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Guests shock as hotel shuts
A SCARBOROUGH hotel has closed and sent all its guests home after an outbreak of a sickness bug.
The Grand Hotel in St Nicholas Cliff closed yesterday at the recommendation of Scarborough Council's environmental health
department after a dozen guests contracted the Norwalk virus over the weekend.
Specialist cleaners are expected to visit the hotel over the next two days to clean the hotel thoroughly and rid the building of the virus, which causes severe sickness and diarrhoea.
Guests due to arrive at the hotel on Friday for the Christmas weekend were contacted by staff on Saturday and made aware of the outbreak, and were given the option of a refund.
Those already staying at the hotel were told to leave yesterday, although the hotel hopes to re-open for Christmas.
Natasha Stanley, 31, of Victoria Street, Scarborough, said that her aunt had travelled from Cambridge and after checking in, she had gone up to her room to find a note pushed under the door saying she must leave the premises straight away.
Miss Stanley said: "We couldn't put her up because of the children, she couldn't find anywhere else to stay and bought a train ticket home to Cambridge.
"There were a lot of people checking out at the same time so there must be a lot of people in the same position."
Principal environmental health officer Steve Reynolds said the closure was a precautionary measure taken by the hotel while it was not too busy to avoid it closing over Christmas.
He said: "As with any large establishment nationally at the moment, including hospitals and big hotels, the Grand has had an almost seasonal problem now with the Norwalk virus."
This outbreak is the fourth time in two years the Grand has been hit by the bug and the third time the hotel has been forced to close because of it.
It was last hit by the sickness bug in October.
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Weather for Scarborough
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South
