Holiday Inn — Gare de Lyon (Paris, France)

This review of the wheelchair accessibility of the Holiday Inn by Gare de Lyon in Paris is from Summer 2023.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn due to its proximity to Gare de Lyon–it is a block from the train station, which has access to international, regional, and metro trains, as well as city buses. It is also an easy walk/scoot from there across the Seine River to explore the Jardin des Plantes, Jardin du Luxembourg, Rodin Museum, and Army Museum (with Napoleon’s Tomb, which is not wheelchair accessible).

The room was fine, but the small roll-in shower made the stay uncomfortable and impractical. And the neighborhood was not great for food or sightseeing. There was also a lot of construction, so many of the bus routes were rerouted to different stops or canceled entirely.

Our previous stay at the Holiday Inn Paris Opera was more centrally located, more wheelchair accessible, and a better overall experience.

Contact information: re@holidayinnparisbastille.com or 33-1-53022000.

Wheelchair Accessibility of the Entrance and Elevators

The hotel has a permanent ramp that leads up to the entrance. The entry door is powered, but you have to use a doorbell to have the front staff activate the door. This is the process for everyone–it’s a safety measure, rather than accessibility feature. The doorbell is reachable, but was a stretch for me.

The entry, hotel bar, and elevator are beautiful.

Wheelchair Accessibility of the Room

We stayed in room 120, which is above the ground floor–remember that Europe counts the ground floor as floor 0. The hotel has two elevators–one is very old and small, and the other was large enough for my scooter and luggage.

The room itself had enough space to maneuver, but just barely. The bathroom was unworkable for me–the “roll-in shower” was actually a 3’x3′ (at most) standing shower, and the floor sloped away from the shower with no extra drain. Any overflow would have gone straight to the bedroom carpet. The toilet was very close to the wall, and made transferring impossible. In fact, I could not use the shower or toilet for the duration of our (thankfully) short stay. I asked the front desk if any rooms had larger bathrooms, and was condescended to with an answer of “this is Paris–all rooms are smaller than in America.” This is not the case with other Holiday Inns in Paris.

Also, the built-in cabinets around the bed stopped my scooter from being able to access the head of the bed. As such, I had to sleep closer to the foot of the bed and had a hard time transferring out of bed.

The bed height was around 23″ and the toilet was around 19″.

Overall, the wheelchair accessibility of the Holiday Inn by Gare de Lyon in Paris was wanting.