Santa's Lapland Booking Conditions

When you book a holiday with us, you are entering into a contract with Hotelplan Ltd, Company No: 350786 (“we” or “us”). Our Head Office address is: Nelson House, 55-59 Victoria Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7PA. The majority of the holidays that we sell are package holidays, and as such fall within the scope of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (PTR). Further information on your key rights under the PTR can be found here. This is the case where you purchase two or more of the following holiday components in a single booking process with us: flights, accommodation, tourist services such as ski packs or excursions. Where we are the "organiser" of a package holiday that includes ski packs, we will act solely as sales agent for the ski pack provider who may have additional terms and conditions which will take precedence over these Booking Conditions in respect of ski packs in the event of conflict.

Please read these Booking Conditions carefully prior to purchasing any holiday with us. These Booking Conditions govern bookings made on the internet, through our telephone reservations team or via any third party agent and you will be deemed to be bound by these conditions on confirmation of your booking through any of these channels. Together with our Privacy Policy, Important Information, General Information and any special information or advice pages, and any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, these Booking Conditions form the basis of your contract with us.

From time to time, due to changes to the law for example, we may need to update our Booking Conditions. The latest version can always be found on our websites. If we make a significant change to the Booking Conditions after you’ve booked your holiday with us, we’ll let you know. If you have any questions relating to our Booking Conditions, please contact our Reservations team using the details on our Contact Us pages.

In these Booking Conditions, references to “you” and “your” means the first named person on the booking (“party leader”), all persons on whose behalf a booking is made (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date) and any person/s to whom a booking or place on a booking is transferred. References to “holiday” and “travel arrangements” means the services and arrangements which you book with us before departure which we agree to make, provide or perform (as applicable) as part of our contract with you. References to "departure" means the start date of the arrangements we have contracted to provide.

When you make a booking, as the “party leader”, you agree and accept on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

When you make a booking, as the “party leader”, you agree and accept on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

1. You have read these Booking Conditions and have the authority to and do agree to be bound by them;
2. You consent to our use of your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and are 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. You are over 18 years of age and resident in the United Kingdom and where booking services with age restrictions declare that you and all members of your party are of the appropriate age to book and use those services; and
4. You accept financial responsibility for making all payments due in respect of the booking.

Whether you book alone or as a group, we will only deal with the party leader in all subsequent correspondence, including any changes, amendments and cancellations. If you have booked through one of our travel agent partners, all communication will be via that agent. Any person who is aged under 18 years must be accompanied by an adult on his or her journey.

It is a compulsory requirement of booking with us that you provide us with a mobile telephone number that we may use in the event of delays to our travel arrangements, so that we may keep you as informed as possible. Please provide us with a mobile telephone number that will be switched on at such times and remember that you may incur a charge from your service provider. Please rest assured that your mobile number will not be used for marketing purposes. If you have booked through a Travel Agent and they enter their own telephone or any other contact details, in doing so they assume responsibility to act as a conduit of any information received via our Text Message service and pass any such information on to you.

Comprehensive travel insurance is essential and your booking is accepted on the basis that you purchase a policy which is suitable for your needs. You must be satisfied that your insurance policy covers your personal requirements, including pre-existing medical conditions, cancellation charges, medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. Any policy must be appropriate for the type of holiday that you have chosen to book, which may include an element of winter sports cover. If you choose to travel without appropriate insurance cover, we will not be responsible for the expenses and losses you may incur as a result. Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday.

1.1: MAKING A BOOKING AND PAYING FOR YOUR HOLIDAY

When confirming your booking, we will take a minimum deposit of £150 per person. If additional non-refundable costs are incurred for an element of your booking, we will take payment to cover these additional costs at the same time as taking your deposit. Please note that these are non-refundable in the event of cancellation.

On selected Hotelplan Ltd package holidays you may be offered the option to pay a Low or Reduced Deposit (a “Low Deposit”). Where you choose this option you will still be required to pay any additional non-refundable costs, as above. When paying a Low Deposit you agree to pay the difference between the Low Deposit and our normal deposit upon cancellation should you choose to cancel your arrangements.

If the arrangements you wish to book are available, we will issue a Confirmation Invoice and send this to you or your Travel Agent. A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we (or your Travel Agent, if you book via an authorised agent of ours) have received all appropriate payments at the time of booking (i.e. deposit and other applicable non-refundable payments) and, in the case of telephone bookings, we have verbally confirmed the booking over the telephone. For online bookings, a binding contract will exist when we have received all appropriate payments from you at the time of booking and we have emailed the Confirmation Invoice to you. All bookings are subject to availability. If your confirmed arrangements include a flight, we (or if you booked via an authorised Travel Agent of ours, that Agent) will also issue you with an ATOL Certificate, which will be available through the ‘My Booking’ section of our website.

For all bookings, the final balance payable will be shown on your Confirmation Invoice and will become due 10 weeks before departure. If you book your holiday within 10 weeks of departure, the full balance (rather than just deposits and non-refundable elements) will be payable straight away. If you have not paid the balance by the date it becomes due and you fail to respond to requests for payment, we reserve the right to cancel your booking and you will be liable to pay cancellation charges as set out in Clause 1.4. There is no charge for paying by debit or credit card. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have sufficient funds to complete the transaction and you have the correct authority to act on behalf of the credit/debit card holder, where applicable.

1.2: THE CONFIRMATION

Within 48 hours of booking with us you will receive your Confirmation Invoice by email (7 days if posted), which details the holiday that you have chosen and the person/s booked to travel. If you have not received your Confirmation Invoice within 7 days, please contact our Reservations team to make sure that your booking has been confirmed by us and we have your email and postal information correct. Where an email address is provided at the time of booking, all pre-departure correspondence will primarily be undertaken by email.

We are aware that misunderstandings can occur, particularly in the course of telephone conversations, and as such quotations are subject to written confirmation on your Confirmation Invoice. Please check your Confirmation Invoice and ATOL Certificate as soon as you receive them and, if anything is incorrect, contact our Reservations team. We cannot accept any responsibility if there are any inaccuracies (for which we are responsible) in any document within ten days of our sending it out. We will do our best to rectify any mistake notified to us outside this time limit, but you will be required to meet any costs involved in doing so.

Whilst we would not anticipate any pricing errors in the Confirmation Invoice, in the event of an obviously incorrect price, we will not be bound by this and will issue a revised Confirmation Invoice showing the correct amount. In the unlikely event that we are unable to confirm your booking, the following options will be available to you:

1. To accept an alternative holiday offered by us; or
2. To purchase another holiday at the current website selling price from us; or
3. To accept a full refund of all monies paid.

 
Travel documents will normally be emailed to you (to the address given to us by the lead name at the time of booking, or your Travel Agent) approximately 7-10 days before your departure, and will not be issued unless payment of the due balance has been received.

1.3: HOLIDAY PRICE, CONDITIONS AND PAYMENT

The prices and conditions published on our website supersede any previously published prices, discounts and conditions, and will equally be superseded by any subsequent website edition. Prices are correct at the time of publication, but may vary and our current selling prices will be advised at the point of enquiry on telephone bookings or online, and confirmed on our Confirmation Invoice. Prices may increase around cultural events, trade shows or special events taking place and weekend supplements may also apply. Where taxes are to be paid, these will be charged by hoteliers in resort, per person, and are payable by you directly to the hotel upon check-out unless specified otherwise. Resort taxes for our own-run chalets and Hotel accommodations are covered by us.

All price promises on the website relate to full-priced holidays only and not to any late availability discounted holidays. Please note that early booking offers, special discounts and child or group reductions may be changed or withdrawn at any time, and are subject to restrictions. Please see our Important Information, section 6: Family and Group Discounts.

Price Amendments and Surcharges

i. Before you have booked: We reserve the right to increase or decrease our prices at any time, for reasons including (but not limited to) the correction of errors in previously published prices; significant changes in currency exchange rates; fuel cost increases or other transport providers’ changes to our contracted costs; UK or overseas government action on taxes, staff employment or other costs included in your holiday; other cost increases of which we were unaware at the time of publishing pricing information to this website. The correct up-to-date price will be confirmed to you at the time of booking.

ii.After you have booked: Once you have completed a booking and a Confirmation Invoice has been issued then, unless you amend your booking, we will not increase the price of your confirmed holiday.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, airlines may cease to operate on certain routes, which may have an effect on the website price, and we reserve the right to pass on any extra costs that may become due. Increased security measures may cause airlines to introduce an additional security tax and this will be added to your holiday if and where applicable.

Travel Agent bookings

If you book through a Travel Agent they will act to pass information from you to us and vice versa. They will also receive payment from you for their holiday. All monies you pay to the Travel Agent in respect of a flight-inclusive booking covered by our ATOL are held by them on our behalf, and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times, but subject to the agent’s obligations to pay it to us in accordance with our trading terms unless we fail. In the unlikely event of our financial failure, all monies held at that time by the agent or subsequently paid by you to the agent will be held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay those monies to us.

Any information or advice given to you by your Travel Agent which is not based on information or advice given to them by us is their responsibility. In these circumstances we do not accept liability if incorrect information or advice is given to you by your Travel Agent. If you wish to make a change or add anything to your booking, please contact your Travel Agent. For the purposes of compliance with time limits or limitation periods as set out or referred to in these Booking Conditions, receipt by such an authorised travel agent of messages, requests or complaints intended for us will be treated as received by us.

Our holidays may appear on websites operated by Travel Agents or other third parties. We have absolutely no control over the contents and practices of these websites. You access and rely upon the contents of these third party websites solely at your own risk. We accept no responsibility for the contents of and practices of any third party websites, including suppliers own websites, such as hotel pages. It is important to remember that hotels may feature rooms on their website that are not available through tour operators or are named differently. You should therefore not rely on any descriptions which you view which are not on our website.

1.4: ALTERATIONS OR CANCELLATION OF THE BOOKING BY YOU AND TRANSFER OF BOOKING

We will always do our best to accommodate any changes that you need to make to your confirmed holiday arrangements, so do let our Reservations team or your Travel Agent (as applicable) know if there’s anything they can help with. Where we can meet your request to make a change to your booking, we will send you a revised Confirmation Invoice to confirm this.

a. Cost of changes

Lapland Wedding Cancellation: Non-refundable elements and cancellation charges specific to Lapland weddings will be advised at time of booking. 

Cancellation by you due to unavoidable & extraordinary circumstances

You have the right to cancel your confirmed holiday before departure without paying a cancellation charge in the event that “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occur in your holiday destination or its immediate vicinity and significantly affect the performance of the contracted arrangements or the carriage of passengers to that destination. We will notify you as soon as practicable should this occur. Where applicable, we will provide you with a full refund of the monies you have paid to us, but we will not be liable to pay you any compensation or to meet any costs or expenses you have incurred in connection with your booking.

Please note that your right to cancel in these circumstances will only apply where the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advises against travel to your destination or its immediate vicinity. For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” means: warfare and acts of terrorism (or threat thereof); civil strife; 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 to the 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; lock closure; natural or nuclear disaster; fire; chemical or biological disaster; unavoidable technical problems with transport; or similar events outside our control or that of the supplier(s) concerned.

c. If you change the arrangements whilst on holiday

If you wish to make any changes whilst on holiday to the arrangements we have been contracted to provide; for example, upgrading your accommodation, changing resort, or extending or reducing your holiday duration, our overseas operations team will endeavour to assist in any way they can. All requests will be subject to availability and any extra costs, including cancellation charges, must be met by you and paid locally. As this alters the basis of your booking contract, it is essential such changes are arranged through us in writing, either with our local representative/agent, overseas operations team or, if this is not possible, our Head Office in the UK.

If you are forced to return home early, we cannot refund the cost of any services 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 accommodation and 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. Where applicable, any claim under your policy should be made directly to your travel insurer.

d. Transfer of booking

You may transfer your booking or place on the booking to someone else, subject to the following conditions:

The persons originally booked to travel and those to whom any booking is transferred remain jointly and severally liable for payment of all sums due to us under the contract. If you are unable to find a replacement for any person(s) who cannot travel or who no longer wish to travel, cancellation charges as set out in clause 1.8 will apply. No refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.

Important: As certain arrangements (such as flights) cannot be amended or transferred after a confirmed reservation has been made, name changes, other alterations and cancellation affecting these services are likely to incur a 100% cancellation charge and the applicable cost of rebooking the service. We will do our best to notify you of this at time of booking.

1.5: ALTERATIONS AND CANCELLATIONS BY US

We publish information to our website a considerable time in advance of the season that they promote, and so not all contracts for accommodation, flights and other travel services will have been finalised at the time of publication. If, when these contracts are finalised, there is any change to your holiday arrangements that we think you need to know, our Pre-Departure Guest Relations team will notify you as soon as is reasonably possible. Although your confirmation and subsequent invoices will show the latest expected routes and timings, these will not be confirmed until your e-tickets are sent and occasionally may change after this, due to circumstances outside of our control.

Changes to confirmed bookings sometimes have to be made and we reserve the right to do so in accordance with this clause 1.5. Most changes will be insignificant and we have the right to make these. Where an Insignificant Change is made before departure, we will notify you in writing, which can include re-issuing your travel and confirmation documents by email. No compensation is payable for Insignificant Changes.
Occasionally, before departure, we may be constrained by circumstances beyond our control to make a significant alteration to any of the main characteristics of the travel services which form part of your confirmed booking or to any special requirements which we have accepted.

Any changes that we are required to make will typically fall into one of the following categories, with compensation for Significant Changes applicable as per the table below, subject to the “Compensation payment exceptions” listed.

Insignificant Changes - Examples of Insignificant Changes include change of airline, flight time by less than 12 hours, routings, aircraft type or overseas arrival airports, changes to ski pack, ski carriage arrangements or luggage allowance on flights (including luggage allowance changes if carrier changes), room type changes, loss of facility in room type booked, change of accommodation to another of similar standard and with similar facilities, representative in resort services and any other change not specified under significant changes below.

Significant Changes - Examples include a change of UK airport; resort; time of departure from the UK delayed by more than 12 hours; accommodation of a lower official classification; cancellation of holiday. These changes are only illustrations and there may be other Significant Changes.

Please bear in mind that Coronavirus and the measures and other action being taken by governments, public authorities and businesses to manage its effects (including implementation of mandatory social distancing, face masks/coverings, hand sanitization and temperature checks) is likely to have an impact on holiday arrangements for a considerable period of time. We may, for example, be unable to provide certain advertised services or facilities as a result. Such measures/action may be introduced or changed with little or no prior notice. Greater flexibility is therefore likely to be required for the foreseeable future which we would ask you to bear in mind at all times, both before and after departure. Any impact which such measures/action has on your holiday will not constitute a significant alteration to your contracted arrangements and will not entitle you to cancel without payment of the applicable cancellation charges as a result.

You must advise us which option you wish to accept within 7 days of notification. If you do not contact us within 7 days, we will contact you again to request notification of your choice. If you fail to respond again within the specified period with your decision once we have provided you with the above mentioned information for a second time, we will assume you have chosen to accept the alternative holiday arrangements offered.

Occasionally, it may be necessary to cancel a confirmed booking. We have the right to terminate your contract in the event we are prevented from performing your contracted holiday arrangements as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances and we notify you of this as soon as reasonably possible. Where we have to cancel your booking in these circumstances, we will refund all monies you have paid to us within 14 days of the effective date of cancellation but will have no further or other liability to you including in respect of compensation or any costs or expenses you incur or have incurred as a result. We will of course endeavour to offer you alternative arrangements where possible which you may choose to book (at the applicable price) in place of those cancelled. We also have the right to cancel if you fail to make payment in accordance with the terms of your contract.

Please note, a full refund entitlement only arises where we are prevented from performing your contracted holiday arrangements as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances and we exercise our right to cancel as a result. Without limitation, you will not be entitled to a full refund and cancellation charges are likely to apply where such circumstances affect your ability to travel on your holiday rather than our ability to perform or provide the contracted arrangements. This may be the case, for example, where measures applied by the UK or any other government or public authorities (such as locally applicable restrictions) mean you are unable to leave your home/local area and/or travel to or gain entry into the country or countries where your holiday is due to take place. The issue of advice or recommendations against travel by public authorities (such as the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) does not automatically mean we are prevented from performing your holiday arrangements but may instead affect your ability to travel. Any obligation to quarantine or self-isolate on your return to your country of residence does not affect our ability to provide your holiday and will not entitle you to cancel without paying our usual cancellation charges.

We are unable to cover the cost of any UK airport parking or hotel arrangements, or those incurred for connecting flights booked outside of the package booked with us. These are your responsibility and we would recommend that these are booked after your flight details are confirmed on your e-tickets.

Compensation payment exceptions

We will not pay you compensation in the following circumstances:

• Where we make an Insignificant Change;
• Where we make a Significant Change or cancel your arrangements more than 70 days before departure;
• Where we make a Significant Change and you accept those changed arrangements or you accept an offer of alternative arrangements;
• Where we have had to cancel your arrangements as a result of your failure to make full payment on time;
• Where the change or cancellation arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you;
• Where we are forced to cancel or change your arrangements due to an unavoidable and extraordinary circumstance (see clause 1.6).

c. Prompt assistance

Please do let our resort team know if there is anything they can assist you with during the course of your holiday with us. We will send you or your Travel Agent a Welcome Pack by email just before you travel that contains the contact telephone number for your Representative or Local Agent, as well as any applicable visiting hours.

If, whilst 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 are in difficulty as a result of your own intentional acts or negligence, we may charge you a reasonable fee for this assistance which will not exceed the costs we actually incur. We will not be liable for the costs of any alternative travel arrangements or other such assistance you require.

d. If we change your arrangements during the holiday

In the unlikely event your accommodation is not available on your arrival due to a situation outside of our control, of which we may not have been notified in time to advise you before your departure, we will endeavour to provide accommodation of equivalent standard in the same area. Where those alternative arrangements are of a lower standard, we will refund the difference in price. Please note, this will only be offered if your arrangements change for the whole duration, not just for a few nights. If during your holiday it is necessary for us to make any changes to your return transport arrangements, we will make the best suitable arrangements and advise you as soon as we are in a position to do so. If this involves a change of UK arrival point, we will make onward arrangements to transport you by coach or otherwise at our election to your original place of departure.

1.6: UNAVOIDABLE AND EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES

Except where expressly stated in these Booking Conditions, we will not be liable and will not pay you compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations to you are prevented or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage, loss or expenses of any nature as a result of, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances”.

In these Booking Conditions, unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances means a situation which is beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such situations are likely to include without limitation (and whether actual or threatened) war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire, flood, pandemics/epidemics, closure, restriction or congestion of airports, other transport hubs or airspace, flight restrictions imposed by any regulatory authority or other third party, and volcanic activity. For the avoidance of doubt, unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances include the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advising against all travel or all but essential travel to any country, region or destination and the Covid-19 / SARS-COV2 (and any mutation of the same) pandemic and its impact such as travel restrictions and the measures and other actions being taken by governments, public authorities and businesses to control and manage its effects (such as the implementation of social distancing).

Brexit Implications: Please note that certain travel arrangements may have been affected as a result of the United Kingdom’s ceasing to be a member of the European Union. This could include unavailability of certain flight routes, access to certain ports and airports and changes to the passport and visa requirements of British citizens travelling to, within or through the EU. Further information can be found on the Brexit pages of our website.

1.7: YOUR FINANCIAL PROTECTION

We provide financial protection for our package holidays.
The air holidays and flights in the brochure and on our website are ATOL protected and our ATOL number is 0025. ATOL stands for Air Travel Organiser’s Licence and is a financial protection scheme backed by the UK Government for all holidaymakers booking an air-inclusive package or a flight only. By law, every UK tour operator which sells air holidays and flights is required to hold an ATOL. If a tour operator with an ATOL ceases trading, the ATOL scheme protects customers who had booked holidays with the firm. Your holiday price includes the ATOL Protection contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This money creates a fund that is used by the CAA to protect consumers. More details can be found at www.caa.co.uk or contact them at: Civil Aviation Authority, CAA House, 45-59 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6TE.

We automatically provide an ATOL Certificate where an eligible ATOL protected holiday is booked with us. In accordance with the CAA regulations this certificate will explain exactly which elements of your holiday are protected if an ATOL-protected tour operator fails. 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 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.

All customers travelling on a self-drive or rail package holiday with us are protected under the ABTA scheme and our ABTA number is V4871. For more information please visit www.abta.com or contact ABTA, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ. Our ABTA Bond provides financial protection, in the event of our insolvency, for the money you have paid and that has been received by us for your non-flight-inclusive holiday and for your repatriation. 

1.8: OUR LIABILITY TO YOU

1.9: YOUR LIABILITY TO US

The accommodation we have booked on your behalf is available for use only by those persons included on the booking, unless otherwise agreed by us in writing prior to departure from the UK. We have a duty to ensure that guests do not suffer damage or loss caused by preceding guests, so it is a condition of booking that whilst on holiday you are responsible for any damage or loss caused to your accommodation, or other facilities or equipment you use, except by persons not known to you or us and unconnected with the contract between us. We will hold you and the members of your party jointly and individually liable for any deliberate or reckless damage or loss to the accommodation, furniture, facilities or equipment located within your accommodation or to which you otherwise have access or which are used as part of any skiing or other activity or excursion, together with any legal costs we or our suppliers incur in pursuing or defending any claim whish arises as a result. It is your responsibility to report any breakages, defects, loss or damage to an appropriate person immediately.

Acceptance of risk: As with all sporting activities and the nature of the holidays we provide and the activities you may choose to participate in, they all involve a degree of personal risk. In making your booking you recognise that many activities involve a degree of danger and risk of personal injury or death, and that the natural environment itself can be dangerous. By entering into a contract with us, or with suppliers of activities or ski extras, you accept these risks and responsibility for your own actions. Although we or our suppliers may provide instructions and tuition to you as part of the arrangements you book, which will assist in minimising these risks, your booking is accepted on the basis that you understand and accept the risks involved. If at any time you feel uncomfortable or unprepared to take part in or carry on with any activity, any instructor or supplier should be advised immediately.

Illness & accidents: Should you become ill or sustain an injury while on holiday with us, you must report your illness or accident to your Representative/our local Agent and the relevant persons (i.e. the hotel, excursion provider, ski equipment/lesson provider, etc.) while you are on holiday and as soon as possible after the illness or injury occurs. In addition, you should consult a local doctor during your holiday and consult your GP promptly upon return to the UK. Should you then wish to make a claim against us in respect of that illness or injury, you must provide us with details of both the local overseas doctor and your GP, together with your written authority for us to obtain a medical report from both those doctors should we or our insurers consider it appropriate to do so.

1.10: COMPLAINT RESOLUTION

We want all of our guests to have an enjoyable holiday with us, however if you are dissatisfied you must bring your complaint to our attention as soon as possible to your Representative/Agent and the relevant persons, for example the relevant provider (i.e. the hotel) while you are on holiday. Any verbal notification must be put in writing and given to them as soon as possible.

Your Representative’s contact number and any applicable visiting hours will be provided in your Welcome Pack. We will do everything reasonably possible to resolve your complaint during your trip. If you remain dissatisfied, please complete a Guest Service Report with your Representative. It is sometimes difficult, if not impossible, to investigate a complaint if it is not raised in resort and failure to follow this procedure may affect your rights under this contract.

We want to know if any issues remain unresolved, and would ask that you let us know within 21 days of your return. You can do this by calling, emailing or writing to our Guest Relations team using the details on our Contact Us pages. Please quote your booking reference and send any supporting documentation such as receipts and photographs you would like us to consider when resolving your complaint, as this information may help with the speed of our investigation.

If you fail to follow this simple procedure, we are unlikely to be in a position to properly investigate the matter and may be deprived of the opportunity to remedy it during your holiday. Subject to clause 1.8, your right to claim any compensation you may otherwise have been entitled to may be affected or even lost as a result.

As members of ABTA (membership number V4871) we operate in accordance with the ABTA Code of Conduct and, if we cannot resolve your complaint, can offer you ABTA’s scheme for the resolution of disputes via www.abta.com.  

1.11: JURISDICTION

These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, any claim you may wish to pursue must either be brought in the courts of your home country or those of England and Wales. If proceedings are brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may choose to have your contract and claim governed by the law of Scotland/Northern Ireland as applicable (but if you do not so choose, English law will apply). This position applies regardless of where in the world you may reside.

No Hotelplan Ltd UK or overseas employee in our resorts has the authority to vary these terms and conditions or the information on our website, or any of our company literature, either verbally or in writing, nor can they enter into verbal agreements with our guests.

1.12: VISAS, PASSPORTS AND HEALTH including Canada 

The party leader is responsible for ensuring all party members are in possession of a valid passport (a full 10 year passport in the case of British Citizens over the age of 16 on return date), which is valid for a minimum of 6 months after the date of return from your destination.  If you are unsure if your passport has sufficient validity, you can check this here: https://www.gov.uk/check-a-passport-travel-europe-1-january-2021

Full details of entry and stay requirements, visa and travel advice to your particular destination and for any travel information/restrictions, visit the foreign office website at www.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo and the passport office website at www.passport.gov.uk. NB Canada operates an Advance Visa Waiver programmes for which you must have a 'chipped' passport to qualify and are required to complete registration before departure. For more information, visit: Find out if you need a visa to travel to Canada. 

It is the responsibility of the party leader to ensure that all persons travelling are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. All costs in obtaining such documentation and complying with all requirements must be paid by you. We regret that we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to have any necessary travel or other documents or to comply with any applicable requirements. If you are unable to travel as a result of failure or inability to comply with any health-related or other requirements, cancellation charges will apply.

It is a condition of booking with us that you and all members of your party provide certain information that may be sent to government authorities, border control and/or security agencies, otherwise known as Advanced Passenger Information (API). This will normally include, but not be limited to, full name as shown on your passport, gender, date of birth, travel document type, number, country of issue and expiry date. It is your responsibility to ensure that this information is completed for all passengers on your booking. Entering this data does not mean that it is then ‘checked’ on your behalf – checking your passport validity and entry requirements remains your responsibility at all times.

Health: 

Existing issued European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) remain valid until their date of expiry even though the UK has left the EU. Under a new agreement with the EU, UK residents are now able to apply for a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) if your current EHIC has expired or if you do not have an EHIC. Both the EHIC and the GHIC are free to apply for and provide you with access to limited emergency and medically necessary healthcare in the EU during your holiday, though this will vary from country to country. They do not provide cover in the event that you require medical repatriation to the UK and neither are a substitute for comprehensive travel insurance, which you must have. You can still use your EHIC card, excluding Switzerland and Norway, if it is still valid and in date and as part of our terms and conditions, you must also still hold valid travel insurance to cover your personal circumstances, (pre-existing conditions, etc.). In Norway, you can show your UK Passport to receive limited urgent healthcare.

Please note that standards of healthcare and facilities may vary from one country to another and may not reach the same level as that enjoyed in the UK.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition, you must inform your insurer and it is your responsibility to ensure that you have sufficient medication for your trip and you know how to administer it. Medical prescriptions issued in the UK will no longer be recognised in an EU member state, so you should seek advice from your Doctor prior to travel.

Special Needs: When booking excursions or events in resort, you should ensure that the excursion or event that you have chosen is suitable and that the provider is made aware of any special requirements that you may have, in order that they may make an informed decision as to the suitability of the excursion or event for you. For more information, please see our Important Information.

1.13: TRAVEL GUIDANCE

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) publishes regularly updated travel information which you are strongly recommended to consult before booking and in good time before departure. You are responsible for making yourself aware of FCDO advice in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling and to make your decisions accordingly.

1.14: DATA PROTECTION POLICY

Our staff, professional photographers or other guests will occasionally take photographs or videos, which may include adult or child guests from your family/group, for use in future brochures, websites or other marketing material. Please note that we accept no liability where photographs or video footage has been taken by another guest and distributed independently by them or any other third party not associated with Hotelplan Ltd, for example on various social media.

Guest comments taken from questionnaires or other correspondence are occasionally used in our marketing and on our website, with the name of the family concerned, to give a ‘guest’s eye view’ of our holidays. Unless you have advised us in writing that you do not wish your comments to be used in this way, no liability for the use of such comments will be accepted by Hotelplan Ltd.

In order to process your booking and to ensure your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements, we need to use the information you provide such as name, address, any special needs/dietary requirements etc. We will not pass any information on to any person not responsible for part of your travel arrangements and we take full responsibility for ensuring that proper security measures are in place to protect your information. We must however pass the information on to the relevant suppliers of your holiday arrangements, such as airlines, hotels, chalets, transport companies, etc.

This information may also be used for future communications from us and other Hotelplan group companies, (including for example the use of names and contact details for brochure mailings and e-newsletters) and it may also be provided to security and checking companies and public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them or as required by law. If you do not agree to any or all such uses, you must advise us accordingly in writing by registered post, however please note that we may not be able to provide you with your holiday booking as a result. Additionally, where your holiday or travel arrangements are outside the European Economic Area (EEA), controls on data protection in your destination may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. This applies to any special categories of data that you give us such as details of any disabilities, or dietary/religious requirements. We will obtain your explicit consent, at the time of booking, to collect and process these special categories of data and to pass them on to the relevant suppliers. If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, (whether in the EEA or not), we cannot provide your booking.

We do not share any information with third parties but we would like to hold your information, where collected by us, for our own future marketing purposes (for example to inform you of promotional offers or to send you brochures for Hotelplan Limited products). If you do not wish to receive such approaches in the future, please inform us as soon as possible.

Please note: Telephone calls may be monitored and recorded for training purposes.

Please see our Privacy Policy for full details on how we process your personal data.

1.15: UPDATES & CHANGES

These Booking Conditions were published on 12th October 2023 They may be updated from time to time, so please check here for the latest version that applies at the time we issue your Booking Confirmation, or request a printed version.

2: TRAVELLER INFORMATION

Part 1: General
The combination of travel services offered to you is a package within the meaning of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. Therefore, you will benefit from all EU rights applying to packages. We, Hotelplan Limited, will be fully responsible for the proper performance of the package as a whole. Additionally, as required by law, we have protection in place to refund your payments and, where transport is included in the package, to ensure your repatriation in the event that we become insolvent.
More information on key rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 can be found below.

Part 2: Key rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018
• Travellers will receive all essential information about the package before concluding the package travel contract.
• There is always at least one trader who is liable for the proper performance of all the travel services included in the contract.
• Travellers are given an emergency number or details of a contact point where they can get in touch with the organiser or travel agent.
• Travellers may transfer the package to another person, on reasonable notice and possibly subject to additional costs.
• The price of the package may only be increased if specific costs rise (for instance fuel prices), and if expressly provided for in the contract, and in any event not later than 20 days before the start of the package. If the price increase exceeds 8% of the price of the package, the traveller may terminate the contract. If the organiser reserves the right to a price increase, the traveller has a right to a price reduction if there is a decrease in the relevant costs.
• Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee and get a full refund of any payments if any of the essential elements of the package, other than the price, are changed significantly. If before the start of the package the trader responsible for the package cancels the package, travellers are entitled to a refund and compensation where appropriate.
• Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee before the start of the package in the event of exceptional circumstances, for instance if there are serious security problems at the destination which are likely to affect the package.
• Additionally, travellers may at any time before the start of the package terminate the contract in return for an appropriate and justifiable termination fee.
• If, after the start of the package, significant elements of the package cannot be provided as agreed, suitable alternative arrangements will have to be offered to the traveller at no extra cost. Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee, where services are not performed in accordance with the contract and this substantially affects the performance of the package and the organiser fails to remedy the problem.
• Travellers are also entitled to a price reduction or compensation for damages or both where the travel services are not performed or are improperly performed.
• The organiser has to provide assistance if the traveller is in difficulty.
• If the organiser or the retailer becomes insolvent, payments will be refunded. If the organiser becomes insolvent after the start of the package and if transport is included in the package, repatriation of the travellers is secured. Hotelplan Limited has taken out insolvency protection, for flight-inclusive holidays by virtue of its ATOL, held with the CAA, under ATOL number: 0025, and for non-flight packages, with ABTA Ltd (No. V4871). Please see clause 1.7 of our Booking Conditions for further information. Travellers may contact these entities if services are denied because of our insolvency.

Part 3: The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made

3.1 STAR RATINGS/COUNTRY STANDARDS

Official star ratings, where available, are shown on the property description page on our website . They are primarily intended to give a guide to the range of facilities and services available in each property. As you would expect, 2 and 3 star properties generally have a more limited range of facilities and services than is available in 4 and 5 star properties. We also show our own Inghams rating of each property alongside the property name and above its description. These ratings are based on our own inspections of properties as well as on customer feedback as expressed in our questionnaires. 

Our star rating is indicated by a green “star” ranging from HHH to HHHHH. In some cases we award an additional half star where we believe a hotel offers better facilities and services than its official rating would suggest. Conversely we may have downgraded a hotel to give a truer representation of the services and facilities offered. In general the overall standard of services and facilities varies significantly from country to country within star categories. For example, an officially rated 4 star property may only possess 3 star standards (and vice versa) despite having an extensive range of services and facilities. This is because of the many different criteria that are used from country to country to assess star ratings.

Please note these criteria can differ significantly to those used in the UK by motoring and other organisations and UK ratings cannot therefore be compared to those used overseas. For example, few tourist authorities include an assessment of culinary performance in their ratings.

3.2 NEW-BUILD PROJECTS & REFURBISHMENTS

A number of our featured properties are newly built or substantially converted or refurbished each season, and we take every possible care with the owners to ensure that each such property is completed on schedule. Clearly however, matters outside our direct control, such as local authorities or adverse weather at critical times for example, can occasionally cause delays, and/or there may be changes to the designer’s or architect’s plans upon which we have based our description. In the event that either eventuality happens, we will advise you as soon as any impact on your holiday is clear. For more information, please see clause 1.4(a) of our Booking Conditions. 

3.3 FREE UPGRADE OFFERS

 Where a hotel offers ‘free’ upgrades on their rooms, these are subject to availability and may only be applicable to holidays taken in certain months of the season. The hotel may amend or withdraw this offer at any time during the season, without notice. 

3.4 CHECK-IN/CHECK-OUT TIMES 

Your room will normally be available from 4pm onwards but please bear with the accommodation if it takes longer. Check-out times may be before 10am or before your departure from resort.

3.5 BEDROOMS

At each of the hotel and apartment properties featured on our website we have an allocation of rooms/apartments at contract rates and conditions. When this allocation is full, it may be possible for us to apply for additional rooms, if we are asked to do so, but these may not always be offered to us at ‘contract’ rates and therefore a supplement may apply. This may also occur if we are asked to obtain rooms of a type/standard not included in our normal allocation. 

Some partner hotels do offer a choice of smoking and non-smoking rooms. Requests for a preferred type should be made at time of booking but cannot be guaranteed. Some of the properties featured may also be pet-friendly. Whilst we do not routinely offer pet-friendly holidays, private guests or guests booked with other tour operators may have the right to bring their pets to the hotel. If you have a pet allergy, you should discuss this with whoever you book with at the time. If you wish to take a pet on holiday with you, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the appropriate pet passports, vaccinations and insurances in place, where applicable. Some hotels may also levy additional charges to have pets in their properties, payable locally. Please ask our Reservations Team at the time of booking for relevant charges for ferry travel and hotels.

The size, decor, soundproofing, style and furnishing of bedrooms can differ markedly, even within the same property. There is also considerable variation in floor space, head clearance, clothes storage facilities (sometimes very limited), types of bed and bedding. In certain locations, particularly in Austria and Switzerland, a twin is commonly accepted as referring to two separate mattresses and duvets contained in one large frame, referred to as an 'Austrian twin' or 'Continental twin'. Twin beds cannot always be separated. Beds may be sofa beds or chair beds, particularly where part of the room is intended as either a sitting area or sleeping area. Some rooms are listed as ‘under eaves’, which can at times limit head clearance by way of low beams and/or the slant of the roof. 

Dimensions: Dimensions of rooms in hotels or apartments when quoted are approximate, and normally include the bathroom and the balcony area.

Extra Beds: Where an extra bed is added, this may limit the space available and may be smaller than conventional sized single beds. Rooms with extra beds are still bookable for two person occupancy, although in this case the hotelier may allocate a standard-sized twin bedded room without extra beds. Single rooms do not always match up either in size or facilities to twin bedded rooms, even when a supplement is paid. If you require a cot, we advise that you book a room that can take an extra bed, otherwise the room may feel cramped. Hotel charges for cots must be paid directly to the hotel.

Specific to Canada: Most rooms have two double beds and, in many cases, hotels allow up to four person occupancy in these rooms. This arrangement may not be suitable for four adults but represents good value for parents who do not mind sharing with their children.  Some hotels have rooms of the same category with either one double bed for two persons, or two double beds for two to four persons. Where this is the case, prices are based on four persons sharing a room with two beds and supplements are payable for two persons in a room. The two person occupancy supplement will usually be the same for a room with one double bed as for a room with two double beds.

Specific to Lapland Cabins: Due to the varying styles of cabin, many will vary in size – including those that are provided within the same category. As a result, the sharing supplement is calculated based on the number of people occupying the cabin, and not by the number of beds available. It should therefore not be confused with a traditional under-occupancy charge (as discussed above). As with most supplements, this charge is non-refundable.

TV: Where a TV is advertised, no guarantee is implied as to how many English-speaking channels will be available, if any, including Satellite TV.

Air-conditioning: even though the property may feature air-conditioning in the rooms, certain countries have strict policies on when the air-conditioning is operational during the season and this is governed by local law. Some hotels may have centrally-controlled air-conditioning, rather than individual units in guest bedrooms, and these are controlled by the hotel management.

Some properties include un-advertised facilities such as a TV or kitchenette in the room, which may be disconnected or otherwise out of service. No refund or compensation is payable for the non-availability or non-operation of any property facilities which are not advertised by us and do not form part of your package holiday contract.

Mezzanine levels: Where mezzanine levels are described, they may be accessible by steep stairs or ladders and will typically be under the eaves in most units or hotels.

Balconies/Terraces & views: Where a supplement has been paid for a balcony or a terrace, neither a specific view nor aspect is guaranteed. Typically a ‘side’ view will be a view looking out and to the side from your balcony. It should not be assumed that a balcony will include seating or a panoramic view, whether seated or not. In some cases they may be ‘Juliette’ style balconies, with limited floor space. Views from balconies, windows and terraces may be restricted by trees/foliage or other factors beyond our control and no express or implied representation is made regarding there being a ‘view’ of any kind. The balcony or terrace may be private or shared, and where a ground floor room is allocated, this may be a terrace rather than a balcony.

Cleaning: In apartments and self-catering apartments, it is generally accepted that a clean at the beginning of the week will occur. Your bedroom will be clean and tidy for your arrival. You will also be required to leave your apartment in a tidy state at the end of your stay and some apartments may provide an end of stay checklist to adhere to. It may also be the case that hotel rooms and all other accommodation are not cleaned on a daily basis.

Should you wish to arrange a mid-week clean, or request new towels and bedding, please speak to the accommodation provider who may assist further, but please bear in mind charges may be applied for these services. Apartment prices are based on a minimum occupancy as described on our website. Any local charges that may apply in some apartments are detailed on the accommodation pages and you should make provision for these, especially in the case of deposits which must be paid on arrival, as well as any hold of monies on your card for any incremental costs incurred during your stay. This deposit, or hold, may show on your account as a pending payment, but on check-out and assuming there are no outstanding charges this pending amount will be returned. This may take 3-5 working days, depending on your bank. In the case of damage occurring to your room or outstanding bills such as food or drink, these charges will be deducted from your card or deposit before any balance is returned. Credit cards are sometimes not accepted. 

3.6 OCCUPANCY

 As they are by definition not full-paying guests, children receiving a child discount do not count:

1)    Towards the size of a group for the purposes of calculating any group reduction

2)    Towards occupancy figures in European apartments, cabins or suites for the purpose of calculating any applicable under-occupancy supplements. (In the unlikely event that the under-occupancy supplements make the total family price higher with the child discounts than without, we will simply cost the holiday at the adult price and give each child (maximum two children) a special reduction of £50.00 per child).

3.7 ANNEXES 

When annexes are used, these may be directly owned and controlled by the accommodation provider or contracted in private homes. They may either be joined to the main building or be within walking distance of the accommodation.

3.8 LIFTS

Please note that in some properties, lifts may not directly service all floors and access to and from these floors may be by stairway only. Not all properties have lifts.

3.9 SEATING AREAS

May not typically consist of a full lounge or separate lounge area, but will normally include chair(s), a sofa or other forms of seating.

3.10 SECURITY 

We cannot be held responsible for the damage to, loss or theft of personal belongings or equipment from any accommodation.

3.11 WI-FI/INTERNET ACCESS 

Where Wi-Fi or internet access is indicated in a property description, this belongs to the property and its availability is outside our control. In some more remote resorts signal strength may be limited throughout the whole resort and not just in our properties. No guarantee is given or implied that it will be operative during your holiday; you will not be advised in advance if this facility is removed, and no compensation or refund will be paid if it is not available for whatever reason. Charges may apply. We ask for your understanding and patience in remembering that the connections in the mountains are not as reliable or as strong as you may be used to in the UK. The connections will, in normal circumstances, be suitable for the checking of emails and basic web-browsing, but the downloading and streaming of films and other media may not be possible. Safe-keeping of your laptop computer/tablet/smartphone is your own responsibility, as is ensuring that it is properly insured for the circumstances above; no liability will be accepted for damage to or loss or theft of laptops from accommodation, including if your insurance company refuses to pay out for any reason. We also accept no liability for any loss of data or virus infection to your device whilst on holiday with us, however caused. 

3.12 HOTEL LEISURE FACILITIES 

Some hotels, especially in Italy require you to wear a “bathing” cap whilst using the pool facilities.

Some hotels adopt a ‘no swimwear’ rule in respect of their sauna areas. Please note, each hotel has its own policy on this rule, which is subject to change without notice. In hotels with spas or wellness centres, massages/beauty treatments will normally be provided by the hotel’s own wellness area staff, but in some cases will be available to book through the hotel with a visiting provider of these services.

General hotel facilities may be open seasonally and their opening times may be subject to change.

Swimming pool, hot-tub, spa-bath and sauna temperatures are determined by the management or owners in accordance with local regulations or guidelines, and may not always match guests’ expectations. Leisure facilities may be subject to limited opening hours, and there may be restrictions on their use by children. Should any leisure facility become unavailable for any reason, we cannot guarantee being able to repair or replace it during your holiday, and do not offer compensation for inconvenience or curtailed use in such an event. 

Some hotels adopt a ‘no swimwear’ rule in respect of their sauna areas. Please note, each hotel has its own policy on this rule, which is subject to change without notice. In hotels with spas or wellness centres, massages/beauty treatments will normally be provided by the hotel’s own wellness area staff, but in some cases will be available to book through the hotel with a visiting provider of these services.

3.13 SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE ACCOMMODATION 

Where the accommodation provider offers a service such as childcare or kindergarten facilities, these services are offered and available for use by guests entirely at their own risk. There is no guarantee that the services offered will be equivalent to a UK standard and they may differ from the description of the facility published at the time.

3.14 MEAL ARRANGEMENTS 

If you book half board, the first meal you will receive will usually be dinner on the day of your arrival in the resort and the last meal will be breakfast on the morning of your departure from the resort. No drinks are included on a half board option (unless stipulated). Some hotels can charge for tap water, or may only offer bottled water at an applicable charge.

Clients arriving late at a hotel will normally receive a cold plate. At peak times, some hotels may choose to seat clients together on larger tables. “All Inclusive” hotels include breakfast, a light lunch, evening meals and unlimited drinks in the basic holiday price (although set times and choices may apply at some hotels). Where packed lunches are provided as part of your accommodation stay, they will not be provided on the day of departure.

Our 'Exclusive Hotels' bridge the gap between the traditional chalet holiday and locally-run hotels. They are staffed by Hotelplan employees and offer a relaxed atmosphere and the privacy of a chalet combined with expanded facilities and a residents' bar.

4.1 WHAT’S INCLUDED

APPLICABLE TO CATERED CHALETS & EXCLUSIVE HOTELS

What’s included:

•  Bed linen, one bath towel, one hand towel per guest.
• Duvets in every chalet.
• All overseas taxes.
• All chalets and our Exclusive Hotels are non-smoking.
• FREE Wi-Fi in public areas.

APPLICABLE TO CATERED CHALETS ONLY

What’s included:

• Continental buffet breakfast on 7 mornings with cooked breakfast options on 6 mornings. Continental breakfast laid out on staff day off. NB: for those on early departing flights home, breakfast may be Continental only.
• Afternoon tea on 6 afternoons (not on staff days off).
• 3 course set evening meal followed by tea/coffee, cheese and port on 6 nights. Special diets, including vegetarian meals, must be pre-booked.
• Choice of complimentary quality red, white and rosé wines during the evening meal service, or a choice of local beer or soft drinks.
• The services of your own chalet host 6 days a week.

APPLICABLE TO EXCLUSIVE HOTELS ONLY

What’s included:

• Continental buffet breakfast on 7 mornings with cooked breakfast options on 6 mornings, tea and coffee. Continental breakfast laid out on staff day off. NB: for those on early departing flights home, breakfast may be Continental only.
• Afternoon tea: cake, savoury treats, tea and coffee on 6 afternoons (not on staff day off).
• Pre-dinner canapés and prosecco. 
• Choice of complimentary quality wines during the evening meal service. Choice of red, white and rosé.
• 3 course evening meal on 6 nights. Evening meals will either be a set 3-course menu, or be served buffet-style with a choice of dishes. Please see the individual property descriptions.
• Complimentary tea and coffee available during the day.
• Hotel-based Representative-Receptionist on duty mornings and evenings 5 days a week.
• The services of our friendly Hotel staff, 7 days a week.
• All our Exclusive Hotels have a bar area on site.

Hotel Le Savoie in Val d’Isère: Slightly different arrangements apply here (e.g. an extended menu choice, flexible dining times, 5-course evening meals, and the property being shared with guests from both our Inghams and Esprit Ski brands) but it is otherwise run on traditional our Exclusive Hotel lines and guest expectations should accordingly be oriented to this more informal style of holiday, operated by our largely young staff. Specifically, please note that certain services you might expect in a ‘French 5 star’ hotel (e.g. room service, à la carte dining, daily towel/linen change, minibars, lunch service, luggage porters etc.) are not provided. 

Hotel De Champoluc: Run by the property owner and his team, the arrangements here will differ slightly in that the only Hotelplan employees on site are those of our Esprit child care team (the property is shared by our sister brands, Inghams and Esprit Ski).

Hotel Les Grangettes: Managed and run by experienced hospitality restauranteurs, European Pubs, the Grangettes includes Jack’s Apres Ski Bar (previously the Meribar) with live music until 8pm, when Evo Kitchen will take over to serve restaurant meals. our Exclusive Hotel guests eat in the hotel dining room, but can swap their evening meal for a €20 credit (to be used that day) in the Evo Kitchen restaurant. There is one staff day off midweek, when only the continental breakfast is served. 

4.2 ACCOMMODATION & STAR RATING STANDARDS

There is no official rating system for catered chalet and our Exclusive Hotel accommodation, as many were not built for commercial purposes. We have introduced our own ‘diamond’ rating as a means of enabling our guests to compare our managed properties with one another. As our menus are of the same standard across our managed properties, we do not consider catering when assessing our diamond ratings. Our Exclusive Hotel are not the same as ‘Hotels’, and are run as larger scale chalets staffed by employees who are carefully selected and who receive comprehensive training from us, but who are not necessarily trained hospitality professionals.

Accommodation will comply with any appropriate local standards of the country in which the property is situated, which may differ from UK standards. Within chalets and our Exclusive Hotel, rooms and facilities can vary greatly, and we often find that a degree of tolerance is needed when it comes to Alpine standards of plumbing, electrics and hot water supplies. 

Our prices reflect the standard of the accommodation you choose, but can also be influenced by location in resort, staffing ratios, transfer costs and, in particular, regional differences in rentals. 

4.3 OCCUPANCY

When two figures are given for the capacity of a chalet, the lower one is the normal occupancy figure, based on regular beds including sofa-beds in some cases. The higher figure allows for increased occupancy, using put-u-up beds. Neither figure includes infants occupying cots. Put-u-ups and sofa-beds may limit the space available and cause inconvenience, so please do ask our Reservations team for advice if bedroom space is important to you. Where bunk beds are present in accommodation, they may not be comparable to standard full-size single beds.

4.4 UNDER-OCCUPANCY 

We ask you to contribute towards our loss if you reserve rooms for your exclusive use but do not fill all the beds. The supplement per empty bed payable is 75% of the basic adult air-inclusive price for the first empty bed space, and 100% for each empty bed space thereafter. We reserve the right to limit the number of beds left unoccupied and the number that we are able to offer at a 75% discount. The empty bed charge in the Hotel Le Savoie is 100% of the basic adult air-inclusive price in all cases. Infants occupying cots do not count towards occupancy figures.

4.5 EXCLUSIVE USE 

Entire chalets or our Exclusive Hotels can be booked for exclusive use for your group or family. This means that no other guests will be in residence, however Inghams or Esprit Ski staff and/or members of the chalet owner’s family may occupy parts of the building. Please ask for written details if this matter is important to you. If you cannot fill all the advertised minimum-occupancy beds, a supplement is payable that replaces the total room under-occupancy supplements. If separate bookings are sharing a chalet or our Exclusive Hotel, we are not able to disclose any details appertaining to other guests. Party leaders are responsible for their groups. 

4.6 COMMUNAL AREAS 

We endeavour to include floor plans and floor-by-floor descriptions on our website. This includes an indication of the communal areas available to our guests. Seating in these areas may not typically consist of a full lounge or separate lounge area, but will normally include chair(s), a sofa or other forms of seating. Please be aware though that there may not be sufficient soft seating for every guest. 

4.7 SECURITY 

Our properties do not have safes for securing guests’ valuables and it is unusual for chalets to be locked during the day or overnight, or for there to be locks on bedroom doors. Our Exclusive Hotels normally have a night porter on duty. In many cases we offer keys, key cards or combination locks for which a deposit may be payable, but this cannot be guaranteed. In some chalets, parts of the building may be shared by other residents using the same communal entrance. Although we do not specify these points in each chalet description, if it is of concern please ask our Reservations staff for details. We cannot accept liability for the damage to, loss or theft of personal belongings or ski equipment from any accommodation.

4.8 CHECK-IN 

Your room will normally be available from 4pm onwards but please bear with us if it takes a little longer. If you are leaving resort after 10am, we would ask that you please vacate your bedrooms before this time so that they can be made ready for arriving guests. 

In common with standard hotel industry practice, we reserve the right to take credit card imprints upon check-in at our Exclusive Hotels and certain chalets to cover potential damage costs or breakages.

We reserve the right to apply a damage deposit of up to £1,000 per booking either in the UK prior to departure or on arrival in resort. This is payable either by debit or credit card. We appreciate that normal usage causes wear upon furniture, fixtures and fittings and this is always taken in to consideration, but actual damage caused by guests, either by accident or negligence, must be paid for by the person who caused it, or by the party leader of the group, or will be retained from the Damage Deposit (where taken).

4.9 PORTERAGE 

Porterage is not included in the cost of the holiday. If you allow our staff or coach drivers to assist with the transfer of your luggage from or to the main coach and/or feeder vehicles, you do so entirely at your own risk as we do not accept responsibility for your luggage at any time and you remain responsible at all times for ensuring your luggage is on the appropriate vehicle.

4.10 BEDROOMS

The size, decor, soundproofing and furnishing of bedrooms can differ markedly, even within the same property. There is also considerable variation in floor space, head clearance, clothes storage facilities (sometimes very limited), types of bed and bedding. In some chalets, bedrooms lead from communal rooms. Some rooms are listed as ‘under eaves’, which can at times limit head clearance by way of low beams and/or the slant of the roof. 

We make every effort to describe bedrooms as accurately as possible and to this end we use the term SUITE (where there are distinctly separate sleeping areas, e.g. a bedroom and separate living-room with sofa-bed) and ROOM (where all beds are in one area). We recommend that you stress special room requirements at the time of booking. Some bedrooms and suites have kitchenettes reflecting their occasional use for self-catering. They are not equipped for use and for safety reasons we disconnect most of the electrical and gas equipment. 

Beds may be sofa-beds or chair-beds, particularly in family accommodation where part of the room is intended as either a sleeping area or a sitting area. Chalets and our Exclusive Hotels may provide an ‘Austrian twin’ or ‘Continental twin’ (i.e. a double bed frame with two single mattresses and two single duvets) in rooms described as doubles or twins. Twin beds may not always be able to be separated.

When bedrooms are described as having ‘private’ facilities which are not en suite, this means the facilities are not shared with other guests, though your Chalet Host may occasionally need to use the wc and hand-washing facilities.

En Suite Facilities: These will always include a bath or mini-bath or shower, but do not necessarily include toilets - please see the individual property’s ‘Accommodation Summary’ for details of each room’s precise facilities. Bathrooms may not always have full size baths and showers may not always have a shower tray or curtain.

Balconies and Views: Where a supplement has been paid for a balcony, neither a specific view nor aspect is guaranteed, and the balcony may be private or shared. It should not be assumed that a balcony will include seating. Views from balconies and windows may be restricted by trees/foliage or other factors beyond our control and no express or implied representation is made regarding there being a ‘view’ of any kind from a window or balcony, unless expressly described.

4.11 CATERING

Breakfast is run on a self-service basis, normally between 8 and 9am. There is of course unlimited tea and coffee. The milk supplied is likely to be UHT. With a full quota of guests present, breakfast can get busy so a degree of patience may be needed and our staff may ask that guests stagger their arrival times for breakfast, to facilitate smoother service. 

For afternoon tea our staff provide a cake (and savoury treats in our Exclusive Hotels) daily, except on their day off, and guests should help themselves to tea and coffee. 

Evening meals are provided for 6 nights on a 7 night holiday, and 12 nights on a 14 night holiday. Unless you have exclusive use of a chalet and have opted for family dining, Children’s High Tea is served between 5 and 6pm and Adult dinner is served around 8pm. Please see the information above for each accommodation type and the catering offered, and also the individual property descriptions for details. In our Exclusive Hotels, you can book your preferred family dining time with Reception. 

We do not permit non-guests of our chalets and our Exclusive Hotels to dine in our properties, except under exceptional circumstances and only if agreed in writing at time of booking. 

Children's High Tea / Family Dining: Unless you have exclusive use of a chalet, dinner in our chalets is strictly an adults and secondary-school age children’s occasion and children 10 years old and under on the holiday start date are served Children’s High Tea between 5 and 6pm (for further details, please see section (s) below on “Children’s High Tea”). In our Exclusive Hotels, children 10 years old and under may eat with their parents at designated dining times pre-bookable at Reception. We cannot accept liability if we are not informed of the child’s age. In sole-occupancy/exclusive use chalets, you can choose prior to departure whether you have family dining or Children's High Tea and adult dining for the week.

The consumption of duty-free and locally purchased alcohol is prohibited in the public areas of our Exclusive Hotels, in accordance with local licensing laws.

In all properties on the first evening, due to differing arrival times, the evening meal will be served at the convenience of the majority. For those on early departing transfers to the airport, only the Continental breakfast may be provided.

Guests are not permitted to use chalet or our Exclusive Hotel kitchens except where the ‘cook your own supper’ option is available in chalets. Further information will be provided by our resort staff. Kitchens of chalets and our Exclusive Hotels are not to be used to prepare daily lunches and/or an evening meal on the staff night off. This includes using any of the electrical appliances such as microwaves, cookers and dishwashers, although this list is not exhaustive. Bottle warmers for infants can be provided on request locally.

Special Diets & Food Allergies: If you have a serious allergy which requires a special diet to be prepared separately from other guests’ food, your booking cannot be confirmed until we have been able to confirm we can supply such a diet, even if you receive a booking confirmation invoice in the interim (see extreme food allergies below).

Please note that our liability in respect of Special Diets & Food Allergies applies only to the chalet and Exclusive Hotel accommodation that we provide, and you are advised to check with your airline as to what procedures they have in place in this regard.

Vegetarian meals are offered as part of the menu choice in our Exclusive Hotels. In chalets we do need 14 days’ notice in writing of a request for vegetarian or vegan meals and for these to be pre-booked. 

Other special diets (e.g. gluten-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, low-fat/cholesterol, vegan, specific food allergies etc.) can normally be provided, but must be discussed with our Reservations team before booking. All such dietary requests and/or food allergies must be confirmed to us in writing by email or registered post at least 14 days prior to departure. We unfortunately are unable to accept special dietary requests within 4 days prior to departure and will be unable to confirm that we can cater for your needs. 

Food Allergy Policy: We have a well-developed Food Allergy Policy in place, with a view to avoiding any allergic reaction incidents, and shall exercise reasonable care to avoid specified food and drink ingredients if special diets are agreed at the time of booking and confirmed in writing as above. However, in choosing to travel with us, you accept the following facts:- that chalet and our Exclusive Hotel staff involved in catering, including for children’s meals, are generally not qualified catering professionals; that no food allergy system can ever provide a 100% guarantee against any contact with a specified foodstuff; that items such as eggs, dairy products and nuts are constantly present in chalet kitchens and dining areas, so cross-contamination cannot be ruled out; that our staff cannot police what snacks third parties, including other guests’ children, may bring into contact with the allergic person; that staff may not be aware of precise food contents (where they do not speak the language in which the ingredients are labelled, for example); that our staff cannot police lunches provided by ski-schools. We therefore cannot and do not guarantee the avoidance of specified ingredients, and cannot accept liability in the event of any dissatisfaction with special dietary arrangements, including the occurrence of an allergic reaction.

Extreme Food Allergies: where a food allergy is so severe that the slightest exposure to the substance in question could cause a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction (for example where a reaction may be triggered other than by actually eating the foodstuff - such as by smell alone, or by minute trace elements on the hands of a staff member or another child), you must advise us in writing of the severe nature of the allergy at the time of booking. We then reserve the right to advise you that, in our considered view, the controls we are able to implement in the family ski chalet environment are insufficient to guarantee your, or your child’s safety, in which case, should you choose to proceed with the booking, you do so entirely at your own risk, and would be asked to confirm this in writing in order to confirm the booking. If you fail to advise us of a known extreme allergy at the point of booking, you will be in breach of contract, and we will therefore have no liability to you at all in the event of any incident.

4.12 STAFF 

Our chalets and our Exclusive Hotels may have Inghams or Esprit Ski staff and/or members of the chalet owner’s family or employees living in, and may be used by staff as a resort office, store room or similar. Please ask for written details if this matter is important to you.

If you are booking a chalet or Exclusive Hotel holiday with us, you acknowledge and accept that booking a chalet or Exclusive Hotel style of holiday is not the same as booking ‘a hotel’. Specifically, you accept that the staff are largely young, seasonal workers from all walks of life, and not hospitality professionals, and you undertake to travel with realistic expectations and a degree of tolerance for minor issues which might occasionally fall short of perfection. 

In order to comply with local labour laws our chalet and Exclusive Hotel staff have one day’s rest each week and will otherwise work on a rota basis. On their days off, our staff will leave out a simple continental breakfast and are then off work until the following day. During this time, no other catering is provided. In the evening you have the opportunity to sample dinner in one of the village restaurants or, where applicable, select our ‘cook your own supper’ option. 

4.13 BREXIT IMPACTS 

The UK’s decision to leave the EU has had significant implications across the UK travel industry on the legalities, work permit requirements and costs of employing in-resort staff within the EU. Given these ongoing challengers, we reserve the right to amend our chalet and Exclusive Hotel staffing and/or catering offering, in the event that any change in employment or other EU regulations renders our current staffing operations untenable. Any such changes would of course be notified to you as soon as possible. 

4.14 SEASON START-UP

We work hard to train all our staff pre-season to the standard required to deliver the services outlined in our brochure and on our website, but our holiday prices are kept low for the first week of the season, reflecting the need for a degree of tolerance from our guests for the fact that staff are settling in to new roles.

4.15 CLEANING & HYGIENE 

Your bedroom will normally be clean and tidy for your arrival (subject to guests’ departure/arrival times) and en suite bathrooms will be cleaned once, mid-week, during your stay. Otherwise its state is left to you. The chalet or Exclusive Hotel staff will normally empty your accessible waste bins each day and clean all communal rooms (except on their day off). We are particularly conscious of the need for catering hygiene and during their pre-season training course, all our catering staff will have been trained to the City & Guilds Level 2 in Food Safety. Our managers also carry out spot checks and full hygiene inspections regularly. If you are unhappy with any aspect of chalet hygiene or cleaning, please raise the matter immediately in resort so that appropriate action can be taken. Our reservations staff can give details of laundry facilities in resorts as our chalets and our Exclusive Hotels do not have facilities for guests to use.

4.16 SLIPPER ZONES 

We ask guests not to wear outdoor shoes or boots inside chalets and our Exclusive Hotels for reasons of hygiene and to protect the furnishings and fittings, so please ensure that you take slippers or indoor shoes with you.

4.17 TELEPHONES & WI-FI

Our properties do not have telephones. If a telephone facility is important to you we recommend you take a mobile phone. 

We have Wi-Fi installed and available in the public areas of all our chalets and our Exclusive Hotels, but signal strength is likely to vary by property, depending on location. However, in the event that technical or other issues prevent this, no refund or compensation will be paid and there is no guarantee that Wi-Fi is typically available in bedrooms. We ask for your understanding and patience in remembering that the connections in the mountains are not as reliable or as strong as you may be used to in the UK. The connections will, in normal circumstances, be suitable for the checking of emails and basic web-browsing, but the downloading and streaming of films and other media will not be possible. 

We also request that you limit usage to one device per person, to avoid over-loading the system and thereby restricting its availability to other guests. Safe-keeping of your laptop computer/tablet/smartphone is your own responsibility, as is ensuring that it is properly insured for the circumstances above; no liability will be accepted for damage to or loss or theft of laptops from accommodation, including if your insurance company refuses to pay out for any reason. We also accept no liability for any loss of data or virus infection to your device whilst on holiday with us, however caused. In some mountain resorts, signal strength is limited throughout the resort not just in our properties. 

4.18 TVs / DVDs

Some of the larger chalets have TVs and DVD-players which guests may use to play their own DVDs. Unfortunately, if TVs or DVD players become unserviceable, we cannot always get immediate replacements as the UK systems are not compatible with local versions and we may have to obtain spares from the UK. Where a TV is advertised, no guarantee is implied as to how many English-speaking channels will be available, if any, whilst some are advertised as “TV/DVD” which implies that no channels (satellite or otherwise) are available and that the TV is to be used for playing DVDs only.

4.19 SMOKING

We operate a strict no-smoking policy in all our chalets and our Exclusive Hotels, which includes the use of E-Cigarettes. A guest who breaches this policy will be liable to pay a fine of €100 / CHF150 to pay for additional deep-cleaning required, and will be held liable for all other consequential damages sought against Hotelplan Ltd by its other guests and/or the property owners.

4.20 PETS

Notwithstanding changes to UK legislation, we do not permit pets in our properties.

4.21 CHILD CARE 

Please note that it is not possible for us to child-proof our chalets and our Exclusive Hotels, and that children, their behaviour and their safety, remain the sole responsibility of their parents at all times, including during adult dinners. 

4.22 NEW-BUILD PROJECTS & REFURBISHMENTS 

A number of chalets and our Exclusive Hotels are newly built or substantially converted or refurbished for us each season, and we take every possible care with the owners to ensure that each such property is completed on schedule. Clearly however, matters outside our direct control, such as local authorities or adverse weather at critical times for example, can occasionally cause delays, and/or there may be changes to the designer’s or architect’s plans upon which we have based our description. In the event that either eventuality happens, we will advise you as soon as any impact on your holiday is clear in accordance with clause 1.4(a) of the Booking Conditions. 

4.23 FACILITIES 

In our managed properties, facilities such as a lift, log fire, pool, sauna, steam-room, hot-tub, TV/DVD player, Wi-Fi, or other leisure facilities contracted through us as part of your package holiday arrangement may become unavailable during the season. If these are important to your package holiday enjoyment, please make this known to us at the time of booking and confirm to us in writing. If we are informed that there have been any changes to such facilities, and you have alerted us, in writing, to the fact that they are important to your booking, we shall do our best to advise you but we shall not be obliged in such circumstances either to provide the facility or to compensate for its absence. 

We do not normally provide separate towels for leisure facilities, so we suggest you bring your own towels for use of such leisure facilities. Leisure facilities may be subject to limited opening hours, i.e. 4pm-7pm and are normally out of use for at least one day per week while they are cleaned.

Swimming-pool, hot-tub, spa-bath and sauna temperatures are determined by the owners in accordance with local regulations or guidelines, and may not always match guests’ expectations. We do not recommend that children or those suffering with heart conditions use hot-tubs, saunas or steam rooms. Please note that there are no Lifeguards on duty and we cannot guarantee staff will be available in or around the pool or hot-tub area at all times. Please note that you use all such leisure facilities at your own risk, and are responsible in particular for your children’s safety in leisure facilities at all times.

Should any leisure facility become unavailable for any reason, we cannot guarantee being able to repair or replace it during your holiday, and do not offer compensation for inconvenience or curtailed use in such an event.

It is a requirement of your booking that all passengers provide certain information which is then shared with government authorities and border control and security agencies for the purpose of security and counter-terrorism. This is general known as either Passenger Name Information (PNR), Advance Passenger Information (API) or 'E-Borders'. The information that you will be required to provide will include, but is not limited to: your full name as per your passport, gender, date of birth, travel document type, travel document number, start date and expiry dates, and the country of issue. 

When completing your Advanced Passenger Information (API), we will ask you for a mobile telephone number that we may use in the event of delays to our travel arrangements, so that we may keep you as informed as possible. If you wish to be kept up-to-date with such information, please provide us with a mobile telephone number that will be switched on at such times. You may incur a charge from your service provider. Your mobile number will not be used for marketing purposes. If you have booked through a Travel Agent and they enter their own telephone contact details, in doing so they assume responsibility to act as a conduit of any information received via our Text Message service and pass any such information on to you.

All flight arrangements are made under our own Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 0025. When you travel by air, land or on water, the relevant carrier’s Conditions of Carriage will apply to your journey, some of which may limit liability, as set out under ‘Our Liability to you’. We are required to advise you of the actual carrier(s) (or if the carrier(s) is not known, the likely carrier(s) that will operate your flight(s) at the time of booking. 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) as soon as we become aware of this. Any change to the operating carrier(s) after your booking has been confirmed will be notified to you as soon as possible. 

We are not always in a position to confirm the flight timings which will be used in connection with your flight. All land and air travel arrangements, airlines, aircraft types, timings, routings and arrival airports are provisional until confirmed with our e-tickets and may change after this due to circumstances beyond our control. The flight timings shown on our website and/or detailed on your Booking Confirmation and Invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. Flight timings are outside our control. They are set by airlines and are subject to various factors including airport operating slots and restrictions, traffic control restrictions, weather conditions, potential technical problems and the ability of passengers to check in on time.

Operational decisions may be taken by carriers and/or airports and other such authorities, resulting in delays, diversions or re-scheduling. As this is not within our control, we cannot accept liability for such situations. In a force majeure situation, such as severe weather conditions or industrial disputes, we reserve the right to substitute airlines/aircraft and make any necessary alteration to your travel arrangements, including a change of airport and method of carriage, to enable us to fulfil our package holiday promise to transport you to and from the resort or your UK departure airport. 

Specific instructions relating to departure and travel arrangements will be provided approximately 2 weeks before departure. You must check this information very carefully immediately upon receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times and other up to date travel information. It is possible that this information may change. Any change in the identity of the carrier, flight timings and/or aircraft type (if advised) will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges except where specified in these conditions. Our website is our responsibility, as your tour operator. It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit the airlines mentioned herein, or any airline whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements.

We are also obliged to bring to your attention the existence of a “community list” of airlines that are banned from operating within the EU. To view it go to www.europa.eu and search on banned airlines. 

5.1 FLIGHTS

In the majority of cases, seat allocations are handled by the airline, not us and seats together cannot be guaranteed in all cases, particularly if you arrive later for check-in, although check-in staff and cabin crew will do their best. Clearly, when a flight is full for example, it may be physically impossible to seat every single passenger as they would wish. Some airlines allow passengers to pre-book seating and in-flight meals on certain routes, which must be done directly by you with the airline upon payment of a fee. In the event of any issue with the provision of any seating or in-flight meals booked and paid for with the airline directly, this will need to be taken up with the airline themselves.

Most of our flights operate on a ‘Buy-on-Board’ basis for snacks and drinks, but we cannot guarantee that this service will always be available or that the airline will cater for special dietary requirements.

Pregnant women are usually eligible to fly up to the 28th week of pregnancy on the date of return travel, but as this may vary, please check with both your doctor and the relevant airline. Children under 2 years of age on the return date of travel must sit on a parent’s lap and are not entitled to a luggage allowance or catering. Civil Aviation Authority regulations dictate that a child of 2 years or older on date of return travel must have its own air seat, and will otherwise be denied boarding by the airline. Such a child must be booked and priced accordingly for the entirety of the holiday.

5.2 FLIGHT CHANGES, DELAYS & DIVERSIONS 

Delays to flights do sometimes occur. At such times we work closely with our airline partners and overseas offices to try to make any delay as short as possible, and to reorganise transfers accordingly where we can. When a delay occurs we will try to make sure refreshments are made available where appropriate. Such arrangements will normally be the responsibility of the airline concerned, though where this is not done, the passenger/s should claim for reasonable expenses from the airline. Our recommended travel insurance policy provides some cover in the event of delay at your outward or homeward point of departure. If you or any member of your party misses your flight or other transport arrangement, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact us and the airline or other transport operator concerned immediately.

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. If your airline does not comply with these rules, you may use the CAA Passenger Advice and Complaints Service. See www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems for further details.

Reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday price from us. If, for any reason, you do not claim against the airline and make a claim for compensation from us, you must, at the time of payment of any compensation to you, make a complete assignment to us of the rights you have against the airline in relation to the claim that gives rise to that compensation payment. A delay or cancellation to your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight.

We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in clause 1.6 of our Booking Conditions (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) on any flight).

We cannot offer compensation for inconvenience or loss of holiday time caused by flight delays, flight diversions, road/weather conditions or curtailment regardless of how caused. Similarly it is not possible to obtain refunds for any unused accommodation or facilities or for losses, costs and expenses of other travel/accommodation arrangements outside of the package holiday resulting from flight changes, delays or diversions, which should be claimed on your own insurance policy. 

Very rarely we may be forced by, for example, adverse weather conditions or road closures (not necessarily in your chosen resort) to make alternative arrangements and in the interests of safety for your outward and/or return journey (generally at the point of flight departure and dependent upon availability of local facilities) the cost of which, if not covered by the airline, must be claimed on your own travel insurance. In such circumstances we will endeavour to provide reasonable assistance with alternative arrangements, but you will not be entitled to additional compensation.

If you are using connecting or internal flights either outbound or homebound to connect with our flights and experience a delay, we ask that you telephone us to inform us of your amended travel arrangements. Relevant contact details can be found in the Contact Us section on our website. Please note that we do not accept responsibility in the event of any delay to, or if you miss, connecting flights or other services that have not been booked through us. If you are booking connecting flights we would recommend that you purchase a ticket which may allow a degree of flexibility in the event of any delay or change to your advertised flight timings. 

If your flight is delayed resulting in late arrival in resort (i.e. after 9pm) you will usually be offered a cold plate or a reduced menu on arrival. 

On your return journey to the UK our obligation, particularly in a force majeure situation, is to provide transportation back to your original UK departure airport. To do this we reserve the right to substitute airlines/aircraft and make any necessary alteration to your travel arrangements, including a change of method of carriage. Return flights may be arranged to an alternative airport in the UK with onward surface transportation to your original airport. 

Where it is impossible for you to return to your departure point as per the agreed return date of your package, due to “unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances”, we shall provide you with any necessary accommodation (where possible, of a comparable standard) for a period not exceeding 3 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 in advance. 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 a 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.

We will not accept responsibility for alternative travel arrangements you choose to make yourself and in no circumstances will we accept responsibility for loss of earnings or professional fees.

5.3 BAGGAGE & BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE

The baggage allowance for our flights is advised with your e-tickets (normally 15-20kgs per person, excluding infants) and must not be exceeded in any circumstances, or check-in staff may levy excess baggage charges or be unable to place your luggage on the flight. Baggage allowance on scheduled flights is limited to one piece of hold baggage per person (excluding infants) and weight restrictions should be checked with us at the time of booking, as they may differ from those published by the airlines themselves. If you are travelling on a low cost airline (e.g. EasyJet) we will automatically reserve the carriage of one piece of baggage for you. 

5.4 PERSONAL BELONGINGS

All your belongings remain your responsibility at all times and Hotelplan Ltd will not be held responsible for any items being mislaid, loaded onto wrong coaches, left behind etc. It is normally your responsibility to manage your baggage at all times including its transfer on and off transfer vehicles and to and from the hotel or property you are residing in. No liability is accepted for misplacement of items, leaving items/luggage behind or mistaking someone else’s luggage for your own or another guest/person taking your luggage off any transfer, believing it to be their own or otherwise. Hotelplan Ltd accepts no responsibility for luggage lost or damaged by the airline or airport baggage handlers or coach drivers, and if this occurs, you should notify the service provider immediately of any problem that has arisen. You should contact the airline, airport or coach company directly and use your travel insurance for any resulting claim. Baggage allowance may change if your carrier changes.

5.5 CARRIAGE OF SKIS/SNOWBOARDS 

If you have your own equipment, then please do let us know when booking your holiday so that we can do our best to ensure that your skis or snowboard can be carried on your flight, as ski carriage can be limited. Ski boots and snowboard boots are carried as part of your normal luggage allowance. 

Pre-booked skis/snowboard carriage on our charter flights is normally £40 return per snowboard or pair of skis, with the exception of EasyJet who can charge £70 to pre-book, and this can sometimes be up to £70 each way on scheduled flights to Europe (current price to be advised at time of booking). On long-haul flights, for example to Canada, the charge can be in excess of £70 each way, so please do clarify this at the time of booking. Please be aware that this is per set of equipment and that ski/snowboard bags presented for carriage containing more than one pair of skis/snowboard where the appropriate charge per set of equipment has not been pre-paid will be charged for at check-in. Carriage of skis/snowboards presented for check-in at the airport without being shown as pre-booked on your confirmation invoice cannot be guaranteed and, if carried, will carry a charge payable at the airport in cash prior to check-in which can be considerably higher than the pre-booked price.

Some aircraft have limited capacity for skis/snowboards, and space is allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. These flights do not operate a ‘pay at the airport’ alternative. No liability is accepted by Hotelplan Ltd if you do not pre-book carriage and the airline is unable to carry your equipment. There is no liability taken for airlines that may not offer to carry snowboards within their ski carriage policies.

If you are travelling on a scheduled flight and wish to take your own skis please enquire at the time of booking as ski carriage rules and charges vary by airline. Charges quoted are usually ‘per sector’ (i.e. a charge applies for the outbound and homebound journey). You may wish to consider pre-booking ski hire in resort instead.

5.6 TRANSFERS

Where transfer times are given, these are approximate and do not include refreshment/toilet stops or delays dropping guests at other properties. The times may also be affected by weather, road and traffic conditions. In particular, congestion during continental school holidays can cause delays, as may road closures due to roadworks, avalanche risks, etc. We ask for your understanding accordingly if, faced with forecasts of heavy snow and/or heavy holiday traffic, we need to arrange your homeward transfer earlier than normal to allow extra time to reach the airport. In order to keep prices low and still offer a range of UK departure airports, we often combine our coach transfers to and from resort with guests travelling on different flights. As such, it may be necessary to wait for guests arriving on other flights, but we try to keep waiting time to a minimum. Some of our twin centre holidays involve a transfer via the airport. Please ask our Reservations Team if this is important to you.

Transfers can be by coach, shared mini-bus, train or car. Private transfers can be arranged at a supplement – please speak to our Reservations Team for further information. “Short transfers” indicates a resort with driving times to/from the airport of 90 minutes or less in normal, undisrupted weather and traffic conditions. Transfers are not always accompanied by a Representative, though you will usually be met at your arrival airport. The transfer into resort may not stop directly outside your property and at times, a feeder may be provided (if applicable). If you require assistance to the door of your accommodation, please contact our Reservations team. 

Although many coaches are equipped with toilets, they are not always available for use, for a variety of reasons. European coaches do not always have fitted seatbelts, though where seatbelts are available we urge you to use them. Infants under the age of 2 years on the return date of travel must sit on a parent’s lap, whereas passengers 2 years and older are allocated their own seat on flights and transfers. If you wish to bring a car seat, or have an infant in a rear-facing car seat, please speak with our Reservations team as you may need to book and pay for a private transfer. 

Some properties are not situated close to coach-accessible roads and walks from 50 to 400 metres, sometimes with gradients, are necessary on arrival and departure. Please see the property description and, if this is important to you, call our Reservations team. Transfers will endeavour to drop you off directly outside your accommodation wherever possible, but there may be times where, due to adverse weather conditions or other circumstances beyond our control, this may not be possible. We will not accept liability for this and no compensation will be offered where you are required to walk some distance to your accommodation. 

In the event of a flight diversion to an outbound flight for whatever reason, we will endeavour to arrange coaches and staff to be at the alternative airport to meet you, but this cannot be guaranteed at short notice and we ask for your patience and understanding. No liability will be accepted if a diversion causes a delay at the arrival airport and/or a longer than advertised transfer to resort. Restrictions on drivers’ working hours can occasionally affect coach availability and may result in delays.

5.7 INDEPENDENT TRAVEL 

Please note that you should plan to arrive at your accommodation after 4pm on arrival day and to leave by 10am on your departure day. Very few properties have parking spaces for self-drive guests and others have extremely limited spaces or no space at all, so please check with our Reservations team before you travel. Public parking in resort is always subject to availability and will normally incur a charge which you pay locally. If arranging your own flights, it will not be possible to join our coach transfers, and you should be aware that it can be extremely expensive to arrange transfers by taxi from your arrival airport to the resort. There will not normally be any price reduction in the event that you choose not to use our flights.

Driving abroad: From 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photo card driving licence will not be valid and will no longer be issued by the DVLA. The counterpart was introduced to display driving licence details that could not be included on the photo card. These details include some vehicle categories you are entitled to drive and any endorsement/penalty points. For more information go to www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-licence-changes

If you are self-driving to resort and taking your own car, your UK driving licence will be recognised. Even if you have a GB and Euro symbol on your number plate, you must make sure that you display a “GB” sticker on your vehicle. If you are hiring a car, ensure you have a green card. In both cases you must make sure that you have the relevant international driving insurance with your chosen provider.

We recommend that you check the Government website for the most up-to-date information: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-in-the-eu-after-brexit 

6.1 YOUR CONTRACT

We may provide you with information (on our website and/or when you are on holiday) about activities and excursions which are available in the area you are visiting. We have no involvement in any such activities or excursions which are not operated, supervised, controlled or endorsed in any way by us. They are provided by local operators or other third parties who are entirely independent of us. They do not form any part of your contract with us even where we suggest particular operators/other third parties and/or assist you in booking such activities or excursions in any way.

We cannot accept any liability on any basis in relation to such activities or excursions and the acceptance of liability contained in clause 1.8(1) of our Booking Conditions will not apply to them. We do not however exclude liability for the negligence of ourselves or our employees resulting in your death or personal injury. We cannot guarantee accuracy at all times of information given in relation to such activities or excursions or about the area(s) you are visiting generally (except where this concerns the services which will form part of your contract) or that any particular excursion or activity which does not form part of our contract will take place as these services are not under our control.

When making your booking of ‘extra services’ (such as excursions) we will arrange for you to enter into a contract with the supplier/principal of the extra services in question (the “Service Provider”) named on your receipt or confirmation invoice. When we on behalf of the Service Provider issue a written confirmation to you, this signifies that the Service Provider has entered into a contract with you. Please Note: we act as an agent in the sale of such extra services regardless of whether those extra services are purchased via ourselves or one of our in-resort Representatives. The information that we provide in our brochure, on our website and in resort has been provided by the Service Provider.

As an agent we accept no responsibility for the acts or omissions of the Service Provider or for the services provided by the Service Provider. The Service Provider’s terms & conditions will apply to your booking and we advise you to read these carefully as they do contain important information about your booking. Please ask us for copies of these if you do not have them. 

6.2 BOOKING EXTRAS 

It’s advisable that you book any extras at the time of booking, as we cannot guarantee that they can be added later and prices can change at any time. If you add these extras after confirming your booking, you will be charged the price applicable at the time those extras are booked, not at the time the holiday itself was booked. We try wherever possible to obtain special offers and discounts from our chosen suppliers to pass on to our guests, though these are subject to availability and can be withdrawn at any time. Please ask our Reservations team about any applicable offers when confirming your booking.

If you are not entirely satisfied with the Service, you should contact your Resort Representative and the Service Provider immediately and attempt to resolve the problem on site during the holiday. This is very important, as it gives the Service Provider the opportunity to understand the nature of your concern, and respond quickly and effectively. Claims that have not been registered with the Service Provider and with us as soon as possible during your holiday cannot be accepted. The Service Provider and our Resort Representative should be given the opportunity to rectify a situation. Please help us and the Service Provider to help you by following this procedure. If after that you still feel that the problem has not been resolved to your satisfaction, you should within 14 days of the end of the holiday put comments in writing to us. Where it is not possible to resolve the concern directly with the Service Provider, you should contact our Resort Representative for assistance. 

If you fiil to follow this simple complaints procedure, your right to claim any compensation you may otherwise have been entitled to may be affected or even lost as a result. We will endeavour to assist in resolving any dissatisfaction but do so purely on a goodwill basis and without any responsibility for any complaints or claims.

6.3 CANCELLATION & AMENDMENT 

Should you wish to change or cancel any booking of extra services, you should send your request to us in writing, by email or post. If you have booked through a Travel Agent, you will need to contact them. Your request will take effect from the day we receive it. Please ensure that you have received written confirmation of any changes to your booking prior to travel, particularly if you requested the cancellation or amendment by phone. For more information, see clause 1.4.

6.4 CHANGES OR CANCELLATIONS BY THE SUPPLIER/PRINCIPAL 

We will inform you of any changes or cancellations made by the Service Provider as soon as reasonably possible. If the Service Provider offers alternative arrangements or a refund, you will need to let us know your choice within the stipulated time frame. If you fail to do so the Service Provider is entitled to assume you wish to receive a full refund. We accept no liability for any changes or cancellations made to your arrangements by the Service Provider under your contract with them.

6.5 OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR BOOKING

Your contract is with the Service Provider and its booking conditions apply. As agent, we accept no responsibility for the actual provision of the extra services. Our responsibilities are limited to making the booking in accordance with your instructions, and taking payment on behalf of the Service Provider. 

We accept no responsibility for any information about the extra services that we pass on to you in good faith. However, in the event that we are found liable to you on any basis whatsoever, our maximum liability to you is limited to twice the cost of the commission earned in relation to your booking (or the appropriate proportion of this if not everyone on the booking is affected). We do not exclude or limit any liability for death or personal injury that arises as a result of our negligence or that of any of our employees whilst acting in the course of their employment.

6.6 REFUNDS

If you have booked any special activities, excursions or other services which do not form part of your package holiday contract and these are unavailable due to circumstances beyond our control, claims should be made under your own travel insurance policy. Please note refunds will not be made for any unused portion of your package holiday travel or accommodation arrangements which is not attributable to any failure on our part or the part of our suppliers to provide these services.

We’re pleased to offer some great discounts to groups travelling together and to those travelling with children. These discounts are only available for bookings made 10 weeks prior to departure or earlier.

7.1 GROUP DISCOUNTS

To qualify as a group, all guests must book at the same time, for the same departure date, resort and duration, and all communication and payment must be organised through one named individual as the group leader. Group members may however travel by different routes or methods, and/or occupy different price room/apartment types, in which case the free places are allocated to the cheapest method and room-type used.

• The group size is calculated on the number of passengers paying the full adult brochure price. Any two children receiving a child discount of any level (except free places) or family choice reduction count together as one full-paying person.
• Only one free child place is allowed per group.
• FREE places and discounts are based on the adult basic price shown in the price panel, not including any applicable room, meal or flight supplements, or any other ancillary costs.
• Group FREE places cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts advertised, and any online booking discount except cash-back and hotel early booking offers.
• Later additions can be made to your group, subject to availability, but the original group discount will not be increased as a result of such additions. If your group size reduces after booking, the group discount will be reduced accordingly, and may be lost completely if all group conditions are no longer complied with, and re-costing may apply if room occupancy levels change.
• We have specific allocations of rooms at special rates in most hotels, and if extra rooms are required to accommodate your group, these may not be available at the same preferential rate, in which case ‘extra to allocation’ supplements may apply. If we have obtained such extra rooms to accommodate your group, we reserve the right to re-cost the holiday if your group later reduces in size.
• A £150 per person deposit is required from all group members, including those travelling on a FREE or reduced price place. The deposits taken against the FREE places will then be credited to the group’s final balance payment.
• The names of all group members are required at the time of booking for all scheduled flights, and any subsequent change will incur an amendment fee, or with some scheduled airlines, cancellation and re-booking. For all charter flights, names are required within 14 days of booking, but we allow free name changes up to 28 days prior to departure, after which an administration fee for any further changes will apply. For scheduled services, charges will apply for any name change.
• Only one invoice will normally be issued per group, to the group leader, and an administration charge is payable for any group member/s requiring a separate invoice.
• The group leader is responsible for ensuring that every member of his/her group has appropriate travel insurance.
• Full payment must be made at least 10 weeks prior to departure by cheque, debit card or credit card.
• We reserve the right to restrict the total number of FREE places allowed across multiple groups in the same property on the same date at any time.
• All group bookings are ‘subject to availability’ which includes respecting the right of hoteliers to decline single-sex groups or groups above a certain size.

7.2 CHILD DISCOUNTS

Except where stated, child FREE and discounted places are based on the child/children sharing the room with at least two full-paying guests. A maximum of two discounted child places (including a FREE place if applicable) is permitted per room/suite/cabin/apartment.

• FREE places are limited to one per booking. FREE places and child discount percentages are calculated off the basic adult price shown in the relevant price panel, not including room or flight supplements, insurance or any other applicable costs.
• Children on self-drive or accommodation-only holidays receive the same percentage discounts shown for European charter flights off the relevant adult basic self-drive or accommodation-only price. 
• Only one FREE child place is allowed per group claiming a Group Discount.
• Infants under 2 years of age on the return travel date to the UK pay an Infant Administration Fee as shown below, provided that the infant travels on a parent’s lap, and no flight, coach or train seat is used:

• £49 (when using charter flights) in European hotels and apartments, with direct payment to the accommodation owner of any cot-hire and linen charges, food and drink costs or other applicable charges (£99 on scheduled flights).
• £115 in our chalet and Exclusive Hotel properties, where travel-cot hire, linen, baby food, use of highchair and changing mat is included in this price.

• Please note that infants do not have their own luggage allowance, and must sit on a parent’s lap on the flight and on the transfers.
• Child prices and FREE places cannot be combined with online discounts.
• The child reductions shown in the brochure are correct at the time of going to press, but may be changed or withdrawn at any time. The correct price will be confirmed at time of booking.
• If dual parent families abuse our single parent discounts, we reserve the right to either cancel such bookings without notice or to re-invoice the booking at the correct price.

As they are by definition not ‘full-paying guests’, children receiving a FREE place or child discount do not count towards the size of a Group for the purposes of calculating any Group Discount.

8.1 REPRESENTATIVE SERVICE 

We provide the services of a local Representative, who will either be based in the resort, provide a visiting service, or be available by telephone. If you require any assistance during your stay, please get in touch with your Representative, whose details will be available in your Welcome Pack and/or on arrival at your accommodation.

8.2 SAFETY IN THE MOUNTAINS

For your own safety and that of other mountain users, please refer to the Mountain Safety information included in your Welcome Pack provided prior to your arrival in resort.

8.3 FREE MINIBUS/SKI-BUS

Where free minibus/ski-bus services are advertised, these may be subject to capacity restrictions, and/or be on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and could only run at set times, details of which are available in resort. We cannot be held responsible if you miss any, all or part of your ski lessons or other arrangements as a result of the late running or unavailability of these services. 

8.4 HIGH ALTITUDE RESORTS 

You should be aware that some people experience difficulties in high altitude resorts and it may be advisable to seek advice from your doctor before travel if you have any medical conditions which this may exacerbate.

Where a resort is described as being at high altitude or with “guaranteed snow”, this describes a resort with skiing over 2000 metres on its area lift pass and with a history of reliable skiing, but does not mean that skiable snow is guaranteed on all runs and all altitudes at all times or on the slopes of that individual resort. 

8.5 SKI-IN/SKI-OUT

Where accommodation is described as offering “doorstep skiing” or “ski-in/ski-out” this is obviously subject to individual skiers’ ability and snow conditions in resort. This is generally defined as being possible to ski to/from a point within 50m of that property, but may be obstructed by paths or foliage. We cannot be held liable if the local authorities and/or local property owners, including the owner of the property in which you are staying, make changes to the property or surrounding area which affect the use of the intended ski in/ski out route. Where distance is quoted in time taken to walk, we have used as a guideline that 100m takes an adult one minute to walk in standard footwear under snow and ice-clear conditions. Clearly, timings will vary according to footwear, age, personal fitness and surface conditions. 

8.6 LOCAL INDUSTRIAL ACTION 

Hotelplan Ltd cannot accept responsibility for any losses incurred as a result of industrial action in resort e.g. strike action by lift operators, bus drivers, ski schools etc. Equally, where other factors such as weather or other force majeure events impact on the availability of some resort facilities and services, including the operation of ski lifts, any refunds must be negotiated with the supplier.

8.7 RESORT DEVELOPMENT & NOISE 

If we are informed of any building works at or in close proximity to your accommodation that may in our reasonable view significantly affect the enjoyment of your holiday, we will do our best to forewarn you about it prior to your departure. Please note that such works may not be carried out by the providers of accommodation featured online or in our brochure, and may be outside of their control. 

We would urge you to read the resort and accommodation descriptions carefully to identify sources of noise which might exist or might be expected to exist, i.e. roads, bars, discos, etc. However, it is impossible to predict noise created by individuals, machinery or traffic, i.e. temporary noise disturbances. Live music/noise from bars which are adjacent to or part of any properties we feature may extend their opening hours, especially on public holidays, and opening times may differ from those published. 

On occasions, the sites of building works may lie dormant during winter months, with no work resuming until weather conditions improve in spring/summer, although some machinery, cranes, scaffolding, etc. may remain in situ throughout. We will not ordinarily pre-advise guests of such non-operational sites. We will not always be aware of all/any works or festivities occurring in your resort, and therefore will be unable to advise you before you travel. Equally, if a lift office, ski school or tourist board deem it necessary to amend, cancel or change facilities or services offered, that is done entirely at their discretion, not ours. If works are due to be carried out across more than one season, we will update guests once the season has started and not before, as things may change at any time. No refund or compensation is payable for any non-operation of any property facilities that have not been advertised by us or if you choose to upgrade your accommodation in resort with the supplier.

8.8 IN-RESORT PURCHASES 

Payment for ski packs, excursions, optional activities, etc. booked in resort must be made at the point of booking in local currency cash, or by debit card or credit card. . Card payments can either be taken in local currency (subject to charges by your bank) or sterling converted from the local currency price at the applicable exchange rate at that time. Exchange rate fluctuations may mean that the sterling price paid may not be exactly the same as the cost in local currency in your resort. 

Where paying with a Euro or Swiss Franc currency card, the local currency price will be debited from your account. Card payments cannot be processed after the Friday of your holiday for Saturday departures, and Tuesday for Wednesday departures, so cash payments are required for later settlement. We reserve the right to involve local police and/or deny return travel if due payments are withheld for any reason.

Any activities, excursions or ski packs that you choose to book whilst you are on holiday are not part of the package holiday provided by us. Your contract will be with the provider of the activity, excursion or ski pack and not with Hotelplan Ltd. If activities or excursions are withdrawn by the provider for any reason, any refunds must be negotiated directly with the provider and cannot be guaranteed by us as we act as an agent for the provider.

Any activities, excursions, Optional Adventures or ski packs that you may choose to book or pay for in addition to your package holiday whilst you are on holiday are not part of your package holiday provided by us. For any activity, excursion or ski pack not booked as part of your package holiday, your contract will be with the provider of the activity, excursion or ski pack and not with Hotelplan Ltd. We are not responsible for the provision of the activity, excursion or ski pack or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the provider. 

Please note this includes all sporting activities including hazardous activities. It is your responsibility to act with due care at all times and to be insured to the levels reasonably required for your circumstances and the activity concerned.

Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions or EU regulations. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned. Please note, the conditions of suppliers of equipment hired or otherwise made available to you as part of our contract with you make you responsible for any damage to or loss of that equipment.

8.9 ACTIVITIES & EXCURSIONS

Parents are reminded that children must remain under their control at all times. Age limits or qualifications may apply to several activities and it may be that a basic or reasonable level of fitness is required to partake in a certain activity or a requirement of swimming to take part in water-based activities. On occasion, passport evidence may also be required. Our Reservations team has full details and you should enquire before booking if any limitations to activities are of paramount importance to you. 

No guarantee is given as to the specific length or time duration of each activity and some activities will require excess payments to be made for insurance purposes to partake in that activity. Each specific supplier will provide more details in resort.

On our winter activities, some may rely on satisfactory levels of snow and/or ice and should the levels be inappropriate, providers will do their best to offer alternative activities. A full driving licence is often required and must be produced on request before driving snowmobiles, and passport evidence may be required. Strict drink-driving laws apply to snowmobile driving, as with any vehicle. 

For the use of most motorised vehicles, for example snowmobiles and skidoos, most travel insurance policies will offer cover for personal injury and medical expenses but will not cover damage to the vehicle itself. Therefore, the provider may take and retain for the duration of the activity an insurance deposit or excess, often in the region of €800.

Minimum numbers and/or suitable weather conditions are required for certain activities to take place. If the required numbers are not reached, or the weather prevents the activity taking place at all during your holiday, or the activity is withdrawn by the provider for any reason, any refunds must be negotiated directly with the provider and cannot be guaranteed by us as we act as an agent and are not responsible for the provision of the service or activity normally. 

Some excursions are subject to minimum numbers. It may also be the case that excursions do not start directly from the resort you are booked to stay in, and you may incur additional charges in travelling to the excursion departure point. Excursions can also be shared between resorts and the point of origin may not be from your resort. 

No refunds or compensation will be paid by the service providers if you simply change your mind about taking part in an activity after booking it, or miss the transport provided, or fail to arrive at the designated meeting point on time, or, in your or the provider’s judgment, you cannot physically cope with the activity (if the latter is due to a physical injury, you should claim under your travel insurance policy).

Any arrangements made by you independently of our company are entirely at your own risk and you should make sure you are appropriately insured.

Activities in Lapland: The activities described will not necessarily take place in the exact order in which they are described on the website/in the brochure and, due to circumstances outside our control, it may be necessary to vary the itineraries at very short notice. Hotelplan Ltd reserves the right to do this when necessary. 

The length of the rides shown in our itineraries is a guideline only, and may vary according to safety or weather conditions, the number of huskies and reindeer available, and other issues beyond our control and no guarantee is given as to the specific length of each ride.

‘Huskies’ is the generic term for the range of breeds used by Lapland’s dog-sled providers. Some features included in the itineraries rely on satisfactory levels of snow and ice and, should the levels be inappropriate, suppliers will do their best to offer alternative activities. Insufficient snow or ice is not considered a reason to cancel or grounds for compensation.

Safety instructions are given prior to each activity or safari, not including tobogganing and other similar informal activities, and parents are reminded that children must remain under their care and control at all times. There is a minimum age of 18 years to drive a husky sled, and there is usually a minimum size and weight requirement, for safety reasons.

During snowmobile excursions, children are transported in a separate sled driven by the guide, whilst parents drive or are a passenger on a separate snowmobile. Young children cannot ride pillion on a snowmobile and the recommended minimum height to ride pillion is usually 1.40m.

As most activities take place outdoors in Arctic conditions, they are not all suitable for babies and very young children. We take advice from our suppliers daily on whether children under 4 years old should be allowed to participate in certain activities due to weather conditions and other factors. No refund or compensation is applicable if young children and the accompanying carer are unable to take part in a particular activity. If any activity, whether pre-booked in the UK or booked locally, does not ultimately take place, the liability of Hotelplan Ltd is limited to a refund of the price paid for that specific activity only, and no additional compensation will be payable.

Whilst it is hoped that the Northern Lights will appear for our guests, this natural phenomena can never be guaranteed and no refund or compensation is applicable should they not be visible.

We endeavour to ensure that all activities booked through us are undertaken with reasonable skill and care in accordance with local laws, regulations and customs. However, it is not feasible to make the activity programmes completely risk free and it is a condition of your booking that you accept that you are taking risks and that it is your responsibility to be insured to the levels reasonably required for your circumstances.

Lapland Climate: In December, temperatures in Lapland normally range between -7˚c and -35˚c, with daylight usually limited to between 10:30 and 14:00 and long periods of twilight either side of night.

Whilst thermal suits and boots are provided for our Lapland guests (see specific holiday details), you are advised to bring layers of thermal and fleeced clothing to wear underneath when you are outdoors. Several layers of clothing provide better insulation from the cold than one or two thick items. Balaclavas, face masks and extra warm headgear are also suggested. The heating in hotels is usually extremely efficient, so lighter clothing is required indoors.

9.1 SKI LESSONS

If you know that you will require lessons, we advise you to pre-book regardless of the date of your holiday. Our grading system (for adults and children) is to help you and our resorts ensure that the correct classes are pre-booked prior to your arrival. Please ensure that you discuss your needs with our reservations or resort teams prior to booking, to ensure that the appropriate level is booked in advance as ski schools cannot always guarantee movements between classes. 

Throughout the season, and in particular during the continental school holidays (our reservations staff have the dates), the length, timing and availability of the ski school lessons can change with little warning. Ski schools are also extremely busy and it is imperative that you book in advance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally resorts ask that a minimum number of guests book into a lesson in order for it to go ahead. In the unlikely event your lesson is cancelled due to low numbers, alternative arrangements will be offered if possible, however you will be responsible for any additional costs incurred.  Alternative arrangements might not be for the same duration as originally booked, but will be to the same monetary value. The ski school price quoted is that of the ski school’s standard group lessons. 

Private lessons can be booked in advance at certain times and in certain resorts, please discuss your requirements with our reservations team. 

9.2 EQUIPMENT HIRE

The equipment is priced according to the grade of ski you choose. If you require a ski boot larger than size 12, please advise us at the time of booking so that we can inform the resort in advance. We strongly recommend that you check that your personal insurance covers you for loss/damage to hired equipment. Ski-hire shops may offer insurance to you and we recommend that you accept this if your own travel insurance policy does not cover you.

9.3 LIFT PASSES

Beginners do not always require a lift pass for the first days of skiing. 

Some resorts may offer discounted rates for Senior or disabled persons and walkers intending not to ski. If not detailed in the ski pack panel for your chosen resort, please ask at the point of booking or with our staff in resort. Most resorts operate an electronic lift pass, for which you pay a deposit in resort (generally refundable at the end of your holiday).

At the beginning and end of season, or at any other time due to snow or other weather conditions, resorts may limit the number of lifts in operation. Hotelplan accepts no liability in such situations; you may however have the potential to claim under your travel insurance if the provider has made no refund in resort. The lift pass provider will normally only consider a refund where the lift pass has not been activated. We recommend that you make a note of your lift pass number (taking a photo is ideal), in case of loss.

Children’s Free Lift Passes/Equipment & Family Lift Passes

Each resort has different criteria for the ages of children eligible for free or reduced prices. In many resorts, children’s free passes will require the purchase of the same type and duration lift pass as purchased by the parents. In some resorts, Family Lift Passes are available but with certain stipulations relating to the composition of the family grouping. Please ask our reservations or resort staff when booking. 

9.4 SNOW

Whilst we obviously cannot guarantee snow, all our resorts are chosen for their reliable snow records. Many of our resorts also have the advantage of glaciers, which ensure snow almost all year round. Snow conditions can change dramatically overnight, and will not be accepted as a valid reason for you to cancel your ski or Lapland holiday. If there is such poor snow that the lift company and ski-school in your booked resort decide that you are unable to ski, we will endeavour to transport you daily to another ski area, where appropriate.

9.5 FLLIGHT DELAYS

If your flight is delayed and you “lose” a day’s equipment or lift pass, we regret that we are not able to make any refund in respect of pre-booked equipment or lift passes. A pro-rata refund should be claimed from your travel insurance.

9.6 REFUNDS 

If you have booked any special activities, excursions or other services which do not form part of your package holiday contract and these are unavailable due to circumstances beyond our control, claims should be made under your own travel insurance policy. Please note refunds will not be made for any unused portion of your package holiday travel or accommodation arrangements which is not attributable to any failure on our part or the part of our suppliers to provide these services.

Part 1: General

The combination of travel services offered to you is a package within the meaning of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. Therefore, you will benefit from all EU rights applying to packages. We, Hotelplan Limited, will be fully responsible for the proper performance of the package as a whole. Additionally, as required by law, we have protection in place to refund your payments and, where transport is included in the package, to ensure your repatriation in the event that we become insolvent. 

More information on key rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 can be found below.   

Part 2: Key rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 

• Travellers will receive all essential information about the package before concluding the package travel contract. 
• There is always at least one trader who is liable for the proper performance of all the travel services included in the contract. 
• Travellers are given an emergency number or details of a contact point where they can get in touch with the organiser or travel agent. 
• Travellers may transfer the package to another person, on reasonable notice and possibly subject to additional costs. 
• The price of the package may only be increased if specific costs rise (for instance fuel prices), and if expressly provided for in the contract, and in any event not later than 20 days before the start of the package. If the price increase exceeds 8% of the price of the package, the traveller may terminate the contract. If the organiser reserves the right to a price increase, the traveller has a right to a price reduction if there is a decrease in the relevant costs. 
• Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee and get a full refund of any payments if any of the essential elements of the package, other than the price, are changed significantly. If before the start of the package the trader responsible for the package cancels the package, travellers are entitled to a refund and compensation where appropriate. 
• Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee before the start of the package in the event of exceptional circumstances, for instance if there are serious security problems at the destination which are likely to affect the package. 
• Additionally, travellers may at any time before the start of the package terminate the contract in return for an appropriate and justifiable termination fee.  
• If, after the start of the package, significant elements of the package cannot be provided as agreed, suitable alternative arrangements will have to be offered to the traveller at no extra cost. Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee, where services are not performed in accordance with the contract and this substantially affects the performance of the package and the organiser fails to remedy the problem. 
• Travellers are also entitled to a price reduction or compensation for damages or both where the travel services are not performed or are improperly performed. 
• The organiser has to provide assistance if the traveller is in difficulty. 
• If the organiser or the retailer becomes insolvent, payments will be refunded. If the organiser becomes insolvent after the start of the package and if transport is included in the package, repatriation of the travellers is secured. Hotelplan Limited has taken out insolvency protection, for flight-inclusive holidays by virtue of its ATOL, held with the CAA, under ATOL number: 0025, and for non-flight packages, with ABTA Ltd (No. V4871). Please see clause 7 of our Booking Conditions for further information. Travellers may contact these entities if services are denied because of our insolvency.  

Part 3: The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 can be found here:  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made