HOTEL WITH A VISION

THE Lauriston Hotel must have some of the best sea views of any hotel in Weston-super-Mare – with the redeveloped Grand Pier just a stone’s throw away and the rolling waves of the Bristol Channel glistening all the way to Steep Holm.

The true grandeur of the view has become something of a recurring joke between the staff and the residents at the elegant Victorian hotel – because for the past 50 years, this remarkable place has been a hotel for the blind.

“We do a good job of describing the sea views in great detail,” explains Robin Camidge, manager of the hotel, which is run as a not-for-profit company by the charity Action for Blind People.

“And although our guests are often unable to take in the view for themselves, they soon build up a picture of it in their mind’s eye.

“But being this close to the seafront has other benefits for our blind and partially sighted guests,” he adds. “It means they can breathe in as much sea air as they want, and they’re just a moment’s walk from the promenade.

“Now the redevelopment work is almost finished on the prom, it has become a very safe place for blind people to walk.”

Robin spent 13 years at the helm of the Grand Atlantic – one of Weston-super-Mare’s largest hotels – before taking on the job at the Lauriston in 2007.

“It’s a very different sort of place,” Robin admits. “But I love working here. Our guests are so grateful for everything we’re able to do for them, and it’s somehow much more worthwhile and rewarding than running a normal hotel.

“I go home at the end of each day feeling as if I’ve made somebody’s day that bit better, which is a wonderful feeling.”

The Lauriston is one of four Action for Blind People hotels around the country – the others are in Bognor Regis, Teignmouth and Windermere. Collectively, they have just rebranded themselves as Vision Hotels.

“The idea is that we’re trying to make the chain more inclusive,” Robin explains. “This summer, for the first time, we have started allowing sighted people to take rooms in the hotels on a limited basis.

“One of the things you soon learn about blind and partially sighted people’s holiday planning is that they never do it last minute. The sheer logistics of organising the details of travel when you’re blind means they always plan their breaks at least a couple of months in advance.

“So we realised there was an opportunity to offer last-minute rooms to sighted visitors within the last two weeks before the holiday.

“I will never turn blind or partially sighted people away. But welcoming sighted people too makes sense, as it brings in extra revenue for the charity. Everyone has really taken to the idea, and those sighted people who have stayed here this summer have told me they’ve learnt an awful lot about the issues facing blind people, simply from the chats they’ve had with their fellow residents.

“I think all that new interaction between blind and sighted people has to be a good thing – there is a danger that otherwise blind people can be segregated from the mainstream.”

Regular guests Les and Alison Arnell have travelled to the Lauriston from their home in Shrewsbury every summer for the last 14 years.

“It’s become a sort of second home to us,” Les says. “And we’ve been delighted to find sighted people staying here this year too.

“There’s only a million blind people in the country, and there is a danger that we get set in our ways. The result is that you meet the same people every time you come away.

“While it’s nice to catch up with old friends, it’s also quite refreshing to meet up with new people while you’re on holiday.

“We love staying here. All our needs are well catered for, and they always think of the little details that you wouldn’t normally expect when staying in a mainstream hotel – for example, each of the rooms has a speaking clock beside the bed, and a CD player so that you can lay in bed and listen to a talking book.”

The rooms have special measuring devices that prevent blind guests from pouring too much water into their cup of tea, and all the rooms are guide dog friendly – with water bowls and dog beds coming as standard.

“We’ve come here with three different guide dogs over the years, and they’ve all loved it here,” Alison says. “At the back of the hotel there’s a shower block for the guide dogs coming off the beach, and they even have their own toilet area and grooming room.”

In the restaurant the menu is in braille, and in the TV room there’s even a braille version of the

But more than anything, it’s the friendliness of the staff that makes Les and Alison keep coming back.

“Sometimes people in mainstream hotels just don’t get it – they simply don’t understand how blind people like to be treated,” Les says. “They either ignore the fact that you’re blind, and leave you to fend for yourself, or they overwhelm you with well-intentioned but uncomfortable levels of assistance.

“We’re just normal people – the only difference is that we can’t see. The staff here understand that.”

For more information about the Lauriston Hotel, visit the charity’s website at