Blackpool3a

Last revised: February 04, 2008

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Blackpool tower

Birch's Apartment Hotel Blackpool

My stay at Birch's Hotel
By
Michael Coatesworth

My daughter Lesley asked me if I would like to go to the coast for a few days to Blackpool. Well after my previous visits there and my encounters with hotels that stated they were wheelchair friendly, and when I turned up, I found that they weren't. I was a little dubious about going, but I informed Lesley that I would go only if we first checked out that the hotel that we would be staying at was indeed wheelchair friendly. So after a few phone calls to different hotels, and being informed by the proprietors that there were no vacancies we rang “Birch's Palace,” a fairly large hotel on the sea front, and we were told that there were indeed vacancies. We were told that three of the ground floor one-bed apartments cater for the disabled, but not to nursing home standards.

Apparently a new owner has taken over and the hotel has been completely refurbished to a high standard. The rates were £20.00p GB ($30?) per night per person for the room.

This was good enough for me and I made a booking.

The sun was shining, and the sky was blue as we set off for the west coast. We stopped a couple of times on our journey for a Cuppa and something to eat, but in all the journey was straight forward and uneventful. Eventually we arrived at Blackpool and all of us were excited at seeing all the illuminations features different events from television to children's classics. The lights were due to be switched on, but we weren't sure when, and I felt sure that they would look grand at night.

We found our hotel with no problem at all, and it was exactly as the picture on the Internet stated. Okay so it wasn't the best hotel on the coast, but it stands in an unrivalled position right on the sea front promenade, with panoramic views of the sea and illuminations. There was a ramp to the side of the hotel, and after entering, we checked in at the reception desk, and we were shown to our room. I knew right away that the hotel was for an “assisted wheelchair user.” I could see that an independent wheelchair user would have problems with the bathroom as the shower had a fairly large lip on the bottom preventing wheelchairs from entering, but the chair could with assistance overcome this. Although there was a grab bar on the wall, the toilet in the space between the shower and the wall was too narrow and assistance was definitely required.

The bedroom was very clean and easily accessible, there was no problem that I could see, and I knew before booking that it was not up to nursing home standard, so I didn't expect nor saw any hoists or grab rails, but an independent wheelchair user could easily slide on and off the bed.

The kitchen was quite accessible also, but once a wheelchair user enters the kitchen, the door has a habit of closing behind the wheelchair, and with the kitchen not being big enough to turn the wheelchair I could see that unless the door was either fixed open by a hook onto a catch on the wall, or removed completely, problems would arise for the disabled person in trying to open the door again from behind the wheelchair.

The preparation worktops were a little high, but weren't really a problem for a short holiday stay.

The people on reception were very friendly and courteous.

Overall, the hotel was quite adequate for an assisted wheelchair user, and if the toilet and shower were sorted out, another grab rail was placed lower down on the wall next to the toilet, and the space widened, and the shower replaced with an open floor level shower with a curtain instead of fixed sides, I can't see any reason for the hotel not being upgraded to independent wheelchair user standard.

I enjoyed my stay at Birch's Palace and would definitely book there again the next time I go to Blackpool.

Time for a Cuppa!

Mike Coatesworth

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