Overview

The Victory Services Club is a member-only hotel for the military community and their families. I was immediately impressed when my taxi drove up outside. A doorman was immediately on hand to help me out of the taxi and whilst I negotiated the gently sloping ramp to the entrance he took my case into reception for me. The doormen will also order or hail a cab for you whilst you wait in the comfortable warmth of the lounge, and then help you with your luggage out to the taxi. I was slightly in awe as this is quite a posh place, lots of ex-officers knocking about and I am far from posh but I was immediately made to feel at home by the staff who introduced themselves and made an effort to get to know me. At reception whilst I checked in, I was asked if I would like a normal keycard to enter my accessible room or a fob with a button to press. I opted for the fob as it was new to me and I was curious. I went up to my room and was very impressed with the fob entry. The door opened swiftly but once opened remained so for a good minute before closing allowing you plenty of time to get into the room. The room was well proportioned with plenty of space to move around in my wheelchair and to also store it and move around independently without it being in the way. The sash opening windows had a small table and two chairs next to it so if you wanted to eat or drink in your room you can. There was also a small dressing table that I could sit at comfortably in my wheelchair. The bed was two single profile beds put together to create a king size bed. This was the first time I had been to a hotel that had a bed similar to my own at home and I secretly gave a little prayer of thanks to whoever designed the room and also to the Veterans charity that had donated to pay for this room and a couple of others in the hotel to be made adaptive. The bathroom had a low bath with shower over, something I had not come across before and there was a bath board to help get into it and grab rails. it felt like stepping into a paddling pool which was quite odd. The toilet had drop-down grab rails on either side of it. Overall I was very impressed with the room. Reception was happy to bring up my luggage and was more than happy to help if I had any problems I only needed to ask. Unfortunately the first time I stayed here my room was next to the lift so if you are sensitive to noise or vibration make sure you ask for an accessible room away from the lift, the other accessible rooms I have stayed in have been equally as well equipped, some with twin profiling beds and wet rooms. The cleaning staff start early, around 8am so if you are planning a lie in bring your earplugs and use the do not disturb sign. However despite their noise and chatter they are very helpful and more than happy to provide extra towels or put an extra duvet on the bed if you feel cold at night. The hotel had a lounge bar, library and restaurant. All of which were easily accessible in my chair although the heavy double doors into the restaurant needed to be opened for me. The restaurant has a good standard menu with a special every night. The Sunday Dinner is to die for by the way. The restaurant staff are happy to cater to any specific requirements you have for instance they asked the chef to prepare me a post gastric bypass size portion, which came to me looking identical to my friends but on a smaller plate which was very thoughtful. Also the hard London water was upsetting my stomach so the restaurant staff arranged for bottled water to be left in my room for free. The lounge bar is a lovely cosy room with sofas and wing-backed arm chairs and a beautiful fire place, the house gin & tonic is a must at the end of a long day. I have stayed here on 5 separate occasions and each time I have been impressed. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this place to anyone in the military community with a disability.

Transport & Parking

I took a taxi from Euston station to get here. It took roughly 10 minutes and cost me £15. The nearest tube station is Marble Arch. The VSC is ideally located for visiting Hyde Park and other London attractions. However, there is no parking available at the hotel. There is street parking but it is very expensive and I am not sure whether a permit is required.

Access

There is a gently sloping ramp to the main entrance which also has steps up to it from the street. The reception area is spacious and one of the desks is at a lower level so you aren’t having to peer over the top. The ground floor has most of the public facilities such as restaurant, lounge bar, library and a large seated waiting area. The only place I needed to rely on someone to help me access it was the restaurant where the doors were too heavy for me to push, however the entrance is right next to the concierge desk who were immediately on hand to let me through. There are two lifts from the ground floor which take you to all levels.

Toilets

Staff