I’ve always been fascinated with Great White Sharks after seeing the movie JAWS. This week my mom, Ric, Amanda and I traveled to Chatham on Cape Cod to see if we could spot one of the Great White Sharks recently sighted in the shallow waters of Chatham’s South Beach. The large population of grey seals living in the waters of Chatham is attracting Great White Sharks because seals are a major food source for sharks. Currently 5 miles of beach in Chatham has been closed due to seven confirmed sightings of Great White Sharks.
While in Chatham we decided to have lunch at the Beach House Grill, located at the Chatham Bars Inn, a luxurious ocean front resort. A few years ago we attended a function here and remembered the great view of many seals lying on sandbars and thought it might be a great place to spot a shark. The Beach House Grill which is located close to South Beach is very wheelchair friendly and accessible and it offers a spectacular view of Pleasant Bay, Sandbars and the Atlantic Ocean.
A parking lot, located right in front of the Beach House Grill has free valet parking. The parking lot consists of compacted crushed white seashells which make for an easy wheel. An accessible walkway leading to the open patio/deck entrance of the Beach House Grill is easy to wheel along.
Adjacent to the entrance is the Chatham Bars Inn outdoor swimming pool which only guests of the inn can use. We noticed this pool is wheelchair accessible because it has a sloped roll-in ramp leading into the shallow end instead of steps. We asked one of the attendants if we could take a closer look at the pool and he was very kind and let us inside. We were really impressed with the wheelchair accessibility of this pool! None of us had ever seen a hotel or public pool that is fully wheelchair accessible except for the pools at Water Wizz of Cape Cod.
After checking out the pool we went to the open entrance at Beach House Grill. A hostess warmly greeted us and showed us to an outdoor table in which we had a spectacular view of the Chatham Bars Inn’s private beach, Pleasant Bay, Atlantic Ocean. An accessible wooden walkway leads down to Chatham Bars Inn private beach which has soft white sand and a great view of the seals lying on the sandbars. We saw tons of seals lazily resting on the sandbars.
If you want up to date information about sharks spotted in Chatham click on 2010 Shark Sightings on Cape Cod.
The Beach House grill offers both indoor and outdoor dining. All the dining tables are wheelchair accessible and of perfect accessible height. Our waitress was very kind and friendly and took the time to listen to me place my order. Our meals were fresh and delicious and the service was fantastic!
An awesome bar located on the outdoor deck is NOT wheelchair accessible for it is too high for me to reach. Two tables adjacent to the bar are not accessible either because they are tall bar style tables and too high for me to reach.
The luxurious restrooms are beautiful, spacious, wheelchair accessible and fully ADA compliant. The faucet, hand towels or hand blower are easily within my reach. The pipes under the accessible sinks are covered as is ADA required.
I give the Beach House Restaurant at Chatham Bars Inn FOUR STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the Fifth Star they would need to lower a section of the outdoor bar to an accessible height so a customer in a wheelchair can enjoy a drink at this awesome bar. Chatham Bars Inn deserves FIVE STARS for having an outdoor swimming pool that is fully accessible to all guests staying at this luxurious resort!