Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Deaf Talkabout: How to have the perfect holiday ... - Opinion - News - Belfast Telegraph
Evelyn and I spent our honeymoon in Portnablagh in the days when it was a quiet backwater in north-west Donegal and have happy memories of the tranquillity and grandeur of the locality.
We had no car in those days and spent most of the day travelling by train and bus. A car makes the journey quicker and less tiring, but we still think of Donegal as the far country.
Some years ago a deaf friend spoke glowingly about Kee's Hotel in Stranolar, just over the border from Strabane, and we thought it might make an ideal base for exploring the many attractions of Donegal's western seaboard without the long haul from Belfast. We looked it up on the internet, booked two nights bed and breakfast, and got there in just over three hours.
The hotel is on the single main street of the small town with a good car park behind. First impressions are very important in determining whether a place is deaf friendly and the receptionist greeted us warmly. She understood right away when I told her we were deaf, took up her pen and a large sheet of paper and patiently wrote down all we needed to know about our stay. Dinner was booked and we were escorted to our bedroom, a quite large room with a garden view and, joy of joys, a television with subtitles.
The weather was not good during our stay, but we enjoyed the visit and the food and service were first rate. Ballybofey is just half a mile down the road and Letterkenny about 20 minutes drive away. We hope to return.
The day after getting home I wrote to the hotel manger saying we had enjoyed our two night's stay even though the weather had not been good at all. I told him about the column I write for the Telegraph and suggested a few things that might make visits more enjoyable for deaf customers.
"My wife and I", I told him, "both lost our hearing in childhood and are totally deaf. Our ability to speak quite well gives some people the impression we are hard of hearing and they might shout at us, drawing unwelcome attention. In our case it is much better to either write things down or speak clearly so we can lip-read. The receptionist on the day we arrived saw this at once and quickly and pleasantly gave us information by writing out directions and instructions.
"Secondly, it was good to find the TV in our bedroom had subtitles and it was relaxing to be able to watch BBC programmes during the heavy downpour; but other channels such as ITV were of inferior quality and in such circumstances the subtitles don't work properly. Changing to digital might solve the problem. Would it be worth the expense? It would also help if staff could have some deaf awareness training to help them understand things like sign language, smoke alarms and the many variations of the word DEAF".
The manager replied saying he was glad we had enjoyed our stay and he appreciated my comments on how the staff could be better trained to deal with deaf customers. With regards to fire alarms, he said that they inform all relevant members of staff on a daily basis of guests who require special attention such as those with mobility issues and those, like us, who are deaf. With regards to the unsatisfactory TV pictures, the Republic, like the UK, will also be going digital and they are already replacing some of their TVs. So this will help solve the subtitles problem.
It's good to see this positive and helpful attitude. A little thought and attention can make a hotel visit so much more attractive to deaf customers.
Evelyn and I spent our honeymoon in Portnablagh in the days when it was a quiet backwater in north-west Donegal and have happy memories of the tranquillity and grandeur of the locality.
We had no car in those days and spent most of the day travelling by train and bus. A car makes the journey quicker and less tiring, but we still think of Donegal as the far country.
Some years ago a deaf friend spoke glowingly about Kee's Hotel in Stranolar, just over the border from Strabane, and we thought it might make an ideal base for exploring the many attractions of Donegal's western seaboard without the long haul from Belfast. We looked it up on the internet, booked two nights bed and breakfast, and got there in just over three hours.
The hotel is on the single main street of the small town with a good car park behind. First impressions are very important in determining whether a place is deaf friendly and the receptionist greeted us warmly. She understood right away when I told her we were deaf, took up her pen and a large sheet of paper and patiently wrote down all we needed to know about our stay. Dinner was booked and we were escorted to our bedroom, a quite large room with a garden view and, joy of joys, a television with subtitles.
The weather was not good during our stay, but we enjoyed the visit and the food and service were first rate. Ballybofey is just half a mile down the road and Letterkenny about 20 minutes drive away. We hope to return.
The day after getting home I wrote to the hotel manger saying we had enjoyed our two night's stay even though the weather had not been good at all. I told him about the column I write for the Telegraph and suggested a few things that might make visits more enjoyable for deaf customers.
"My wife and I", I told him, "both lost our hearing in childhood and are totally deaf. Our ability to speak quite well gives some people the impression we are hard of hearing and they might shout at us, drawing unwelcome attention. In our case it is much better to either write things down or speak clearly so we can lip-read. The receptionist on the day we arrived saw this at once and quickly and pleasantly gave us information by writing out directions and instructions.
"Secondly, it was good to find the TV in our bedroom had subtitles and it was relaxing to be able to watch BBC programmes during the heavy downpour; but other channels such as ITV were of inferior quality and in such circumstances the subtitles don't work properly. Changing to digital might solve the problem. Would it be worth the expense? It would also help if staff could have some deaf awareness training to help them understand things like sign language, smoke alarms and the many variations of the word DEAF".
The manager replied saying he was glad we had enjoyed our stay and he appreciated my comments on how the staff could be better trained to deal with deaf customers. With regards to fire alarms, he said that they inform all relevant members of staff on a daily basis of guests who require special attention such as those with mobility issues and those, like us, who are deaf. With regards to the unsatisfactory TV pictures, the Republic, like the UK, will also be going digital and they are already replacing some of their TVs. So this will help solve the subtitles problem.
It's good to see this positive and helpful attitude. A little thought and attention can make a hotel visit so much more attractive to deaf customers.