Plea for more accessible hotels and a better understanding of additional needs

Richard_Scope

A Jersey wheelchair user wants hotel bosses to realise the importance of truly accessible rooms.

Luke du Val has cerebral palsy and says he does not have the same opportunities to travel as some of his friends, with spontaneous trips away usually taking weeks or months to organise.

He adds there can be issues despite planning ahead with no universal understanding of what accessibility means.

"Even as much as someone can say, 'yes, yes, it's definitely fine and we've sorted it for you', you won't know for sure that everything will go off without an issue until you get there," Mr du Val explained.

"Someone might say that a room is accessible but then not mention that to get to that room you have to go up ten flights of stairs without a lift.

"You just have to be really careful and sometimes it does feel like it's a case of literally hoping for the best."

It comes as Maison Des Landes, a hotel designed for people with disabilities, prepares to reopen in Jersey after a £4 million makeover.

The charity, Lion Club, runs the site.

"There has been significant demand," Peter Tabb from the group said.

"We are the only hotel of this type catering to this extent for people with disabilities in the Channel Islands and throughout the United Kingdom, there aren't more than a couple of dozen.

"It's not just for people with disabilities, it's for those who care for them."