Overview

Motel One Edinburgh Princes is located at the East end of Princes Street. Only a two-minute walk from Waverley Railway Station, the hotel is set on the upper floors above the shop fronts.

Transport & Parking

Walking, well wheeling, along from Princes Street you pass the Apple Store and go 50 metres along a side street. Here the hotel is signposted and automatic doors take you into a lobby area. There is an accessible parking bay opposite the front entrance, on the street, for use by Blue Badge holders. Other parking is some distance and situated at Waverley Railway Station or the St. James Shopping Centre.

Access

Access in and around the building: The large lifts, there are two, take guests from the ground floor foyer up to reception. You wheel in one side of the lift at ground level and then wheel out the opposite side when you reach the reception. The lift door had a clearance of 90 cm. The reception has a dropped counter and there is plenty of space. Moving along you enter the bar and lounge area where you can also dine. There was lots of room and different choices of seating style. I loved the windows as they were low enough for me to see out of. Not always the case for wheelchair users. There were some great views to be had! Access in the accessible bedrooms and bathrooms: A short walk from the lounge area and I was in one of the corridors heading for an accessible bedroom. The corridors were light and wide enough to wheel along without feeling hemmed in. Open the accessible room door it was great to see plenty of space to move around. The door had a clearance of 95 cm which was great. This was one of fourteen accessible rooms in the hotel. The wet room was spacious and well equipped. I could wheel and move freely around without bashing into things. My powerchair is 68 cm wide and 166 cm in length. Access in the dining area: The dining area is the lounge area of the bar. There were plenty of choices from more formal dining tables and chairs to more relaxed chairs and coffee tables. Access to other facilities: The hotels facilities are all based around the lounge bar area.

Toilets

There is a good accessible toilet off the lounge / bar area. With enough space for me and a PA.

Staff

Given the staff had no idea we were going to be turning up to check them out they reacted well. We were able to see the accessible rooms, the lounge and bar areas as well as the journey in and around the hotel as a powerchair user. The staff were competent and confident in their product and were able to answer all our enquiries.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

At first I wondered about a hotel that was “upstairs” but I was soon to learn that the Motel One had done something pretty special in the level of accessibility they had achieved. This particular hotel certainly had more accessible bedrooms than most others in the city and they are all of a spacious and well appointed standard.

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