Wheelchair accessible hotels are hotels designed to accommodate the needs of guests who require wheelchairs. This includes making sure the building and rooms can be accessed, but also providing special features inside the hotel.
Providing wheelchair accessibility is important for the guest experience and for ensuring your property is suitable for people with certain disabilities. It is also a legal obligation in many locations.
In this article, we will explore the meaning and importance of wheelchair accessibility further and provide some examples of wheelchair-accessible hotels from around the world, highlighting any unique features along the way.
Table of Contents:
What is a Wheelchair Accessible Hotel?
A wheelchair-accessible hotel is a hotel that has been carefully designed to accommodate the needs of guests who require a wheelchair. These hotels have taken the necessary steps to ensure disabled guests can enjoy their stay.
It is important to understand that accessibility does not simply refer to access to the hotel itself, or movement through its rooms and corridors. Instead, wheelchair accessible hotels take measures to provide for the various needs of wheelchair users, including offering relevant hotel amenities and facilities.
Typical features include elevators, wide doorways, automatic doors, rooms on the ground floor and beds that are adjustable or carefully selected to be at an appropriate height for wheelchair users. These hotels will also offer accessible bathrooms, often with roll-in showers. Ultimately, the aim of creating a wheelchair accessible hotel is to ensure the hotel is a pleasant and comfortable place to stay for anyone who wants to stay there.
Why Are Wheelchair Accessible Hotels Important?
Wheelchair accessible hotels are important because a percentage of your potential hotel guests are going to have disabilities. By providing the right facilities, you can ensure your hotel is a viable option for them.
In general, wheelchair users encounter many challenges when searching for suitable accommodation. By making adjustments to your hotel and at least some of the hotel rooms, you can cater to the needs of these guests, providing them with an enjoyable stay that affords them a level of dignity and independence.
It should also be noted that creating a wheelchair accessible hotel can help to ensure you comply with relevant legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the European Accessibility Act (EAA).
10 Examples of Wheelchair Accessible Hotels
In the sections that follow, you can learn about 10 of the best wheelchair accessible hotels, including details of what they have to offer and the relevant hotel facilities they provide.
Video: What Makes a Hotel Room Wheelchair Accessible?
1. Eria Resort Maleme – Crete, Greece
One of the very best wheelchair accessible hotels in the world, Erica Resort Maleme is a hotel that has been specifically designed for this purpose. All rooms, suites and public spaces in the property are built for wheelchair access.
This resort is valuable because it aims to provide specific support to people with disabilities. The property can offer people who require wheelchairs a comfortable and pleasant stay, tailored to their needs.
Some of the specific features and hotel technology found in the resort include walk-in showers in the bathrooms, an accessible swimming pool with ramps leading to it, free Wi-Fi, and at least one adjustable bed in every room.
2. Center Parcs Les Villages Nature Paris – Paris, France
Les Villages Nature Paris is a Center Parcs resort in Paris, France. In addition to offering wheelchair accessible accommodation, it serves as a joint venture with Disneyland Paris.
The resort is important because it provides relatively easy access to the Disneyland Paris theme park, which is located around 30 minutes away. Adapted lodgings are on offer for guests with disabilities who wish to visit the park.
On-site facilities include wheelchair accessible pools, with adapted changing facilities. Like many wheelchair accessible hotels, the resort provides accessible bathrooms with modifications, like grab handles.
3. Cringletie House Hotel – Peebles, Scotland
The Cringletie House Hotel is a historic property, located in the town of Peebles in Scotland. In addition to being a fully wheelchair accessible hotel, it offers dedicated wheelchair accessible hotels rooms.
It is a significant accommodation because it is a rare example of a fully accessible hotel based in a historic, rural UK building. It is also located in picturesque surroundings, 30 minutes away from Edinburgh.
Specific accessibility features include accessible bathrooms, wheel-in showers, and flashing fire alarms.
4. DB Seabank Resort & Spa – Malta
The DB Seabank Resort & Spa is a wheelchair accessible hotel in Malta. It offers a total of nine accessible rooms and a number of additional facilities that make it an ideal option for people living with disabilities.
An important aspect of this hotel is its ability to offer disabled people a dependable place to stay while enjoying the culture and history of Malta. Hotel management and staff are also accustomed to catering to disabled guests.
Specific accessibility features in the hotel include adapted pools with wheelchair ramps, accessible bathrooms, wheel-in showers, shower chairs, and grab bars. Wheelchair-adapted vehicles are also available for transfers.
5. Ibis Adelaide – Adelaide, Australia
Ibis Adelaide is an award-winning hotel located close to restaurants, bars and shops in Adelaide, Australia. The hotel is ideal for both leisure and business guests and provides 24/7 reception support.
It is a great example of a wheelchair accessible hotel, providing a total of 12 fully accessible rooms. These special access rooms include a full wet room with grab rails and five square meters of additional space.
The hotel is marketed as a comfortable, budget-friendly hotel and has a commitment to sustainability. For this reason, you will not find plastic bottles in the rooms and room service meals are provided in biodegradable containers.
6. Cayton Village Club Campsite – Scarborough, England
Cayton Village Club Campsite in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, provides facilities for camping and “glamping“. It caters for caravans and motorhomes, while also offering cabins and yurts.
One of the most important offerings at the campsite is a number of accessibility pods. These pods function much like wheelchair accessible hotels, providing level access, complete with wide entry doors.
The pods also provide access to specially adapted accessible kitchens and wet rooms. Alternations have also been made for people with other disabilities, including vibration alarms for those with hearing impairments.
7. Keio Plaza Hotel – Tokyo, Japan
Keio Plaza Hotel is a wheelchair accessible hotel in Tokyo, Japan. A luxury hotel offering great views of the city, it is ideal for leisure and corporate travelers heading to the area.
A key feature of the hotel is the presence of universal design rooms, offering wheelchair access. These rooms include expanded living space, adjustable beds and accessible bathrooms with hand rails and back rests.
Some rooms also feature an electric lift chair, making it easier for guests to stand up. Furthermore, features like vibration alarms and light alert systems are in place for people with other impairments.
Video: Universal Design Room (For guests using wheelchairs) | KEIO PLAZA HOTEL TOKYO
8. Wyndham Grand Algarve Hotel – Algarve, Portugal
The Wyndham Grand Algarve Hotel is located in the Quinta do Lago resort in the Algarve region of Portugal. It is an all-suite resort and one of Portugal’s best wheelchair accessible hotels.
This hotel is important for providing genuinely accessible 5-star accommodation in one of Europe’s most desirable travel destinations. It is situated close to the beach, and its suite design is ideal for wheelchair users.
Specific accessibility features include wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, wheel-in showers, and additional floor space.
9. Kimpton Hotel Monaco – Washington DC, USA
Kimpton Hotel Monaco in Washington DC is a great example of an American wheelchair accessible hotel. It is also a pet-friendly accommodation and is often cited among the best hotels in the region for guests with additional needs.
For wheelchair users, the main value of the hotel is its various wheelchair accessibility features. These include accessible bathrooms, wheel-in showers, toilets with grab bars, bathtubs with grab bars and accessible exercise facilities.
The hotel also provides a variety of facilities and features for people with other impairments or special needs too, including accessible communication elements, like visual alert systems and braille signage.
10. Stettiner Haff Resort – Altwarp, Germany
The Stettiner Haff Resort is a 4-star luxury resort. It is also well-known not only as one of the region’s best wheelchair accessible hotels, but also for its commitment to the concept of universal design.
Universal design features are important for breaking down barriers and making disabled guests feel included. The hotel offers facilities like threshold-free entrances, level paths, spacious bathrooms and more.
The hotel is also well-regarded for its commitment to sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint.
Common Wheelchair Accessible Hotel Amenities
You can expect to find the following hotel amenities in wheelchair accessible hotels:
- Wide entry doors: Specially designed doorways providing sufficient space for wheelchairs to pass through.
- Adjustable beds: Accessible beds that can be easily adjusted to alter their height. This makes it easier for guests to transition from the bed to a wheelchair or vice versa.
- Wheel-in showers: Shower facilities that allow guests to roll in and move around the area while in wheelchairs.
- Grab handles: Strategically placed grab handles or rails, making it easier to get on and off the toilet.
Exploring Different Types of Hotels
Hotels and accommodation businesses can be broken down into different types, based on their features, facilities and business models. From eco-friendly hotels meaning hotels that take steps to improve sustainability, to the word motel meaning “motor hotel“, it is useful to understand what these hotel types are and how they are defined.
In the “Types of Hotels: Exploring Classifications and Hotel Types” article, you can learn more about how hotels are broken down by type and what each hotel type has to offer guests.
Creating More Accessible Hotel Rooms
Aside from exploring examples of wheelchair accessible hotels, it is worth taking some time to learn how to make a hotel room accessible for people with disabilities and other special needs. This includes making sensible adjustments to the room and keeping up-to-date with the latest hotel trends in this area.
In the “Accessible Hotel Rooms: Implementing Accessible Design Elements” article, you can find a comprehensive breakdown of some of the most common design elements found in modern, accessible hotel rooms.
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Wheelchair accessible hotels are an important part of the hotel industry, providing much-needed accessibility features for people who require a wheelchair. The hotels outlined provide excellent facilities and features, including ramps, accessible bathrooms, wheel-in showers, grab bars, accessible doorways and accessible pools.
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This article is written by:
Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. With 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I specialize in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have successfully developed, implemented, and managed revenue management and marketing strategies for individual properties and multi-property portfolios.
