Overview

Having read mixed reviews prior to our visit to Peebles Hydro, we were slightly concerned as to what to expect. When I made the reservation at the end of January, I stipulated that I needed an accessible room. (I use a wheelchair and am unable to step into a bath) When the confirmation came through, there was no mention of an accessible room so I phoned up, only to be told that the room allocated (4118), was indeed an accessible room. On checking in last Wednesday, the reception was busy with other also checking in. A good sign, I thought. When it was our turn I gave our confirmation to the receptionist and mentioned the accessible room, she told me that we were now not getting the room on the confirmation as they had a number of disabled guests staying and someone else’s needs were greater. As she had not met me before, I do not know how she (or whoever) could reach this conclusion. Resigning ourselves to this room, I went to put the television on, only to find the remote control missing. With a call to reception, I was told that one would be sent down. 40 minutes later, with no remote in sight my wife went up to the reception. On seeing her, John asked if he could assist. On being told about the remote, John kindly got one for us. When it came time for dinner, we found ourselves having to go outside, get the wheelchair down a step, negotiate cars in the car park, go back into the building through another door, into the lift to get back to the level where the dining room was. This was the routine each time we required to be in the main building whilst in this room. Being beside the car park and a unloading area, we found the room very noisy in the morning. After our first night, I decided that to raise the issue regarding our room. On asking for the duty manager, a nice lady called Heather came to talk to us. On hearing our concerns, she totally agreed that the receptionist ought not to have said what she did and understood our needs for an accessible room She asked for a few minutes to go and see what, if anything, could be done. Heather came back shortly to advise that she could move us to a room, similar to what we were originally booked into. We went back to room 3 to repack the case. Heather also came down to assist us with moving into the other room and show us round the room. Just as I hoped for when I made the booking to stay at Peebles Hydro. The additional bonus was that it had a lovely view over to the Cademuir Hills. In hindsight, I wish I had made a fuss when we checked in, but in reality, I should not have needed to do so. I have to say we were disappointed with the reception staff. From the checking in debacle, remote control issue and then on checking out. A simple ‘have you enjoyed your stay with us?’ would have been nice. Such touches encourage people to come back. Perhaps we just got a member of staff on an off day or was very busy, I don’t know. On this, and If we could be guaranteed an accessible room, we would certainly consider a re-visit to Peebles Hydro in the future.

Transport & Parking

Access

Presently, the hotel is going through a major refurbishment. Obviously there is a bit of disruption going on but the staff ensure that this is kept to a minimum to the guests. Although we did not use the leisure facilities, we did look into the pool area. I was pleased to see that the pool was accessible and impressed with the member of staff who took the time to talk to us as well as pointing out the disabled changing area and saying we could get the chair round to the steps and handrails.

Toilets

The room itself was very spacious, with lots of room for my wheelchair. John showed us the bathroom, which was also large with a bath and a walk in shower. However there were no grab rails, either in the shower or at the toilet or seat for the shower. On mentioning my concerns about the shower to John, he promptly went and got us a plastic chair that I could use. The second room had ample room for my wheelchair. The bathroom was a proper wet room, with handrails at the shower (showerheads at two levels) There was a seat that could either be used in the shower or the sink. The loo was a proper raised one, again with handrails.

Staff

The reception was busy with other also checking in. A good sign, I thought. I gave our confirmation to the receptionist and mentioned the accessible room. She told me that we were now not getting the room on the confirmation as they had a number of disabled guests staying and someone else’s needs were greater. As she had not met me before, I do not know how she (or whoever) could reach this conclusion. She then called on ‘John’ to show us to our room number 3. John took us back down to car park level, through a door marked staff only and finally to a corridor where our room was located. The dining room was busy but we were quickly allocated a table and my wheelchair ‘parked’ as I transferred into a seat. The floor in the dining room was wooden, which made it a bit noisy as well as feeling the vibrations of people walking past. Despite the numbers in the dining room, the staff were very efficient in serving and our order was taken promptly, although there was a fair delay between courses. The gentleman in charge and one working there whilst doing a sport science degree at QMU stood out for us. Thanks gents The choice of the menu was quite good and we had no qualms with the food. Likewise with breakfast. The hotel has some excellent staff – we cannot thank Heather enough for her understanding and assistance. Staff members such as John and the ones that I referred to earlier in the dining room. Thank you and well done to you all.