The Social Hub

We stayed in a disabled-accessible room on the 5th floor. It was positive to see two emergency pull cords installed (one in the bedroom, one in the bathroom) – this is exactly what’s needed for accessible accommodation. However, both cords were completely inaccessible: the bedroom cord was tied high up around coat hangers on the clothes rail (making it out of reach and in the way of using the rail), and the bathroom cord was wrapped around the shower head (easy to pull accidentally). The room being on the 5th floor is also worth noting – while venue layout can be a factor, there are extra fire safety considerations for accessible rooms that need addressing. The hotel has made a good start with accessibility features, but urgent improvements are needed to ensure pull cords are kept free and fully functional, and to develop a fire safety plan tailored to guests with limited mobility.

When you look up The Social Hub on a maps app, it will probably tell you that it is a hotel, but as the name implies, it is so much more. The first two floors are full of communal areas with foosball, ping pong, comfy seating, an auditorium, a café, a restaurant and even a gym. There is even a rooftop bar, but I did not get that far. It is a very stylish venue and the name is probably well chosen because it reminds me more of social media than of a community hub. It seems to be a very popular place and while I felt at first a bit worried that I would have to justify my attendance or that it would turn out I had to be paying to be there, those worries turned out not to be true. I first visited as part of the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF), which does a great job at prioritising accessibility and communicating access information. I hope my review can expand on that work! A couple of days later, I went to the restaurant for a bite to eat after another SQIFF screening, which was comfortable and handy, but I would probably not do it again considering that it was quite expensive and did not have a lot of vegan and vegetarian choices.