Meets ADA, Misses the Mark - My Review of the Fairfield Inn & Suites DFW North/Iriving
I missed a connection at DFW to LAS, starting in CHS on American Airlines. It was the last flight there. This wasn't due to the weather; American Airlines rebooked me on a flight the next day, gave me a few meal vouchers, and a stay at a hotel. The Customer Service agent was super pleasant, to me at least, and I asked if I could choose a hotel; my preference is Marriott (Lifetime Silver Elite). This hotel offers a complimentary shuttle, breakfast, and a few nearby options (Aspen Creek). I took it.
I called the hotel to arrange the shuttle. It arrived 15 minutes later; it was a busy night with delays. The gentleman was kind, took my bags, and helped me into the van. This is important, and I'll explain in a bit. The ride, after one more stop to pick up other guests at another terminal, took 10 minutes. The driver took my bags out of the van and asked if I needed help getting into the facility (I declined). I gave the dude a few bucks, TRIP THE PEOPLE THAT HELP!!!!!! I noticed, as did the driver, that I was the only person to give a small gratuity on that ride.
The young lady I spoke to about arranging the ride from the airport was at the front desk, alone. I wasn't in a rush to get into the room; I let the four other families ahead of me go in first. I'm also slower. The desk agent was super efficient, it took her 5 minutes to get the folks ahead of me their keys and on their way. I was strategic about being last in line: I had a few requests and wanted to spend a bit more time having them honored, without making the folks behind me upset.
The requests were/are for a room with a roll-in shower and a pull-down seat. I'm an above-knee amputee who is ambulatory, yet requires the pull-down chair, or a shower chair, to get all the nooks and crannies cleaned. She got that room assigned to me. All she needed was my hotel voucher, no i.d., nor card on file for incidentals. She mentioned the room was a suite with a king-size bed on the second floor. All good for me.
The room was 208, not far from the elevator. The last few Fairfield, SpringHill, and other Marriott Brand hotels I've stayed at with a roll-in shower or accessible room have been on the far side of the hotel. This room was about three away from the elevator.
I enter the room, and there is a light switch to the right. The door isn't overly heavy, making it easy to join. The bathroom is big to the right; there is a walled-off sitting area to the left, and the bed is straight ahead. I don't spend much time in the amenities in the room; it's just one night, and I'm getting 7 hours of sleep.
The next day, I wake up, and this is where the hotel fails. The areas for improvement concern the accessibility of the shower. The bathroom is big, bright, with a TON of great grab bars. This is fantastic! It's the shower. Someone who isn't handicapped, nor understands the needs of a person with a disability or limb difference, designed this room. Here we go...
* The Shower Seat isn't long/deep enough from the wall. The seat comes down, and I'm barely able to sit in the seat without feeling I'm about to slip/fall out of it. I'm not a very large man, 6 feet, about 195 lbs.
* The removable shower head isn't long enough. The roll-in shower is oversized, yet the removable head barely reaches the tip of the shower chair. Again, it's challenging to get to the nooks and crannies.
* The lip keeping water in the shower isn't tall enough. I left my C-Leg prosthetic on the floor, and a pool of water formed beneath it.
My $.02 is that hotels do the bare minimum to meet ADA standards. I get it, before the amputation, I gave it zero thought. Now being part of the community, I understand the need for a true handicap/disability consultant to consider how to make a stay truly inviting for someone similar to me.
