We look forward to hosting you at Château de la Ruche.

When you make your booking you are entering into an agreement with us.

Please read our terms and conditions thoroughly.

Arrival and Departure

1. Check in is available from 5pm on the day of arrival. Please note that we do not allow early check-ins and will not be available before this time to check you in.
2. We ask that you please vacate the gîte (also known in these T&Cs as Maurice’s House) by 10.30am on the morning of departure.

Booking and payment terms

3. Your self-catering gîte holiday at Maurice’s House at Château de la Ruche is only confirmed once we have received a 50% non-refundable deposit.

4. The balance of your stay is due eight weeks prior to your arrival. At this time, we will also ask you for a €500 security and damage deposit. This will be returned to you after your stay, once we have inspected the property and confirmed that everything is in order. You will be able to make these payments securely online by card. Please note that we do not accept cheques or travellers cheques.

5. For bookings made within eight weeks of your stay we require payment of the full package price to secure the dates.

6. Please note that deposits are non-refundable so do read our cancellation policy below before committing to a reservation.

Cancellation by the Guest

7. We are a small business, so cancellations can have a big impact on us, especially if we have turned away potential guests in favour of someone who has already booked and then cancels. We take all bookings in good faith and because we are unable to judge reasons for change, cancellation or non-arrival, guests are reminded that no exceptions to our terms and conditions will be made and that any booking made with Château de la Ruche for accommodation, goods or services that are pre-booked (verbal or written) forms a legally binding contract. For this reason, we advise that you take out a suitable insurance product to cover against unexpected costs such as cancellation fees. We do, however, appreciate that unforeseen circumstances can occur, and we try to be as sympathetic and helpful as possible in such cases and as such apply the following terms.
8. Your reservation deposit is non-refundable from the moment of booking.
9. If you cancel a stay with less than eight weeks’ notice you will be liable for the full cost of your stay and we will invoice you for the full amount. However, we will attempt to rebook the gîte for your dates and if we do so we will refund your balance payment and retain your deposit as a cancellation fee.
10. If you cancel your stay with more than eight weeks’ notice you will not be charged for the remaining balance, but your deposit will be retained as a cancellation fee.
11. Guests failing to arrive, without notification, will be charged the full reservation price.

Cancellation by Us

12. We reserve the right to cancel your booking in the event of any damage or destruction to Château de la Ruche or Maurice’s House by fire or any other cause beyond our control, which would prevent us from fulfilling our obligation to you.

13. If this unfortunate situation was to occur all deposits and further payments already made would be returned. Château de la Ruche will not be responsible for any consequential or third party loses in any circumstance and again we recommend that you take out holiday insurance to cover for such losses.

Special Events

14. When booking special events such as Le Mans Race Weekends, weddings. group bookings, retreats and party packages separate terms apply and you will be made aware of these on booking.

Moving the dates of your stay

15. Your holiday date is fixed from the moment you pay the 50% non-refundable deposit and receive confirmation from us. If you wish to change the date of your stay at Maurice’s House you must inform us in writing. Changes of date will be at our discretion and based on availability. Charges will apply if you wish to change your date within eight weeks of your stay. You can consider your date changed only when you have received written confirmation from us.

Housekeeping

16. We take huge pride in our accommodation and you can expect the gîte to be clean, tidy, well-equipped and welcoming when you arrive. The gîte is thoroughly cleaned between each set of guests and for guests staying for more than a week it will be cleaned and the towels and linens will be changed once a week on a Friday. We ask that you make the gîte available to us for cleaning each Friday during your stay between 10.30am and 2pm.

17. All bed linens and towels are provided for use during your stay. If you require additional bed linens or towels these will be at an additional cost of €25 per bed and €10 per set of towels. We ask that you do not take our towels from the property for use at swimming pools, rivers, lakes and beaches. Please do not use them for sunbathing – see our sun cream policy below. We reserve the right to charge for stained, damaged or missing towels and bed linen.

End of stay cleaning

18. At the end of your stay we ask you to please leave the gîte as you found it – clean and tidy. Please empty all fridges and freezers, dispose of any rubbish as directed in your welcome pack and ensure that the kitchens and bathrooms are left clean and tidy. Please leave all towels in the bathrooms and the beds turned down.

19. We reserve the right to withhold your security deposit if the gîte is not left in a satisfactory state or if additional professional cleaning is required.

Car Parking

20. A car park is available for guests’ use within the grounds. Cars are parked here at the owner’s risk.

Damage and Breakages

21. Please take care of our home. You are responsible and liable for any breakages or damages which you cause to the accommodation or its contents. Please report these as soon as they occur especially if you accidentally spill something – it’s much easier to clean if we know what it is and act quickly.
22. In the event that you cause any damage to Château de la Ruche, the gîte, outbuildings, grounds and gardens or to any fixtures or fittings during your stay you will be responsible for reimbursement in full. We will obtain three quotations for any necessary work, and will accept the quotation that will most closely restore the item to its original condition. You will then be liable for the full payment of the repairs or a replacement item if the damage is deemed irreparable.

23. We reserve the right to charge for items missing from the gîte. A full inventory is taken between each booking and the cost of any missing or damaged items will be taken from your security deposit.

Our sun cream and fake tan policy

24. Please do not apply or use fake tan in our bedrooms and bathrooms. Any linens, towels and soft furnishings stained with fake tan will be charged for. If professional cleaning is required to remove stains caused by fake tan products you will be expected to pay the bill.
25. We also ask that you do not apply sun creams and lotions inside the gîte. Sunscreens, especially high factor and waterproof formulas, contain chemicals that can damage soft furnishings and linens. Staining often does not appear until after washing, but we reserve the right to charge for any staining to upholstery and bedlinens that cannot be removed.
26. Please wash off sun cream before bed at night to avoid damage to linens and soft furnishings and wash your hand thoroughly after applying sunscreens and before using our towels.

Health, Safety and Antisocial Behaviour

27. We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding illegal activities, vandalism and rude and abusive behaviour towards us, our family and anyone working alongside us. Illegal activities, drug taking and excessive alcohol consumption will immediately be reported to the police. Rude and abusive guests will be asked to leave the château and grounds with immediate effect. You are responsible for the behaviour of your party at all times.

28. Château de la Ruche is a beautiful private residence and it is also our home. We ask that all guests behave and treat with respect our family, house, grounds, other guests and also our neighbours. We ask you not to enter in to any fields containing livestock or that belong to our neighbours – the boundaries will be pointed out to you.

29. No lighting of fires is allowed, including the use of Chinese Lanterns which can frighten livestock and set fire to dry areas of our land and countryside.

30. We have a lake and this will be pointed out to you on arrival. Please make all of your party aware of its location. The lake is not to be used for paddling or swimming and the boat is not to be taken out without prior consent. Any boating is undertaken at your own risk.

31. Château de la Ruche, our family and anyone working alongside us will not be liable for any injury, damage or loss of any nature, however caused (through negligence or not) suffered by you or your guests, other persons associated with your booking, whether before, during, or after the event.

Guests and parties

32. We want you have to great time on your holiday and to make yourselves at home. You are welcome to invite friends to visit you at the gîte. However, we ask that you do not allow external guests to stay overnight without prior agreement from us and that you do not exceed the maximum capacity of people staying in the gîte (8 adults) at any time, because this will invalidate our insurance policy.

33. We do not allow parties to be held at the gîte without prior agreement from us. If you host a party without our agreement your booking will be immediately terminated and you will be asked to leave the property.

Smoking

34. Smoking is not permitted within any part of Château de la Ruche, the garden, grounds, woodland or park. It is STRICTLY forbidden inside the Château, gitê and any outbuildings. Please note that offending guests may be asked to leave immediately and may be liable for professional cleaning of any rooms and any outstanding balance of nights booked but not taken through early departure. You are responsible for making your entire party aware of our no smoking policy. Any evidence of smoking will face a fixed penalty of €10 per cigarette end.

Children

35. Château de la Ruche is family friendly and as such children are welcome. However, they remain the sole responsibility of their parents at all times. Please make them aware of the lake and do not let them near it without an adult present. Please also make your children aware that there are private areas of the Château in which they are not permitted and ask them to respect our privacy.

Pets

36. We do not allow guests to bring their pets to stay anywhere at Château de la Ruche. Pets are also not allowed in the gîte. Please do note that we have a dog and two cats. They are not permitted in the Chambre d’hotes or the gîte. We will do our best to keep our dog away from you and your private garden. The cats are free to roam and as such may make an appearance from time to time.

Keys

37. You will be given a set of keys for the gîte at check-in. You have full responsibility of these keys for the duration of your stay. Lost keys will be charged at €30.00 per set.

Data

38. Some of the data gathered during the course of a booking may be held on computer. We would like to hold this data after your visit to be able to inform you of future offers. If you would prefer us not to hold this information please let us know. For more details about how we will use your date please see our privacy policy.

We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time.

You acknowledge and agree that all intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to, copyrights (including rights in software), trademarks, database rights, patents and inventions) in and relating to the service are owned by us and our licensors or contractors. Nothing in this agreement operates to transfer any such intellectual property rights to you.

We reserve the right to assign or sub-contract any of our rights and obligations under this agreement without notice to you.tw