TERMS & CONDITIONS

Terms& Conditions

BookingTerms & Conditions updated May 2022. 

Thank you for choosing tobook with us. Any reference to either ‘us’ or ‘we’ or ‘owners’ in these bookingconditions refers to Mermaid Cottage, ‘you’ or ‘your’ or ‘guest’ or ‘party leader’are references to the person making the booking and all members of the holidayparty. So that you understand the basis of the contract between you and us whenyou book your accommodation, we have laid out as clearly as possible, theconditions on which your booking is made. Nothing in these conditions affectsyour normal statutory rights. Please read our terms and conditions of bookingbelow:

YourBooking

You must be at least 18 yearsold when you book your accommodation.  Your booking is made as a consumerand you acknowledge that no liability can be accepted for any business lossessuffered or incurred by you. When we issue our written confirmation to you weenter into a contract with you, the party leader, which is subject to thesebooking conditions. Any disputes or queries will be between the party leaderand the owners. The party leader will assume responsibility for the whole partyand the compliance with these rules of all party members. We have the right torefuse any booking prior to the issue of our written confirmation, and if we dothis we will tell you in writing and promptly refund any money you have paidus. When your confirmation is received, the details must be checked carefully.If anything is not correct you should tell us immediately.

A deposit of £220 per week ispayable immediately (within 48 hrs of receiving our invoice) at this point yourbooking becomes binding, subject to the approval of these terms and conditions.These are being sent with your accommodation invoice, if you are not happy withany part of these terms and conditions, you are not obligated to proceed withyour booking. No bookings are valid until confirmed by receipt of depositpayment. We reserve the right to accept or refuse bookings. The bookingconditions will apply to all confirmed bookings. Please take your time to readthese conditions.

Numberof Occupants

The number of personsoccupying the property must not exceed the maximum number stipulated in ourproperty descriptions (6 in 3 bedrooms and an extra 2 infants in travel cots ormoses baskets). We reserve the right to refuse entry to the entire party ifthis condition is not observed. This must be adhered to and before your bookingis confirmed, the person who made the booking must complete the Enquiry formvia our webpage www.mermaidcott.com which is automatically sent to theiremail once they select ‘submit’ on the website. Parties must not exceed thenumbers specified above and the owner reserves the right to ask customers tovacate if this is abused. Please make sure that the accommodation you bookmeets your requirements. We do not accept Hen and Stag parties due to thelocation of the property.

Payingfor your accommodation

A deposit of £220 of thebooking price is payable immediately, at this point your booking becomesbinding and the guest is responsible for the full balance of the cost of theholiday. The balance of the booking cost must be received by us nolater than 1 week before your arrival date, bank deposit details will bedetailed on the invoice.  We reserve the right to cancel thebooking if full payment has not been received 7 days prior to your arrival. Ifyou book less than 4 weeks before the arrival date, or book 3 nights or less,payment of the total cost is due straightaway. All payments are preferred by banktransfer.

Cancellationof booking by you

We do understand there arecircumstances when cancellations are required. If you need to cancel yourbooking, you must contact us as soon as possible. We accept cancellations up to7 days before.

The £220 booking deposit is alegal contract and non-refundable.  However, we will make every effort to reletthe property once formal cancellation has been received and if we are able torelet at the same price for the same dates, the deposit will be refunded toyou.

We strongly recommend youtake out holiday insurance against cancellation dueto adverse weather (and your inability to reach the property), ill-health orbereavement etc. If we have the availability and your stay is moved within onemonth of the original arrival date due to weather, ill-health or bereavement,we will honour the change of dates.

Cancellationof booking by us/Disruption to your stay.

We have the right to cancelyour booking in advance and you will be refunded the full amount of thebooking. We would only cancel your holiday if your accommodation is unavailable(“unavailability” does not extend to your inability to reach the property, dueto adverse weather for example) for reasons beyond our control. In this circumstance,we would refund all monies paid by you for the holiday. Our liability would notextend beyond this refund. Except where otherwise expressly stated in theseconditions, Mermaid Cottage shall not be liable for any changes, cancellations,effect on your holiday, loss or damage suffered by you or for any failure byMermaid Cottage to properly perform any of their respective obligations to youwhich is due to any event(s) or circumstance(s) beyond the reasonable controlof Mermaid Cottage (ie “force majeure”). By way of example, force majeureincludes fire, flood, power grid supply issues, exceptional weather conditions(ie your inability to reach the property due to snow), epidemics, destructionor damage of the property by any cause (other than negligence of MermaidCottage) and all similar situations. We would however, happily have aconversation with you about your options and try to work with you finding asolution, as we accept, whilst these situations are very rare, they can happenand affect everyone.

Damageto property

You are responsible to theowner for the actual costs of any breakage or damage in or to theaccommodation, along with any additional costs that may result, which arecaused by you or your party. No repairs of any kind to the property or contentsmust be attempted by you or your party. Any damage must be reported immediatelyto the owners. Please let us know about any problem with any appliance orfixture or fitting as soon as possible and we will ensure that, within areasonable time, this is repaired or alternative arrangements are made. If thisis something we cannot fix whilst you are staying at the property and webelieve the breakage or damage will actually impact your experience, then we beable to consider a gesture of apology.

Can we please ask that youonly use the toilet rolls provided during your stay (to avoid any blockages orflooding to our property).

Accidents,injury, and personal property

The owners shall have noliability to you for the death or personal injury to you or any member of yourparty, including your dog(s). Visitors are asked to take care at all timeswhile on our property. Parents in particular are asked to ensure that childrenare safe, accompanied by a responsible adult and not left unattended. We do notaccept responsibility or liability for injury or damage to and loss of guestsproperty, cars and contents and you agree to indemnify and hold us harmlessfrom and against all actions, claims, costs and proceedings (includingreasonable legal fees incurred in defending the same) arising from your acts oromissions (and those in your party) while on our property. In the event ofguest misbehaviour or other necessary cause, we reserve the right to terminatethe holiday rental without any refund of rental monies.

Websiteand advertisements

The owners aim to ensure thatthe information and descriptions provided are accurately conveyed on theofficial website (www.mermaidcott.com) and any authorised social networks. We cannot accept responsibility for any changes or closuresto local area amenities or attractions mentioned on the website or advertisedelsewhere.

Arrivaland departure

Your accommodation will beavailable to you after 3pm on the start date of your holiday and you must leaveby 10am on the last day. The period before and after your stay is probablybooked by other guests, so please respect our check in and departure times sowe have enough time to prepare for the next group (the result of your latedeparture could incur charges as a result of housekeeping staff being preventedfrom accessing the property at the agreed departure time).  We may also beable to offer early check in or late check out subject to availability.

You must allow the owner orany representative of the owner access to the property at any reasonable timeduring your stay. Your right to occupy the property is limited to a right ofoccupation for holiday purposes and such right shall terminate at 10am on thescheduled date of the completion of the holiday.

Bed linen, toilet rolls, tea towels andbath towels are provided and included in the price of the holiday. Please notewe can supply free of charge travel cots, bed guards, highchair, stairgate andbaby monitor. We do not accept any responsibility for use of this equipment.

If you are staying at MermaidCottage for more than 2 weeks, we will provide you with a change of linen forall beds being used and clean towels for all original guests.  If yourequire a change of bedding or towels during your stay due to unforeseeablecircumstances please contact us direct. Alternatively we provide a washingmachine should you wish to refresh them during your stay.

Cleaningon departure

Although we do not expect theproperty to be fully cleaned, we would kindly ask you to:

• Leave used towels in the bath or in a pile in the shower enclosure.

• Empty the bins and put all rubbish in the correct recycling bins provided outside.

• Removal of your dog poop from the courtyard and garden areas. If you have used the dog poop bins please empty these into the Red bins at the entrance and in the park adjacent to Mermaid Cottage in the grounds of the All Saints Church on St Annes Road. 

• Wash and put away ANY used dishes. Do not leave them in the drainer for cleaning staff to put away on your behalf. 

• Close windows and lock the doors

• Put any furniture back as you found it

We reserve the right to makea charge if our home is left in an excessively dirty condition.

Yourresponsibilities

For the whole period includedwithin your booking, you will be responsible for the property and will beexpected to take all reasonable care of it.  Please use the throws,blankets and dog towels to preserve our property. 

Smoking/Vaping/Electroniccigarettes/illegal Drug usage (supply & taking)

Inside Mermaid Cottage,smoking/Vaping & drug taking/supplying is strictly prohibited. We reservethe right to cancel your stay immediately if we are notified or suspect illegalactivities are being held at Mermaid Cottage and seek compensation (includingconsequential loss) for any damage and additional costs of cleaning or firealarm activations caused by a guest smoking inside the property. Consequentialcosts may be incurred where it is not possible to remove the smell ofsmoke/drugs from the property, prior to the arrival of the next guest whosubsequently demands compensation from ourselves. Note we also do not permitthe use of candles, both from a fire risk point of view and to avoid any alarmactivations that may result in the call out of the fire service.

Outside Mermaid Cottage, youare free to smoke. Please use the sand bucket provided in the courtyard. Also please do notdispose of cigarettes anywhere apart from in the sand bucket provided.

Amenities

The use of the amenities ‘ie’the BBQ, Ironing Board, Iron, the board games etc is entirely at the users’risk and no responsibility can be accepted for injury, or loss or damage tousers, dogs or visitors belongings. Please ensure you seek advice on how to usethese items safely if in doubt. Please feel free to use any games/small toysbut it is your responsibility to ensure you use them properly and do not leaveyoung children unsupervised as they may get hurt.

We kindly ask you to avoidamending the controls of the central heating. Current heating is provided whenthe temperature is below 18° during the hours of 6am-9am and 6pm-9pm. We haveset the temperature between 18 and 21 degrees depending on the season. When additional heating is required info regarding resetting of the centralheating can be found in the Mermaid Cottage user guide.

Front room Lamp is on a timerswitch which provides additional lighting between 5pm-10pm.  Pleaserefrain from switching this off or amending the timings. If you need to switchoff the unit then push the Manual button.

Fireworks/Outdoormusic

Use of fireworks/lanterns arenot permitted under any circumstances at any time. Please refrain from playingmusic outside too loud and after 10pm. We want you to enjoy yourselves and have a relaxed stay. Please respect our neighbours. 

Problems& Complaints

Every effort has been made toensure that you have an enjoyable and memorable holiday. If however, you haveany problem or cause for complaint it is essential that you contact usimmediately to give us the chance to resolve it. It is important that this isdone whilst you are still at the property so that an on-the-spot investigationcan be made if necessary and remedial action taken if required.

If this isn’t possible, wewill try to resolve the issue over the phone with you. Please note any problemsbetween the hours of 7am – 9.30pm Monday to Friday, 9am – 9pm Saturday/Sunday,you can contact us on 07766 408074.

Any problems outside of thesehours please contact for emergencies only, that CANNOT WAIT, on the samenumber as above. In no circumstances will compensation be considered forcomplaints raised after the holiday has ended, when the guests have denied theowners the opportunity of investigating the complaint and endeavouring toremedy matters during the holiday.

LostProperty

Please contact us as soon aspossible if you think you have left any personal items the property after yourdeparture. Should you wish your items to be returned, we will happily do so butthe postage must be paid in advance by you. In the event of us finding anyproperty, we will contact you and if we have not had a response from you within28 days, we will dispose of the item, based on their condition, as we see fit.But we will try to make contact with you after you return home, if any itemsare found by house keeping.

Data/Privacy

All electronic datatransferred pursuant to these terms and conditions remains the property of theowners or their agents and may not be replicated in part or whole without theowners prior written permission. Electronic data will not be preservedindefinitely by the owners.

Changesto Terms

We may revise these termsfrom time to time.

If we revise these termsprior to your arrival date, we will email you with a new copy. You can chooseto cancel the booking agreement, if any new terms are no longer suitable toyou.

Rights Mermaid Cottagemay transfer their rights and obligations under these terms to anotherorganisation, and will notify you in writing if this happens but this will notaffect your rights or Mermaid Cottage obligations under these terms. 

Breachof Contract

If there is a breach of any of theseclauses by the Guest or any of their party, the Owners reserves the right tore-enter the property and end the holiday and ask the Guest and their party toleave.

If there is a breach of any of theseconditions by the Owners, then the Guests have the right to end the holiday andleave.

Ending the holiday by the Owner orthe Guest does not affect that party’s other rights and remedies.

Each of the paragraphs of theseterms operate separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that anyof them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in force.

ValidityClause

If any term or provision inthese booking terms and conditions is found by any court, tribunal oradministrative body or competent jurisdiction to be wholly or partly illegal,invalid, void, voidable, unenforceable or unreasonable it shall to the extent ofsuch illegality, invalidity, voidness or unreasonableness be deemed to beseverable and the remaining provisions of the booking conditions and theremainder of such provision shall continue in full force and effect.

Jurisdictionand Governing Law

These terms and governed byEnglish Law. You agree to submit to non-exclusive jurisdiction of the EnglishCourts. However, if you are a resident of Northern Ireland, you may also bringproceedings in Northern Ireland and if you are a resident in Scotland you may alsobring proceedings in Scotland.

Please note that thesebooking conditions supersede all previous issues.