Falmouth's only four-star hotel was forced to close its doors to new guests after discovering an outbreak of the fast-spreading Norwalk virus over the Christmas period.

Guests at the Royal Duchy Hotel in Cliff Road first began complaining of sickness and diarrhoea on Christmas Eve, with more people falling ill on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The last reported case at the 43-bedroomed hotel, which is owned by Brend Hotels and boasts a two AA rosette-rated restaurant, was last Wednesday.

Hotel staff, some of whom were also taken ill with the virus, were forced to transfer the remaining guests last Thursday and Friday to the Carlyon Bay Hotel, which is part of the same group. At least ten people are known to have been infected with the virus.

The environmental health department at Carrick district council was also drafted in to investigate the cause of the outbreak.

John Allen, area manager for Brend Hotels, said both the hotel and environmental health officers were "as sure as we can be" that the virus had been brought into the hotel by a guest and had not originated from within the hotel walls.

Mr Allen said: "What we believe is that somebody arrived at the hotel who brought a virus in at the beginning of the Christmas period. It is a virus and, yes, there were people ill in the hotel. These sort of viruses are unfortunately quite common and we do everything we possibly can to ensure the comfort of our customers. The Norovirus is a problem these days for the whole nation. These things, unfortunately, are on the increase."

Norwalk - also known as the Norovirus and Winter Vomiting Disease - is an airborne virus that spreads easily and quickly. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea and usually last for one to two days, although victims can remain infectious for at least a week from the onset of the illness.

In a bid to give the hotel time to completely clear itself from the virus ahead of the New Year rush, the few guests who remained after the end of the Christmas period were transferred to one of the company's other hotels. The Royal Duchy, where rooms can cost up to £290 a night during peak season, also closed its doors to new arrivals.

"We took the decision to put the few visitors we have had over the last couple of days in our other hotel, the Carlyon Bay Hotel. It was very, very few people, in this in-between period," explained Mr Allen.

He added that all the guests who were due to stay at the hotel over the New Year period had been notified of the outbreak ahead of their arrival, as part of the hotel's "duty of care." The hotel was expected to be full again during this time, with guests arriving from last Friday.

"We are very, very well trained with dealing with situations like this, as accommodation providers. We have implemented everything we possibly can. As soon as we had people reporting sickness and diarrhoea we implemented our company's health and safety procedures. In our risk assessments we act very, very quickly on these things, to minimise it as much as we possibly can," concluded Mr Allen.

When the Packet called, no one from Carrick council's environmental health department was available to comment on the matter.