{"id":606269,"date":"2026-08-27T14:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/606269\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T14:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:12:11","slug":"luxury-hotel-and-golf-course-in-westmeath-closed-after-norovirus-outbreak-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/606269\/","title":{"rendered":"Luxury hotel and golf course in Westmeath closed after norovirus outbreak \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">A luxury <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/hotel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/hotel\/\">hotel<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/westmeath\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/westmeath\/\">Co Westmeath<\/a> has temporarily closed after a norovirus outbreak at the venue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Glasson Lakehouse, a four-star hotel 13km from Athlone town, closed on Wednesday following advice from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/hse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/hse\/\">HSE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The hotel, located beside Lough Ree, is a popular wedding venue. The golf course and spa located at the resort are also closed following the outbreak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">It is unclear when the resort will reopen, but members of the golf club received a message saying that the facilities would be closed until at least Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Norovirus, which causes diarrhoea and vomiting, is one of the most common stomach bugs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cIt is with regret that we have decided to temporarily close our premises as a precautionary measure following an outbreak of norovirus,\u201d a statement from the hotel said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cWe notified the HSE when we became aware that some recent guests and team members exhibited symptoms. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cIn consultation with the HSE, we implemented a voluntary closure and are working closely with the HSE to carry out all appropriate control measures, which we have acted on immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">A spokeswoman told The Irish Times that the hotel management \u201cdeeply\u201d regretted the inconvenience caused and thanked guests for their patience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cWe are doing everything we can to look after everyone affected and are seeking alternative venues for guests and events to minimise the inconvenience caused,\u201d a statement said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cWe will continue to work closely with health authorities and will provide an update regarding our reopening as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/health\/2026\/02\/13\/norovirus-qa-how-do-i-identify-the-illness-and-best-treatment\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Norovirus: What are the symptoms and when should I go to the GP?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">In a statement, the HSE said it had been investigating the outbreak of gastrointestinal illness since Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cThe public health team is working closely with HSE National Environmental Health Service colleagues and the premises to ensure all appropriate actions are being taken and is working to contact affected people with advice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cManagement and staff at the premises are co-operating fully with public health advice. The premises has voluntarily closed to facilitate outbreak control measures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The HSE said careful food handling and hand hygiene help prevent the spread of norovirus. The public health advice is that people who are unwell should stay off work or school until symptom free for 48 hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Members of the golf club received a message that the hotel and all outside facilities would be closed from 1pm on Wednesday until Monday morning due to a \u201cmajor maintenance issue\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cObviously, this is a huge inconvenience for all to say the least, but the safety of all Glasson Lakehouse customers\/members is paramount to us,\u201d the message said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cFor the time being golf on the course and range is not permitted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The notice apologised for the inconvenience caused, saying members would be updated again as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Rooms or suites advertised on the hotel\u2019s website for various dates in September range in price from \u20ac365 to \u20ac741 per night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A luxury hotel in Co Westmeath has temporarily closed after a norovirus outbreak at the venue. Glasson Lakehouse,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9675,2120,61,60,43,59],"class_list":["post-606269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-hotel","tag-hse","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-westmeath"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}