ADA requirements for Hotel Rooms

[diana-belland]

Hello, Amanda,

This is a great question!

My husband and I have recently returned from a two week vacation which involved staying at a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale for two nights before embarking on a ten day cruise.  I’ll describe the features of our ADA hotel room as well as the ADA stateroom we had on the cruise ship.

Hotel room:

I used a large Hugo Navigator rollator both as a walker and a wheelchair in the room.  The room was large enough to move around comfortably with the rollator except for the fact that the space between the two queen beds was two narrow to accommodate the rollator.  We succeeded in moving one of the beds an inch or two, but it was still a challenge to position the rollator so that I could easily get into bed.

The toilet was positioned in a nook, partially obscured by a wall, making it impossible for anyone using a wheelchair to transfer.  There was one grab on the wall next to the toilet.  I needed my husband’s assistance to use the toilet since there was no option of getting a raised seat or toilet frame.

I did not use the roll in shower but noted that the grab bars were not accessible from the pull down seat.  However, there was room to transfer to a rollator or wheelchair.

Stateroom:

This room, though small, was well designed for rollator/wheelchair use.  There was easy access to shower, toilet and sink with my rollator.  I made arrangements with Disability Services weeks in advance to request a raised toilet seat with handles.  They provided something even better:  a sturdy toilet frame with a toilet seat attached that fit over the actual toilet.  Both the lid and the seat of the toilet are lifted and the toilet frame/seat rests snugly against them.  I had no trouble lifting and lowering myself using this device and needed no assistance using it.   The sink was well designed for use by those who are sitting in a wheelchair or rollator with complete open space under the sink and easy access to water fawcet.

The roll in shower, though small, was well designed for efficient water drainage and controls were within easy reach from the pull down chair.  I was able to use my rollator to access the pull down seat, but rising from the seat was a huge challenge.  At home, I use a shower chair with handles on each side.  I can easily push myself up to a standing position using the arm handles.  But pull down shower chairs in hotels lack sturdy arm rests.  My husband had to step into the shower area with me, help lift me to a standing position where I could then grab the handles of my rollator.

On the plus side, our room was big enough that I could navigate easily in my rented Jazzy power chair.  The sliding glass door leading to the balcony had a cleverly designed built in ramp that allowed me to roll smoothly from room to balcony in my comfy power chair.   Both the bathroom entrance and the stateroom entrance were generously wide enough to allow easy access with my power chair and with the rollator.

If anyone has suggestions on how to get up easily from a pull down shower seat, I’d love to hear them!