THE GALLEY OF LORNE

Facilities for Guests with Disabilities

"We stayed in the Uist suite. The room was cosy, very clean and comfortable and has views over looking Loch Craignish. The bathroom was lovely and nearly as big as the room so plenty of space for my wheelchair. I am permanently in an electric wheelchair and I found the Uist suite suitable for my needs. "
Keri, Andrew & Sophia Naylor
Reviewed June 2014
We at The Galley of Lorne Inn welcome guests of all disability levels and can ensure you that we will do our utmost to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

As with all of our guests, our one aim is to ensure you have a fabulous stay with us here at The Galley of Lorne Inn, so much so, you will be itching to return. Please call us on 01852 500284 prior to making a reservation and we will happily spend as much time as you need on the phone explaining everything you wish to know, advising and pointing you towards other beneficial information and pictures on our website. Simply we’re here to help from first contact, all the way through to departure.

All on One Level

How many hotels in Scotland can offer an establishment where there is not one step in the building to negotiate?

During our tenure at The Galley of Lorne Inn, at every point in which we have made improvements to the hotel we have taken into account the needs of our guests with disabilities.
  • 01. Ramps: When replacing our public bar floor we took out any steps and created ramps instead.
  • 02. Paving: The path around the hotel from the beer garden to the restaurant sundeck was originally shingle, however it is now all paved.
  • 03. Ground Level: All of our rooms in the hotel are on ground level.
  • 04. No Steps: It is now possible to negotiate the entire hotel without encountering any steps at all.
  • 05. Access: Access is completely unrestricted to the rooms, restaurant, sundeck, gardens, lounge bar, public bar and beer garden.
We are proud to say that there is not one step in the whole of the establishment. In order to be totally transparent, there is one door threshold of no more than 70mm (below minimum disability guidelines for a step) to negotiate between the hotel entrance and reception.

Our efforts in this respect make life much easier for those with walking disabilities or guests who use wheelchairs.

Our Rooms

With only seven rooms, we are sure you will appreciate that we are not in a position to convert a room to be completely modified for disabled guests. We of course believe we must make this fundamentally clear from the outset. However we have taken great strides to convert a room to being as disabled friendly as we possibly can.
Recommended Room
Subject to availability, we recommend our Uist Suite.

Whilst we have had guests in almost all of our rooms with disabilities, we recommend the Uist suite primarily as the bathroom has a large low based shower with a permanent grab rail in which we can accommodate an adjustable shower chair.

On Arrival

On arrival you will be asked to complete a ‘PEEP’ form (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) so that we may establish any particular needs that you may have to enable you to safely evacuate the building. Any detail you provide will be handled in confidence and stored only, with your consent, with the necessary parties required to ensure your safety and that of others in the event of an evacuation from the building.
CONVERTING OUR UIST SUITE INTO A

Disability Friendly Suite

If you require furniture to be moved around in order to accommodate wheelchairs etc. We can discuss this and make the necessary changes to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

Converting the Bathroom
We have a range of aids that can be added to the bathroom, in addition to walking aids that we have at your disposal and our Disabled Toilet in Reception.  Please ask about additional aids at the time of enquiry and we’ll be delighted to advise.

Other Ways in Which

We Can Help

We also have at your disposal the following aids which we are more than happy for you to use on our premises:
  • a collapsible walking frame
  • two adjustable walking sticks
  • two adjustable crutches

Disabled Toilet in Reception

Finally our disabled toilet in the reception area is equipped to DOC M specification with all grab rails and emergency alarm system. During opening hours please feel free to use these facilities if you so wish.

Dining

We’re always on the lookout for innovative ways to improve the experience for our guests with disabilities. If you or a member of your family is a wheelchair user, it can sometimes be difficult to get fully under some restaurant tables, however our ‘elephant feet’ raise the table by 3 inches giving that extra space to dine in comfort.

"I stayed at The Galley of Lorne Inn for 5 nights (from Sunday 8th June 2014- Friday 13th June 2014) with my husband and our 12 month old daughter for our honeymoon and to visit family.

The Galley of Lorne Inn is a lovely hotel located in Ardfern, surrounded by stunning views over Loch Craignish. The hospitality was very good; Andrew (one of the owners) introduced himself to us on our first night at dinner, welcomed us and also said that if we needed anything, to just ask.

The food for us was great! The bouillabaisse was lovely (I ordered this on more than one occassion), I loved the sticky toffee pudding and the locally caught mussels were yummy! My husband liked the steak and triple cooked chips.

We stayed in the Uist suite. The room was cosy, very clean and comfortable and has views over looking Loch Craignish. The bathroom was lovely and nearly as big as the room so plenty of space for my wheelchair. I am permanently in an electric wheelchair and I found the Uist suite suitable for my needs. My husband had phoned The Galley of Lorne Inn (in December 2013) and spoke to Andrew (one of the owners) who recommended the Uist suite with myself being disabled. It was fully explained by Andrew to my husband that it is not a disabled room but they could provide a shower seat for the shower and other items as listed on their disability website page and that it was fine for us to bring any further disabled equipment, which we did. So, the room was perfectly fine for us. There is also a disabled toilet in the reception area (which is also stated on The Galley of Lorne Inn's website).

I also loved that The Galley of Lorne Inn is all on one level and I didn't have any problems getting in and out of the hotel's entrance or around the hotel. I also have a push wheelchair, that my husband would have easily been able to push me around the hotel; and there are the small (approximately 7 cms in height) door frame steps (entrance to the hotel) which when using the push wheelchair properly (by my husband) using the foot bar at the back to lift the wheelchair slightly, would be easy enough to manoeuvre into the hotel (my push wheelchair can easily be pushed up road kerbs/steps of at least 15 cms in height).

I would happily recommend The Galley of Lorne Inn and the Uist suite to other people with disabilities but to bring your own equipment if you require something that is not listed as being able to be provided on their website. The room isn't big enough for a hoist as you wouldn't get the hoist legs under the bed, but I must stress that Andrew fully explained that the Uist suite wasn't a disabled room and so when we booked it we were well aware and very satisfied that it would be suitable for myself, bringing my additional disabled equipment as well.

Ardfern and the surrounding areas are absolutely beautiful and the views are breathtaking. We had a wonderful time for our honeymoon in Scotland and stay at The Galley of Lorne Inn.

Thank you!"