Accessibility of IKEA, Hognoul, Belgium

On my way to visit IKEA in Hognoul, Belgium, from Liege, Belgium, I decided to look at IKEA with accessibility in mind.  I was quite happy with what I saw!  (By the way, if you are taking the bus it's 3,20€ euros not 2,10€ like normal!)

I arrived at the bus stop and upon exiting noticed a long crosswalk taking visitors from the bus all the way to the front door.  When following the crosswalk all the way, it is mostly flat.  Although, at the crosswalk on the street, there is about a 1.5 inch lip to get the traveler onto the sidewalk, making this small aspect slightly difficult for wheelchair users travelling alone.

Image of the crosswalk, crossing the main street with small lip to access the sidewalk.

Image shows crosswalk, progressing all the way through parking lot and directly to the main doors of the store.

But, if you arrive by car, there are no obstacles like that!  There are designated accessible spaces and family spaces for those who need them.  The one concern would be that the users need to travel behind parked cars when travelling to the entry.  The entryway has a round turn-style automatically rotating from door and is labelled "entree."  Everything in the store is labelled with French and Dutch, not English, so go with your dictionary if you need that!

Image shows the family parking spaces in front of the entrance to the store.

Image shows the crosswalk, leaving the parking lot and the round turn-style automatic entrance.

After entering, there is a large set of stairs that guide the visitors directly to the second floor.  Take these stairs or the elevator which is found just to the left!  If you look even farther to the left, you will find the restrooms including one family restroom and one accessible restroom with a recycling station nearby.  There is plenty of seating if you need to take a break or wait for someone else in your party!

Image shows a park-bench, accessible restroom door and recycling station.

Image shows stairway leading to the second floor shopping area and elevator to the left.

As you begin your shopping be sure to pick up a slip of paper that helps you keep track of the items you would like to purchase, especially those larger items.  You get to pick those items up from the warehouse, but you need to know its exact product number and location.

While navigating around the store, the path is easy to follow as there are lit arrows on the floor and tactile markings which help to differentiate display space and the path of travel!  The display areas are a bit small, but the route and path of travels are accessible for people using wheelchairs.  The maps in the store are a bit difficult to find and difficult to read if you have any vision loss, but they do show where you are and where you are going as you travel the store's pre-planned route.

Image shows a lit arrow marking the direction of travel on the floor/pathway and the slight ledge that tactilely differentiates the main walkway from the exhibit spaces.

Image shows the map of pathway through the store.  It is tucked behind a corner and out of the path of travel, However, safer for customers, a bit hard to find at times.

As you follow the path around the store you will naturally come upon the cafe after half of your trip.  The counters are at an accessible height for everyone and the seating offers different options for different needs.  There are seats that are higher, regular height at tables and comfortable chairs for informal seating.  The cafe is also the best location in the store for natural lighting.

One area that the store seems to struggle with is an accessible emergency alarm system.  Sadly, it could not be approached by someone who is in a wheelchair and it requires dexterity and the use of single fingers to push in the case of an emergency, leaving it inaccessible for people who use wheelchairs or for those with grip and dexterity issues.

Image shows the cafe, with floor to ceiling windows and a person using a scooter to eat her lunch.

Image shows the emergency alarm system, which has displays close by blocking access for approaching.

Once you have traveled through the entire store, you will easily and naturally make your way to the warehouse portion.  If you have kept track of the items that you want it is really simple to follow the organizational system and locate your items.  The warehouse is enormous and items might be on higher level shelves making them inaccessible to everyone.  There are multiple service desks around if you need help gaining access to your purchases, I would suggest talking with someone at a service desk, they are there to help.  They switched to English and helped us book a delivery of our items.  It only cost 40€ for same day delivery of boxes to the entry level of your apartment!  Very worth it when we arrived by bus!

Image shows floor to ceiling storage space of warehouse storage.

Image shows a cart with stacked boxes and a rolled mattress, along with bags of items attached to the push handles.

After purchasing your items and upon exiting the store there are loading zones that are covered and accessible by car, cart a and wheelchair.  There is only one marked accessible space, but I don't see that as a problem since they are all technically accessible!  

Image shows the loading zone on the left, with a white van backed
in, the exit on the right under a covered exterior loading space.

If you need to have your items delivered, turn right after exiting the building, walk around the corner of the building and knock on the garage or wait for someone to find you.  They can help you more with delivery options!  

I hope you enjoyed this information and I hope it helps someone access IKEA in Hognoul, Belgium a bit better.