Traveling and Disabled (cruises, vacation, reservations, worst)
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I returned from a recent 2 week road trip vacation and have a new appreciation for what people have to go through who have a tough time walking because of a problem with their legs. I was in a different motel just about every night and I had unexpected trouble with a painful left leg.
1. Some of the very nice chain motels who have just about everything you can think of in the room, have tubs that are too high making it difficult for people with short legs to get in and out of them and doubly problematic if they also have a leg/knee issue. Could you just think about the height of the tub sides when you buy new ones? I actually liked one lodge that just had a shower stall. How many people actually take a bath in a motel, anyway?
2. Only one motel had a small bar to hold onto for getting in and out of a shower/tub. This is a pretty cheap thing to install.
3. I actually had reservations at a very cute motel on the water with everything you would want in a room but the office for this motel was up a flight of stairs. What were they thinking? There were stairs up to the office and a very steep ramp up to the office (consider how steep a ramp must have to be if it's equivalent to a flight of stairs). The rooms were ground level (up one step) and you parked in front of your room so why put the check-in office up a flight of stairs? Didn't read that on the website.
4. If you have a very high curb, it would be nice if the wheelchair access to the front door was in front of the front door so people wheeling luggage (or carrying it) don't have to walk to that access. (I'm just talking about the dent in the curb, nothing major.)
5. Not everybody watches TV/reads in bed. At least one chair in the room should be comfortable. It's sometimes hard for a person with a leg problem to sit up in a bed with legs straight out and while we're on the topics of beds, if I'm an adult and I sit on the end of the bed and my feet don't touch the floor, the bed/mattress is too high. It's a pain in the butt for a short person and it's doubly hard for a person with leg problems to have to practically jump onto the bed and jump off.
6. If an attraction is an overlook, you could at least mention in your descriptions of said overlook if you drive up to where you look over or if you drive to a parking lot where you then climb stairs, walk up (and down) a ramp, walk up (and down) a paved incline. I'm not asking you to change anything but before a tourist drives to Timbuktu to see something, they ought to know in advance what they have to do to see it when they get there. I know, I never considered stuff like that before, either.
7. What is a "short walk" to XYZ? Is it a half mile? Is it out of the car and 20 steps to a rail? Point is "short walk" means different things to different people. Please be more specific in your brochures and website descriptions and also tell people if that walk is on uneven ground.
8. Day cruises/tours. If people have to stand or wait at the end of a long dock for any length of time, to board the boat, it would be nice if benches (nothing fancy - just a plank of wood to sit on in line) lined your dock. If not, at least mention on your website that you stand for 15 minutes to a half hour at the end of a long dock before boarding.
9. If your attraction is at the bottom of an incline on uneven ground, you might want to mention it on your website. My thought was I might get down that incline from the parking lot but I'll never get back up it with the bum leg. Not asking you to make changes at the attraction. Just asking you to inform potential visitors on your website before they arrive so they can make the decision to go/not go ahead of time if they have difficulty with walking.
10. Most people wheel luggage these days. If a person with bad knees has to step up on a high curb or into a motel then pull luggage up that same high curb/step...just make the curbs/steps smaller/lower.
It is amazing how most of us who are able-bodied just take all this stuff for granted. At least in the US there is usually some provision for disabled people to have access to sites but in the UK (and probably most of of Europe) it's pretty bad. Some years ago I visited Eilean Donan (the famous Scottish castle) and realised that anyone in a wheelchair or needing a cane would find it utterly impossible to tour this place. And then I started noticing a lot more places that just don't or simply can't provide access because they were built 400+ years ago and can't be changed. Have you sent your list of recommendations to any of the places you stayed at or visited? I'm sure they'd find it quite enlightening.
It is amazing how most of us who are able-bodied just take all this stuff for granted. At least in the US there is usually some provision for disabled people to have access to sites but in the UK (and probably most of of Europe) it's pretty bad. Some years ago I visited Eilean Donan (the famous Scottish castle) and realised that anyone in a wheelchair or needing a cane would find it utterly impossible to tour this place. And then I started noticing a lot more places that just don't or simply can't provide access because they were built 400+ years ago and can't be changed. Have you sent your list of recommendations to any of the places you stayed at or visited? I'm sure they'd find it quite enlightening.
I thanked one Comfort Inn for having low sided bathtubs. The woman at the desk said they just remodelled and put in all new tubs. I have gone to other comfort inns where I practically need a stepladder to get in and out of their tubs because the sides were so high. I'm 5'1". My knees shouldn't be lower than the tub sides. I also showed my delight at a shower stall instead of a tub in another place.
The worst was the motel that didn't have a comfortable chair to sit in and I couldn't sit in the bed. But, the one that was the real shocker is the one with the office on a second floor.
My room was lovely and only up one step. There was a terrific view of the bay. I looked at the ramp and opted for the stairs to the office because the ramp was so steep I thought I surely hurtle down it and fall.
I'm not disabled/hurt. But I can identify - I travelled alot before my daughter was born and a fair amount since....it's kinda the same thing with kids , you realize how small and not-so-small things can make or break ya.
Sorry to hearthe the OP had an injury and hope they are soon on the mend. However, I think it's great that the OP used the experience to walk a mile in someone elses shoes....I spent the last five months of my pregnancy on total hospital bedrest, it gave me ALOT of insight as to what being in a long term care facility might be like..
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