Holiday Inn Express La Mesa near SDSU - 2 Queen Standard Accessible Tub Kitchenette

Date of Visit: June 2-4, 2025

Pretty sure I had booked the room as roll-in shower, but we did end up with an accessible room and probably would not have even used the shower if we had it, so we did not even try to get it fixed when we got to room and found out it was a tub instead of shower.

The bathroom was almost a good design. Biggest problem was that the sink comes out too close to the toilet and we had to take the armrest off to be able to put the wheelchair by the toilet. Also, the toilet seat was very loose.

The lotion and handwash was mounted at least on the edge of the sink area, but because the counter comes up, they were kind of high. The sink is also a nice idea of it being on the side so easier to reach for those in a wheelchair, but it was too close to the edge of the sink that it was hard to wash hands and not bump the edge of sink.

The room area was spacious with plenty of floor space for Mik.

The kitchenette area had a small mini fridge, microwave, and shelves with space to actually put some of your own things.

Overall this hotel worked well for us. The location was perfect for visiting our relatives and also lots of good coffeeshops nearby to try. The breakfast was also decent.

Destination Info:
Holiday Inn Express La Mesa near SDSU

8000 Parkway Drive

La Mesa, California 91942

Some of our other San Diego Area Posts:

• Cabrillo National Monument
• Hampton Inn San Diego-Downtown
• Our Koffee Trail
• Dark Horse Coffee Roasters
• Lemon Grover Coffee
• Pink Rose Cafe
• PetCo Park
• San Diego Automotive Museum
• San Diego Model Railroad Museum

Best Western Inn & Suites Tucson Foothills - Mobility Accessible/Two Room/Suite-1 King Bed, Walk-In Shower

Date of Visit: May 29-June 1, 2025

At the Best Western Inn & Suites Tucson Foothills, I booked us a Mobility Accessible Two-Room Suite with Walk-In Shower. We did get the room we booked, but upon entering it found the shower dripping, which initially did not bother me, but Mom then used the toilet and found the floor was all wet because it was of the style that floods the bathroom. Thus, before even bringing in our stuff, we went back to the front desk and ended up with the same room type non-accessible because the only other accessible option was with just one King bed.

Sofa bed living room area of Accessible Room

Bedroom area of Accessible Room

Accessible Bathroom - cannot roll up next to toilet due to shower

Accessible Bathroom - Roll Under Sink

Accessible Bathroom's Shower

Accessible Room's Shower - did not have handheld shower head

Bar Stools in Accessible Room were somewhat in way of coming into the room due to the kitchen area being wider than the non-accessible room.

Kitchen area of Accessible Room - Wider path than non-accessible room, but not sure if it has enough space for a wheelchair to turn around

Sofa bed living room area of regular room - we put the table in corner and I slept on the sofa without pulling it out as bed, so Mik had plenty of floor space (actually was also more comfortable this way than the thin mattress).

Bedroom area of the regular room

"Bathroom" Sink area in bedroom - Awkwardly, the toilet and shower part of bathroom is off the kitchen, so you have to go through living room and bedroom to get to it from bathroom. At least the kitchen sink is right outside bathroom for handwashing. 

Regular room's bathroom - the tub faucet was dripping here, too, but not a steady stream like the accessible room, so they definitely need to work on their plumbing throughout

Kitchen Area of Regular Room - made it clear the accessible room at least tried to be more accessible, but this layout at least mean the bar stools weren't in the way of coming into room because they did not end up out as far in the room.

In hindsight, we probably should have been more insistent on them just fixing that room or giving us 2 rooms, but really the accessible room would not have been any better because of the design Mik would not have been able to use the toilet himself. It just really awkward that to access the bathroom sink from the bathroom you had to go all the way around through the bedroom.

Mik enjoyed that the outside tables for breakfast were easy to roll up to. We also liked that you got a free drink and they had popcorn for Happy Hour every evening.

Overall Mik says this is a never again hotel, but really it was not bad. The rooms just show their age, but the staff was good and it worked out just fine for us even without an accessible room, although you do have to take some longer paths around to get to the rooms and breakfast due to the design of the first floor area and parking involving steps at some points. If it was priced similarly to the Hyatt Place, which I had almost chosen for this trip because when I first looked Best Western was only about $10 cheaper a night, then I would not stay here, but if I found it at half the price of the other hotel options like I randomly happened upon, then I certainly would stay here again.

Destination Info:

Best Western Inn & Suites Tucson Foothills

6201 N Oracle Rd

Tucson, AZ 85704

Some of our other Tucson Area Posts:

• Hampton Inn Tucson Airport
• Our Koffee Trail: Chocolate Iguana
• Titan Missle Museum

Best Western Mission Inn - 2 Queen Accessible Tub

Date of Visit: May 28-29, 2025

After two nights of Hilton hotels, Best Western ended up being our choice the last night of the drive to Tucson as it was the cheapest and while Mom still had enough Hilton points for a place in Las Cruces the value was horrible at three times the point cost of the other two nights when the cost to pay cash was about the same price as if we had paid cash for the other places we had stayed on the trip and about $50 more than the Best Western.

Coming into the room was a little tight with the desk ending up close to where the door opens against the wall.

The room had two beds with not much space on ether side of the beds or maybe just enough in between for the wheelchair to go between them.

At the end of each bed was a wooden bench, which in theory is helpful for using as a luggage rack, but the one by the bathroom made it too narrow to wheel past the bed to the bathroom. It was not difficult for me to move and it fit between the window and the front bed out of the way, though.

There was a fridge and microwave. The wood door hid it and looked nice, but the cabinet door was very noisy creaking every time you opened and closed it.

The bathroom was okay size, but a little tight for getting the chair in and out. We did like the toilet paper was on the wall in front of the toilet because Mik always knocks the rolls off when they are under the grab bars (or has broken the holder when they are not open ended), but it is quite a reach and could be a problem for many others.

The tub did have a regular shower head and handheld shower head. I found it worked well for standing to take a shower. It does seem to be rather limited in grab bars, though, as there is only one at the front and none on the sides.

The sink was not a roll under.

Overall it worked for the night, but it was tight with not much floor space making Mik say we should not even consider this hotel on our way home. He did appreciate that the breakfast had a decent variety, though.

Destination Info: 

Best Western Mission Inn

1765 S Main Street

Las Cruces, NM 88005

Hampton Inn & Suites Weatherford - 2 Queen Accessible Tub Review

Date of Visit: May 27-28, 2025

As much as Hilton brand hotels are our last choice, it ended up being the choice again this night of the road trip because we again were able to veto get a night for an accessible room using Mom’s Hilton points versus paying at least $125 elsewhere for a non-accessible room.

The 2 Queen Accessible Tub room was spacious with plenty of floor space between the beds and the TV/desk area. There was a mini fridge and microwave under the TV.

The bathroom had a barn door.

The bathroom worked good enough for Mik. I do not think he was able to get up on the toilet himself, but it was at least easy to maneuver and help him. It had a roll under sink.

The soap and lotion by the sink were mounted near edge of sink making them actually reasonably reachable unlike pretty much all other places I have seen them.

We did not use the tub/shower, but it did have a handheld shower head as well as regular mounted shower head. The toiletries were mounted above the grab bars near the shower head.

The breakfast was good with a decent variety of things including, of course, Texas shaped waffles you can make. Mik particularly enjoyed that they have a flavor of the month for the batter and it was cinnamon roll.

Overall this Hampton Inn worked well for us and was very convenient right off I-20. We would consider it again if this was the area we were stopping for the night.

Destination Info:

Hampton Inn & Suites Weatherford 

864 I-20

Weatherford, TX 76087

Home2 Suites by Hilton Meridian - 2 Queen Accessible Tub Studio Review

Date of Visit: May 26-27, 2025

After the trouble at the Homewood Suites in Columbia last month, we are again hesitant to use Hilton when traveling with Mik. The options booking that afternoon for the night as we decided how far we were going to drive that day, though, were a free night here using Mom's points or paying at least $150 for a non-accessible at a Best Western. We decided even if it was bad at least their rooms had real fridges with a freezer to refreeze our water/ice bag, they are spacious as suites, the breakfast might be better, and we did not spend any money.

We had no issues getting the room we booked and check in was relatively quick. Of course, we skipped using the stupid app to check in even though it probably is just coincidental that the 2 of the 3 times we have checked in with app we were screwed out of our accessible booked room.

The space of the room with 2 Queen beds and a seating area with sofa bed was great for us as it allowed Mom and Dad to have one bed, me to have the other, and Mik to have plenty of floor area by the sofa for him without us having to worry about not stepping on him when going to bathroom in middle of the night.

The kitchen area is nice in theory, but we found the dishwasher full of dirty dishes and the sink leaked, which explained why the dishwasher was unplugged and had not run like someone had clearly tried to do as it did have the soap in it. For one night, we did not care, so we did not report it until we were checking out.

The bathroom was awkward with the door opening out into the room towards the door coming into the room. This is an easy fix if they just had the door open into the room as it could go all the way back agains the wall there.

The bathroom layout was also awkward with the toilet to the right with very little room in front of it. Mik could not even try to get on or off on his own due to the small space and it also made it difficult to help him. Not an easy fix, but the room sure seems spacious enough they could have given a little more room to the bathroom instead of sleeping area to allow for reasonable design for the bathroom.

The tub seemed okay, but did not have a chance to use it. It was very odd, though, that it only had shampoo and body wash dispensers. It was not even 2-n-1 shampoo/conditioner.

The sink area had a roll under sink.

The breakfast was overall good. Mik enjoyed getting a bowl of bacon and I made an egg and cheese biscuit at the make your own breakfast sandwich area. Dad was able to have oatmeal and Mom had hard boiled eggs. I was disappointed no bananas, but we happened to have brought two from home that we really did need to eat before they got too overripe. It was also disappointing the only beverage options put out were milk (individual bottles which is nice if you like milk), coffee, and hot water for tea, but Dad asked if there was water and they gave him two small bottles of water.

Overall this hotel worked just fine for us for the night and certainly best option for the situation. However, the hotel did not seem well kept up with plumbing issues and wear and tear.

Destination Info:

Home2 Suites by Hilton Meridian

210 N Frontage Rd

Meridian, MS 39301

Homewood Suites and Tru by Hilton Columbia Downtown

Date of Visit: April 30-May 1, 2025

Hilton is usually the last place go to find a hotel when I am booking, especially with Mik, as we've had too many bad experiences and  find their website the least user friendly. For this quick overnight trip to Columbia for the D23 Member preview of the "Heroes & Villains" exhibit, I did end up going with a Hilton hotel, though, as it was right across the street so we could just walk to the South Carolina State Museum, which overall seemed easier than having to park at museum and drive to hotel after the event. In hindsight, it would have just been easier to not stay in Columbia overnight and drive the 3 hours home.

We arrived at the hotel around 2:45pm and tried to check in to our room at Homewood Suites Columbia Downtown. I had checked in on the app and it said the digital key was still pending, but we decided to still check in because it was almost 3pm check in time and we were hoping to put our stuff in room before going to the museum for the 4pm check in for event to spend the most time seeing the rest of the museum.

Right away trying to check in, it was clear things were not going to go smoothly because she said something like the digital key did not work because the payment did not go through, which is bullshit because it was prepaid back in February and card for incidentals was working just fine. Once I said it was prepaid, she seemed to figure that out and then said she would try to find us a room (seemed more that she meant one ready and not that there was not a room available anymore at this point).

When we still did not have a room at 3:30pm, we were told it was being cleaned and would not be ready before we needed to leave for the museum due to a late check out. They let us each get a snack and beverage from the shop for the inconvenience and we headed to the museum thinking we would have the digital key and head straight to our room when we got back from the museum.

By the time we got back to the hotel around 8:30pm, we still did not have a digital key. We headed to the check in desk and at first the lady treated it like we were just checking in for the first time and was like let me see if I can find you a room. Now I was ready to just get a refund and go home because this was turning into the experience at Tru in Charleston. This time, however, the staff was also annoyed at the situation and the one had just come on shift when we had left earlier and did remember that we supposedly were assigned a room and was trying to figure out why the system now had the room type oversold and none available.

Two staff of the front desk spent the next half hour going through their inventory and going in and actually checking that the rooms were occupied. One also got on the phone with Hilton to figure out what was going on and try to resolve the issue. Eventually they were able to get us an accessible room on the Tru side of the hotel and we took it.

The room we ended up with had 2 queen beds. Mik liked that it did not have carpet.

We had actually booked a suite with only an accessible tub bathroom, but this room had a roll in shower, which is always our preference, but was not necessary for this quick overnight trip.

As usual, the toiletries are not conveniently located with them being on opposite wall from the bench and would have been hard to impossible for someone using bench to actually use. I really like the environmentally friendly idea of the refillable toiletries, but they need to figure out how to make it work for accessibility.

The soap and lotion by the sink were also not that convenient to use, but Mik did at least find this sink style he was able to kneel up and use for his teeth brushing himself.

Mik could not get on the toilet himself, though, because of the toilet paper location probably, but also we were not there long enough to care for him to try to hard and just helped him.

The room was just fine for this particular trip, but it still was annoying to waste so much time and end up being charged a $1.14 for the room on top of what I paid for the Homewood Suites room, which was $16 more than the booking price of the Tru room reservation that was emailed to me when they did the move. They did give us some waters, snacks, and cookies, and the staff really did reasonably quickly resolve it in the end, but Mik was already did not want to go on our summer trip at the end of the month and this experience really made him want to figure out a way to not go until I told him that I did not book any Hilton hotels for it (and he found out eegee's flavor of the month is Orange Dream). I certainly would stay at this hotel again if not with Mik, though, as the staff was friendly and it was overall a nice hotel and good location if we decide to visit the museum again.

Destination Info:

Homewood Suites by Hilton Columbia Downtown

Tru by Hilton Columbia Downtown

400 Gervais St

Columbia, SC 29201

Related Posts:

• South Carolina State Museum
• D23 Member Preview: Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume Exhibit at South Carolina State Museum

Best Western Plus Bessemer Hotel & Suites

Date of Visit: June 30-July 1, 2024

As usual there was no accessible room to book at last minute, but we choose this Best Western over one on the other side of Birmingham that night because there was a 2 Queen room described as Larger Room, which was only $5 more than the regular 2 Queen room. I think it was also cheaper than the other Best Western we considered.

The room was a good layout with the mini fridge and microwave in open areas under the TV.

Mik liked the large floor space area by the window, although, he the air conditioner being there blowing not so much.

The breakfast here was great with a lot of variety. The only thing missing was oatmeal, but when Dad asked if they had some she said she could make some. It was a little annoying that her making it meant she was making a big pot of it and that we had to wait 15-20 minutes. We almost left without waiting for it, but Dad felt bad that we had asked if we then did not wait. Mik ended up enjoying the oatmeal with some Reese's pieces mix ins.

Overall we really enjoyed this Best Western. It was hard not to after the bad experience in Oklahoma the previous night, but really this one did have great friendly service. They also offer their beverages 24/7 instead of just at breakfast including cold water bottles from the front desk. The rooms aren't anything special, but they are decent and the service and price sure made it a great stay.

Destination Info:

Best Western Plus Bessemer Hotel & Suites

5041 Academy Ln

Bessemer, AL 35022