London hotel: location or access, which comes first?

Guoman Hotel, Charing Cross

I had the opportunity to stay at the Guoman Hotel a couple of weeks ago and I was asked what I thought about its accessibility. I thought I might as well blog about it.

This hotel is in a Grade 11 listed building which means  a building of special architectural or historic interest. Now as I understand it, not every wheelchair accessible room in this hotel is the same because they are not standard rooms.  And the room I was given this time is bigger than the one I stayed in 2 years ago. But here goes:

This hotel is ideal, location wise, certainly very central. You cannot be better placed in London. Right next to Charing Cross Station in proximity to Trafalgar Sq and over the bridge behind the station is the Southbank with all its tourist delights. In this sense it is very accessible – transport at the door, bus, train and taxi.

My hotel room is reasonably spacious even if the bed had to be shifted for my wheelchair to be parked alongside it. I found the bed to be quite high – not that easy to negotiate transfers given that I am not very tall. My colleague told me he had to abandon a meeting at one point because he had effectively no bed to sleep in – the beds here are not to be used with hoists!

I had another problem and that is that there were  no electric sockets near the bed. There was a socket by the bed for the lamp but this turned out not to be an ordinary 3 pin socket. This proves to be difficult for me as a power wheelchair user. Neither could they provide me with an extension lead. This omission seems strange considering the hotel put in facilities like a switch to facilitate  opening and shutting curtains. However the telephone was located across the room ( this made it tough on other guests if you had asked for an early morning wake up call!) I couldn’t leap up to cross the room to stop the phone ringing.

shower room

I was pleasantly surprised by the size of my roll in shower! It was bigger than my wet room at home! It had an anti slip floor. There was enough of a colour contrast of the bathroom equipment had I a visual impairment.  If I had any gripes, it would be that the emergency cord was tied up high above to be of any use for emergencies . Something the cleaning staff did probably.

Another point to note for wheelchair users, or anybody with a mobility impairment,  is that this hotel has very stiff doors and they are not easy to negotiate on your own.

You can find out more about the hotel from its own website.

Accessible travel or holidays for disabled people?

Today I was told there is another travel service out for disabled people. Of course I was curious and interested. It is not a question of competition as I am not so profit minded – which might not say much for my entrepreneurial spirit – but for me, I think the more the merrier, its about time disabled people had more choice.

I am more orientated to offering an informational service, Connect Culture is not geared to taking commissions from hotels or restaurants. However this new service is a customised service  tailored to your exact needs. On the one hand,  it is commendable on its intentions but the way it is offered makes me groan because the focus is still on your ‘needs’, so medical model. This customised service boasts of experts who would sort it all out for you. I am glad they have found experts who can take on the world as a destination. So much for inclusive tourism. This company also offer you dream honeymoons. I ‘ ve been told that there is such a market – especially in places like Las Vegas or in this case in a tropical island by disabled people. I question whether the disabled person – yes the CEO is disabled- has actually sampled the delights he is offering. He is relying on his team of experts (where did he find them?) to get it right for his disabled customers. Yes he knows some of the barriers that disabled people faces when they travel but has he been a traveler? Has he been a consumer of holiday destinations? I suspect not. Is he not being just a broker then? Is that wrong per se?

Entrepreneurs need all sorts of management skills, including the ability to sustain interest, stamina to continue wanting and making a success. The process isn’t easy and its no different for a disabled entrepreneur and in actual fact, there are more barriers to jump over – and its not always nice. I should and do applaud disabled entrepreneurs but why just target disabled people and label it as such.   I am fastidious I  do not want segregation, holidays for disabled people. I want holidays for everybody, disabled or non disabled to be able to have the same holiday. Inclusive holidays – it means having the widened doors, the wet rooms, level access, deaf alarms, facilities for assistance dogs, good signage built seamlesslyinto the architecture/culture so that families, lovers, friends, couples can go on holiday together.

I know Scott Rains has worked tirelessly at getting the message of inclusive/universal design accross. I consider him evangelic in his zeal – in a good way.

he writes:

The concept of Inclusive Travel is itself traveling around the world. It is leaving an infrastructure that will allow the pleasure of world discovery to generations to come. It enables generations present to do so through all stages of their lifespan. That’s the vision of Universal Design applied to tourism — Inclusive Tourism.

I am left wondering if I am a ’snob’ in the sense that I have my eye on a vision and deny the fact that disabled people need their holidays to be located in ‘holidays for disabled people’. I, myself, seek to lessen the stress for other disabled people in the 3 cities I know and love, London, Paris and Strasbourg with Connect Culture. I would not promise I can provide information on access in places I am not familiar with. (Actually if anyone wants to have a honeymoon or wedding in Las Vegas I can deliver because I have done my research there or go to Disneyland – these places have access built into them because of the good customer service in US and the ADA and I have just found the perfectly accessible hotel in Blackpool.)

What I am trying to articulate is that having a holiday means being in a different environment, culture and being able to sample, meander and get lost in a new sense. It shouldnt be focused just on your access needs – I agree that we can’t get away from our access needs but can we not segregate ourselves? I try to tell people I also help families (as I have done) and solo women travelers. The research I have done leads me gain knowledge of other information not just access – for eg. vegetarian, halal restaurants.

I look to the day when disabled people can go into any holiday booking office and book their holidays. I was extremely frustrated today because I went to book my flight and hotel with the Coop Travel Agency. I bank with the Co op and they have a card which would give me points if I use the travel agency. I did my own research for Valencia – I found out which hotel was accessible and told them which I wanted. I also said I wanted a wheelchair accessible room. To my chagrin, after I had paid, the agent now tells me the wheelchair access room is not guaranteed. Now in an inclusive world the agent should not need me to tell her that it is essential for me to have that, it would be part of her training to check that. In fact I would say it should be common sense!

accessible hotel rooms?

These past two weeks I have been to 2 different cities and stayed at 2 hotels, both these hotels are from hotel chains: the Radisson SAS, Leeds and City Hotel, Manchester.

I asked for wheelchair accessible rooms both times and got one both times – however neither of them had showers/ wet tooms that I could use. And the Radisson had quite a double bed that I could not really park my wheelchair beside the bed.

Double bed with little space on either side

and the bathroom had a shower with a ledge and glass doors which virtually made it unusable for an independent traveler because you cannot park the wheelchair to transfer to the shower seat.

boxed in shower with doors

universal adapter

The staff was quite helpful but they were not very knowledgeable. I had a dual voltage charger and stupidly left the adaptor behind and they did not seem to be able to cope with adapters other than the EU ones. Somehow in a reasonably cosmopolitan city like Leeds, is it too much to expect an universal adaptor? One of the staff actually scoured the city centre for one but could not procure one. Am I unreasonable to think they should be able to provide an adapter.

My room in Manchester was nice and spacious. The door to the room was incredibly stiff.

Spacious room

I was really surprised by the design of the bathroom. The shower was a level access shower which would be perfect had there not been a glass screen which meant that the space was restricted and transfer could be hazardous.

shower with glass screen

The sink, although it was not a pedestal sink was set so low that a wheelchair user could not use it comfortably especially with a towel rail in the way. The shelf for toiletries was more than an arms length away making it really annoying when it came to teeth brushing.

badly designed sink

I find it puzzling and wonder who they consulted in designing these so called accessible rooms. They could be so obvious to wheelchair users had they asked some of us. These are not just adapted rooms. My fellow  wheelchair traveler preferred to have a bath – he has good upper body strength and can transfer well and he did get one of those adapted rooms. But I do think it is such a waste to have these details wrong because they rendered the wet room un usable for those guests’ access needs. The wet room was made to cater for those access needs – a bit more attention to detail would have served those needs better.

In Leeds for Projecting into the Future, charger problems and access search

I went to Jo Verrent’s Projecting into the Future: Representation & Interpretation of Disability in the Visual Artst last Friday – yes I am slow again but I needed to recover from the whole experience and then prepare to go to Manchester for the Equality 2025 Public Meeting. One thing that I have to get used to is to learn to conserve my energy when I take jaunts on the train…its getting harder and harder for me to bounce back.. I went because I wanted to experience some Disability art, to see the Light Night and Simon McKeown’s Motion Disabled. And to meet up with some friends – Peter and Carol from the days when I used to live in Chapeltown.

Anyway, according to Paul Darke’s blog on the event, I’ve missed quite a bit! I miscalcalculated the time I needed to get there and then the train was delayed. I was not a happy bunny having missed lunch and then found myself waiting on a drafty platform in Birmingham waiting for the train. I was there to hear some of the artists express themselves about their art and thier motivations. I felt somewhat deflated by the fact that it was not a numerous nor as diverse as I would expect from a city like Leeds. I understand that art is very personal and certainly people use art for all sorts apart from creating something out of personal experience. One of the presenters reminded me of classes for art therapy – her talk was peppered by remarks that she found beauty in the art of these disabled people pursuing art as part of community art and how they were happy to be there. There seems to be a lack of what I consider to be an awareness of disability culture but hey, what do I know?

Later that evening was Leeds City council’s Light Night where we would go as a group to see Simon’s work projected onto to the side of Leeds City Technology College Building. However I nearly missed it…

I went to the Radisson to check in and found that I could not really access the shower inspite  of being allocated the accessible room with the roll in shower.

Never mind and then I found that while I brought my wheelchair charger, I had not replaced the adaptor on it since Strasbourg and a conversation with the hotel made it clear to me that I would not be able to go very far if I want to make it home the next day.The staff at the hotel was very accomodating and offered to go out and buy me the correct US adaptor because they did not have adaptors other than European ones. (my charger is a compact dual voltage charger)

This is always the bugbear as a disabled traveller – to remember to charge and bring the charger! and all the associated paraphernalia! So I missed  the reception (at Carriageworks, Millenium Sq)  by being at the hotel and when I did get there, the group had already set off and I didn’t know where they had gone.

So this intrepid wheelchair traveler went looking for some food. I saw the Spice Quarter Buffet in Millenium Sq I fancied that so I meandered there only to be frustrasted by not finding the access to get upstairs – no signage. Someone told me to gain access from the lift in Carriageworks but when I got to the basement I was still baffled at how to get upstairs..finally I asked someone at the bar and he asked me to wait while he clear the lift and path leading to it. It took him at lest 20 mins and when I did get up there, I was dismayed by the question if I had booked because the restaurant was full! They offered a table apart from the restaurant – I suspect it is a waiting space – and was given waiter service, the food was scrumptious!

Replete and happy, I was wandering in the Square looking at various exhibits when I saw Jo waving at me and she showed me where Simon’s work was – not far away and went with some of the others to have tea at the tea caravan ( 2 ladies from Chapel Allerton) and then to stronger drinks back at the hotel.

All in all it was a good day and slept till midday the next day to have lunch with Carol and Peter at Red Chili – a lovely Chinese restaurant within a stone’s throw away and caught an earlier train home because my meetings with 2 others did not materialise.

Access in London cafes

There are cafes galore in London. Some serve better coffee than others and some serve more than coffee and most pubs now will also serve coffees. However not all of them are accessible.

Here I would like to introduce the Roundhouse Cafe The Roundhouse has been singled out as a case study for an accessible makeover – if I can call it that, by the RIBA no less (Royal Institute of British Architects). See the video on youtube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZSJafFwIr0&feature=related And right now there is also the installation on by David Bryne: Playing the building.

However, on the other side a bit further on from Camden, in Southampton Row, I couldn’t get in to a branch of a big chain, Costa Coffee. There was one big step but there was a lovely buzzer with a wheelchair sign on but they had no ramp after doing the buzzer. My friends got in and asked for access for me (and was told that there was no access) and reported  about the nice accessible toilet inside! I am still miffed – here is a photo of me at the door   – no admission for wheelchair users.

no admittance photo by J Bowen

DBA Inclusive Design Challenge 2009

I went to the DBA Inclusive Design Challenge 2009 (from the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Centre) on impulse.

DBA Inclusive Design Challenge

The DBA Inclusive Design Challenge – innovation through inclusive design – is an annual design competition with a difference. It illustrates the key role design can play in enhancing the quality of life for older and disabled people and all of us.

A collaboration between the Design Business Association (DBA) and the Helen Hamlyn Centre, it was launched in 2000 as a creative response to the poor level of design endemic to the disability aids and equipment sector.
How does it work?

DBA member consultancies from all design disciplines are invited to respond to a design challenge: to create a mainstream product, service, environment or communication, which can be enjoyed equally by consumers of all abilities.

The shortlisted teams work with the centre, disabled users and other experts to ensure that all aspects of inclusivity are considered. The centre mentors the teams throughout the design process.

The aim is to develop innovative scenarios for a new generation of inclusive products, services, environments and communications – ones that meet the needs of the widest range of consumers. In short, inclusive design at the cutting edge of innovation.

I wonder if this is a good difference with the innovation challenge (see below) on Monday might. I did not really know what I was to expect but there was a short speech from Dominic Campbell on behalf of Denise Stephens for Enabled by Design. and the user’s forum.

It is good to have the awards – I like the sound of the cushion which was the winning entry – and this engaged with users. I have mixed feelings, I think I thought I would see entries from disabled designers or at least co-designing. Are there no disabled designers? I met a few of the people from the user’s forum and I was asked if I would like to be in one next time round. I think I want to be part of a design team!

One great note is that I got the number 10 bus to and fro without problems – good to know for future excursions to the Royal Albert Hall.

when should ‘inclusive design’ be included in discussion about innovation

I went to a discussion on Beyond the Crisis: Debating the role of Innovation at the Hub Kings Cross with mostly designers in the group. I found it very interesting, if not for anything else, for the comparison and difference from the other discussions that I am currently attending – mostly on diversity and equality and disability and gender. (The last two conferences/workshops were on pan equalities and discussion on diversity in the civil service). Are they two completely different worlds or do they cross over?

How did we get into our present crisis, how far is government responsible, can innovation get us out of our crisis? these were the questions. And when I piped up to say they should’nt forget to be inclusive when seeking innovative solutions – that there are human rights and equalities at stake/in the equation too – it felt like I am singing off key in a choir. Actually it is the government stance on equalities, for me to be seen to be at odds with this discussion on innovation – is it like adding albatrosses round a sailor’s neck by asking people to remember inclusive design principles. These regulations and obligations are strangling innovation? Innovation is about new ideas – would that not be holding back the bright and beautiful? I do not know. There are strong arguments that the government is not doing enough to ensure against discrimination. But designers have their repercussions on the wider public, just as bankers had their flights of buying and we are paying for the consequences now maybe my little reminder isn’t so unrelated.

With Connect Culture I hope to build a bridge between the different cultures – which includes the different players in our world. In my world which engages mostly on equality (disability and gender especially) and human rights issues, it is a very much the awareness of the need to bridge the digital divide and looking out of the given box. I am conscious for example, that the printing revolution had this benefit to women as one of its results – the proliferation of women voices in the 18th century such as Wollstonecraft’s (leading to suffragettes movement), the internet also allowed a freedom to everybody including women and disabled people the tools to learn, communicate and to have a voice and the mobile phone, to organise groundswell demonstrations as well as fast communication(such as seen in China and other places). However wouldn’t it be a shame if a great portion of the community (such as disabled people for example) cannot have access to the tools that everybody else takes for granted…. And leaving out a significant portion of the community has its own economic and social cost.

Its getting very late here, …time to give it a rest.

New separate blog for apartment adaptation, a couple of bouquets

I ve decided to set a different blog for 52 Beauchamp House adaptations To adapt an apartment. I want to concentrate on the travel access and advice here.

Today I was chuffed by the fact that The Hub Kings Cross asked me to be part of a booklet:

We admire you and your project and we’d like to include a little profile about you in a small book celebrating a diverse collection of Hub Members.

This book is being used to engage strategic partners and the media in way that we hope can serve both you, your project and the Hub. Would you be happy for us to include you in the book?

In my usual self deprecading mode I said, ‘moi’? But I have starting getting coaching to get me out of that type of reaction so I wrote back and said ’sure’!(Well a part of me still think that they probably ask all their members) The Hub Kings Cross is where I’ve taken membership to have somewhere to work and meet people when I am working in London. Its very convenient and many events take place there – today I had an invitation from Nico Macdonald (Innovation Forum) for a workshop Beyond the Crisis “Debating the role of innovation”. I met Nico some years back when I was co editing for uiGarden, the bilingual webzine on user centred design lead by Chritina Li. Some very serious questions are posed and I shall have to consider a response over the weekend.

It was also heart warming to get a recommendation in Linked In from Randolph Bias whom I’ve restarted sporadic messages through Facebook . He made me laugh when he wrote:

“Eleanor Lisney picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been. No, wait — that’s a different Eleanor. THIS Eleanor, in stark contrast, is a professional of the highest quality, with a skill set topped only by her dedication to her cause — equal access for all (to information resources, to physical spaces, etc.). I had the pleasure of having Eleanor as a student in my classes as she pursued her master’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin. Always a delight and with a generous disposition — inclined to esteem the views of others as she presented her own well-thought-out views — Eleanor stood out in the enthusiasm and sincerity with which she pursued her studies. In my usability class she quickly grasped the importance of a user-centered design approach, and now has “usability engineering” (of web sites and other information resources, as well as physical devices and spaces) in her burgeoning tool box. Seek her out — you’ll be glad that Eleanor is in your circle, and that you’re in hers”

It is not visible as yet because there was a typo in it and we have to correct it first. But I remember loving Randolph’s classes and “usability engineering”, it was the start of a whole new discovery of user centred design and information architecture. It wouldn’t be too far to claim it lead me to inclusive design.

Finding the right adapt for a kitchen

This morning I got up early (for a Sunday morning) to go to a seminar given on Kitchens at IKEA - according to the invitation e-mail, it said:
The seminars include a presentation and a tour of our roomsets with our interior designers, and planning advice from our kitchen specialists and kitchen installers – with a free breakfast – so I went.

Kitchen seminar at Ikea

It was quite helpful especially when there was a demo on how to use the online planner the common mistakes and what to look out for. I also managed to have a chat with the fitter and to cut the story short, hes coming tomorrow to help me plan it. He has a few suggestions that has not occurred to me before . I am looking forward to our discussion.

Tomorrow I am actually getting more quotes – one for the wet room by a specialist and the other for doing the kitchem

Watch this space!

King’s Cross, St Pancras and a Travelodge

I had a meeting in London and another in Leicester the next day so I thought I would stay overnight instead of having 2 early starts and being overstretched energy wise. My meetings went well on Thursday and Greg Cowan of Architects without Borders who lives nearby popped in with Denise Stevens of Enabled by Design for an update on my apartment adaptation update. Denise is interested because her website is to provide support for those who aim to bring together modern design with assistive devices and Greg because he is interested in accessibility from an architectural perspective.

It is funny how hotel rooms can vary even if they are a chain. This Travelodge is obviously older and the adapts are not as good as those which were in the design from the onset-as is the case in Euston Travelodge. This hotel has several levels and uses a platform lift to negotiate between them which is far from ideal.

However this hotel does not have a roll in shower either and they only have a bath. The room was spacious enough however I couldn’t get to the window to draw back the curtains. The staff came up amost immeadiately and was very helpful.

I went back to have a cup of tea at Greg’s apartment and met his lovely wife, Claire, and went back, stopping to pick up a takeaway for me. The restaurantas around that area cannot be said to be too wheelchair friendly and I only found a kebab place. And it had started to rain!

The next morning  I struggled off to St Pancras – I missed the train I meant to go on because the station itself is confusing in its signage.  I questioned myself if I should have factored in an extra half hour on top of the half hour that I have to give as a disabled passenger needing assistance.

Kings Cross Travelodge