UK airport hotel makes Covid tests part of its five-star service

London Heathrow’s five-star Sofitel Hotel in Terminal 5 charges £179 ($235) for an area, breakfast and Covid-19 test to create it easier because of its guests to travel in the midst of a pandemic.

The saliva tests use gold standard PCR technology, but without the intrusive nasal or throat swab which has come to be connected with coronavirus testing.

Testing is completed by Imperial College London, where in fact the kits are couriered overnight to make sure travellers have a result in time for another morning. The self-administered tests are guided by a smartphone app, which results arrive.

“It had been a no-brainer. Travellers need the test to get access, we'd been asked by a few of our guests whether it might be available,” Ryan Nicholls, general manager at Sofitel, Heathrow Airport, told The National.

“Right away, we thought it could work, we gave it a trial and also it appears to be working fantastically.”

Mr Nicholls was confident that the hotel would be able to continue to give you a luxury service through the entire new lockdown.

“The hotel will stay open, we will still offer the ‘Test & Rest’ package, which means that travellers that still have to travel for work can do. We have made a few changes because of government guidelines, for example the restaurant and bar are closed, however room service is available so we are still able to service our guests and make certain they get yourself a great meal.”

Surinder Arora, founder and chief executive of Arora Group, which owns Sofitel, said the air travel, hospitality and wider tourism industries have been devastated by the pandemic. The entrepreneur was dealing with airline partners to revive confidence in travel if they were approached by Imperial College London with the theory to provide travellers low-stress DIY tests.