Most accessible chain lodging in US, pls help! [Archive]

NoDecafPlz

10-13-2007, 01:10 PM

I hope we can start a list of what motel/hotel chains consistently offer truly accessible rooms. Your injury level and the modifications you require in a room would be helpful information. Can you help? Jump in!

I am pretty sure that all of Hilton's line including:

Conrad Hotels
Doubletree
Embassy Suites Hotels
Hampton Inn and Hampton Inns & Suites
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Garden Inn
Homewood Suites by Hilton

Are accessible meaning offering at least 2-4 barrier free rooms w/roll in showers

SoFla

10-13-2007, 02:28 PM

Great topic!

One accommodation I have yet to find is an accessible room with two beds. An adjoining room is supposed to be made available, but most hotels do not know this, or even have an accessible room with an adjoining room.

T6/7 inc

SCI-Nurse

10-13-2007, 07:16 PM

We have had an accessible suite with a sofa bed in the living area in addition to a king bed in the bedroom, plus a roll-in shower at Embassy Suites. We have had an accessible room with two double beds at the Crown Plaza in San Diego. They are hard to find, but we have also had a Courtyard by Marriott with adjoining rooms...one was a suite with kitchen and fully accessible bath, the other room just a regular bath and bedroom. Unfortunately it had platform beds.

We have had some success with some Holiday Inns too.

(KLD)

SCIOT

10-13-2007, 07:19 PM

A great destination hotel is the Marriott on Maui- they have accessible pools, and access to the oceanside (I mean all the way to the water!).

GRAMMY

10-13-2007, 10:13 PM

Holiday Inn's are being renovated and most all have the handicap rooms have king beds and some roll in showers. (All are supposed to have a connecting room with 2 beds free of charge)...Many folks do not know the Holiday Inn standards and many front desk clerks making the reservations do not even know the "standards" rule of the connecting rooms being free of charge. It is my recommendation that you put in a call to the manager of the hotel you are interested in. Specifically tell the manager what it is you will need for your accommodation and ask if the adjoining room will be included for your caregivers (family) free of charge according to the Holiday Inn standard. If you do not receive satisfactory information, you can call the Holiday Inn Guest Relations. They will also assist you with your needs.

StevieP

10-13-2007, 10:17 PM

Foolish Old

10-14-2007, 10:43 AM

Any port in a storm. One night along I95 in Georgia, all I could find was a Motel Six. It had the most useful, logical handicapped accessible room layout I ever rented. This includes the many luxury hotels I have visited. This was the one and only experience I have with this chain, so YMMV.

In every other aspect, the room was pretty bare-bones. But I left feeling I got more than I paid for, a rare experience in the modern world.

FWIW - I find Comfort Inns to be a good value when you're just looking for a place to sleep for a night. Longer stays or pleasure travel, I like to move up to something a little more plush.

Broknwing

10-14-2007, 04:41 PM

Joe is right about the Hilton chain...For the most part they are universally accessible...I ALWAYS travel with someone else, and we need two beds. Embassy Suites is without fail going to have an accessible room(suite, afterall that's what they are) with 2 beds.
And most of the rest of the Hilton hotels have accessible rooms with 2 beds...Almost NO-ONE else regularly offers accessible rooms with 2 beds...Most hotels have accessible rooms with just one bed...Sorry, that doesn't work...

Microtel Inn/Microtel Inn & Suites have been the new exception. For the most part they have had completely accessible rooms with 2 beds, and a roll in shower. They also have a window seat/bench that could be used for a child or lightweight adult if you don't want to pay for a rollaway.

Holiday Inn EXPRESS hotels are decent, but regular Holiday Inn are hit & miss. The EXPRESS hotels are newer and seem to have different standards than the regular Holiday Inn's. They always seem to have much more accessible rooms and are more willing to work with you to find what you need.

Liz321

10-14-2007, 05:08 PM

Microtel in Philly by the airport
2 beds (nello was quite happy w/ his own....shhhhhh)
Cheap @ 79.00 a night

Heat/ac wasn't accessible but that's what boyfriends are for

great roll-in shower
hair dryer and mirror are out of the way but.....shower was great!!
also service dog greeted with no questions!

amarillogal

10-14-2007, 11:00 PM

I've always found it's not the name on the outside of the hotel that counts-only when it was built. The mixed bag of places to stay include: Marriott hotels, La Quinta Inn and Suites, sometimes holdiay inn (if it's newer), and Amerisuites (found this one by pure luck last time I was in Oklahoma City)

Scott Pruett

10-14-2007, 11:42 PM

I typically use Courtyards or Fairfield Inns (both Marriot) w/ success. Embassy Suites have been great, but their beds are sometimes higher than I like for transfers. Jamison Inns are good too. Their rooms feel smaller, but you can typically park right outside the door (similar to a motel, but nicer).

I don't do rewards programs though - what are some good ones? Hilton Honors? Why?

betheny

10-15-2007, 12:00 AM

I've heard Crowne Plaza beds are too high to transfer easily.

Tiger Racing

10-15-2007, 01:49 AM

One accommodation I have yet to find is an accessible room with two beds.
Really? I find those all the time. Everything from Motel 6s to various Marriotts. In fact, I've found that most hotel rooms that bill themselves as "accessible" have 2, queeen size beds in them. If anything, it's been hard for me to find a room with just a king size bed in it.

C.

dan_nc

10-15-2007, 01:52 AM

Really? I find those all the time. Everything from Motel 6s to various Marriotts. In fact, I've found that most hotel rooms that bill themselves as "accessible" have 2, queeen size beds in them. If anything, it's been hard for me to find a room with just a king size bed in it.

C.

Whenever I've requested accessible rooms, they have come with two queen beds. I agree it's tough to find a room with just a king size bed. I do believe that Motel 6's generally have the best roll in showers, at least they did leaving south from San Jose along the pacific coast highway.

beckman

10-16-2007, 02:00 PM

I've heard Crowne Plaza beds are too high to transfer easily.
I've noticed hotel beds are getting higher. This summer I had to get beds taken from the frame and lowered to the floor several times (marriott and Delta) as I couldn't make the transfer up (C6/7 quad) and these were accessible rooms.

Liz321

10-17-2007, 10:03 AM

WE stayed in MA near Chatm bay. the bed was at least 4 feet up, they even had a steps to it, in it's accessible room!!

Tiger Racing

10-18-2007, 04:07 PM

I've noticed hotel beds are getting higher.
So have I. This is one of the difficulties of making things "accessible" for the broadest range of people. I want a bed that is an average height or lower, but I hear others complaining that the beds are too low to get a lift underneath. What works for one, is frustrating to another.

C.

Timaru

10-18-2007, 04:22 PM

Too low is not that much of a problem as the hotel will provide you with enough linen to stuff under the mattress to bring it up to a manageable hight.

Too high however means the hotel will have to provide a saw to get it down to a manageable hight.

It's not rocket science to see that it is better to err on the side of the vertically challenged - so why the hell don't they?

betheny

10-18-2007, 04:27 PM

It's not rocket science to see that it is better to err on the side of the vertically challenged - so why the hell don't they?

They think they did-by giving us a staircase up the side of the bed LOL! Picky, gimps, just use the steps!

Ahh, the logic there kills me.

Scorpion

10-18-2007, 04:45 PM

I've had the best luck (most consistent) with Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza (same company, btw). I'm a functional C-6 and get hotel rooms with a roll-in shower (use a tub bench at home but not while traveling). There are usually 2 beds (Queen or Full) but once at a Holiday Inn Express it was just one King bed. I've traveled and stayed in hotels both alone and with someone. When alone, the bed height is very important for me.

The beds at the Hilton were way too high. Even a para would have difficulty with those beds, or an AB person who was elderly with arthritis or something.

betheny

10-18-2007, 04:51 PM

Herco16

10-18-2007, 05:04 PM

Days Inn has always been good to me. Two beds and a reasonable bathroom.

Dave

Scorpion

10-18-2007, 05:09 PM

Have you been to Crowne Plaza within the last 2 years? I ask because I was booking for the rally in 2006, and a walking quad told me they had contracted for all new beds-it was a big advertising point for them then- that were too high for her.
No, I haven't, so that's good to know. When I tried the Hilton, they were in the process of changing all their beds to the high beds and all the rooms with roll-in showers had already been changed. They booked me at a nearby Crowne Plaza, and I stayed there twice, but this was back in 2002.

I don't really understand why they think high beds is somehow more appealing, especially in an accessible room. Hotels should invest in beds that raise and lower in accessible rooms, actually. That would be a great feature. They don't need to be fully-adjustable, just adjustable height.

Timaru

10-18-2007, 05:52 PM

I'm coming at this from the other direction and having a seat riser on my new power chair.

After 30yrs of using an out door power chair out side and a manual in side I've decided to go fully powered (apart from the odd restaurant with one step etc.) bed transfers were one of the reasons for this.

Mind you I can't see a seat riser being of much help if I had to get into a 4' high bed!

Broknwing

10-27-2007, 04:19 AM

I don't do rewards programs though - what are some good ones? Hilton Honors? Why?

Hilton Honors-
Late Check-out no add'l fee (you know me...LOL)
Reduced room rate on some reservations(especially online),
Special online travel deals to Hilton Honors members
AND if you travel a lot(HMMM....who might you know that does this? LOL)
Free nights

You can customize your acct reward levels by how you travel so that you can do it by "stay" or by "night"....For example, If I'd gotten my place here in Ohio at a Hilton chain(they were twice as expensive for this BTW, otherwise I would have) I would have set my Honors program to calculate by the night...right now I have it calculated by the stay b/c most of the time I only stay for one night in a location....If you're gonna stay multiple nights a lot, it's more beneficial to calculate by night...There's another way to calculate but I don't remember what it is...

Also you can get airline miles for your hotel stays on most of the frequent flyer programs....I've been a slacker in linking my milage accts to my Hilton Honors acct so therefore I haven't been taking advantage of this...I know I should, maybe then I wouldn't be road-tripping as much, right? LOL...

If ya have any more questions about Hilton Honors, you can e-mail me, ya got my e-mail address & I KNOW you know how to use it...LOL...I'll try to answer if I have forgotten anything else...

rcechser

10-27-2007, 09:55 AM

Have you been to Crowne Plaza within the last 2 years? I ask because I was booking for the rally in 2006, and a walking quad told me they had contracted for all new beds-it was a big advertising point for them then- that were too high for her.
I just stayed at one back in September and the bed was alittle high I was alright getting in it but I think a quad might not of had such an easy time.

cheesecake

10-27-2007, 10:43 AM

I travel a fair amount for work and personally prefer the Hilton Honors and hotels. Several reasons,
1st--Wide range of hotels in Hilton chain
2nd. Hampton Inn is consistantly good value and accessible
3rd. You complain you get Hilton points or dollas compted
4th Brokenwing covered it well

Holiday Inn and Crown Plaza are part of the same chain. I think I am the walking quad who made a comment to Betheny. I took a face plant geeting up in the middle of the night because of the high beds. Done the same at Hyatt as well.

Holiday Inns were some of the first to go accessible and hey are pretty consistant. THe newer hotels all have at least one roll in shower then varying degrees of accessibility. Don't need a ton of points to get free nights either and it is pretty easy to do. am spending one night at a Holiday Inn compted when I go to NYC next week for the NYC Marathon. It was a high point hotel 25,000. I will let you know if it was worth it.

NoDecafPlz

10-27-2007, 11:14 AM

:p

Shit!

I should have booked that Doubletree online!

Still $159 a night for that area of Orange County is cheap by comparison!

stlyin moe

10-27-2007, 02:08 PM

My stay at the Courtyard Marriott last week was a decent room with just right bed height. My complaint is they have a fold up shower bench placed 5' away from the shower valve and hand held shower nozzle. If I didn't have my own shower bench I would have been screwed...

Theophania

10-28-2007, 02:14 PM

microtel ive heard is the best.

betheny

10-28-2007, 02:57 PM

Also, Microtel allows dogs!

WheelieMike

04-20-2008, 08:19 PM

I just posted this in the Life Forum, but Betheny reminded me about this thread was here.
So if you think you've read this before, you might have.

Thanks Betheny.

We just stayed in one of the worst accessible rooms I've ever seen. We went to Indianapolis this weekend for a surprise party for my wife's brother and stayed in a La Quinta Inn (92nd & Michigan). Do NOT stay at this location unless you are very independent.
It was supposed to be an accessible room with a queen bed. It was a full size bed and my chair (30" +/-) was just able to squeeze between the bed and the dresser.
The accessible bathroom (hahahaha) had the standard raised oval bowl toilet, more bars than I've seen at a gymnastic meet, a tub that was 8" LOWER than my wheelchair with a regular shower head, no handheld shower. The raised sink, had a base around it that my knees wouldn't clear for about 2".
I thought La Quinta Inn were a little higher on the hotel evolution chain. My next review will be sent to La Quinta, I'll let you know what their response is.

Anyone else have a favorite or hated hotel?

mopar4ever

04-26-2008, 01:07 AM

Just spent three weeks in Carlsbad and area and we stayed at three La Quinta Inns. The first, in Carlsbad was very good. The room had two queen beds, the bath had a tub with a bench and hand held shower. Everything was clean, service and assistance were outstanding. Spent two nights in another in Victorville, it was very clean but not accessible except that my son was able to get into the room and washroom. No bench or hand held shower. Spent the last two nights at another close to Disney, same thing. Matt was able to get into the room and washroom, but no bench or hand held shower. Here in Canada if a room is rated accessible its supposed to have either a roll in shower or a tub with a bench and hand held shower. Not saying they do, but they are supposed to.

Also having trouble finding a condo/house that is accessible for when we go back to Carlsbad this August. Didn't think this would be a problem.

Tiger Racing

04-26-2008, 03:37 AM

The accessible bathroom (hahahaha) had the standard raised oval bowl toilet, more bars than I've seen at a gymnastic meet, a tub that was 8" LOWER than my wheelchair
I believe the lowered tub height is to make entry and egress easier for people stepping in and out of the tub, which seems like a good idea to me. Of course, to make things functional for a wider range of people, a shower bench of some kind needs to be included.

C.

SCI-Nurse

04-26-2008, 12:41 PM

One resource we have found helpful is to use these AAA booklets. They only cover specific regions, but they have a specific rating system for accessibility for various disability needs (ie, mobility, hearing, vision). We have found using their M3 rating that we consistently find the rooms fully accessible with roll-in shower and non-platform beds, which we must have as we use a lift when traveling.

They are a few years old, and may be difficult to find at your local AAA, but I did a quick search and you can get them used at Amazon and other used book on-line resources.

AAA Barrier-Free Travel. 6 access guides published by AAA. California, Las Vegas, New York City, Washington DC, Central Florida and Hawaii. Contains detailed access information. $12.95 ($10.36 for AAA members). www.aaa.com (877) AAA-BOOK

(KLD)

Moody

04-30-2008, 10:19 AM

We have found it hit and miss. Hilton brands are the most consistent we have found. But we had good experiences at embassy, until san antonio when an accessible room meant they had rails in the bathroom...and an 18 inch door. A mariot has steps in their accessible room at one hotel. And one Omni bumped us to a suite for accessibility then tried to charge us for it (they had accessible standard rooms, they had given them out to non-disabled people). We did NOT pay extra.

Its interesting people have trouble finding a bed hotel room thats accessible. We tend to run into alot of them. We prefer a King.

We travel alot and are often frustrated by the rooms we get, especially when we want a suite. Often the lease desirable room in the hotel. So what we try to do it call ahead, TWICE. Talk to two different people. Really, they can tell you two things.
We gravitate towards Hiltons
Airport hotels are often the worst

Note to add, the only really important thing we look for is bathroom door width. Bed height, tub issues really arent on our radar (you think this would make it easier huh?).

Eileen

05-01-2008, 03:53 PM

Last weekend a friend and I went to Wells, Maine for the weekend. We stayed at a brand new Hampton Inn that was wonderful. It had a roll in shower, and also had a very sturdy bolted shower bench in the corner. The mirror was on a piviot arm so that you could see no matter what your height. The toilet allowed a side transfer and it was the same height as my chair, instead of the standard lower model. Lots of grab bars too. The room had two queen size beds and there was room to wheel on either side or in the middle, and then in front of the beds there was probably a 12X25 foot space with only a little desk, and LOTS of room to maneuver. The entry to the room had a waist height microwave, a small refrigerator, a coffee pot, and they even supplied the microwave popcorn and coffee.

Tiger Racing

05-01-2008, 04:38 PM

Last weekend a friend and I went to Wells, Maine for the weekend. We stayed at a brand new Hampton Inn that was wonderful.
You should send a quick note to corporate. They need to know what they're doing wrong, but they also need to know what they are doing right so that they can do it again.

C.

Eileen

05-01-2008, 08:31 PM

You should send a quick note to corporate. They need to know what they're doing wrong, but they also need to know what they are doing right so that they can do it again.

C.

Already did that Tiger! I also made sure the on site manager knew it was the BEST room I had ever stayed in and that they had gotten everything right. :)