A hotel ‘misadventure’

For most of us, spending a business trip or simply staying in a hotel just for a break in Kuala Lumpur is a pleasurable experience.

But not if you are in a wheelchair – even if there happens to be disabled-friendly logos in the building!

This is unfortunately and sadly true for many, if not, most hotels in Malaysia.

The situation becomes more complicated and frustrating for patrons with disabilities –whether they decide to visit in their wheelchairs, white canes or walking sticks.

It's also a problem for people without disabilities when they decide to bring along their elderly parents, disabled children or handicapped friends.

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend a two-day conference on children with disabilities in Hotel Istana over at Jalan Raja Chulan in Kuala Lumpur.

Little did I suspect that this popular hotel in one of the best locations in KL with its spacious indoor landscaping and pillarless ballroom would pose quite a challenge for me and my wheelchair.

Here are a few examples:

No reserved car parking for disabled drivers at the entrance: luckily, I got someone to ferry me there and back.

What if I had driven there? A friend working in the hotel line once told me that some hotels actually had a policy of "only allowing BMWs and Mercedes-Benzs to park at the entrances." They did this because they wanted to promote a "classy" look in hotels.

I vehemently disagree. On the contrary, hotels that provide handicapped parking show the world that theirs is a caring hotel and they have gone the extra mile to look into the comfort and convenience of all its patrons, especially the disadvantaged.

Wheelchairs couldn't enter the disabled friendly restrooms: I was shocked to discover this.

I must have looked pretty awkward and comical to the rest of the non-disabled patrons with the back of my wheelchair with its two big wheels sticking out of the toilet's doorway with the rest of my other half inside.

Even if I did manage to get inside, it was too cramped to get to the water closet. The only way would be to I get up and literally walked over to it which was impossible in my case. Istana really needs to widen this up into a room space not only large enough for a wheelchair, but also for an able-bodied helper as well.

Dangerous makeshift ramp at the Taman Sari Brasserie restaurant: the portable ramp was used over a couple of steps in order to bring my wheelchair down to the dining area as well as back up to the reception floor again.

It was not only too small but also treacherously steep. Three of the employees had to help me over it, which experience has taught me, is only a foolish thing to do as they are not trained to handle wheelchairs. Wheelchairs, too, were never designed to be carried.

No disabled-friendly rooms out of the 505 total guestrooms in Istana's 23 floors: I was verbally told this by the staff. It's high-time that at least one or two rooms should be made disabled friendly for the benefit of Istana itself.

Many disabled people from around the world are travelling these days and there is no reason for Malaysia not to be a favourite destination for the disabled and the elderly.

The good news is, there is fortunately a happy ending to this story.

During my visit to Hotel Istana, I managed to highlight these and other issues of accessibility to Tom Spaan, the hotel's director of food and beverage. We went on a tour around the hotel.

He wrote back apologising for the inconveniences I experienced and said Hotel Istana was in the process of getting a suitable contractor and would get the corrections done soon.

"Once again, please accept our sincere apologies as we are looking forward to welcoming you back at Hotel Istana in a not too distance future," Spaan concluded.

Needless to say, you can bet that when that happens, not only me but all wheelchair users will truly be made to feel like kings in the hotel, which is a 10-minute walk from the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and Petronas Twin Towers. – October 19, 2014.   

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.