The Hotel Villa Batalha may be a place to stay that has enough wheelchair access while traveling in Portugal. It’s located in a central area of Batalha, close to the Batalha Monastery, with an estimated ninety rooms that can be made accessible to visitors, along with many other accessible features, as stated from the website, “Any room can be prepared to accommodate guests with reduced mobility: we have fixed / removable grab bars and chairs / benches for the shower.” Though not perfect, Hotel Villa Batalha continues to learn and improve access.

Basic Features

Not every amenity and space is wheelchair accessible at the Hotel Villa Batalha, but enough may make it still work for you. One handicapped parking spot is in front of the hotel and another across the street. Small cobblestones are in front of the hotel where a ramp provides access inside to two elevators to the rooms; the elevator on the left side is a little large than the other.

The front desk has a lowered section. A bar, restaurant, and conference room are located on the ground floor. Breakfast is commonly included with your stay and served as a buffet with staff to assist if needed.

The ground floor has wood floors with rugs off to the side at sitting area, and the hallways to the rooms are carpeted. A patio is available in the back of the hotel, but barrier-free access to it from inside the hotel is missing; going outside and around the hotel may be possible for some but inconvenient.  

Pool + Spa

Hotel Villa has an indoor pool and spa with very few accessible features. Neither the hot tub nor the pool has a wheelchair accessible lift. The bathroom and barrier-free shower are in a wide area but do not have accessible features like grab-bars.

Getting into the sauna is not possible due to a step, but the steam room is barrier-free with some open general space, but no designated space for a wheelchair. If looking to get a massage, the spa has a table with an automatic table that can adjust heights.

Rooms

Every room has a universal design to be more accessible to all and doors open with a key card. The key card must be inserted for electricity to work. Each room includes a toilet with drop-down grab-bars, a roll-up sink, and a barrier-free shower with a hand-held shower nozzle.

The shower nozzle is mounted lower and within reach while sitting down. No grab-bars are placed in the shower automatically, but the hotel provides portable ones. The hotel can also provide a shower bench; likely one with handles and one without as seen in the photos; contact the hotel to arrange or make plans to rent or bring one.

A shelf for towels is placed high in the corner of the shower, so if you cannot stand, reaching it is problematic. The mounted makeup mirror is also too high to access from a wheelchair, but a portable mirror may be provided upon request.

Rooms have two firm twin beds pushed together. The placement of the refrigerator was not possible to open and access by wheelchair. The closest had lower drawers and a bar to hang clothes up.   

Large, Family-Style Shower + Toilet

On one floor, guests may access a very large, “family-style” accessible bathroom. This particular bathroom is not attached to any specific room and requires a key to access it. It is the most accessible bathroom in the hotel with grab-bars around the toilet and in the roll-in shower, which has a portable shower chair and hand-held shower nozzle.

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