The Heritage Hotel is located smack-bang in the middle of Christchurch City, and is one of the most accessible hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in. For details, pictures, and my overall impressions, keep reading!

One of the great things about paying a bit more for accommodation is that ‘little bit extra’ when it comes to customer service. For example, once we’d checked in, our bags were taken up to our room without even having to ask, making the whole process much easier!

First impression of the Heritage Hotel? The accessible/’disabled’ room is massive. Seriously, I’ve never stayed in a hotel room this big. It’s more on par with what I’d expect from a suite-style room, than your standard hotel bedroom. Which makes it fantastic for manoeuvring a bulky power wheelchair around in! The picture on the right is illustrative of the size of the room, but you really need to experience it for yourself.

I found all the light switches to be at a reasonable height, and could even adjust the thermostat without any problem. The room’s door handle is one of those pull-down lever styles, and whilst it was manageable, the door itself is very heavy, with its pullback lever carrying quite a bit of force. That resulted in a few scrapes along the door, which I apologise to the hotel for, but were somewhat unavoidable when you’re dealing with a door that pulls so much weight!

Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? We all know a good accessible bathroom is the key to an enjoyable stay for someone with limited mobility. In my opinion, Christchurch’s Heritage Hotel passes the test – but only just. Allow me to explain.

As you can see, the sink area is suitable. My legs managed to squeeze under the wooden bench, and could brush my teeth and check myself out in the mirror (it’s important, okay?!) without much hassle. The towel rails/hangers are all at a good height. The Heritage Hotel has a voluntary towel replacement towel problem which is quite cool, so you can save them some washing – and the environment from some unnecessary suds – if you wish to do so.

The toilet was fairly standard, with a solid L-shaped rail on the right-hand side, my only minor gripe being the aesthetically pleasant but somewhat impractical little flush buttons on the top of the loo, I’m a much bigger fan of those flush mechanisms with big, solid buttons or switches. My cerebral palsy generally means that dexterity isn’t really my strong point!

Now – on to the wet area shower. This is the only place where the Heritage Hotel really slips up. Things start off well: the flooring is nice and solid – not at all slippery, even when wet. The shower area itself has a tiny, gradual lip on the edge to prevent the shower from flooding the bathroom. It’s useful, and not prohibitive in the slightest – my wheelchair just rolled over the top of it. The shower chair is in fact a fold-out plinth, which is hinged to the wall, and folds down easily and gradually. I then transferred onto it, pushed my wheelchair away, pulled the shower curtain around, and reached for the faucet controls – oh, what? I couldn’t reach them, they were too far away! That’s right – the faucet controls, rather than being at right-angles to the shower bench, were on the opposite wall of the shower, and too far away for me to reach once seated! Click on the picture to see what I mean.

I should say here that due to the fact I have cerebral palsy, my arm length is shorter than some, but I still maintain that most people would have trouble reaching the faucet controls once seated on the bench, without risking their personal safety.

Moving right along, the room also has a desk at a fantastic height for a wheelchair user, as well as a television, minibar, and big closet, all of which are at suitable heights for travellers to Christchurch with mobility impairments. The Heritage Hotel also features a pool and sauna complex, neither of which are accessible without assistance. It’s also worth pointing out that the wheelchair-accessible portion of the accommodation is located in the Heritage’s new building, and many of the other amenities (e.g. pool, restaurant, bar) are located in the old building, which require a trip outside and across a walkway. Not ideal, but worth keeping in mind if you’re planning on going for a swim when it’s snowing outside!

THE LOWDOWN

The good:

• Great staff and service
• Enormous room in fantastic condition
• Massive bathroom, mostly accessible
• Great location, right in the centre of town, and great views from your room!
• Light switches, television, thermostat all reachable by wheelchair users

The bad:

• Very heavy door to enter the room
• Shower’s faucet controls unable to be reached when sitting on designated shower seat

Overall accessibility rating: 4 / 5