Stromness Hotel

Date of visit: December 2013

I have experience of challenges around: moving around

Overall Rating

Front access has 4 steps - very difficult for people who use walking aids. Wheelchair access required a 40 minute journey along pavement, up a steep hill, along a narrow, non-pavemented road, and down a very steep slope into the rear car park. Dining room is on the first floor, so access from the front requires going up a floor in the lift, or from the rear car park requires going down a floor in the lift. I have no idea what would happen in the event of a fire - I wrote to the hotel afterwards to enquire but was ignored. I dread to think how evacuation would take place. The ladies who used walking aids really struggled to leave the hotel - going down 4 steps was dangerous and very difficult.

Disabled Access In and Around

0

The lift is so small that a normal sized wheelchair cannot fit in - so a person has to transfer to what can only be described as a pushchair. A large person would simply be unable to access the dining room. It was uncomfortable and undignified for the customer to do this, and of course the wheelchair had to remain on the 2nd floor. Luckily the lady could transfer to a dining chair, otherwise she would have had to sit in the pushchair for lunch, which would have been very uncomfortable.

Parking & Transport

0

Once in the car park, you have to travel along a narrow metal bridge suspended about 30 feet above concrete in order to access the back of the hotel. On a windy day this felt precarious, and the lack of barrier meant it was possible to fall off this bridge. It was incredibly frightening.

Staff

The waiting staff were lovely, but the manager was dismissive, offered no help or support and was completely uninterested in the fact that it took 45 minutes to access the dining room. As many people assert, it is not so much the facilities but the attitude that matters. Had she been apologetic, helpful, or even concerned it would have made a difference - she was none of these. She had been asked if her venue was accessible and she said it was - she should have suggested we go elsewhere as it was a humiliating and difficult experience.

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