Guest House Guests – COVID-19

June 19, 2020

RE: BURROWING OWL ESTATE WINERY – COVID19 PROTOCOL UPDATE

To our valued Guest House guests:

We look forward to welcoming you soon, to the Guest House at Burrowing Owl Estate Winery!

Upon your arrival, you will notice a few changes to our operations. Based on the latest recommendations from the Government of British Columbia’s Public Health Officer, WorkSafeBC, the BC Hotel Association, and the BC Food & Restaurant Association, we have updated our Guest House, Wine Shop and Sonora Room operations.

For the health and safety of all our guests and staff, please note the following protocols that we have adopted in order to minimize contact between guests and staff, and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus:

  1. If you are feeling ill, and/or have any symptoms of COVID-19 including fever, cough, chills or shortness of breath, please do not visit Burrowing Owl Estate Winery’s Guest House, Wine Shop or Sonora Room Restaurant. We will not charge any cancellation or rescheduling fees due to illness in 2020.
  2. If you have traveled outside of Canada in the past 14 days, please do not enter the Guest House, Wine Shop or Sonora Room Restaurant.
  3. Guest House check in time is 4:30 pm, and check out time is 10:30 am. This is due to the extended time it will take to fully clean and sanitize guest rooms between guests’ departures and arrivals under the BC Hotel Association’s recommended COVID-19 sanitization protocols.
  4. Housekeeping staff will not enter your room during your stay for any reason including tidies, and/or housekeeping. If you would like extra towels, linens, supplies or toiletries, please call our front desk at extension 500, and these will be delivered to a basket outside your door.
  5. Breakfast will be delivered to you for in-room dining each morning, rather than a buffet style breakfast. You will be asked to make your breakfast selection upon check in.
  6. Hand sanitizing stations will be available throughout the Guest House, Wine Shop and Sonora Room, and we ask that you use them frequently.
  7. We ask that you maintain physical distancing of at least 6 feet between yourself, our staff and other guests during your stay. You will notice markers and signage on our floors.
  8. Canadian Public Health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face covering for all Canadians to prevent the spread of COVID-19. You will notice our staff wearing masks during your stay, and we ask that you consider doing the same. We will have masks available for purchase in the Wine Shop.
  9. We have established a housekeeping routine for sanitation and hygiene, and you will therefore see or hear staff cleaning high-touch surfaces such as door knobs, railings, counter tops, etc. regularly during your stay.
  10. The Sonora Room Restaurant and our Wine Shop will be operating under strict maximum occupancy guidelines, and we ask that you respect the direction of our staff in these spaces.
  11. Our hot tub will be closed for the remainder of 2020.
  12.  The outdoor pool is open between the hours of 7:00 am and 10:00 pm. Pool deck chairs have been situated with a minimum 6 feet distance between chairs and we ask that you refrain from moving them. When you leave the pool deck, please be sure to take all possessions including pool towels with you to the Guest House. Used green pool towels can be deposited into the bins at the pool deck entrance.
  13. You will notice that we have added plexiglass “sneeze-guards” at cash registers and our front desk.

Please rest assured that while we implement these measures, we do not mean to appear anti-social! We truly have your best interest at heart, and have therefore chosen to operate according to the best public health recommendations available at this time. We will continue to review information presented by the above organizations. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation during this unprecedented time.