Friday, October 11, 2019

Handicap Accessible Motel Room Problems

When I booked a hotel room for the reunion in Memphis, I booked a handicapped room. It was anything but.

Good points
The shower was a roll-in shower. The access was very easy as I did not have to step over any barrier. The housekeepers asked me if we needed a shower chair. It was bought immediately and placed in the shower. The chair was about three feet across. Great! I did not have to worry about balancing on a narrow bench.

Then, it gets worse.

When we went in to check in, we were directed to the end of the hall. The walk was going to be brutal and both of us complained. They had the answer--park at the end of the building and enter that way. "There are only a few steps to get in." !!!

We were going to leave at 5:30 and come back after dark. So, going in the back door while we both would make good victims was not suitable.

Tommy could not access the ac, refrigerator, or coffee pot. So, I had to pull a heavy wing chair away and nearer to the bed so he could make a pot of coffee and get into the refrigerator. As soon as I got into the room, the lady who brought our luggage into the room was still there. I go straight for turning on the ac when I go into a motel room. I could not get it to turn on. She told me to flip the switch on the wall first. I searched behind the drapes, looking for a wall switch. Finally the lady came to help me. She was puzzled, also. Finally, she found it low on the wall, the furthest away from the unit switches. This was hard for me and the woman looking for the switch.

Usually, in a motel I get the side of the bed nearest to the bathroom. However, even before I moved the wing chair, Tommy could not have gotten his walker behind the bed. He would have had to leave it at the end of the bed and use his hands on the bed and wall to get to the bed where he could get into bed. Naturally, I took that side of the bed. The other side had ample room for his walker to turn so he could maneuver himself into bed.

In the middle of the night, I got up to go to the bathroom and fell headlong trying to get past chair and bed. The woman at Hilton to whom I complained asked me why I did not call front desk. What were they going to do?

If he were walking from bathroom past bed and to the coffeepot, I had to get out of the way. That is how little space the handicap accessible room provided!

Then, Tommy hung up his clothing in the closet that was a mirrored door that opened by folding the door in half. There was no light to help me see myself in the full-length mirror door.

The rod was so low to the floor with a safe underneath that my pants could not hang straight. I called and asked if there was a way to raise the bar. The maintenance man came and showed us how to use the safe. I told him the bar needed to be raised for long items. He took my pants and hung them on the short bar where they could not hang straight. They were across the safe and hanging where they would get a crease. What if I had brought a long dress? I finally threw the pants across the wing chair. The maintenance man left the folded mirrored door open and we could not close it. So, it stuck out where Tommy could barely get past it.

We asked for two beds, were assured we would get two beds, but got one king bed. He cannot move once he gets onto the bed. I do not move at all. So, it worked but he was bummed he had to sleep with me.

We were given two washcloths for two people who might take a shower at night and then again in the morning. Well, I had to call for a washcloth. A maintenance man brought it down. Housekeeping should have been sent. The woman at Hilton to whom I complained said maintenance should not have been sent, but housekeeping. I was complaining about the lack of adequate number of washcloths, not the maintenance man.

When we checked out, we decided to have Tommy pull around so the walk for me with out things would not be so far. I was shocked to see there were about 6 or more steps to get down from the building. THEN, there was a one foot curb for me to get from to get to the car. The motel front desk sent someone to help us after Tommy went down to check out and turn in his key. He told them he was going to get me from the other exit.

The front desk sent a maintenance man (again) to help me. Luckily, he was a big, strong, tall guy who helped me off the one food curb where Tommy was parked. After we turned to leave, I saw that I could have traversed a side walk to a place with two steps to the asphalt. But, there were no railings. This is where they were sending us to come and go from the hotel.

This is not my first stay in a handicap accessible room. Once, there was only a handicapped room left at a motel. I took it. The room and bathroom were huge and roomy. It was astounding. Another time, I asked for a handicapped room and had to walk the length of an even bigger hotel, taking an elevator. The room was handicap accessible, large and more than adequate. But, after getting up there, I had them bring a wheelchair to get me back to my car from the room. I complained mightily on the spot since I had no water for the stay. That part was a nightmare since it was at my last reunion and I had planned to wash my hair and shower. I made them bring me bottle water. I never did get my hair washed!

You may think these are minor issues, but the woman at Hilton to whom I complained was shocked at most of these problems, especially the lack of room, maintenance men serving as housekeepers, and so few washcloths.

In the end, I was told the motel management would call me. Since they did not, I called today. The woman at Hilton told me the charge was removed from the card. Tommy was really happy. I still have a bruise, pain, and swollen mark on my thigh.

By the way, I did not complain about the maintenance man coming to the room, just said things like the "maintenance man brought the washcloth right down."



Have you ever had a problem with a handicap accessible room? Or, what is your worst hotel/motel experience?

12 comments:

  1. It's a shame that your hotel didn't have a nicer handicap accessible room for you. I've never traveled enough to have stayed in hotel rooms very often, and not at all since my knees have been bad. I don't even attempt stairs without handrails. Too much risk of falling. People who don't have mobility issues don't think about stairs and other impediments to mobility at all. I am very surprised that they didn't have any handicapped accessible sidewalk curb cuts, that's terrible. I wonder if there are online sites that show pictures of various hotels and what handicap accessible rooms they have. I've never checked to see because we just don't really do any traveling.

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    Replies
    1. I don't travel much, either. The last room where I had them bring the wheelchair to me was five years ago at the last reunion. I know, people say, "It's only two steps." Well, I could fall going down and may not be able to haul myself up going up. That is a good idea to have pictures of of hotel/motel pictures.

      Delete
  2. hi, PP!! i sent you some things you have been missing,to your posted cullman address. they should arrive, priority mail, by Tuesday. have a great holiday weekend, marianne :>)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marianne,
      Thank you. I will be looking for them. How sweet of you.

      Delete
  3. First off I think every hotel should hire a handicapped person to oversee things like walk ways, rooms, bathrooms and other things since they would be the ones who would find the problems first based on experience. Once we had a doctors parking lot that was supposed to be handicapped accessible to their new building but once you parked the handicapped van for the lady that had Muscular dystropy and could barely move in the the handicap space it became clear that there was a 6-8 inch high curb blocking the way to the door and no way to get past it unless you stepped up. No electric wheel chair and she was a total lift to transfer. So that was not good planning on their part.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Crystal,
      Even better, someone trained in things different kinds of disabilities required could travel between hotels of the same chain and point out the requirements. I hae a 100% disability, yet I am not aware of what some disabilities require. I learned a lot when working for a non-profit. But, lots of it would mot apply to me. You are correct that someone should oversee this aspect of a motel.

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  4. Not enough washcloths and towels is always a complaint I have about hotels. Like I have booked a room for 3 or 4 before (us and our two kids) and there will be two towels and washcloths. Not to mention, like you said, we like to use one at night before bed and then one in the morning with the shower. I'm always having to call and ask for more.

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  5. One,
    When I traveled, I had three kids. Usually, I would see a housekeeping person, mention I had three kids, and she would just give me a handful of towels and washcloths without even counting them. This time, there was a really cute towel fold. Better I had more washcloths. I used one of the towels to put on the bath bench because I did not see the bench sanitized. So, I further depleted the towel supply.

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  6. dear me that does sound a disappointment - you would think by now they would know what such a room needs.

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    Replies
    1. Urspo,
      Those were my thoughts as things just kept happening. And, since it was not my first experience in a room for a disabled person, I was a bit dismayed.

      Delete
  7. HandicapMD helps handicapped drivers by offering evaluations by license doctors to help you obtain your DMV handicap parking placard online. disabled parking placard

    ReplyDelete

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