Where We Stayed for an Accessible Beach Vacation
A lot must be determined and researched before choosing a place to stay as a family traveling with a disabled person.
This is the list of non-negotiables and what I used to choose our lodging.
Roll in shower room availability
Zero entry pool preferred, accessible pool lift at minimum
No stairs to beach or ramp access
Close proximity to beach wheelchairs
Walking distance to dining/shopping preferred
Reasonable price
My first step was choosing an accessible beach. Then I had to pour over photos on Google from guests that weren’t posting about accessibility, in hopes I could see in their backgrounds the answers to some of my questions.
I located a free beach wheelchair location which narrowed my search tremendously as I wanted to be as close as possible since we would use it daily.
I called hotels, emailed property owners, and read reviews on forums.
I landed on the Hilton at Clearwater Beach. It checked every single requirement which was astonishing.
I booked through Hilton Rewards which was a smooth process.
I contacted the hotel directly a couple times prior to arrival to ensure the room assigned would have a roll in shower among other questions.
The app made it very easy to check in early, confirm the room was correct, and make additional requests through chat.
Valet is the only available parking upon arrival but definitely worth the $29. We never used our vehicle the entire stay. As you pull in there are numerous staff eager to help with unloading and parking for you. I loved that the ground level, which is beach and pool access as well, was all tile and practical. The lobby is actually on the first floor which is very posh and fancy (it’s not possible to combine the two elements in my opinion— sandy people dripping wet ruins the vibe quick).
As I said, we stayed in an ADA room with roll in shower, gulf view with balcony.
First the positives— the view was great. Balcony was large. Beds were comfortable. The room included a mini fridge, hairdryer, iron, safe, and the typical hotel contents. Microwave was available upon request as was a roll away bed and shower chair.
My dislikes— although ADA, the room had a prominent lip to go over to enter the room and again to enter the bathroom which was not a deal breaker but not expected in this type of room. The roll in shower was adequate, albeit small so we just kept the shower curtain pulled back and door shut. There was no vanity, I presume so a wheelchair user could maneuver under the sink which is great. That meant we had a small stacked shelf to put our toiletries 😬. Again, not a deal breaker but difficult to navigate for 5 people. Lastly, and this might be a future deal breaker, the room in general was very small to accommodate a wheelchair. It’s not a deal breaker for the hotel in general- there may be a larger room option we could attempt. I did speak to staff to see if all ADA rooms were the same size and she confirmed they are so I’ll need to look into that option more. We brought Kaylee’s push chair only for this trip but had we done her power chair + push chair as we typically do, it would’ve been impossible.
A good bit of our possessions we stored on the balcony (thank goodness it was large and covered well).
Overall the room was workable for this trip but I will look for alternatives. The rest of the hotel was so redeeming and we don’t spend a ton of time in the room so it may be worth the inconveniences.
As I mentioned before, the front desk/lobby is on the first floor along with spa, bar, restaurant, store, gym, and conference rooms.
We had groceries delivered before our arrival so staff placed them in our room and cold stuff in the fridge which was wonderful. We collected our second order from the front desk when alerted.
The boys tried out the fitness room but had no review lol.
We did get a to go breakfast from the restaurant on departure day which was very good.
In all, a gorgeous place.
The ground floor has access to valet, beach, pool, Starbucks (yes a real one!), Mexican restaurant, beach store, icecream shop, and access to walk to the pier + downtown Clearwater.
There’s plenty of info about all the amenities on their website so I’ll focus on what’s not there— the accessibility.
Pools were fantastic with superb service- even brought out lemon grass chilled towels and now I never want to be in the sun without one!
The zero entry kids pool was perfect for all 3 of my kids, but especially Kaylee so we could sit together, easily put her on a float, or even place her low to the ground beach chair in the water so she could play.
There were also 2 lifts into the pools (one at each pool). We didn’t use them so I can’t account for how well they worked but they did look like ones we’ve used before. We didn’t feel the need to use them since we had the zero entry option.
All areas on the ground floor were stepless and easily accessible by mobility aides.
The pier and downtown area was all very wheelchair friendly.
There’s a big difference between being accessible and being friendly and it was definitely the latter. I could tell thought about people with disabilities was had throughout the construction of the entire area.
Believe me, I researched for months to find the ideal vacation spot for us— not an adequate spot— it had to be absolutely ideal in order for us to manage.
I didn’t want to just try something and see how it goes— we don’t have room for much flexibility in a family with complex medical needs.
So when I say this is it, you better believe it.