COVID 19 UPDATE

Updated 15th October 2020

Government regulations regarding COVID-19 are being frequently updated. In particular the guidance on who can and cannot travel and stay overnight in a holiday cottage has recently changed.

Before you travel, make sure you have checked the relevant regulations for your area and the number of people on your booking as it’s your responsibility to comply with the regulations.

• Local COVID Alert Level: Medium – Norfolk is currently in a Tier One or Medium Alert Level and all our cottages are open. If you are travelling here from another Tier One area your booking is unaffected as long as you comply with the ‘Rule of Six’. Up to 6 people from 6 different households can stay overnight together, or more as long as you are all from the same household or support bubble.  For more information on the Medium Alert Level and the Rule of Six click here.

• Local COVID Alert Level: High – if you live in a Tier Two or High Alert Level area, then you can still come on holiday providing you are all from one household. Guests from a Tier Two area cannot stay overnight with another household. If your booking is within the next four weeks and your booking does not meet government guidelines then please get in touch to discuss your options. You can find more information on the High Alert Level here.

• Local COVID Alert Level: Very High – if you live in a Tier Three or Very High Alert Level area then the government has asked that you avoid staying overnight in another area of the UK. If your booking is within the next four weeks then please get in touch and we can arrange a full refund for you. Further information on the Very High Alert Level can be found here.

If you need to cancel your booking due to any UK government restrictions then we will refund your booking in full.

If you wish to cancel your booking for any other reason then our standard terms and conditions apply.

Your stay with Winterton Cottages

At Winterton Cottages we’re working hard to introduce new measures to make our properties safe for guests, cottage owners and staff whilst retaining the enjoyment of your holiday.

Our New Cleaning Regimes
The cleanliness of our properties has always been important to us, and all our cottage owners and their cleaning staff have introduced additional cleaning products that are certified to kill Coronavirus.

We will be paying extra attention to high-touch surface areas such as door handles, light switches, kettles and toasters. As always, bed linen and towels will be washed in accordance with the latest virus-control procedures.

Your Holiday Experience
A Winterton Cottages stay has always been a contact-free experience. Guests are usually welcome to arrive anytime from 4pm on the arrival day and collect keys from a keysafe, while departure is by 10am on the final day. We will be asking guests to strictly adhere to these times, which will be crucial to ensuring that owners and cleaners have enough time to clean the individual properties whilst maintaining social distancing and adhering to the additional cleaning requirements.

Inside our properties, we will be keeping to our usual high standards of presentation. All kitchenware and crockery will be clean but not sanitised so we will be recommending that guests rewash items in hot, soapy water before use. Where possible, we will place a set of crockery and glassware in the dishwasher and wash, leaving it there for you on arrival so you will already have a freshly washed set to call upon.

Most of our cottages usually supply an additional welcome pack of tea/coffee/milk or cakes, but most of them have paused that for now.

Some of our owners have chosen to reduce the amount of books, DVDs, games and leaflets in their cottage as we won’t be able to sanitise each of these individual items during a changeover. We ask that guests wash their hands thoroughly after use. Your owner may have removed the welcome folder, in which case a digital copy will be attached, but any welcome folders in plastic covers will have been wiped down before your arrival.

If, during a stay, there is an exceptional reason why we may need to visit a property (for example to rectify an issue in the cottage), we will inform you with as much notice as possible and adhere to all Government social distancing rules.

To help keep our owners and cleaners safe, we’ll also ask guests to strip their beds, and if requested by the owner to place those items in laundry bags which will be provided. Please empty the fridge, remove any food items from the cupboards and put out any rubbish at the end of your stay.

We realise this is an unprecedented situation – words which have been used a lot lately! We hope that despite the ‘new normal’ you will still able to enjoy your stay in our beautiful part of the world. If you need any further information then please get in touch.