|
Inn on the Twenty |
 |
 |
|
Inn on the Twenty entrance and shops. Accessible
room is around the side to the left
|
Private gate entrance to your room
|
Your host: Helen Young
Within easy driving range of the roar of Niagara Falls but quiet and private is the accessible suite at Inn on the Twenty in the village of Jordan, Ontario.
This isn't your ordinary hotel. It is in one of the old Jordan Winery buildings dating back to the turn of the century and the lobby is on the second floor, but before you turn away thinking I'm nuts to be writing about a hotel with a second floor lobby for an accessibility Web site, read on a bit. You may be pleasantly surprised.
The hotel has 29 rooms, one accessible, that would be best used by someone who has help depending on whether you can transfer to a tub or not.
PARKING: There is a parking spot immediately adjacent to the entrance to your room - read on.
 |
 |
|
Daylilies everywhere in July
|
Your parking spot. This walkway takes you to the
main street |
ENTRANCE: The hotel has a canopy over a front door and a button too high for some people in wheelchairs to reach to summon someone from the front desk down to you from the second floor lobby. In truth, you don't have to go up there, ever. I'd suggest that you arrive armed with a cell phone and the number of the hotel and simply call the front desk as soon as you want to meet front desk personnel and register. The accessible room is around the building to the left and to the rear.
When we visited there were gold and deep orange daylilies out everywhere. The ground floor of the building houses two art galleries and a garden shop, all accessible. You go past those shops and down a long latticed walkway until you come to a four foot wide gate marked Private. Through that gate and the next (both have latches impossible for a person in a wheelchair or scooter to reach) takes you into a private courtyard with trees, flowers, a bench and table and chairs that belongs to your room.
 |
 |
 |
|
Your private courtyard
|
Inside the doors
|
More living room area
|
The room has double French doors that both open to give you all kinds of access room (71" with both open or 33" for one.) However, there is a round lamp table and a wing chair in front of the doors as part of the room decor. These can easily be moved or taken away as can any furniture in the room that is either in the way or not necessary. I entered to the right of the furniture and managed to get up the door frame (1" high lip and then 3/4" on top of that) with little trouble but I'm motorized. A self-propelled wheelchair might have to go in backwards.
LIVING ROOM: This is a suite but does not have a kitchen. The carpeted living room is lovely and has a three-seater couch (not a pull-out), two wing chairs, a coffee table, a round lamp table and a gas fireplace in the corner. There is 38" between the couch and the bookcase that forms part of the archway into the bedroom area. There are also several lamps, all operated with small twist knobs. Because you can open the French doors and leave them open and still have complete privacy, this room is a lovely place to sit and talk about the day's adventures or plan your day.
There are several open plugs in the living area suitable for charging batteries and parking scooters or wheelchairs and one behind the couch that is very close to the bed. There is a pull fire alarm to the left of the French doors.
The heating and cooling is also in the living room and is low but not too low to reach from a chair. It is run with turn knobs.
There is also another door in the room that leads out to a mutual entrance for other rooms that would ensure an exit in case your private courtyard was blocked by snow or something else. This door has no lowered peephole, and has a knob. There are knobs throughout the suite, no lever handles.
 |
 |
 |
|
From living room into bedroom
|
Arch into bedroom
|
King size bed . Bathroom off to the
right
|
BEDROOM: The bedroom is adjacent to the living area through an archway, there is no door to close. The king size bed is on a platform and has a 5" x 51/2" toe kick. There is 31" between the wall and the bed on the left and 24" on the right. The bed is 23" high. There is a clock radio on the left bedside table. There is a door into the bathroom on the right but no one using a wheelchair could get to it because there isn't enough room to take a wheelchair or scooter between bed and wall unless they left their wheelchair in the bathroom doorway. The space between the dresser and the bed is 28", still not enough for a wheelchair. That side of the bedroom is not big enough for a wheelchair. The left side at 31" is a little larger. Depending on your upper body strength and ability to get yourself from the end of the bed to a sleeping position, the bed could also be accessed from the foot if the bench at the end of the bed was removed. The bed is flanked by two bedside tables and two lamps. The lamps have small twist turn knobs and the one on the right, facing the bed, is turned off and on by a switch above a 4' long dresser opposite the bed. This switch is too high for anyone who cannot stand and reach the wall to use. I'd suggest you ask the person who sets up the room for you upon arrival to help you rearrange the plugs for that lamp if you are staying alone in the room as you'd have to call the front desk to have the light turned off at night. The bedroom area also has a remote colour TV and a VCR in it as well as that dresser and the long bench at the foot of the bed.
There is a closet in the living area between the bedroom and the bath. It has a knob handle, a full length mirror in it, an ironing board, iron, and two bathrobes as well as a luggage rack. There is no lowered clothes rack in it for seated people to use.
 |
 |
 |
|
Huge bathroom. Tub on left, shower
on right
|
Open vanity beside tub
|
Large whirlpool tub
|
BATHROOM: The bathroom has two doors. The tight one I talked about from
the bedroom area at 30" and an easier one at 31" that goes directly
in from the living area with a half inch lip. The bathroom is large at 10' by
11' and has a huge whirlpool tub in it, a separate shower, an accessible sink
33" from the floor with a 27" cutout underneath in a 59" vanity
and a low toilet at 15½" plus plenty of turnaround room. There is
95" between the tub and wall. When I first saw it I was struck by the lack
of grab bars. There are none except for one built into the acrylic modular shower.
I asked and was told that a Versaframe could be put on the toilet upon request
giving a person bars to lift themselves up from the seat. Toilet paper is within
easy reach and there is a separate roll on the tank top. Anyone in a wheelchair
could transfer from the front or the right facing the toilet. I was also told
that clip-on handgrips that attach to the tub are available. The tub is 19"
high and 17½" deep and is somewhat triangular shaped. Trying to
figure out how someone like me, who can stand but cannot walk or climb to transfer
into the tub could manage, I decided I'd have to have a shower chair put in
the tub and request a handheld shower be attached to the faucet. I could stand
and swivel transfer to the side of the tub which is 5" at the narrowest
and 7" at the widest, slide over onto the chair and use the handheld shower
head to get wet, lather up and then rinse off with the handheld shower head.
There is no way on earth I could ever sit down in that tub and get back out
of it. Tub knobs are round not lever. The walk-in shower has a lip of 5 ½"
high by 4 ½" wide and is not accessible unless you can stand. It
doesn't have a handheld shower head. It does have an acrylic grab bar at the
back of it. The shower area is not brightly lighted. The sink area is open underneath,
well lighted and I'm told there is a portable hair dryer available as the one
on the wall is too high to reach for anyone seated. The water is operated by
a round push/pull unit. There is a tiltable makeup mirror that lights high over
the sink but it could be tilted enough so you could use it if you could get
close enough to it. It's a beauty. There are also towels low enough to reach
all over the place. There is also the makings for a hot drink on the vanity
and I'm told fresh coffee or hot water will be brought to your room in the morning
upon request. The floor is heated in the bathroom.
 |
 |
 |
|
From bedroom into bath. Better to
use other door
|
Tub next to vanity. Plenty of room
|
Shower has lip
|
There is also an alcove off the living room that has a desk and chair, desk lamp, telephone, and internet access.
There are no windows in the suite, just those two big beautiful French doors letting in tons of light and the view of your own little private garden.
While this suite does not have most of the amenities we think of as needed in an accessible room, with thought it can be used by someone who needs grab bars by the toilet by asking that the Versaframe or toilet grab bars be installed. The tub can be used by putting in a tub chair, and the grab bars, or not using the grab bars if you need the room they would take up to sit in to swing your legs in. There is also a 10" triangle of room on the tub edge near the right that could take someone seated to wash and/or transfer with your arms. Take a look at the pictures with this and I think you can see that it has possibilities depending on your disability and the help you need or have with you.
I truly like the privacy, the quiet, the beauty and the village ambiance here. There is an aura of peace about Jordan and the hotel.
 |
 |
|
On the Twenty restaurant across the
road . There are shops to the left and right
|
Inside On the Twenty restaurant
|
Breakfast is included in your room rate which runs around $220 a night during the week and $260 on weekends. Breakfast can be either brought to your room or you can go across the street to the On the Twenty Restaurant. There is a large, long cement ramp up to the walkway that runs in front of all of the shops and the restaurant in another old winery building. The washroom in the restaurant is accessible although the main door is only 29" wide. I managed it in my scooter carefully but anyone in an extra wide wheelchair could never make it in the door although you could easily go back to your room to use the washroom if need be. The large stall in the washroom has a slide lock on the door, a D pull handle to help you shut the door and a low purse hook.
The restaurant is fine dining. The view from the dining room is the wooded gorge below and it is quiet and serene. The food is prepared by the house chef and beautifully presented. The restaurant is reserved and scrumptious in golds and yellows with flowers and linens everywhere. Reservations are a must for dinner.
I realize that the room at Inn on the Twenty doesn't sound like your ordinary hotel room but that's exactly why we've put it here. I believe that the owners will likely add items like lever door and faucet handles to help us in time as staff noted what was needed as we audited the suite and better lamps like the kind that only need to be touched to operate but right now it is a unique property...a real experience...and one that can be managed if you know what you're up against at the onset and that's why we're here.
There's boutique shopping across the road, art galleries and the Jordan Historical Museum is just a roll down the road. You can snack on creamy home-style fudge in the museum shop while you peruse beautiful linens and china. Jordan Antiques Market exhibits the wares of about 40 dealers and there is also designer clothing, unique items for the house and garden and a winery where you can buy bread, cheese and a bottle of their best and then go behind the winery to the park or back to your private garden and have a picnic. There's also a small restaurant called Zooma Zooma serving up some pretty darn good luncheon entrees just a few yards from On The Twenty Restaurant. They'll serve you inside or out front so you can watch the foot traffic and the cars roll by. They also have an accessible washroom.
 |
 |
 |
|
View from the bedroom out
|
Your private patio
|
Benches and a table out here
|
Obviously, I like Jordan. If you're looking for peace and quiet and a quality
stay in Niagara, you might consider Inn on the Twenty. Just make sure they know
what you need to make your stay accessible and I'm sure they'll do their utmost
to have what you need in place upon your arrival.
Audited July 24, 2003
. .