Your Booking
Any bookings made with us are subject to the following Terms and conditions (the 'Terms'). By submitting your payment you are agreeing to these Terms. We take great care in selecting the accommodation which we promote and only choose to work with owners who are competent and reliable in providing the accommodation we have selected. We care passionately about providing a service of the highest possible standard and we will do our utmost to ensure that any holiday booked through us is to the standard clients using our agency booking services have come to expect.
These are the Terms applicable to your booking with Essential Italy Limited of 12 George Street, Cambridge CB4 1AJ, United Kingdom (Company number: 04500423) Please note we act only as an agent in respect of all bookings we take and/or make on your behalf.
For all arrangements which you book through us, your contract will be with the supplier of the arrangements in question (the ‘supplier(s)’).When making your booking we will arrange for you to enter into a contract with the applicable supplier(s) of the arrangements. Your booking with us is subject to these Terms and the specific booking conditions of the relevant supplier(s) you contract with and you are advised to read both carefully prior to booking. The supplier’s terms and conditions may limit and/or exclude the supplier's liability to you. Copies of applicable conditions are available on request from us.
You may of course decide to make one or more bookings with us at the same time and the price charged in total will always equal the prices charged separately for each individual booking. All arrangements are available to be purchased separately and at the same price as they are when more than one booking is made. This means that any multiple bookings do not constitute a package as defined in the Package Travel Package and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 nor the Civil Aviation (Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing) Regulations 2012.
If, after selecting and paying for one travel service, you book additional services for your trip or holiday via us, you will NOT benefit from rights applying to packages under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulation 2018. Therefore, we will not be responsible for the proper performance of those additional travel services. In case of problems please contact the relevant service provider. However, if you book any additional travel services during the same visit to our booking website, the travel services will become part of a linked travel arrangement.
Please note that, since your payments go directly to the relevant travel service provider, we have not taken out any protection to refund you, in the unlikely event it becomes insolvent.
By booking with us you agree that:
- you have read the Terms set out above and below and agree to be bound by these Terms;
- you consent to our use of your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy;
- you are over 18 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions you declare that you and all members of your party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services.
Personal Data
By accepting these Terms you agree and consent to our use and processing for your personal information relating to you and your party.
We process your information so far as necessary to allow us and our suppliers to deliver your accommodation. Further information on the processing of your personal data can be found in our Group Privacy Policy.
Such information shall be treated in compliance with UK legislation, including European legislation applicable in the UK, as well as any other such legislation that substitutes, complements or elaborates the privacy and data protection legislation, and will be used to process bookings and payments made at your request.
For the purpose of these Terms, personal information includes, but is not limited to: any telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, addresses, signatures, ID or passport details, credit card details, personal preferences, disabilities, or any other personal information related to you or your group that may be relevant for your booking.
When you do provide personal data to us which relates to another person, you must obtain their consent for you to provide such data to us for processing in relation to the booking. If they do not consent, you must not provide such information to us.
Bookings and Payments
When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept these Terms for you and your party. In order to confirm your chosen arrangements, you must pay a 30% deposit as required by the supplier of the arrangements in question (please see exceptions to the amount of deposit required at certain properties under cancellation policy). The balance is due twelve weeks prior (ten weeks for bookings made before 1st July 2022) to your departure date. If you are booking less than twelve weeks prior to your departure date, the full amount must be paid to secure your booking. Should the balance not be paid by the due date, we will notify the supplier who may cancel your booking and charge their cancellation fees (you can find more information about such fees in the ‘Changes and Cancellations by You’ section, below). Payment can be made either by cheque, bank transfer, International money order, Switch, Solo, Visa or Mastercard.
All monies paid to us for arrangements will be held as agent on behalf of the supplier(s) concerned.
Prices
Changes and errors sometimes occur and we, on behalf of the supplier, reserve the right to amend advertised prices at any time. We also reserve the right to correct errors in confirmed prices where necessary. Information and prices shown on our website may have changed by the time you come to book your arrangements. Once we have confirmed a booking to you the price will not be changed, unless an error has been made (as set out below).
Although we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of website information and prices at the time of publication, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. Should such an error occur, we will advise you of the error as soon as possible and you will have the option of paying the correct price or receiving a full refund of any monies already paid.
Security Deposits
Some suppliers will ask for a security deposit to cover any breakages and/or extra cleaning required following your stay. The security deposit can be made in Euros and should be paid directly to the accommodation owner. Such deposits are not applicable to hotel bookings. Where a security deposit is required this will be confirmed and the amount of the deposit requested will be shown in the individual property description and reconfirmed in your pre-departure information. The security deposit will be returned to you by the supplier upon your departure.
Insurance
You are strongly recommended to take out personal travel insurance for all members of your party. Travel insurance is not included in the price of your booking. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance you purchase is adequate and appropriate for your particular needs.
Special Requests
If you have any special requests (for example dietary requirements, cots or room location), please let us know at the time of booking. We will pass on all such requests to the supplier, In the event of a supplier not being able to meet your request we will endeavour to confirm this to you prior to arrival, however, we have no liability to you in the event your request is not met.
If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your booking, it is a condition of booking that you contact us or the supplier before you make your booking and provide us with full details. If the supplier is unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not be able to confirm your booking. If you did not give us full details at the time of booking we, on behalf of the supplier, will cancel your booking and impose applicable cancellation charges as soon as we become aware of these details. It is also your responsibility to make the supplier fully aware of your medical requirements or special dietary requirements upon arrival as an additional safeguard.
Changes and Cancellations by You
Any cancellations or amendments must be sent to us in writing by email, fax or post and must be acknowledged in writing by us in return. We will pass on your request to the supplier, who will then confirm whether or not it is possible to meet your request. Amendments and cancellations can only be accepted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the supplier of your arrangements.
Cancellation or amendment charges will be charged by the supplier from the date the notification of the cancellation is received. Below is an example of the standard cancellation charges levied by our suppliers. If there is any change to these terms then we will notify you at the time of booking:
| Time before Departure | Penalty of Total Invoice |
| More than 84 days | 10%* |
| 84 - 43 Days | 70% |
| 42 - 0 Days | 100% |
*Minimum of £100
PLEASE NOTE
Exceptions to the above are:
- 50% non-refundable deposit at Il Convento di Santa Maria di Constantinopoli. Final balance also non-refundable.
- 30% non-refundable deposit at Villa Oleandro (Sardinia).
- 30% non-refundable deposit at Le Capanne (Umbria)
- 30% non-refundable deposit at Villa Archipelago (Sardinia)
- 30% non-refundable deposit at Masseria Potenti (Puglia)
- 30% non-refundable deposit at Casa di Luce (Umbria)
- 50% non-refundable deposit required for La Corte, Garden House Agrumeto, Temple apartment, Teatro apartment, Angel apartment and La Botte in Nardo (Puglia)
- 30% non-refundable deposit required for Villa Reggello. Final balance also non-refundable.
- 30% non-refundable deposit required for Sarago apartments (Puglia)
No cooling off period - note you have no legal right to change your mind and cancel your booking within 14 days and receive a refund. This right, under the Consumer Contracts Regulation 2013, does not apply to property bookings.
Changes and Cancellations by the Supplier
We will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if the supplier needs to make a significant change to your confirmed arrangements or to cancel them. We will also liaise between you and the supplier in relation to any alternative arrangements offered by the supplier but as agent for the supplier we will have no further liability to you.
Our Responsibility for your Booking
As agent, it is our responsibility to process any booking which you make via us, in accordance with your instructions. We accept no responsibility for the actual provision of the arrangements and we will accept no responsibility for any information about the arrangements that we pass on to you in good faith. However, in the event that we are found liable to you on any basis whatsoever, our maximum liability to you is limited to twice the cost of your booking (or the appropriate proportion of this if not everyone on the booking is affected). This limit does not apply to cases involving death or injury that arises as a result of our negligence or that of any of our employees whilst acting in the course of their employment.
Should you have a Complaint
In the unlikely event that you have reason to make a complaint whilst on holiday about the accommodation, this should be reported to the villa owner or hotel management via the Essential Italy representative who will then feed this back to the supplier. If you fail to follow this procedure there will be less opportunity for the supplier to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you are still in resort. If you wish to complain when you return home, please write directly to us within 28 days and we will ensure your complaint reaches the owner swiftly. Any assistance given by us will be given on a goodwill basis only in our capacity as agent.
Occupancy
The number of persons occupying the property must not exceed the number stated on the booking form. If there are additional guests the supplier will be within his/her right to refuse entry or request an additional charge upon arrival.
Documentation & Information
All descriptions and content on our website or otherwise issued by us is done so on behalf of the supplier in question and are intended to present a general idea of the services provided. Not all details of the relevant services can be included. All products and services shown are subject to availability. If you require any further details please contact us providing details of the additional information needed.
Force Majeure
Force majeure means that neither we nor the supplier will pay you compensation if we have to cancel or change your booking in any way because of unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. These can include for example, but are not limited to, war, threat of war, terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, the act of any government or other national or local authority, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather, sea and ice conditions.
If there is a force Majeure event that results in you being unable to attend your accommodation but does not impact the availability of the accommodation, the booking will be treated as cancelled by you and as such the cancellation charges set out in the 'changes and cancellation by you' section will apply.
Law and Jurisdiction
These booking conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. Any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only.