While I wait for a response to my letter to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Forest Service about the toilet seat height at El Yunque, I just wrote this one to the manager of Villa del Palmar, the resort my mom and I stayed at in Mexico. Who would have ever thought that going to the bathroom would be such an issue?
Good morning,
I am writing to express my thoughts regarding a recent stay at your property in Cancun. Due to a spinal cord injury, I use a wheelchair. I have no leg function and am unable to walk. I am completely reliant on my wheelchair.
I knew when I reserved a room at Villa del Palmar that it would probably not conform to the standards required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) since that Act does not apply to facilities in Mexico. But I was very pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the resort and I found a street-level entrance to the lobby and gently sloping ramps throughout the grounds. It was easy for me to maneuver my wheelchair around the swimming pools, into and out of the restaurants, and through the corridors leading to guestrooms.
The room my mom and I stayed in (3004A) from August 2 - 8 had an enormous bathroom with grab bars around the toilet and in the bathtub. It was a real disappointment, though, to see that the toilet seat in our "accessible" room was several inches lower than the seat on my wheelchair. The ADA requires toilet seats be 17" - 19" off the floor. The lower seat height in room 3004A made it very difficult for me to transfer from the toilet into my wheelchair. I am particularly bothered by this situation because the bidet in the women's restroom in the hotel lobby has a seat height that is level with my wheelchair seat. So the lobby restroom is better equipped than the guestrooms designated as wheelchair accessible.
In spite of the grab bars in the bathtub, the fact that the resort does not have shower benches available for disabled guests made it impossible for me to shower while I was on vacation. And the roll-under sink in the bathroom - a terrific feature - has a decorative wooden faceplate that hangs down so low I scraped my thighs on it while rolling under the sink to brush my teeth.
During my stay at your facility, I learned that Villa del Palmar Cancun Resort and Spa is undergoing a massive expansion. It would be nice if this multi-million dollar project included a few thousand dollars for upgrading and improving accessibility features for disabled guests. Toilets and shower benches are not that expensive to buy, and removing the decorative wooden trim on the bathroom sinks would allow these sinks to be safely and comfortably used as they are intended.
I would also like to suggest that purchasing a few beach wheelchairs be considered. I saw three other guests in wheelchairs while I was at Villa del Palmar, and although I greatly appreciate your staff members carrying me down the steps from the pool deck to the beach so that I could lie on a lounge chair, a wheelchair that rolls through the sand would allow me and other disabled guests the opportunity to enjoy the ocean water.
Villa del Palmar is a beautiful resort with exceptional employees. My mom and I had a wonderful vacation in Playa Mujeres, and our return is not out of the question. You are welcome to contact me if you have questions regarding how to implement my suggestions.
Sincerely,
Kris Gulden
Good morning,
I am writing to express my thoughts regarding a recent stay at your property in Cancun. Due to a spinal cord injury, I use a wheelchair. I have no leg function and am unable to walk. I am completely reliant on my wheelchair.
I knew when I reserved a room at Villa del Palmar that it would probably not conform to the standards required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) since that Act does not apply to facilities in Mexico. But I was very pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the resort and I found a street-level entrance to the lobby and gently sloping ramps throughout the grounds. It was easy for me to maneuver my wheelchair around the swimming pools, into and out of the restaurants, and through the corridors leading to guestrooms.
The room my mom and I stayed in (3004A) from August 2 - 8 had an enormous bathroom with grab bars around the toilet and in the bathtub. It was a real disappointment, though, to see that the toilet seat in our "accessible" room was several inches lower than the seat on my wheelchair. The ADA requires toilet seats be 17" - 19" off the floor. The lower seat height in room 3004A made it very difficult for me to transfer from the toilet into my wheelchair. I am particularly bothered by this situation because the bidet in the women's restroom in the hotel lobby has a seat height that is level with my wheelchair seat. So the lobby restroom is better equipped than the guestrooms designated as wheelchair accessible.
In spite of the grab bars in the bathtub, the fact that the resort does not have shower benches available for disabled guests made it impossible for me to shower while I was on vacation. And the roll-under sink in the bathroom - a terrific feature - has a decorative wooden faceplate that hangs down so low I scraped my thighs on it while rolling under the sink to brush my teeth.
During my stay at your facility, I learned that Villa del Palmar Cancun Resort and Spa is undergoing a massive expansion. It would be nice if this multi-million dollar project included a few thousand dollars for upgrading and improving accessibility features for disabled guests. Toilets and shower benches are not that expensive to buy, and removing the decorative wooden trim on the bathroom sinks would allow these sinks to be safely and comfortably used as they are intended.
I would also like to suggest that purchasing a few beach wheelchairs be considered. I saw three other guests in wheelchairs while I was at Villa del Palmar, and although I greatly appreciate your staff members carrying me down the steps from the pool deck to the beach so that I could lie on a lounge chair, a wheelchair that rolls through the sand would allow me and other disabled guests the opportunity to enjoy the ocean water.
Villa del Palmar is a beautiful resort with exceptional employees. My mom and I had a wonderful vacation in Playa Mujeres, and our return is not out of the question. You are welcome to contact me if you have questions regarding how to implement my suggestions.
Sincerely,
Kris Gulden
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