Accessible guest rooms on 5th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th floors

London Hilton on Park Lane

In doing my research I discovered that the London Hilton on Park Lane's accessibility pack contained some information that was eye-opening.
Being disabled myself and unable to use stairs in an emergency evacuation situation and with the recent attacks in Paris in November the location of suitable accommodation has been  an increasing factor when choosing a hotel.  As a rule I always look for accessible guest rooms that are either on the ground or first floor.  The reason for this is that the only way I could safely evacuate a building is by using an evacuation chair.  So when I read that the accessible guest rooms at this hotel are on the 5th (523), 14th (1423), 15th (1523), 16th (1623) and 17th (1723) floors I was flabbergasted; where was the thinking involved there.  It is normal to have two flights of stairs between floors and I calculated that as ten flights of stairs if you are on the 5th floor and up to 34 flights of stairs if you are on the 17th.  I have read the pack and although it mentions a "disabled" lift it doesn't expand to say if

Evac Chair

it is a "fire" lift.  It does mention safe areas which are usually protected by a fire doors where guests unable to evacuate a premises because of limited mobility or disability wait until the fire service reaches them.
The evac chair on the left is  typical of what you will find in buildings such as hotels and office blocks.  I have been fortunate that I have never had to use one in an actual emergency but have used one in many drills at work with my buddy.  For people like myself who have spinal damage or injuries it is uncomfortable to say the least.  The other important factor when using a evac chair is your buddy or operator has to be around the same weight to counter balance.  Even though these chairs do 90% of the work you would still need two operators. The hotel pack does say that if you require assistance you should discuss a "PEEPS" (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) with the hotel on arrival.
I am currently looking at London hotels as I want to book a weekend break and I am afraid I don't want to wait until I arrive at the hotel before I can find out about emergency evacuation procedures.