Travel Insurance

You are strongly advised to take out travel insurance to cover your holiday.

Bookings

You can request to book direct via our website. We aim to respond to any booking requests within 24 hours. You will then have the option to pay the whole amount by credit card via our website, or you can opt to pay by installments by direct transfer to our bank account. These installments will be 20% on booking, a further 30% three months before your arrival day and the final 50% (plus a returnable security deposit) six weeks before your arrival day.

Cancellations

Cancellations must be made in writing. The following cancellation charges will be applied:

If you have paid the full amount in advance by card, any refunds will be made to your credit card.

Security/Damage Deposit

The security/damage deposit is payable with the final payment.  It is used to cover the cost of any damage, breakages and any necessary excessive cleaning.  The gîte is to be left in a clean and tidy condition on departure, and the deposit will be returned within 14 days after the end of the holiday, less any deductions for damage, breakages and excessive cleaning necessary.

Guest Responsibilities

The use of the accommodation, equipment and any amenities on site is entirely at the hirer’s own risk and no responsibility can be accepted for injury, loss or damage to guests or their property.  Only persons named on the booking form are entitled to stay at Les Hirondelles or to use the facilities and equipment. 

Smoking: No smoking is permitted in any of the gîtes or other buildings at Les Hirondelles.  Smoking is permitted outside but guests are requested to be respectful of other guests.

Septic Tanks: In common with most of rural France, Les Hirondelles is served by a septic tank.  It is important that no sanitary items or nappies are flushed down the toilets and only French toilet paper may be used (English toilet paper can block the filters). No chemicals, particularly bleach, or any fats or oils should be flushed down the toilets or emptied into sinks. Only toilet cleaners suitable for septic tanks should be used.  We will supply an initial quantity of toilet paper and cleaner for you.

Taxe de Sejour (Temporary Residence Tax)

As we are situated with La Brenne Natural Park, we are obliged to collect a small tax per person per night.

This is up to 1.50€ per adult per night. The amount is calculated based on the nightly rate, the total number of people staying, and the number of adults per stay. This is payable when you arrive.

Owners’ Liabilities

The Owners shall not be liable to the guests for any defect or stoppage of public services nor in respect of any equipment or appliance in the gîtes or garden nor for any loss, damage or injury caused by adverse weather conditions, riot, war, strikes or any other matters beyond the control of the Owners; nor for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused to or suffered by the Guest should the property be destroyed or substantially damaged before the start of the rental period and in any such event the Owner shall within 14 days of notification to the Guest, refund all sums previously paid by the Guest in respect of the holiday.  Under no circumstances shall the Owner’s liability to the Guest exceed the amount paid to the Owner for the holiday.

Ownership

Les Hirondelles are owned and personally run by Ian & Lucie Harvey. Promotion of the properties is undertaken in the UK by ILH Trading Ltd, who collect all rental fees on our behalf.

Note

We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information on our website and publicity brochures but we cannot guarantee that all facilities, equipment etc are exactly as described. If, on arrival, anything is not what you expected please let us know as soon as possible and we will make every effort to rectify it, if possible.

Les Hirondelles Internet Access – Terms & Conditions

Internet Access is free at Les Hirondelles. However, we do ask you to agree some simple terms & conditions before allowing access. Please read the following points to confirm your understanding and acceptance of the conditions of use. These are designed to comply with recent French laws on Internet Usage and to ensure that our internet service is available to everyone who wants to make use of it.

By accepting these conditions as part of your booking you confirm that you and others in your party will not use the Les Hirondelles’ free Internet service to:

• Distribute Spam or Invade others’ privacy
  • Defined as sending of unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over the Internet using the Service or using the Service for activities that invade another’s privacy.
• Violate Intellectual Property Rights
  • Defined as engaging in any activity that infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights of others, including patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, or any other proprietary right of any third party.
• Threaten others
  • Defined as transmitting, posting, uploading or otherwise making available defamatory, harassing, abusive, or threatening material or language that encourages bodily harm, destruction of property or harasses another.
• Misrepresenting others
  • Defined as forging or misrepresenting message headers, whether in whole or in part, to mask the originator of the message.
• Hacking
  • Defined as accessing illegally or without authorisation computers, accounts, equipment or networks belonging to another party, or attempting to penetrate security measures of another system. This includes any activity that may be used as a precursor to an attempted system penetration, including, but not limited to, port scans, stealth scans, or other information gathering activity.
• Distributing Internet Viruses, Trojan Horses, or Other Destructive Activities
  • Defined as distributing information regarding the creation of and sending Internet viruses, worms, Trojan Horses, pinging, flooding, mail-bombing, or denial of service attacks. Also, activities that disrupt the use of or interfere with the ability of others to effectively use the Network or any connected system, service, or equipment. 
• Accessing or Distributing Obscene or Indecent Speech or Materials
  • Defined as using the Service to advertise, solicit, transmit, store, post, display, or otherwise make available obscene or indecent images or other materials. Les Hirondelles will notify and fully cooperate with law enforcement if it becomes aware of any use of the Service in any connection with any illegal activity.  Certain content or web sites may be filtered or unavailable due to inappropriate content.    
• Participating in other Illegal Activities
  • Defined as using the Service in violation of applicable law and regulation, including, but not limited to, advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, fraudulently charging credit cards, pirating or inappropriately distributing copy-written material, or making fraudulent offers to sell or buy products, items, or services.