My mom, friends and I headed back to Plymouth in search of a hotel near the historic waterfront that has a wheelchair accessible room with a roll-in shower. With nearly one million tourists visit the Historic Plymouth Waterfront every year and many are in wheelchairs! We thought it would be good to review some of the local hotels for wheelchair accessibility. Since many of us wheelers can only shower in a roll-in-shower we feel a roll-in shower is a priority and were happy we found one in John Carver Inn.
John Carver Inn & Spa is located in the heart of historic Plymouth and is only a five minute wheel from the historic Plymouth Harbor. There are two handicap parking spaces located right in front of the entrance. Access to the sidewalk is close by.
The double sets of entry doors are not automatic so my friend Douglas held the door open while Ric pushed my manual chair inside. My friend Tony held the second door open for us. Once inside I found the lobby is spacious with plenty of room to maneuver my chair. The décor is of historic Victorian style and it is lit with a beautiful chandelier.
The Registration Counter is too high for a person in a wheelchair. The employees behind the desk were very warm, courteous and kind. We asked if the Inn has a wheelchair accessible guest room with a roll-in shower and were told they have only 1 upgraded Fireplace Suite with a roll-in shower and it is wheelchair accessible; all the other accessible standard rooms have bathtubs with a seat and safety grab bars. The Fireplace Suite is more costly $$! They kindly gave us a key and told us we could take a look at this suite!
We then headed to the elevator, which we found small but manageable to fit my chair and my friends. The hallways are kind of narrow and dark but I was happy to see side railings located on the walls where the floor sloped.
We arrived at the wheelchair accessible suite; inside has two small rooms; one being a sitting room and the other is a bedroom. The rooms are somewhat old fashioned and dark. There is a neat fireplace that you can see through in each room. The main problem is the bed is way too high for me to transfer safely into. I usually stand and pivot but I could never reach the top of this mattress safely. I would need my friends to lift me which isn’t easy to do.
The guestroom bathroom is spacious fully wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant. The roll-in shower is a little small to fit my shower chair with a caregiver but Ric and I did manage to squeeze in. The Jacuzzi would be difficult for me to get into for there is no lift. The accessible sink is of a perfect height and the pipes underneath are covered as is ADA required. The toilet is of an ADA height and the safety grab bars are easy to reach.
This Inn has a really cool indoor pool and hot tub. A water slide winds down a replica of Mayflower II and a hot tub sits on a replica of Plymouth Rock! There is no pool lift here to help get you into this cool hot tub or pool. There is a handicapped restroom located in the hall off the lobby. It is spacious, wheelchair accessible and fully ADA compliant except the pipe under the accessible sink is not covered as is required by ADA.
The Governor Carver Room where special functions are held is spacious and all tables wheelchair accessible. The Gift Shop is accessible here too.
I give John Carver Inn TWO STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other Three Stars, they would need to install automatic entry doors so a person in a wheelchair can enter independently; lower a section of the Registration Counter to a wheelchair accessible height; install a roll-in shower in a wheelchair accessible standard guest room so you don’t need to pay more $$ for the suite; lower the bed in the wheelchair accessible suite; cover the pipes under the accessible sink in the handicapped bathroom; and provide a permanent or portable pool lift.