TERMS & CONDITIONS
Please read these conditions carefully. They set out the basis of your agreement with
Treetops Cottages as the cottage operator which provides your holiday. We at
Treetops Holiday Cottages act as the accommodation operator (referred to as
‘Treetops’ or ‘we’ from now on) in booking your cottage (‘accommodation’). Your
contract is with us directly. In making a booking, you warrant that you are 18 years of
age or over and have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party
the terms and conditions set out below.
1. Terms. All terms are either per week or per short break (start day as specified) for
the accommodation as equipped and described. The usual check-in time is 4.00pm
(subject to unavoidable delays). The checkout time (10am) will be shown on your hire
invoice. You are obliged to leave everything in a clean and tidy condition and you are
responsible for any damage done or loss sustained during your stay.
Prices include VAT (where applicable) at the rates applicable at the time of printing
and are subject to change if the rates or application of the tax changes. In the event
of a change in the rate of VAT during the course of the year, your holiday will be
invoiced at the new amount of VAT unless you have already taken your holiday or
paid the balance in full prior to the date of the change.
We reserve the right to alter prices on the website, which may go up or down. We will
advise you of the current price at the time of booking. These terms and conditions are
applicable to bookings made by phone or email from this website. The terms and
conditions may change from time to time. Please check at the time of booking.
2. Making a booking. All offers and bookings are subject to availability. A binding
contract comes into existence once we have received your deposit and we have
issued a hire invoice and booking acceptance by e-mail or post.
You must check your hire invoice and booking acceptance as well as all other
documents we send you carefully as soon as you receive them. If any information
appearing on any document appears to be inaccurate in any way, you must let us
know straight away. We regret we cannot accept any liability to make changes if we
are not notified of any inaccuracy in any document within 10 days of our sending it
out.
The contract shall be between you and Treetops and be subject to English Law and
the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
3. Number in your party. The total number in your party must not exceed the
capacity of the accommodation as advertised by us. If your holiday price includes the
‘small party reduction’ the number in your party must not exceed that advised at the
time of your booking and included on your booking confirmation. Babies under 2 may
or may not be counted as members of your party. We have the right to refuse to hand
over the accommodation to any party exceeding these limitations, or to terminate the
holiday of anyone exceeding these limitations at any time during the holiday. You
should check the policy of your chosen accommodation carefully before booking.
4. Payment. When you book you must pay the applicable deposit requested. If you
choose to purchase travel insurance, we would advise that you have travel insurance
in place at the time of booking.
Your balance is due and payable by the date printed on your Hire Invoice (10 weeks
before your holiday start date). For bookings made within 10 weeks of your holiday
start date and short breaks you pay the full amount when you make your booking.
There is no charge for payments made for bookings via our own website:
www.treeetopscottages.com or via BAC’s .
5. Changes by you. Once a booking has been confirmed by us to you, should you
require it to be amended or re-invoiced for any reason (including for example
accidental loss of the original invoice) then, if we accept this change, a fee of £30.00
may be charged. Up to 8 weeks before the holiday start date you may change your
holiday start date to another date within the same calendar year, subject to
availability and payment of the above fee and any outstanding difference in price.
You may transfer your booking to someone else/another party (introduced by you) at
any time providing you pay the administration fee of £30.00 and any outstanding
balance.
Please note: Bookings may not be transferred to other parties after we have received
notification of cancellation. Change of accommodation will be treated as a
cancellation of the original booking and may be subject to cancellation charges.
6. Cancellation by you. Telephone us immediately if you have to cancel and on the
same day send us written confirmation quoting your booking reference number. Your
cancellation is effective from the date we receive your written confirmation by email
or post, which will be acknowledged.
(a) Cancellation for a Qualifying Reason
In this section some of the words and expressions used have specific meanings.
These words are shown with capital letters at the start and their meanings are
explained in the glossary below.
Subject to receipt of satisfactory documentary evidence, you will be entitled to a
refund and a waiver of responsibility for any balance payment due (less £50
administration charge) if you cancel at any time after we accept your booking and
before you leave Home to start your Holiday or you curtail your Holiday at any time
after you leave Home and before your planned return to it on the Holiday end date
(provided that everyone in your entire party cancels or curtails the Holiday and the
property is left vacant) and your reason for doing so did not exist at the time of
booking and is any of the following:
• the death, bodily injury, illness or admission to Hospital as an in-patient of you or
any other person in your party; a Partner; or a member of your Immediate Family
where the cancellation or curtailment is certified as medically necessary by a
Qualified Medical Practitioner;
• compulsory quarantine of any person in your party or their travel being prevented by
Government restriction following an epidemic;
• redundancy qualifying for payment under any applicable statute of any person in
your party; which is notified to and received by you (or any person in your party) after
your booking is accepted;
• Hi-jack of an aircraft or conveyance in which you/your party is traveling as a
passenger;
• you or a person in your party being required for compulsory jury or witness service
in a Court of Law in proceedings to be undertaken in the time between their leaving
Home to start the Holiday and returning Home after the Holiday;
• Police advising against travel due to adverse weather conditions;
• Police requiring a person in your party to attend following theft at their Home or
usual place of business; or
• damage rendering the Home of any person in your party uninhabitable,
The calculation of the amount due is as follows;
• if you have paid your balance, we will refund your deposit and your balance less a
£50 administrative charge (the booking fee, amendment and credit card charges are
non-refundable).
• if you have not paid your balance, we will refund your deposit less a £50
administrative charge (the booking fee, amendment and credit card charges are non
refundable) and waive your balance due.
• If everyone in your party curtails the holiday and returns home, we will give you a
proportionate refund of the cost of the holiday less a £50 administrative charge (the
booking fee, amendment and credit card charges are non-refundable).
The £50 administrative charge is to cover our costs and charges incurred in the
process.
You will not be entitled to any refund or waiver of responsibility for any balance
payment due if the cancellation is due to any of the following:
• War, whether declared or not;
• ionising radiation or contamination by radioactivity from any nuclear fuel or from any
nuclear waste resulting from the combustion of nuclear fuel;
• the radioactive, toxic, explosive or other hazardous properties of any explosive
nuclear assembly or nuclear component of such assembly;
• loss due to devaluation of currency or shortages due to errors or omission during
monetary transaction;
• any person in your party deciding not to travel, or if already left Home, deciding not
to continue;
• any person in your party’s loss of enjoyment of the Holiday;
• any accident to or illness of any person in your party’s family pet;
• adverse changes in any person in your party’s financial circumstances or
unemployment other than redundancy as described above.
You will need to let us know immediately a cancellation situation has arisen and
provide us with all the information and documentation, and allow us to carry out any
investigations, we may reasonably require to assess whether you are entitled to a
refund/waiver under our Booking Conditions.
Glossary;
Holiday – any trip involving pre-booked travel or accommodation devoted entirely to
pleasure, rest or relaxation in the United Kingdom and booked through Treetops.
Home – usual permanent place of residence.
Hospital – any establishment which is registered or licensed as a medical or surgical
hospital in the country in which it is located and where a person in your party is under
the constant supervision of a Qualified Medical Practitioner.
Hi-jack – unlawful seizure or taking control of an aircraft or conveyance in which a
member of your party is traveling.
Immediate Family – means the Partner, or the child, grandchild, brother, sister,
Parent, or grandparent of you or a person in your party, or anyone noted as next of
kin on any legal document.
Parent or Legal Guardian – a person with parental responsibility, or a legal guardian,
both being in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and any statutory amendment
modification or re-enactment of it.
Partner – a spouse of, civil partner registered pursuant to the Civil Partnership Act of;
or someone of either sex with whom you or a person in your party has been living as
though they were their spouse for at least three months.
Qualified Medical Practitioner – a doctor or specialist who is registered or licensed to
practice medicine under the laws of the country in which they practice other than a
person in your party or a relative of any such person, unless approved by Treetops.
War – means armed conflict between nations, invasion, act of foreign enemy, civil
war, military or usurped power.
Cancellation Procedure;
• If a cancellation or curtailment situation arises for a qualifying reason, please
contact us immediately first by phone and then in writing by email or post, supplying
documentary evidence, including medical certificates where appropriate. Our address
is Treetops, 39 Station Road, Grasby, Lincolnshire DN38 6AP.
• You and your party must take ordinary and reasonable care to safeguard against
loss, damage, accident, injury or illness
• All information provided to us must be complete and accurate
• You will not be paid if you or your party do not comply with any obligation to act in a
certain way specified in this clause or if they are dishonest
• All certificates, information and evidence provided by you shall be at your expense
If you are due a refund, you will be paid in £ sterling within 30 days of receipt of valid
documentary evidence (including medical certificates where appropriate).
(b) Cancellation for a non-qualifying reason
If you cancel for a reason other than one of those listed in Section 6(a) above, a
charge will be payable by you to cover our costs including charges by third party
operators. These charges are set out below:
Period before scheduled
arrival date within which
written cancellation
notification is received
Cancellation charges as a %
of total costs (excluding
amendment and credit card
charges which are nonrefundable)
More than 56 days Loss of Deposit *
29 – 56 days 70%
8 – 28 days 90%
7 days or under 100%
*+Please note: The cancellation charge applicable will be equal to the loss of deposit
or the percentages shown, whichever is higher.
7. Linen, Towels and Keys. Except for cots, bed linen is provided for use in your
cottage, as stated in the property description, please bring towels, for use in the
leisure facilities. Bedding may be duvets or blankets and sheets. Please take bed
linen for cots with you as required.
8. Cancellation by us. Very occasionally, in circumstances of ‘force majeure’ as
defined in clause 15, we may have to cancel your booking. We will tell you as soon
as possible, and offer you an alternative or a full refund. We regret we cannot pay
compensation or any reimbursement of any expenses or costs you may incur as a
result of any such cancellation or change.
9. Brochure and Website accuracy. We have taken care to ensure the accuracy at
the time of publication of our brochure and continuously with the website; however
information and prices may have changed by the time you book. There may be small
differences between the actual accommodation and facilities and its description, as
we are always looking for ways to make improvements. We cannot accept
responsibility for any inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information about any
property or its facilities and/or services, except in the case of negligence by us. We
will use our best endeavors to notify you of any changes to, or inaccuracies in any
information as soon as reasonably practicable after we become aware of that change
or inaccuracy.
10. Activities and facilities. We reserve the right to alter or withdraw amenities or
facilities or any activities without prior notice where reasonably necessary due to
repairs, maintenance, weather conditions and circumstances beyond his/her control.
Under no circumstances are visitors to guests staying at Treetops allowed to stay in
the accommodation overnight.
Please note that only guests staying at Treetops or spa day guests visiting
Treetops by prior arrangement with the owners or management are allowed to use
the leisure facilities.
Please do inform us of any visitors you have invited to Treetops in order that we can
book them in and out of the premises so that we are aware of their presence for
example, in case of fire.
11. Unreasonable behaviour. We have the right to refuse to hand over
accommodation to anyone who, in the reasonable opinion of the manager is not
suitable to take charge of it. In such cases all hire charges paid will be refunded in full
as quickly as reasonably practicable, the contract will be terminated and we will not
have any further liability.
We reserve the right to terminate a holiday after the keys have been handed over, if
the unreasonable behaviour of anyone in your party is likely to cause danger or
significant annoyance to others or damage to property. In these circumstances, no
refund will be given. Please note that unreasonable behaviour specifically includes
smoking by any member of your party in a property specifically designated (and
advertised by us) as a no smoking property.
12. Damage to the property. You are liable for any damage caused in the property
during the period of hire. We have the right to enter any accommodation (without
prior notice if this is not practical or possible) if special circumstances or emergencies
arise (for example if repairs need to be carried out). Please remember to take out
suitable travel insurance.
13. Party Type. Groups, organisations, charitable institutions and multiaccommodation bookings: If your party includes unrelated members from an
organisation or has been funded/organised on behalf of a third party such as a local
authority, charitable, religious or NHS Trust, we need the following information when
you book:
• The full name of the organisation supporting or funding your booking
• The name and contact details for the person responsible for (and accompanying)
the party during the holiday.
Should you arrive at your accommodation with such a group without notifying us of
the required details, we have the right to refuse to hand over the accommodation to
you. You may be asked to pay a Security Deposit at the time of take-over.
Single-sex groups and younger parties: our properties cater primarily for family
holidays and single-sex groups or younger parties may not be permitted. Where this
is the case, you will be informed at the time of booking. Where these parties are
permitted, you may be asked to pay a Security Deposit at the time of take-over.
Disabled, infirm and restricted mobility guests: Where access to or the layout/features
of any property makes it unsuitable for visitors with mobility difficulties, every effort
has been made to ensure that our description makes this clear. To ensure the
accommodation and location booked is suitable for visitors with a disability, it is
essential that all booking requests from parties including people with special needs,
give us full and clear details of those needs at the time of booking. If your party
includes individuals who usually require special care due to a disability, you are
entirely responsible for ensuring that all members of the group are adequately cared
for at all times by a suitable person.
14. Security Deposits. For certain properties we reserve the right to ask for payment
of a security deposit. Where a security deposit is payable, you will be informed at the
time of booking and the deposit (and the amount payable) will be confirmed to you on
your Booking Confirmation. The deposit is payable directly to the manager on or prior
to arrival and will be returned to you within 10 days of departure by them.
15. Force Majeure. We cannot accept responsibility or pay any compensation where
the performance or prompt performance of the contract is prevented or affected by
reason of circumstances which amount to “force majeure”.
Circumstances amounting to “force majeure” include any event which we could not,
even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such circumstances include the destruction
or damage of your accommodation (which cannot reasonably be remedied to a
satisfactory standard before the start of your holiday) through fire, flood, explosion,
storm or other weather damage, break-in, criminal damage, riots or civil strife,
industrial action, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, war or
threat of war, actual or threatened terrorist activity, epidemic and all similar situations
beyond our control.
16. Assistance Dogs. Registered assistance dogs are accepted free of charge in all
properties in our brochure and on our website, subject to the availability of suitable
accommodation.
17. Your Vehicles. Your vehicles, their accessories and contents are left entirely at
your risk. We are not responsible for any loss or damage from or to any vehicle from
any cause whatsoever.
18. Our responsibility for your booking. We are responsible for making your
booking in line with your instructions.
However, in the event that we are found liable to you on any basis whatsoever, our
maximum liability to you is limited to twice the cost of your booking (or the
appropriate proportion of this if not everyone on the booking is affected). We do not
exclude or limit any liability for death or personal injury that arises as a result of our
negligence or that of any of our employees whilst acting in the course of their
employment.
19. Comments or concerns. You must notify any shortcomings with us immediately
so that remedial action, if appropriate, can be taken. If a significant problem is not
resolved to your satisfaction, please contact us as soon as possible during your
holiday.
It may affect the investigation of your complaint and may impact on the level of
compensation that you may be entitled to if you fail to notify us of any complaint or
claim during your holiday and/or write to us with full details within 28 days after your
holiday had ended.
20. Personal Travel Insurance. You are strongly recommended to take out Personal
Travel Insurance for your holiday.
21. Data Protection Policy Our new Data Protection Policy can be found here
22. Loss or Damage. Treetops Cottages & Spa cannot accept responsibility for loss
or damage to property that is brought on to the premises by guests.
Treetops Cottages & Spa recommends that all items of value are insured by the guest for loss or damage for the duration of their stay.
23. Pets. We do not allow pets in the cottages or on site.
Marketing
We will hold your information, where collected by us, and may use it to inform you of
offers in the future or to send you brochures. We may also provide your details to
selected third parties for similar purposes.
If you do not wish to receive such approaches in the future, please write to us:
Treetops, 39 Station Road, Grasby, Lincolnshire DN38 6AP.