Accor’s Heathrow Novotel among quarantine hotels

Although the government would not disclose which hotels had been selected for its quarantine scheme last week “for commercial reasons”, it has been confirmed Accor’s 166-bedroom Novotel London Heathrow Airport T1 T2 T3 (pictured) is one of the properties taking part.

Under new tighter border restrictions, from today (15 February) residents of the UK and Ireland arriving from a 'red list' of countries will be required to quarantine at a hotel under guard for 10 days. The stays, which also include mandatory testing on the second and eighth day and transport from the airport or port, cost £1,750 per person.

A spokesperson for Accor said: “Novotel London Heathrow T1 T2 T3 has answered the call from government to assist with the mandatory hotel quarantine in order to support the safe return of Brits. Covid government policy is designed to control the virus and keep people safe and our role is to support that action. Our priority remains the health and safety of our guests and hotel teams in addition to doing what we can to expedite the control of the crisis and ensure business and travel recovery as soon as possible.

“Throughout the crisis we and our partners have proudly held a ‘people first’ position, supporting our guests and communities. Accommodating those in crisis and those fighting the crisis throughout the pandemic has accelerated our knowledge of health and safety procedures and enables our frontline hotel teams to do what they do best, which is to take good care of people.”

A spokesperson for the hotel added: “We appreciate the incredible circumstances and the challenges everyone entering quarantine is facing. The hotel team’s role is to do everything possible to support the guests through their stay, keeping them safe and ensuring their comfort and wellbeing. Welcoming, safeguarding and taking care of others is at the very heart of who we are and what we do every day and during this exceptional time this is truer than ever.”

National media outlets have also reported travellers arriving today being led to Marriott’s 643-bedroom Renaissance London Heathrow hotel, the 464-bedroom Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow and the 150-bedroom DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Edinburgh Airport for quarantine.

Radisson Hotel Group, Marriott International and Hilton are yet to respond to request for comment.

Health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed more hotels would be contracted as needed.

Last week, the government confirmed it had secured 4,600 rooms at 16 hotels in England, and 1,300 rooms across six hotels in Scotland for the scheme, and announced punitive punishments for non-compliance.

The quarantine hotel booking website went live on Thursday (11 February) but was taken down again within minutes, just days before the scheme was due to launch.