The Hand at Llanarmon Covid-19 Charter

We're kind of 'past masters' at dealing with Covid-19 here at The Hand at Llanarmon, as during lockdown, we kept our community fed safely and securely with thousands upon thousands of meals via our amazing takeaway service but now we are excited to be preparing The Hand for re-opening this Summer and have given a lot of thought to how to ensure we are safe for both our teams and our guests, without taking the whole joy out of a relaxing restorative break in the beautiful Welsh countryside!

Our whole ethos and culture are based on wrap-around hospitality so we’ve had to retrain our teams on how to take extra special care from a distance and how to be “stand-offish” with a smile.

We’ve re-thought the whole guest journey and yes, we’ve had to embrace some dreaded technology to reduce touch points, we’ve had to add a few too many signs, rules, and notices for our liking, and lots of behind the scenes cleaning regimes but we’ve kept a sense of fun through it all, kept it real and not interfered with the essential feel that is The Hand at Llanarmon.

Don’t expect full PPE in the hotel, but we’re confident you will find a sensible, user ready, scrupulously clean approach that will keep everyone safe, happy and relaxed.

Hospitality is ultimately about the warmth of human connection and interaction; however, things are going to look a little different and become our new normal for a while… Although we may appear “cool” with the social distancing measures in place, our welcome is as “warm” as ever!

We want to reassure our guests, team members and suppliers that we have taken every measure possible to keep everyone safe but also want to ensure we don’t lose the essence of what we love to do every day. 

Our teams are happy to answer any questions you have but you may find the below information helpful before and during your stay:

1. What if the situation changes again or I need to cancel my stay at short notice?

We recognise that it’s very hard for anyone to make firm commitments for anything at the moment but we will give you our commitment to be understanding in all scenarios connected to Covid-19.

2. What new cleaning routines has the Hotel introduced since Covid-19?

We’ve always had a rigorous cleaning and hygiene routine, however, our fabulous housekeeping teams are stepping it up a notch and you’ll see continuous cleaning around “touch points”- door knobs, handles, in the loos etc… in the main areas of the hotel. We’ve implemented a “deep cleaning” process in place for bedrooms using the recommended hospital grade cleaning materials.  Once a room is fully “guest ready” it will have the cleaning seal of approval attached to the door giving reassurance of its squeaky cleanliness.

We’ve all become more familiar with regular hand washing etc… our teams both front and back of house are all adhering to this before, during and after their shifts and to complement this we’ll have hand sanitiser available around the hotel for both team and guests to use.

3. How will you ensure social distancing in the restaurants and around the hotel?

The guest experience will look a little different but we hope we’ve made it simple and easy to follow: 

Firstly, we politely ask you to use one of the hand sanitisers outside the building prior to entering or indeed touching a door handle. We’ve limited our guest capacities and restaurant spaces and introduced one-way flows where possible around the hotel to ensure a more relaxed approach to social distancing.

We don’t want to appear stand-offish… but we will back away and maintain the 2m social distancing rule… even though we may wish to give you a welcome hug when you arrive!  

We’ll drop you an email prior to arrival to get as much information on how you  would like to relax during your stay with us to limit face to face interaction – we’ll ask all those things regarding the time you’re likely to arrive, allergies etc… so many questions but it means we’ll have it all ready for you.

Check in - we’ll maintain social distancing throughout – one of our reception team will meet you and take you straight to your room. 

In room – we won’t make a fuss just let you settle in – we’re always at the end of the phone if you need anything.

Our breakfast service times will be extended to allow for relaxed spacing (and more of a lie in) with all food pre-chosen in your room before you come down.

Dinner - we’ll ask that you pre-order in the comfort of your room from the daily menu and will allocate dining times pre-arrival to ensure we can space guests in accordance with social distancing. We will ask you to pour your own wine and water too but be on hand if you need anything!

We’ve tried to think of everything to keep everyone safe and comfortable so during your stay we will encourage guests to use their bedroom loo rather than the public loo… hope you understand.

4. How do I know the team looking after me are not ill?

We are nothing without our wonderful team and their well-being is our top priority, therefore, we have implemented necessary health checks prior to looking after guests each day – from Kitchen porter to Reception to back of house teams.  This includes temperature checks and regular “wellbeing” chats to make sure everyone is happy and healthy to come to work.  No team member with symptoms will be expected to work.  Face masks will also be used where necessary to keep both guests and team members safe and comfortable.  

5. Can I use the Spa as normal?

We are still waiting on official advice and so the spa will remain closed for the time being, however, when open, the spa is such a relaxing and tranquil space and we want you to enjoy it as much as possible during your stay. Naturally, there have been some changes as well as more rigorous cleaning and hygiene checks, similar to the hotel.

We ask that you change into your spa robe in your bedroom to limit the amount of changing room use.

A “one in one out” for hot tub and sauna (when not in the same family) and to this end, we will be booking slots for guests to use the facilities.

We hope that this all gives you some reassurance and we really look forward to welcoming you back to The Hand; we’ve missed you all terribly!