APARTHOTEL ADAGIO BORDEAUX CENTRE GAMBETTA

MODERN BUILDING WITH GALLEY KITCHEN FOOTSTEPS FROM TRANSIT

Pound for pound, Bordeaux boasts some of the best gastronomy and wine in all of France...or the world for that matter.

Code 23, a fabulous bar with live music and a cozy vibe, is less than 15 minutes walk from the property.

Le Petit Commerce, one of the greatest, most unpretentious seafood houses in all of the region, is 15 minutes walk away from Aparthotel Adagio Bordeaux Centre Gambetta.

Boulangerie Jocteur, an outstanding bakery, is a brisk 5 minute walk from the hotel.

Chartrons and its great homes and bistros are 15 minutes by tram.

Cite du Vin is less than 25 minutes by tram.

Bassins des Lumières, in a WWII submarine bunker also to the north of town, is less than 45 minutes by public transit.

APARTHOTEL ADAGIO BORDEAUX CENTRE GAMBETTA

MODERN BUILDING WITH GALLEY KITCHEN FOOTSTEPS FROM TRANSIT

Aparthotel Adagio Bordeaux Centre Gambetta Front desk staff was excellent about giving tips on shopping/dining.

It also complied with my standard request to get the room farthest from the elevator and to have an extra flat sheet in the room.

I certainly used the coffee maker, as well as the fridge to store leftover gourmet food -- and the stove and microwave to reheat said food.

St. Catherine Street -- billed as the longest pedestrian shopping street in all of Europe, is footsteps away.

Garonne River, muddy but the spine of the city for centuries, is 10-12 minutes walk away, as is the famous Place de la Bourse with its giant reflecting pond and wondrous architecture. Bordeaux is a great city.

APARTHOTEL ADAGIO BORDEAUX CENTRE GAMBETTA

MODERN BUILDING WITH GALLEY KITCHEN FOOTSTEPS FROM TRANSIT

When first considering several properties, I thought Aparthotel Adagio Bordeaux Centre Gambetta might be out of the center.

Turns out it's in the center.

And right on the edge of the UNESCO World Heritage part of the city.

It's the best of both worlds -- modern, updated and quiet as it is not near any wine or other bars or nightclubs.

But Gambetta is a great area, flush with hip restaurants, wine bars and grocery stores.

One of the tram lines is 5 minutes away.

Also within a 5 minute walk is the G bus that connected with historic Saint Jean train station, where I arrived from Paris. 

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

Hotel Antre Chapultepec staff is outstanding about explaining the price, departure times, etc. of the tours it sells from the front desk.

I wish it would affiliate with a better tour provider than Jalisco Tour Mendez.

Both daylong tours that I took spent an endless amount of time stopping at horrible restaurants and tourists traps that likely pay the tour company a kickback for depositing hapless tourists at their doorstep.

The base price of the tours is 25 USD -- at that low price, you get a tour that only rates about 2.5 on a scale of one to 5.

 

 

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

Hotel Antre Chapultepec’s room temperature control is fixed.

You have to ask the front desk to send a person up to set it.

That means you only have a choice of air conditioning on or off -- you cannot adjust it to you comfort.

Please, treat guests like adults, and remove the governor on the temperature settings that can only be overridden with a code used by management.

The breakfast buffet was about 14 USD -- very high by Guadalajara standards.

I checked it out and while it looked clean, it really didn't appear to be worth the money.

I could not justify paying more than 20% of my daily room rate on a breakfast that was not cooked to order and had no luxury items on the buffet tables.

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

The Centro Historico is a 20 minute walk -- or a rideshare under USD 5 with tip – from Hotel Antre Chapultepec.

Tlaquepaque and Zapopan are about a half hour (45 minutes with traffic) 10 USD rideshare trip to visit those historic and vibrant neighborhoods.

The room had a large desk for working and room enough for a small fainting couch by the large balcony.

I would gladly stay again. 

And I wish every major city had a centrally-located, cost-effective Hotel Antre.

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

The fabulous working class Santa Tere neighborhood, with dozens of outstanding foodie spots, is a 12 minute walk north of the Hotel Antre Chapultepec.

GDL is a gastronomic mecca -- with amazingly fresh and fabulous seafood for not being a coastal city.

With a smooth check in and bilingual staff, Hotel Antre sets you up for all the cultural delights that GDL has to offer.

Jalisco state also is ground zero for outstanding coffee production.

Several of the best coffee purveyors in all of Mexico are within walking distance of the property.

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

Hotel Antre Chapultepec’s daily maid service brought two large bottles of water and cleaned -- while honoring my request to not remake my bed.

The front desk arranged a tour for me and helped estimate the price of a car service.

The room has tons of outlets -- regular prong and USB -- for recharging.

Antre Chapultepec is in the heart of Colonia Americana -- voted the hippest neighborhood on earth (as judged by Time Out Magazine).

Endless upscale and down home restaurants, bakeries, shops, street art and early 20th century architecture are within easy walking distance.

HOTEL ANTRE CHAPULTEPEC GUADALAJARA

PERFECT LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VALUE, 

TOP-NOTCH STAFF FOR PROSPEROUS VISIT

The Hotel Antre Chapultepec is modern, perfectly-located and well-run.

I asked a lot of questions before my arrival and the staff answered each of them expertly.

The hotel is very near Chapultepec and its noisy bars and clubs plus it is on one of the city's busiest streets -- but I only heard a minor roar on my 10th floor, sound proofed room.

I had a fabulous balcony with southern exposure.

The room was large for a price well under 100 USD per day.

The walk-in shower had endless warm water.

 

ABLEISM IS A TOXIC FORM OF DISCRIMINATION

DON’T BE AN ABLEISM ENABLER OR APOLOGIST

Why is everyone an ableism enabler?

Every time I point out the evil of a brand new shop accessed only by steps, I get an avalanche of apologist replies “maybe the architect doesn’t know” about the ADA.

If an architect is not aware of the Americans with Disabilities Act, (the law of the land for a third of a century) then they are better suited for shoveling pig poop than designing places and spaces for human beings.

Why are everyday people so aggressive about making lack of access the fault of people with disabilities? 

Forgiving a business for not knowing it must serve all is as ludicrous as forgiving a chef for not knowing to wash his hands after wiping his heinie.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN MYTH BUSTING

HOSTED BY STARKLOFF DISABILITY INSTITUTE'S

NEWLY EXPANDED UNIVESAL DESIGN PROGRAM

Honored to cover two of five myths discussed during the April 10 Universal Design Myths Busted virtual panel presentation hosted by Starkloff Disability Institute's newly expanded UD program.

I was gratified to be part of an expert panel also featuring Tiffany Dill, Meaghan Walls and Gretchen Kingma.Speaking to a large online audience, we broke down common misconceptions about Universal Design and its impact on everyone.

Thanks to the incomparable Rachel Goldmeier and the entire Starkloff team for facilitating a dynamite, 75-slide program.

https://starkloff.org/services/universal-design/

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

I recount the conversation where the urban designers says, “I rarely see people with disabilities in my town, so I don’t prioritize their inclusion when I’m designing a new town or upgrading an old neighborhood.”

And I counter “with 85 million people with disabilities in the U.S., it’s not because there aren’t many folks with disabilities in your city – it’s because you are designing everything so poorly, so ableist, that they don’t have the equity and inclusion they deserve.

They want to be immersed in your city, adding to its vibrancy, but you keeping planning and building things that exclude them.

You better address that, or the city will replace you with somebody who can design for all.”

Remember, anything public that is not equally accessible to all is a failure of the basic tenants of civil rights and equal treatment for all.

One of my Universal Design students said it best when he reviewed a town plan that isolated people with disabilities and stripped them of the basic dignity of inclusive mobility.

He observed: “If you city doesn’t work for everyone, it works for no one.”

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Government – be it a town, city, county, regional, state or federal agency – MUST take the lead on hiring people with disabilities as planners, architects, engineers and designers that create an inclusive built environment. 

Government often was a leader in hiring people of color and women and giving them the tools to take on leadership roles.

It needs to do the same with people with disabilities. 

Beyond that, every city advisory board should be required to a person with a disability on it.

How can the 13 person board that oversees the spending of a $250 million capital improvements bond ensure that main entrances will be accessible, pools will have lifts, sidewalks will be built extra wide and libraries will have access to all floors – if there is not one person with a disability among the other dozen?

How can an 11 member parks advisory board design for inclusion if no person with a disability serves on it?

How can a 9-person planning board create a better built environment for all if it doesn’t have a person who has lived with a disability and is intensely aware of barriers? 

When I speak to standing room only audiences at major conferences for urban designers, planners and others – I talk about the chicken and egg effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

The template for hiring people with disabilities for urban design jobs is there.

We just need to get guidance counselors, design school deans and recruiters for firms in the profession – to take the extra step to welcome and ramp up the hiring of this element of diversity. 

We have seen how a diverse workforce has greatly contributed to innovative and lasting design.

It’s time for people with disabilities to have those opportunities.

While on the subject, while they are rare – because of structural ableism – there are some urban designers, architects and engineers with physical disabilities.

Do not ask them to review something for accessibility without paying their going rate. That is out of bounds.

Do you think the largest Hispanic-owned Madison Avenue advertising firm helps Fortune 500 companies reach the Spanish speaking market “just for the cause” of raising Hispanic awareness, or do you think they charge a fabulous rate for their top of class experience, expertise and insight?

They charge a small fortune, as well they should.

Don’t ask people with disabilities to do expert work “just for the cause” of more inclusion.

 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

The key to people with disabilities working at planning and architecture firms is aggressive recruiting. 

Universities that teach urban design, architecture and engineering must be reaching out to high schools to recruit students with disabilities. 

Many may think you have to climb a telephone pole or ease down to a sewer line to perform the work.

Truth is, the vast majority of work is done on a computer.

And all but the most remote of field visits can be done by wheelchair.

Graduate design programs should aggressively recruiting nontraditional students and midcareer professionals with disabilities.

Firms should very aggressively recruit, train, promote and retain people with physical and other disabilities.

I’m tired of hearing “we can’t find anybody than can do the job.”

Or “if we hired them, their role would be very limited and they could not be a project manager.”

I’m old enough to have heard that about both women and people of color in the urban design/architecture/engineering fields.

There still is not full parity, but aggressive recruiting and retention at every level has boosted numbers tremendously.

Some of those folks who couldn’t get an internship are now the owners of award-winning, influential firms owned by women and people of color.

 

 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

One of the problems is recruiting and retaining people with disabilities in the urban design and related professions.

I have worked directly with well more than 2,000 planners, architects and engineers – those who create virtually all of the built environment.

Few if any have had a wheelchair user on their full-time staff. 

If I met a person with a mobility impairment, it was a temporary one from a skiing accident…meaning they would not have to find permanent accessible housing, transportation, recreation, jobsite and much more. 

Perhaps there were some people with invisible disabilities, such as epilepsy.

That is good for diversity, but how can you know what is really needed to thrive with a disability, if you are basing your design on a 60 minute ADA webinar you half paid attention to or a 75 minute continuing education Universal Design course that you used to catch up on texts and emails?

 

 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Ever go to the opening ceremony for a new community pool, computer lab, daycare, gym, library?

Guaranteed the mayor and city manager will brag about it being state of the art, best of the best.

Ask about the plans for a rebuilding a sidewalk broken by tree roots and heavy trucks and city leadership will speak of just meeting ADA compliance by a hairbreadth.  

See the difference? 

Even when pressed, they say the disability community should be thrilled if one tenth of the public realm is accessible at a bare minimum.

If they broke their leg, would they like the doctor to toss a bandage and two aspirins at them and walk away satisfied that bare minimum medical treatment was delivered?

 

 

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

If the sidewalk network and/or transit station (think of hundreds of New York subway stations and Chicago elevated trains without elevators) is not inclusive, a person with a disability may not be able to make it to an essential appointment for a health checkup or treatment.

Urban Design that fails to create inclusive parks and recreation can create social isolation.

Social isolation is one of the biggest contributors to the decline in mental and physical health in senior citizens and people with disabilities.

In most states, the departments of transportation allow just one curbramp at the extreme corner of an intersection.

It does not line up with crosswalk or sidewalk.

This means a person using a wheelchair has to partially roll out into oncoming traffic.

The best practice is a beveled curb ramp covering the entirety of all four corners of an intersection. 

This is another case of minimum ADA compliance NOT being a best practices approach to urban design.

Never design at the bare minimum 1 to 12 grade for accessibility ramps. 

If the builder misses the mark by a little bit, the ramp is too steep. If the ground settles a tad, the ramp may not be safe for people with disabilities.

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

Disability discrimination is called ableism. 

Ableism is devaluing a person with a disability because they are disabled. It is exactly like racism, which devalues on skin color and culture.

Both are indefensible and sometimes lethal.

It can be as simple as sidewalks.

If a city fails to maintain broken sidewalks and fill in missing parts, a person with a disability is forced to go out into the street to continue their journey to a transit station. 

Pedestrian deaths are almost constantly on the rise, so putting more people into danger’s path is very bad planning.

 

 

 

 

ALL URBAN DESIGN SHOULD BE HUMAN-CENTERED

UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE PATH TO ACHIEVING IT

It is incredible that virtually every prototype for robotaxis and driverless public transportation vehicles – is a sedan that cannot accommodate a wheelchair users.

Even companies that boast they are creating the transportation of the future for all, push back on accessible vehicles.

They basically say, let us figure this out for a decade, then we’ll include power wheelchair users. 

Can you imagine saying “we won’t let people of color in this park for a decade, till we perfect it.

Or, well, we won’t seat women in this performing arts center for about a dozen years, till we get the operation going perfectly.

There would be outrage.

As well there should be.

But create the vehicle of the future, and you apparently get to discriminate.