COVID 19 Precautions and Preparations

Book with confidence -  What happens if I need to cancel?

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have relaxed our cancellation policy. If you have booked direct with us and need to cancel or amend your booking within 72 hrs of arrival due to you contracting Covid-19, we will transfer your booking and deposit to another suitable date, however rates may vary between seasons.

Any cancellations or amendments that are not as a direct result of COVID-19, will be subject to our normal cancellation policy.

 

Temporary VAT Reduction

When the UK Government communicated a VAT cut for hospitality in mid-July, The Chancellor was adamant that this initiative was being introduced to protect hospitality businesses not to stimulate consumer demand. Unsure of what our position should be, we consulted at length with fellow hoteliers and with the wider industry and collectively decided that with the prospect of losses still to cover, reduced capacities, weak demand from certain markets and abnormally high operating expenses for the foreseeable future, we would not be passing the VAT reduction onto our guests. Ultimately the rates we communicate are inclusive of VAT and therefore the rates charged and paid remain unchanged.

I fully appreciate that for a tiny minority of our guests, this decision may be deemed as controversial however my main priorities is to support our team, protect the business and ensure that our hotel and restaurant continues to remain open in the months ahead.

Thank you for your understanding and for your ongoing support, which we will never take for granted.

 

Precautions and Preparations - Our Approach

The Hotel Riviera has always been distinguished by exemplary service, housekeeping, and health and safety standards.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have enhanced our already meticulous standards across all our operations.

We have based our changes on official guidance from HM Government, Public Health England and the National Health Service, and made use of industry specific advice from UK Hospitality.

We have adhered to the Government’s ‘COVID-19 Secure’ guidance on managing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace. Government guidance continues to evolve in response to the situation, so our internal practices and protocols will be constantly reviewed and updated to keep abreast of these changes. This means that the information detailed below may change without notice, but this will only be in compliance with changes to Government guidance.

As this is a Public Health issue, we expect the full cooperation of our guests, team, and business partners. Combatting COVID-19 is a collective effort and we all have a part to play to keep each other safe and healthy.

 

General Practices and Protocols, Enhanced Cleaning and Disinfection Policies

Our Team

• All team members will be required to wash their hands (or use hand sanitiser) every 20 minutes.
• All team members will be required to stay at home if unwell.
• All team members will be required to follow official guidance on self-isolating and social distancing.
• All team members will be required to wear PPE where appropriate.
• The team will follow a no physical contact policy and maintain social distancing wherever possible.

Our Valued Guests

• We will not be operating our valet parking system, so you will be required to park your car yourself and make your way to the hotel entrance.
• We ask that you please respect the social distancing measures in place.
• We have cleaned your bedroom with extra care and sanitised it.
• We have removed non-essential items to minimise the risk of contamination.
• Please wash your hands when returning to your bedroom.
• The Managing Director is responsible for all aspects of our ‘COVID-19 Secure’ operating plan. You can contact the Duty Manager at any time prior to, and during, your stay should you have concerns related to this or any other matter.

Our hotel

• The highest food safety standards will continue to be maintained.
• Social distancing measures will be in place in all common areas.
• We have implemented an enhanced cleaning programme in public areas and increased the frequency of disinfection for high touch areas.
• Hand sanitising stations will be provided at all entrances.
• Additional disinfection will be in place in high touch bedroom and bathroom areas (such as door knobs and TV remotes).
• The Duty Manager is our designated, responsible contact person for all staff and guest COVID-19 related queries.
• We have flexible terms and conditions for all individual bookings whereby due to you contracting Covid-19 72 hrs of arrival due to you contracting Covid-19, you can cancel 72 hours prior to arrival with no cancellation charge. Any deposit paid will be transferred to a future reservation.

Our Business Partners

• Your temperature will be taken from the hotel entrance and if it is 38 degrees or above you will be refused entry.

General Practices and Protocols: Food and Beverage

• As we are a non-buffet hotel, all meals and drinks will be served to you.
• Single-use daily menus will be in place in our restaurant. All other menus and wine lists have been laminated and will be wiped and sanitised after each use.

Our team’s commitment to you

All team members are required to:

• Stay home when unwell.
• Practice good personal hygiene including regular hand washing.
• Maintain social distance and follow our ‘no contact’ protocols.
• Wear PPE where appropriate.
• Follow our COVID-19 Secure operating procedures.
• Follow our rule that staff members are not to complete and will not be assigned any tasks that involve working alongside more than two team members unless they are working outside.
• Our team have been trained in these particulars and will be receiving ongoing training.

We have a few important requests that you, as our guest, respect the following:

In the unfortunate case that you experience any COVID-19 symptoms such as a fever, a cough, shortness of breath, or loss of taste or smell, we ask that you promptly contact us so that we can reschedule your stay.

For the safety of our guests and team, any guests displaying symptoms consistent with COVID-19 will be requested to seek medical attention. Should you be advised to self-isolate, we will request that you check out immediately and return home.

In addition to hand sanitisers placed at all our entrances, we are happy to provide a guests amenity kit that includes hand sanitiser and masks which we ask that you make use of when appropriate. We also expect you to respect social distancing guidance and keep two metres away from other people. This isn’t because we don’t care for you…but rather because we do!

Our final request is that you please treat our team and your fellow guests with kindness and respect; this is a difficult time for all of us.

We hope that our reopening will raise your spirits as the prospect of shortly welcoming you back has raised ours.

On behalf of myself and the team, we look forward to seeing you soon; please travel safely and stay well.

Peter Wharton

Managing Director