Terms & Conditions

1. Terms

These conditions apply to all holidays booked with The AltitudeCollection SARL, trading as “selfcateredmeribel.com” (“we” or “us”), and all people named or booked for by the party leader (“you”). “Our services” are those The Altitude Collection provides directly, such as food and accommodation. All other services provided by external suppliers, such as, but not limited to, childcare, ski lessons, ski hire and lift passes, are not classed as part of “our services”. There is a section (section 5) for external suppliers. The rest of these booking terms and conditions apply exclusively to matters of our services only. “The holiday” is our package of food & accommodation only.

2. Your Holiday Contract

The contract is made on the date we issue a confirmation of your booking (via email) from which point on you are said to have booked. No contract or obligation exists between us and you before this date. Your booking of a holiday with us confirms you understand and accept all terms and conditions laid down in our “Booking Terms and Conditions”. We reserve the right to change our booking terms and conditions without notice. If you have already booked a holiday before any change you have the option to stay with the booking terms and conditions from your booking date. You will be notified in writing (email, fax or letter) of any proposed change and you must accept or refuse this within 28 days. If you make no contact then it is taken as you have accepted the new booking terms and conditions.

This contract does not apply to any services not classed as part of our services, such as childcare, ski lessons, ski hire and lift passes. We have no liability or obligation in relation to these services, and offer no comment on the standard of these services.

3. Prices & Availability

After you have booked we will not apply any surcharges to you, even if the value of sterling falls. We reserve the right to change our prices either quoted or published at any time without notice. Although we update our website regularly, it will not always be up to the minute. Please contact us for up-to-date price and availability information.

4. Booking

A party leader making a booking takes responsibility for the whole party, including payment. The below applies to bookings of our services only.

i) Deposit

The deposit is 50% of the full holiday price. This is non-refundable.

ii) Confirmation

We will issue a confirmation of your booking when the full deposit has been received and cleared. Only from the date of this confirmation does any contract or obligation exist between us and you.

iii) Final Balance

The Final Balance is due 80 days before arrival. If this is not paid, then the holiday is deemed to have been cancelled. We reserve the right to re-sell the holiday without notice.

iv) Bookings made within 80 days of departure

The deposit and final balance are both due on booking.

5. Third-Party Services

We may make bookings on your behalf with third-parties. For example ski schools, ski hire providers, the lift pass office, childcare providers, restaurants and transfer companies. All third-party bookings are subject to the terms and conditions of the provider. All contracts made are between you and the third-party provider. We do not enter into any contract with third-parties, and do not have obligation for any matter arising from a third-party provider. We do not offer any comment on the standard of services they may provide. All disputes must be taken up with the provider directly, including requests for refunds, even if we have paid the supplier on your behalf.

6. Alteration of the Holiday by You

There are no alteration fees.

i) Alteration before the date of payment of the final balance

You may alter your dates of stay, rooms booked and names of party members travelling, provided there is availability. If the holiday price is more, you need to pay the difference in price. If the price is less, we will refund you any difference. Prices applicable are those on the date of your change of booking compared to the price of your original booking.

ii) Alteration after the date of payment of the final balance

You may only alter the names of persons travelling up to 14 days before departure. No monies will be refunded for a person taking the place who would upon normal booking pay less than the original person has paid (e.g. if a child takes the place of a full paying adult there will be no refund).

iii) All other alterations

All other alterations not specifically mentioned above are considered a cancellation of the whole party who will then need to re-book. The charges for cancellation are outlined below.

7. Cancellation by You

If you cancel your holiday for any reason, please note that a cancellation charge is due as stipulated below – unless any of the Covid related travel restrictions are in place between 1 and 7 days before your holiday starts. Please ensure your insurance covers cancellation of your holiday for any reason.

If you do not make the payments by their due dates – or do not show up in resort or at the airport (as applicable), your holiday will be cancelled without notice and the above charges apply. In reality, we would make every effort to contact you and only cancel without notice if we were unable to contact you.

Please note our holiday prices, and any refunds given, are in Euro. If you pay from an account in another currency then any refund given may not match your original payment amount by the time you have converted it back if exchange rates have changed.

Covid Cancellation Policy Winter 2022-23

Our Covid Cancellation Policy applies to any holiday during the 2022-23 season. The specifics are detailed for you here but, if you have any questions or concerns at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

COVID-RELATED TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS COVERED:

If any of the below Covid-related travel restrictions are in place between 1 and 7 days before your holiday starts, then you can cancel your holiday at that point on our extended Covid Cancellation Policy.

If you are required to quarantine/self-isolate upon arrival in France due to the laws or regulations of the French authorities.
If you are required to quarantine/self-isolate upon return to your home country due to the laws or regulations of the government of your home country or regional authority.
If the chalet you have booked with us has been forced to close due to the laws or regulations of the French authorities.
If France has closed its borders or is otherwise denying entry to visitors.

YOUR OPTIONS:

If any of the above conditions are in place between 1 and 7 days before your holiday with us then you can cancel your holiday at that time and choose one of the following:

Option 1: Your deposit (50%) converted to a credit note for a The Altitude Collection holiday during the following season 2022/2023, and the balance refunded to you.

Option 2: If you are happy for us to retain all the monies, The Altitude Collection guarantees to hold the price for the same chalet and date for the following season (subject to availability).

For our Covid Cancellation Policy to apply cancellations must be made between 1 and 7 days prior to arrival in our chalets, and the regulations must be in force at that time or for your dates of travel. Any cancellations made more than 7 days in advance, or on arrival day / “no shows”, will be on our standard cancellation terms.

Please also note that cancelling due to any other reason not specified above, including disinclination to travel due to COVID-19, will result in our standard cancellation policies.

EXTENSION TO YOUR RIGHTS

This is an extension to our standard terms, and does not diminish any of your current rights. Here’s a comparison table.

Days Before departure Standard Cancellation Charge

(% of total holiday cost)

60 days or more ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 50% (this is the deposit)

30 to 59 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 60%

08 to 29 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 90%

07 to 01 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 100%

0 days ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 100%

CONDITIONS

If you book your holiday within 80 days of your holiday, please note that we require the full holiday price to be paid upon booking. If you cancel as per the above we would give you a voucher for the standard deposit amount (50% of the total holiday price) and would refund you the standard balance amount (50% of the total holiday price).

You must inform us that you wish to cancel. You can do this right up to midnight the day before you are due to arrive in resort with us. This must be done in writing, by email is fine. There is no refund or voucher if you are a “no-show”.

These Covid cancellation policy provisions are in addition to all your rights set out in our standard booking terms and conditions

HOW TO GET COVER FOR PERSONAL / PARTY MEMBER-SPECIFIC TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

Our industry-leading Covid Cancellation Policy is designed to cover you when governments put any of these Covid-19 related travel restrictions in place population-wide. It does not cover you if you, or a party member, cannot travel due to being a close contact or displaying covid-19 symptoms, either before your holiday or in resort. Travel insurance companies are now offering such products, please make sure your travel insurance will cover you for these situations. Our aim here is to cover the above population-wide travel restrictions, as travel insurance companies generally do not cover such scenarios.

8. Our Covid Protection Policy

For the safety of all guests and staff at The Altitude Collection, we ask our guests not to travel if they:

Have tested positive for coronavirus in the 14 days prior to travel
Are awaiting the results of a coronavirus test
Have had sustained contact with anyone who has either, tested positive in the 14 days prior to travel, or are awaiting the results of a coronavirus test
Have a high temperature, a new continuous cough or a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia) or have been in sustained contact with anyone who experienced such symptoms

For the safety of everyone please do not travel if any of the above applies to you. You should have travel insurance to cover you if you are unable to travel in these circumstances. Please note that we are unable to offer any form of refund if you cannot travel for any of the above reasons.

9. Alteration or Cancellation by Us

In the very unlikely event we need to make a cancellation for reasons not classed as “force majeure” then we will offer you a full refund of all monies paid. In the case of us making a major alteration to your holiday, you may select either a full refund of all monies paid or the altered holiday offered by us. Change of dates of holiday or removal of exclusive use of the chalet are classed as major alterations. All other alterations, including change of room and change of chalet, are classed as minor alterations and no offer of full refund is applicable. The refund of all monies paid is the full limit of our liability, we accept no liability for any other costs incurred to you, including charges for cancellation of your travel and cancellation of other services for example ski hire, ski lessons, lift passes and childcare.

In the case of alteration to, or cancellation of your holiday due to force majeure then no refund will be given. Force majeure is unusual circumstances outside our control, including, but not limited to, war, the threat of war, terrorist action or threatened terrorist action, riots, industrial action, natural or nuclear disasters, fire, flooding or adverse weather conditions, closure of ports and airports or similar events.

10. Acceptance of Responsibility by Us

We take responsibility for the actions or omissions of our staff only in the course of their normal work. We take no responsibility for any actions or omissions of staff outside normal working times, including voluntary skiing with guests and socialising with guests. We take no responsibility for any persons not employed by The Altitude Collection, even if they are a third-party supplier connected to us.

11. Limitation of Liability

Where you do not incur death or personal injury, our liability is limited to the full monies paid to us for our services. No extra costs, for example, travel from the UK, are liable to us.

12. Acceptance of Responsibility by You

We reserve the right to charge you for any damage to our property and for any unusual cleaning. This must be paid within 24hrs else we reserve the right to terminate this contract and all services we provide to you, including accommodation, food and transfers. Any behaviour deemed by us to be anti-social may result in the immediate termination of this contract and all services we provide to you. Group bookings are classed as one. No further obligation would be due to any member of a party, even if a non-offender, of a terminated contract.

13. Accommodation

We will endeavour to have your room ready by 4pm on the day of your arrival. Your room must be vacated by 10am on the day of departure, regardless of the time of transfer. We will however provide space for the storage of baggage, should you either arrive before 4pm, or wish to leave after 10am.

14. Complaints

In the event that you have reason to complain whilst on holiday with us, you should immediately notify us. By raising complaints early, they can often be dealt with quickly so the rest of the holiday can continue to your satisfaction. If you are still unhappy after your initial complaint, please inform us that any actions we have taken have not corrected the problem to your satisfaction. If you remain dissatisfied the party leader must write to us within 28 days of the end of the holiday giving full details of the complaint. For all complaints and claims which do not involve personal injury, illness or death, we cannot accept liability if you fail to notify the complaint or claim entirely in accordance with this clause.

Please note there are many factors outside our control, notably weather-driven aspects such as lack of snow or water shortages. Although we have no liability for factors outside our direct control, we will do our best to help.

In a mountain resort, it can take longer to rectify any problems that may occur than you might expect in the U.K., especially involving trades persons and during the holiday periods. Please bear this in mind when we are dealing with any issues.

15. Accuracy

We have tried to make all information on our website as accurate as possible. Please note our prices and availability published may be out of date, please call us for an up to date quote. All information regarding 3rd party suppliers has been supplied by them to us, but we make no claims to it being complete or up to date. They may subsequently have altered their information, making the facts we have published inaccurate or incomplete.

All photos we publish are of the resort or chalet in question except where the subject is not the scenery itself, for example, photos of a ski instructor or our staff.

16. Internet Access

Although we will try our best, it can take a large amount of time to rectify any technical problems due to the remoteness of ski resorts from the suppliers. We cannot guarantee our internet access to work. We do not provide any computers.

17. The Property

Properties are not always built with child safety in mind. Parents must be aware there are greater risks than in a normal home environment, and extra care should be taken at all times.

Furnishing may vary from that shown or described. Rooms may not be lockable.

18. Transfers

Transfers are not included in your holiday price. We can help you arrange them & give you suggestions of companies to use. You would be using these companies at your own risk, and if something goes wrong or you miss your flight, that matter would be entirely between yourself and the supplier in question.

19. Hot Tubs & Saunas

Hot tubs and saunas can break down and it can take time to get them fixed in a ski resort and as such we cannot promise them to be in working order.

20. Insurance

You must have adequate liability, medical and cancellation insurance for a snow sports holiday.

21. Safety Standards

Please note, it is the requirements and standards of the country in which any services which make up your holiday are provided which apply to those services and not those outside of the EU. As a general rule, these requirements and standards will not be the same as outside the EU and may sometimes be lower.

22. Law and Jurisdiction

The contract between us and you, and any matters arising from it, will be governed under French law and are subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of France.