May 2018 – Four Legs Two Wheels

Secrets Puerto Los Cabos

A few months ago we went to Cabo San Lucas for a little get away with some friends. We ended up staying at Secrets Puerto Los Cabos. The surrounding area and drive to the resort was just beautiful.

After getting to the resort they didn’t have an handicap accessible room for us, so they upgraded us to a room with a swim out pool. The room had plenty of room for Gary to move around, but the room still wasn’t accessible. The shower had a step to get in, so we had to bump Gary up to get into the shower. So there wouldn’t be a way you could shower if you were on your own. Now, they did tell us the accessible room would be available the next night, but we decided to stay in our room and make it work since we had the swim out pool and we were already unpacked. Of course there wasn’t a lift for the swim out pool, but it was a very nice view.

The hotel in general was very nice and we had a blast. We pretty much just stayed by the pool and hung out with our friends the whole time. We never really made it out of the resort, nor did we check out the beach. The best part of the hotel was that it was all inclusive. The restaurants were hit or miss. Some of the restaurants were delicious others were just so so. But hey, everything was included, so you could really order as much as you wanted or go to a different restaurant if you weren’t satisfied. The pool and swim up bar were nice but unfortunately no pool lift. So we would give the pool a thumbs down for being wheelchair friendly. Luckily we had friends there to help us get in and out of the pool.

So overall rating for wheelchair users

Room: thumbs ↓

Hotel: thumbs ↑

Pool: thumbs ↓

Vegas

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We took a weekend trip to Las Vegas for a friend’s birthday and ended up staying at the SLS Hotel. The hotel is relatively newer on the strip and is close to the Stratosphere hotel. We were able to get a handicap accessible room and the hotel was connected to the monorail train. These are some of the positives of the hotel. The hotel itself is nice and is a little bit on the smaller side, nothing too fancy and not a lot of traffic. The restaurants in the hotel that we tried were just okay. Nothing special and definitely on the pricey side. The room itself was small, but enough room for Gary to get around. The bathroom was nice with a built in shower bench. And we believe this trend is seen in all of the hotels in Vegas, but what is with all the carpet? There were carpets on the ramps and just about everywhere, making it harder for Gary to wheel around. In addition to the carpet, we will say that the pool was nothing great. It was on the smaller side and was broken up into two halves that were not connected. No lift either. So the pool was a thumbs down in our opinion and the overall hotel experience just okay. So if you are looking for an handicap accessible hotel in Vegas, you may want to look elsewhere for better options.

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So besides staying at the hotel, we made it out to Freemont street, saw a show, found a great breakfast place off the strip, visited Lasher sport wheel chair shop, walked the strip and went to the Wynn buffet. If you are out in Vegas please check out Lasher sport. He has the best materials and technology for creating wheelchairs and is really friendly and knowledgable. Check him out!

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Shown below are a few pictures of Makers and Finders. A great breakfast spot off the strip. Check them out!

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The Wynn Hotel. IMG_0063_3

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Inside the buffet. Probably the best buffet we ever had!

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Ireland Adventures

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Some of the friendliest people you will ever meet are the Irish. Meeting some of the locals was one of the best experiences of our Ireland trip. One local definitely stood out in helping us enjoy our trip to the fullest. His name is Jonny Mac and he owns a tour guide company called Jonny Mac’s famous Ireland tours. As far as we know, he has the only tour company in Dublin that caters to wheelchair users. He has a handicap accessible van and will take you pretty much anywhere you would like to go for a day trip from Dublin. We decided to go see Giant’s Causeway and along the way he took us through Belfast, to the Dark Hedges (shown in Game of Thrones), a beautiful broken down castle, a little cafe with the best scones we ever tasted and then to a quaint restaurant with delicious oysters. It was an amazing day and we have to thank Jonny for that. Not only is he friendly and easy going, he was very helpful to Gary. His personality is one where you feel as if you been friends for years. Easy to talk, very knowledgable about local history and knew the all the best spots to explore. We would have never found all these wonderful restaurants, little towns, and beautiful history without him. Traveling with him really took the stress out of site seeing, as he did all the work for us. We highly recommend him! A must if you are traveling to Ireland.

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Ireland Accessible Hotels

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When we went to Ireland last year we were a little afraid of how accessible the accommodations would be. To our surprise we actually booked two hotels that were perfectly accessible and very nice. We ended up staying at the Brooks Hotel in Dublin and the g Hotel in Galway.

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Both had accessible rooms, however, there wasn’t an accessible room left at the g Hotel. We did call ahead of time to both hotels to check on how our accommodations would be. When we called the g Hotel, they said that all their handicap accessible rooms were booked, but they would make sure that we had a room that had a roll in shower that was accessible for Gary. The staff was great on the phone and in person. The g Hotel’s room was huge and beautiful. They upgraded us to a Luxury suite, so that we could have a roll in shower. The bathroom was very roomy and modern, but the roll in shower was a little tricky. The shower itself was huge, but the door into the shower was a little narrow. We were still able get Gary’s chair through with enough room to transfer to a shower bench, even though it was a little tight. We would definitely recommend this hotel. We can’t speak for the actual accessible rooms, but the non-accessible Luxury suite was as good as some of the hotels out there that claim to have accessible rooms. This is one of the nicest hotels in Galway, but just be aware that it’s a little far to walk to the downtown area of Galway. A cab will probably be necessary most days. If you are staying in Galway, check out the g Hotel. You won’t be disappointed!

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Now, let’s make our way back to Dublin and back to the Brooks hotel. The accessible room was an average size, but very clean and upscale. The bathroom was a decent size with a roll in shower. The room and hotel worked out perfect for us. It was a perfect location. There were plenty of restaurants, bars, museums and shopping to walk/roll to. We loved this hotel! If you are staying in Dublin and looking for an accessible room, please check out the Brooks hotel!

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In both hotels, the included breakfast is amazing. You can order anything off the breakfast menu and there is a buffet as well. This is not your holiday inn type of breakfast buffet, this is very upscale dinning with delicious food with all sorts of options. One of the best parts of the trip was stuffing ourselves with the gourmet breakfast foods before we went exploring.

Unfortunately, we don’t have many pictures of the hotels themselves except the second picture shown above, but we did manage to capture some pictures of the surrounding areas.

Joe’s Bar

If you are looking for the perfect spot in Chicago to listen to live music, Joe’s Bar is your place. Joe’s is large enough for a big stage, yet small enough to were it is an intimate space to enjoy music. Because it is on the smaller side, you can pretty much see anywhere you stand, except of course if you are in a wheelchair. But one of the nice things about Joe’s is they always cater to people in wheelchairs or with other disabilities. They always let Gary go in before everyone else to get a spot up front where he can actually see. Or there is a raised platform on the side of the stage that is for VIPs, but they usually let us go up there because it is easier for Gary. Although it isn’t as close as front and center stage, there is a bar connected to the platform and easier access to the restroom. So we tend to pick that spot if we can, but if you would rather be closer to the stage, it may not be for you. To each his own, right? The staff couldn’t be nicer and are always willing to help Gary. Next time you are looking for a place to listen to some tunes, check out Joe’s Bar on Weed Street.

If you are looking for a new band to follow, check out Cadillac Three ! A mix between southern rock and country. They are amazing live.

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