Southbank Centre

tinahodgkinson

31 Dec 2016

3

3

Royal Festival Hall: Poor signage made it hard to find my way around

Date of visit: December 2016

I have experience of challenges around: moving around

I use or have experience of: walking aid

Overall Rating

Average

The Royal Festival Hall is just one of a number of entertainment venues on the Southbank. The auditorium has great acoustics and it's an excellent venue for live music. There are lifts and disabled accessible toilets. However the lack of signage made it difficult for me to find these facilities.

Disabled Access In and Around

Average

Arriving from Belvedere Road, in the evening, it was not clear where the entrance was. There are lifts to all floors, however the signage is not clear and I had to ask a member of staff for directions. I used the Singing Lift and after the concert it was extremely busy and it took quite a time to get to the ground floor exit.

Parking & Transport

Excellent

I travelled there and back by taxi. The cab dropped me off outside the Royal Festival Hall on Belvedere Road. Where I was dropped off I had to walk across a wide paved area to reach the building.

Accessible Toilets

Average

There are disabled access toilets with grab rails. I went to two different toilets while I was there. The toilets are not clearly signposted and I was a bit confused as the sign outside had 2 people with walking sticks, which I hadn't seem before. No radar key needed but trying to close the door was quite fiddly to a line the lock with the door frame. In both toilets the disabled alarm cord didn't reach the floor.

Staff

Good

All the staff were polite and courteous. However a couple of them didn't know where the lifts or the accessible toilets were. I spoke to one of the managers, sorry I didn't get his name, about my experience of disabled access and he listened to my comments and said this was an issue that they were aware of and were planning to address in 2017.