Terms and conditions
Within these Booking Terms and Conditions, “you” and “your” means the person making the booking but these Terms and Conditions apply to all other persons in the party. “We”, “us” and “our” means The Secret Cabin, North Berwick EH39 5PP at which a booking is made.
1. Booking contract
1.1 You (the person making the booking) agree to enter into a contract with us on the following terms and conditions.
1.2 You must be aged 21 years or over when the booking is made.
1.3 The contract commences when we have issued the written/email booking confirmation. We reserve the right to refuse any booking.
2. Booking procedure
2.1 Booking can be made direct online via the “Book your stay” link.
2.2 The booking rental or deposit of 25% of the rental, if booking is made more than 6 weeks before arrival date, must be made at time of booking (unless alternative arrangements have been agreed). For payment methods please see 3.2 below.
2.3 Bookings taken within 6 weeks of arrival at the Property must be paid in full at the time of booking.
2.4 Once we have received all appropriate payments, a confirmation email will be sent. Please contact us immediately if any information which appears on the confirmation is incorrect or incomplete.
2.5 The balance of the rental cost (see 4 below) must be made 6 weeks prior to your arrival at the Property failing which we reserve the right to treat the booking as cancelled. The balance payment will be taken automatically from the original payment source.
3. Prices and payment
3.1 Our quoted prices are for accommodation only. All prices include (where applicable) VAT, cleaning on departure, bed linen and towels, electricity, water, logs. Please note that beach towels are not included.
3.2 Payment may be made by card via Stripe or PayPal. Final balance payments are take automatically from the original payment source, please ensure your registered card is in date.
4. Your responsibilities
4.1 You must arrive and depart within the check-in and check-out times stipulated for the The Secret Cabin, unless special arrangements have been agreed in advance. Usually this is departure by 10am and arrival no earlier than 3pm.
4.2 You must keep The Secret Cabin and all furniture, fittings, facilities, equipment and grounds in the same state of repair and condition as at the commencement of the holiday and in the same state of cleanliness and general order in which they were found. We reserve the right to charge you for any additional cleaning required over the usual number of hours committed to departure cleaning.
4.3 You must report to us promptly any breakages or damage and you will be responsible for payment of any breakages, loss or damage to the Property and/or its contents caused by you.
4.4 You are responsible for the correct and decent behaviour of your party. Should you or a member of your party abuse the Property or display dangerous, offensive or rude behaviour to our representatives or any third parties (e.g. neighbours) we reserve the right to require the person(s) concerned to leave the Property.
4.5 You are responsible for you and your party maintaining acceptable levels of noise at the Property and within the grounds and vicinity of the property particularly between the hours of 10.00pm and 8.00am. In the event of you or any member of your party breaching this responsibility, we reserve the right to ask you to vacate the Property and the contract will terminate immediately without refund or compensation.
4.6 You must not exceed the maximum number of people stated in the Property details to reside at the Property nor sublet the Property. Please inform us of any changes to your party.
4.7 In the event of you breaching the responsibilities set out above, we reserve the right to ask you to vacate the Property and the contract will terminate immediately without refund or compensation save that you will remain liable for any costs or damages incurred by us as a result of your breaching these Booking Terms and Conditions and we reserve the right to charge you for such costs and damages.
5. Our liability and that of the owner
5.1 We do not accept liability for any loss, damage or injury howsoever caused to you (or anyone in your party) or to your vehicles or personal property. Any valuables left at the Property are left at your own risk. It is essential and your responsibility to ensure that all doors and windows are closed and locked when leaving the Property. We strongly advise that you take out adequate travel insurance (including liability for accidental damage to the Property, cancellation cover and medical and emergency expenses) prior to the commencement of your holiday.
5.2 Children should be monitored at all times and you should verify the suitability of children’s equipment which is provided as we cannot accept liability. You are responsible for the safety of your own children and consideration should be given in relation to the wood burning stove located in the property as no fire guards are provided.
5.3 We are not responsible for noise or disturbance originating beyond the boundaries of the Property.
5.4 We do not accept any liability for compensation where performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by reasons outside of our reasonable control, including adverse weather conditions, acts of God, explosion, tempest, fire or accident, war or threat of war, civil disturbances, restrictions and regulations of any kind on the part of the government or local authorities, strikes, lock-outs, or other industrial action or dispute.
5.5 We do not accept responsibility for the failure of public services such as water, electricity, plumbing or sewerage systems or unforeseen breakdown of domestic and mechanical equipment such as heating or plumbing systems and boilers (but will endeavour to arrange prompt repair).
5.6 All bookings and other arrangements made by us on your behalf with third parties (e.g. catering services) are subject to the terms and conditions imposed by these third parties. We do not take any commission for notifying you of such companies nor do we act as an agent on their behalf. We cannot accept responsibility for these services.
6. Access to the Property
We or our representatives have a right to access the Property at any reasonable time during your stay to carry out essential maintenance. We will endeavour to give reasonable notice to you if practicable.
7. Complaints
7.1 In the event that a complaint arises whilst you are on holiday you should contact us promptly to allow us an opportunity to rectify the matter.
7.2 If the problem is not resolved to your reasonable satisfaction during your holiday, you should put your comments in writing within seven days of your return.
7.3 We cannot accept complaints unless this procedure is followed. Complaints received after your holiday will not be accepted if we have not had prior notification of them and been given the opportunity to make matters right.
8. Alterations or cancellation by you
8.1 If you request any changes to your booking we will endeavour to comply, but cannot guarantee to be able to do so.
8.2 Cancellation by you of your booking must be in writing. The effective date of cancellation is the date we receive written notification. Our cancellation charges are detailed as follows:
The 25% deposit is non refundable but is transferable to a future booking if a date change is necessary.
Cancellations made within 6 weeks of arrival date and which have been paid in full are entitled to a 75% refund. We ask you to postpone and rearrange dates where possible as a first option. Where a date change is made there may be a difference in price and you will be asked to pay the additional cost or refunded where the new price is less than the original booking.
8.3 Transferable deposits – should you cancel your booking your deposit will be transferable so long as the new booking is made within 12 months of the original booking.
9. Alterations or cancellation by us
9.1 In the interest of continual improvement we reserve the right to make minor modifications to furniture, amenities and facilities without any prior notice.
9.2 In the unlikely event that the Property is not available on the date booked (owing for instance to essential major repairs, flood or fire damage), if requested and if available we will try to arrange alternative accommodation of a similar type, price, standard and location. A 75% refund of all monies paid by you to us is alternatively available.
10. Dogs
10.1 A maximum of 2 dogs are accepted in The Secret Cabin. They must not be left alone in the Property at any time and you must not allow pets on furniture (i.e. the bed and upholstered chairs) within the Property. You should remove all traces inside and outside the Property of pet occupation before final departure. You are liable for all damage caused by your pet whilst staying at the Property. We cannot be held responsible for the safety at your pet whilst staying at the Property.
10.2 Dogs are charged at £20 per dog per stay which will be added to your booking invoice.
10.3 We reserve the right to levy an additional charge for any extra cleaning required (above the usual number of hours committed to departure cleaning) after your occupancy with your pet.
10.4 Finally we ask that all dog owners observe the following rules, failure to do so may result in you being asked to leave without compensation.
Dogs must be under strict control at all times while in the property
Any fouling of lawns etc. must be cleared up without delay.
The owner must bring the dog’s bed, basket or cage for sleeping in.
Dogs MUST NOT be left alone in the property or elsewhere.
Dogs MUST NOT lie on beds or furnishings, and hair must be well cleared up before departing.
Dog owners must ensure that their pets are free from parasites and fleas before they occupy the property. Failure to do so will incur subsequent charges.
Each dog will incur an extra charge of £20 per stay per pet. However any damage (which must be reported to the owner immediately) or excessive cleaning that may incur an additional charge, which will be at our discretion.
11. Brochure and web site accuracy
11.1 The contents of our web site have been prepared in good faith. We will inform you of any significant changes at the time of booking or as soon after as practicable if you have already booked, but shall not be liable for any minor or insignificant inaccuracy in descriptions and information.
11.2 We do not accept responsibility for any changes or closures to local amenities or attractions mentioned in our brochures and on the web site.
12. Privacy policy
12.1 We make it our highest priority to ensure that your personal information provided to us is secure and confidential. We will not sell your personal information to third parties. We will only disclose any personal information when required to do so by any lawful authority or as required by law.
12.2 Some personal information may need to be passed to third parties where you have requested additional services, for instance chefs require dietary information.
12.3 We may use your data in the future to update you on our products. Please let us know if you would like your personal details to be removed from our database after your holiday.
13. Law
These terms and conditions and the contract to which they apply are governed in all respects by Scots law and the Scottish courts only shall have jurisdiction in relation to them.