Personal Stories
MS friendly hotels: Caterina P.
Four years ago the student Caterina P., 31 years old, visited Kenya, although she has had MS for 12 years. A week before her flight she began malaria prophylaxis. She returned in good shape. At that time she could walk without any aid, and she enjoyed the safari and the colourful marketplaces. It was a marvellous experience, she enthuses about her trip even today. In the meantime, she now needs a wheelchair during relapse phases.
Last autumn I went with my mother to the Spanish Atlantic coast. We booked an accessible hotel suitable for the handicapped with the help of TUI travel agency. I knew beforehand how much space the bathroom had and that the hotel was only 3 kilometres from the town. That’s a distance I can do myself in my wheelchair. The hotel had ramps, although they were a bit steep. I was also hampered by the high rim of the bathtub, which made bathing difficult. But the service in the hotel was good and the staff very helpful. For instance, there was no refrigerator in the room. When I inquired about a solution for keeping my medication cool, the staff placed one in my room. The organised bus excursions also were no problem. Everyone made allowances for my special needs, and the bus driver helped me get in and out of the bus. Even at the airport in Spain, everything worked out fine.
In general I would wish to find easily accessible showers in hotel rooms and swimming pools with a railing at the edge to hold on to.
