The Traveling Wheelchair

291 South Shore Drive
South Yarmouth,Massachusetts, 02664 
Phone: 508-398-2288 
http://www.bestwesternmassachusetts.com/hotels/best-western-blue-water-on-the-ocean/

My mom and aunt finally found a hotel on the ocean on South Shore Drive that had a wheelchair accessible room with a wheelchair accessible roll in shower. It is the Best Western Blue Water which is one of the Red Jacket resorts. My mom and aunt decided to do a complete wheelchair accessibility review of the place since it had a wheelchair accessible room.

The parking lot of the Best Western Blue Water has a handicap parking space right up front by the main entry door to the lobby. Yet the lobby is not wheelchair accessible for there is a step at the doorway and another step at the threshold of the entry door.

The staff were very friendly and told my mom and aunt that they have two wheelchair accessible rooms but only one of the rooms has a roll in shower. The other wheelchair accessible room has a bathtub with a bench in it for a disabled person to sit on while showering. Kenny & Company don’t consider this a wheelchair accessible bathroom. My mom asked if they could see this room but was told that it was occupied. She also asked if there were any discounts for the disabled but was told there are no discounts.

My mom later saw a young couple coming out of the room with their luggage in hand and asked if they would mind if she saw the room and roll in shower. The couple were very nice and took my mom and aunt in to see the room. My mom also told me that the couple who was staying in the room were not disabled or in a wheelchair which she found odd for she saw a guest by the deck who was staying at the hotel who was in a wheelchair.

The wheelchair accessible room is right off the main parking lot. It has a wheelchair accessible ramp leading to it. There is a threshold ramp at the doorway so a person in a wheelchair would have no problems entering this room. The room is spacious yet there is only one king size bed in the room which is odd for usually wheelchair accessible rooms have two beds in case the disabled person brings along a friend or caregiver.

The shower in this wheelchair accessible room is a large wheelchair accessible roll in shower stall about the length of a bathtub. It has all the ADA required safety bars. The sink is accessible yet the exposed pipes are not covered. The bathroom is spacious so there is plenty of room to maneuver a wheelchair around this bathroom. The toilet also has the required safety bars.

Also off the main parking lot is a game room that has a large double staircase leading to it so the game room is not at all wheelchair accessible for there are no elevators in the hotel.

There is a nice and wide paved brick path that leads to the outdoor pool, deck area and outside snack bar and bar. The slope is nice and smooth so you shouldn’t have a problem wheeling your wheelchair to this area.

The outdoor pool is wheelchair accessible but there is not much room to maneuver your wheelchair around the pool. The pool has steps and there is no pool lift so you might find it hard to get into it. There is another sloped path that leads from the pool to an outdoor eating area. The tables in this area are a good height for wheelchairs and have umbrellas if you want to escape the hot sun while enjoying some lunch or a drink. The snack bar has a window where you place your food order and this window is high for a person in a wheelchair but manageable.

From the eating area there is a step leading to the outdoor bar and another outdoor eating area. This area also has a large deck with lounge chairs and umbrellas that overlooks the beautiful sandy beach.  One can sit on a lounge chair and enjoy the ocean view and breeze.

A person in a wheelchair needs to go back and leave the pool area and go back on the main brick sloped path to get to this area so they can sit and enjoy the beautiful view of the beach and the ocean.

The Blue Water beach is not wheelchair accessible from this area for there are three set of stairways  leading down to the beach. Blue Water doesn’t have any all terrain beach wheelchairs so if you want to enjoy the beach and go into the ocean you will need to bring a beach wheelchair.

The beach is wheelchair accessible with a beach wheelchair from the parking lot on the side of the Blue Water resort. You can get to this area by cutting across the grass for there are some steps in the area leading to this side parking lot where you can access the beach. The beach is absolutely beautiful with nice smooth white sand.

From the main parking lot is also an entry to the Surfside Restaurant and Lounge which is on the property of the Blue Water Resort. There is a sloped cement that leads to the entry door but the entry door is not automatic. The tables inside the restaurant are a good height for a wheelchair but it is very dark inside and hard to see.

There is a hallway off the dining room which leads to the restrooms. The restrooms are very spacious and have large handicap stalls with all the ADA required safety bars. The sinks are wheelchair accessible but there is no covering around the exposed pipes. From the restroom you can access a locker room which leads to the Jacuzzi and Indoor Pool but the Jacuzzi and the Indoor pool are not wheelchair accessible. The Jacuzzi is elevated and is difficult to get into and the pool is at the bottom of a staircase.

The resort is large and really spread out for there are many guest rooms. There are many paths and steps on the premises of the Blue Water Resort that a person in a wheelchair will need to avoid. It is best to ask for a map of the resort property so you will know what paths to take that are wheelchair accessible.

The Blue Water Resort is very expensive so you may want to check the rates for different times of the week during the summer when it is a less costly.

Kenny and Company give the Best Western Blue Water TWO STARS for wheelchair accessibility. We were generous in our rating just because we were thankful that they at least had one wheelchair accessuble room with a roll in shower. Yet they still have a lot that they could do to become more wheelchair accessible. In order to earn the other Three Stars they need to install a ramp, sloped walk or ADA threshold leading into the main lobby, install an automatic door at main lobby and Surfside Restaurant entry doors, install cement slopes or ramps at the places where there are steps, place protective covering around the exposed sinks in the wheelchair accessible bathroom, install an elevator or wheelchair  lift to the game room and the indoor pool area, install a handicap pool lift at both the indoor and outdoor pool, and offer a discount for disabled persons in wheelchairs until they make all the changes to ensure everyplace on their property is accessible to persons in wheelchairs, purchase an all terrain  beach wheelchair so their disabled guests can to access the beautiful beach. The Blue Water should also ensure that persons in wheelchairs get first preference for the wheelchair accessible room before they allow persons not in wheelchairs to occupy it and make it unavailable to  persons who need the wheelchair accessible room.