Accessibility

Last updated 1 July 2026

This page sets out what the building does and does not do, in enough detail to decide from. Where something is arranged rather than permanent — the pool hoist, a shower chair, a room held on a particular level — a telephone call to reservations on +64 3 455 2194 means it is ready when you get here instead of while you wait.

1. Getting in and moving around

• Step-free from the rear car park on Forbury Road to reception, with an automatic door and a level threshold. The Esplanade entrance has two steps and a handrail; the rear entrance is the one to use.
• Two accessible parking bays beside the rear entrance, 3.6 m wide, under cover, 15 m from the door.
• One lift, 1100 × 1400 mm car, serving all 5 levels, with tactile buttons and voice announcement.
• Step-free routes from the lift to The Beacon Room, The Cargill Bar, The Albion Room, The Saltwater Bathhouse, The Peninsula Room and The Roslyn Room.
• The Signal Room is on level two and is reached by lift; the last three metres are on a 1:20 ramp.
• Corridors are 1500 mm wide throughout; bedroom doors on the accessible rooms are 900 mm clear.
• Accessible toilets on the ground floor by the lobby and on level one beside the event foyer, both with a transfer space on the left and an alarm cord.

2. The six accessible rooms

• Rooms 104, 106, 112, 203, 209 and 214. Four are Esplanade Rooms and two are Highgate Rooms, on levels one and two.
• Roll-in shower with a fold-down seat and a hand-held rose; grab rails at the toilet and in the shower.
• Bed height 520 mm with 150 mm clearance beneath for a hoist. Portable hoists can be brought in; tell us and we will clear the route.
• Lowered wardrobe rail, lowered peephole, lever handles, and light switches at 900 mm.
• Visual fire alarm and a vibrating pillow alarm on request.
• Two of the six connect to a neighbouring room for a carer or a companion.
• These rooms are held out of general sale until seven days before arrival.

3. The bathhouse

• Step-free from the lift to the changing rooms and to both pool decks.
• One accessible changing room with a bench, a shower chair and a 900 mm door.
• Pool hoist for the indoor pool, rated to 150 kg. It is rigged on request rather than left in place, so please give a few hours’ notice.
• The outdoor hot pool is entered by four steps with a rail on both sides; there is no hoist to it.
• Treatment rooms 1 and 2 have a height-adjustable table; rooms 3 and 4 do not.

4. Hearing and sight

• Hearing loop at the reception desk, in The Peninsula Room and in The Roslyn Room. The loop in The Peninsula Room covers the whole room rather than the front rows.
• Menus in large print at every service; the kitchen will read a menu aloud on request without being asked twice.
• Assistance dogs are welcome everywhere on the property, including The Beacon Room and The Albion Room. Water bowls are at reception, and staff are trained not to distract a working dog.
• Stair nosings are contrast-marked; the lobby floor is a single tone with no pattern.

5. What this building does not do

Written down because the gaps matter more than the features when you are deciding.

• The Esplanade entrance is not step-free and cannot be made so without consent for work on the frontage.
• The four Taiaroa Suites are on level five; the lift reaches them, but the terrace doors have a 40 mm upstand for weather sealing.
• There is one lift. If it is out of service we move affected guests to a ground-floor room at no charge, and we will tell you before you travel if it is scheduled.
• The beach and the sea wall are public land; there is no accessible matting onto the sand, which is a council matter rather than ours.
• No Braille signage at present. Room numbers are raised and tactile; corridor signage is not.

6. This website

The site is built to work at 200 per cent zoom, with keyboard navigation throughout and text contrast that meets WCAG 2.1 AA. Images that carry meaning have text alternatives. The age question and the cookie notice can both be operated from the keyboard. If any part of it obstructs you, write to [email protected] and say which page and which browser, and it will be looked at rather than filed.

7. Contact

Reservations +64 3 455 2194, 7am to 8pm · front desk +64 3 455 2180, twenty-four hours · [email protected]. Ask for the duty manager if a requirement is unusual; the answer is more often yes than the list above suggests.