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It was eerily quiet inside the Lansdowne Resort this morning.

If you haven’t yet heard the news, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials yesterday arrested 59 immigrant workers at the resort who may have gained employment using illegal documents.

Security at the entrance. (Photos by Erica Garman)

That’s a lot of employees!

I thought I’d check out the resort today and find out how they were coping with such a huge cut in staff.

At 9 a.m. this morning, a security guard was posted at the driveway to the Lansdowne entrance. I was sure I’d be stopped and turned away, but the guard was busy with another driver and didn't ask me to pull over.

Once inside the hotel, I visited the Riverside Hearth restaurant to grab a cup of coffee.

A handful of small groups were dining in the restaurant, as was a large gathering of the Potomac BNI networking organization. As I was pouring my coffee, I struck up a conversation with Steve Zarnick who was there with BNI -- Zarnick is an Aflac agent who lives in South Riding. He wasn’t aware of the recent ICE roundup and said he didn’t notice any lack in service. “It is a breakfast buffet, after all,” he said.

The back of Lansdowne Resort this morning.

As I was leaving with my coffee, I spied Board of Supervisor Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large) dining at a table with a business associate. He was aware of the incident, he said, “but I don’t have any details yet.”

Seems nobody does.

Kristi Stavrou, a real estate agent in Ashburn, hadn’t heard of the Lansdowne arrests, either. “I’m dealing with the news of this Move-It situation right now,” she said, on her way to a meeting with fellow agents. Stavrou is referring to yesterday’s arrest of Lauren E. Cooke, a contractor with Move It! Relocation Specialists, who was charged with stealing from Loudoun homes. Stavrou followed up: “Although now that you mention it … I did notice less wait staff than usual and that must be why the security guard is out front.”

The Lansdowne Resort sign today.

At this point, I went to the front desk and asked to speak with a hotel official about how they were making do with the employee loss. The word back was “no comment.” I decided to leave.

I’m guessing that’s when they called security …

For it was in the parking lot that a Lansdowne security guard approached me and said he was to escort me to my vehicle. When asked why, he said he was told that media were not allowed on the property. I heard a voice from his radio say, “Unless they are a guest, no one is allowed on the premises.”

The security guard was extremely pleasant. He walked me to my car and I left.