Home > Access Statement

The Somerville Access Information

• Introduction
  

  One of the joys of being at The Somerville is being able to share this beautiful part of England with others and see the pleasure it gives people who have discovered it for the first time or else have returned again and again to a much loved destination.

  The information that follows is designed to help potential guests decide whether the Somerville is suitable as a place to stay. Whilst we accept that for some guests the answer maybe “no” we are nevertheless committed to increasingly making the Somerville as accessible to as many people as possible.

  If you have any queries please contact us and we will be delighted to assist.

  Telephone:
  Email:
  Fax:
  Address: , Torquay. TQ1 1HJ

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• Part I The Building

  The Somerville was built as a private residence as early as the 1840s. It has had several extensions added and has been operating as a hotel for more than 60 years. The building has 2 floors with a main entrance on the ground floor. The ground floor is elevated. There are 9 bedrooms. The Somerville is located in the centre of Torquay on Babbacombe Road. It is situated on a hill & is about 400 metres from the harbour.

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• Getting to The Somerville
  

  • Torquay’s mainline railway station is approx 1 mile away. Most train journeys will involve a change at either Exeter or Newton Abbot although there are a limited number of direct trains each day. There is a taxi rank at the station which has taxis available whilst train services operate.

  • The coach station is approx 0.75 miles away. There are numerous coach services from a number of different places. Services are largely operated by National Express. Taxis are available from the coach station.

  • The nearest bus stop is less than 200 yards away down Babbacombe Road (outside Torquay Museum). Frequent bus services are available & the bus stops are served by routes 12, 22 and 32. Timetables can be provided upon request or can be seen on the Stagecoach Website. There is an excellent high frequency bus service within our Bay area and bus services link up to other towns such as Dartmouth, Totnes, Exeter and Plymouth. Services are generally operated by Stagecoach.

  • Local taxis are plentiful. Special access taxis can also be arranged. Our taxi drivers are happy to meet the needs of passenger with special requirements and even short journeys are not a problem.

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• Arrival and parking facilities
  

  • Our car park is level and located at the rear of the property.

  • There are timber markers to the parking bays and the surface is gravel.

  • Access to the building is via the front door which has a set of steps up to it.

  • There are five steps which vary in height from 10cm to 18cm. There are hand rails either side of the steps. The area is lit from dusk until morning. There is a bell push on the outside wall to the right of the steps for assistance. We do not currently have any ramp access to the building.

  • The car park has night time motion activated security lighting. CCTV covers the outside of the building. The front steps are lit fully at night. There is motion activated lighting on the drive at the front of the building.

  • Assistance can be given to guests with their luggage.

  • Full guest information folders are available in all rooms.

  
  
• Main entrance and reception
  

  • The outer doorway is 135cm wide whilst the inner door way is 81cm wide. This area is always fully lit.

  • The check in process is normally carried out in the bar/lounge area. Seating is available here and check in can be completed whilst sitting down.

  • There is a portable hearing loop in reception.

  
  

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• Public areas - General (internal)
  

  • The ground floor area is all located on one level. The doorway access to the lounge, bar area and dining room is 68cm. The flooring in those areas are as follows: lounge short pile carpet, bar and dining area wooden floors with Persian rugs.

  • There is a unisex toilet located on the ground floor. There is no emergency pull chord in the toilet BUT the telephone number of the hotel is displayed.

  • There are 11 stairs to a half landing, a further step and then a further five steps to the first floor of the main building. The steps are carpeted in short pile carpet and are 83cm wide, 24cm deep and 16cm high.

  • To comply with fire regulations all doors are self closing fire doors. A legally compliant fire alarm system is operational with emergency lighting provided,. Please inform us on arrival of any hearing difficulties so we can arrange for special alarm procedures to be put in place. We have door hangers in all rooms which can be displayed on the outside of the doors should assistance be required in the event of an evacuation.

  • All TVs provided have teletext and subtitles.

  • The Somerville is totally non smoking.

  • There is a night time emergency bell which rings in the owners’ apartment. This is located at the far end of the hall on the ground floor and will be shown to guests on arrival.

• Bedrooms
  

  • There are three guest bedrooms on the ground floor. three further guest bedrooms are on the first floor of the main building and a further three guest rooms are on the first floor of the extension.

  • The widths of the bedroom doors vary between 70 and 78 cms and the doors to the ensuites vary from 36cm to 68cm.

  • All ensuites have a toilet, washbasin, mirror and shower. The size of the shower trays vary from 760mm squared to 900mm squared as well as two at 760mm x 1200mm. The two suites have baths and showers

  • All ensuite floors are tiled with specified floor tiles.

  • All bedrooms have silent running mini fridges which may be suitable for storing medicines.

  • Complimentary wifi is available in all rooms.

  • The entire building has central heating. In the bedrooms there are thermostats on the radiators so guests can adjust the temperature to suit themselves. We also have electric oil filled radiators that guests can use if they wish to have additional heating at any time. In the summer months fans are available upon request.

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• PART II - Support we are able to provide guests with specific needs.
  
  
  How we can support Guests with restricted mobility:

  • Ground floor bedrooms – we are happy to move furniture about in order to make them easier to use.

  • Some of our ensuites have particularly Low step showers and grab handles to help balance when entering and leaving.

  • We are happy to assist with luggage on arrival and departure.

  • We can obtain specialist equipment such as wheel chairs and mobility aids for the duration of a guest’s stay.

  • We are happy to re-arrange furniture in the dining room to make it easier to use.

  • We can advise guests on suitable places to visit and places to eat.

  • We have special door hangers that can be used at night to inform staff of special requirements in the event of an evacuation of the building.

• For guests with visual impairments, we:

  • Have good colour contrasting in the fixtures and fittings of our rooms.

  • Have good lighting especially in the ensuites.

  • Can offer assistance in reading menus & other material.

  • Can offer large print copies of our own materials.

  • Have an audio description of our facilities on our website.

  • Are happy to assist in guiding around the building.

• For guests with a hearing impairment, we:

  • have a portable hearing loop which guests can request to use in their rooms or else have at breakfast etc.

  • Ensure that we speak clearly to help guests lip read.

  • Can direct the guest to written information

  • Have teletext and subtitles on our TVs

  • Have procedures in the event of evacuation – door hangers.

• For guests with bronchitis and breathing difficulties, we can:

  • Can change bedding to Non feather bedding.

  • Have High standards of cleaning in the rooms and have regular scheduled deep cleans.

  • Have Rooms where no animals are allowed.

• For guests with food allergies or special diets

  • We have full allergen information available for all of the products we serve at breakfast and in the rooms. This is available to guests on request.

  • We will always do our very best to accommodate any dietary needs. Wheat free, non dairy and vegetarian foods are always available. We have de-caffeinated tea and coffee as well as an extensive range of herbal and fruit teas.

  • We cook all breakfasts to order and will do our best to ensure they are tailored to anyone with special requirements.

• For guests with dogs for assistance.

  • We can accommodate guests with assistance dogs in our ground floor rooms.

• For guests with other specific requirements.

  • We are able to make some adaptations to rooms to accommodate special equipment. For example we have adapted rooms to accommodate portable dialysis units and have stored fluid for guests in advance of arrival.

  • Our rooms all have mini fridges which may be suitable for the storage of particular medicines. Please check with us.

  • We are delighted to welcome families to The Somerville and have a number of rooms that can accommodate three or four people. We can re-arrange the dining room to accommodate families and recommend places to visit and places to eat.