The Best Western Beacon Harbourside Resort & Conference Centre 2793 Beacon Blvd. Jordan, ON Tel: 905-562-4155 Reservations:1-888-823-2266 Fax: 905-562-5524 Web site: www.bestwestern.com then go to Jordan
	Lobby	Marina and lake view

Number of rooms in the hotel: 62 – number of accessible rooms: 2

The hotel is nestled on the gorgeous south shore of Lake Ontario with a view to die for overlooking the harbour and marina. On a clear day you can see clear across the lake to the CN Tower in Toronto. Looking to your right you will see Port Dalhousie and to your left the city of Burlington. When we visited it was a drizzly, foggy day but it was still pretty out on the lake.

The accessible rooms are numbers 417 and 418 and both are non-smoking rooms with balconies (not accessible because of a step up). Despite their room numbers, they are actually located on the ground floor, just off the lobby. The hotel’s 62 rooms are on levels 3, 4 and 5. The lower floors, at lake level, house the banquet and conference facilities. All of the hotel rooms have a fabulous view of the lake and wireless Internet access. The downside to the hotel is the fact that the bathroom poses a real problem to guests using wheelchairs or scooters. (More on that later and please view the photos.) Dog owners are asked to book a room with access to the back entrance and grounds , if possible.

PARKING AND ENTRANCE: When we pulled in to park the van, we found two designated spots either side of the entrance for a total of four spots. However, upon entering the hotel we discovered we were actually in the dining rooms part of the lobby and had to follow the signs down the hall to the right to the main hotel lobby. It was an honest mistake on our part as the main hotel entrance is a little obscure and has no designated parking marked, although the hotel does have free parking for 400 vehicles. The entrances to the hotel and dining room do have automatic doors.

LOBBY: The lobby is at the rear of the hotel with the same fabulous view of the harbour and marina. The flooring is tile with carpeting in the sitting areas. The pool is off the lobby but is not accessible. There are low telephones (no TTY), snack and soft drink vending machines, ice machine and racks of tourist information. Lovely original watercolour paintings hang on the walls.

ELEVATORS, HALLWAYS AND ROOM ENTRANCES: Because of its size and layout, this hotel does not have an elevator, but wheelchair and scooter users can access the lower levels by exiting the building and using a paved walkway around the hotel.

The hallways are wide, well lighted and, despite the hotel’s location alongside the busy Queen Elizabeth Way, very quiet.

From the lobby, you go through fairly heavy double fire doors that open out toward you and Room 417 is immediately on your left. The hallway is 69” wide and entry to the room is with a key card. The door is 30” wide with no lower peephole. The inside hallway is 45” wide and a switch on the left turns on an overhead hall light. The bathroom door is immediately on your left.

Two doubles on legs	Opposite the beds	Space between bed and TV

BEDROOM: The bedroom features two double beds on legs. There is a long dresser at the foot of the beds with a low vertical mirror above it and a wall lamp with a twist knob. A remote TV sits on a desk along with a tea/coffee station. There is one night table with a clock radio between the beds and a double extension wall-mounted lamp with twist knobs above the table. A round table with two tub chairs are in the corner of the room near the patio doors to the balcony. A telephone sits on the table and a ceiling pot light is above the table. A switch on the wall above the TV activates the ceiling light but it is not within reach of anyone in a seated position. The room environment unit is 27” high, sits on the floor by the patio doors and is operated with push buttons and twist knobs. The patio doors slide open to reveal the gorgeous lake view and sounds of seagulls. The balcony is not accessible owing to a 5 ½” high lip, but the fresh air and sounds of the outdoors are appealing.

There is sufficient space in the bedroom to turn around with 40” between the beds, 40” from the foot of the beds to the dresser and 42” from the dresser to the heat/air unit. There is a space of 24” from the side of the bed to the round dining table but this table and pair of tub chairs could be removed in necessary. There were no visible open plugs for charging a battery.

Toilet and vertical grab bar	outer sink area from bathroom/low towels	toilet area and high towels

impossible to close door and tub is behind door	L-shaped grab bar on side of tub	high hand held shower head and very high soap dish

BATHROOM: The bathroom is the problem area for wheelchair and scooter users. Please view the photos for more information. There is a small outer bathroom area that has a sink on the left and a closet on the right. A light switch is on the wall on the left 53” high with a double plug outlet. The sink has twist knob faucets, is 30½” high and is open below 22”. There is a low mirror above the sink. A hair dryer is 52” high on the wall. The closet has a luggage rack, an iron 66” high on the wall, an ironing board, extra pillows and no lower clothes rack.

Entry into the bathroom is extremely tight and the room is extremely small. If you’re on a scooter you cannot close the bathroom door, and because the door opens in front of the tub you can’t use the tub. If the bathroom door is not closed you cannot access the bathtub. You could use the toilet with the door open if using a wheelchair or scooter. A very small wheelchair could access the toilet and tub with the door closed. We couldn't get back far enough to take a picture of the entire tub with shower area.

The door is 29” wide with a knob handle. Directly in front of you is the toilet, which is 17” high with a 32” vertical grab bar to the left. This grab bar faces frontwards so a person would have to twist their wrist to use it. I'm not sure if it would help anyone trying to get up off the toilet. The bathtub is 15” high with a 4” outer lip and a 1” inner lip. It has a twist knob control. The handheld showerhead can be taken off and left to hang in the tub. The soap dish is built in and positioned in the corner 44” up from the top of the tub...so high that only a person standing in the tub could use it. There is an L-shaped grab bar on the wall opposite the faucet. There is a space of 29” from the door to the front of the toilet and 59” from the tub to the opposite mirror wall. Towels are on a rack 41” high and 65” high on the wall behind the toilet.

Booths and tables and chairs	Large buffet area	view out over Lake Ontario

RESTAURANTS: The Smoking Lounge is immediately on the left as you enter the hotel from the dining entrance of the parking lot. This room is a bar/billiards sports dining room. Directly in front of you is the entrance to the full service Harbourside Dining Room and Lounge, which is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and stays open up to 2 a.m. on weekends. The restaurant, which is furnished with tables and chairs and booths, offers casual lakeside dining with international cuisine and room service between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Popular with visitors and locals alike are the Harbourside buffets on Thursday nights as well as the Sunday brunch.

Washrooms: The washroom off the dining lounge has an accessible stall but it is immediately on the left as you enter the bathroom and the door opens out without a handle or latch. It is all but inaccessible if you use a mobility device and are alone. A recommendation was made to change the stall door to open the other way and add a handle to facilitate closing the door. There is a sign on the outer bathroom door stating that the main washroom is on the other side of the restaurant, but when auditing the facility we found that the main washroom is also inaccessible.

This hotel is ideally situated with a fabulous view and is just 12 miles from the Niagara Falls tourist hub, Casino Niagara and lovely winery tours. If you can stand to manage in a small bathroom area this hotel might work for you. For your shopping pleasure, Pen Centre in the city of St. Catharines is just six miles down the highway and also offers numerous casual and fine dining opportunities.

Audited June 17, 2004