We choiced Grand PLAZA serviced apartments for the first time in 2016/5 and found the room offered to us on the Ground floor "suitable and accessible with our needs travelling with a physical disable son on the wheel chair" and we are very grateful about this convenience saving us lots of troubles compared to most inaccessible hotels in London.
We booked the same accessible Ground floor room to stay with Grand PLAZA serviced apartments 7/22-8/8 2019 again half a year ahead of time this year and plan to book this room again in a few years when we will go to London again.
The only thing which is "Not Accessible" is the "free breakfast offered in the hotel restaurant". And there were more noises at night from the streets and other room guests because of the busy tour season, especially in the typical British wooden-structure buildings.
The noises are probably unavoidable. But the inaccessible breakfast in the hotel restaurant can be solved with more consideration. We three , mom and dad, and one 13-year-old son on the wheel chair did go to the hotel restaurant on the first 3 mornings, but had been considering even before arrival that "one taking out the breakfast of we 3 to be more restful and practical.
The hotel restaurant is small in size compared to its room and guest numbers, and so the tables are very close and most tables in the middle are inaccessible for wheel chair users. The tables are assigned randomly upon arrival and on some days the hotel restaurant is very busy with no table left, not to mention finding the accessible tables. The small space between tables also make people sit very close and have no privacy for people with disabilities, such as my son has to" be fed by us" for the life time.
To be more accessible and restful, on the 4th morning I went alone to take out breakfast for 3 (my family) and told them I will take out 3 plates and 2 bottles as the same amount we get if we eat there. The restaurant staff soon accepted the request and I started taking out breakfast since the 4th morning out of 16 days. However, a few times I saw the British restaurant director, the first time he tried to talk to me that "if every body does the same and take out food..." And the restaurant staff explained to him and he said "then there is no problem."
However, the other 2 mornings when I saw this British restaurant director again, I could feel his body language like shaking head, or said good morning but felt disagreeable and made me even more mentally reluctantly to go take out breakfast for my family.
***Everything is expensive in London," it's unwise not to go take out breakfast for we 3 and waste money, but it's also stressful to go take out breakfast with the director's silent language." In fact, not "everybody is the same/in the same situation or does the same," if the restaurant director fears that people might take out more than eating there, or there can be more troubles for the restaurant, the hotel can probably just allow guests with special needs to request in advance to "take out EX: VG breakfast boxes with food and drink with certain amount" to be fair with those who dine in. In fact, not every room guest goes for breakfast for various reasons, there was one day we skipped taking out breakfast because we had to leave early that day and the restaurant opens at 8:00.
***UK is highly considerable with people with disabilities and focus on this issue in early education. So when the room can be accessible, we wish that the breakfast and hotel restaurant can also be accessible and restful, not just providing food, but also more humanity and consideration of people's inconveniences caused by nature. Hopefully the hotel managers can look deeply into this issue and provide more accessible restaurant environment and reasonable take out options for those "who are in need of alternatives."
Kind Regards,
G09 Room Guest Ms Lai From Taiwan