Please take a moment to read through our terms & conditions.

They’re for your protection as well … because we want you have a perfect holiday … then recommend us to all your friends!

You will be agreeing with the English version of these terms.

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Welcome to Blackwood Villas

In this document you will find described the terms and conditions for renting homes through Blackwood Villas. We wish you a warm welcome to a Blackwood home. Should you experience any problems during your stay in one of our homes please do not hesitate to get in touch via the contact details given in the binder.

You will also find all contact details at the end of the contract. The specifications for your home rental are listed in the appendix.

Have a wonderful holiday!

All Included!

All of our homes have included a normal use of gas, water and electricity in the price. Excessive use of electricity will be taken note of and an invoice sent for the excess.

Some homes have telephone, fax, etc. The rules for use of these items will be made clear through the contractual arrangements for the individual home.

Bed linen and towels are included in all properties. It is advisable to take beach towels and to check if baby cot linen is provided. Linen is normally changed once per week. If you require more frequent changes there is an additional cost.

Final cleaning of the home is also included in the rent.

Your responsibility

We expect you to keep the property and all furniture, effects, facilities and equipment in the same state of repair and condition as at the commencement of the holiday, and in the same state of cleanliness and general order to which it was found.

This also applies to the garden, outdoor furniture and pool if available.

The price

The prices given are in Euros (€), and the rental price in the appendix is weekly unless otherwise stated. Some property owners will only accept bookings with a minimum of two weeks. A surcharge may be added for weekly bookings.

Reservation and payment

When making a reservation of a home, a down-payment of 30% of the total rent must be paid to Blackwood Villas within 8 days after the initial reservation.

This payment confirms and ensures your reservation. The remaining 70% must be paid at the latest 8 weeks prior to arrival. Information on these remaining payments is sent separately.

In all cases of cancellation, the 30% deposit is forfeited.

In case of cancellation later than 8 weeks prior to the planned arrival date Blackwood will attempt to rent the home to another guest. If this can be done, 70% of the total payment will be refunded, only the 30% down payment is forfeited.

If the home cannot be rented to a new guest, however, then the entire rental payment is forfeited.

The refundable deposit will however always be refunded immediately in all cases of cancellation.

If reservation is made within 8 weeks of the arrival date that reservation can only be made by payment of rent in full.

Refundable deposit

All homeowners request a refundable deposit of 25% of the rental fee. This fully refundable deposit is required to cover the costs of any damages or breakages and the cost of telephone or other services that are not included in the property rental. This amount will be cashed.

It may take up to 8 weeks to return the deposit. Delays can be caused while waiting for utility bills or proof of damage. Some damages may not be immediately obvious upon your departure. Blackwood Villas reserves the right to calculate damages noted in the property after your departure.

Cancellation by us

Blackwood Villas reserves the right to cancel the rental before or after payment of the total amount in special cases like unforeseen major repairs of the rental home. In this case, Blackwood will arrange to offer another rental home of similar character or to refund the full amount.

Blackwood Villas also reserves the right to cancel the rental without warning in cases where the guest or members of the guest family or friends of the guest family act in any way threatening, make extreme noise, or incur damages to the rental property or any other situation that may legally or financially jeopardise Blackwood Villas or the homeowner. In such cases no refund will be possible.
Number of people using the property

Only the number of people mentioned in the appendix may use the property without prior agreement. The maximum number of people, including infants, allowed at the property may not be exceeded. Please inform Blackwood Villas of any guests visiting and staying overnight at the property (for further details see the appendix).

Arrival and departure

Normal arrival time is on Saturday after 16.00, and departure is also Saturday but before 10.00. Later departure may incur an extra cost. If you plan to arrive at a later time you are expected to inform Blackwood so that an agreement on other plans may be made. It is important that you inform Blackwood Villas of your expected arrival time at least 2 weeks in advance so that Blackwood can welcome you to the home and be sure that the home is ready for you. You can then call Blackwood 1-2 hours before arrival to give the precise arrival time.

Four weeks prior to arrival you will receive the complete home address and a guide to finding the rental home.

Insurance

Before you leave for your holiday ensure that you have an insurance policy that covers any damages that you may incur while living in the rental home.

Furthermore we strongly recommend that you and all members of the party purchase comprehensive travel insurance.

Our liability and the property owners

Neither Blackwood Villas (as an agent for the property owner) nor the property owner shall be responsible for the death of, or personal injury of any member of the booking party, or of any other person at the property, unless this results from proven negligence of the owner, Blackwood Villas or their employees.

Damages and complaints

Guests are responsible for all damages, accidental or otherwise, which they may incur during their stay in a Blackwood home. Guests are expected to inform Blackwood about damages at departure when Blackwood will review the state of the home with the guest. If damages are discovered after departure, an amount will be taken out of the refundable deposit to cover the cost of replacements/repaisr. If there are more serious damages the involvement of the insurance companies will be necessary

If you have any complaints about a Blackwood home you should contact us immediately and we will do our utmost to remedy the situation. Blackwood Villas cannot act on any complaints that are received after departure unless you have informed us about the problem during your stay and in writing to us within 28 days after departure.

Noise

Provence is an area that is undergoing enormous change and development; new villas are being built everywhere and with the resulting increased population roads are frequently enlarged and shopping centres built. This entails a lot of construction work. In addition, many people in Provence build their own houses and do so during their holiday time. In most cases however major construction does not take place during the summer months simply because builders and contractors are on holiday (August being the holiday month in Southern France).

At Blackwood we try to keep up with all the projected construction work in the area, but we can not take responsibility for side effects such as noise that is beyond our control. We will always inform you of construction work that we know of, but unfortunately it is not possible to be aware of all ongoing projects.

Swimming pools

All houses rented with pools have a pool regulation. You will have to sign a special agreement upon arrival showing that you have understood and accepted this.

Swimming pools are not open all year. If your rental period is outside 1st June – 30th September please check with us that the pool is open and filled.

Pets

Pets are not allowed unless stated in the brochure /web site. The number of pets must be agreed prior to acceptance of the booking.

All of our holiday rentals are private homes and are as such not specially furnished for rental. The house that you rent from us should be seen as a home of a special standard, and we expect that you will treat the house as you would your own home.