Terms of Contract
For your stay at West Acre House luxury B&B Accommodation, Alnwick, Northumberland, North East England
Booking & Payment
Advance Bookings:
Please note that for advance booking a minimum booking of 2 nights is usually required, however we do occasionally have a one night slot to fill. Last minute bookings may be accommodated for single nights.
You would need to contact us direct, by email or phone if enquiring about a booking more than 12 months in advance.
Reservations:
Normally a reservation will be deemed to have been made if at short notice we have taken your details over the telephone and entered them into the diary and we have informed you that the booking has been made. In most other cases we will write to you to confirm the booking once a deposit has been received by us. A receipt or written confirmation from us is your proof of reservation. An entry in our diary containing your full contact details will be considered proof that we have communicated with you and accepted your booking.
Reservations can be made by telephone or on line via our website. Discounts on our daily rate where applicable will be automatically applied during the booking process.
Protect yourself from fraud! Please note our accommodation can only be booked directly with us via this website westacrehouse.co.uk, direct by telephone 01665 510374 or mobile 0771 221 3387 or via Booking.Com We do not use any other website or 3rd party agent.
Late Night Functions:
Due to consideration for our other guests we do not take bookings for Hen or Stag parties.
For the benefit of all of our guests we kindly request that guests return to the house by midnight.
We Do Not Take Wedding Bookings, sorry:
Weddings:
We do not take bookings for weddings, our property is unsuitable for wedding functions, sorry. Unfortunately if a room or rooms are booked for a wedding without first speaking to us in person it will be cancelled by us without penalty. We reserve the right to refuse any such booking.
Arrival and Departure times:
Arrival 3 – 5 pm Please arrive whenever possible between 3 pm and 5 pm. If you wish to arrive outside of this time could you please let us know in advance.
Check In is not normally possible before 3 pm as we will be making the house ready to welcome you.
Departure – 10.30 am We ask that rooms are vacated by 10.30 am on your last day (Sundays 11.00 am) so that we can have time to make the rooms ready for new guests arriving.
Deposits:
Deposits should be received by us within 5 days of making your reservation unless otherwise agreed. (See below re special Covid-19 consideration)
Minimum deposits:
Please note if we request a deposit the minimum deposit is the cost of the room for the 1st night for up to three night reservations, or, if booking for four or more nights, a suitable deposit will be agreed with you. In the event of more than one room being booked at one time the deposit required would refer to each room independently.
Payment of your account Balance – Cash, or 
Credit and Debit Cards..
.. are acceptable, we do not take Amex, sorry. Unfortunately as cheques can no longer be guaranteed they are no longer acceptable for paying the balance of your account.
We have a credit/debit card facility therefore all accounts can be settled by cash, debit or credit card, however, cash is still preferred so that we can avoid high banking charges.
Cancellation Policy: (This is a Contractual Obligation and applies per room)
We would strongly urge that you cover the cost of your booking with Holiday Insurance. The Post Office offer comprehensive insurance also we find StayCationPlan another useful resource. Compare The Market offer advice and deal with a list of companies who can quote for your holiday cover.
Our booking year starts on the 1st of January each year. We are happy to hold a room for you free of obligation if you are making the reservation for the next calendar year. Before the 1st of January you may cancel free of charge. After the 1st of January we would consider the booking to be subject of our cancellation policy.
You may cancel your booking free of charge within a 24hr grace period and providing we have at least 24hrs notice before your booking commences. (Bookings made for the following day will be considered a firm booking)
For advance bookings (after the 24hr grace period) we consider the booking to be firm and cancellation charges will be payable. If you can give us 15 days’ notice or more only the first night will be chargeable.
If the cancellation is more than 7 days but less than 15 days’ notice two nights’ accommodation to be paid for. (However if we are able to re-let the room we will be happy to refund your monies to you less the first night)
For cancellations with less than 7 days’ notice the full reservation period will be payable. (However if we are able to re-let the room we will be happy to refund your monies less the first night.)
If we have agreed not to take a deposit and you cancel, cancellation fees still apply within the above timescale.
Covid-19 Special Consideration – Please do take out holiday insurance with Covid-19 cover which will reimburse you in the case of your booking having to be cancelled. If you have Covid-19 and continue to travel to West Acre House we will put the health of our other guests first therefore you will not be admitted. The health and wellbeing of our guests is extremely important and we thank you for your consideration in this regard.
In the extremely unlikely event that we have to cancel a booking or bookings for personal reasons, we will notify you in writing and do all in our power to ensure that you are offered alternative quality accommodation and any monies received will be returned to you in full.
Occupancy
Occupancy for B&B:
The bedrooms are spacious and arranged to accommodate two persons very comfortably, we have not provided a third bed in any room, as we feel this compromises the quality of the room. We regret that we do not have family rooms and we cannot accommodate children under the age of 15 yrs.
Children – B&B:
We do not accommodate babies or children under 15 yrs for B&B – sorry.
The room rate applies at all times as it is based on adult double occupancy.
Single Occupancy:
All rooms are let as doubles. In the case of single occupancy the room rate will always apply.
Special Diets:
We can usually accommodate special diets with a little help from you. Please let us know in advance so that we can make any preparations. Prescription foodstuffs such as gluten free bread could be brought with you if possible. If we are required to buy foodstuffs in addition to that already on offer any extra cost may need to be met by you.
Coeliac -We will take every care to avoid contamination with gluten but we cannot guarantee 100% that there will be no cross contamination with gluten products.
Nut allergy – We use nut products every day in our kitchen and dining room and whilst every care would be taken to avoid contamination with nuts or seeds we cannot guarantee this.
Evening Meals:
I’m sorry we do not provide evening meals as there are many places to eat in and around Alnwick. If you look at ‘Eating Out‘ on our website we have recommended personal and guest favourites.
Maintenance Of Rooms:
Please note that the rooms will be maintained every day by us to ensure they are clean and fit for use. Cleaning of your room may begin from the time you come down for breakfast and access is required in any case before 11.30am so that maintenance can be carried out to a satisfactory standard.
Wireless Broadband Connection available:
We have free wireless broadband connection available for our guests to connect to their own computers or smart phones. Terms and conditions apply. Information available on arrival, please ask.
No Smoking:
In consideration to all of our guests the accommodation is totally none smoking. Any acceptance of a booking for accommodation is done so with this condition and forms part of a legal contract. Any smoking in a room or bathroom would incur an excess fee of £100 for additional cleaning and further compensation may be claimed re loss of business if we have to cancel the subsequent booking. For the comfort and wellbeing of our other guests if you do smoke outside of the house we ask that you do it away from the building – thank you.
Reckless Damage:
If our property is damaged by any reckless or deliberate means we will seek recompense for the full value of our property. Examples of reckless damage would be:
Dirty Foot ware – soiling of carpets or furnishings by deliberately walking into the house with mud encrusted foot ware or clothing
Red Wine* – Spillage of red wine – onto furnishings or décor (We would prefer you not to take red wine to your room to negate this risk)
Indelible ink on bedding or soft furnishings!
Vomiting – Damage caused by vomiting after over indulging in alcohol.
(Please do not attempt to clean carpets by rubbing a spill into the carpet, after a spill, if practicable please inform us immediately as we can sometimes negate the damage with cleaning products)
Suitcases on Beds!
We ask you not to place suitcases onto the beds as they are often contaminated and can transfer soil or pests to the bedding and can completely ruin soft furnishings.
Behaviour:
For the consideration of all of our guests we reserve the right to judge acceptable levels of noise or behaviour of guests who must take all steps for corrective action as requested by the proprietors. In the event of failure to comply with management requests, we may terminate the booking immediately regardless of time and without being liable for any refund or compensation. Any termination in the above circumstances will still require the cost of the booking to be paid.
Rechargeable Battery Charging & Vapes!
We all now know the danger of certain batteries catching fire from ebikes, Vapes, scooters, etc. We ask you not to bring any type of battery or vape (some have been know to spontaneously combust) into the house for charging. Exceptions are laptops, smart phones and iPads/tablets.
Gift Vouchers:
Gift vouchers can be ordered for a friend or relative for B&B accommodation, for a date to be arranged by the voucher holder. All gift vouchers must be paid for in advance and must be returned to us at time of staying in the accommodation. The cost of a Gift Voucher can be found on our Gift Vouchers page.
Gift vouchers will be personalised so are only for named persons, (details must be supplied at the time of purchase) and are redeemable for a period of 12 months from date of issue. After that date they will cease to have any value.
Gift vouchers are not refundable as they are accepted as a form of reservation, however we reserve the right in exceptional circumstances to cancel the voucher and return the purchase price to the purchaser.
General:
Proprietor on the premises 24 hours. Available until 10.00 pm. During the night in case of emergency information for contacting proprietor on the premises available in guest folder.
The proprietors have had disability awareness training – please see our Access Statement.
No Smoking or Vaping throughout.
In case of fire, full audible fire alarm system installed with emergency lighting.
*We know from experience that Red Wine in particular can cause serious damage to fabrics and furnishings and we ask you not to bring red wine into our bedrooms. This is in order to negate any possible damage to the bedroom and cost to you for repair or replacement of carpets or other furnishings.
“Thank you for taking the time to read our terms and information “
Special Covid-19 Measures – Reviewed September 2023.
The government have removed restrictions regarding Covid-19 however this does not mean that it has gone away. For the foreseeable future we will continue with exceptional measures to ensure the safety of you and ourselves. We will work within the guidelines set out by the NHS. If we have to cancel your booking because you have contracted Covid-19 unfortunately your deposit will be forfeit and your balance will become payable. We strongly advise that you take out holiday insurance with Covid-19 cover.
In order to keep you safe we will do our best to eliminate risk.
Breakfast Times.
Breakfast is served between 8am to 9.30am. We will ask you to be flexible over breakfast times at this will enable us to create space for you in the dining room.
To reduce handling and exposure in the dining room, breakfasts be served individually by us direct from the kitchen. We have a comprehensive menu which allows you to make all of the necessary choices for you to enjoy a relaxing breakfast.
Hand Gel When You Come and Go.
Anti-viral hand gel is available in the hallway. We ask you to use this when you come into the house. Hand gel is also supplied in your rooms. We ask that you use the hand gel when leaving your rooms and coming into a public area. You might wish to consider using the hand gel in the hall before entering the dining room.
You no longer have to wear a mask indoors but we do ask you to maintain reasonable social distancing and that you use appropriate etiquette if coughing or sneezing. Most importantly wash your hands and or use hand gel as you enter the house and come and go.
Maintaining Your Room.
Maintaining Your Room. We know you will have some concerns with regards to having your room maintained. Regular maintenance will be cleaning of bins, washing tea-cups/glasses, replenishing supplies, making up the beds and cleaning the bathrooms. In order to cut down time spent in the rooms we will agree with you whether you wish us to make up the beds etc or or not during your stay please let us know.
Towels.
If your towels are hung up this indicates that you are happy to reuse them, if the towels are wet, or left in the bath or shower tray this will indicate that you would like us to change them. Reusing them wherever possible helps to reduce energy and pollution.
We take your safety seriously and we will clean all surfaces with disinfectant after each occupancy.
Shoes and suitcases:
In our efforts to create a covid-19 free environment, we ask all guests to be aware that footwear borne virus may be transferred to soft furnishings in your rooms. Similarly suitcases can carry dirt and virus on their surfaces. We ask that suitcases are never placed on the bed and soft furnishings in your room, thank you.
Meals – Eating out:
We strongly advise that you book your restaurants at least three days in advance.
Alnwick is a very busy hub, so be sure to reserve your table. If you do not pre-book you may find that all of the tables are taken. We ask that you do not consume meals in the bedrooms, thank you.
Please don’t travel if you are unwell. In the very unlikely event that you are unwell when you arrive, or become unwell at any time, in particular if you have a high temperature or symptoms of a cold or flu please let us know immediately.
We will do all in our power to ensure that you have had a comfortable and hopefully memorable stay.
Kindest Regards
Bruce & Jeannette x
for your 5 star luxury B&B holiday accommodation at West Acre House, Alnwick, Northumberland, North East England.