A hotel stay with a difference

Last year, on a trip to Cape Town, I stayed at the Park Inn Hotel in Newlands. 

Now you might be thinking "Well great Zaba, we all stay at amazing hotels all the time" but this hotel is truly special and in a league of its own. 30% of the hotel's staff are deaf.

When I got to the hotel I didn't notice how special the hotel was until I got escorted to my room by one of the porters and he asked me to look at him directly when I spoke to him because he was hearing impaired and needed to lip read so there would be no miscommunication between us.

He then taught me how to sign "Thank you" and "My name is Zaba". I then had trouble with the TV in my room and the technician who came to assist was completely deaf and was born with no hearing. He came with an interpreter and the interpreter told me that the hotel employs deaf staff.

The hotel was opened in October 2014 and was built on the former grounds of the Western Cape provincial office of DeafSA and a percentage of the hotel's profits go to DeafSA.

I really did enjoy my stay there and the staff were extremely friendly and caring. I also left there having learnt to sign a little – as well as more aware of people's different abilities. 

Can you sign? Have you ever made an effort to learn to sign?

When someone comes up to you who cannot see or cannot hear, how do you treat them?