[A22]

Hi,

My partner and I are taking a 2 year holiday very soon. We are going around Europe for a few months and then heading to the UK.

Instead of flying straight to Europe, we are going to stop over in London to activate Visas. After a 28 hr plane ride from Australia, I am going to need a good bed to give my buttocks a break for a while - and will be in need of a good shower. I am looking for ideas of a good hotel to stay for a night or two in London.

As we are backpacking - I won't have any equipment with me, so am hoping for a hotel somewhere that will have everything I need. I am talking mainly about a bench or something in the shower to transfer onto, and somewhere that is actually accessible. After the long flight, I have a feeling I will not be wanting to bother with stairs/bad access.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanx

[Travelling Blackbird]

Look at any of the hotels in the A-Club group: http://www.a-club.com/en/

Most of the hotels have several wheelchair accessible rooms - for example, the Novotel beside Paddington Station, where I last stayed, has 11. Immediately after booking, you will need to call the hotel and tell them that you're coming and need an accessible room. I found it a very good hotel, with a good big bathroom, well-positioned handles for getting in and out of the chair, and comfortable beds.

The big issue with London is that cheap hotels are never accessible, and even some of the expensive hotels are not accessible, because they're in old buildings. The newer ones are better.

Do you think you'll be in Poland at all during your trip? There's an amazing hotel in Wroclaw (Bresslau) that is 100% accessible, fully designed for wheelchair users.

[Califanna]

A22, on Feb 22 2009, 01:01 AM, said:

Hi,

My partner and I are taking a 2 year holiday very soon. We are going around Europe for a few months and then heading to the UK.

Instead of flying straight to Europe, we are going to stop over in London to activate Visas. After a 28 hr plane ride from Australia, I am going to need a good bed to give my buttocks a break for a while - and will be in need of a good shower. I am looking for ideas of a good hotel to stay for a night or two in London.

As we are backpacking - I won't have any equipment with me, so am hoping for a hotel somewhere that will have everything I need. I am talking mainly about a bench or something in the shower to transfer onto, and somewhere that is actually accessible. After the long flight, I have a feeling I will not be wanting to bother with stairs/bad access.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanx

I am going to London as well and found a hotel that has fully accessible bathrooms and connecting regular rooms should you have an attendant. It is the Radison Mayfair Hotel. A litle pricey, but I had a hard time finding accessible rooms with connecting rooms, so I am willing to pay a little extra. I dealed with the hotel directly and got a fairly good discount on the connecting room.
Here is the webconnect:
http://www.themayfai...ooms/accessible

Happy Travels...

[A22]

Thanks for your replies guys!
I will check these places out. I cant wait to get there!
Do most rooms actually come with some sor of bench in the shower?

[Travelling Blackbird]

A22, on Feb 26 2009, 11:49 AM, said:

Thanks for your replies guys!
I will check these places out. I cant wait to get there!
Do most rooms actually come with some sor of bench in the shower?

That varies from hotel to hotel. You really need to call the hotel and ask specifically.

For example: in Barcelona, I stayed in a "fully accessible" hotel that didn't have anything in the shower area - it was just a big open space with no bench, no chair, no nothing. In London, I've stayed in properly accessible hotels with benches in the shower area, and ones saying they're accessible but where it's actually a bathtub, granted with a low side, but still requiring effort to get in and out. Call before booking.

[HiltonP]

Depending on what time of the year you will be in London you might want to consider the LONDON SCHOOL of ECONOMICS residences. During holidays the LSE rents out their residences for very reasonable rates (with options for breakfast and suppers). They have five residences in the London CBD, two of which are fully wheelchair accessable (High Holborn, and Southbank). Check their website for details.

I've stayed at both and they're the best accessable value in town!