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.