Booking Essentials – What You Need to Know and Our Terms and Conditions

Our prices include:

• • Air conditioning where stated (99% of our villas are air-conditioned)

• • All linen except for beach and pool towels (some owners of luxury villas also provide beach and pool towels. Full details will be on the villa description page). Linen changes for 2 week rentals will be carried out every 4 or 5 days except for those villas where maid service is provided twice a week. All other linen changes are weekly.

• • A welcome pack of at least basic items to get you started. More substantial packs are provided in our luxury villas. Some welcome packs will have a local flavour and will include such things as fresh fruit, olive oil and wine but not necessarily T bags.

• • End of let cleaning. In some of our properties maid service is provided twice a week. Full details will be on the villa description page.

Equipment in villas :

• • All villas will be well equipped with a good proportion of bath/shower rooms to bedrooms.

• • Hairdryers are usually provided.

• • There will be plenty of wardrobe and drawer space.

• • Kitchens will normally have full cookers, fridge/freezers, washing machines (may be in the shower or bathroom), kettles, toasters, irons and ironing boards. Some villas will have dishwashers.

Cots and High Chairs:-

• We can provide cots and high chairs at all of our properties at NO EXTRA charge. Please note that many of these will be bought locally and they may not be of the same standard you would expect to see in the UK.

• You will need to supply all cot linen and pillows which are not supplied by our owners. If you need a cot or a high chair please request these at the time of booking.

Extra Persons:

• Many of our villas will accommodate one or two extra persons on sofa beds or Z beds. If this is the case the villa description will say so. The additional charges applicable are £50 per person per week to cover the cost of the extra bed linen and towels. Please note that whilst the villas may have the capacity to sleep one or two extra persons that the ideal number is likely to be the number we have indicated on the villa description.

Arrival and Departure :

• Your villa will be booked for you from 4pm on the day of arrival until 10am on the day of departure. If you have awkward flight times we will always try to accommodate you but please note that this is at the discretion of the local property owners or managers who may have several villas to prepare for incoming guests.

Contacts In Crete :

• All of our owners are either resident in Crete or have appointed English speaking property managers who act as a point of contact in the event of a problem with the accommodation or in the case of emergency.

• The directions to the villa that we will send you once you have paid your final balance will contain the telephone numbers for the owners or property mangers.

• All of our villas contain a detailed villa information manual with suggestions about places to visit and a list of emergency contact numbers for police, fire, ambulance, consulate etc

Keys :

• Detailed directions and information about where to collect or find the keys will be sent to you once you have paid your final balance.

Property Descriptions :

• We have tried very hard to make sure that the information given on this website is accurate. We will have inspected all the properties that we feature before we agree to include them in our portfolio. Our inspection is of a general nature to get a “feel” for the villa and its location; we do not carry out a detailed inspection for instance to count the number of sun umbrellas but we do ask owners and property managers to confirm facilities and amenities on a regular basis.

Pool and Garden Maintenance :

• Pools need to be cleaned on a regular basis in order to maintain them in a hygienic state, the pool maintenance company are likely to call at your villa several times during your stay in order to check and clean the pool. This is necessary maintenance work and we ask you to be accommodating. Similarly the gardens have to be maintained and the gardeners may visit the villa during your stay.

Linen Changes/Maid Service :

• Regular linen changes and sometimes maid service are carried out for your comfort – if you see this as an intrusion and would rather launder the linen yourselves and not have maid service during your stay please notify us no later than when you pay your final balance. We will notify the owner/ property manager of your request so that you are not disturbed.

Building Works :

• Western Crete has become very popular with Northern Europeans buying villas for permanent residence or for a second home. This has led to a boom in construction. Whilst we will not include any properties that are, at the outset, in the vicinity of building work, we cannot be held responsible for building work that commences subsequent to the inclusion of a villa in our portfolio. Building work can start at any time without any prior notice. We do ask owners to keep us updated about any changes to their villa and if we are advised of building work that is likely to affect your holiday we will inform you. Where possible we will offer you an alternative villa; if that is not possible we will offer you a full refund of all monies paid to us.

Complaints:

• If you have a complaint please notify the owner or property manager straight away so that we can endeavour to rectify the problem. 99% of the time complaints can be settled by the owner or property manager on the spot. If you feel that you are not getting a satisfactory answer to your complaint then please call us on 01332 880413 to advise us of the problem. Out of office hours please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. We cannot deal effectively with your complaint if you leave things until you return to the UK.

CRETE ESCAPES LTD – TERMS & CONDITIONS OF BOOKING  

• 1) Bookings are accepted by Crete Escapes Ltd, acting in its capacity as agent, for the owner of the accommodation reserved.
• 2) Villas are reserved from 16.00 on the day of arrival until 10.00 on the day of departure unless otherwise agreed.
• 3) Only the persons named on the booking form are entitled to stay at the property and in no circumstances must the maximum capacity of the villa be exceeded.
• 4) Bookings are treated as confirmed when the booking form and deposit/full payment has been received by Crete Escapes Ltd and a confirmation of booking has been issued
• 5) Details on the confirmation notice/ letter should be checked and any corrections should be notified immediately.
• 6) Deposits - The deposit is non – refundable.
• 7) Balances - The balance is due no later than 6 weeks prior to the villa rental commencing and by the date specified in the confirmation documents. On behalf of the villa owner, we reserve the right to cancel any bookings where the balance has not been paid by the due date.
• 8) Payment can be made by sterling cheque, direct bank transfer, debit or credit card (Mastercard or Visa). There is a 1.5% surcharge for balances (not deposits) paid by credit card to offset some of the additional costs incurred in processing credit card transactions. No charge for debit cards at any time.
• 9) Changes by you - If you want to make any changes to your confirmed booking, we will endeavour to assist you. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your request. An amendment fee may be payable to cover any costs we incur.
• 10) Cancellation - Cancellation charges are:
     a. 4 – 6 weeks prior to arrival - 50% of total rental
     b. 2 - 4 weeks prior to arrival - 75% of total rental
     c. Less than 2 weeks prior to arrival - full rental.
• 11) Insurance - We recommend that you take out comprehensive travel insurance as protection in case of cancellation and to cover you for medical etc costs should the unforeseen happen.
• 12) Changes by us - We (ie Crete Escapes Ltd and the villa owner) endeavour to avoid making changes to your confirmed booking but occasionally we may have to do so. We reserve the right to do this only if absolutely necessary. If we have to make a change to your booking, we will tell you as soon as possible and where we are able to, we will offer you an alternative of equal comfort, or offer you a full refund.
• 13) Our Responsibilities - We regret that we cannot accept responsibility for any diminished performance by us, our owners or any agents or any other supplier of services in the event of any event which we or the owner or any agent or other supplier of services could not have foreseen including war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, disasters of any kind, adverse weather conditions, fire and all other events outside our control.
• 14) Our Responsibilities - We (ie Crete Escapes Ltd and the villa owner) promise to provide your accommodation with all reasonable care. We do not accept responsibility if any death, injury, failure or deficiency arises through no fault of ours.
• 15) Our Responsibilities The promises we make about the accommodation are in accordance with the laws and regulations of Greece. In the event of any claim or complaint, the laws of Greece will be used as the basis for deciding whether the accommodation was properly provided. If the accommodation complied with the laws and regulations of Greece at the time, we will treat the accommodation as having been properly provided.
• 16) Your Responsibility - It is your responsibility to take good care of the property and its grounds and avoid causing nuisance to others. On behalf of the villa owner, we reserve the right to deduct costs from any security deposit to cover any damage, loss or unusual cleaning charges. If your conduct affects our relations with any service provider, we will hold you liable for any costs or losses resulting.
• 17) Your Responsibility - The person making the booking accepts these terms and conditions on behalf of all party members whether or not the booking form has been signed
• 18) Security/damage deposits - Security/damage deposits are requested for most of the villas we feature. Surety will be taken in the form of debit or credit card details which must be provided to us no later than when you pay your balance. If there are any costs that we need to recover (para 14), we will first enter into correspondence with you before attempting to charge your card. If there are no charges to be recovered; your details will be destroyed.
• 19) Prices - We reserve the right to alter the prices on our website at any time. The price you have contracted to pay is fixed in accordance with your confirmation letter.