Apart from that it was all very nice and again plenty of space to manoevre. I took my own cushion for seats to raise them a bit.
Cons: The only real cons I can mention are related to advanced communications. I had emailed the hotel two weeks before planning to travel to ask about the bed heights and which room would be best for my needs. I had no response to the email a week later (and it never did get a response!). So I phoned up to ask. I had a very unhelpful incommunicative, older sounding lady on the phone who just said the beds were "standard" height, the beds in the accessible rooms were "lower" but she didn't know the heights. When I explained about needing extra space in a non accessible room she just said the accessible rooms are the most spacious. It was a difficult conversation but she said someone would have to measure the bed heights and would phone me back. And sounded quite frustrated. Nobody phoned me back! I waited a few days. This almost put me off booking this hotel at all. But I decided the beds on the photos looked plenty high enough and decided to phone again to book. I got someone called Jimmy who was extremely friendly and helpful about the room I needed when I said I wanted one of the corner ones with more space (having seen about those on various reviews elsewhere) and said it was an EDS (executive double and single) on the second floor, answered my questions about what would happen in case of fire (they have a special chair and you can fill in a PEEP). So I went ahead and booked and felt more reassured. Just before we travelled I phoned again to ask if it was actually an Executive Double and Single or an Executive King and Single as there is nothing on the website about an EDS. She was also very nice and helpful although I was still unsure what the difference was till I got there and saw it had a king sized bed. I was travelling with my partner and the more space in the bed, the better, so less chance of being accidentally kicked in the night! It seems the two are interchangeable terms though but the main thing is the executive rooms with a double (or king) and single are the corner ones with the extra space and large windows.
Both times I phoned (the second two times) the staff sounded incredibly busy. It seems to be a very popular hotel. So my only negatives were advanced communication - no response to email (to be fair two other hotels took a week to respond to email as well) and the first encounter with the grumpy unhelpful lady on the phone. After that first call, and no call back, if it hadn't been for really wanting an opening window I'd have just booked the Gotham. However, once we arrived, everyone was lovely and everything was perfect, so maybe someone was just having a bad day. I still have no idea what the height of the beds in the accessible rooms is! So if anyone finds out, please add it here! However if you do need a lower bed, then the Gotham might not be for a wheelchair user as AccessAble quotes their bed heights as 75cm high in the accessible rooms - which would be good for me but maybe not for someone transferring from a wheelchair to a bed.
