A safe experience at The Old Vicarage Hotel & Brasserie
We are delighted to announce we have re-opened our hotel. You can find all the latest updates here, and we are delighted to share with you our re-opening plans that details our approach to safety measures and some changes to our service as we look forward to welcoming you back.
Our commitment to cleanliness
Compliance with the official health and safety rules
Hand sanitizing stations are being installed throughout the hotel
Strict maintenance of social distancing rules
Contactless payment
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When is the hotel open?
We are now officially open, for the moment we will be offering stays on Wednesday – Saturday nights only and dining/ afternoon tea on Wednesdays – Sundays.
Is the hotel open for Weddings?
Following the latest Government announcement, we can host civil ceremonies and we will be working with the guidelines from our local registrars.
A sit-down meal, for no more than 30, has now been delayed by two weeks and will still be subject to a Government review.
Over time, the Government will assess whether gatherings of this type for other purposes can be made possible and when larger wedding receptions can take place.
If you would like any more information and have questions, please do call, or email the Hotel.
We have prepared some of our frequently asked questions here for your convenience.
Have you amended your cancellation policies?
To help you book with confidence we have extended our cancellation policies so that hotel bookings can be cancelled or transferred up to 48 hours prior to arrival.
Advanced purchase rates can be transferred with your deposit used as a credit towards a new date. To help reassure our guests in this time of uncertainty we are offering free cancellation or transfer of bookings should the Government guidelines change and you are no longer able to travel. If you would like any more information and have questions, please do call, or email the Hotel.
Now you have re-opened, what can we expect?
I have a Wedding or an event coming up – should I be contacting you?
If your Wedding or event cannot currently go ahead, we will contact you and will gladly find an alternative date in the future, so your Wedding or event can still go ahead as planned.
From 1st August, civil ceremonies are permitted for no more than 30 people and subject to Covid-19 secure guidelines. A sit-down meal, for no more than 30 people has now been delayed by two weeks and will still be subject to a Government review.
Over time, the Government will assess and communicate when larger wedding receptions can take place.
I have a voucher that is due to expire/expires whilst you are closed, does this mean it is no longer able to be redeemed?
Guests who have vouchers purchased directly from the hotel which are due to expire while our hotel is closed have had their vouchers extended. Please contact the Hotel to re-book.
What social/physical distancing measures are you putting in place for your guests and staff?
We are introducing a number of measures to help social/physical distancing which include:
Guests must wear a face covering by law in public areas of our hotels from 8th August 2020. Once seated at a table in one of our lounges, restaurant, or bars you will be able to remove the face covering. We will require you to wear a covering on arrival, when at Reception, or walking through the hotel.
- One-way systems in some areas of the hotel to prevent guests and staff crossing paths, and avoid small groups causing congestion at entrance or exits, where it is practicable to do so.
- Signage reminding you of any actions you may need to take to ensure amended practices help keep everyone feeling safe.
- Re-arranged our public areas, Dining Rooms and Lounges so that there is appropriate spacing and less furniture in these areas.
- We will be adapting our Dining options, such as modifying Room service, and ceasing to offer buffet style food.
- We will be managing table reservations so that guest arrivals are spaced more evenly to prevent tables arriving together. We would politely request that all allocated times are strictly followed, or we may not be able to allow your reservation to go ahead.
- We politely ask if payment can be made by card, rather than cash, to prevent unnecessary contact.
- We will be suspending our usual practise of servicing bedrooms, for stays of less than 4 nights. If essential maintenance is required, we will respectfully then ask you to leave the room, to allow the Maintenance team sole access whilst they work.
We are no longer able to greet you warmly with a handshake or hug, but rest assured we will now be raising our imaginary hat and are delighted to welcome you!
What additional cleaning measures have you put in place?
When you check in to our hotels, you can be confident that we have set an even higher standard of cleanliness. This includes:
- Your room key will be sanitised before your arrival, we request you keep this for the duration of your stay, and deposit it in the box provided at Reception on check out.
- In public areas, rest rooms and at our front desk we have increased the frequency of cleaning, requiring all surface areas to be regularly cleaned with viricidal disinfectant.
- We have increased the time allocated to clean our guest bedrooms to ensure that rooms are cleaned thoroughly after guests depart, paying extra attention to high touch items such as light switches, plug sockets, tv remote controls, handles
- In guest bedrooms we will be removing all high touch items such as magazines, room compendiums, marketing literature and extra amenities.
- Our washing machine adheres to the recognised guidelines for thermal disinfection during the laundry process. Thermal disinfection is achieved at 93°C for one minute, 71°C for three minutes, or 65°C for at least ten minutes.
How does the reservation process differ now?
Prior to your arrival we will send you a confirmation letter and request certain information to be returned to us – this includes a visitor health questionnaire, a concierge form, and a registration card. Wewillthen follow up with a pre-arrival call to finalise details and exact procedures in advance of your stay.
How will Check In and Check out work?
Check-in time – 3:30pm
Hotel residents can check-in from 3:30pm. We will contact guests to ask for their estimated arrival time. This will allow us to show guests straight to their room.
Check-out time – 10:30am
We politely request guests follow the check-out time, as our Housekeeping team will need access from 10:30am so they can clean the room to our Covid-19 Policy hygiene standards.
- We have adapted our procedures on arrival, check in and check out and we will contact you prior to arrival. It does mean that we will no longer be able to assistance with luggage or room orientation currently.
- Your bill will be presented night prior to checking out, enabling you to contact our team should you have any queries.
- These measures are in place to support with physical distancing and ensure the safety of guests and staff.
Can I book a table in the Restaurant?
- We are open to residential and non-residential guests for dining in our Brasserie, Afternoon Tea and Picnics. You can call or Book online.
What dining experiences will be available?
- We have re-arranged our public areas, Dining Rooms and Lounges so that there is appropriate spacing and less furniture in these areas.
- We will be managing table reservations so that guest arrivals are spaced more evenly to prevent tables arriving together – this will now include breakfast reservations. We would politely request that all allocated times are strictly followed, or we may not be able to allow your reservation to go ahead.
- Sanitisation stations will be available at the entrance to our Brasserie.
- We have implemented a number of small changes to ensure that we can safely maintain sanitisation and hygiene standards.
Should you have any other questions regarding your visit to us please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
