17th May: Lifting Lockdown!
Blenheim Lodge, our Bed and Breakfast in the Lake District National Park, is re-opening on 17th May 2021! Blenheim Lodge is peacefully set upon a quiet fell-top in Bowness on Windermere. Look out of our room windows and you’ll be greeted with amazing panoramas of Lake Windermere and the fells. A little while back, the UK government had set the date of 17th May for the lifting of lockdown for serviced accommodation. Since then, we’ve been taking bookings for the coming late Spring, Summer, and beyond!
Re-opening our doors
Blenheim Lodge will re-open on 17th May, but as previously when we were able to re-open, we are adhering to all safety regulations and also going the extra mile in the interests of keeping both our guests and our family safe. For Blenheim Lodge is our family home in as much as it is also our bread and butter guest house. Please see below and click the links to read about how we are working in order to keep everyone at Blenheim Lodge as safe as possible.
Letter to guests
Dear ______________
Thank you for your booking.
I am writing to update you on our current Covid-19 Precautions document accompanying this email. This update comes from the government’s most recent directive to which we must adhere in order to legally comply with the latest safety measures for the safety of both our guests and ourselves.
We would have loved to open our dining room for breakfast, and therefore I checked with our local Tourist Board for further clarification, which is included below. We are sorry to disappoint anyone who is expecting a regular breakfast experience but caution must always be the watchword. The layout of Blenheim Lodge is such that our breakfast room is situated in a part of the house where we ourselves live: it is a a room we opened to guests who came in to dine each morning before Covid happened.
The following is what the Tourist Board sent me, the most salient points of which the Board has highlighted:
“Unless a specific exemption exists, these must only be attended/used in line with the wider social contact limits at this stage – in a group of 6 people or 2 households indoors; or in a group of no more than 30 people outdoors.
Indoor areas of hospitality venues will reopen. As outdoors, table service will be required.
This means you will need to have adequate spacing between tables in line with government guidelines. Table service only, which means guests not helping themselves to a buffet style breakfast.”
As a B&B with 10 rooms currently available to guests, it is unlikely that we will be able to comply with the rule of 2 households indoors nor the rule of 6 since most people do not visit in groups.
There are further clauses pertaining to the above such as the 2-metre or 1-metre-plus rules, and the wearing of masks when guests are in our property. We closed our guest lounge during the last opening, and will do so again this year. However, our guests will still be able to enjoy beautiful Lake Windermere and/or fell views from their bedroom windows.
Last year, when we were able to open our Bed and Breakfast during the few weeks permitted by the government, we had created a take out menu, which was well-received by our guests. The items were delivered to the doors of our guest rooms and you can read reviews about these breakfasts online as well as on Free To Book, the direct booking channel platform through which we take bookings. Some guests also used our packed items as luncheons when they went out walking or sightseeing.
Please find click on our Covid-19 Precautions document where there is more information about what we are doing in order to inhibit the spread of the virus, and for which we request your co-operation, such as the opening of your room door and windows before you leave, bagging up of your rubbish and leaving it outside your door for us to pick up when you leave us, etc. We will also not be cleaning the room during your stay, but please ask if you require anything eg toilet rolls, teabags, milk etc. This can also be found on our website, as well as the link to our Temporary Breakfast Menu, which is the take out menu mentioned above.
Please can you confirm ASAP that the above arrangements regarding a take-out breakfast, 2-metre social distancing, the closure of our guest lounge, general self and neighbourly care so as not to put yourself or others at risk, and the wearing of masks within Blenheim Lodge except for when you are in your own room are acceptable to you. The government has also made it a legal requirement for us to formally note arrival times and check out times. Please note that our latest check out time is 10 am, but do please let us know what time you will check in as soon as possible.
I have also included below our take-out breakfast choices, and would be grateful if you would send through your choices ASAP as this will give us the opportunity to ensure that we have everything we need in place prior to your arrival. It will help us plan better because we need to go out and buy fresh ingredients.
I had waited to write this email until we had received the government’s latest instructions and further clarification from our local tourist office which arrived recently in our Inbox, hence my immediate communication of the same to you today.
Take care and look forward to hearing from you soon,
Janz
015394 43440
Service
We are of course here to offer guests our best service as far as we can despite the limitations being placed on what we can and cannot do at Blenheim Lodge. So, aside from the above, please do feel free to ask for assistance with reserving dinner tables at local restaurants for instance, information about things to see and do, and anything you think we might be able to help you with. If we can help, we will.
BOOK NOW!
We are taking bookings now for our re-opening! Guests can make DIRECT BOOKINGS with us which will likely save them some pennies simply because there will not be any commissions to pay online travel agents (OTAS) that may add up to 20% on top of our own room rates. To BOOK DIRECT, please do one of the following:
- BOOK ONLINE by clicking here or on any BOOK NOW buttons on any of our Blog Posts
- BOOK ONLINE when you visit any of our pages on our website: https://www.blenheim-lodge.com. There is lots of information on our website including photos of our guest rooms and the views from them, as well as information and pictures of things to do and places to visit when in the Lakes. Click any BOOK NOW button on our website, and it will take you to our online booking system.
- Guests may also book directly with us through our Facebook Page when clicking the BOOK NOW button there. If you do visit our Facebook Page, please do take a moment to learn more about us at Blenheim Lodge, and like and follow our Page.
- Telephone us on 015394 43440 to book. This is a great way to connect with us particularly if you have any questions and prefer to BOOK DIRECT with someone on the phone.
- Email us at enquiries@blenheim-lodge.com if you prefer to communicate by email instead. If you then wish to book accommodation at Blenheim Lodge thereafter, please call us on 015394 43440 to do so or book online here.
Keeping safe!
It is really important to us that we and our guests should keep ourselves as safe as we possibly can during these precarious times. We therefore respectfully request that all guests should bear in mind other people’s safety as well as their own when coming and going at our home and B&B.
Please take extra care when out and about because what one does or does not do can affect someone else’s health – including that of someone one loves – in either a positive or negative way during this pernicious pandemic.
Take care, and stay safe. We look forward to welcoming you Blenheim Lodge!
Blenheim Lodge . . . panoramic Lake views, peace and tranquillity, nestled against acres of beautiful fields and woodlands, in the heart of the English Lake District National Park.’
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