My wife, whoâs wheelchair bound, we travel by car everywhere. We have had our best results with Tru by Hilton meeting ADA requirements. We have had our challenging experiences with Hilton Garden Inn properties and all Marriott properties. We actually had her power chair designed for sleeping. We also found cushions on Amazon to make her even more comfortable while sleeping in her chair.
I addressed this issue in another thread. When I check in or on the road beforehand, I request that maintenance remove the frame so the box spring is on the floor, and if there is a topper or memory foam that be removed as well. If I can book a king bed I have fewer space issues with the wall by the restroom but quite often there are still problems getting between the bureau/microfridge and the rest of the space. Desk chairs are frequently broken, as the hotel presumed it wouldnât be used.
Thatâs what we stay in the most & as a fulltime wc user I absolutely canât get in or out of those beds by myself. Iâm 39 & my folks (who I live with) are in their early 60âs & my Dadâs back is getting really bad so he is barely able to lift me those extra few inches I need. Gravity helps getting me back in my chair, but I still need supervision to make sure I donât fall. Can someone explain a bit more about this stepstool hack? Is this just for ambulatory travelers or is this something I could use? We do have a Beasy board for getting me in & out of the shower but Iâm much like one of the other commenters that a steep angle absolutely is a no-go.
First I have discovered you must ask for a wheelchair ADA accessible room as an ADA accessible room could mean it is for hearing or eye impaired and not wheelchair accessible. I have had some success with asking for beds to be lowered. I also have a âstep exerciseâ stool if that is needed which is also used to get into a minivan. Itâs about 12âx24â. Lightweight and adjustable. I also have a portable handrail that folds up into a small flat box that fits in a suitcase with other medical stuff. The handrail has been a blessing. Asking for the maintenance manager helps too. Sometimes theyâre more helpful about lowering the beds.
I thought ADA did not include furniture. The only chain we have found that consistently has lower bed heights is Hampton Inn. Does anyone know of any other chains? Iâve asked AccessibleGO to consider adding an option to the hotel search so that you can put in your accessibility requirements and then show a nationwide map of hotels that meet those requirements. My husband and I love to travel, and since the hotels have moved to these insanely high beds in accessible rooms our travel options have been greatly restricted. We have also found that Hampton Inn has been the best at ensuring that we get the specific room that meets our needs, with one distastrous exception in McAllen, TX. The term wheelchair accessibility has become so diluted, that 90% of what hotels say are wheelchair accessible are not. I wish the US would do what Scotland does and show two tiers of disability, a wheelchair symbol and a person walking with a cane.
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@stephen.grohs - Thank you for sharing these insights and recommendations. We appreciate it! We do contact every hotel that is booked to confirm accessibility requests. We are also happy to contact them in advance on your behalf. Thank you for the great suggestion!
I have been reading these posts about service failures which sadly are all too common. At our UK based charity for mobility challenged guests we have developed a âpersonal profileâ which users can complete on their device (cellphone, computer etc) which would cover many areas of concern. If a user hits the âbooking requestâ button on any of our accommodations listings, it take them straight to this âpersonal profileâ. Once the details are completed the device remembers your entries so that you do not have to keep repeating yourself. Hope this helps. Here is a link to an explanation of how it works: Personal Profile