Lodging

Reflection of the Empress Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver

Accessible is an ambiguous term when it comes to lodging. To name one of many bad experiences, I booked a hotel room that purported to be accessible. Indeed, the front desk clerk confirmed the hotel could meet my needs. At that time I used a scooter as a mobility aid for longer distances. I could walk approximately 25 meters with the wind at my back on level ground. I was able to use a shower with a grab bar. I required *2 by our guest service standard (see guest service page for full key) which entails wheelchair access and at least one amenity with the expectation of barriers.

*2

Upon arrival at the hotel I was horrified to find a set of stairs and no sign of a ramp. I phoned the front desk and was told I would need to accessthe hotel through the parking garage. The parking garage was behind the hotel and down what turned out to be an unlit alley. There was no pedestrian walkway into the underground parking, no way finding for pedestrians to locate the elevator, a heavy and hard to manage door to access the elevator upon completion of the garage maze, and elevator buttons that were too high to reach from a sitting position. The room was very small and the grab bars were useless due to improper positioning. This hardly meets our *1 guide standard for safe wheelchair access. I understand that my frequent experiences of such inaccessibilty are shared by my fellow PWDs. Although things are improving, the term accessible is still being used irresponsibly by many establishments.

Although there's no place like home, you can rest assured that Access Eco BC will provide accurate descriptions of Metro Vancouver's accessible lodgings. Be part of the evolution of this page by commenting on the places listed and suggesting other suitable places to stay in the area.

Holiday Inn North Vancouver  hinorthvancouver.com  

This place was accommodating and very accessible. The pool and jacuzzi had stair and rail entrance which would be good for people with some mobility. Elevators were auditory and the rooms were large, with a choice of roll-in or shower chair suites. I rate the rooms *4, but when considering hotel grounds, attached pub, restaurant and other amenities it scores:

*3

The Pan Pacific Hotel  http://www.panpacific.com/

The grounds with Canada Place nearby and the hotel amenities for dining or drinking would rate a *3, but lack of accessible rooms and poor design of the ones retrofitted with still many barriers adds up to a score of only:

1.5*

The Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel  http://www.fairmontvancouverairport.com/

The airport grounds and hotel are state of the art when it comes to accessibility. Rooms for PWDs are plentiful and come with options of roll in showers or shower/tub with bath bench. There are many other amenities such as raised toilet seats, flashing alerts and more. Call ahead equipment can be arranged.
Public areas are mainly accommodating.

3.5*