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.)
Weekends on Wheels 