Carton House, Maynooth, Co. Kildare Ireland.  

tel. +353 (0) 1 5052000

 

http://www.cartonhouse.com/

These notes refer mainly to the wheelchair accessible aspects of this hotel. For comments on the hotel service and facilities see tripadvisor.

Carton House is a hotel, golf course and spa located in a fine example of a typical home of the old Irish landlord class. It is located about 30minutes from Dublin Airport and maybe 45 minutes from Dublin city center. Despite being built long before anyone thought of wheelchair access, the modernization of the hotel has produced a fine hotel with excellent access throughout. Wandering the grounds might present some challenges, but since I did not have time to explore I cannot really comment on that.

Entrance to the hotel lobby is through a modern entrance at the side of the original old house. Access is level through automatic doors. The lobby level, bar and restaurant are all on one level and easily accessible although the distances between them are great. The flooring is mostly hard cover with occasional sections of carpet – easy to traverse in any case. There is a dedicated large accessible toilet near reception.

My room was on the first floor of a modern extension to the old house and had a king bed. The lifts (elevators) are quite a way from the reception, but are large, and my room was very close to the lift.

The room itself was large (very large by Irish hotel standards) and easy to navigate. There is a large, comfortable workdesk and enough room between the desk and bed for my chair (680mm) to pass through with plenty to spare. Power sockets were easy to reach at desk height, as was the desk lamp. The bed was slightly below wheelchair cushion height so transferring was very easy. The bedside lights and room lights had switches by the bed. The air conditioning controls were easy to reach. The TV controls were left by the TV within easy reach. 

The closet had no door and was easy to reach and hang clothes on. All storage was accessible.

The bathroom was spacious with easy access to the toilet for a 90 degree or a parallel transfer. A folding handrail from the wall was well positioned. Sink was easy to use with plenty of knee room underneath. There was a roll in shower, with a small sturdy foldable shower seat on the wall. I found balancing on the shower seat a little precarious, but the handrails helped. The shower rose is fixed and protrudes from the wall above the seat giving plenty of coverage although it means there is no way of avoiding the couple of seconds of cold water that runs when you start the shower! The controls were easy to reach. Even at the hottest setting the water temperature was not dangerous although I did not notice any marking to suggest that it was temperature limited. All towels were left within easy reach.

 

I was attending a business event which utilized meeting rooms in the old house. All the rooms we used were on the ground floor, but I did notice on elevator running up the center of the old stairwell. All rooms we sued were fully accessible and there was an accessible (albeit poorly signposted) toilet nearby. The floors are the original floors and can present occasional hazards to a wheeler with broken stone slabs and so on. But I would not have them any other way – the character of the old house is great and the meeting rooms had a lovely old world, sophisticated feel to them.

The room really had nothing to fault it. Given that, and the excellent service and ambience of the hotel I would strongly recommend it for any wheelie seeking a country “feel” in a location not far from Dublin and Dublin airport. .

 

The Novotel Toulouse Centre Compans Caffarelli is convenient to the conference centre in Toulouse, and about a 20min wheel from Place Wilson in the centre. The hotel is set in pleasant surroundings with a nice urban park just behind it. These notes are intended to assist wheelchair users or handicapped travellers considering it as a place to stay while in Toulouse. I stayed here four years ago (see review here) and found it good, but I can no longer recommend it. The main change is to the bedroom.

The room was difficult to navigate. When I stayed here before, the gap between the end of the bed and the workdesk was a little tight, but I could reach all areas of the room with no great difficulty. However, now the gap between the bed and workdesk was much tighter – I estimate 600mm or less (24”) – and I was unable to pass through. This meant that half the room was inaccessible to me, including the workdesk, the power sockets, a chair and table, and the TV and TV remote control.  Apart from that the points made in the original review are still valid.  

Because of the difficulties navigating the room and getting in and out of the bath I would not recommend this hotel for wheelchair users travelling alone. Ambulant disabled, or wheelchair users with walkie companions would get by okay.

 

Novotel Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil

Avenida Dr. Nelson D'Ávila, 2200 Vila das Acácias, São José dos Campos - SP 12245-031

Phone:+55 (12) 4009-7826

http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-0472-novotel-sao-jose-dos-campos/index.shtml

These notes refer only to the wheelchair accessible aspects of this hotel. For other reviews see TripAdvisor.

There is a flat entrance to the hotel with automatic doors. There is level access throughout the lobby, bar and restaurant area, and accessible toilets off the lobby. Circulation in the public areas is excellent. Hardwood floors make wheeling very easy.

My room was a standard double bed wheelchair accessible room. The room was large enough – just! There was a very tight space between the bed and the edge of the minbar unit. Initially I couldn’t fit through, but by pushing the bed over be about 15cm (6”) I could get through comfortably. (My chair is 680mm – 28” – wide). The work desk is very narrow and has to be to accommodate a wheelchair between the desk and the end of the bed. Once past the bed there is adequate turning space. There is a sofa bed in the room also, but if it was pulled out and made up the room would be barely usable for a wheelchair. The bed is at a very comfortable height for transfers. There is no bedside locker or shelf which was a bit awkward.

The workdesk was at a good height, and although narrow it could accommodate my laptop comfortably. Power sockets were easy to reach. Light switches were at a comfortable height, and all room lights could be turned on or off while lying in the bed. The A/C was controlled by a remote control device which was left in easy reach beside the TV remote.

The closet had no door and had a clothes hang rail that could be pulled down to wheelchair height. While some storage was too high to reach there was adequate drawer and storage space down low.

The bathroom is large with plenty of turn space and has a very wide door sliding door.  There was ample knee room under sink. A large mirror gives a decent view of yourself and is tilted downward.  The toilet is easily accessible for a 90^o transfer. It is a standard toilet with a plastic fitting to raise it to a height suitable for ambulant disabled. Personally I find those very uncomfortable and difficult to work with, but your mileage may vary. Grab rails are well positioned and the towels are hung on the grab rails within easy reach.

The shower is one of the room’s better points. It is a roll-in shower with a sturdy fold down shower seat mounted to the wall suitable for a 90 degree left hand transfer. There is a hand held hose mounted on the wall in a fixed position, and a second rose in the middle of the ceiling which soaks you nicely when seated on the seat. Water controls were within easy reach. The water never got dangerously hot.

Although the room is a bit on the small side, I found the hotel from an access point of view and I would recommend this hotel for wheelchair users.