Dunedin motel review: how to ruin a disabled travelers trip in one easy step.

I do not take pleasure in writing this review but quite frankly, it continues to piss me off how very disabled UNFRIENDLY the world is when all we want is ease of access to normal shit just like everyone else.

What able bodied people just can’t appreciate is how very hard it is to ‘pop online and book accommodation’ and expect it to be right.

I very quickly learned that most people lie about what access they have, or deliberately omit key information, or blatantly advertise something they simply do not have. So, just because a note / motel CLAIMS to be disabled friendly rarely means it actually is.

Asure 755 Regal Court Motel Dunedin – accommodation review

There are a few things I want to make clear from the start.

• This is not an ASURE motel. They do not appear on the ASURE website as a franchisee, the ASURE wording on the signage has been removed, but the google listing etc has not been updated.
• This motel did not advertise itself as being disabled friendly, however when I contacted them directly to ask, they assured me they could accommodate me.

Access

It is located close to the city Centre and has off road parking. It does NOT have any disabled parking though and the existing spaces are so narrow it makes it almost impossible to use them if you are disabled.

The rooms are either on ground level or first floor, accessible from a flight of stairs onto an upstairs balcony / walkway. The downstairs rooms are NOT at carpark level, they have a decent size step (and no ramp access) making it pretty hard to get inside with a wheelchair.

Room amenities

The room I stayed in was 9a. It had a double bed (which was close to walls on both sides making wheelchair access to the side of the bed impossible). There was also a single bed situated close to the front door and dining table.

The kitchenette was pretty small. Not wheelchair accessible, and the doorway to the bathroom was not wide enough to get a wheelchair through.

The shower cubicle was up 3 steps and the shower head was in a fixed position and was unadjustable. unless you could walk, there was absolutely no access to the toilet because it was in the bathroom through a second wheelchair inaccessible door in a very small separate partitioned space.

The kitchenette had a microwave and kettle. The fridge was broken and did not work at all. There was plates and cutlery, washing up liquid and cloth (but no tea towel).

The TV was mounted above head height on the wall, on a movable bracket. If you were a wheelchair user you had no hope in hell of reaching it if you needed to move it.

How the motel attempted to rectify issues

They quite simply didn’t. The staff at reception were ESL and hard to understand. My original room was (according to a text from the owner) downstairs. When I arrived, the reception was upstairs (great start) and so was my room. The reception staff asked me did I have a sore knee. (No, my knees are fine, its my fucking leg that is missing that I have an issue with!!!) PS.. I was wearing a knee length skirt at the time…..

I was only able to get a downstairs room switch due to another customer who was checking in at the same time as me, kindly agreeing to swap her room with mine.

I contacted the owner via SMS to make them aware of the issues I was having and allow them a chance to call, apologise or attempt to rectify some of the issues. They did none of the above. In fact I felt like I was being blamed for creating the problems.

I have never been made to feel so worthless in all my life. I was quite simply disgusted with how I was treated and will not be back at this motel at any stage in my lifetime.

If you are disabled, DO NOT STAY HERE.