Phantom of the Opera a London Trip Review May 2023

 

Blue background, white mask with a red rose next to it. Underneath reads Andrew Lloyd Webbers Phanom of the Opera His Majesty’s Theatre

Hotel front with pink zig zag design on the top half with windows. Underneath entrance canopy with large pink letters that reads President Hotel. Underneath is the hotel entrance doors and pavement. 

The President Hotel London

Originally, we had booked to see only Phantom of the Opera, but then the opportunity arose to extend our stay and attend a disability communication exhibition.

The room was a decent size, with plenty of turning room for a wheelchair user.  The bathroom was also a decent size, with turning room, black handles and bars to highlight the toilet in the almost grey and white setting.

However, the breakfast was disappointing. On the first morning, I had a lumpy porridge. I was prepared to overlook this as I waited for the decision from the manager as to whether I could get a smoothie. As those of you who have read my other reviews of the Imperial Hotel chain, when I said in the reviews of the Royal National hotel, I enthused about the mango smoothie at breakfast that meant I was able to swallow all of my tablets without fear of choking.

But when I returned, this option has since been taken away and there was only water based juices. When I alerted the hotel afterwards, I was told I should have alerted the hotel beforehand.

So, I did this time.

A waiter came over as we arrived, promising to help with anything we needed.

My mum asked for a smoothie, so I could have my medication safely.

The waiter, despite telling us that the day before, they had made a fruit smoothie for the staff (so they have equipment and knowledge of how to blend fruit) they had to ask his manager if it was ok to enable a vulnerable, ill and disabled customer the right to have medications with dignity.

The manager denied me this and said they have a shop where I could buy a smoothie! I had already paid for the breakfast!.

It was a choice to pay £3.50 extra or risk getting ill!

I believe it is unfair and discriminatory to expect someone reliant on medications to pay more.

If they had had a heart and just got the smoothie, this review would have been so much better.

Also, I noticed poor basic health and safety, in that none of the downwards staircases are highlighted for blind/visually impaired people.

Charlton Athletic Football ground (North stand) it's not as possible to get from Bloomsbury, where the President Hotel is to Charlton Athletic FC on public transport directly, its tubes and buses. I have heard about the access issues disabled people have on the London underground (no ramp, being stranded, no lift or lifts out of order), so we got a taxi.

The entrance of the Charlton Athletic FC was flat, with automatic doors that led into a carpeted area where we signed in and went up to the first floor. The lift was old-fashioned and I don't think it had a voiceover.

The large room that the exhibition was held in was flat and had enough space for wheelchair users to get by.

There were talks going on in a side room. This had heavy push doors to get in. Something funny happened: you have to go through this area to get to the disabled toilet, as I did so, the audience burst into applause, thinking this was for me, I said, 'thank you,' but looking back, it was probably for the speaker.

Sadly, the disabled toilet, wasn't very accessible. It was tiny, barely room to get in. Although it had a bar, it was all white, so not good for visually impaired people.

On the second morning, the bar manager compromised with us by saying he'd make a smoothie using the fruit salad we bought that day. I was ok with this and looked forward to swallowing my tablets for free the next day.

We got out early afternoon and strolled to Euston to find out what bus to get to get to the V & A, but the help desk was empty. A sign said they were 'patrolling the station', so we went inside. They were as helpful as asking a lamppost, only without a lift.

So, we walked to Coal Drop Yard.

Along the way, we stopped off at the British Library, who had a 'Art, Science and Sound' exhibition on.

The entrance reminded me of the British Museum. It was huge, with a large front expanse.

Inside, a ramp zig-zagged down to the reception, where you pay.

A lift took us down to the basement where it was dark. The exhibition was not accessible to blind/visually impaired. My mum had to read everything to me, which she got bored doing. One part of it made me so sad. The exhibit was about nature and how humans lack respect, knowledge and understanding of animals and nature has and is destroying species, the planet and ultimately ourselves.

The cafe area was fine, except for the tables. There was no way for a wheelchair user to sit at them, which was a shame as it was a good height, but the filled in legs made it impossible to get my chair under. My mum said there was one table that I might've got under but it was occupied it would've been impolite to ask them to move.

After the library, we went to get the bus to Camden, but there was a pram in the wheelchair bay, so we walked to Coal Drop Yard, a place we discovered last year, when it was being built.

It was much easier to find than last time, just literally down a row of expensive sports shops and over the road.

Being visually impaired, I found the bright white blended pavement that went into stairs difficult to navigate. It had ridges and bobbles to alert cane users, but they were close to the edge of the strip and also in between silver plant pots, that were hard to spot in the camouflage.

After a quick wander, we headed back to the hotel, where they had a jazz night on.

My mum booked the tickets half an hour before, so it was very spur of the moment. What was odd, was when we asked at the hotel reception how to book the meal and music, she didn't have a clue what we were on about! So, we went online.

It was held in the bar area. This has low couches and tables under a very swirly patterned carpet, which is a bit disorientating. Like in the rest of the hotel, the restaurant had no warning that you were approaching stairs leading down A ramp swooped around the back of the bar to the restaurant.

I was able to get my wheelchair under the smallish square table, with the footplates. The staff accommodated my large bowl, spoon and straw combo.

It was lovely listening to the musicians and singer as we ate.

I looked forward to the smoothie made with the fruit salad pieces, as promised by the bar manager that morning.

Sadly, however, I was disappointed. We searched for the bar manager, who said he was working for our entire stay. My mum looked in his domain, the bar, around the breakfast area, carrying a plate of fruit salad for him to blend. He was nowhere to be found!

A waitress came to ask if we needed any help. My mum explained the situation and the risk of me choking. The waitress gestured to my mum to follow her to show her big, industrial blender they only use for special occasions. And my visit was not one of them. It was insinuated it'd be a waste of time putting on such a large piece of machinary for just little old me.

If only the bar manager hadn't misled us, I might've understood.

Our main reason for this particular London trip was to see the Phantom of the Opera.

My mum has always wanted to see it, and after watching it on YouTube during lock down when Andrew Lloyd Webber shared his musicals on a weekly basis (my mum providing audio description), I had to see it!

The show is on at His Majestys Theatre.

A staff member saw us and came over. She was very helpful and talked to us both.

We were let in through a side door, where there was a disabled toilet. It was an ok size, no turning room though, but bigger than the loo at Charlton Athletic FC. It had a grey decor theme, with black bars and white toilet and sinks.

Our seats, I think, were near the front. For ease of the wheelchair, we were on the end of the aisle. I transferred from my chair to theirs. It's a good job I have mobility to stand, as the turning room was tight. When in our seats, a woman said, 'you're in my seat.'

After a little kerfuffle, my mum l looked at the empty chair next to her, and said, ' can't you just sit there?'

Then the music started.

Before each audio described performance the narrator describes the plot and scenery.

Phantom of the Opera is set in 1881 in an Opera House in Paris. It follows a man who has a facial disfigurement and falls in love with an opera singer, Christine.

But Christines heart is with another man.

The Phanton (I wasn't sure whether he was Andre or Raoul) then trusts Christine enough to take off his mask. She recoils in horror.

In Act 2, Phantom rejection makes him possessive of Christine and aggressive towards her beau.

Then there was a surge of heat and the headphones cut out. I don't know whether the heat burnt out the signal or the batteries just died. I also don't know how it ended, who did she choose?

I felt so sad for Phantom. A disfigurement should never shun someone into the shadows, make then an outcast. I'd like to know how it ended.

When I got home I wrote to the producers and explained about the headphones cutting out and they have kindly offered me a chance to go and see it again. 

On the way back to the hotel, we had dinner in a Turkish/Mediterranean restaurant. The food was delicious, with soft, stewed vegetables. The entrance was flat, and ok to navigate inside. The tables were smallish and square, so I had to lift up my footplates to fit in around the pole holding the table up. Staff accommodated my spoon/bowl/straw requirements.

On the 4th morning, I knew that getting the dignity of a smoothie free of charge, was a dream not likely to come true, so I tried the first two with the apple juice provided by the hotel. I choked as the tablet got lodged in my throat.

My mum bought me a smoothie.

We took a trip to Chelsea Harbour. I thought it'd have bars, restaurants and shops that overlooked the Thames and maybe we could get a boat ride...

I was wrong.

After getting two buses, the first of which announced each stop, the second only said what number it was,  we got off and went exploring.

We found a lovely, quiet cafe in the Doubletree Hotel. It was all shiny and very posh!

I went to the disabled toilet, which were down the back of reception.

The floor and walls were dark grey/black, with white toilet and sink and grab bar. It was a manageable size, if you can walk to step out of a wheelchair and not a changing places.

In the cafe, the food was delicious, and service good too.

Despite asking hotel staff, train staff, other lost people, we could not find Chelsea Harbour! We wandered up and down, getting more lost with every turn, not to mention stressed as my chair charge went down, even Google maps didn't know our location!

We went back to the bus stop.

On the way back to the hotel, we took a stroll through Russell Square and found and an open air cafe. The tables weren't great for wheelchair users, but the atmosphere, listening to nature and people chatting, was nice.

Primark: this shop had good access, it was on one level, but I felt like Rachel in Friends, when the girls are shopping for a wedding dress, Rachel hides on the rails, blowing a whistle. Primark was heaving! People walked into me and over! It's like disability = invisibility.

One woman, in the street, walked right into my blind cane, no apology, just a snarl! Whether she was a tourist or a local, this is why Londoners have a reputation for being rude. On more than one occasion, I was waiting at the traffic lights, wanting to cross, when car and even a bus went up and over the ramp! I was like, 'are you sure you should be driving if you can't see me?!!!'

On our last morning, we walked to Covent Garden. My mum saw only one shop advertising themselves as having a ramp (good on Rituals). The access is not good, with cobbles, steps and no lifts. We did listen to an opera singer, which was nice.

The lesson of this trip was: always take your own smoothie maker, especially as I would actually stay at The President Hotel again, the room was spacious and good for access.