The main hotel and apartments at Old Thorns will re-open on Monday 17th May 2021. For the safety of our guests and staff, we do ask that you continue to follow the current regulations in place during your stay with us:

FACEMASKS
Face coverings will need to be worn indoors at all times when moving around our resort. You may remove your mask in your room/apartment, when seated at a table in our bar/dining outlets and when in the gym or pool area. If you forget your face covering, you may purchase one from our reception. People exempt from face coverings are not required to wear one.

RULE OF 6/ 2 HOUSEHOLDS
Indoors, a maximum of 6 people or 2 households will apply. This includes for dining, visiting facilities or gathering together at any point inside. This will be in place until at least the 21st June. Outdoors, a maximum of 30 people may gather together. It is advised that social distancing should still be adhered to between different household groups.

CHECK IN
It is a legal requirement to check-in via the NHS Test & Trace app for the different outlets at Old Thorns. At the entrance to our hotel and to each outlet you’ll find an NHS QR code which you can scan with your mobile device. Every member of the group must check-in, not just one member. Old Thorns does not store or have access to this data; it goes directly to the NHS Test & Trace scheme. If you have any problems with the check-in process, please speak to a member of staff.

SOCIAL DISTANCING
Please be mindful and respect the social distancing measures that have been put in place. In popular communcal areas you may find one way systems, entry and exit doors, floor distance markers and other signs to help you. Please ensure the lift is used by one household at a time.

HAND SANITISING
We have in place stringent and thorough procedures to help protect our guests and staff. You will find sanitising stations located throughout the hotel and we insist you use the hand sanitising stations on entering and leaving the premises, as well as before and after dining.

In addition to this:

Our reception desk and other customer desks throughout the resort have been equipped with screens.

Key cards will be disinfected after every use.

PDQ machines, pens, luggage will all be wiped down after use.

All team members have participated in a new Covid-19 training programme, to educate on our enhanced cleaning, hygiene and social distancing practices.

We have redesigned our offices, break rooms and working environments to enable social distancing.

Our teams have been provided with the relevant PPE and participate in regular Covid-19 testing.

Hand santisers are available in staff areas, regular hand-washing must be carried out from all staff and log books kept up to date.

Ensure you read the safety guidelines before playing

We want to ensure you have a great game of golf, but we must all consider the health and safety of all visitors, members and staff even more so during the current health pandemic. Therefore, we are taking the below rules extremely seriously. If you do not adhere to the guidelines below you may be asked to leave the course with no financial reimbursement. Thank you for your understanding.

PRO-SHOP

It is mandatory for customers to wear a face covering inside a shop.

This will apply inside stand-alone professional shops where a fine of up to £100 may be imposed on anyone breaking this rule.

There are some exemptions to wearing face coverings including children under the age of 11 and those with certain disabilities.

If you require assistance or don’t have a face covering, please wait by the door and ask for a member of the team who will be happy to help.


COURSE SET-UP

ON-COURSE ITEMS
All rakes and ball-retrievers will be removed from the course bunkers are to be played as a local rule of natural waste areas, please use your club head or foot to smooth out the sand the best that you can after play.

Ball washers will be covered up and will not be useable on the course.

Benches and bins will be removed from the course as they are a touch surface.

All other removable items will be removed, except that stakes defining areas of the course can be treated as immovable obstructions.

The shoe cleaning area will be closed.

HOLE AND FLAGSTICK
Flagsticks will be retained but you will not be allowed to remove the flag. There will be a sign on the flagstick stating that it is not to be touched. Failure to comply will see the Flagsticks removed and you will be playing to a green.

A method of inserting the hole liner to be used that means all the ball does not fall below the surface of the putting green and can be easily retrieved by handling the ball only. Practice areas, driving range including practice nets will be closed until it is deemed safe to re-open these.

DURING THE ROUND

TEEING AREAS
Golfers to keep two metres apart at teeing areas due to the normal proximity of golfers to one another when tee shots are being played.

GENERAL
Golfers to stay more than two metres apart when walking to the ball, searching for a ball and playing shots.

Golfers not to touch stray balls.

BUNKERS
Golfers to make their very best efforts to smooth the sand using their club and/or their feet.

PUTTING GREEN
Golfers to keep two metres apart on the putting greens and not to touch the flagstick.

AFTER THE ROUND

Social distancing is as important after a round as it is during the round. Between the 12th April and 17th May, our Hampshire outdoor terrace will be open for food and drink service, with ordering possible via your mobile device. This is inline with the latest government guidance and therefore a max of 6 people are permitted to gather together at one time or be seated together on a table.

RULES OF GOLF-RELATED MATTERS

To enable some of the changes to the way the game is played, there are likely to be several changes to the Rules of Golf. Some of these are outlined below.

FORMS OF PLAY AND SCORING
There will be no competitive golf for the initial months until it is deemed safe to do so.

This rule can be assessed after June with the view to the below: If competitive stroke play is played, then scorecards won’t be exchanged, the lowest handicap player will fill out the card for all players in the group, at the end of play that player is to email the card to golf@oldthorns.com for processing. Any disputes will be taken up with the marker. Players will be asked to verbally make there scores known after each hold to the marker.

BUNKERS
If golfers take due care when smoothing bunkers, there should be no need to provide a Local Rule for bunkers.We can introduce preferred lies in bunkers and provide that a player may place a ball in the bunker within one club-length of the original spot and not nearer to the hole than that spot.

FLAGSTICK
Golfers are always required to leave the flagstick in the hole and not to touch it. Failure to comply with this rule will result in a 1 stroke penalty.

HOLE AND HOLED
The hole liner (sometimes referred to as the hole ‘cup’) will be set in a way that means that all of the ball cannot be below the surface of the putting green, the ball is considered holed if any part of it is below the surface of the putting green.

To minimise the need to lift the ball from the hole, the ball is holed with the next stroke if it is within 12 inches of the hole (which is just over the length of a standard putter grip).This does not prevent a player in match play conceding a stroke that is outside this length.

In many of our dining outlets, we now have table ordering, directly from your mobile in place. We are still able to take orders and payments the traditional way, but would encourage you where possible to utilise the table ordering service to reduce contact.

It is a legal requirement to check-in via the NHS Test & Trace app for the different outlets at Old Thorns. At the entrance to each outlet you’ll find an NHS QR code which you can scan with your mobile device. Every member of the group must check-in, not just one member. Old Thorns does not store or have access to this data; it goes directly to the NHS Test & Trace scheme.

Our table allocations ensure guests are physically distanced from one another. Please do not move the tables or chairs from their positions. 

We have heightened our already stringent practices around food handling, sanitisation, disinfection and cleaning in our kitchens. 

Restaurants and bar areas will follow social distancing guidelines and outlet opening hours may be altered to accommodate all diners

Increased frequency of cleaning is in place of tables, cutlery, crockery and glassware after each guest use

We’ve enhanced our in-room cleaning programmes to pay extra attention to critical touch points and removed some soft furnishings

Once your room has been initially cleaned, you will be the only one in it until you have departed.

No access will be made to your room during your stay. If you require housekeeping or maintenance you will be asked to vacate your room.

Our fantastic Housekeeping Team has been fully trained on the use of PPE. We clean all of our surfaces thoroughly and regularly with anti-bacterial products.

HEALTH CLUB
Gym equipment has been re-arranged or some machines may not be in use to ensure social distancing is maintained. Please adhere to the one way system that has been put in place.

Fitness classes will take place outdoors where possible and with reduced numbers.

We have put in place 45 minute time restrictions in our pool (allowing a 15 minute deep clean between sessions) and 90 minute time restrictions in the gym, with limited number of guests in each session. Wellness Suite timed slots can be booked as part of your pool session. Guests can pre-book 48 hours in advance

Some facilities may be unavailable depending on government guidelines. This can change at short notice in line with the latest regulations. 

Disinfectant products will be available throughout the health club and we ask that equipment is cleaned and disinfected before and after each use. Please use the bins provided to dispose of any blue wipe.

We ask you do not use sweat towels and use blue roll tissue provided.

Residential guests are encouraged to use their rooms for changing and members to arrive “gym/swim ready” where possible.

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You may feel a little uneasy about heading to a health club right now, but rest assured the Elevation team have implemented a whole host of measures that not only help keep you safe during your visit, but may even enhance it!

Reduced capacity with member priority booking
We've reduced how many people can be in the gym and pool at one time and members can book their sessions 7 days in advance. So if you loved a Saturday swim but were always put off by a busy pool, you'll be able to enjoy it once again!

Reduced class sizes
We've reduced our class sizes too - it almost feels like small group personal training so you should get lots of enjoyment from this more personalised class. Plus, where possible, we will hold the class outside!

Enhanced cleaning
You'll pick up a dedicated santiser bottle as you enter the gym floor to keep the equipment you use clean for your fellow gym goers. In addition to a dedicated health club cleaner, all staff will be involved with keeping all areas of the health club extra clean.

Space
Our 26,000 sq ft gym floor has always meant there has been plenty of space to workout, but we've added workout zones so you can clearly see where to exercise.

Cancellation Policy

If you are on a Best Available Rate, there is a 24 hour cancellation policy in place, so you can move or cancel your stay, 24 hours in advance of your arrival date at no charge.

Promotional and package rates may have a different cancellation policy and this should be checked at the time of booking.

How you can help during your stay:

If you display symptoms
Please do not come to the resort if you or a member of your household have displayed any of the following symptoms within the last 14 days: a cough, fever, breathlessness, sore throat, headaches, loss of taste or smell – unless they are symptoms of a pre-existing medical condition. Instead, please call our reservations team at your earliest convenience to reschedule your stay. Please note that we reserve the right to refuse entry or cancel your reservation should you display any symptoms on arrival.

If you develop symptoms during your stay
Please remain in your room and call the reception desk for further assistance from our team.

Social distancing
Please adhere to social distancing throughout the resort, use the markers and guides to help you.

Please follow one way systems and use the correct entry and exit doors that are marked.

Hygiene
We ask all guests to regularly wash their hands for 20 seconds

Please make us of our sanitiser stations throughout the resort – especially before dining

Contactless payments
Please use card payments and contactless where possible

Decline housekeeping
We will not service your room during your stay. You can request this service and if you require housekeeping during your stay you will be asked to leave your room so social distancing can be maintained