The Heathrow Sofitel has been praised for its disability facilities winning the Bronze Award for Access Excellence at the prestigious M and IT awards ceremony in London.
    The Access Excellence award, the new name for the Disabled Services Award, is presented to conference venues, stadiums, airports, universities and other iconic public buildings.
    The Sofitel London Heathrow was the only hotel short listed and was commended not only on the quality and range of facilities but the staff training, awareness and delivery of hospitality excellence in terms of guest and visitor accessibility needs.
    A statement from the hotel welcomed the award and said “at the heart of Sofitel London Heathrow is the luxurious ‘art de recevoir’ and noble ‘hôtellerie savoir-faire’ – legendary Sofitel values that offer every guest moments of ‘plaisir’, élégance and ‘bien être’ during their stay”.
    Surinder Arora, chairman of Arora Hotels, which runs the venue under the Sofitel franchise, said: “it is not an airport hotel; it’s a luxury hotel which just happens to be at an airport. Indeed, we have created a destination hotel in its own right which combines the ultimate in accessibility with world class facilities.
    “Winning this prestigious award is recognition of the highest standards of service, accessability and genuine hospitality that our team consistently delivers to all of our guests. With such a range of facilities in the hotel we have always focused on excellence and this has brought many prestigious events to the hotel, most notably the MS society on three occasions since opening”, he added.