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Mapperton Estate (trading as Grand Historic Tours) Booking Terms & Conditions

last updated 20/03/23

These Booking Conditions, together with our Privacy Policy, general information and any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking (along with any information relating to changes that you make to your booking, pre-departure), form the basis of your contract with Mapperton Estate, Beaminster, Dorset, United Kingdom, DT8 3NR (“we”, “us”, “our”). Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” include the first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person to whom a booking is added or transferred.

By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that he/she:

  1. has read these Booking Conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;
  2. consents to our use of personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and is authorised on behalf of all persons named on the booking to disclose their personal details to us, including where applicable, special categories of data (such as information on health conditions or disabilities and dietary requirements);
  3. is over 18 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services;
  4. accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.
  1. Booking and Paying for your Arrangements

A booking is made with us when you pay us a non-refundable deposit and/or any pre-payments required at the time of booking (or full payment if you are booking within 18 weeks of departure) and we issue you with a booking confirmation. We reserve the right to return your deposit and decline to issue a booking confirmation at our absolute discretion. A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking.

As noted above, we will require a deposit and/or pre-payments in order to accept and confirm your booking. The exact amount will depend on the arrangements you have chosen. The standard deposit is 50% of the total value of your booking; however you will be notified of the exact deposit amount required, at the time of booking. Deposits and pre-payments are non-refundable unless we are unable to confirm the booking request.

The balance of the cost of your arrangements (including any applicable surcharge) is due not less than 18 weeks prior to your scheduled departure. If we do not receive this balance payment 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 9 will become payable.

We accept direct payments using mobile and online banking and all major debit & credits cards (except American Express / Diners).  Please see your Booking Confirmation for our bank details.

  1. Accuracy of Names

It is the responsibility of the lead person making the booking to check and ensure that titles and full names of each person travelling are provided exactly as they appear in the passport without any errors or omissions.

  1. Accuracy of Advertising Material and Pricing

We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in any advertising material that we publish are accurate, however occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before you make your booking.

The information we use to arrange your travel is based on our own visits and on information supplied to us by accommodation providers and companies organising tours and other travel services. However, we do not own or control these services and changes can and do occur and may be made without any advance notification. The availability of some facilities and amenities in places of accommodation such as restaurants, views, activities and excursions may be affected by local conditions such as religious observations, inclement weather, public holidays or low occupancy. Where we are informed of any changes either prior to booking or prior to travel we will endeavour to notify you.

  1. Insurance

We consider that it is very important for you to obtain adequate travel insurance and so obtaining adequate travel insurance is a condition of your contract with us. You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your personal requirements including pre-existing medical conditions, cancellation charges, medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available.

  1. Special Requests

Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. 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 by us. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

  1. Cutting Your Holiday Short

If you are forced to return home early, we cannot refund the cost of any travel arrangements you have not used. If you cut short your holiday and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of the travel services provided we will not offer you any refund for that part of your holiday not completed or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them.

If you do have a complaint regarding your holiday, please refer to clause 13.

  1. If You Change Your Booking

If you wish to request a change to your booking prior to final payment the lead client must contact us to discuss this as soon as possible. Any request to change a booking must be received 27 weeks prior to the start of the tour. Requests to change a booking after this time will incur the loss of deposit paid. Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee that changes will be possible.  In the first instance we will try to resell the room and honour the requested change if we are able to do so. Where we are unable to resell the room, your deposit may be forfeited. Suppliers may levy cancellation and/or additional charges which will be passed on to you and which you will be required to pay. An amendment fee will also apply, depending on the changes required, of £150 per person.

  1. Transfers of Bookings

If you or any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else, subject to the following conditions:

  1. that person is introduced by you and satisfies all the conditions applicable to the holiday;
  2. we are notified not less than 7 days before departure;
  3. you pay any outstanding balance payment, an amendment fee of £150 per person transferring, as well as any additional fees, charges or other costs arising from the transfer; and
  4. the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.

You and the transferee remain jointly and severally liable for payment of all sums. If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out in clause 9 will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.

  1. If You Cancel Your Booking Before Departure

If you or any other member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us by email to sam@mapperton.com and confirm we have received your email. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices and will be effective from the date on which we receive it.

Should one or more member of a party cancel, it may increase the per person holiday price of those still travelling and you will be liable to pay this increase.

Deposits and pre-payments are 100% non-refundable. When the deposit or the sum of the deposit & pre-payment is higher than the % cancellation charge, the higher of the two will apply.

Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, you will have to pay the cancellation charges as follows:

Cancellation Charge 

More than 27 weeks before arrival date: loss of deposit and any other pre-payments made.  However if we are able to resell your place(s) we will at our discretion refund your deposit or prepayment less any reasonable costs.

Less than 27 weeks before arrival date: 100% of holiday cost

Please note amendments charges are not refundable in any circumstances.

Important Note 

From time to time the cancellation terms applicable to your chosen arrangements may differ from those that are set out above. Where this is the case we will clearly advise you of the applicable cancellation terms, at the time of booking.

If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

Cancellation by You due to Unavoidable & Extraordinary Circumstances including COVID-19 Restrictions

You have the right to cancel your confirmed holiday before departure without paying a cancellation charge in the event of “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occurring at your holiday destination or its immediate vicinity and significantly affecting the performance of the holiday or significantly affecting the transport arrangements to the destination. This includes any COVID-19 restrictions. In these circumstances, we shall provide you with a full refund of the monies you have paid but we will not be liable to pay you any additional compensation. Please note that your right to cancel in these circumstances will only apply when the official Government travel guidance advises against all but essential travel to your specific destination or its immediate vicinity. For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” means warfare, acts of terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease including COVID-19 at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination.

Please note that there is no automatic statutory right of cancellation under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (Directive 2011/83/EU).

  1. If We Change or Cancel Your Booking

As we plan your holiday arrangements many months in advance we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking and we reserve the right to do so at any time.

Changes

If we make a minor change to your holiday, we will make reasonable efforts to inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure but we will have no liability to you. Examples of minor changes include change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard, changes of carriers.

Occasionally we may have to make a significant change to your confirmed arrangements. Examples of “significant changes” include the following, when made before departure:

A change of accommodation area for the whole or a significant part of your time away.

A change of accommodation to that of a lower standard or classification for the whole or a significant part of your time away.

A change of outward departure time or overall length of your arrangements by more than 12 hours.

A significant change to your itinerary, missing out one or more destination entirely.

Cancellation

We will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 27 weeks before your departure date, except for reasons of Force Majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. We may cancel your holiday before this date if, e.g. the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached.

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:

  1. (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements; or
  2. accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of a comparable or higher standard from us, if available (at no extra cost); or, if available, accepting an offer of alternative arrangements of a lower standard, with a refund of the price difference between the original arrangements and the alternative arrangements.

You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If we do not hear from you within 7 days, we will contact you again to request notification of your choice. If you fail to respond again, we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.

  1. Disabilities and Medical Conditions

We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your booking, please provide us with full details before you make your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. This holiday requires a certain level of fitness and mobility due to the unique accommodation and activities included. At the time of booking you will be provided with a fitness questionnaire which needs to be completed, signed and returned to us within two weeks of booking. We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.

  1. Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by “Force Majeure”. For the purposes of these Booking Conditions, Force Majeure means any event beyond our or our supplier’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism (and threat thereof), civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination including COVID-19 or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, labour strikes, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster, unavoidable technical problems with transport and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’ s control.

  1. Complaints

We make every effort to ensure that your holiday arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem during your holiday, please inform your tour guide or another one of our representatives immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally to your complete satisfaction, please contact us via the emergency contact number which you can find in your pre-departure information or via sam@mapperton.com.

If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at our office within 28 days of the end of your stay, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you.

Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.

  1. Our Responsibilities for Your Booking

(1)        We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:

(a)        the acts and/or omissions of the person affected; or

(b)        the acts and/or omissions of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unavoidable and extraordinary; or

(c)        Force Majeure (as defined in clause 12).

(2)        We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:

(a)        loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are required to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

(b)        Claims not falling under (a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is up to the price paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.

(4)        It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to us and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.

(5)        Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to us or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

(6)        Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description:

(a)        which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; or

(b)        relate to any business.

(7)        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)        Where it is impossible for you to return to your departure point as per the agreed return date of your package, due to “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances”, we shall provide you with any necessary accommodation (where possible, of a comparable standard) for a period not exceeding three nights per person. Please note that the 3 night cap does not apply to persons with reduced mobility, pregnant women or unaccompanied minors, nor to persons needing specific medical assistance, provided we have been notified of these particular needs at least 48 hours before the start of your holiday. For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” mean warfare, acts of terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely back to your departure point.

  1. Your Responsibility

It is your responsibility to provide us with accurate information in order that we can make travel arrangements on your behalf. Quotes, confirmations and itineraries should be checked carefully as soon as received and any information that appears to be incorrect or incomplete must be notified to us immediately.

When you book with us you accept responsibility that you and your party will behave in a considerate and responsible manner. If in our reasonable opinion or in the opinion of any person in authority, you or a member of your party behaves in a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party, damage to property or contravenes any convention governing carriage by air or sea, we or they are entitled to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned without notice or warning and no refund will be due. In such situations you are required to leave the tour, accommodation or other service. Our responsibility to the person(s) in question ceases and you will be responsible for the costs of alternative arrangements and any damages or legal costs incurred.

  1. Prompt Assistance

If, whilst you are on holiday, you find yourself in difficulty for any reason, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is appropriate in the circumstances. In particular, we will provide you with appropriate information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance, and assistance with distance communications and finding alternative travel arrangements. Where you require assistance which is not owing to any failure by us, our employees or sub-contractors we will not be liable for the costs of any alternative travel arrangements or other such assistance you require. Subject to the other terms of these Booking Conditions, we will not be liable for any costs, fees or charges you incur in the above circumstances, if you fail to obtain our prior authorisation before making your own travel arrangements. Furthermore, we reserve the right to charge you a fee for our assistance in the event that the difficulty is caused intentionally by you or a member of your party, or otherwise through your or your party’s negligence.

  1. Visa, Passport and Health Requirements

It is your responsibility to check and fulfill the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your chosen holiday. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.

You are responsible for ensuring that you travel with e-passports which remain valid for a minimum of 6 months at all times whilst travelling and have 2 clear pages remaining. Information on Visa & entry requirements and any additional documentation can be obtained by visiting the Foreign Office travel advice service or the Embassies or Consulates of the countries you are visiting.

A travel health programme should be discussed with a travel health professional as early as possible to ensure sufficient time to complete compulsory or recommended immunisation programmes. Information is available at travelhealthpro.org and fitforhealth.nhs.uk.

We do not accept responsibility if you are prevented from travelling or incur any other losses because you have not complied with passports, visa & immigration requirements or recommended and compulsory health formalities.

  1. Excursions

Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.

  1. Official Government Guidance

You are responsible for making yourself aware of official Government guidance in both your country of origin and destinations in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling, including any COVID-19 restrictions, and to make your decisions accordingly. Official Government guidance to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure (see clause 12).

  1. Conditions of Suppliers

Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. These suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from us or the supplier concerned.

  1. Law and Jurisdiction

These Booking Conditions are governed by English law and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute, claim or other matter which may arise between us (unless you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in which case you can bring proceedings in your local court under Scottish or Northern Irish law, as applicable).

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