Terms and conditions

Contract and general terms

The contract is between you and the owners of Aspen Lodge, Steve and Fiona Lawrence. Your booking is for holiday purposes only unless otherwise agreed in writing. The cottage is only let to those people specified on the booking form. No sub-letting is permitted.

Booking days

Unless otherwise agreed, the cottage is booked from Saturday to Saturday. If you require anything different e.g. a short break out of season, please contact us and we will see if we can accommodate your request.

Arrival / departure times 

In order to ensure that we have time to prepare the cottage properly for the next guests, we request that guests leave the property by 10am and arrive after 4 pm. 

Booking fee

We do not charge a booking fee. We will confirm your booking upon receipt of the deposit.

Deposit

In order to secure your booking, we require a deposit of £150 per week together with your booking form.

Payment of balance

The balance is payable 6 weeks before the start of your holiday or when the holiday is booked, if booking within 6 weeks of the start date. Please note that there is a surcharge, payable with the balance, of £25 for parties of more than 6 people and £15 per dog to reflect the extra cleaning and laundry costs.

Payment method

We accept payment by cheque or bank transfer (details on request).

Cancellation policy 

Cancellations must be received in writing. Cancellations made before 6 weeks of the start of your holiday will result in the loss of the deposit. Cancellations made later than this may result in the loss of the full rental amount.

In the event of a cancellation, we will try to re-let the cottage. If we are successful we will refund the balance less an administration charge of £50, at our discretion.

Since we cannot guarantee that we will be able to re-let the cottage, we recommend that you take out your own holiday insurance.

In the event that the cottage becomes unavailable due to circumstances beyond our control (e.g. fire, theft or damage), our liability will be limited to the amount of any payments received, which we will refund in full.

Good housekeeping bond

A good housekeeping bond of £100 is payable with the balance. This will be cashed on receipt and refunded at the end of your stay, subject to the following conditions: 

• You agree to take all proper and reasonable care of the cottage, its furniture, pictures and effects and to leave the cottage in the same clean and tidy condition at the end of the rental period as at the start.
• You agree to inform us of any damage, breakage or loss arising during your stay. Any items not reported as damaged or which are missing from the cottage will be charged in full.
• You agree not to smoke inside the cottage.
• You agree that the number of people occupying the cottage will not exceed the number stated on the booking form without our explicit agreement. We reserve the right to refuse entry to the entire party if this condition is not observed.
• You agree to take all your belongings with you at the end of your stay as we cannot guarantee to find missing items or return them to you.
• You agree to allow us, or our agents, the right of entry at all reasonable times for the purposes of inspection or to carry out essential repairs or maintenance.

 If these conditions are not satisfied, we will deduct all reasonable costs from your Good Housekeeping Bond.

Pets

Up to 2 well behaved dogs are allowed by prior agreement, subject to the following conditions: 

• Pets are not allowed on the furniture or beds.
• Pets must not be left unattended at any time.
• Pets must be dried off before entering the cottage.
• You must clear up after your dogs and remove all mess from the gardens and surrounding areas.

Heating

The cost of oil central heating and electricity is included in the rental price. The central heating system will be set on a timer appropriate for the season to ensure that you are comfortable. There is a central thermostat in the back hall and individual thermostats on the radiators. A basket of logs for the wood-burning stove is also included.

Complaints

We hope that you have no cause for complaint during your stay, but in the event that there is a problem, you must contact us immediately to give us an opportunity to rectify the problem. If you feel that the problem has not been resolved, you must notify us of your complaint in writing within 7 days of the end of your stay.

Liability

In the absence of negligence on our part, the use of the cottage and its facilities is entirely at your own risk.