Wyndham Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana + Wheelchair Access

Review provided by Maryanne.

Wyndham Gardens Hotel is four blocks from Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Upon arrival, I immediately noticed that the entrance was at a slant but fortunately, the door was automatic, otherwise, it would have been difficult to open. The front desk did not have a lowered section for wheelchair access. The lobby floor was a nice marble but stopped at the elevator; the rest of the hotel was carpeted.

The room that I was given (#421) was on the 4th floor and as far away from the elevator as physically possible but the thick carpet in the hallways was a nuisance to travel on every time. Even though my room was the last room on the floor and therefore had no foot traffic, this was the nosiest hotel I’ve ever been in.

Inside the room was very spacious with plenty of room to maneuver but wish it wasn’t carpeted. I was pleased to find a lowered peephole on my door and the door itself was wide. My chair is on the wider side and there was plenty of room to pass thru! Plus, I felt the door was light and easy to open. Sometimes doors can get heavy but this is not the case. The bed was very comfortable but was about 6” higher than my chair. I could only get into one of the beds, from one of the sides. The first bed was located close to the wall and a small pathway between the two beds was not doable. So the second bed was only accessible from one side, as the pathway was not accessible.

The bathroom was a very large area and was all tile, which is a nice feature. However, the shower sloped out, which means that all the water drained INTO the bathroom, making transferring into and out of the shower into my chair very unsafe. Not only was my chair on a slant (which made it wobbly), but it was also soaking wet, which made it very slippery and dangerous! There was an adjustable showerhead that would have been able to be lowered, however, it was set up at the top and I couldn’t reach it to lower it. There was NO water pressure in the shower, however, the maintenance man came twice to try and rectify this. The toilet set was very low, which again made it difficult to transfer on and off. The bathroom did have a roll-under sink, however, a corner wall made it difficult to get under. The mirror was also too high to see myself in.

Unfortunately, I cannot say it was easy to access things in the room. I was able to open and close the curtains (it had a rod long enough to reach). The TV remote was located on a table between the two beds, only my chair couldn’t fit between the beds, so I couldn’t get to the remote. The closet bar was high, so I wasn’t able to hang my clothes. There were some cabinets with drawers available to put clothes in, but they were too low for me to bend over and put things in and out of. The power outlets were either behind the bed or under tables so I wasn’t able to plug things in, such as my phone charger. Once in bed, I didn’t have access to light switches either, which I need for when I cath during the night. The phone was also located on the table between the beds, and I couldn’t get between them. The phone and TV remote were located closer to the other bed, so even from my bed, I was not able to reach them. Since the phone was not accessible, I could not make wake-up calls or call the front desk to come to the room to plug things in, or make other requests. Also, I wasn’t able to “roll” under the desk located in the room.

The hotel was located in a fairly nice place close to Bourbon Street, a 4 block roll. However, the sidewalk was so uneven and had many cracks that it was nearly impossible to maneuver off of my street to get to the sidewalks that would have been easier. Unfortunately, most of the sidewalks were built on slants for water drainage. I can understand why it was done this way because it didn’t make rolling any easier for me. The streets needed some maintenance just like the sidewalks and were built on slants. My wheels kept getting caught in tree roots and broken slate walkways. The “cutaway” curbs to go from sidewalks to streets at intersections were bumpy, patched together, and not at all safe. I often felt I might have been flung from my chair. The shops and many restaurants in New Orleans either had one-step or very narrow doorways making it difficult or impossible to get into them.

Recently, accessible trolleys were added and I was able to take a ride down Canal Street. This was a nice treat. However, when I was rolling on the streets OVER the trolley rails, my anti-tipping wheels and casters were always getting caught in them…this was very dangerous! There were NO accessible taxis. I had to do a slide board transfer into a Suburban which I would not have been able to do if my son had not pushed me up the board. The taxi drivers were not wheelchair friendly…they never offered to put the chair in their vehicle and did not want the chair in their cars. I did visit the casino in New Orleans, it was completely carpeted which made it difficult to maneuver around, and the tall chairs they place at each game are very heavy and hard to move away so that you can play the games.

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