Precautions during the pandemic

At The Old School the comfort and safety of our guests is always paramount. We have been awarded the Visit England “We’re Good to Go” Industry Standard Mark, confirming that we are following government and industry COVID-19 guidelines, with procedures in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.  Similarly, we are also recommended by the AA as being “COVID-19 confident”!  We have completed a detailed COVID-19 risk assessment and we have taken the following actions in response to the COVID-19 crisis:

• We have enhanced our already stringent cleaning regime for the whole property and throughout all aspects of the service we provide, following the most up to date industry guidelines for cleaning and sanitising. For example, this includes wearing protective gear, using the right disinfectant products, and providing our guests with sanitising amenities.
• We are carefully managing occupancy to enable us to maintain the required standards of cleaning and sanitisation.  Although we are a small B&B, as we are an old school house we have the space and flexibility to enable people to socially distance in line with national guidelines.
• Other than by prior arrangement, we are strictly observing our check-in times (16:00 to 20:00).  Guests will be asked for an arrival time so that we can avoid different parties arriving at the same time.
• All guests are asked to observe social distancing requirements throughout their stay.  We have placed sanitising products throughout the property and can provide face masks to enable people to follow hand and respiratory hygiene guidelines.
• We have opened up an additional dining area and we are offering different sittings so that guests from each room can breakfast separately and safely at an appropriately distanced table setting solely used by themselves on that day. You can also breakfast alfresco in a number of different areas in our enchanting garden, weather permitting!  All condiments, tableware and other amenities will be used solely by yourselves at breakfast.  They will be cleaned and fully sanitised afterwards.
• We have refreshed and created additional seating and dining areas in the garden and we heartily encourage our guests to use the outside space as much as possible. The garden has benefitted from all the extra time we have had available to spend on it.
• We enjoy welcoming guests to The Old School and talking to them, however, you may notice some changes for the time-being.  We will not be shaking hands with you and will observe physical distancing guidelines at all times – it is not personal; our priority is to keep our guests and ourselves safe.  We will wear appropriate protective equipment when serving you refreshments and breakfast, and when servicing guest bedrooms and bathrooms.
• We are trying out a new online messaging system, enabling our guests to communicate with us easily before, during and after their stay, minimising the need for face-to-face contact whilst you are here.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a new situation for everyone and we are doing our utmost to keep everyone safe whilst getting our business running again.  If there’s anything you feel we have not got quite right during your stay please talk to us about it –  we welcome all the advice and feedback we can get during this transition phase.  Please do not hesitate to contact The Old School if you have any questions, or if you have suggestions about how we can give you further peace of mind.  We hope you will make a booking and visit us as soon as you are able.  Your clean and sanitised key to The Old School awaits you!

Cancellation due to COVID-19:

We have added flexibility to our cancellation policy to help safeguard the health and well-being of all our guests, which we will keep under review as the pandemic and government guidance evolves.  We expect that if you begin to feel unwell or are told to isolate prior to your arrival at The Old School you will cancel or postpone your visit as follows:

For direct bookings via our website, the phone or e-mail:  You will be able to cancel your reservation for free up to the deadline stated on your booking summary.  After the free booking cancellation window closes you will be charged in full for the cost of your stay with the option of using the cost as a credit towards a deferred stay within twelve months subject to availability.

For bookings via a third party such as an online travel agent:  You will be charged in line with the terms and conditions of your booking, we cannot guarantee that third party websites will not impose fees.  If you book directly with us instead of through a third party agent we are able to offer more guarantees and flexibility – it is always best to book direct!

In the event of a lockdown: If we are subject to an enforced closure in line with government requirements for England when you are due to stay, you will be able to reschedule or cancel your booking for free, subject to the policy of online travel agents if you booked through one.

Should either of your hosts need to self-isolate, leading to the temporary closure of The Old School, all guests due to stay within the next month will be contacted and offered the option of free cancellation or rescheduling their visit.