Mike Batt, Composer

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Terms & Conditions

Payments

An initial payment of 33% (one-third) of the total cost must accompany the booking form, which reserves your place or places and is non-refundable. The outstanding balance must be paid in full 8 weeks prior to the course start date.

In the event of insufficient numbers of clients on any one course – or a late cancellation, we reserve the right to cancel the course and will offer existing clients either a full refund or a transfer to another suitable course.

Update July 2017 – You can now pay us directly on our website using your card on our payment page!

Cancellations

Cancellation by Us

In the regrettable event that we are forced to cancel your booking due to events outside our control, we reserve the right to cancel at any time and will only be liable to refund monies already received by us from you. To operate, our courses require a minimum of 6 people, whether they have reserved places as individuals or as a group. In the unusual instance that a course is undersubscribed, we will be forced to cancel your booking. You would be informed of this at least 8 weeks before the start-date of the course, although the personal contact we maintain with all our clients normally ensures that the course will be confirmed before this time.

However, for this reason, we advise that flights should not be booked at an early stage until you receive this confirmation from us. If you decide to book flights before receiving this confirmation, then we cannot be responsible for any travel costs you have incurred. We strongly advise you to take out flight or Travel Insurance with a cancellation clause, which may enable you to recover non-refundable monies.

Cancellation by You

If you wish to cancel the booking, you must inform us immediately by telephone, followed by written confirmation sent by post, not by email. We appreciate that sometimes cancellation is unavoidable and we will usually endeavour to transfer your booking to another course providing there is availability.

There will be an administration fee for this of £50 for 3-4 day courses and £100 for all longer courses.

Refunds

  • A full refund minus the 33% deposit per person applies where written notice of cancellation is received more than 8 weeks prior to the course.
  • Cancellations received 4 to 8 weeks prior to arrival will be subject to a cancellation charge of 50%.
  • No refund will be made for cancellations received less than 4 weeks prior to date of arrival.
  • Once the week has begun there will be no refunds on unused portions if, for example, you need to leave earlier than planned. In such an instance, we will do our best to arrange a chauffeur to the airport at a cost of £80 (Toulouse) or £25 (Carcassonne). If course commitments do not permit this, then we will, if required, telephone a taxi company on your behalf.
  • Cancellation sowing to medical reasons can be covered by travel insurance.
  • Due to the fact that we restrict our courses in terms of number of participants, we strictly adhere to this cancellation policy. We therefore recommend our clients take travel insurance to cover any cancellation.

Care of the property

In the event of any breakages, losses or damage to the property please inform us immediately. You may be liable to pay the full cost of any breakages, losses or damages to the property.

Safety

Please observe the safety rules listed in the information book held in the property. It should be noted that the house and its grounds contain several levels and is unsuitable for the seriously disabled or visually-impaired. Two groundfloor en suite rooms are suitable for people who have difficulty with stairs, available on request on a first-come-firstserved basis.

Please note: owing to French law regarding swimming pools, no children under the age of 12 can be accommodated.

Holiday Insurance

We strongly recommend that you and the members of your party purchase an adequate insurance policy for the duration of your stay as we cannot take responsibility for injury or loss/damage to yourself or your belongings during your stay.

Special requirements

Please mention any special requirements on the booking form – for example dietary or a specific room-type (for instance, there is no smoking in the house or the bedrooms, but a couple of our rooms have direct access outside, making them more suitable for smokers to step outside their bedrooms). We will try to meet your needs, but certain requests may possibly incur additional charges or may, unfortunately, be unavailable.

What the price includes

  • Tuition as detailed.
  • Full board accommodation in en suite double or twin room.
  • Provision of bed linen and towels, bath-robe, hairdryer and CD player for your use during your stay.
  • All meals, including those on our 5-7 day courses which are taken at restaurants of our choice.
  • Wine with lunch and dinner, including during restaurant visits arranged by us.
  • Soft drinks, coffee and tea.
  • Use of all the facilities, including tennis court, boules court, bicycles, table tennis, pool table, swimming pool (open 1 May to 31 October only)
  • Chauffeured transport on all arranged group excursions.
  • Wi-fi access at the house
  • Free chauffeured transfers from/to Carcassonne (airport or railway station) on Day One and on the final day of the course.
  • Important, please note: Toulouse Airport is 70 km from the location of French House Party and incurs a  £50 per person transfers fee.  On arrival, it may be necessary to wait with our chauffeur if other guests’ arrival times do not coincide precisely with yours. For reasons of economy and time-management we encourage guests to take up the mid-morning Toulouse transfer on the first day of a course. Other Toulouse transfers will be subject to negotiation.

What the price does not include

  • Travel to and from France.
  • Taxis or car hire.
  • Transfers outside the first and last days of the course may be available at additional cost and will be variable according to numbers. For example, the costs for this service for one or two people are: Toulouse £100 or Carcassonne £35. (For your information, a taxi fare to Toulouse Airport is almost three times this £100 price).
  • Drinks requirements other than those listed above.
  • NB. All our rooms are double or twin and will incur a single occupancy supplement (price varies).