Man 'forced to sleep in wheelchair' after booking 'accessible' Bristol hotel room
Rohan Tarry, who has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, booked a break for him and his wife for her birthday, he says he paid for an accessible room only to find the room was not accessible
A man says he was forced to sleep in his wheelchair in a hotel for three nights - despite booking a room advertised as accessible.
Rohan Tarry, who has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) and uses a wheelchair, was forced to adapt after he arrived at his accommodation. Having not left his home in over a year, Mr Tarry and his wife were looking forward to a three day break for her birthday.
Mr Tarry said they booked an accessible room at The Bristol Hotel from August 27 to 29. However their break turned into a nightmare when they realised the room wasn't accessible for him.
Mr Tarry ended up having to sleep in his wheelchair and unable to use the toilet, which he says "destroyed" the holiday. Mr Tarry, 55 from Fishponds in Bristol, 55 said he felt "discriminated" against after complaints to staff were not resolved to his satisfaction.
He continued: "We were supposed to have gone away to celebrate her birthday and to spend some nice time together and I had to sleep on my wheelchair for three nights. It makes me feel discriminated. As someone in a wheelchair people look down on me as if I am just not important anymore and it drives me crazy."
Mr Tarry had booked the break in advance having seen the Bristol Hotel, which sits next to the city's harbourside, was advertising accessible rooms. Having paid £420 for the three nights, Mr Tarry and his wife were hoping to spend some time together and enjoy the room.
But upon their arrival, there was not enough room in both the bedroom and in the toilets and the bed was also too high for him to access. He said: "Because we don't like to go very far we stayed within Bristol. The Bristol Hotel appeared to have an accessible bedroom so I booked that and paid extra for it.
"We got there and the room wasn't accessible. There was no way I could get onto the bed. I couldn't used the toilet because it was too high, I couldn't use the shower because it was unsafe. I couldn't use the sink because I couldn't get my knees under it in wheelchair so I couldn't reach it to brush my teeth. I spent three nights sleeping in my wheelchair."
He claims the hotel staff was told about this and they offered them a "folding camp bed" which for him would have been too low to get off. Mr Tarry added: "They just left us to it. There was no direct contact at all. My wife is my primary carer and she's got Fibromyalgia and arteritis which makes things more difficult so there's so much she can do."
Mr Tarry said when they got home, he had emailed the hotel's manager but was told "nobody else complained". He claimed that the manager offered them £150 in compensation.
He said: "I spent a month of email conversations back and forwards with the manager. I asked for refund and possibly for some compensation because what was supposed to be a break for us turned into a challenge.
"It makes me feel discriminated. As someone in a wheelchair people look down on me as if I am just not important anymore and it drives me crazy."
A Bristol Hotel spokesperson said: "We care deeply about how we look after all of our guests, and all feedback received is taken very seriously. Our accessibility statement is provided to all guests booking accessible rooms so that they can make an informed decision prior to arrival.
"The Bristol operates in full compliance with all relevant building and accessibility regulations, and many returning guests with different access requirements make use of these rooms each year. There are occasions when guests request very specific requirements, and where possible we work to accommodate these, or we are very clear about what can and cannot be provided prior to arrival."