a hotel platform lift case study

Greater Accessibility For The Wild Atlantic Lodge

Discovering The Wild Atlantic Lodge

Ever since its official launch in 2014, The Wild Atlantic Way has changed the way people look at Ireland’s West Coast. A huge promotional campaign, urging people to “Discover Ireland’s Wild Atlantic” has led to a few record breaking years for Irish tourism, with 9.8 million visitors to Ireland in 2017 alone.

The Wild Atlantic Way has helped introduce visitors to some of Ireland’s most spectacular destinations including the Cliffs of Moher, the Skellig Islands and Croagh Patrick. Nestled in the heart of one such destination, the Burren in County Clare, is the Wild Atlantic Lodge. This B&B, with accompanying bar and restaurant, is enjoying the success of the country’s first long-distance touring route. Interest in the many attractions of the Wild Atlantic Way has brought visitors from the United States, and all over the world, to Paul Hughes’s Wild Atlantic Lodge.
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Discovering a Need for Greater Accessibility

This surge in tourism lead Paul to realise certain inadequacies when it came to accessibility. After a recent extension, there are now over twenty bedrooms in the old-style lodge. These rooms are predominantly located upstairs or at the back of the building, a considerable distance from the front entrance. The building itself has only one set of stairs, which is quite narrow and windy. As Paul explained to Premier Lifts Ireland, this made upstairs access difficult for those with impaired mobility. “The age profile of most of our guests is 50+ and we do tend to have a lot of people who find stairs challenging.”

‍When he first reached out to Premier Lifts, Mr. Hughes had been receiving a number of enquiries that hit the same dead-end. Whenever guests were told that the only available rooms were upstairs, many would ask if the property had a lift. A negative response to this question would often rule The Wild Atlantic Lodge out as a potential place to stay. This not only negatively affected business but was also very disheartening for Paul, who hated having to turn away visitors in such fashion.