The brand making luxury hotels fully accessible

Every guest is welcome at all four ÀNI Private Resorts, the world’s first collection of exclusive-use coastal retreats in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Caribbean that places accessibility at the forefront alongside a level of privacy unseen elsewhere on the market. Accessibility has been woven seamlessly into the design of each of the properties from inception without compromising on luxury.

 Tim Reynolds, ÀNI’s founder and owner, is an artist, avid traveller and a paraplegic and is heavily involved in the design of all of the resorts. Tim commented: “We always think how we can make each guest’s experience joyful, so the design of each resort has always been conceived through my own experience. I find it surprising that more luxury resorts aren’t designed with accessibility in mind. It is possible to be both beautiful and accessibility friendly.”

Pool hoists are available at all ÀNI resorts, and modifications are made in any space that isn’t fully accessible by default. Those using wheelchairs, or who have limited walking abilities, find design elements to ensure ease of movement and comprehensive access to all facilities and areas, such as step-free access, strategic slopes and lifts, widened doorways, grab bars, shower chairs, standalone bathtubs, ample space for manoeuvrability and wooden boards on the beach. Guests with trained service animals can also bring them onto the resorts.

ÀNI strives to ensure that everyone is treated equally and according to their needs so they can enjoy their stay without barriers or limitations, and the brand is continuously learning and adapting according to guests’ requests. Guests are introduced to the general manager of their resort ahead of their arrival to discuss anything they may require. This continues throughout the stay with attentive and intuitive staff on hand – each resort has a guest to staff ratio of at least one-to-one – all of whom are trained on disability awareness. The staff do not remind guests of their disability but anticipate their needs ahead of time.

Reynolds said, “I think as a wheelchair user, private resorts feel even more special as you know you’ll be surrounded by people who you trust and won’t make you feel uncomfortable.”