Mon Hotel, Paris

The Mon Hotel is a gorgeous boutique hotel in central Paris situated 5 minutes stroll from the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées. It’s just down a little quiet side street called rue d’Argentine. 

There is one very low step into the entrance of the hotel which opens out into the very chic, dark and intimate reception and bar. Think bold black walls, sleek embellishments and a little glossy opulence. You are instantly met by the elegant and delicious scent of Diptique candles throughout the reception area. The staff were utterly charming and very welcoming. 

The accessible room was located on the ground floor, and it’s one of the largest rooms I’ve ever had the pleasure of staying in! It had one king bed and a huge sofa which also opens out as a queen size bed as well as a couple of lightweight armchairs around 2 small coffee tables. The general feel of the room was modern luxury with a lot of comfort and great in room amenities. The bed was incredibly comfortable and the duvet was perfect; I also loved the fact that you could actually open the windows! 

 

Very comfy bed!

 

Room3

Windows you can actually open!

 

One of my favourite aspects of this room was the black hardwood floors, such a welcome change from the thick carpets one normally encounters in hotel rooms. I often find going back and forth over deep pile carpets fairly exhausting on my arms as well as a cause of mini electric shocks generated by the friction!

 

Room1

Hardwood floor! And a leather sofa which opens up as a double bed

The bathroom was fairly spacious, easy to roll my chair under the sink and it had the requisite grab rails along side the loo and in the bath. Slightly disappointed they didn’t opt for the roll in shower as there is certainly enough space to accommodate one.

 

La salle de bain.

That aside I would definitely come back and stay here again! 

Highly recommended. 

http://www.monhotel.fr/uk/index.php

K West Hotel, London

K West is a modern, luxury hotel and spa in West London, just a short distance from Shepherd’s Bush & Westfield. It’s really handy for staying close to central London without staying in the West End.

Upon arrival they offer a valet service which is really useful for wheelchair users, I was able to park my car right outside the main entrance, the valet took it away and brought it back to the main entrance when I checked out the following morning.

The accessible entrance through a door just to the side of the main revolving door is totally step free and wheelchair access is great throughout the expansive reception and the ground floor bar. Reception staff were very welcoming and all the other staff I encountered were really friendly and helpful.

The general décor of the hotel and rooms is modern and understated, minimalist luxury and the room itself is on the ground floor, easy to access and not far from reception (or the bar which mixes a mean cocktail!)

The room has a wide door and opens into the room with the mini bar and bathroom on the right and the rest of the room in front. There is a long three seater sofa with a large coffee table on the left of the room and two large windows facing out on to the street. I was delighted that the huge bed was accompanied by really comfy pillows and a soft fluffy duvet. (I can’t stand it when hotels still supply layers of blankets rather than a duvet.)

View of the room with sofa & TV.

I did find a few things rather frustrating; the space between the bed and the television was so narrow that I was unable to fit my chair through, which meant I couldn’t reach the full length mirror or the windows to close the curtains in the evening. It also meant that a quarter of the room was inaccessible to me which slightly defeats the purpose of an accessible room.

View of the inaccessible window & mirror.

I was informed by the reservations team when I booked that they didn’t have a roll in shower which was rather disappointing; in a hotel as modern as this one expects a little more effort when incorporating accessible features.

View of bathtub & grabrails.

The bathroom was easy to access and as you can see from the photos they had well placed grab rails affixed near the bathtub and either side of the toilet. The sink had easy to use taps for anyone with dexterity problems but it was annoying that under the sink was boxed in, it’s much easier for wheelchair users to be free to glide their chair under the sink for access to wash one’s face or brush one’s teeth.

Boxed in sink & toilet with rails.

A stylish, modern hotel with great staff and good room service but not really enough attention paid to the small details in a room that make a big difference to a wheelchair user.

(N.B Apologies for the quality of the photos in this post, my camera failed me so I had to rely on my BlackBerry.)

http://www.k-west.co.uk/