Overview

In January 2022 I contacted the McDonald highlands hotel to enquire about a special offer we had seen for dinner bed and breakfast on their website. And also to ask exactly what the accessible room was like. Having been caught out in the past when booking hotels . We now always check to find out exactly what they mean by accessible. I explained that I would prefer a wet room bathroom with shower seat and grab rails , plus the bedroom should have room for me to get about in my wheel chair as well as access the bathroom in it. Or I could manage with a shower cubicle as long as this had a shower seat, grab rails and plenty of room for my husband to help me. As we were looking to stay on a dinner, bed and breakfast break I also explained about my allergies caused by the medication I take for my condition, and would the restaurant be able to cater for my needs as well. I was told that the information I provided about my allergies could be accommodated and this would be past onto the restaurant manager and chef. They also said they had a suitable bedroom as well. So we went ahead and booked a four night stay. About a week before we were due to go and stay, I contacted the hotel again to find out the height of the bed as these days so many beds are too high for me. And I need my wooden step stool of about 2-3 inches tall to stand on to make getting into bed easier and also to check if the toilet was a raised one. I ended up having to email the hotel as each time I phoned I got the same answer housekeeping were too busy dealing with check outs to answer questions and someone would phone back . Which surprise surprise they didn’t. Eventually they emailed back saying the accessible bedroom I had been allocated had a shower over a bath but was wheelchair accessible. Not much use for those people like myself with limited mobility. I explained what we had been told back in January , they said we could change to the family hotel on the complex but that would only be bed and breakfast, I pointed out that we had paid for dinner bed and breakfast , the answer was well that’s a problem . That offer is only available at the highlands hotel. We ended up having to get a bath board which I had used while at my daughters to take with us . Not ideal at all. But we did manage. At least the bedroom was on the ground floor and blue badge parking was near to the entrance for the bedrooms . Reception was over the road for the hotel. The entrance to both reception and the part where the bedrooms were had a slop meaning access was easy but you had to juggle holding doors open while trying to push the wheelchair. The bar was over by reception so you had to go outside under the arch to access this . Again up a slop but not easy to hold open the doors and push a wheelchair. Our room wasn’t far from the lift so getting to the restaurant for breakfast wasn’t too bad. But you did have to negotiate corridors and doors again not easy while pushing a wheelchair. They did have a large metal ramp to go from one corridor to the next as this was up stairs to get to the corridor that lead to the restaurant. Once by the restaurant entrance they had a small lift to take you up as again there were stairs to the restaurant. There was enough room to get around the restaurant with the wheelchair. Some tables were easier to access than others but we managed. For a 4* hotel it really isn’t very good for disabled guests. Would have to think very carefully before staying here again.

Transport & Parking

Blue badge parking was near the slopes that went to the bedroom complex and over the road under the arch to the reception and bar area.

Access

From the car park they had slopes to the bedroom complex , reception and bar over the road under the arch. Getting around the hotel ok but could do with doors that are easier to operate when using a wheelchair. If I had been on my own I couldn’t have managed at all . Some. Corridors are narrow not easy to turn the wheelchair when you’ve had to come out the door backwards. They did have a metal ramp to get you from one corridor to the next to access the restaurant plus a small lift to get to the restaurant .

Toilets

Staff

We came across quite a few maintenance staff who were mostly Eastern European. They were really kind and helpful . If they spotted us coming they would open all the doors for us and accompany us to where we were going .couldn't fault that help if only others working there were that helpful .

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Some guests wore masks while going around hotel but these were mostly tourists from other parts of the world. The hotel did have a few hand sanitizer stations dotted about . Bedrooms weren’t cleaned during the stay just tea, coffee, milk and biscuits topped up each day and fresh towels if you asked for them.