1. TO MAKE A BOOKING. Please telephone our office on 017687 74060 or 01228 591555 to check your chosen property is available on the dates you require. We can then hold this provisionally for 3 days (unless it is a last minute booking then we sell on a first come first served basis) giving you time to complete the booking form and send in your cheque, alternatively you may pay by credit/debit card at the time of booking over the telephone.

2. CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING. A deposit of £60 per bedroom per week is required to confirm your booking. If however you are booking within 8 weeks of your holiday, payment must be made in full when confirming your holiday. Please note your holiday is not confirmed until you have received written confirmation from Lakes Cottage Holidays and we reserve the right to refuse any booking before we have issued the written holiday confirmation form. Your booking is made as a consumer and you accept that we cannot be liable for any business losses you may incur. You must be over 18 years of age at the time of making your booking. As soon as you receive the written confirmation form, you must check it carefully. Any errors must be reported to us immediately.

3. BALANCE PAYMENT. The balance of your holiday is due at least 8 weeks prior to holiday commencement. This can be paid by forwarding a cheque to our Carlisle office or telephoning your credit/debit card details to our office on 017687 74060. Non payment of the final balance when it comes due will constitute cancellation of the holiday and forfeit of the deposit.

4. CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS. To recover the credit card company charges levied on the company we levy a 3% surcharge and this will be added to any credit card payment. There is no charge for switch or debit card.

5. HOLIDAY COST. The prices quoted are in £ sterling for 7 nights accommodation from the changeover day as stated against the individual property. Included in the price is gas, electric, fuel (unless otherwise stated against the individual property details) and bed linen.

6. OUR PROPERTIES. Our properties are inspected by Visit Britain or by ourselves, properties still awaiting their official grading have been graded by us with the grade we believe will be awarded by Visit Britain and could change on inspection. These are shown as LCH *.

7. ALTERATIONS TO THE BROCHURE. The company endeavours to ensure the information contained in this brochure provided by owners is correct. However the information may have changed by the time you book so you must ensure you check all details of your chosen property including prices when you book. The owners and company always try to maintain the very best facilities and services to our holidaymakers and changes may have occurred since brochure production. The company cannot accept any responsibility for any inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information about any property, its facilities and or services except in the case of negligence by the company.

8. SHORT BREAKS. These can be arranged out of season and at short notice during the high season, please telephone 017687 74060 to discuss your requirement.

9. OCCUPANCY. Your property group must not exceed the maximum number of people the property will sleep as detailed in the brochure description. If it does the owner/caretaker can refuse to allow you to take possession of the property or make you leave before the end of the holiday. If this happens we will treat your holiday as cancelled by you and you will not be entitled to a refund of monies or compensation. Where the property has the facility to sleep extra ie 4/6 a charge of £25 per person per week/part week will be charged for the extra people. Bed linen is NOT supplied for sofa/extra beds.

10. PETS. Please check individual property details for pet friendly properties. There must be no evidence your pet has been at the property when you depart. There is a charge of £20 per pet per week/part week).

11. TRAVEL COTS. Most of our properties have a travel cot available to hire, please check the individual property description. A charge of £10 per week/part week is made for the hire of a cot. Please note unless otherwise stated the cots provided are travel cots and there is only 1 cot available per property. We do NOT provide linen for the cots.

12. TOWELS. Some of our properties provide towels (the majority of our cottages DO NOT provide towels), please check the individual brochure description.

13. KEY COLLECTION. Your property is available from 3.00pm or 4.00pm (please check your confirmation) on day of arrival and must be vacated by 10.00am on day of departure, unless otherwise stated on your holiday confirmation. Keys can be collected prior to the stated time however your property will not be guaranteed to be ready prior to this. In some instances we may be able to bring forward the entry time or extend the departure time, however we do require advance notice and we will only be able to confirm we are able to change the times 3 days before holiday commencement. Keys must be returned to the collection point prior to midday on the day of departure, unless otherwise agreed.

14. CARE OF COTTAGES. Our cottages are lovingly cared for and we ask that you treat the cottage with respect and leave it clean and tidy. Please report any damage/breakage’s to the cottage owner or the local office on or before departure in order for us to fix/replace these prior to the next guests coming in. Damage/breakage’s caused through neglect may be charged for, in this case we will contact you within 72 hours of departure. Some properties have a breakage deposit payable, this is to be paid 1 week before your holiday commences and will be returned within 7 days of your departure subject to no damages.

15. COMPLAINTS. You must report immediately to the owner or local office, whereupon, if possible, the matter will be resolved straight away. If the matter has not been resolved to your satisfaction, you must refer any problem to our Head Office in Carlisle. Reporting complaints after your holiday is too late for us to rectify and properly investigate.

16. ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATION. In the unlikely event that we are unable to arrange the holiday accommodation requested, we will endeavour to offer alternative accommodation of a similar type as that originally requested. If the alternative accommodation is not acceptable to the holidaymaker, Lakes Cottage Holidays will refund in full all monies paid.

17. CANCELLATION. If you cancel your holiday prior to 8 weeks before commencement the full deposit will be non refundable, within 8 weeks, cancellation costs are 100% of the holiday cost. We recommend you take out a suitable insurance to cover your holiday.

18. UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL. Compensation payments will not apply where we cannot fulfil our obligations due to circumstances beyond our control. This would mean any event we or the owners cannot foresee with all due care, eg riots, war or threat of war, terrorist activity, civil strife, natural or nuclear disaster, industrial dispute, adverse weather conditions, fire epidemic or health risk and similar factors beyond our control.

19. PROPERTY AVAILABILITY. Our owners renew their contracts annually in October and any bookings made prior to this for the forthcoming year can not be guaranteed if the owner should cancel their contract with us. However if we feel this is a possibility we will endeavour to inform you prior to booking. Any bookings made which we can not honour for this reason will be offered alternative accommodation or a full refund of all monies paid.

20. TERMINATION. Lakes Cottage Holidays reserve the right to forthwith terminate any letting in the event that the hirer or any of the hirer’s party cause any deliberate or negligent damage to the property being let, behaves in such a way to cause or constitute a nuisance to adjoining properties or have more people staying in the property than listed on the booking form. In such cases the hirer shall remain liable for the cost of any damage or outstanding rental and shall not be entitled to a refund.