Perfect spot to stop and replenish
4
4
Date of visit: October 2025
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.
I use or have experience of: disabled toilet, wheelchair
Overall Rating
Good
This Waterstones is set across two levels and has a large selection of genres and a café on the first floor. There is a small lift that travels between the two floors and there is a small accessible toilet on the first floor as well. The ground floor had most of the books available and the shop went quite far back with lots of genres to choose from. The first floor was smaller and was mainly taken up with the café. I had a lovely time browsing the shop, and the café was a lovely place to stop and get something to eat and drink.
Disabled Access In and Around
Good
The main entrance to the shop has two doorways, which had the doors propped open even though it was quite a cold day. There was a bit of a ramp as you went further into the shop, but then it was level throughout the rest of the ground floor. The flooring throughout the shop, on both floors, was carpeted. I felt that it created a little bit of resistance for my wheelchair, but it wasn’t severe. The ground floor had most of the book selection and went quite far back. There were lots of shelves with signage indicating different genres, and there were also quite a lot of table displays showcasing different things. It was all well-spaced and I felt comfortable navigating around the shop in my wheelchair. Near the front of the shop is a small lift which travels between the two floors. The lift had a mirror at the rear to assist with reversing out of the lift, but no grab rails. The first floor has a few more genres, mainly travel and non-fiction, but it is mainly the café. The café had menu boards on display with the options available and some glass displays with items on show. The counter wasn’t lowered but it wasn’t so high that it was difficult to interact and pay. The staff were also happy to bring my items over to me at my table. There were lots of different types of seating available, some wooden tables and chairs which could be easily moved around, and some lower tables with armchairs instead. There were some tables towards the back that also had access to power sockets too.
Accessible facilities: Lift to all areas, Step-free entrance, Seating at regular intervals, Step-free access to most areas
Parking & Transport
Average
I travelled to this place by walk or wheel
There is no dedicated parking here but there are a number of public car parks nearby. The shop is roughly 600 metres from Swansea Bus Station where a large number of bus and coach services are available.
Accessible facilities: Public or on street parking
Accessible Toilets
Poor
There was a small accessible toilet on the first floor. It had a keypad lock on it and the code for this was printed on all receipts from the café. Unfortunately, this keypad was mounted really high on the door and would have been impossible for me to reach. Luckily, the door had been left open when I went to use the toilet. On the inside of the door there was a horizontal grab rail to assist with closing the door and a coat rack with three hooks was mounted really high up. The lock had a large handle that twisted up to lock the door which would be easily operated with a fist or elbow. Inside the toilet was quite small and cramped. Although there was space for a left-side transfer, there were a couple of bins in this space so it was not usable as a transfer space. There was a height-adjustable grab rail by the toilet as well as a vertical grab rail on the wall behind it and a horizontal grab rail next to it. The flush was a lever flush with a rounded end, making it easy to operate with a fist or elbow, and it was mounted on the cistern. It was placed on the same side as the transfer area so you did not have to reach across the toilet to use it. In front of the toilet was a small sink with a single tap mounted on the right. The tap was manually operated and had a slim handle which seemed like it could be operated with a fist or elbow. The tap twisted to control both the temperature and flow of the water. Above the sink was a manual soap dispenser which was empty and there was a bottle of Carex liquid soap on top of it. To the right of the sink was a vertical grab rail and to the right of that was a long mirror. A hand dryer and a baby-change table was mounted on the wall opposite the sink. The emergency red cord was hanging freely and it already had a Euan's Guide Red Cord Card attached to it.
Facilities: Accessible toilet
Staff
Excellent
The staff were really helpful and brought my items over to my table for me so that I didn’t have to manage it on my own.
