cleaning programme on their main water tank after hundreds of guests became violently ill from drinking contaminated water.

General manager Mark Conklin described the hotel's water system as "a very old infrastructure'' which required extensive work in order to be up and running in time for the peak season.

The hotel has tapped into a Government water supply on a temporary basis after its own supply was disconnected following the epidemic.

Mr. Conklin denied that the system should have been looked into before the epidemic struck more than two weeks ago.

And he insisted that, although there had been a number of cancellations since the scare, the hotel was now fully operational and was expecting a large number of guests next month.

"We have called in experts and there is going to be extensive work on the large water tank in the weeks to come,'' he said.

"As far as the tank is concerned we are talking about a very old infrastructure and it needs some extensive work as far as new pipes and a new chlorination system is concerned.

"We just want to put all this behind us. It's not doing the tourism industry any good and it's not good for the economy of Bermuda. We have had some cancellations with both groups and individuals who were concerned but we don't want them to be with us if there is a feeling of apprehension.'' He continued: "But the hotel is now running well and we have now got approval from the Ministry of Health. They have been monitoring us on a daily basis and all the water is favourable.

"We need to move forward and we are expecting a lot of bookings in April.'' Although health experts say that tests are still ongoing to find out what caused the bug to spread, Mr. Conklin confirmed that the water supply was the main suspect.

"We knew we had a high bacteria count in the water and that was always our main suspect,'' he said. He said he had spoken to Chief Medical Officer Dr.

John Cann and further test results were being awaited. Hopefully they would be available tomorrow. Mr. Conklin also refused to comment on the news that a number of American guests struck down by the epidemic are suing the hotel for negligence and deceit.