Allergy Friendly Environment

A safe haven for sufferers

In 2012, Farncombe Estate completed a £3.5m bedroom courtyard of 32 bedrooms, of which eight are designated “Allergy Free”. No smoking, pot plants or pets are permitted. Wooden floors replace carpet, there are blinds instead of curtains and a special vacuum cleaner gives 99.9% filtration and helps eradicate dust mites.

As a result of these and other measures, in October 2011 we were awarded the prestigious Ecarf Seal of Quality for allergy friendliness. Indoor allergies are a growing medical concern and we are delighted to have become the first venue of our kind in Europe to win this international award.

In the dining room, our staff competently deal with a growing number of allergies: dairy, gluten, peanut, nuts – even celery. In the bedrooms, delegates allergic to perfume can request fragrance-free toiletries.

“I am very pleased that Farncombe Estate has done such a fine job of taking the needs of allergy sufferers into consideration,” says Professor Torsten Zuberbier, Head of the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation. “Allergy at work and at school leads to lower levels of concentration and achievement. We want to find affordable ways to make people’s lives easier.”

Our Ecarf accreditation is an acknowledgement of a raft of measures to combat the problem, for instance:

* All our bedrooms are non-smoking and have been passed as “allergy-friendly”
* Eight allergy-free bedrooms take this to a new level, with wooden floors, special cleaning equipment, reduced soft furnishings and a ban on pets and pot plants
* Kitchen staff are trained to deal with all manner of food allergies
* Soya milk and dairy alternatives are kept in stock
* Most diets can be accommodated with a few days’ notice