Latest updates
Swimming pool
You may have seen the recent government announcement that swimming pools can reopen from 25 July.
We wanted to let you know that, with the safety of our guests in mind, we’ll be taking a cautious approach on this, and will only reopen our facilities when we’re completely satisfied we can operate safely and to a level of service that fully satisfies our guests’ expectations. So, for the time being, the leisure facilities at Whitemead Forest Park will remain closed. We’ll of course continue to monitor government guidance and will let you know when we’re ready to go ahead with reopening.
Face Coverings
Please wear a mask or face covering when entering any of our public buildings in line with government advice.
We’re glad to announce the reopening of Whitemead Forest Park! We’ve missed you all and look forward to welcoming you back soon.
Our gradual reopening will start from 6 July. As you’d expect, we’ve had to adapt a few things and we’ll be operating in a slightly different way for the time being.
We’ll be focusing on two key aspects of safety to combat the Covid-19 pandemic – improved hygiene and social distancing.
We want to reassure our guests and our team that we’ve taken every measure possible to help keep everyone safe, while not losing sight of what we love to do every day. All areas of the park have undergone a thorough deep-clean, cleaning schedules have been rewritten, sanitiser stations have been installed and social-distancing signage added.
We’re fully committed to guaranteeing an excellent standard of hygiene and safety during your stay. We’ve reviewed all our schedules and increased cleaning around ‘touch points’ such as doors, handles, switches etc and our housekeeping team are working hard to ensure all areas are kept clean and regularly sanitised.
Increased regular hand washing has become the norm and our team are all adhering to this before, during and after their shifts. To complement this, hand sanitisers are available around the park in high-risk areas, and at points where hand washing is not practical.
Social-distancing restrictions will need be complied with. Signs to this effect have been installed in all our public buildings, and we ask that all guests are respectful to others during their stay and make sure they keep to recommended social guidelines.
Of course, we’re lucky that we have plenty of space, both inside and out, so hopefully it will be easy for everyone to find their own space in which to feel comfortable.
Our shop will be open every day, and we’ve extended our hours so that everyone can get the essentials they need – or even a few little luxuries to make your stay with us extra special. We’ve also increased the range of products we stock, and expanded our range of fresh offerings.
We’ve improved our welcome hampers too – these are available to book now and will be sanitised, ready and waiting in your accommodation for your arrival.
Our takeaway food service has been extended. This will now be available every day from 8.30am, from breakfast through lunchtime and into the evening, so you’ll always be able to get something to eat at any point during the day.
We’ll also still be offering takeaway tea and coffee, plus sandwiches, cakes and salads – these will all be available to grab and go from the counter.
A new menu has been produced and we’ve also changed the way we do afternoon tea – you’ll now be able to take this away to your accommodation or enjoy it in our al-fresco dining area.
For more information about the facilities we’ll be able to offer from 6 July, please see below.
Please call us on 03301 230374 if you have any questions
On opening, we will be able to offer our guests the following:
Self-contained, self-catering accommodation
Contactless check-in process
Virtual guest query service to answer all your questions
Takeaway food service
Food and drink served to our alfresco dining area
Pre-bookable hamper service
Fully stocked on-site shop
An enhanced cleaning regime across the park
Direct access to forest walks and cycle routes
Outdoor children’s play areas
Adequately spaced camping and caravanning pitches
Shower-block facilities with very strict social-distancing measures in place
On-site Beauty Salon, The Fern Beauty & Spa is now open.
However, our indoor restaurant, indoor bar, swimming pool and leisure facilities, and indoor children’s play areas will remain closed and there will be no on-site activities or evening entertainment. These facilities
will stay closed until we are 100 per cent satisfied that it’s safe to open these to our guests
and,
for this reason, we will unfortunately be unable to accommodate day guests for the time being.
Your options
FOR BREAKS WITH ARRIVAL DATES FROM 6 JULY UNTIL 31 AUGUST
If you have a break booked with us with an arrival dates from 6 July until 31 August and we are able to
open, you have the following options available to you:
1. Go ahead with your planned break bearing in mind the reduction in facilities.
We are happy to apply a discount of 25 per cent off your booked break.
This discount will only be applied to your break if you have not already received a 25 per cent discount as
a result of moving your booking.
2. You can rearrange your break for a future date within the next 12 months.
We will happily move the dates of your booking and there will be no amendment fee for changing your
booking. If the new price is lower than you paid before, we’ll refund you the difference. If the new price
is
higher, you’ll need to pay the difference.
3. We can hold the price of your booking as credit on your account.
We understand that it might not be possible to commit to a new date at the moment, so we can hold the
price of your booking as credit on your account until you’re ready to choose your new dates.
4. If you would prefer not to visit the park due to the reduction in facilities, we’ll provide you
with a full
refund of the deposit paid.
We’ll be contacting people by email in order of upcoming bookings to explain the options above. We’ll
ask you in the first instance to respond with the option you would like to take, and then contact you again
to confirm your request. Our team are currently working from home so it may take a little longer to get
back to you than we would like. Thank you for your patience during this time.
Due to the reduction in facilities, for new bookings, we have applied a 25% discount to our tariff across all accommodation types
Are you looking to book a break with us in the future?
BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE GUARANTEE
Book your next holiday with us safe in the knowledge that, if the date needs to change, you
can move it for free.
These extraordinary circumstances make it difficult to commit to future holiday plans, but
that doesn’t have to stop us looking forward to when we can go on holiday again. Our book with confidence
guarantee means that, if you’re thinking ahead to your next holiday, we’ll hold your date for you but, if
you need to change it, we’ll move it free of charge. This guarantee applies to all our properties.
Terms and conditions: Bookings are free to change up to 14 days before arrival at Whitemead
Forest Park. Offer valid on stays up until 31 December 2020, and bookings can be moved to a new date up
until 31 December 2021. If the price of your new booking is higher, you will need to pay the difference. If
the new price is lower we will refund the difference.
