I checked in to the JW Marriott Essex House New York last night and was welcomed with the most disconcerting ADA room I have seen. Here’s a picture of the bathroom sink:
How am I expected to access the sink? There is no place for my legs to go under the sink. And how can I lean into the sink when the faucet controls are right in front of me? Here’s what a wheelchair user looks like when they use a sink:
What sadist designed this ADA bathroom? Who puts faucet handles in front of a sink? While this design may be artsy and comfortable for able-bodied people, wheelchair users have special needs and this sink fails on all fronts. I don’t know exactly what ADAAG requires, but this can’t possibly be compliant. I checked with the front desk and all of the bathrooms are like this. No excuses about this being an old hotel since the sinks are apparently part of a “refresh” and look pretty new (as opposed to the shower which has cracked tiles and ancient controls which feel like they are going to fall out of the wall if you touch them too hard (and for the record, they also appear to be non-ADA compliant, though I cannot speak to what ADAAG requires for shower controls)).
This is yet another entry in a long line of ADA violations for Marriott (see my earlier posts here, here, and here). They need to do something about this or they are going to lose me as a customer for good. Their ADA consultant needs to be fired and replaced with someone competent because this is just unacceptable.
Pingback:All ADA Rooms Are Not Created Equally - FlyerTalk Forums