AN AYR hotel has closed its doors until next year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fairfield House, near Ayr’s South Beach, took the tough decision to shut for the rest of 2020, with plans to reopen in March next year.

The owners made the decision ahead of the festive period after the impact of COVID-19 had “taken its toll” on the hotel.

A spokesperson for Fairfield House said: “It is with deep

regret that we have made the very difficult decision to close Fairfield House Hotel until next year.

“Over the past few months we have worked tirelessly to ensure all of our guests and team have stayed healthy and happy.”

The four star hotel praised its staff for sticking to government guidelines as they welcomed guests back over the summer.

They added: “We are over the moon that we have served hundreds of guests in our restaurant and bar and had many more stayed over night with us without one single case of COVID- 19 being reported.

“This is down to all the team here adhering rigorously to the government guidelines and our own enhanced in house rules also.

“We are so proud of the team keeping themselves and our guests safe over the past couple of months.”

But despite efforts the hotel felt it was right to close, with plans to have facilities “ultra-deep cleaned” to open again in March.

They added: “Unfortunately, even with a vaccine in sight, after all our efforts the pandemic has taken it’s toll.

“We shall miss doing the job we love, looking after and sharing times with our guests.”