London is one of the most visited cities in the world, with the number of domestic overnight trips to the capital peaking in 2022. That year the number of trips reached 15.4 million, which was nearly 2.5 million more than the previous high of 12.91 million recorded in 2015.
Despite this growth there seems to be limited provision for those with accessibility requirements. What do we mean by the term accessibility requirements? Building regulations and other rules defined in legislation often take a ‘strict’ definition whereby accessible refers to wheelchair accessibility. However, in reality, it can be broader than that and include people who have long-term illnesses or reduced mobility. It is the latter meaning we will be using today.
So just how hard is it to find an accessible hotel room in London that offers clean design, a safe accessible bathroom, plenty of space to safely move around in the bedroom/living area and some usuable facilities in the public spaces? The answer to that is harder than you might think given that there have been many news stories surrounding initiatives such as the Blue Badge Access Awards and dedicated resources such as Euan’s Guide.
Euan’s Guide
After discovering this website which contains lots of useful information including ongoing research we thought it would be the ideal resource and starting point. Whilst it is an appealing platform, after running a search for hotels in London we were disappointed to see that only 73 were listed, and when you apply an additional filter for accessible toilets that drops to less than 50. When you start to look at some of these hotels you realise that very few of them have any high-quality images showing the facilities and in quite a few cases reviewers have not even stayed overnight.
What we did notice from the results that came back, was that many of them were for the Premier Inn brand. With that in mind we decided to take a look at the Premier Inn website to discover further information.
Premier Inn
When we visited their website it did not take long to find their disabled access statement in the navigation bar which calls out some interesting things we were not aware off:
- Their hotels often have their own car parks with designated disabled parking bays. These bays are usually located near the main entrance of the hotel. In some cases, especially in city center locations, there may be limited or no parking available.
- Most hotels provide level access to the Reception area through the main entrance. If needed, dropped kerbs and access ramps are in place for wheelchair users. In some instances where level access through the main entrance is not feasible, alternative access options may be available. This could involve using platform lifts or another entrance to the building.
- All Premier Inn hotels with integral bars and restaurants, as well as all Whitbread Group PLC restaurants, are equipped with accessible toilet facilities. These facilities include grab rails, adequate transfer space, accessible sinks with lever taps, and emergency alarm pull cords.
- All hotels provide bedrooms equipped for use by individuals with disabilities. However, the specific features and layout of these rooms may vary depending on factors such as the age and design of the building.
- The height of the beds in their accessible bedrooms (480mm or 520mm) align with the typical seat height of wheelchairs, making it easier for individuals to transfer from their wheelchair to the bed.
- Accessible bedrooms in this facility feature en-suite bathrooms with wide entry doors and spacious dimensions to accommodate standard wheelchairs.
- The bathroom includes grab rails and shallow baths with bath rims at a height suitable for wheelchair users. The grab rails assist with transferring from a wheelchair to the bath.
- Some accessible bedrooms in the newer hotels have wet room facilities with level access showers instead of shallow baths.
This is informative and high-quality content and inspires confidence. One of the things The Euans Guide Accessibility Study called out was that many people with mobility issues had found limited or incorrect venue information on many digital platforms. It is likely that this is putting off some people from making overnight stays.
With new found enthusiasm we hit the search on Premier Inn’s website and found the following hotels all with accessible rooms
- London Farringdon (Smithfield) hotel
- London Southwark (Tate Modern) hotel
- London Waterloo (Westminster Bridge) hotel
- hub by Premier Inn London Spitalfields, Brick Lane hotel
The full list of accessible Premier Inn hotels located in London can be found here.
Travelodge
Seeing as Premier Inn had rolled out accessible rooms across its estate, we thought about what other homegrown hotel groups might have got in on the act. Innevitably our first thought was budget friendly option Travelodge. They also offer a readily available accessibility guide on their website located here.
Key points worth highlighting within it are:
- In 98% of their hotels, there are accessible rooms available for booking. You can easily check availability by selecting the accessible room option and wheelchair icon on the booking form on their website.
- Their hotels vary in design and age, with accessible rooms typically located near elevators or reception areas.
- All bedrooms in their hotels have en-suite bath or shower rooms, wider doors, additional space, and an extended clear zone to one side of the bed.
- Accessible bedrooms are equipped with zip and link beds that have a mattress height of approximately 480mm, matching the average height of a wheelchair seat. There is also clear space beneath the bed of around 150mm in depth.
- Accessible bedrooms in their hotel feature en-suite showers or bathrooms with wider entry doors and more maneuvering space than standard rooms. Most en-suites have a level access shower.
- The accessible shower rooms have a corner layout with a WC and basin, equipped with grab rails. They also feature a drop-down shower seat with grab rails and an adjustable height shower head.
- All new build hotels will now come equipped with wet rooms as the standard option.
Again this sounds positive, though you have to specifically search for accessible rooms with Travelodge by using the “More Filters” option on the room search and selecting accessible en-suite. Please not that accessible rooms will only show if you enter real arrival and departure dates. After doing this we found the following hotels all with accessible rooms:
- Travelodge London Central Bank
- Travelodge London Central Elephant and Castle
- Travelodge London Central Waterloo
- Travelodge London Central Tower Bridge
Other Accessible London Hotels
The Premier Inn and Travelodge generally offer great value for money, but what about if you are looking for something a bit different? We tried looking at about 30 different hotel websites that we had heard offered accessible options, but at least half of these failed to supply any meaningful information on their proposition. And those that did ofter information, did not show any pictures of facilities, so you would have no idea what your room woudl like before you acutually got there.
One of our team suggested we take a look at Booking.com because it has “awesome features” such as a filtering option for everything from hot tubs to nearby landmarks. When we took a look at this we were pleasantly surprised. There were options to filter rooms for an “Adapted Bath” or a “Roll-in Shower”. From what we could tell the results were accurate too and we were able to find a number of additional hotels offering accessible accomadation. Many of the listings also had multiple good quality images showing what your room would look like, which is confidence inspiring.
Our booking.com accessible hotel search returned the following hotels offering accessible rooms:
- Point A London Liverpool Street
- Hilton London Olympia
- Point A Hotel London Westminster
- Ember Locke Kensington
- Bermonds Locke
- Mama Shelter London – Shoreditch
- The Gate ApartHotel London
- InterContinental London – The O2
- DoubleTree by Hilton London Angel Kings Cross
- Copthorne Tara Hotel London Kensington
- Novotel London West
Best Independent London Accommodation
The majority of hotels mentioned above are from national or international chains, but is worth noting that some independent providers of accommodation are also delivering an outstanding experience for London visitors. AbleStay is a great example of this. Its websites states “London’s first fully accessible, contemporary single storey holiday home. Enabling physically disabled people and their families the opportunity to explore our capital city. With level access and high quality adaptations including ceiling track hoist, profiling beds and accessible bathroom.”
A deeper look at the website reveals that AbleStay has off street parking for 2 wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAV) and it is just 7 mins walk to Worcester Park accessible railway station. People use AbleStay for various leisure reasons, but it is also well located to access Londons’ most important hospitals including:
- Evelina London Children’s Hospital
- Kings College Hospital
- St Thomas’ Hospital
- Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS foundation Hospital
All of which are no more than 1 hour away by car or an Uber Access Taxi
Conclusion
Whilst some players in the UK hospitality space are making progress delivering better accessible facilities it seems that there is still much work to do. In addition to this, as higlighted by Euan’s Guide, information on accessible accomodation seems to be patchy, with some resources doing a better job than others.
We would suggest taking a look at the options above, but above all call or message the selected venue to ensure they have everything you need before comitting. In general email is the best method as you then have a paper trail you can refer to in case you have any issues. Good luck.
Making Homes More Accessible
At Absolute Mobility we specialise in the design and installation of accessible bathrooms that help people to live independently at home. Established in 2009, we install walk-in baths, level access showers, accessible wet rooms and power baths in peoples homes.
Our company culture is rooted in empathy, compassion and understanding. We recognise that independence and comfort are not luxuries, but a vital necessity that we believe all our customers are entitled to enjoy in their own homes. This ethos drives our dedicated team, from our customer care advisors to our skilled bathroom installers. We are committed to enhancing your living space with minimal disruption and maximum care.
We have been a member of Trading Standards since August 2020 and a member of Which? Trusted Traders since October 2016. From minor adaptations for items such as bath lifts to larger adaptations for things like a walk-in shower, our hundreds of highly rated reviews prove that we are a safe and reliable choice. We work closely with Occupational Therapists and Case Managers, ensuring the appropriate adaptations assessments are carried out.
Our appointment only showroom in Oxfordshire is the place to view and try out examples of walk-in baths, tub style baths, power baths, shower solutions and wet rooms. Alternatively if you or the person you care for finds travelling a challenge one of our mobile showrooms can bring an example of a walk-in bath to you for demonstration.
22 March,2024
