Hotel with Accessible Bathrooms (Need Help!)

[*Gigi*]

I'm trying to book a hotel in Vancouver (pre-cruise) with an accessible room & bathroom for DH. I talked to the Marriott and they said their bathrooms are just a regular tub with a bench. I've only ever used a roll-in shower before so I'm not sure exactly how this will work. Is this the standard set up for hotels? Are there any hotels that have roll-in showers? If they do, do they just have a bench in the shower or is there a shower commode available? Any recommendations for wheelchair-friendly hotels in Vancouver?

 

First trip post-accident, so any help is greatly appreciated! :o

[GRBlizz]

Most hotels have accessible rooms with a roll-in shower. You just have to call and ask. We stayed at a Marriott in Seattle pre-cruise that had a very accessible bathroom with roll-in shower; it may have been newer than the one you talked to in Vancouver. You do have to call, though, because hotels' definition of "wheelchair-accessible" varies quite a lot.

[uppitycats]

I'm trying to book a hotel in Vancouver (pre-cruise) with an accessible room & bathroom for DH. I talked to the Marriott and they said their bathrooms are just a regular tub with a bench. I've only ever used a roll-in shower before so I'm not sure exactly how this will work. Is this the standard set up for hotels? Are there any hotels that have roll-in showers? If they do, do they just have a bench in the shower or is there a shower commode available? Any recommendations for wheelchair-friendly hotels in Vancouver?

 

First trip post-accident, so any help is greatly appreciated! :o

 

Accessible hotel rooms in Canada are usually set up exactly as you describe -- with a tub and a bench. And usually the bench is the kind that sets INside the tub (unlike mine, which extends over the outside). Unfortunately they don't have to comply with the same ADA laws as in the US -- so finding a hotel with a roll-in shower in Canada (or anywhere else outside the US) is a crap-shoot.

 

I just spent a good part of the day trying to find a roll-in shower in England, and Oslo -- without success. (In England, by the way, should you want a hotel room with a roll-in shower, first you have to ask for a "bathroom en suite" -- meaning "in your room" and not down the hall, which is much more common; and then you have to ask for a "wet room")

 

Anyway: I either end up not showering (and just washing up at the sink), and waiting until I get on the ship into a handicap-accessible cabin.

[PennyAgain]

In the UK, check Holiday Inn Expresses as they all seem to have showers only in all the rooms. The newer the better for access and decent prices as well.

 

In Canada you also want to ask for 'en suite'. So you want an en suite 3 piece bathroom with roll in shower. The 3 pieces are: shower, sink and toilet.

 

There are some residents of Vancouver who post on the Alaska thread and on West Coast Departures. They really know their city inside out. I have a feeling they would be able to answer this question or will find out the information.

[Queenie2]

In Canada (and also the US) accessible hotel rooms don't necessarily have a roll-in shower. More the less so in Canada. In fact in the US, unless the property has more than 50 rooms, it's not required to have an accessible room with a roll-in shower. You have to realize that by US code you can have an accessible guest room in the US that has a tub/shower combo. So again you have to describe your access. Canada has no such code.

 

Sure some properties have roll-in showers in Canada , but they still consider the ones with tub/shower to be accessible (as long as they have grab bars and a portable shower bench). So you pretty much have to describe your needs and not just say "accessible". The majority of properties in Canada billed as accessible have the tub/shower accessible rooms. They consider the ones with roll-in showers to be "high needs" and somewhat unusual. You just have to call around.

 

Candy

[leoandhugh]

We have stayed in both the Hyatt and the Fairmount Waterfront(adjacent to the Canada Place cruise terminal) and had accessible rooms - nonsmoking, twin beds with roll-in showers. Your best bets are in the newer bigger hotels - they don't have many, but they are available. You just have to call a bunch of 800numbers for major hotel chains.:)

[*Gigi*]

Thanks for all the responses, everyone. I knew we'd run into some problems on this trip, but I guess I was just naive in thinking there'd be fully accessible bathrooms all over the place. :p We're checking if the Hyatt has any accessible rooms available (thanks for the recommendation, leoandhugh). I hope I won't have to bathe DH in the sink. :eek: That would not be a fun vacation.

[kyriecat]

In the UK, check Holiday Inn Expresses as they all seem to have showers only in all the rooms. The newer the better for access and decent prices as well.

 

In Canada you also want to ask for 'en suite'. So you want an en suite 3 piece bathroom with roll in shower. The 3 pieces are: shower, sink and toilet.

 

There are some residents of Vancouver who post on the Alaska thread and on West Coast Departures. They really know their city inside out. I have a feeling they would be able to answer this question or will find out the information.

I booked an HC room online in 2006 at Holiday Inn Express near the pier in Vancouver. My mom is in a wheelchair and needs the room. After booking, I called the 1-800 reservation number to make sure that we had an HC room. No problem - it was noted on the reservation. I called again 2 weeks before we were scheduled to arrive and again, no problem everything was noted.

 

When we arrived, we had no rooms available. The Holiday Inns in Canada do not have to honor reservations made from the website or confirmed via the 1-800 number. No one had told me that previously. The woman at the counter said I had to call the hotel directly to confirm the reservation. Since I had not done so, my rooms were given away. She was unable to show me anything on my reservation or the hotel website that said I had to do that. Apparently this is something I was supposed to automatically know.

 

Several cruise ships were leaving that weekend (4 of them) so there was nothing nearby to be found. We were eventually able to find another hotel several miles away but not an HC room. My mom had to use the bathroom in the lobby because she could not get into the one in the room. It was an awful experience.

 

I have learned to call the hotel directly to confirm your reservation. Don't rely on a booking confirmation number or a general reservations phone number. After the trip I called Holiday Inn corporate to complain and got the brush off. Apparently some of the hotels are licensed and not owned by HI. These do not have to honor online or phone reservations if they choose not to. :rolleyes: I assume since I booked early and used my AAA rate, the Vancouver HI canceled my reservation so they could give the rooms to someone else at a higher rate.

[PennyAgain]

Dee, I'm so sorry! I've found that even in the US I need to confirm reservations directly with the hotels and motels I book. I've had good luck with Holiday Inn Expresses in the US and UK. Very good luck recently with a Hampton Inn in Stevenville TX that had a standard room that would meet many of the needs of h/c people. I'm wondering if in the US easy to use showers will be more common by companies which realize that most of us don't care for or just plain can't use a bath tub.

 

Good luck in your search!

[kyriecat]

Penny,

 

My husband and I are both able-bodied and we travel 4-5 times a year, often overseas, requiring hotel stays. I travel with my mom about once a year. Prior to the HI Express in Vancouver, I never had a problem with a phone or online booking, even for an HC room. It never occurred to me to call the hotel directly. Now I do every time. It was a learning experince for me so I try to pass it on to others so they won't also be stuck without a room. At least we were only stuck for one night.

[PennyAgain]

I hope that you repost this story every now and then especially on the Alaska Port of Call topic. People need to know what happened to you and your Mom.

[Ms Ann]

It is unfortunate, but that is how the majority of us find out things. I always call directly to the hotel and ask for VERY specific information on the beds and baths.

 

A thought to keep in mind. Most (US) handicap baths will always have a wide door. The newer ones will have better bath space and arrangements, but the old ones will usually have access to the toilet with a chair. Now using a hoyer lift is a VERY DIFFERENT MATTER!!!! My first question is alway " when was your building built?" I try for 2004 or newer.

 

I even go so far as to "tour" local motel chains to get a better idea of what they call "accessable". Now if we could get them to do the rooms with the bed on feet instead of platforms, and no carpet, just tile or wood or what ever.

[kyriecat]

Ms Ann,

 

Your comment about the bed brought up another good point - ask the bed height, especially in the nicer hotels. Many hotels have started using the pillowtop matresses or extra-deep ones. The problem is they don't replace the bed frames or use shorter box-springs. My mom was recently at the Broadmoor hotel in Co. Springs and couldn't get into the bed because it was too high. It was fantastically comfortable with the pillowtop, but she needed help to get into bed. Other than that problem, the room was great. It was laid out well with plenty of space and appropriate assistance devices in the bathroom.

 

I recently noticed the same problem in St. Louis at the Westin by the ballpark. My husband and I ended up with a HC room, not by request. The Westin also had a tall mattress on the bed. I could get in okay, but I'm 6 ft. tall. Someone trying to transfer from a wheelchair would probably need a boost up.

[sassy73]

Ms Ann,

 

Your comment about the bed brought up another good point - ask the bed height, especially in the nicer hotels. Many hotels have started using the pillowtop matresses or extra-deep ones. The problem is they don't replace the bed frames or use shorter box-springs. My mom was recently at the Broadmoor hotel in Co. Springs and couldn't get into the bed because it was too high. It was fantastically comfortable with the pillowtop, but she needed help to get into bed. Other than that problem, the room was great. It was laid out well with plenty of space and appropriate assistance devices in the bathroom.

 

I recently noticed the same problem in St. Louis at the Westin by the ballpark. My husband and I ended up with a HC room, not by request. The Westin also had a tall mattress on the bed. I could get in okay, but I'm 6 ft. tall. Someone trying to transfer from a wheelchair would probably need a boost up.

 

I used to travel for work. I need help into bed, and for my attendant's back sake, prefer to be stood up and pivoted into bed. At a lot of the hotels, my attendant basiically had to carefully throw me in bed. Luckily I'm light, but it wasn't the best for her. It was fine and she could handle it. and Im not fragile (the few times I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night , she would carry me in instead of transferring me to my chair, lol) but would be diffiult for a lot of people.

[Putterdude]

I was quite surprised to read the original post as DW has MS and we have stayed as recently as mid-May in a fully accessible room at the Marriott Renaissance on W. Hastings in Vancouver. Just to reinforce my memory I just phoned the hotel and they confirmed that the h/c rooms do have roll in showers. Having said that there is the Marriott Pinnacle right across the street from the Marriott Renaissance and I can't confirm what they may or may not have.

[*Gigi*]

I was quite surprised to read the original post as DW has MS and we have stayed as recently as mid-May in a fully accessible room at the Marriott Renaissance on W. Hastings in Vancouver. Just to reinforce my memory I just phoned the hotel and they confirmed that the h/c rooms do have roll in showers. Having said that there is the Marriott Pinnacle right across the street from the Marriott Renaissance and I can't confirm what they may or may not have.

 

Really?!? I called the Reservations line, so maybe they didn't know what they were talking about. It had asked them about both hotels and they insisted they only had the bathtub & bench setup. Unless the roll-in shower rooms were already booked. I'll call the hotel directly (because I have a Platinum membership so I'd rather stay there). Thanks for the heads up!

[Putterdude]

Really?!? I called the Reservations line, so maybe they didn't know what they were talking about. It had asked them about both hotels and they insisted they only had the bathtub & bench setup. Unless the roll-in shower rooms were already booked. I'll call the hotel directly (because I have a Platinum membership so I'd rather stay there). Thanks for the heads up!

 

I hope that you get the same answer.... but please let us know.

[*Gigi*]

I hope that you get the same answer.... but please let us know.

 

I called the hotel directly and was told that they do not have roll-in showers. The rep said there was a note beside the room that specifically stated "Not a roll-in shower". The site mentions something about having been recently renovated, so maybe they renovated them out. :(

[Putterdude]

Wow, that is not the answer I got from the hotel this morning when I called nor our recollection of the room we had. In any event it is obviously not worth taking the risk with the two very different responses.

[megr1125]

with Marriott brands it is best to call the hotel (even though some of you have, and have gotten conflicting info...)

 

MANY of their hotels' inventories are NOT entered correctly-thus I often have to resort to contacting customer service and having them confirm...or I email the GM of the hotel for info.

 

 

Do NOT call the toll free number for this info either...they are only reading what was entered at the property level and if it was not entered correctly they will tell you it doesn't exist.....there seems to be a very big issue with this as I have found recently now that mom needs an accessible room.

 

On at least 10 occasions, I have booked on line and the system says that type of room is not offered...but a quick call to the hotel itself, or Customer Care solves the issue ( i am at the top of their repeat guest program, thus i have access to people who seemingly are more intelligent and will CALL the hotel for me!)

 

good luck!

[megr1125]

I called the hotel directly and was told that they do not have roll-in showers. The rep said there was a note beside the room that specifically stated "Not a roll-in shower". The site mentions something about having been recently renovated, so maybe they renovated them out. :(

 

i cant imagine ANY hotel-let alone a Marriott brand taking OUT a roll in shower in favor of a tub....not that it would be impossible..i just can't see them doing THAT much of a redo. Generally all the renovation means is new carpet, MAYBE new furniture, wall coverings, -etc. Not a major reconstruction of the bathroom!:eek: