In Reply to: The proprietors of this web site have - posted by Filo on Wednesday, 26. November 2008 at 05:29 Bali Time:
That's an interesting list but I would add, to the top of it, the Kartika Plaza where we have stayed several times. Most of the rooms are quite accessible for people with walking difficulties and several have walk in showers. There are good paths in the gardens and ramps at the front entrance and between major parts of the hotel. There are also lifts which are large enough to take a wheel chair and up to 3 or 4 people. But the best feature is the swimming pool which has shallow steps and a handrail at one end which makes it easy for people to get in and out.
Of the other hotels you mention, although the Sanur Beach Hotel has good access around the property, there are no steps into the pool. Places like the Padma in Legian are also unusable in sections and the streets are not at all wheelchair friendly. THat is also the only down side of staying at the Kartika where you can't get easy access to the shops and restaurants on the main road.
The beach path in Sanur is terrific for people in wheelchairs, or even on gophers. Bali Mobility hires gophers at quite a reasonable price and staying at one of the beach-front hotels like Besakih or Segara Village, or even the Grand Bali Beach, you can access the beach path with a gopher, which immediately opens up a whole world of shops and restaurants in the area. It's really important that people get access to places outside the hotel as well as having good access inside the property as it means they can have a much better holiday experience. There's nothing worse than being stuck in a hotel and not being able to get out on the streets for a bit of retail therapy!
One of the hardest things is getting access to restaurants as so many of them have steps up into the main section, or loose tiles, poorly maintained paving etc. Getting an accessible loo in a restaurant can also be a problem. We always phone ahead to check access and facilities. Going out to eat on the street is always a taxi trip as the footpaths are so bad, and even when they are ok you often find motorbikes or even cars parked across them! This is what makes the Sanur beach path so good as you can get to the beach front restaurants very easily. Bennos, near the Sindhu market, was a favourite and it has a good loo as well!