Conifers Cottage

What the Terms & Conditions of Hire are

Access Statement
We are required by Visit Britain to have an Access Statement. This is a written, clear, accurate and honest description of the current facilities and services The Conifers has on offer, so that you the visitor can make an informed decision as whether it meets your particular access needs. This maybe viewed on the internet or mailed out you upon request

Arrival and Departure
Start days are usually Saturdays. Dependant upon other bookings and the season, other start days may be available. Please enquire.

Full instructions will be posted or e-mailed to you of how to find the property.

Pre-arrival notification:
May we please ask you to contact the Owner or their Agent via telephone 3 days prior to the date of your arrival to confirm your estimated time of arrival. If you expect to arrive later than advised, please contact the owner or their agent to make arrangements for collection of the key.

Arrival:
The property will be available for the Applicant from 16.00 hrs onwards on the start date of the rental period, unless otherwise arranged. We may not be able to accommodate you if you arrive earlier than the agreed time as we will be busy preparing the accommodation.

Late Arrival Procedure:
A quick phone call would be much appreciated, if for some unforeseen reason you will not be arriving at the property at your estimated/stated time [it saves having to hang around], and if necessary alternative arrangements can be made for collection of the key from the Owners and/or their Agent.

Departure:
Please make sure you/your party are ready / leave the cottage by 10.00 hrs on the day of departure [unless otherwise arranged, usually in writing].

As a limited amount of time is available to clean between stays, please help in maintaining standards by taking care of the property and leaving the cottage and its contents in a clean and tidy manner at the end of your stay.

Bed linen and Towels
Bed linen and towels are provided free of charge.

Towels provided are: one bath and two hand towels per person per week.

Please note that we do not provide swimming/sunbathing/leisure towels. We would kindly request that you please bring your own towel(s) for this use.

Bed linen is changed weekly [on request] if duration is of more than 7 nights.

Under no circumstances should towels, blankets, pillows, throws and the likes be removed from the property for whatsoever reason.

Bond or Security Deposit
We do not charge a Security Deposit or a Bond for damage and breakages [see Damage and Breakages for relevant policy].

Complaints
The Owners trust that you will have no reason for complaint but should you encounter something not satisfactory and/or a problem and you feel you have reason to complain, then please do so immediately to the Owner/Agent so that action, where possible, can be taken to rectify the problem swiftly. Please do not let something spoil your stay, we are here to help. Our aim is to please.

Cancellation and Insurance
By making your booking, our agreement is a legal contract and your deposit is non-refundable.

If you cannot use the accommodation and the booking cannot be re-let, you are still liable to pay for the booking in full; even if we have not yet received your balance, monies are owed.

Cancelling your booking:
Please telephone the Owners immediately.

The Conifers will issue confirmation of receipt of this notification and will endeavour to re-let the property, thereby attempting to minimalism your losses.

If The Conifers does succeed in re-letting the booking, you are no longer liable for the balance, and if applicable we will refund it to you, if you have already paid it, less a £15 administration fee and your deposit.

Please note that your deposit is not refundable under any circumstances. We would recommend that you take out cancellation insurance to cover your costs. [See also Curtailment / No-Shows / Insurance]

A detailed Cancellation, Curtailment and No-Shows Procedure is available upon request.

Cleaning of the Property
The accommodation will be thoroughly cleaned before your arrival.

As a limited amount of time is available to clean between lets, please help in maintaining standards by taking care of the property and leaving the property and its contents in a clean and tidy manner at the end of your stay.

Please note that an additional charge to the Applicant if excessive additional cleaning at the end of your stay is necessitated.

Cleaning / housekeeping are not provided during your stay.

Curtailment
If for whatever reason, a booking [that is an applicant and/or a member of that party] curtails their stay [also known as Early-Checkout] for whatever reason; no refund shall be given and any and all monies if owed needs to be settled in full [see Cancellation].

If you cannot use the accommodation and the booking cannot be re-let, you are still liable to pay for the booking in full; even if we have not yet received your balance, monies are owed.

Note: This is applicable to bookings taken verbally, that is face to face or telephone, written, that is any paper format, be it e-mail, letter or via booking form.

A detailed Cancellation / Curtailment / No-Show Procedure is available upon request.

Damages and Breakages
Please take care when staying in our property and please be aware that you are responsible and liable for any breakages and/or damages, which you cause, to the accommodation and/or its contents, however caused. All we ask is that you report all/any incidents [that is breakage(s) and/or damage(s)] as they occur. (Reasonable wear and tear is included.)

We do not normally charge for minor breakages, but we may send you an invoice for repair or making good if the damage or breakage is significant or for example is part of a set.

We may make an additional charge of £25 plus costs of repair/replacement if you did not report this/these to us.

We also ask you not to part with any possessions of the property, or share it, except with members of the party stated on the Booking Form.

Departure
Please make sure you/your party are ready / leave the cottage by 10.00 hrs on the day of departure [unless otherwise arranged, usually in writing].

As a limited amount of time is available to clean between stays, please help in maintaining standards by taking care of the property and leaving the property and its contents in a clean and tidy manner at the end of your stay.

Deposit
Deposit is 30% of total cost of stay.

Please note that your deposit is not refundable under any circumstances (it is strongly recommended that you take out cancellation insurance).

If the booking is less than 8 weeks before the date of arrival, then payment of the full cost of the rental period is required.

Directions
Details of how to find The Conifers will be mailed [postal or e-mail] to you prior to commencement of your stay.

Driveway/Access to property
Please limit vehicle speed to 5 mph on the shared drive.

Under no circumstances whatsoever to block or leave any vehicle on the private shared drive leading to, nor to use the neighbouring properties parking areas for turning around or parking in.

Please beware of pet animals and people on the driveway due to hidden the entrances/exits.

Electricity
Price of electricity is included in the hire cost.

e-mail / Fax / 'Last minute' / Telephone Bookings
Once a booking has been taken via one of these methods, this will deem a contract has been formed and will render the Applicant and the members of the party subject to The Conifers Terms & Conditions of Hire, thus entering into a contract, which binds both you and us in various ways.

Fire Safety Risk Assessment
A new Order came into force October 2006 whereby we are required by law to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment; the property has an Assessment, which maybe viewed if required.

Groceries
The Owners are willing to purchase groceries in advance. Payment is required please, for these items within 24 hours of your arrival.

Various supermarkets deliver internet shopping in this area [Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose] and with prior arrangement / agreement before your stay we may be able to take delivery of your groceries prior to your arrival.

The owners do not guarantee to be able to or accept any liability whatsoever in so doing either of these fore mentioned tasks on your behalf.

Heating
Price of heating is included in the hire cost.

Insurance
Cancellation and/or Personal Holiday Insurance. We do not provide insurance.

It is strongly recommended, in your own interests, that you obtain some form of Cancellation / Personal Holiday Insurance. Unfortunately, family and/or other crises' do happen and nobody likes to pay for accommodation that they do use or a holiday they do not take. Cancellation / curtailment / No-Show still requires payment in full. [See Cancellation and Insurance and also Curtailment / No-shows.]

Keys
Please note that we do charge for lost keys. That cost will include the cost of replacement lock/s, extra key cutting and replacement of unique identification key ring.

'Last Minute' / e-mail / Fax / Telephone Bookings
Once a booking has been taken via one of these methods, this will deem a contract has been formed and will render the Applicant and the members of the party subject to The Conifers Terms & Conditions of Hire, thus entering into a contract, which binds both you and us in various ways.

Late Arrival Procedure
A quick phone call would be much appreciated, if for some unforeseen reason you will not be arriving at the property at your estimated/stated time [it saves having to hang around], and if necessary alternative arrangements can be made for collection of the key from the Owners and/or their Agent.

Law
Our contract (and any disputes, claims or proceedings of whatsoever nature arising out of or in any way relating to the use of The Conifers Cottage and/or Terms & Conditions of Hire and/or use of it's website) shall be subject to English Law and as such we shall both agree to submit any dispute to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England. In all cases The Conifers Terms & Conditions of Hire form the basis of our Contract. You hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts in all disputes arising out of or relating to The Conifers Cottage.

Liability
We do not accept any liability for any damage, loss or injury to any member of your party or visitor, or any vehicles or possessions/belongings, unless proven to be caused by a negligent act by ourselves or our employees or contractors whilst acting in the course of employment.

Mission Statement
To provide comfortable, clean self-catering accommodation at an affordable price.

We are inspected annually by a VisitBritain subcontracted Assessor and we aim to act upon their and guest comments (if any are received). To strive to improve the Annexe and therefore maintain and improve on the standards that we have set ourselves and also those that VisitBritain expect of us as part of the Quality Grading Scheme.

No-show's
The same procedure for as for Cancellation and Curtailment will be implemented with No-Shows.

Non-availability of the Property [Force Majeure]
If, for any reason due to incidents or situations beyond the Owners' control, and the property was not available on the date booked, for example due to fire, flood damage, break-in, etc; and was unsuitable for letting, as a gesture of goodwill, in the event of this, the Owners would endeavour to assist the Applicant in finding alternative accommodation. If this was not possible, or unacceptable to you, then The Conifers would refund all monies paid by you for the accommodation. The Conifers liability would not extend beyond this refund and you would have no further claim against the owners.

Payment
Method of Payment
Payment may be made by cheque, sterling traveller's cheque and cash.

Cheques should be made payable to 'The Conifers Guest Annexe'.

Please do not send cash via post. Under no circumstances are post-dated cheques accepted. The Owners will not be held responsible for lost mail.

Business Users: BACS method of payment is accepted. Please contact for further details.

Dishonoured / 'Bouncing' Cheques: Any bank charges raised against the Owners by their bank having to handle dishonoured cheques will be passed on to the Applicants.

Immediate occupancy circumstances: payment by cash in full is the preferred method. The reason being since June 2011 banks withdrew the cheque guarantee facility.

Debit / Credit card: As a small business, we do not have the facilities to accept payment by this method.

Pets
Under no circumstances are guests pets allowed at The Conifers.

Registered Assistance Dogs are allowed [free of charge], proof required.

Prices
The price of the accommodation includes the following: Electricity, linen, hot water and central heating.

The deposit is 30% of the stay.*

Final balance is required 8 weeks prior to commencement of stay.*

Payment in full is required if start date is under 8 weeks of the commencement date of stay.*

* Denotes unless agreed to previously.

Price quoted is pounds sterling [£].

Privacy Policy
Any data collected during the course of this booking will be stored on our computer(s). We will not share your details with any third party. With your permission, we may from time to time contact you about promotions and offers.

Quality Scheme / Grading
The Conifers belongs to the Visit Britain [enjoyEngland] quality scheme and is inspected annually by Visit Britain representatives.

The Conifers joined the then English Tourism Council's Quality Scheme in 2003 for self-catering properties and was assessed as Four Star in August 2003 and is proud to still maintain it's Four Star accreditation to this date.

We would very much like to be able to publish their findings but due confidentiality we are not allowed to.

Right of Access to the Cottage
To permit the Owners and/or their Agents/Contractors reasonable access to the property as may be deemed necessary.

Note: The water stopcock and mains electricity switches are located in the Guest Annexe, and it should only be in cases of emergency that access would be required. Or possibly for some other type of repair / emergency which could spoil your stay.

Security Deposit or Bond
We do not charge a Security Deposit or a Bond [see Breakages and Damages].

Short Break Booking Start Dates
Short Breaks can only be booked within 28 days of the booking start date.

Smoking
STRICTLY NO SMOKING ...

The Conifers prides itself in being a 'No Smoking Property' [this applies to any substance[s]! So, for the comfort of future Guests, the Owners under no circumstances whatsoever allow guests and/or their visitors to smoke inside the property.

Please note that cigarette/cigar smoking is allowed in the garden(s); all we ask is that the waste be disposed of in a proper manner [that is outside dustbin].

Any person seen whilst in residence may be asked to vacate the property [see Unreasonable Behaviour].

If evidence is found of smoking in the property after your departure, this will render that Applicant liable to a fee to cover the costs of having to Spring Clean the entire property. This would mean a contract cleaning company coming in to carry this out and the likelihood of having to cancel the subsequent booking after yours. All costs would be passed on to you the Applicant.

Tastes of Lincolnshire
Please note that since mid-2007 The Conifers no longer participates in the Tastes of Lincolnshire scheme.

Telephone / e-mail / 'Last minute' Bookings
Once a booking has been taken via one of these methods, this will deem a contract has been formed and will render the Applicant and the members of the party subject to The Conifers Terms & Conditions of Hire, thus entering into a contract, which binds both you and us in various ways.

Terms & Conditions of Hire / Contract
Pleased be assured that our Terms & Conditions/Contract are in line with that of the large accommodation agencies in operation in the UK. Our Terms & Conditions/contract are in place to safeguard you and us.

The Conifers reserves the right to amend its trading Terms & Conditions of Hire without notice.

Definition of a Contract: Once The Conifers has accepted a booking from a guest; we normally have to honour it. A contract applies between both parties equally, whether the arrangement has been made verbally, over the telephone, by fax, by e-mail or in writing.

Unreasonable Behaviour
We would kindly ask you to show/act considerably whilst in residence and not to cause significant annoyance or become a nuisance to the occupants of the adjoining or surrounding properties.

Once the keys have been handed over, we the Owners also have the right to terminate a stay if the unreasonable behaviour of anyone in the party [and/or their guests] is likely to cause danger, significant annoyance or damage to the property. [Note that this also includes smoking by any member of the party or their visitors as it is designated a 'No Smoking' property. [See also Smoking.]

Vehicles
Your vehicle [and/or visitors] and its accessories and contents are left entirely at your/their risk. We the Owners shall not be responsible or liable for any damage from or to any vehicle from any cause whatsoever other than unless proven to be caused by a negligent act by ourselves, or our agents, or our employees or contractors whilst acting in the course of employment.

Accuracy and Representations
While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information either given written or orally, all representations are made in good-faith, and such representations will not create any liability on our part.

Breach of Contract
If there shall be a breach of any of these conditions by the Applicant and/or their party, the Owners or their Agent reserve the right to re-enter the property and terminate the tenancy without prejudice to the other rights and remedies of the Owners.

Finally, a warm welcome awaits you ... and it is hoped you enjoy your stay and visit again.