Booking Conditions

Devon Holidays: Booking Conditions

We want you to enjoy a comfortable, relaxing stay. These terms explain what your booking includes, what we ask of you and how we will help if something goes wrong.

1. Who your booking is with

Your accommodation contract is with Reliance Retreats Limited, trading as Devon Holidays, registered in England and Wales under company number 13517188. Our registered office is Layfield House, Lay Field, Hook, England, RG27 9TD.

In these terms, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Reliance Retreats Limited. “You” means the person making the booking.

You may receive communications using the Devon Holidays, Reliance Retreats or Reliance Managed Services name. This does not change the company responsible for your accommodation contract.

You can contact our guest team:

• Telephone and WhatsApp: 01626 817333

• Email: bookings@devonholidays.co.uk

• During your stay: through your Guesty guest app or the contact details above.

2. Your booking

Your booking confirmation identifies your lodge, dates, party size, price, payment schedule and included facilities. Please check these details and contact us promptly about any discrepancy.

A direct booking becomes binding when we issue written confirmation accepting it. The applicable terms will be made available before you book.

For bookings through Airbnb, Booking.com, Sykes Cottages or another booking platform, the cancellation policy, payment arrangements and booking-specific conditions presented and agreed through that platform apply. These terms supplement those conditions where consistent with them; they do not retrospectively replace the policy you accepted.

The person making the booking must ensure everyone in their party is aware of the applicable terms and safety rules.

3. Paying for your stay

For direct bookings, a 10% deposit is payable at the time of booking. The remaining 90% is due six weeks—42 days—before arrival.

For direct bookings made within six weeks of arrival, the full accommodation price is payable at the time of booking.

For bookings through Airbnb, Booking.com, Sykes Cottages or another booking platform, accommodation payments are handled separately through that platform in accordance with its agreed payment arrangements.

Booking extras purchased directly from Devon Holidays are payable to us separately, as explained below.

If a direct accommodation payment is overdue, we will contact you and give you a reasonable opportunity to pay, taking account of how soon your stay begins. If payment remains outstanding after the deadline in that notice, we may cancel the booking. Any amount retained or charged will be assessed under the fair cancellation provisions in section 7.

4. Booking extras

Optional extras may include early check-in, late check-out, permission to bring a dog, a travel cot and other items or services offered for your lodge.

Extras are subject to availability, the lodge’s rules and our confirmation. Their prices and any applicable conditions will be disclosed before you agree to purchase them.

Extras purchased through Devon Holidays are billed directly by us, including where your accommodation was booked through a booking platform.

Payment for confirmed extras is required before arrival, by the deadline shown on your invoice. If payment has not been received by arrival, the unpaid extra will be cancelled and will not be supplied or authorised. We will notify you of this.

For example, unpaid early check-in or late check-out will not change your standard arrival or departure time. An unpaid dog extra does not authorise you to bring a dog.

If you request an extra after arrival and we agree to supply it, payment is required before it is provided or used.

Cancellation of an unpaid extra does not itself cancel your accommodation booking. Any consequences of bringing an unauthorised pet or otherwise breaching the booking conditions will be addressed reasonably and proportionately.

This section does not affect our legal duties concerning assistance dogs or reasonable adjustments.

5. Guest names, registration and occupancy

You pay for the lodge, rather than per person, subject to its advertised maximum occupancy and any separately agreed extras.

For the resort’s health, safety and emergency arrangements, the names of everyone staying, including children, must be recorded in your Guesty guest app before arrival.

Please ensure the list is accurate and tell us promptly about any changes. If you have difficulty accessing or completing the app, contact us so we can help record the information.

Only registered guests may stay overnight. Anyone who has not been registered may be refused admission until registration is completed and their stay approved. We will provide a reasonable opportunity to correct an omission where this can be done safely and within the lodge’s occupancy limit.

Adding someone does not create a per-person accommodation charge, but may require the administration fee described below if requested after arrival.

Registration does not authorise you to exceed the lodge’s maximum occupancy or bring additional visitors contrary to the applicable resort rules.

We will use guest information for managing your booking, resort registration and safety arrangements, in accordance with our privacy notice. Relevant details may be shared with the resort for those purposes.

6. Changes requested after arrival

Please contact us before making substantive changes to your booking after arrival, including replacing a named guest or adding someone to your party.

Changes require our approval and must comply with the lodge’s capacity, safety requirements, resort rules and any applicable booking-platform conditions.

A £25 administration fee applies per accepted amendment request made after arrival. This covers the administration of updating the booking and relevant guest records. Several changes submitted together will be treated as one request.

We will confirm the change and fee before processing it. No fee is payable if we cannot accept the request.

We do not charge this fee for correcting our own errors, simple spelling mistakes or changes required because we have failed to provide what was agreed.

Please report changes promptly so our safety records remain accurate. We will not delay recording who is actually present while an administration payment is being resolved.

Any optional extras requested alongside an amendment are charged separately at the agreed price. We will explain all charges before you agree.

7. If you need to cancel

Please notify us in writing by email or, for platform bookings, through the platform’s cancellation process. Cancellation takes effect when your notice reaches us or is recorded through the applicable platform process. We will acknowledge it promptly.

For direct bookings, the following schedule applies, subject to the fair-charge provisions below:

The accommodation price means the price payable to us for the lodge and its included facilities. Your deposit is included within the cancellation charge and is not charged again on top.

These charges are subject to a fair assessment of our reasonable net losses. We will take reasonable steps to re-let cancelled dates and account for costs saved and net income from replacement bookings. We will reduce the charge and refund any excess payment where appropriate. We will not recover the same loss twice.

Separately purchased extras that will not be supplied will be refunded, less only reasonable, unavoidable costs properly incurred for them.

For platform bookings, the cancellation policy accepted through that platform applies.

There is generally no statutory 14-day cooling-off period for holiday accommodation booked for specific dates. This does not affect cancellation rights expressly offered with your booking or your rights if we breach the contract.

We recommend suitable travel insurance covering cancellation, illness and disruption. Insurance does not replace our responsibilities to you.

8. What your booking includes

Your booking price covers use of the booked lodge and the facilities expressly included in its description and booking confirmation, including a private hot tub and/or sauna where specified.

Other amenities and activities are included only where expressly stated. Compulsory charges and the prices of optional extras will be disclosed before you book or agree to purchase them.

9. Independently operated amenities and activities

Other on-site and off-site amenities and activities are owned and managed by their respective providers, independently of us. These may include swimming pools, leisure facilities, spas, restaurants, entertainment and organised activities.

Unless expressly included in your booking, access is separate from your accommodation booking and may require additional payment, advance booking or membership. Access is subject to the provider’s opening hours, availability, capacity, eligibility requirements and rules.

We do not control these independently operated services or guarantee their uninterrupted availability. Subject to the protections below, we are not responsible for closures, cancellations, restricted access, changes or interruptions outside our reasonable control. Such disruption does not, by itself, entitle you to a refund of your accommodation charges.

We will disclose significant closures or restrictions known to us before you book and notify you promptly if we subsequently become aware of a significant change affecting your stay.

This clause does not exclude responsibility for anything we have expressly agreed to provide, inaccurate or misleading information supplied by us, our negligence or breach of contract, or your statutory rights.

10. If we cannot provide your booked lodge

We will not cancel your booking without a valid reason. If circumstances genuinely beyond our reasonable control make your lodge unavailable—for example, an incident making it unsafe—we will explain the situation and contact you as soon as reasonably possible.

Where available, we will offer suitable alternative accommodation and explain any differences. You do not have to accept an alternative.

If you decline the alternative, or none is available, we will cancel the affected booking and refund all sums paid to us for accommodation and associated services we cannot provide, including the deposit. We will not require you to accept a voucher instead.

Where payment was collected through a platform, we will promptly take the steps required on our part to arrange the refund through its payment process.

If the problem arises during your stay, we will discuss suitable arrangements and refund unused accommodation and services we cannot provide.

These arrangements do not limit any further remedy you may have under consumer law.

11. Private hot tubs and saunas

Where included in your booking, we will take reasonable care to provide and maintain your private hot tub and/or sauna safely.

If we know before arrival that an included facility will be unavailable, we will notify you promptly, explain the expected impact and discuss an appropriate price reduction or other remedy. If this amounts to a significant change to your booking, we will explain the options available, including cancellation and a refund where appropriate.

If a fault develops during your stay, please tell us promptly. We will arrange investigation and repair within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience where reasonably possible.

Where a fault cannot be repaired during your stay, we will make a minimum payment of £5 per lodge for each affected day, including the day use was lost where appropriate. This is a minimum payment for the loss of the facility, rather than a cap on your rights.

We will assess whether a larger price reduction or other remedy is appropriate, taking account of the facilities affected, duration of disruption and impact on your booking.

Where evidence shows that misuse by your party caused the loss of use, any remedy and reasonable repair costs will be assessed accordingly.

12. Hot-tub safety acknowledgement and access

Every adult guest intending to use the hot tub must complete our hot-tub safety acknowledgement before use. A parent or responsible adult must acknowledge the rules for any child permitted to use it and provide the required supervision.

The form is available here:

Complete the hot-tub safety acknowledgement

Please complete this before arrival so we can confirm the necessary arrangements. If it is outstanding, we will contact you and explain how to complete it. The hot tub must not be used until the acknowledgement and necessary safety arrangements are in place.

Completion does not waive your statutory rights or release us from our legal responsibilities.

Our team must carry out water-quality and chemical checks during your stay in accordance with our safety procedures. You agree to provide reasonable access for these checks and essential maintenance.

For A-frame lodges, access to the hot tub is through the lodge. We will make this clear before booking and explain the expected visiting arrangements. Staff will respect your privacy, give reasonable notice where practicable and keep disruption to a minimum. Urgent safety concerns may require immediate access.

If you do not intend to use the hot tub, please notify us before arrival. We will confirm whether it will be emptied or otherwise safely taken out of use and whether any checks remain necessary. Choosing not to use it does not remove the need for safety checks unless we confirm this.

Please follow the operating and safety instructions provided. Do not interfere with treatment equipment or controls, or use a facility closed for safety reasons.

We may temporarily suspend use where reasonably necessary to protect guests’ safety. We will explain why and restore use as soon as it is safe and reasonably practicable. Any remedy will depend on the circumstances and your statutory rights.

13. Lodge condition, housekeeping and damage

Before each arrival, our housekeeping team makes a digital record of the lodge’s condition. This helps us maintain standards and investigate concerns fairly.

Please report missing items, damage or cleaning issues promptly. Our records are evidence of condition, but do not prevent you from reporting an issue or providing your own evidence.

Please take reasonable care of the lodge, its contents and facilities, and leave it reasonably clean and tidy.

You may be responsible for reasonable, evidenced losses caused by damage, missing items or cleaning substantially beyond normal use attributable to your party or pets. We do not charge for fair wear and tear or routine changeover cleaning.

Before seeking payment or making a deduction from an agreed security deposit, we will explain the reason, provide supporting evidence and give you a reasonable opportunity to respond.

Charges will reflect the actual reasonable loss, allowing for age and condition rather than automatically charging the cost of a new replacement.

Housekeeping records will be handled in accordance with our privacy notice.

14. If something is not right

Please contact us as soon as reasonably possible through Guesty, by telephone or WhatsApp on 01626 817333, or by email at bookings@devonholidays.co.uk.

Photographs or a short video are helpful where practical, but are not a condition of receiving assistance.

Please give us a reasonable opportunity to investigate and put matters right during your stay, including reasonable access where needed.

If a problem remains unresolved, explain what happened and the outcome you are seeking. You may also contact us after departure. We will consider your complaint fairly.

A delay in reporting may affect what we can verify or remedy, and any resulting compensation, particularly where we could reasonably have resolved the issue during your stay. It does not automatically remove your right to complain or your statutory rights.

15. Our responsibilities and your rights

We will provide our services with reasonable care and skill and remain responsible for the obligations we undertake under your accommodation contract.

We are responsible for foreseeable loss or damage caused by our breach of contract or failure to exercise reasonable care and skill. Loss is foreseeable where it was an obvious consequence or was contemplated by both parties when the contract was made.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

Your statutory consumer rights remain unaffected. Our responsibility for our own contractual obligations is not removed simply because we use contractors to carry them out.

16. Applicable law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. This does not remove any mandatory consumer protections or rights concerning where you may bring proceedings that apply to you.