Disabled Access Holiday accomodation

[simply]

Hi, I am Gary from the management company for Disabled Access Holidays, I do feel that I need to correct you on a couple of comments that you have made on the forum, firsty the reasonyour husband was unable to use the toilet facilities was due to the fact that he had fractured his shoulder prior to coming to PP, this is an
entirly seperate issue in itself which you seemed to forget to mention, also when my cleaning lady was at the apartment you stated to her that the apartment smelled lovley and as you was a cleaner it was nice to have somebody clean for you.

The monkey poll you recieved around one hour after you ocupied the apartment, I re-visited you the following day to make sure your husband was ok with the toilet facilities and you said that all was fine and appologised for you attitude the day prior as you was anxious and tired for your first trip abroad.

I am very sorry you was unhappy with our service as you stated in this forum, we have been operating in PP for the last six years and always get praise from clients so feel very hurt by your comments.

Regards
Gary Hardley
Simply One Service

[brumbrums]

Just read Jeans comments & then comments from Michael who runs DAH, I too had a disastrous visit to the IPA Apartments in September 2009. On my return I wrote to & then rang Michael & he was very unapologetic simply stating how wonderful the apartment was & that no one else had ever complained, the only good point was Gary who I found extremely helpful especially following a disaster with my wheelchair. Michael did offer myself a paltry £200 in compensation which I refused. Below is my very long story.

On arrival at Manchester Airport I was told that my seats had been changed as the airline (Monarch) had changed the plane to a smaller aircraft, this meant I had to be seated several rows front the front & then man handled over the fixed arm rest.

On arrival at Palma Airport I received a telephone call from Michael stating that there had been a burst pipe in our apartment (3A) at the IPA Apartments & that alternative accommodation had been arranged for us to stay at the Pollenca Park Hotel for 2 nights until 3pm Monday, we were assured that the hotel & room would be suitable for a wheelchair, as we had no other option I agreed to this “minor” inconvenience.

On arrival at the Pollenca Park Hotel we were met by Stephanie (Michael’s Daughter) who guided us up the steep ramp to the reception were we were then escorted to the room.

Once in the room it quickly became apparent that the room would become a nightmare. The room measured approximately 10 sqm excluding the bathroom, in that space there was a dressing table, 2 chairs, a bin, a fridge, a large square wooden cabinet & 3 single beds we then had to contend with a wheelchair & Hoist.

On Saturday night it took my fiancée nearly 35 minutes to get me in my bed as she had to hoist me from my wheelchair, manoeuvre the hoist which was a complete nightmare due to the lack of space & wheels that would not go were you wanted them to go, it would also not lift me high enough to get out of my wheelchair however that was nothing compared to what was to come the following morning.

After virtually no sleep due to the flies & stench emitting from the bins located right next to our window & the constant noise from the kitchen trolleys fundering over the broken concrete path my fiancée then had to hoist me to the bathroom, toilet me, shower me, dress me & then put me in to my wheelchair, it took just over 2 hours, as you can imagine my fiancée was not only very tired but was also very upset after-all this was supposed to be a relaxing holiday.

Once out of the room we asked the reception if they could remove one of the beds, this they did which made the situation a little easier however we still had little room to manoeuvre the hoist & wheelchair.

Other problems with the hotel were the 3 extremely steep ramps leading to the swimming pool, the steep ramp up to the front entrance which on the website looks nothing however in reality it was horrendous, this would not be a problem for an able bodied person however when you are pushing a 6ft well built male it is an entirely different story this is one reason we booked the IPA Apartments as they were fully accessible & close to the town centre not 40 minutes walk away.

On Sunday evening we bumped in to Stephanie who asked if all was ok, we told her it wasn’t & explained about how bad the room was due to the room size, kitchen trolleys, the stench & flies omitting from the bins & the disastrous hoist that should have been placed in the aforementioned bins years ago. Stephanie assured us that there was a bigger & better hoist in our room at the IPA Apartment. Stephanie also mentioned that she had arranged for us to have lunch at Palms restaurant located near the hotel however we decided not to go due to the access in to the restaurant which was a very short but steep ramp at the side of a narrow path, to get on to the ramp you would have to first lift the wheelchair up a very high curb & then almost immediately up the ramp we had also taken a very big dislike to this bar as on Sunday evening we were kept awake by the loud karaoke until well after midnight.

At 3pm on the Monday a taxi picked us up & took us to the IPA Apartments. As we got in to the taxi the driver asked us to read a text message he had received as he could not fully understand what it said as it was written in English, the text was asking him to pick up the hoist from room 108 at Pollenca Park (our room) & then take it to our apartment 3A at the IPA Apartments, clearly Stefanie had no intention of changing the hoist for a new one.

Once at the IPA Apartments we could see no sign of any burst pipe only wet floors in both shower rooms?. Once unpacked my fiancée decided to use the toilet in the main bathroom only to find that the toilet would not flush I decided to telephone Michael about this problem & also to report that the hoist was no good & that I could not get in to the wheelchair shower as there was a drop of approximately 4“, Michael was clearly a very busy man as he obviously did not want to talk & instead got Gary to ring me.

On the Tuesday my fiancée had to manoeuvre the shopping trolley “sorry I mean hoist” in to the tiny bathroom so that I could use the toilet & try & have a shower, after a lot of manoeuvring, stress & floor mopping due to not being able to get in to the shower properly we left the room to finally try & start enjoying our holiday. On arrival back at the apartment we found a new & much bigger hoist which was superb & that the toilet was now working.

I could now use the toilet in the disabled bathroom but still could not use the shower due to the 4” drop, I did consider removing the wooden shower tray from the other bathroom however it not only looked a different size but it had been very unstable when we had tried to use it the previous day.

On Thursday we had a disastrous day as my wheelchair decided to snap in half due mainly to most of the curbs being level on one side but 1“ to 6” on the other, the constant lifting up & down had obviously proved to much for my chair, a chair I have owned for over 8 years without fault. We managed to make our way back to the apartment thanks to 2 kind holiday makers & a taxi, once there I rang Gary who came over immediately & managed to get my wheelchair welded for the next day, while Gary was there I mentioned the problem with the shower tray, Gary swapped the trays over which fortunately were the correct size & stable once correctly in place.

During the week we got chatting to a couple of the other holidaymakers in the IPA Apartments both had said that they new nothing about any burst pipes in apartment 3A, one couple claimed that they had been speaking to a young dark haired lady in a wheelchair who was staying in apartment 3A, the lady I spoke to was absolutely 100% sure that the person in question was still in the apartment on the Saturday & Sunday when we arrived.

I do not believe that there was ever any burst in flat 3A & that Disabled Access Holidays had made a “cock-up”.

A couple of other problems that we had were that the beds are far to low for a carer to have to bend down & dress a disabled person, my fiancées knees & back were wrecked by the time the holiday had ended, the beds in two of the bedrooms were of the same height however there was a much higher bed in room 3 but this was completely impossible to use along with a hoist. A person who needs hoisting can not sit on the sofas as the legs of the hoist will not fit underneath to allow the disabled person to be hoisted over the sofa.

On my return flight again via Monarch the staff had again changed my seats from bulkhead to row 9 they also decided that I would be boarding the aircraft once all the other passengers had been seated. I was then manhandled down the isle I being bumped in to every seat on the way, once at the designated seat the airport staff could not get myself over the fixed arm so had to ask another two passengers to move to over seats, the husband & wife in question were far from happy as it meant they had to fly in seats 3 rows from each there, this made me feel very embarrassed. The staff then tried to lift myself in to one of the vacant seats only to be dropped on the floor. After another 10 minutes I was eventually in my seat but very sore from a cut & several bruises. On the return to Manchester I was left on the plane for 90 minutes as they could not locate my wheelchair, I eventual received £300 compensation but only after a lot of letter writing.

All in all this was the worse holiday myself & my fiancée have ever had the displeasure of experiencing largely due to the fault of Disabled Access Holidays. The IPA Apartments are only relevant if the disabled person can transfer or if they have an army of helpers, the only positive note I have to say is that Gary was superb.


Paul Hughes
Cheshire

[Russell Family]

We spent 2 weeks at this apartment, returning home on 6th July 2012. We were dismayed that despite the preceding comments, nothing seems to have changed for the accomodation............

We specifically booked this holiday as we have a 24 year old son, who although he uses a wheelchair when out and about, is mobile with support and supervision. He also has profound learning disabilities.

The arrival to the flat should have forewarned us as to what to expect. There is a slight step at the entrance to the building, which can cause problems for a wheelchair user. The taxi driver unloaded us and our cases etc, gave us one set of keys, and directions as to where to find the flat. The flat is accessed through three doors, 2 of which are always locked, and past the "swimming pool" area. It is impossible to enjoy the use of this flat with only one set of keys - if each member of your party wants to do their own thing, you will either be locked in the flat or all have to go. It took us about 5 days to get a second set of keys from the agent.

As for the accommodation, this is what we experienced:-

1) Although there are nominally 3 twin bedrooms, the middle one has a bed which is approximately 4 foot high with a pull out bed underneath, which when pulled out takes up the entire width of the room. Our family meant that we had no option other than to move the pull out bed into our bedroom for our disabled son to sleep on, not an ideal situation for anyone. To have put him in the high bed would have been extremely dangerous as he can get out of bed, but would more than likely have fallen out and broken a bone.

2) The bed linen consisted of a sheet and a single duvet cover as a top sheet. The bed linen also had stains, from the colour of which were either vomit, blood or urine. We washed them but the stains remained. Any normal person would have chucked these in the bin as they were so disgusting!

3) The toaster didn't work and it took 6 days for Gary to replace it.

4) The kettle also stopped working and we had a lengthy wait until Gary could get to Palma to replace it, despite us advising him that the Eroski supermarket had kettles and toasters on sale for 13 - 14 euros. The replacement kettle was a tin stove top one, with no cool wall - thus it was very dangerous for a person with disabilities.

5) the stairs to the roof terrace (which remains completely unaccessible to wheelchair users) are in themselves dangerous to those with mobility or vision problems. The very bottom step, which is exactly the same colour and material as the flooring) juts out into the hallway and is twice the height of a normal step. To prevent our son from falling over this step, we had to drape it with a white towel so that he could distinguish that there was a step there. Unfortunately, he did have a few falls there before we did this so suffered a few bruises!

6) The curtains in the bedroom with the ensuite are stained - again, any normal person would have taken these down and cleaned them.

7) The toilets - the one in the ensuite ran on after it was flushed, which Gary acknowledged could happen. There also was no toilet roll holder, just the broken remains of one. The other toilet had a toilet seat that was attached to the toilet with what looked like sticky pads ( the sort you use for arts and crafts) and did not remain fixed.By the end of our fortnight, this toilet too ran on.

8) The "swimming pool" - what a disappointment. The reality bore no resemblance to the highly selective photos that appear on the website. We actually chose this apartment over the others that DAH have as it had a pool. The pool measured approximately 4m x8m and is shared between in the region of 22 apartments. We only got in once and even then only when the sun had gone down and it was empty. It was never empty during the day, it only takes one family group to fill it, and with only 4 sunbeds around it, there is never a likliehood that you will be able to relax there. However, as it is situated in one corner of what is basically a back court with rather unappealing buildings, the ambience around the pool does not lend itself to a poolside holiday.The adjacent building to the pool actually has holes in it where it is disintegrating!

9) The balcony has a high level access, about 2 and a half inches, which would make it difficult for a wheelchair to access. Again our son tripped over this lip and bruised his knees, and that was with support. The balcony itself is not very wide and so we are unsure if a wheelchair would actually fit on it. It is also a north facing balcony, so loses the sun by late morning.

10) The location - admittedly it is two minutes walk (without a wheelchair ) to the Pine Walk and its adjacent beach and the square , but it is 1.7 kilometers to the beach at the other end of town which has the toileting and disabled facilities. We ended up hiring a car as it was too far to trek each day, and we were forced to do this as we could not get in the pool.

11) The local agents. Their shop was shut, saying closed for holidays. Luckily we went into the British Food Shop and they contacted the agents for us. We found the agents to be slow and unappreciative of the special provision need when a disabled person stays in the apartment.

12) On the day we left, we had to be out the apartment by 10am but had a late flight home. The owner of DAH had said before the holiday even started that usually they could make arrangements for us to access an apartment for changing purposes and to speak to the local agent to arrange this. We did and Gary was not in the least interested. He told us to leave our suitcases in the flat and pick them up in the afternoon when our taxi came! We were not happy to do this as it would impinge on someone else's holiday, and the hallway already had its width curtailed by the bottom step. We had also been advised that the Hotel Diana had suitable disabled toileting facilities, which it did not. In the end, we used the Left Luggage facility at the British Food Shop and drove to the beach to use their disabled toileting facilities.

We shall be writing to DAH with our complaints and our photographic proof, which unfortunately we can't post here. We have been to PP many many times (although this was our first and will be the last time with DAH) and love the resort and the friendly Spanish residents, who are always so welcoming to our son, and will no doubt return many more times with our son. However holidaymakers, be aware of the problems with the disabled access apartment and go forewarned!