Accessible Lodging


Why does finding accessible lodging need to be such a challenge? Hotel stays for me have been really hit or miss since my injury. Either the rooms are perfect or are an absolute nightmare. Most stays are somewhere in the middle.


Thick carpet feels like quick sand for my front wheels. It’s exhausting to maneuver even a few feet when it feels like the floor is trying to pull me down.


Transferring to & from the bed is a completely separate issue. Most hotels, cabins, motels etc. have beds with frames that go all the way to floor. These bed frames prevent my lift from getting me safely over the bed to drop me in. And if I wasn’t going to use my portable lift and transfer instead with a slide board, most hotel beds are taller than my wheelchair, meaning a sketchy uphill transfer.

 
The “tried and true” 2-man transfer works most times with friends and family but obviously not when it’s just Kass & I. Plus who wants to rely on other people to get you in and out? Don’t get me wrong, we always make it work but it seems like something as simple as making space under the bed and having a free patient lift for use at the front desk would make hotel stays so much more wheelchair friendly… 
Just another reason why traveling with a spinal cord injury is difficult.


Few things are as deflating as having to get a hotel room with a pull out mattress just in case the king sized bed doesn’t have space underneath it. Honestly, not sure why this isn’t the standard with beds already. Seems straightforward enough…


I just spent the weekend at a huge house in Rhode Island with all sorts of great accessible amenities which prompted this repost. The bed there was amazing for me and my fiancée simply for the fact that there was space!
God Bless!


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