Belvedere Hotel, Woody Point

Baby change area

I had a very pleasant lunch at the Belvedere Hotel, Woody Point last week.  Then I used their disabled toilet.  I opened the door by pushing it as hard as I could only to find myself in a confined space where I faced a baby change table immediately in front of me and another door to the left of me.  I then pushed the second

There is a blue chair on the right

door open which was a bit awkward and I was then able to lock that door.  There was one of those large toilet paper containers right above the handrail and was in the way while I manoeuvred to sit on the toilet and again when I stood, holding on to the rail while pulling my pants up.  There was a chair in the toilet where I could put my handbag (a plus).  When I'd finished, I reversed the procedure to get out where I then had to pull the heavy outer door open after entering the baby change area.  It occurred to me it would be difficult for a person changing a nappy to have someone push the outer door in on them.  Perhaps I should be giving these toilets a rating. Okay, I will. 31/2/5

Pull this heavy door to exit

 

Mon Komo, Redcliffe

Lovely view from my room

Lounge space, moved coffee table

I spent last weekend by myself on the fourth floor of the Mon Komo Hotel at Redcliffe.  Fortunately, it was quite well set up for disabled access but it is a huge thing for me to be staying somewhere by myself for the first time since my injury. I have stayed in a number of places with my husband that weren't really suitable for me to be on my own.  My sister who travelled with us to Italy last year so understood my requirements, checked out the disabled access room at Mon Komo and told me I should be able to manage it.  My husband dropped me off there (he was going interstate).  The door to the apartment was very heavy for me.  My husband helped me settle in - move the coffee table that was in the middle of the lounge area, put two of the dining chairs out of the way, and took down some crockery from the cupboards above the stove (too high for me to reach), adjust the position of the shower head so I could reach it.  I thought disaster loomed as we had forgotten my bed-pole, though fortunately I managed without it (because I had to).  The bedroom was at one end of the apartment

and the bathroom at the other - prefer an en

suite arrangement.  The bathroom toilet had a rail on the wall beside it (no drop-down rail on the other side).  The shower had a drop-down shower seat to which I transferred from my wheelchair.  I tried to be very careful with the shower water so it didn't spread too far in to the room.  There

Crockery out of my reach

was a drain in the shower space, but it still left the floor wet.  Curiously, there were no rails for the towels.  Anyway, it worked for me though an arrangement like the one at the Stradbroke Hotel would improve it.  I was unable to go out on to the
balcony because of the tracks of the sliding doors and a small dip down.  There will be other wheelies for whom this would not be a problem.  Overall, I was very satisfied with my accommodation and I'm happy that I was able to manage on my own.

State Library of Queensland

The State Library of Queensland has a very satisfactory disabled public toilet.  There is lots of room, there is somewhere to put your stuff.  I don't like that it is shared with babies getting changed.  The liquid soap container is above the floor rather than the sink.  It has an "open sesame" door which can then be locked.

 

North Stradbroke Island Hotel

We spent the weekend at the North Stradbroke Island Hotel.  As always, when I book a "disabled" room I am a little apprehensive as to whether the room will be suitable.  So many hotels claim to have a "disabled" room which turns out to be anything but.  In this case we were very pleasantly surprised.  The lift to the room also goes to the hotel's bistro and bar.  The room itself is very roomy for a wheelie - and the bathroom!!  There is a rail on the side of the toilet which was adequate for me (I do prefer to have the dropdown rail on the other side).  The basin and mirror is easy to use.  Even the hairdryer is low enough for a wheelie.  Then there's the shower. 

There is a very generous dropdown shower seat with the shower tap and shower head within easy reach.  The shower curtain goes all around and reaches the floor.  There is a very small raised strip in a square around the shower area with a large drain in the corner, so the shower water is channeled into the drain.  There is still some "pooling" within the square, but is easily mopped up with towels.  It was easy to wheel to the shower chair and transfer and then back again to the chair with a towel covering the seat.  It would be good if all "disabled" showers met this high standard.  Unfortunately, the room was let down by the inaccessible balcony which had a "lip" then a small drop.  But, hey, there was no view there anyway.  The bistro had a ramp if you wanted to go down to the next level.  The staff were very helpful and friendly. So the hotel was very well set up for wheelie guests.

Malpensa, Italy

We stayed at the Sheraton which was next to the Airport that services Milan.  There were problems with the bathroom.  The pull down rail beside the toilet was broken and two men came to “fix it”, only taking a couple of minutes, so of course it wasn’t really fixed.  It was only for one night so I just used my portaloo over the toilet.  We had to ask for a chair for the shower, which was wheel-in but with one small rail.  

Venice, Italy

We stayed at Liassidi Palace hotel.  Getting to the hotel was the main problem as we'd used Vaporetto (water bus) which stopped three bridges short of our destination.  That problem was eventually overcome and we found our delightful hidden away hotel which had its own jetty.  When we finished our stay we returned to the Tronchetto by a disabled access water taxi, which was the more sensible option.  At the hotel, a shower chair was provided for the shower, but there were no rails.  I could wheel to the shower, but the shower doors proved difficult.  The shower wasn’t big enough to fit me and close the doors properly, because I was sitting on the shower chair.  The toilet had a floor to ceiling vertical pole, but no side rail.  It took a lot of effort to transfer from the chair to the pole and swing my body around.  So not ideal, but we managed.

 

Florence, Italy

We stayed at the Hotel Pierre very close to the Duomo, so very central to everything.  The shower and toilet arrangement here were not ideal.  I had to use my “portaloo” over the toilet as there was only a small horizontal rail on the wall.  The shower was difficult to access because the shower doors did not allow enough space to get in comfortably.  There was a small flip down seat against the wall.  There were no rails.

Road to Florence, Italy

On the highways in Italy (that you pay a toll to use), there are many "petrol stations" along the way.  These are very elaborate facilities that sell more than petrol.  They have mini-supermarkets and cafes where you can stop for refreshments.  They also have good disabled toilets.  At this place, I  they had this high vertical pole, which was perfect for me.  It also had the drop-down side rail.  Unfortunately, it had the "regulation" toilet seat, which was very uncomfortable for me.

Como, Italy

Our bathroom facilities in the Albergo Terminus Hotel were not adequate for me.  I could wheel in to the shower but it was difficult to get on the small seat in the corner, attached to the wall.  The toilet had a small horizontal rail on the side and a long rail behind the toilet.  I struggled to use the shower in our room in the morning so my sister, Sharney, spoke to the person on reception and they provided a plastic chair to use next time, which made it much easier. The mirror was too high for someone in a wheel chair and also I could not reach the hair dryer.

 

Ivrea, Italy

We stayed at the Hotel La Villa which was booked by the wife of one of the rowers my husband, Terry, coaches.  It was ideal for our situation.  My sister, Sharney’s room was next to ours.  She had her own en suite and our room had its own en suite.  There was a disabled bathroom between our bedrooms, so that was exclusively mine and with access from both bedrooms, Sharney was able to easily help when needed.  The toilet was unusual as it had the front of the seat was taken out leaving a significant gap in the middle.   As my adductors are very tight, I found this arrangement very uncomfortable as a leg would fall in to the gap.  I asked the proprietor if I could have a normal seat to cover up the gap and she told me “that is the law in Italy for disabled toilets”.  (We rarely saw this type of toilet for the rest of our Italian holiday).  So I ended up using my “portaloo” over the toilet which worked a little better for me.  The shower seat was against the wall and the rail and shower were also against the wall.  As I sat on the seat I was unable to see behind me.   So for showers I needed assistance.

"Disabled toilet from hell"!

I'll start with my most notable experience which was in Venice last August. This was where we encountered “the disabled toilet from hell”.  During our sightseeing I, of course, needed to use disabled toilets a number of times and they were all easy to use and access.  However, in this case the complete opposite happened.   As is the case at many other places, the disabled toilet was away from the “normal” toilets.  My husband, Terry, enquired with the female attendant and asked for the entry to the locked disabled toilet.  She unlocked the toilet with some difficulty and we entered and found there was no room as there was a large baby change table in the way.  My sister, Sharney, removed the table and waited with it outside while Terry and I entered the toilet.

About a minute later the lights went out.  Fortunately there was a gap in the door which allowed enough light for me to use the toilet.  When we’d finished, we pressed the large red button to open the door, but it didn't open.  Terry tried pulling the door open without success.  We yelled to Sharney that we were trapped.  She was standing outside with the change table with people looking at her like she was trying to sell it.  She got the attendant who physically struggled to get the door open long enough for us to escape and for Sharney to return the change table.  The attendant was very apologetic.  Apparently she hadn’t had anyone ask to use it before.  I wonder what would have happened to a disabled person who was on their own using that toilet, presuming they got in.  Awful, but funny experience to look back on.

Engen, Germany

The first stage of our visit to Europe was to see our cousins who live in Engen in southern Germany.  We were unable to stay at their house because it is a high set house and the bathroom is on the second floor.  My cousins fortunately found a motel, Rasthaus im Hegau, only a couple of minutes away which had a disabled access room.  It suited my needs very well.  The motel provided a shower chair when we arrived. It has a wheel-in shower and rails on either side of the toilet.

Singapore

The first picture shows the disabled toilet at Singapore Airport.  There are lots of rails, easy to use.  But nowhere to put your handbag which my carer carried for me.

Pictures 2 and 3 show a very impressive decor in a disabled toilet at the ground floor of Tower 3 in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  I opened the door and said "Wow!"  This is a luxury hotel and of course, you'd probably expect to see a beautiful looking public toilet.  There was a  cleaner constantly on duty and he was surprised when he saw me taking a photo with the door open.  I told him it was because it was the most beautiful public toilet I'd ever seen.  And it works in a practical sense as well.  It has good rails, and it has a hook to hang your handbag behind the door, but as we pointed out to the cleaner, I couldn't reach it.  He said he was new there and would speak to his supervisor and went in to clean after we'd left.

Pictures 4 and 5 show the toilet and shower in our room at the Oasia Hotel.  It has good rails and wheel-in shower.

The Perfect Disabled Toilet

So what is for me the "perfect" disabled toilet?

1.  A button to press to "open sesame" the toilet door.
2.  The toilet can be easily locked.
3.  The toilet is clean.
4.  There is a table, bench, somewhere!! to put your handbag, briefcase etc. other than on the floor.
5.  There is a wall rail which is horizantal then curves up at either 45 or 90 degrees.
6.  There is a drop down rail on the non-wall side of the toilet.
7.  The toilet paper holder is not obstructing you when you stand to pull up your pants.
8.  The sink, liquid soap dispenser and paper towels or hand dryer are close together.
9.  The mirror is low enough for you to check your appearance and make appropriate adjustments.
10.A button will "open sesame" the toilet door to allow you to exit.

If I've missed something, I'll come back and amend it.

Just remembered -

11.  Not sharing with baby changing.

Disabled Public Toilets I Have Known

In 2008 I gradually lost my mobility over several months due to the myelin sheath on my spinal cord being attacked by "something".  It may have been a virus or a bacteria.  There were different medical opinions but the one that seems closest to my condition is Transverse Myelitis.  This has left me a T7 incomplete paraplegic unlikely to walk unassisted again.  This condition introduced me to a whole new world - the world of the disabled and the obstacles that are often put in our way.  However, I am very grateful to be living at this time in this country with the support and love of all those around me.  I have a number of interests and last year I ventured back to Europe for the first time since this happened to me.  So I have a very good life generally.  

As a wheelchair user, I now have to use disabled public toilets when out and about.  I am fortunate with my condition that my bladder and bowel function is probably about 90% normal and I don't need to use a catheter.  I can stand transfer from my chair to the toilet seat.  So I am fortunate in that regard.  All of us are different and therefore have different requirements when it comes to using disabled public toilets, so I will of course be writing from my personal perspective.  A few years ago, I began taking photos of the disabled public toilets I've encountered and then wondered what to do with them.  Write an article perhaps?  There are so many varieties.  There is no consistency, despite a building standard.  Then after my trip to Europe last August, I wrote a Blog about that holiday.  I included in the posts some stories about the disabled facilities.  Then I thought, why not write a Blog about the disabled public toilets I've known.  So this is it.  Any comments or stories about your own experiences are very welcome.