Lodging

After “There is Room at the Inn” was released this spring, I received a lot e-mails from innkeepers who wanted their accessible properties included in the next edition of the book. Well, some were more accessible than others, so just suffice it to say that I have a big resource file to sift thought when I pen the next edition.

There are a few properties that stood out though. Take the one that was suggested to me last week by Ann Wilson at Norcal Mobility. Actually it’s more of an apartment, rather than an accessible inn. It’s owned by Norcal Mobility, an accessible vehicle dealership in Northern California. Now it’s not like we have these dealerships on every corner or even in every town, so some people come a long way just to buy an accessible vehicle.

Enter the accessible apartment. Norcal Mobility owner, Ken Karasinski, recently remodeled one of his apartments to be accessible, and he now offers it for free to customers who need overnight accommodations while shopping for an accessible vehicle. And when it’s not being used by a customer, he offers it to the public as a short term rental.

Located in Chico, California, the two bedroom apartment has one bathroom with a roll-in shower and another with walk-in bathtub, an overhead Hoyer lift in the bedroom, a two car garage and an accessible backyard. It’s pretty much the cat’s meow as far as access goes.

The nightly rental rate is $100, and there are lots of pictures on the website. Check it out for yourself at www.norcalmobilityapt.com/