The payment terms and bank details are on your booking confirmation quote if sent direct, which once negotiated via email and issued, or booked on line via instabook, need to have 40% deposit payment made to confirm your weekend, making you legally liable for the remaining 60% regardless of if you stay or not or if your group size drops.

Holding deposits are payable at 40% of the price at time of booking, and are non–refundable, in any circumstance. We require you to take out your own holiday insurance for this if you wish. If the booking cannot go ahead for what ever reason you are responsible for taking out insurance to cover this.

The refundable security bond is payable into a client holding account, 4 weeks prior to your stay to be returned against the house being left as it was found no oess than 2 weeks after your stay.  The bank details are Elizabeth Ann Lewitt T/A Aprea Properties Client Account, sort code 089299, acc 69650831. Please use your surname and the date of your stay as the reference.

House keepers and cleaners are employed to prepare the house for incoming guests not clear up after outgoing guests.  Additional work required cleaning up after departing guests will be charged for at a rate of £25.00 per hour for overtime or to cover the maintenance manager’s hourly rate and will be taken out of the refundable security bond.  Photographic proof will be provided for additional cleaning time.  It is a self-catering house, and as the name suggests, we expect guests to clear up themselves! Excessive recycling or waste will be charged for as will white bed linen or towels returned from contract cleaners unable to be re-used for future guests.

Arrival details and key code are sent out once the damages bond is received into the client holding account.

When you are at the house there can be no use of candles or smoking in the house; we prefer guests NOT to bring their own electrical portable appliances; please lock the house when going out during your stay (as we cannot be held responsible for missing items), when departing & please don’t leave windows open at night or when out (to protect against rain or forced entry).

If using the hot tub, please do not drink alcohol when in the tub. Shower before entering the tub and make sure that all body products and make up are removed from your skin. Please do not be tempted to put shampoo or soap products in the tub to create bubbles! We have to re-fill and empty about 3 times to get all the suds out of the system and will need to charge you for housekeeper’s time.

Please do not play excessively amplified music in the house or have speakers in the garden and understand that there is a hot tub curfew of 10.00pm and a garden curfew of 12.00 midnight.  We are in a village location and it is not fair to our neighbours.

Arrival is after 5.00pm and departure by noon on Sunday and 10.00am on a Monday. Earlier or later times can be arranged for £50.00 per hour.  Please email us direct to confirm that you have booked or requested that option. liz@millendmitcheldean.co.uk.

Please be aware that we have a resident Cat too – it is a very old property in a rural location with a lush garden, and he helps keep the ‘small creature’ population at bay.  He has his own entrance into the private part of the house, with plenty of food and water and a cosy bed. Please make sure he is not locked into the house or oak and glass garden room at night as he cannot be excused the outcome should he be caught short in the night.

If you bring Dogs, please let us know in advance and do not let your dogs through the gate into the rockery behind the hot tub as this is the cat domain away from unfamiliar dogs. Also please do not let dogs onto furniture or into rooms with carpeted floors. If there is damage as a result of your dogs, we will retain funds from your bond as we sit fit – with photographic evidence.  We also charge a fee of £25.00 per dog to flea bomb after a stay.

Please BACS or CC your refundable security deposit marked ‘bond’ no less than four weeks prior to your stay, which will be returned no less than two weeks after your stay, should there be no damage to or miss-use of the property, linen and towels are returned in a re-usable state and/or there are no noise complaints from neighbours. We also need lead time for laundry to be returned from the contract cleaners before we can confirm full refund of bond.

By making this security deposit payment you accept the terms that

a) we employ cleaners between guests to turn around and prepare the house for incoming guests – any hours work required over and above that for stripping beds, cleaning, sorting or re-cycling will be deducted from your security deposit at a rate of £25.00 per hour

b) we employ cleaners to get the house ready for incoming guests, NOT to clear up after outgoing guests

c) anything that needs repairing will be charged for at a rate of £25.00 per hour & invoices for materials added

d) expenses incurred due to damage or miss-use over and above the security deposit paid, will be billed for

Please remember that the house is self-catering and therefore we expect guests to empty all the bins and strip their own beds and put all sheets, bath-mats and towels in the upper malt house in the spa area. Please also clean kitchen surfaces and load and run dishwashers. Thank you!

It is very rare for us to keep any of the deposit- maybe once a year – but if significant damage, breakage over and above the odd plate or glass which we would expect, loss or noise nuisance occurs, we will retain the necessary monies for repair, replacement or peace offerings to neighbours and will send photographs to support this. It is a very well equipped house with all sorts of leisure, spa, books, toys, games, magazines, baking, catering and cocktail facilities and we like to keep it that way!

NB –  the owners reserve the right to change or swap the exact accommodation from that which has been booked, depending on repair, up-keep and decoration necessity – but guests will always be offered the same as or more than they have reserved, not less.