Terms and Conditions
Elite Retreats Limited t/a Elegant Escapes - Booking Conditions
These Booking Conditions will form the basis of your agreement with Elite Retreats Limited trading as Elegant Escapes (hereafter “we”). They apply only to holiday arrangements which we agree to make, provide or perform as part of our agreement with you. References in these Booking conditions to “arrangements” mean such holiday arrangements.
Where we have booked only one element of travel for you
If we have only booked one element of travel (for example just a flight or just a hotel) then this is will not be a package holiday. We will be acting as a booking agent for the supplier concerned, and accept no liability for the provision of the product/service involved. In these circumstances, your contract will be with the ultimate supplier of the arrangements in question (such as the hotel or airline) and the terms and conditions of that supplier will apply to your booking. Those terms and conditions may limit and/or exclude the supplier’s liability to you. Copies are available on request from us.
Notwithstanding the above clauses 2, 3 and 4 of these Booking Conditions will apply to these reservations.
Where we have booked more than one element of travel for you
Where we have booked a prearranged combination of at least two from the following (a) transport
(b) accommodation, (c) other tourist services accounting for a significant proportion of the package and which are not ancillary to transport or accommodation then this will be providing a packaged holiday for You and the rest of these Booking Conditions will apply.
Changes to these Booking Conditions will only be valid if agreed by one of our directors in writing.
1. Booking and Confirmation
Should you proceed with a booking with us (either verbally, e mail, by writing or conduct either directly with us or through an agent on our behalf) then you will be deemed to have accepted these Booking Conditions at the time the booking is placed. You will be required at the time to make payments referred to in clause 2 below. The first named person on the booking will be the party leader and will be responsible for making all payments due to us. He/she must be at least 18 and by proceeding with the booking, the party leader confirms that he/she is so authorised to do so on behalf of the whole party and that all party members agree to be bound by these Booking Conditions. A binding agreement will come into existence once we have been given authority to proceed with the booking.
After we receive your confirmation and all appropriate payments, if the arrangements you wish to book are available, we will issue a confirmation invoice.
Contact us immediately if any information appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later.
2. Payment
In order to confirm your chosen arrangements, you must pay a deposit as specified by us at the time of the booking. In the absence of us specifying the deposit it shall be the greater of a) 10% of the full cost of your holiday b) £150 per passenger or c) full payment if the booking is within 60 days of departure.
The balance of the cost of your arrangements (including any surcharge where applicable) is
due not less than 60 days prior to departure. If we do not receive this balance in full and on
time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in clause 4 below will become payable.
3. The price of your arrangements
We reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in quoted prices at any time before your holiday is confirmed. The price of your chosen holiday will be confirmed at the time of booking.
Once the price of your arrangements has been confirmed, no amendment will be made to it unless it is to make an error correction or if our costs change as a result of an increase or decrease in transportation costs or dues, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports or as a result of any changes in the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your arrangements. Except in the case of error we will only make an additional charge if the amount of the increase in our costs exceeds 2% of the total cost of your arrangements (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges).
If any additional charge is greater than 10% of the cost of your arrangements (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to cancel the holiday without charge should you wish. If you do not inform us of your choice within 7 days from the issue date printed on our additional charge invoice, we are entitled to assume that you will pay the additional charge. We will not levy an additional charge nor make a refund within 30 days of departure.
4. Changes and Cancellation by you
If you need to make any changes to your confirmed arrangements, you must request the change in writing as soon as possible. Whilst we will try to assist, we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met. Where we can meet them, an amendment fee of £40 (or 60 euros if paying in euros) per person will be payable along with any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers.
If you or a member of your party needs to cancel your confirmed arrangements, the party leader must immediately advise us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will take effect when it is received at our offices.
The following cancellation charges will apply depending on when the customer cancels:-
| Period before departure when cancellation takes place | Minimum cancellation charge per customer cancelling |
| More than 60 days | Deposit* |
| 46 – 60 days | 50%* |
| 32 - 45 days | 70%* |
| 15 – 31 days | 90%* |
| 14 days or less | 100%* |
* If there are any charges levied by other travel suppliers (such as airlines, transfer companies, hotels etc..) that remain with us following your cancellation then we are entitled to increase the minimum cancellation charge set out above to cover these additional charges.
You may be able to reclaim these charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of a travel insurance policy you may hold. If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you) providing we are notified not less than 60 days before departure and you pay an amendment fee of £40 (or 60 euros if paying in euros) and meet all costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers.
For flight inclusive bookings, you must pay the charges levied by the airline concerned and because most airlines do not permit name changes after tickets have been issued, these charges are likely to be the full cost of the flight.
5. Insurance
We consider adequate travel insurance to be essential. We would strongly recommend that you take our insurance cover which can cover cancellations by you and assistance in the event of accident or illness. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is suitable and adequate for your particular needs. We suggest that you do this now rather than waiting until departure as policies can often cover cancellation charges.
6. Changes and cancellation by us
Because we begin planning the arrangements for your booking many months in advance, we must reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in holiday details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. We must also reserve the right to cancel confirmed bookings in certain circumstances:-
a) Cancellation because of your failure to pay
Notwithstanding any other provisions in these Booking Conditions if we do not receive the correct payment(s) for your booking by the due date then we may cancel the your booking immediately whereupon you will lose the right to any refund of sums paid to date. You will also not be entitled to any compensation.
b) Cancellation due to “Force Majeure”
Very rarely, we may be forced by “force majeure” such as acts of God (see clause 7) to change or terminate your booking either before or after departure. If this situation does occur, we will refund such monies as you have paid to us having first deducted any monies that we have paid to our suppliers in respect of your booking which they have not refunded to us. This will be the sum total of our liability to you and we will not be liable to pay you compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.
c) Cancellation of significant changes in other circumstances
Most changes we may have to make to bookings are minor but occasionally, we may have to make a “significant change”. Examples of “significant changes” include the following when made before departure; a change of accommodation area for the whole or a major part of your holiday, a change of accommodation to that of a lower official classification for the whole or a major part of your holiday, a change of departure point to one which is more inconvenient for you, a change of outward departure time or overall length of your holiday of twelve or more hours, the closure of the only or all advertised swimming pool(s) at your accommodation for an extended period and, in the case of tours, a significant change of itinerary missing out one or more major destination substantially or altogether.
If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-
(a) (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements or
(b) purchasing alternative arrangements from us, of a similar standard to those originally booked if available (if the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will ask you to pay the difference) or,
(c) cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us. If we have to make a significant change or cancel 60 days or less before departure, subject to the exceptions below, we will pay you the following amount in compensation:
| Period before departure a significant change or cancellation is notified to you or your travel agent |
Compensation per person (excluding infants) |
| 32 – 60 days | £50 |
| 15 – 31 days | £75 |
| 14 days or less | £100 |
We will not pay you compensation where we make a significant change or cancel more than 60 days before departure or in the event that we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care.
We will not pay you compensation and the above options will not be available if we make a minor change or cancel as a result of your failure to make full payment on time.
We regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred by you as a result of
any change or cancellation.
7. Force Majeure
In these Booking Conditions, “force majeure” means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, actual or threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, volcanic ash, fire and all similar events outside our control. Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our obligations under our agreement with you is prevented or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss (as more fully described in clause 8.1. below) as a result of force majeure.
8. Our Liability to you
8.1. We promise that your holiday arrangements will be made, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury as a result of the failure of ourselves to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing your arrangements. Further, we will be responsible for what our employees, do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment or carrying out work we had asked them to do.
It is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to
make a claim against us.
8.2. We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description whatsoever which results from: -
(a) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
(b) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your arrangements and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or
(c) ‘force majeure’ as defined in clause 7 above.
8.3. We limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any claims you may make against us.
The maximum amount we will have to pay you where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money) is £50 per person affected unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under this clause or clause 8.4. below.
For all other claims which do not involve death or personal injury, the maximum amount we will have to pay you if we are found liable to you on any basis is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under clause 8.4. below.
This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday.
8.4. Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay you will be limited. The most we will have to pay you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier or hotel keeper concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (for example, the Warsaw Convention as amended for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EU Regulation on Air Carrier Liability for national and international travel by air, the Athens convention for international travel by sea).
Where a carrier or hotel would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable International Convention or Regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we will not be obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question.
Copies of the applicable international conventions and regulations are available from us on request.
8.5. We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement or where they are not advertised by us. For example any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.
8.6 The standards and regulations of the country in which the facts giving rise to your claim or complaint occurred and the promises we make to you about your arrangements, will be used as the basis for deciding whether the arrangements in question were provided with reasonable skill and care. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable holiday maker to refuse to take the holiday in question.
8.7 This clause 8 is intended to set out our obligations to you as an organiser under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. We will not accept any further or different liability than these Regulations impose. In addition, regardless of any contrary representations made by us, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any further or different liability to you.
8.8. You must tell us and the supplier concerned about your claim or complaint as set out in clause 10 below. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us or our insurers any rights you have
against whoever is responsible for your claim or complaint and provide ourselves and our insurers with all co-operation and assistance that may be reasonably required.
8.9. We do not accept liability for (1) any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description which, based on the information you gave us at the time of booking, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; (2) any business losses.
9. Complaints and problems.
In the unlikely event that you have any reason to complain or experience any problems with your holiday arrangements whilst away, you must immediately inform our representative and the supplier of the service(s) in question. Any verbal notification must be confirmed in writing as soon as possible. Most problems or complaints can be resolved while you are away, however if you remain dissatisfied, you must write to us within 28 days of your return giving your booking reference and full details of your complaint. We regret we cannot accept liability for any complaints or claims which do not involve death, personal injury or illness, if you fail to notify the complaint or claim in accordance with this clause.
10. Behaviour.
If we or any other person in authority is of the reasonable opinion that you or any member of your party is behaving in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger or upset to any other person or damage to property, we will be entitled to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned. The person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service and we will have no further responsibility to them including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination. You will be responsible for making full payment for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party during your time away.
Payment must be paid direct at the time to the service supplier concerned failing which, you will
be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions.
11. Special requests and medical problems
If you wish to make a special request, you must do so at the time of booking. We will try to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier but we cannot guarantee that requests will be met. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your chosen holiday arrangements, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm the booking or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.
12. Excursions
We may provide you with information about activities and excursions which are available to purchase through independent suppliers in the area you are visiting. Where we have not agreed to arrange, provide or perform these activities or excursions as part of our agreement with you, subject to these booking conditions, we do not accept any responsibility for them even where we suggest or recommend a particular operator or supplier and/or assist you in any way in booking such activities or excursions.
13. Visas, Passports and Health requirements
Visas.
Many countries require entry visas which must be obtained before the date of departure. The visa requirements for each country depend on many factors, such as nationality, length of stay, purpose of stay and they can change at short notice. Therefore although we can provide advice on the current requirements, it is essential that you contact the relevant embassy at least 30 days prior to departure.
We will not be held responsible if you fail to obtain or comply with the relevant visa requirements.
Passports.
It is an entry requirement of most countries that you and all members of your party, including children, are in possession of valid passports at the time of travel. Recent legislation requires that passports are valid for 6 months after you return date and the airlines/ immigration official may prohibit access unless this rule is observed. Please also ensure that the name on the passport corresponds with your airline tickets and that your passport contains sufficient blank pages to allow for immigration stamps.
We will not be held responsible if you fail to obtain or comply with relevant passport requirements.
Health and vaccinations.
Many countries require certificates for mandatory vaccinations depending upon recent travel and current policy. In addition, the World Health Organisation and UK authorities have their own recommendations that change from time to time. Therefore it is essential that you contact your doctor or a qualified practitioner for advice on vaccinations and prophylaxis required in any of the countries to be visited.
Please note that as tour operators we are not qualified to provide medical advice. Some vaccinations and prophylaxis courses must be started up to 12 weeks before travel, so contact your doctor in plenty of time. We will not be held responsible if you fail to obtain or comply with relevant health requirements.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry correct documentation. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results to fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly.
14. Financial security
We hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence issued by the Civil Aviation Authority ATOL number 10012.
When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us you
will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where
you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things
go wrong."
We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).
If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.
15. Prices and Quotation Accuracy
Please note: The information and prices shown in the preliminary quotation may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking.
16. Delay
We regret we are not in a position to offer you any assistance in the event of delay at your outward or homeward point of departure. Any airline concerned may however provide refreshments etc. We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in clause 8.1. of these booking conditions (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) on the flight who, for example, fails to check in or board on time) or unless it has a significant effect on your holiday arrangements.
17. Flights
We are not always in a position at the time of booking to confirm the carrier(s), aircraft type and flight timings which will be used in connection with your flight. Where we are only able to inform you of the likely carrier(s) at the time of booking, we shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) or any change in the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of this. The carrier(s), flight timings and types of aircraft shown on your quotation and detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. The latest timings will be shown on your tickets which will be dispatched to you approximately two weeks before departure. You must accordingly check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. It is possible that flight times may be changed even after tickets have been dispatched - we will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs.
Any change in the identity of the carrier(s), flight timings, and/or aircraft type will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges.
Please note: The existence of a “Community list” (available for inspection at http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/flywell_en.htm) detailing air carriers that are subject to an operating ban with the EU Community.
Under EU Law, you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from the airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at EU airports and will also be available from airlines. Reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of the price of your arrangements from us. Your rights to a refund and/or compensation from us are set out in clause 8 above. If the airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the air transport users council on 020 7240 6061 or www.auc.org.uk.
Elite Retreats Limited
ATOL Number: 10012
Registered In
England & Wales
Number: 06712983
Registered Address
Unit 3 Church Court
11-12 Cox Street
Birmingham
B31RD
English Law alone will apply to our agreement with you and matters will be exclusively dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales.
