EXTRAORDINARILY ACCESSIBLE PLACES

‘BEST OF’ SERIES

BEST OF is a web-first series highlighting the places that offer truly memorable wheelchair accessible experiences across the country — and occasionally internationally. To catch the latest installments, sign up for our newsletter at newmobility.com/newsletter.

BEST VENUE: One of the world’s greatest natural amphitheaters now boasts exemplary access for wheelchair users.

BEST FINE DINING: When the restaurateurs are wheelchair users, the whole dining experience is transformed.

BEST HOTEL CHAIN: This relative newcomer offers consistently spacious and accessible suites in 400 locations.

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46 BEST VENUE

Picture this — you’ve somehow convinced your favorite band of all time to play a concert in your living room. They’ve brought a booming PA system, lights and all the fixings for an incredible show. Someone offers you a drink while the band sets up, and you happily accept. As the music begins, you think, “How is this even possible? I have my favorite band playing right in front of me!” Then you turn around and see nearly 10,000 other people watching the same show.

This is what it feels like to watch a concert from the front row wheelchair-accessible section of Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.

Topher Downham, Kirk Williams and Matt Feeney (left to right) have about 10,000 people envying their seats.

ACCESSIBLE RED ROCKS

A ONE-OF-A-KIND VENUE

For those of you who don’t know about the esteemed Red Rocks Amphitheater, it’s strategically placed in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, overlooking Denver to the east. You can see the skyline shimmering in the distance from about halfway up the cathedral seating. If you turn around and look toward the back of the theater, you will notice the tiered seating built into the red stone on top of the remains of crushed boulders. The two towering spires on either end create a wraparound feel and a superb audio experience as they reflect the soundwaves toward you and the other concertgoers. It’s a fantastic experience for anyone who has the privilege to go.

I often attended Red Rocks before using a wheelchair and never had a bad time. But nothing compares to the experience I’ve had since becoming a wheelchair user.

Your wheelchair-accessible Red Rocks concert experience begins when you pull into the fully paved, accessible parking lot. Most of the lots at Red Rocks are gravel, where tailgaters often show up hours in advance to kick back and enjoy some quality time with friends and strangers before the concert begins. It’s a scene of its own.

The ADA parking lot for front-row ticket holders has attendants to make sure nobody misuses the accessible spots — they may check your ID and placard to ensure they’re authentic. There’s even a wheelchair-accessible porta-potty

BY KIRK WILLIAMS

available. Once you’re ready, a wheelchair-accessible service shuttles you up the long, steep incline to a gate near the back of the stage. You then roll slightly uphill past the hustling crowd to the front row seating. There is a different parking lot for the top row accessible seats that you’ll be directed to if you have those tickets.

Upon arriving at the front row, an employee will check your tickets to make sure you are the one who purchased them and that you require accessible seating. They’ll give you a wristband and show you to your assigned seats. Seat 45 is dead center, so anything near that number is golden. However, it doesn’t matter what seat you have — you’ll still have an incredible view. There are a few seats set aside for hearing/visually impaired people that overlook a place on the stage dedicated to an interpreter if one has been requested.

Red Rocks has revised the accessible seating quite a bit in the last couple of years. There are now folding chairs available if you wish your friends or family to sit beside you rather than on the bench behind. They’re also nice if you need more back support or just want to get out of your wheelchair. You can bring up to six guests, but you must purchase all their tickets yourself. They are non-transferable and non-refundable, so

Unlike many outdoor concert venues, Red Rocks’ accessibility extends to the parking lot. make sure they are definitely attending. There will be an employee walking around to take drink orders. Instead of navigating the lines and hordes of people, you can have your drink brought directly to your seat. An employee will also likely inform you that there is a wheelchairaccessible restroom on a level-surface stage behind one of the concession stands. This is an employee/accessible restroom with a large enough area to turn around and shut the door behind you, complete with a baby changing station should you need it. It’s nice to have a private restroom since the public bathrooms are usually busy and gross during the shows. When you find your seat and get over feeling like a VIP, you’ll be dumbfounded by just how close to the stage you are. THE LAWSUIT THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE You’ll likely ask yourself, “Is this really happening?” The only thing separating you and the stage is a handful of bouncers and a see-through railing. Your view of the band is practically The accessible experience at Red Rocks hasn’t always been unobstructed. so ideal. Before a 2016 lawsuit, ticket resellers would snap up the prime-location accessible seats and turn them around LET THE MUSIC BEGIN for a profit to the general public. A coalition of disabled After the band comes on the stage and you have picked your concertgoers and disability-rights organizations sued the jaw off the floor, you’ll notice that the audio is superb, and the City of Denver, which owns Red Rocks, for lack of “mean- view is unmatched. Be aware — you are sitting very close to ingful access.” the speakers — the front row at Red Rocks is loud. Even if you

Kirk Williams, who wrote this article, was one of the enjoy loud music, you may want to pack a set of earplugs. plaintiffs in the suit. It took almost two years, but in 2018, a I often find myself rolling away from the front row and looksettlement agreement changed ticketing practices to make ing up toward everyone else enjoying the performance. There’s the front-row accessible seats non-transferable. Whoever a special energy at Red Rocks that brings tears to my eyes. purchases the tickets must show ID and the credit card they Once the show begins, there’s not much else to do but sit used to buy them when they arrive at the concert. This has back, smile and dance your wheels off. Whether it’s Paul Sihelped make it possible for people with disabilities to enjoy mon, Snoop Dogg, Nora Jones or anyone else, it’s clear that a concert experience like few others in the world. the performers are having just as memorable an experience as everyone else. There have been numerous interviews with

musicians who gladly admit that Red Rocks is one of their favorite venues. This feeling is evident the second they step on stage with a huge grin.

As the sky darkens, you can look up past the show lights to the gorgeous Colorado stars. The moon will often peer over the top of the stage as if to remind you this is exactly where you’re meant to be.

When the show finishes, you are welcome to work your way back down toward the shuttle whenever you are ready to go. There may be a slight wait to board depending on when you depart, but it will take you right back down to your car, where you can exit the venue. It’s easy and seamless. All in all, Red Rocks Amphitheater is one of the most incredible venues I’ve been fortunate enough to visit since being a wheelchair user. I have told my friends many times that there are a few perks to being disabled — sitting in the front row at Red Rocks is certainly at the top of the list.

If you enjoy live music, a surreal out-of-body experience, and want a lifetime memory, book a trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Getting Tickets: You can purchase either front row or top row accessible seats for Red Rocks on AXS.com. Shows usually sell out quickly, so buy as close to the on-sale date as possible.

BEST FINE DINING CONTENTO

BY SETH MCBRIDE

It was toward the end of the evening at Contento — after the ceviche and the panisse with uchucuta sauce, midway through my second glass of Alvarinho, as I decided between seaweed speckled deviled eggs or a Peruvian causa for my third course — that I realized something remarkable. I wasn’t in the way.

I had been savoring the cuisine at this small restaurant in Manhattan for an hour or more, and I’d yet to be jostled by a single elbow or have my wheels tripped over by a server. My back-end wasn’t protruding into the arterial flow of the room, nor was I stuck in a corner, unable to escape for a pee. “Excuse me, sir, can you squeeze in a little so I can get by? Oop, just a little more?”

No, here I hadn’t dealt with any of that. When I arrived, I rolled up to the front door via a wide, gentle concrete ramp from the sidewalk. Before I had a chance to think about opening the door, it opened for me. Mara Rudzinski, one of the restaurant’s managing partners who was serving as the host that night, greeted me and showed me to my spot at the lowered bar counter. Even as a party of one on a weeknight, I had needed a reservation. I quickly understood why Contento has rarely had an open table since it opened.

OPENING WITH A BANG

Contento was the brainchild of two wheelchair users, Yannick Benjamin and George Gallego. It opened in June 2021, staking itself as a restaurant opened by and for people with disabilities, and it immediately became one of the most talked-about new establishments in New York City. The New Yorker and New York Times both reviewed it glowingly. Eater and Timeout both put it on “best of NYC” lists.

Most of the early coverage focused on the restaurant’s commitment to inclusivity. But then the awards kept coming. The New York Times named it one of its 10 Best New Restaurants of 2021. The World of Fine Wine deemed Contento to have the best micro wine list in the world for 2021, and Wine Enthusiast tapped Benjamin as its sommelier/beverage director of the year. Esquire listed Contento as one of the best new restaurants in the country. “In the most positive way … it was really overwhelming,” says Benjamin.

Benjamin is a sommelier who was New Mobility’s 2017 Person of the Year alongside Alex Elegudin, his partner in the disability-services nonprofit Wheeling Forward. Gallego worked with Benjamin at the Axis Project, a community and fitness center for people with disabilities in New York City. Gallego

THE FARE

also runs a nonprofit that transitions New Yorkers with disabilities out of nursing homes. Accessibility and inclusivity are not buzzy marketing terms for these two men, rather concepts that have been a driving force throughout their post-injury lives.

Benjamin had the idea of opening his own restaurant since he started using a wheelchair, the result of a car accident when he was 26. He’d already worked in some of the finest restaurants in NYC, but when he went for interviews as a wheelchair user, the conversation always seemed to focus on the physical demands of working the floor. Benjamin eventually found a job at Le Du’s, an iconic wine shop in the West Village, and then worked the floor at the University Club in Midtown Manhattan. Still, he never stopped dreaming of opening a space where access was a given.

It wasn’t until Gallego found a space in East Harlem — small, needing a complete build-out, but inexpensive and “an empty canvas” — that the pair decided to go for it. They didn’t know what the restaurant was going to be yet, just that it would be “as barrier-free as possible” for customers and employees and have a reasonable price point.

“Contento” means content in both Italian and Spanish, a nod to the feeling they intended to evoke and to the history of the neighborhood in which Contento is located. East Harlem — often called El Barrio or Spanish Harlem — was predominantly Italian throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries before transitioning into a Latino neighborhood in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Benjamin says it was important that the name paid homage to the immigrant groups that had made the neighborhood what it was. “I didn’t want to be known as the person who’s going to come in gentrifying a neighborhood that I already had such a deep respect for,” says Benjamin, whose parents emigrated from France. “I don’t want to change a thing about it. I just want to be a part of it.”

Benjamin and Gallego, who lives just down the block from the restaurant, wanted Contento to be a place where

people from the neighborhood would feel welcome and be able to afford coming in for a drink and a bite. From my single-night sample size, it appears that they have succeeded. Next to me at the bar sat a (very chatty) postal worker, originally from the Dominican Republic, who lived a few blocks away. The menu isn’t cheap — Benjamin says the average dinner tab is $80 per person — but relative to other New York hot spots, it’s a bargain, and the menu is wide-ranging. The ceviche is $23, while the dry aged cote de boeuf Selecting a space that needed a complete build-out allowed Benjamin and Gallego to design Con- (for two) will set you back $175. Everytento’s interior to be as barrier-free as possible. Note the lowered bar and the wide aisle in the thing is Peruvian-influenced, thanks middle of the restaurant. to chef Oscar Lorenzzi, who grew up in Lima before working his way up through the New York kitchen scene. The food is creative — think of a risotto-style dish made from the Andean grain quinoa, fries made from yuca, a South American tuber, or octopus with a chimichurri sauce and cauliflower gazpacho. Benjamin put together the wine list, with a section sourced from wineries with social and environmental impact. There are bottles and glasses to fit every budget and palate. You can get a $13 glass of Spanish Grenache or a $290 bottle of Domaine Roulot chardonnay and everything in between (or above). The postal worker and I stuck with the sub-$15 glasses, Benjamin, a sommelier, often works the floor, serving wines from a custom-built tray.

George Gallego chats with customers in Contento’s outdoor seating area.

while behind us, a guy who had enough money to not feel out of place wearing a T-shirt and jeans kept the bottles flowing.

Maybe expensive T-shirt guy learned something, though, as the 11-page wine menu has disability facts and explainers peppered throughout. If he found himself contemplating a Uruguayan Marselan, which apparently has flavors of blackberries, tar, hot stones and violets (yum?), he may also have learned that in 2020, “29% of workers with a disability were employed only part-time, compared with 16% of [workers] without a disability.”

Benjamin and Gallego were prepping for catering an event for the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities the night I was at Contento. But Benjamin is often working the floor, rolling from table to table, checking in with guests, recommending, serving and typically treating everyone he talks to like they’re the most important person in the room.

BEYOND PHYSICAL ACCESS

Perhaps the most exciting thing about Contento is that it manages to make its physical accessibility an afterthought. My night there reminds me of a conversation I had with the architect Karen Braitmayer, who described accessibility as a framework within which good design can flourish. At Contento, accessibility is a framework from which you can fully experience great food, drink and service.

Don’t get me wrong, Contento does physical access as well as anyone. Tables are spaced around the edge of the restaurant, and wheelchair users have enough space to fit at every table without staff having to move things around. All tables are set at a height that can accommodate most manual and power wheelchair users. The bar is split evenly, with one section at typical height and the other set low. The outdoor seating is level and as roomy as the inside. There is one bathroom, and it has enough space for a power wheelchair user to turn around and recline if necessary. A server will bring you adaptive utensils if you request them, and menus are available in braille or via QR code and a screen reader if you need. But what sets Contento apart is the attitude of the staff and the ambiance formed by the regular presence of customers with varying types of disabilities. As a disabled person, you are meant to feel welcome here. Benjamin says they regularly bring in educators from different disability groups — low vision, deaf and hard of hearing, cognitive and sensory disabilities — to train staff on culture and etiquette. “I’m still learning,” says Benjamin. “We’re not claiming to be the endall be-all. … Teach us. Give us some feedback. How can we do better?” The goal is to create an environment where people with disabilities feel comfortable being themselves. Benjamin tells the story of a lawyer who came into Contento not long ago. She has arm and hand weakness, and typically brings an attendant to restaurants to help her eat. But at Contento, she dined the way she does at home: by bending down and eating directly off her plate. “That’s the greatest compliment,” he says. “That’s exactly the way we want people to feel.”

THE FULL EXPERIENCE

Contento made a name for itself because of access and inclusion, but tables stay full because the team does everything well. The service is so good it can be unnerving — servers seem to appear only at the precise moment you need something. The effect is that you’re always taken care of but never feel like you’re being rushed.

As I sat at the bar, I noticed a woman in a wheelchair rolling up to one of the outdoor tables. In a few minutes, a few more wheelchair users joined her. I looked again, and sure enough, I recognized all of them from my work with New Mobility.

It was a bit of a surreal moment. They had all been featured in the magazine, but I had never met any of them. The “disability community” often only exists online, a collection of individuals with shared understanding and experience stitched together by social media posts, Facebook groups, blogs and websites. Yet here we all were on a Tuesday night because there’s no better place in the country for a wheelchair user to have a meal, sip a drink and catch up with friends, or make new ones.

My meal finished with the fancy deviled eggs. I didn’t have to think about an exit strategy through a gauntlet of patrons. I just unlocked my brakes, went to the bathroom and rolled back to the front door. Rudzinski offered to call me a cab, but it was a crisp fall night and rolling a few miles through the city back to my hotel seemed as good a nightcap as any.

BEST HOTEL CHAIN

BY SYLVIA LONGMIRE

HOME2 SUITES

Since I started traveling as a fulltime wheelchair user in 2015, I have stayed in hundreds of hotel rooms across dozens of countries and states. If I’m traveling domestically, I never know what I’m going to get when I roll through that hotel room door, other than the 99.9% chance I will come across at least one ADA violation.

The biggest problem when it comes to consistency across wheelchairaccessible rooms in the United States is that at least 90% of hotels are franchises. That means that the parent corporation, like Marriott, IHG, Hilton, etc., only dictates some things that must be standardized across the brand, like logos and some interior decorating touches. Construction companies, interior design companies, layouts and standards vary widely across the same brand. You could stay in 20 different hotels of the same brand that look nothing alike and have varying levels of accessibility.

The major hotel corporations are always looking to innovate and come up with different brands that meet different traveler needs. The Home2 Suites chain is a Hilton brand that launched in 2011 and was Hilton‘s first new brand in 20 years. Today, it has approximately 400 properties across the U.S. While most of them are franchised, the interior design elements are very standardized with minimal deviation and layout differences — something highly unusual for such a widely franchised hotel chain. This is an incredible bonus for travelers who require wheelchair accessible rooms.

I had never heard of Home2 Suites until I started making travel arrangements for a long road trip with my two sons in 2021. One of our major stops was Rapid City, South Dakota, and I wanted to take them for a couple of days at an indoor water park. Home2 Suites was one of three hotels adjoining the park, and looked newly constructed, so I took a gamble and booked a three-night stay. I was excited they had accessible rooms with two queen beds and a sofa bed, so we could each have our own bed, plus a roll-in shower — a relatively rare combination in hotels.

I was pleasantly surprised by that room, but it was only the first in a long line of fantastic stays at Home2 Suites properties across the U.S. Almost all of the rooms have been incredibly spacious. Our accessible room in Raleigh, North Carolina, was so big that my sons were passing a football and running small drills.

As someone who needs a low bed to transfer, I love that the beds are relatively low and always around 22 to 24 inches above the floor. Plus, they have all been on legs and would accommodate a lift if necessary.

I’ve been equally happy with the consistency and quality of the roll-in shower bathrooms. Every Home2 Suites rollin shower had water controls and showerhead within reach of the fold-down bench — which I only find in maybe half the hotel rooms I stay in. The bathroom configuration is also pretty standard, with a roll-under sink and great grab bar placement near the toilet. There is usually a vertical grab bar, which makes it much easier for me to transfer.

One feature I particularly like is their push-button controls for the blinds. In so many other hotels without these controls, furniture blocks access to the curtains and pulls, and sometimes I must ask the staff to close my curtains. Similarly, Home2 thermostats are installed lower and within easy reach. I need electrical outlets near the bed to charge my power chair and phone, which has never been a problem at Home2 Suites. Their outlets also have USB ports.

Home2 Suites is an extended-stay type of hotel, so the accessible rooms typically have a sink, small dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave and pullout table. They offer free breakfast every morning with typical options like precooked omelets, waffles, yogurt, fresh fruit and cereal. Locations tend to be just outside a city’s downtown area, but nightly rates are reasonable and budget-friendly.

The accessible room at one Home2 Suites was big enough for Longmire’s sons to run football drills. The chain’s roll-in showers consistently work well.

The padded shower bench at the Conrad adds a luxurious touch.

THE NICEST ACCESSIBLE HOTEL I’VE EVER STAYED IN

The Conrad New York Downtown is a gorgeous luxury hotel situated along the Hudson River in downtown Manhattan. It’s across the street from the Brookfield Place mall and an easy 10-minute roll from Freedom Tower, the 911 Memorial & Museum, the Oculus Transportation Hub and Wall Street. While its five-star status and luxury amenities are reflected in the price — depending on the day of the week and time of year, a night can be in the $400-$500 range — I chose this hotel mostly for the location. Out of hundreds of hotels I’ve stayed around the world as a wheelchair user, it is handsdown my favorite.

My two sons and I booked an accessible deluxe suite with two double beds, a sofa bed and roll-in shower. The sofa bed was in a living room that was separated from the bedroom by a short hallway and bathroom. Sliding dividers at both ends of the hallway provided privacy. The living area had a work desk and the hallway area a small sink and minifridge. The entire room offered plenty of space to roll around and reach everywhere. All lights and curtains had reachable push-button controls, and there were numerous outlets by the beds.

The double beds were incredibly comfortable. Because they were platform beds without box springs, they were not too high above the floor. Fortunately, the platform was open, with plenty of space beneath to slide hoist legs if needed. The sofa bed had a four-inch memory foam mattress with a folding flat platform, and was easily the most comfortable I’ve ever experienced.

The roll-in shower was fabulous for many reasons. First, the fold-down bench was padded for comfort. Second, it was easy to reach the shower controls and the showerhead, which was placed in the lowest position. The shampoo and shower gel dispensers were not attached to the wall, but left on a reachable shelf. The toilet seat was only slightly lower than my power chair, making transfers easy.

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