You may live in a disability friendly home but looking for a disability friendly hotel room that breaks with tradition may not be straightforward. To highlight the physical challenges faced by people with disabilities, an artist has designed a unique hotel room in Blackpool.
Christopher Samuel is himself physically disabled and uses a wheelchair. Having been faced with living in emergency accommodation in an unsuitable hotel room, Mr Samuel was keen to highlight some of the day to day problems that most people without disabilities may not even consider an issue.
He was unable to even access the hotel room that was his home for three months without complicated manoeuvring, because of the shortage of space inside the doorway. He couldn’t use the bed, so slept in his wheelchair and difficulty accessing the bathroom meant he had to use a bucket instead of the toilet and couldn’t shower.
He agrees that most people would find his hotel room’s design adaptations an amusing novelty to begin with but would soon realise the difficulties associated with living with them.
The room is one of 19 individually designed rooms at Blackpool’s rather beautiful Art B&B. Entitled “Welcome Inn”, it contains design modifications including a lip around the bed which must be climbed over to get into and out of bed. The bathroom door hits the toilet, so can’t close. Other adaptations made it difficult to use the bedside lamps or table, and an upside-down soap dispenser makes washing a challenge. Other rooms are available.
Mr Samuel’s previous installations include “Housing Crisis” in which his email conversations tackling the law concerning independent housing for disabled people are shown framed and heavily redacted.
If you’re buying a property that requires disability adaptation, make sure an independent RICS Chartered Surveyor provides you with a building survey to ensure that any requirements for alterations can be met.Â
Back to January 2020 Newsletter
© www.PropertySurveying.co.uk
SH/LCB