Terms & Conditions

Booking Conditions for Simply St Lucia LTD

Important

Your contract is with
Simply St Lucia Ltd (Company number: 6718788)
Trading as Simply St Lucia Luxury Holidays, Simply Caribbean Holidays and Simply Barbados Holidays.
Our ATOL number is: 7289

Booking conditions: These booking conditions set out the terms on which you contract with us and our obligations to you. No verbal discussions that take place can override or vary the terms of these Booking Conditions unless we confirm them in writing to you. It is important that you read these Booking Conditions carefully as you will be irrevocably bound by these when you contract with us.

Your Holiday contract: You can book holidays and take up offers advertised on our website and literature if they are still available. When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept these Booking Conditions on behalf of you and everyone in your party. The person who name the booking is made must be 18 or over. A contract will exist only upon issue of confirmation invoice. Please check this carefully and alert us to any mistake or omission on this or any other document. We cannot accept responsibility if you do not tell us about any mistake within 10 days (5 days for tickets) of our sending it out. You will then be asked for payment of the required deposit. The balance due date is twelve weeks prior to departure. The contract between us is governed by and construed in accordance with English law and is subject to the jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Your Holiday Price: When you make a booking with Simply St Lucia Ltd, a deposit will be required to secure your booking, with the total cost due on completion of your booking. Some hotels and villas may require a larger deposit amount, and you will be notified at the time of booking if this is the case. The full amount for all bookings must be paid no later than 12 weeks before departure. In the event that your balance is not paid within 12 weeks of departure we reserve the right to cancel your holiday and the deposit will be forfeited. If we do not cancel your booking at this stage because you promise to make payment but you still fail to do so you must pay the cancellation charges

Note: A section of our airline fares require full payment at the time of booking and also carry a 100% cancellation charge. If this is the case we will advise you at the time of booking. Simply St Lucia reserves the right to pass on credit card charges for holiday balance payments. We will not treat a payment as having been made unless we receive cleared funds. If you are paying by cheque, please allow enough time for your cheque to reach us and to clear. We are not responsible for postal delays. We charge an administrative fee if you pay by credit card or American Express, this fee applies to deposit and any subsequent payments made. This is to cover our cost to the issuer of the credit card. There is no fee for debit card payments or online bank transfers.

Price Policy: The price of your holiday will be guaranteed if you pay in full at the time of booking. When full payment is received by Simply St Lucia Ltd within seven days of the date shown on your Confirmation Invoice, we will guarantee that the price of your holiday will not change.

Payment by deposit only – changes in transportation cost including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes, embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports and exchange rates means that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above by more than 2% of your holiday price, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place. Should your holiday price increase, we will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your holiday and so you would only have to the amount over and above the 2% increase. If this means that you have to pay and increase of more than 10% of the price of your holiday, you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid excluding any premiums paid to us for holiday insurance and any amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your right to do so in writing within 14 days of being notified of the surcharge.

Insurance We believe that it is essential to take out insurance when you go on holiday and we strongly recommend that to do so as it is in your best interest and that of your family. You must read your policy carefully as it is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is adequate for your particular needs. If you choose not to take our own insurance, details of which are shown elsewhere, you must give the name of your insurer and policy number to assist you in the event of an accident or emergency abroad. Please be aware that, statistically, cancellation charges is one of the highest areas for travel insurance claims and you shall be responsible for indemnifying us in full in respect of any costs we incur as a result of you not having adequate and comprehensive travel insurance.

Data Protection (To comply with the Data Protection Act 1998)
We will use the information you have given to us to give you products and services you have asked for. When we give you these products and services, we will pass on your details to other organization. We may have to send your details to countries that may not have an equal level of data protection legislation. When you ask us to give you these products and services, you agree that we can pass your details to other organizations, some of which are in other countries. We may also use your details to give you offers that are available from us.

Descriptions The descriptions in our literature and on our website(s) of resorts, hotel facilities and amenities are based on inspections made by us and on our behalf and also on information passed to us by the operators of these hotels, facilities and amenities. These inspections can take place several months before publication of this information and many months before you go on holiday. The descriptions are, accordingly, of what existed at the time of inspection and of what normally exists. We take every possible step to ensure that the descriptions are accurate at the time of publication. However

Changes can be made by hoteliers or other suppliers and when we are told prior to departure, we will naturally advise you of any such alterations to advertised facilities.

Flights The various carriers who provide transport have their own terms and conditions, which are incorporated into the terms of your contact with us. These terms and conditions may limit and/or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable international conventions such as the Warsaw or Athens Convention. Air travel is also subject to the operational decisions of air carriers and of airports, which and may result in delays, aircrafts being diverted or schedule changes over which the Company has not control. It is our responsibility to notify clients of the name of the airline operator and the destination airport. Due to the nature of the airline business, on rare occasions, flight delays regrettably do happen. In such an event, the airline is responsible for meals, accommodation etc when necessary. For delays of a least 8 hours extending beyond midnight, overnight accommodation will be provided wherever possible. However, this will depend on such factors as the expected length of delay, local availability of accommodation and immigration rulings. Where long flight delays result in lost holiday time, refunds are not given by suppliers for unused accommodation as villas and rooms are held for delayed arrivals and are not relet. Please also note that an airline carrier may, if circumstances so require, divert, postpone or delay any flight, or alter the airport departure or arrival and may, without notice substitute alternative carriers or aircraft. The flight timings on the booking are for general guidance only and are subject to change. The actual flight time will be shown on your tickets, which will be dispatched to you approximately two weeks before departure. You must, accordingly, check your tickets very carefully immediately upon receipt to ensure that you have the correct flight times. It is possible that the flight times may be changed even after tickets have been dispatched; we will contact you as soon as possible if this happens.

Amendments by you: You may make changes to your booking, provided that notification of the change is received in writing at our offices from the person who made booking and/or signed the booking form, at least 46 days before departure. This must be accompanied by payment of £50 to cover administration costs. You must also pay any cost incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers in the making the change requested. Please note that airlines will normally refuse amendments to your flights expect upon payment of a fee, which varies from airline to airline up to and including, the full fare. Any additional cost resulting from an earlier or later return than the one scheduled will be your own responsibility. If you make an alteration to your accommodation during your holiday, a cancellation changed will be applied.

Cancellations by you: Should you or any member of your party need to cancel your holiday, the person who made the booking over the phone or in person/or signed the booking form (villa) must immediately advise us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only be effective when it is received in writing. As we incur costs from the time we accept your booking, the following cancellation charges will be payable. Where the cancellation charge is shown as a percentage, this is calculated on the basis of the total invoice cost payable excluding amendment charges, which are not refundable. Please note that when part cancellations occur, the amount payable by the rest of the pay may increase. Please note, some of our smaller boutique hotels cancellations terms will differ, you will be told on cancellation the outstanding cost.

If when you cancel or amend your existing reservation and you opt to take a voucher, this voucher is non-refundable in any circumstance.   You will be advised of the terms of your voucher on cancellation.

Deposit: Your initial deposit will be forfeited if you cancel your holiday.

More than 12 weeks prior to departure Loss of deposit
84-70 days prior to departure 50%
69-57 days prior to departure 75%
58-0 days prior to departure 100%
Cancellations by us: Usually alterations we make are minor; however we do sometimes have to make significant changes to holidays in these booking conditions, we mean one or more of the following changes when made before departure:

A change of accommodation to that of a lower price or standard for the whole of a major part of the time you are away
A change of accommodation area for the whole or a major part of the time you are away
A change of more than 12 hours to your departure or return arrival times
A more inconvenient change of UK airport you were due to fly out from or back into, except Gatwick, Heathrow, City, Stansted and Luton
If we have to make a significant change or cancel your holiday we will endeavour to offer you a reasonable alternative or offer you a price reduction if it is cheaper. You may choose to cancel and be entitled to a full refund. No further compensation is payable in these circumstances.

Compensation is not payable for minor changes. Where compensation may be payable, it is limited as follows

Per full fare paying person:

More than 56 days before scheduled departure Nil
43-56 before scheduled departure £10
29-43 before scheduled departure £20
15-28 before scheduled departure £30
0-14 before scheduled departure £40
Important Note: Compensation payments do not apply to changes caused by force majeure.

Force Majeure: The Company regrets that it cannot accept any liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of its contractual obligations is prevented or affected by “force majeure”. In these booking conditions, “Force Majeure” means any event that we or the supplier of the services(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil disobedience or strife, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, airline schedule changes, natural disaster, adverse weather conditions, level of water, fire and similar events out of our control.

Our responsibility for your holiday: Subject to these Booking Conditions and the General Information we accept responsibility for delivering to you the component parts of your holiday as confirmed to you and to a reasonable standard. If any part is not supplied satisfactorily due to the fault of our employees, agents or suppliers we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your holiday. Our liability is limited to a maximum of the price of the value of the holiday (excluding amendment charges) paid on or behalf person(s) effected, in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday. We do however, ask you to be both patient and also understanding in the event of unforeseen changes to your holiday made by our suppliers over whom we have no control. We do not accept responsibility for injury, illness or death (caused to the signatory of the contract and or any other named person on the booking form) save where caused by the proven negligence of its employees and agents acting in the course of their employment.

Holiday arrangements excluding Packages: In the unlikely event that a booking has to be cancelled a full and prompt refund will be made of all monies paid to the Company less any insurance premiums and amendment fees and credit card charges.

Special Requests: You must advise us in writing of any special requests such as dietary, adjoining rooms, requested room location or type that is not on our official inventory and confidentiality in respect of payment for a booking being a gift for somebody else. Such requests will be noted and passed to our suppliers as appropriate. Confirmation that they have been noted and/or passed on is not confirmation that they will be carried out and they are not guaranteed. A booking cannot be accepted on the basis that a special request will be carried out. Where a booking is made as a gift we do endeavour (but cannot guarantee) to comply with your wishes. Because circumstances vary please discuss this with our reservations staff at the time of booking. We cannot be held responsible if our hotel suppliers do not deliver the special request we have requested for you.

Passports, Visas and Health Requirements: It is your responsibility to be in possession of all necessary and up to date travel and health documents prior to departure and all associated costs in acquiring such documentation must be paid by you. We are not liable for the consequences of any refusal by a competent authority (including, but not limited to airline officials, security staff, border and immigration personnel) on to aircraft or entry into any country because of incorrect personal documentation. You will be responsible for reimbursing any financial penalty levied against us in such circumstances. Holders of non-British Citizen passports must check with relevant Embassies or Consulates as to their passport, visa and health requirements.

Disabilities and medical conditions – You must supply us with details of any medical circumstances or disabilities of any member of your party, which might affect their holiday before we confirm their booking. We may need a letter from their doctor. If in our reasonable opinion the requested holiday is not suitable we have the right to refuse the booking. If we are not told and such circumstances come to light we can cancel the booking and apply our normal scale of cancellation charges.

Safety Standards – The services provided on overseas holidays are to the standards of the country visited and not to those of the UK.

Personal Injury not connected with your travel arrangements – If you or any member of your party suffers death, injury or illness whilst overseas arising out of an activity, which is not part of your holiday arrangements or an excursion arranged through us, we shall, at our discretion offer guidance, advice and assistance.

Personal Responsibility and Behavior – You are responsible for any loss or damage caused by you or any member of your party as well as for full payment for such loss and/or any subsequent claim on us and associated legal costs for or related to such actions. We expect our customers to have consideration for others and if in our reasonable opinion or that of any other authority you or any other member of you party causes or seems likely to cause upset, danger or distress to a third party or damage to property we can without prior notice terminate the holiday with immediate effect, including requiring individuals to leave their accommodation and make their own way home. In such circumstances, we will have no liability towards them whatsoever.

Complaints – Whilst we aim to ensure that your holiday runs smoothly, there may be times when it doesn’t. Please follow the complaints procedure below to minimise inconvenience to all parties.

All complaints should be reported immediately and directly to the supplier and, as soon as possible. If you fail to follow this simple procedure, your right to claim compensation may be affected, as we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify the problem.
In the unlikely event that our supplier is unable to resolve the matter to your complete satisfaction, please contact Simply St Lucia in Sevenoaks on 01732 811043, fax 01732 810231.
Once in receipt of a complaint, we will react swiftly to resolve the matter. Our aim is to rectify any shortcomings immediately, so that you can fully enjoy the remainder of your holiday.

Your Financial Protection – When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong.

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 credit 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 the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website – are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to:www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate