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Hyatt Place Detroit/Auburn Hills
Traveling for work again I found myself at the Hyatt Place Detroit/Auburn Hills for a few days. The hotel is really great and I always enjoy staying there because the staff has always been helpful and a few times a little too helpful.
Here's my quick-n-dirty.
- The shower did not suffer from limp syndrome! It freakin' worked! I was able to release the wheel to move it down so the spray would hit me more directly. I was also able to twist the head into the perfect position! The deal was sealed but it would have been golden if they had one of those uhhm shower rods that is curved. Just to give me a little more room to maneuver but hey, I'm not complaining!
- The room was easy to get around. It was an odd arrangement though because the bed was right inside the door and the couch and desk were against the opposite wall.
- I was able to roll under every counter, both the bathroom sink and mini bar sink. Picture
- The hangers and small shelf were low! I was actually able to reach the hangers to put up my shirts and pants. This was another first for me. Picture
- I was also able to roll under the desk which is nice. If you remember I could not at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago O'Hare Airport-Rosemont. Picture
- There wasn't a second privacy look unlike at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago O'Hare Airport-Rosemont. This is a little rough because I usually don't like opening the door while in a hotel. I'm not normally that kind of guy but hey, it crosses my mind. Picture
- The power strip to plug in at the desk was behind the couch's end-table. I wasn't able to move the thing because it was pretty heavy and you really can't even see it in the picture. So I had to hop out of my chair and get on the couch so I could plug in. Picture
If I wanted to be really picky there are two last things.
- The bathroom door was pretty damn heavy. So much so that it would nearly shut with the desk chair I used as a stopper. Thankfully I have enough arm strength/mobility to get it open and wheel in at the same time but for those less fortunate this could have been a problem if they were traveling alone. No one wants to call down to the front desk for something that simple but if you had too, you would. I guess I don't mind innocent by standers listening to me piss. Now if I had the shits, oooiii that could make for a few laughs.
- There wasn't a trashcan in the bathroom itself which is really not all that big of deal other then I had to then put my dirty catheter goods on my lap, get the heavy door open and roll out. So I moved one of the trashcans into the bathroom only to have it moved back out under the desk after the cleaning person made their rounds.
Doubletree Hotel Chicago O'Hare Airport-Rosemont
Recently for work I stayed at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago O'Hare Airport-Rosemont. Thankfully my co-worker requested an accessible room for me so I was looking forward to staying and writing a quick review.
Here's my quick-n-dirty.
- The room was very spacious and I was able to roll around to pretty much anywhere I needed too.
- The thermostat was in a small corner with a chair and armoire, blocking me. Picture
- The clothes hangers in the armoire were a little hard to reach. Picture
- There was a second "privacy look" on the door so I could check out who's at my door. Picture
- While sitting in my TiLite wheelchair, with only 26' tires, my legs did not fit under the desk. Picture (Yes folks, they're real.)
- The "accessible" shower head fell victim to limp syndrome as most I encounter do. Picture
One thing I do want to spend a little more time on is #6. I've lost count on how many showers have failed the all important gimp test. The first room I was in at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago O'Hare Airport-Rosemont was different then the one pictured above. The removable shower head was in fact non-removable. It was positioned on a vertical bar and shockingly was not suffering from limp syndrome. However, the water pressure was and thus it barely made it past the drain. So the nice bench that was on the back wall went unused. I spent the week showering on the floor. I made a call down to the front-desk but after an hour I had to leave my room so I'm not sure if they ever showed up.
Doubletree Hotel Chicago O'Hare Airport-Rosemont mikeagimp rating: 3 out of 5
Austin City Limits 07 Accessibility Review
It's that time of the year for another great music festival and damn, Austin City Limits is a good one. It's big enough but not Bonnaroo big. The festival is hosted by Zilker Park and the two "main" stages are on opposite ends. The park grounds are much more wheelchair friendly compared to the farmland at Bonnaroo. At Bonnaroo, I ran into a lot of tire tracks and other uneven ground from the weeks of setup. For the most part, Zilker Park was pretty grassy and easy to roll over. I wasn't rocking out the big Kenda treads I was at Bonnaroo which I think definitely helped me out. My every day treads were good enough. I imagine they made it a lot easier to go uphill when switching between the two main stages throughout the day. At Bonnaroo, traveling between the two stages was a good workout. For us gimps at ACL, that damn hill is really the only pain in the ass. It's just steep enough that you don't want to tackle it head on. I found it best to go as far right as possible when heading towards the AMD stage. The hill felt smaller over there.
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