Whistler's largest hotel has announced it will be closing temporarily this week in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
“We currently live in a world that is changing rapidly—by the day and by the hour. As we navigate through these times of change and uncertainty, we do so with the safety of both our loyal and valued guests and employees as our highest priority,” read a statement posted to the hotel’s Facebook page on Wednesday, April 8. “We must support our local authorities as they work to halt the spread of COVID-19. And so, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close the doors of our hotel.”
Effective Friday, April 10 at 12 p.m., the closure includes all guest services, overnight stays, fitness centres and health clubs, food and beverage offerings, spas and event spaces.
Speaking in a late-March interview, Hotel Association of Whistler president Saad Hasan told Pique that most resort hotels at the time were working to stay open in order to keep limited staff employed and complete any outstanding renovation or maintenance work.
On April 2, Accor, the French multinational company that owns and operates the Fairmont brand, announced that more than half of its hotels around the world had been closed due to the pandemic, with that number only expected to rise in the coming weeks.
The Fairmont urged guests to stay updated at fairmont.com/whistler.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can, and look forward to welcoming each of you back in the near future,” the statement concluded.
