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If you’ve read this post detailing the inaccessible room at Wellington’s Central City Hotel, you’ll know I had several bones to pick with the “accessible” setup of that particular room. From the miniscule shower ‘ledge’, to the bizarre toilet handrail, to the fact that I couldn’t fit my wheelchair between the bed and the wall, it’s fair to say I wasn’t impressed. So as I often do, I sent a copy of the review off to the management, with not much hope of a reply.
However to my pleasant surprise, I got a very encouraging email back from the Sales Director of Prime Hotels, the company which runs both that hotel and another in central Wellington. Amongst other things, she said:
Constructive criticism and reviews are very important to ensure we improve our services and facilities.
Our General Manager and myself are new to Prime Hotels and we need to hear feedback such as this, infact, very timely. We are currently under refurbishment at Central City and the disabled room is now being discussed.
She then invited me to discuss ideas for improvement with their General Manager, which I hope to do in the next few days. I also plan on putting them in touch with a Barrier Free Advisor in the Wellington area, so they are able to consult someone more familiar with the building code than I.
But all in all, I’m delighted with the response from Central City Hotel and I believe it is to their utmost credit that they’re taking a proactive approach to making their accommodation more user-friendly for disabled travelers!
5 responses so far ↓
1 Rachel // Jan 31, 2008 at 8:34 am
That’s fantastic Red and I venture to say that anything they do now HAS to be an improvement on what they currently have!
2 Peter Dolamore // Jan 31, 2008 at 11:16 am
Congratulations to Prime Hotels management for responding to you and giving you an undertaking to make sure the accessible facilities are done correctly in the refurbishment.
They should get good advice from a BFA as to what is required.
Well done all round
3 Troy // Feb 1, 2008 at 8:12 am
Glad you had an ace time in welly too bro, was choice seeing ya
4 Tim // Feb 1, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Well done Prime Hotels. Lets hope we will see more Hotels following your positive lead.
5 Ron // Feb 1, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Well done - they are listening. That of itself is an achievement on your part, Red. I recall the problems a friend of mine encountered at one of our universities when he approached the VC about various aids. The VC claimed, for example, there were no blind people on campus (one lecturer walked about with the aid of a seeing-eye dog), and that electronic door openers were not required, asking, “Who uses a wheelchair here?” It was interesting to see the reaction of the dozen or so in wheelchairs. Thankfully things are improving because of people who are not afraid to speak out! Go for it Red.
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