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?
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