Edinburgh

On the 21^st of August 2020, my helper and I went to stay in Edinburgh for one night. We left my house at 12:45pm arrived at the hotel around 3:00pm. The journey up was good roads were relatively quiet. After checking into the hotel, we went up to the room unpacked our bags then got ready to go out for dinner to Chaophraya, which a Thai restaurant situated on the rooftop (4th Floor) 33 Castle Street, with views looking out to Edinburgh Castle, George street, Princes street and the Firth of Forth.

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is a very old city with lots of steep hills and narrow streets, some of them are cobbled which I find uncomfortable to go over in my electric wheelchair. If you are interested in learning about Scottish history and culture, then Edinburgh is a great city to visit too start your historic adventures.    

Thai Restaurant Overview

Chaophraya is a modern and stylish Thai restaurant that serves delicious cuisine all the way from Thailand, vegan and gluten free options are available. I had Chicken with Cashew Nuts Stir Fry with Coconut rice and my helper had Thai Green Curry with Coconut rice, it tasted amazing especially as some random customer paid for our meal. The waitress came over to the table to tell us that a gentleman has paid for our meal and drinks. This was a random act of kindness of the gentleman for paying our meal. Unfortunately, the gentleman did not reveal his name but we were able to thank him in person.   

 The restaurant is wheelchair accessible and it is spacious with plenty of room to manoeuvre and there are two lifts to access the venue. The disabled toilet was a decent size, enough room for an electric and manual wheelchair. I was able to reach everything within the toilet which is a good thing.    

Hotel overview

We stayed at the Leonardo Royal Edinburgh Haymarket Hotel which is a 4 star rating on Tripadvisor. The hotel is only a few minutes walks from Haymarket train station and the West End. The hotel has 282 rooms with modern and stylish décor an ensuite, coffee machine and kettle with teas and coffees, flatscreen Tv with Freeview, hairdryer and DREM beds. There is an onsite car park at the back of the hotel with a couple of disabled parking spaces, I reserved a space when I booked my reservation. If you are feeling hungry while staying at the hotel there is restaurant called Vitruv as well as drinks in their Leo90 Bar & Lounge. Unfortunately, my helper and I were not up early enough to have breakfast. The main entrance of the hotel is street level with automatic doors and one at the side of the building by the car park which is also used as a fire exit. Both entrances are fully wheelchair accessible.

Hotel Review

I booked hotel reservation over the phone and specified that I required a disabled room with twin beds as my helper would be staying with me throughout the trip.

When we arrived at the hotel, I gave over my booking details and mentioned that I have booked an accessible room with twin beds. However! The receptionist informed me that the disabled room only has a double bed therefore they are unable to be split into twin beds. My helper and I had to stay in the twin room this was not accommodating and ideal especially for an electric wheelchair user. The room was narrow to move around in, the bathroom was unsuitable for a person with physical disabilities. My electric wheelchair kept getting stuck in between the beds and television unit, it was difficult to do a 360 turn. So, we had to arrange the room to create more space to prevent any hazards.

This was not acceptable of the hotel to put myself and my helper in this situation as it takes away from my stay in the Leonardo Royal Edinburgh Haymarket hotel. It is not appropriate to share a double bed with my helper as it is against care standards and policy. Not every disabled person is in a relationship or able to stay in a room on their own. My experience would have been improved if there had been twin beds in an accessible room with room to manoeuvre. I am sure that I’m not the only electric wheelchair user that requires a helper to assist me to travel. This can create barriers towards people with disabilities as it puts them off traveling to various destination and booking accommodations, as it is hard to source suitable accessible rooms.

Overall, the cleanliness of the hotel was up to a high standard with a majority of the staff being helpful and took time to listen to my concerns.   

Surgeons’ Hall Museums Overview

On the 22^nd of August 2020, my helper and I went to visit the Surgeon’s Hall Museums located on Nicolson Street, Edinburgh. The Surgeon’s Hall Museums (SHM) are owned by The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) containing the Wohl Pathology Museum, the History of Surgery Museum and The Dental Collection. The museum was founded in the 1505 holding magnificent collection of artefacts dated back from 1699 opened to the public in 1832, one of Scotland’s oldest museums and was also used as a teaching museum for students of medicine. Some of collections are human remains Wohl Pathology Museum, this may unsettle some visitors or intrigue others. I like learning about the history of medicine and how surgery was done many years ago. Photography and filming are forbidden throughout the museums due to human remains.

Entry Fee

Tickets are £8 for adults and £4.50 for concessions

Surgeon’s Hall Museums Accessibility guide

The Museums are fully wheelchair accessible with lifts which take you to every floor. The staff accommodating and giving information on accessibilities and areas that may cause difficulty, especially on floor 6 where The Wohl Pathology Museum. There are accessible toilets down in the basement.

If you are visiting by car you can park use street parking or NCP Holyrood car park using a discount ticket £7, ask a member of staff at the museums. According to The Blue Badge Scheme Parking Concessions for People with Disabilities – Badge holders may park free of charge and without time limit at parking meters on-street and ‘pay-and-display’ on-street parking. Badge holders may be exempt from time limits imposed on other users. Badge holders may usually park on single or double yellow lines in Scotland without any time limit. Edinburgh trams are wheelchair accessible and the nearest stop to the museums is Princes Street or St Andrews Square.