Terms and Conditions for Hilltop Farm Properties
When you submit a booking via our online reservation system you will receive an automatically generated booking summary by email to the email address you provide in the booking form. This does not form a contract between us. A contract shall only arise when your booking is subsequently confirmed in writing via a letter of confirmation sent to you by post or email.
The booking contract is only with the main party making the booking and making payments to Hilltop Farm Holidays, but other visitors on the booking form must be fully briefed on their obligations when staying in our properties, as laid out below – and the person making the booking is fully responsible for their actions.
Hilltop Farm provides non-smoking accommodation. Smoking anywhere on the premises is strictly prohibited.
You can arrive at the property at your convenience any time from 4 pm on your start day. There is no check-in procedure, access being through a key safe. You agree to depart no later than 10 am on your departure day.
We reserve the right to make temporary arrangements on site if there are interruptions to your enjoyment of the property due to, for example, a loss of water, electricity or gas supply or any failure of appliances. If you are forced to leave due to the interruption being prolonged or making the property effectively unusable then we will refund up to all monies paid at our discretion, depending on the nature and length of the interruption. Our maximum liability will be a refund of all monies paid to us for your stay. We do not accept responsibility for payment for alternative accommodation but we will assist you to find somewhere else as quickly as possible.
Please see Access Statement for information about those with reduced mobility
You agree to keep the property clean and tidy during your stay and return it at the end in the same condition in which you find it. Please inform us immediately if you find anything unsatisfactory so we have a chance to put things right. Please feel free to contact us for even minor irritations, which can often be put right within hours. The properties are thoroughly checked before your occupancy so we rarely incur problems.
Sub-letting of Hilltop Farm properties is strictly forbidden. Friends, who are not on the booking form, are welcome to visit the property during the day on a casual basis but if you wish them to stay overnight, you must let us know. We will try to accommodate them subject to any payment due to upgrade from any reduced occupancy rate offered, provided the maximum permitted occupancy is not exceeded.
You are responsible for any breakage during your stay, whether accidental or avoidable and we will expect you to make immediate settlement prior to your departure. We do not usually charge for minor wear and tear items but we still appreciate being informed so they can be replaced or repaired for the next customers.
We expect to leave you in privacy during your stay but reserve the right to access the property at any reasonable hour if we have reason to suspect that it may be subject to improper use or flagrantly ignoring the terms of occupancy. If necessary we may terminate the booking immediately and treat it as a cancellation by you.
We do not accept any liability for any damage, loss or injury to any member of your party or any vehicles or possessions, unless proven to be caused by a negligent act by ourselves or our employees or contractors whilst acting in the course of employment.
You may leave the property at your convenience prior to 10 am on your departure day. The key should be left in the key-safe where you found it on arrival.
Any data gathered during the course of this booking may be held on computer and used to contact you but will not be passed on to any third party. We may occasionally send you mailings but you may unsubscribe at any time, when your name will be removed from our database.
Dogs are allowed in Hilltop Barn subject to the appropriate payment and the understanding that they must not access any room in the premises other than the barn kitchen, where they may sleep overnight. There is a gate at the top of the stairs in the barn which must be kept closed. Pets are not permitted in Hilltop Cottage.
This agreement confers no protection to the occupier under the Housing act 1988. Occupancy is restricted to the dates specified on the booking form. No changes to décor or alterations of any kind are permitted during your stay. On any occasion when occupancy for greater than two weeks consecutively is permitted guests may be asked to vacate the property completely for a 6 hour period at the end of each two weeks for cleaning and inspection.
We very much look forward to seeing you and hope you will thoroughly enjoy your stay at Hilltop Farm – and return one day to help us finance the continued improvements to our conservation area for your enjoyment.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THIS CANCELLATION POLICY BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY PAYMENT
CANCELLATION CAUSED BY GOVERNMENT ADVICE NOT TO TRAVEL (e.g .Covid restrictions)
You will be given a full refund of all money paid, without deductions, if you wish.
As an alternative you may change your dates to any alternative dates within a defined advance period, usually 12 months, but the price will be that advertised for those dates on the website. This may trigger either a partial refund to you or a balance due from you if you move to a higher priced peak week. We do not ask you to make an immediate election of dates, so you can wait until your circumstances become clearer, although clearly availability reduces with time.
NORMAL CANCELLATION TERMS
Please remember that once you have made your booking you have blocked the date slots from any other customers. With self-catering accommodation we cannot afford to lose weeks which are subsequently cancelled without putting our prices up significantly, so we feel it is fairer for our customers to have strict cancellation conditions. However we are happy to change dates for you without charge up to 56 days prior to your original arrival date.
If we cancel your booking, for any reason but typically if the property has become unusable, we will give you a full refund of any monies paid and we will endeavour to assist you with finding alternative accommodation in the area. We do not take any responsibility for any associated losses you may incur.
If you cancel your booking (but not if you change it) then your deposit is forfeit. You contract to pay in full eight weeks prior to your date of arrival. In the event of full payment having been made you will risk losing it. To be certain you may like to consider the Booking Protect on the booking form. (If you have an annual multi-trip insurance policy you may already be covered). We will endeavour to rebook your slot immediately we are notified of your cancellation. If we are successful we will refund to you the amount received for the replacement booking (less a £30 administration fee). Clearly a last minute cancellation is unlikely to be replaced.
We reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled if your balance of payment is not paid on time but we will always contact you first, initially by an automatically generated email.
We strongly recommend that you take out the insurance offered to you on the booking form or make sure you are covered elsewhere.