COVID-19 Update

Quimby Country is opening for its 127th season!

What makes Quimby Country a safe destination for you and your family?

• We are in a secluded, rural Vermont location on over 1000 acres of privately-owned land, with access to hiking trails, two lakes, and a large sandy beach for recreation and enjoyment.
• Our cottages are self-contained, single unit, well-spaced, and fully furnished, with a front porch over looking Forest Lake.
• For those enjoying Quimby’s all-inclusive experience (July 11th-Aug. 22nd), 3 meals a day are provided for take out and delivery, and 3 outdoor dinners are served for our guests enjoyment throughout the week.
• 9 of our 19 cottages offer full kitchens to prepare your own meals and the remaining cottages offer small refrigerators, individual coffee makers, grills upon request, and a dedicated outdoor picnic table is provided for additionally seating for each cottage facility.
• Housekeeping only comes before and after your stay to avoid any traffic coming in or out. Your cabin is 100% yours during your entire stay. Daily trash can be picked up and recyclables collected upon request. Additionally, our staff can deliver clean towels, paper towels, and toilet paper as needed.
• We have implemented a “curb-side” check-in process (3pm to 8pm), with minimal interaction at your vehicle (utilizing social distancing and masks), and we also offer remote check-in upon request. If you are checking in after 8pm, just give us a call for our late check-in process.
• Our property offers a variety of safe activities for you and your party to stay active and have fun. We have fishing onsite in Forest Lake recently stocked with trout and Great Averill, we also have miles of hiking trails and mountain bike rentals for on and off property use. All of our activities will adhere to the social distancing guidelines and allow for proper sanitation between guests’ use. Systems are in place for safely utilizing all watercraft and other sporting equipment during your stay.

What extra measures is Quimby Country taking between guest stays to make sure cottages are clean and safe upon arrival?

• As much as possible, we schedule at least 24 hours between stays in a particular cottage.
• We maintain a high standard of cleaning and have added sanitization to all surfaces, touch points, and shared items.
• All cottages are fully fogged between guest stays with CDC approved, environmentally friendly sanitizing agent.
• As always, bed linens will be made available to our guests and will be washed and dried on the highest heat setting following all recommended CDC guidelines. However, we will also provide guests the option to bring their own bed linens to ensure they feel comfortable during their stay.

What other precautions are your staff members taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19?

• All staff members have taken mandatory COVID-19 Safety Training provided by the VOSHA
• All of our staff practice social distancing, wear masks and gloves when appropriate, work individually, and/or stay 6 feet apart.
• Before each shift, all staff are required to complete a health check-in with the manager on duty, which includes a temperature check.
• No employee is allowed to come to work if they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or if they have come in contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
• We have an established, frequent schedule for sanitizing public surfaces, and we have disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer available in public areas of the resort.

What safe practices will I be asked to follow?

• We ask that guests wear non-medical face coverings (cloth face mask, bandana, scarf) over their mouth and nose when in the presence of others outside of their party. Quimby supplies custom lightweight Buff neck tubes in our store. Please inquire if you would like to purchase one or if you would like to request any to be left in your cottage upon arrival.
• If a guest shows signs at any time of Covid-19 symptoms they will be requested to checkout and receive medical attention.
• Practice social distancing around other guests and Quimby staff.
• Use our curb-side check-in and/or remote check-in and remote check-out procedures so that you can minimize your interaction with others
• We are asking that no more than 10 people at a time socialize in a group to maintain proper social distancing.
• Trails surrounding Quimby remain open and we strongly encourage guests to adhere to social distancing guidelines while walking on the trails or property. This means staying six feet or more from anyone you encounter on the trail, carrying your personal mask with you in case you come upon another group, and only recreating with those you are at Quimby’s with.

What should I do if I suspect I have the novel coronavirus or have symptoms of respiratory illness right before my check-in date?

Please call us at (802) 822·5533 and inquire about our “COVID-19” policy so that you can reschedule your visit (without penalty) to another time when you are feeling well.

What if I can’t make my reservation due to COVID-19? Do you have a flexible cancellation policy?

Our “COVID-19” Policy: We understand that during these uncertain times, it is hard to make plans and even harder to know if those plans will change. We also know you are looking to get away, and we would love to have you come stay at Quimby Country! That’s why we have implemented a “COVID-19” policy. Through the remainder of 2020, if COVID-19 affects your reservation, we will work with you to move your stay to a later date, with no additional fees or penalties. We will simply transfer over the deposit you’ve already made to your new date. If you aren’t sure when you can reschedule your visit, no problem! We can hold on to your deposit and apply it to a future reservation made in the next 24 months!

as of 6/11/2020

Dear Quimby Family and Friends:

We’re following up on our promise to keep you advised of the COVID-19 situation here in Vermont. We’re disappointed to report that the state is not much closer to freely welcoming out-of-state residents than when we last wrote to you. On the plus side, the level of COVID-19 cases in Vermont is much lower than in even our neighboring states. But that has made the state government even more determined to keep it that way by controlling leisure travel from other states through the use of quarantines as described below. Although these controls will be reevaluated and might be loosened at some point, we wanted to give you an outline of where things stand right now for out of state visitors.

As of June 8th, travelers who live in counties across New England and New York can travel to Vermont without quarantine restrictions IF they live in counties with less than 400 active cases of COVID-19 per one million residents and if they travel to Vermont in their personal vehicle. Please refer to the detailed map here to view the eligible counties.
As of June 15th, travelers from counties with more than 400 active cases of COVID-19 per million residents may enter Vermont IF they complete a 14-day quarantine or a 7-day quarantine followed by a negative COVID-19 test.
Travelers may quarantine themselves either at home or in a Vermont lodging establishment but they must stay in their quarantine location for the duration of quarantine except to travel to and from a test site. Please click here to view Vermont’s definition of quarantining, which is what Vermont is asking travelers to abide by.

Additionally, The state of Vermont is requiring all travelers to register with Sara Alert upon arrival to Vermont to get two weeks of daily reminders to check for common symptoms of COVID-19. This service will not track your personal information it is merely meant to remind travers to be aware of common COVID-19 signs in the event the virus was contracted during a visit.

We recognize these are rigid requirements and there are still many unanswered questions. But we will ask our out of state guests to uphold these quarantine guidelines in order to maintain their reservations with us. While it is possible that these restrictions might loosen up by the time of your reservation, we are advising our guests not to expect this will be the case. At this time we unfortunately do not have enough information or confidence to think otherwise.

The Below message was sent to our Quimby Country guests on May 18th 2020

Dear Quimby Country Family and Friends,

The state of Vermont has begun a phased re-opening of lodging and dining establishments, and we anticipate being able to re-open Quimby Country on or close to schedule, which is very exciting news!

Of course, we will have to operate under recommended guidelines to ensure the safety of our guests and staff. While the guidelines could be loosened or tightened, depending on the state of COVID-19 in Vermont, we have developed a plan to deal with what we think would be the most prudent measures, based on current advice from the national Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Vermont’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (VOSHA).

Since the situation is so fluid and ever-changing, we have decided to wait until June 1st to issue an official memo, at which time we will outline the exact modifications we plan to implement based on the current state of COVID-19.

In the meanwhile, we felt it would be helpful for our guests and future guests to review some of the guidelines that we will likely implement this season at Quimby Country.

We would implement a “curb-side” check-in process (3pm to 8pm), with minimal interaction at a guest’s vehicle (utilizing social distancing and masks). We would also offer remote check-in upon request. And we would ask guests checking in after 8pm, to call for our late check-in process.

We would also ask guests to wear non-medical face coverings when with others outside of their party and to socialize with no more than 10 people at a time. To facilitate this, the Lodge and Club House would be reconfigured so families can maintain sufficient distance from others.

Before each shift, all staff will complete a health check-in with the manager on duty, which includes a temperature check. No employee will be allowed to come to work if they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or if they have come in contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

All equipment available to guests will be sanitized after every use. Sanitation stations will be strategically located throughout heavily used areas on the property. Our staff will be trained to practice consistent and routine sanitation of all shared equipment. We will establish a schedule for frequent sanitizing of public surfaces and we will make hand sanitizer available in public areas.

All our staff members will take a mandatory COVID-19 Safety Training provided by VOSHA. All of our staff will practice social distancing, wear masks and gloves when appropriate, work individually and/or stay 6 feet apart.

Any guest who shows signs of COVID-19 symptoms will be asked to check out and seek medical attention.

Under Vermont’s phased re-opening, some of these measures may prove unnecessary by mid-July. But we want you to know what we may ultimately have to do to operate safely and effectively. We realize that, under the best of circumstances, this will not be the Quimby experience we have offered guests over the past 126 seasons.

As we already stated, we will issue an official update on exactly what changes we will implement by June 1st. Meanwhile, we do have a very important request.

We would greatly appreciate you letting us know before or on June 1st if you plan to join us this summer. We would be happy to work with you to move your stay to a later date, or to roll it over to 2021 with no additional fees or penalties!

Taking action now will allow us to accommodate families that are looking to get away this summer and are interested in joining us at Quimby’s, which is in an area that has been relatively free of coronavirus.

Of course, our “COVID-19” cancelation policy remains in effect. Through the remainder of 2020, if COVID-19 affects your reservation, or our ability to serve you, we will transfer the deposit you’ve already made to a new date later in the year or in 2021. If you aren’t sure when you can reschedule your visit, no problem! We can hold on to your deposit and apply it to a future reservation made in the next 24 months.

Following June 1st, 2020, if you need to cancel your reservation for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, our standard cancellation policy will apply.

We recognize that these past 9 weeks have not been easy for anyone. During this time we have thought a lot about our Quimby family and have counted ourselves very fortunate for the support that so many of you have offered us over the recent weeks, we can’t tell you how much this has helped us through this uncertain time.

The idea of coming back together at Quimby Country for its 127th season is a beacon of light for many of us, which offers us hope for brighter days ahead. Quimby’s has always been a place that has provided respite from life back home and the chance to breathe easily and deeply for a time. Living through a world-wide pandemic has challenged all of us to live our lives in new ways. We have had to adapt to a new life for the protection of others. We believe more than ever that the experience we can offer at Quimby’s is even more valuable!

We know that this summer will look different, but we are excited to offer the best experiences for our families and guests under these new circumstances. We have said from the beginning, our commitment in opening this summer will be to provide the safest, most memorable experience for both our guests and our staff. We believe we can accomplish this goal, but we will have to make modifications and changes to our services this summer to ensure that all of our guests and staff can enjoy the place we cherish so much.

For more on all this, or too please email gene@quimbycountry.com or lilly@quimbycountry.com or give us a call on 802-822-5539.

Thanks for your continuing friendship and support.

Warmly,

Lilly and Gene