Majestic Hotel in Eastbourne, gives a refund thanks to the Internet!
I wrote to the hotel and said they should get a refund in name of good will and PR. I got the following reply:
Thank you for contacting Shearings Holidays.
Regarding Mr & Mrs Adendorff’s recent booking with us, our cancellation policy states that bookings cancelled on the day of arrival cannot be refunded, which is why Mr & Mrs Adendorff were initially informed that they were not entitled to a refund.
However, due to the exceptional circumstances, we are happy to refund the full amount of the booking as a gesture of goodwill.