Overview

The Apex City Hotel is a bright modern hotel set in the Grassmarket area of the city. It faces directly on to the street and offers some great views of street life and as well as the castle in the distance.

Transport & Parking

The Hotel has a small car parking area for four vehicles. There is a single dedicated accessible parking bay. The bay has clear markings and provision has been made for sufficient space for a wheelchair user to be able to move alongside their vehicle to transfer. The parking space should be booked at the time of making the room reservation. For those using public transport the street side options, only a few metres from the hotel’s front door, offer buses, tour buses and taxis or slightly further afield the tram network and of course the railway stations at Edinburgh Waverly and Haymarket.

Access

The entrance to the hotel for wheelchair users, and those who may not wish to climb the five steps to the main entrance, is in the archway to the left side of the building. A clearly signposted route from the street, of around 20m, leads to a wide manually operated door that goes directly into the reception area. Once inside the reception desk is on the left. A dropped section is available for easy access. Staff are happy to adjust computer screens for ease of viewing. The reception, lounge areas, bar, restaurant and breakfast areas are all on the same floor as the entrance and there’s level access to move between them. There are no doors to pass through to go between the areas. A colourful seating area in reception plays home to a “tiger" sculpture and makes for a comfortable place to sit and watch the world go by. The nearby bar and lounge overlook the street and the adjacent restaurant and breakfast area sits toward the rear of the hotel. Two modern lifts (each with 80 cm doors and a depth of 137 cm), or stairs if you prefer, take guests to the upper floors and the bedrooms. The lifts are of the type where wheelchair users would wheel in and then back out as there's not room to easily turn. Each of the bedroom floors has a lounge area that has a glass wall over looking the Grassmarket and views beyond. Access in the accessible bedrooms and bathrooms The accessible bedrooms were bright and spacious. No need to plot a fine course with the powerchair here as the space to get into the room, the space around the bed, and the general room was great. It was easy to turn around and manoeuvre without fear of hitting something. Pretty good as my powerchair is not the smallest - it's 68cm wide and 116cm long. Getting in the room uses key cards of the touch type - simply touch the card to the lock (no slots or fiddling with right or wrong way up) and the door will unlock. The accessible wet room door was wide at 90cm and the room door was also 90cm so plenty of clearance to get my powerchair everywhere. I liked the bathroom door as it opened almost flat to the wall so there was no driving around the door to get in and out of the wet room. Again, the wet room had ample space and the shower was integral to the room - no shower cubicle or change in surface. I could wheel into the shower area and do a full 360 degree turn which was good. The hotel does have shower chairs available - as with all stays it's good to have a chat with them about what works for you before you book. The toilet has an access space on the right hand side (as you look at it). There's a drop down grab rail and grab rail to the opposite side. The shower area does not have any grab rails. Access in the dining area The dining area is on two levels. One area is level access and adjoins the bar and lounge. The other is up a step and is slightly larger in size. Guests can also dine in the bar area where there are moveable tables and chairs that can be configured as required.

Toilets

The accessible toilet for public use is located next to the bar and a few steps from the entrance to the restaurant and breakfast area. It is bright and modern with good lighting. A wide door opens outward to provide good access. The toilet has an access space on the left hand side (as you look at it). Unfortunately, the bins are utilising this space and making practical use limited for wheelchair access. There is a baby changing unit housed in the same facility.

Staff

The staff we met in the hotel were particularly helpful. Freely volunteering information which was going to be useful for us during our visit. There was a definite feeling of a “can do" approach as we discussed personal evacuation plans, how to charge a mobility scooter, and the advantages of door key cards that didn't mind what way round they had to be to open the bedroom door

Anything else you wish to tell us?

We particularly enjoyed the lounge areas situated at the end of the bedroom corridors. The large glass wall giving some fantastic views out into the street. Sitting looking at the street below as people went back and forth as well as the wider views was great. We would point out that the Grassmarket sits below the Royal Mile and other areas of the town so there can be some “hill work” for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments. That said, there are plenty of taxis (Black cabs), buses and tour buses passing through the area and they were all accessible.

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