Accessible meeting rooms in Barcelona: what to check before you book

The word “accessible” appears on almost every venue listing in Barcelona, and it means very different things depending on who wrote it. Sometimes it means there is a lift. Sometimes it means there is a ramp at the entrance but a step at the toilet door.

If you are bringing someone with reduced mobility to a meeting, these are the seven things worth confirming by phone, not from the website.

1. Getting in from the street

A twelve-centimetre step at the front door cancels out everything else. Ask whether there is any change in level between the pavement and the lift, and if there is a ramp, roughly how steep it is.

2. Door widths

The comfortable standard for a manual wheelchair is 80 cm of clear opening. Powered chairs and larger frames need more. It is a measurement almost nobody publishes and almost anyone can take in two minutes if you ask.

3. The lift

Two questions: does it reach the floor the room is on, and what are the internal dimensions of the car? Older Eixample buildings have perfectly functional lifts that a powered chair will not fit into.

4. The toilet

This is the point most often overlooked. An accessible toilet has grab rails, turning space and a door that opens outwards. And it needs to be on the same floor as the room: an accessible toilet two floors down is no use during a four-hour meeting.

5. Turning space inside the room

A 15 m² room with a large round table can leave less room than you would expect. Ask whether a chair can be removed so the wheelchair takes its place at the table, rather than sitting in a corner.

6. The route from public transport

The nearest accessible metro stop is not always the nearest stop. Check which stations have lifts and how long it takes from them, and whether there are reserved parking bays nearby.

7. Who opens the door

If the space runs on a keycode or a key, ask whether someone will be there to let you in. A heavy street door on a self-closer is a real barrier even with no step anywhere.

How to ask, without hedging

You do not need to be exhaustive. A two-minute call with this sentence settles most of it:

“There will be six of us and one comes in a manual wheelchair. Is there any step from the street, does the lift reach the room, and is the accessible toilet on the same floor?”

If the answer is vague, press. A venue that knows its own premises answers with details; one that does not answers with adjectives.

Our space

WorkSpace.Cat is at Avinguda de Mistral 40, on the mezzanine floor. The space is adapted for people with reduced mobility and has an accessible toilet inside the premises, on the same floor as both rooms.

We would rather not reduce that to a single word. If you are coming with someone with reduced mobility, call before booking and we will confirm it point by point, with whatever specific measurements you need. Tell us when you book and we will have the room ready with the turning space clear.

We are five minutes from Plaça d’Espanya and ten from Sants. Rooms are rented by the hour, from €9/h plus €2 per person, excluding VAT and with no monthly fee.