By Booking you confirm that you and everyone in your party accept and will comply with these Terms and Conditions.
Bookings and payments
- 25% non-refundable deposit – paid when you make your booking
- Balance – paid 8 weeks before your holiday
- Bookings made less than 8 weeks in advance will be charged in full
We reserve the right to cancel your reservation if we don’t receive the full balance on time.
Housekeeping Deposit
In common with other accommodation providers, we ask for a housekeeping deposit on all bookings. This is fully refundable less any breakage costs or additional cleaning costs incurred. We do not charge for minor breakages or fair wear and tear.
Cancellations
You can cancel your booking on the website or by emailing dunnetheadlighthouse@gmail.com, but not by phone or post.
Cancellation charges are as follows:
- More than 8 weeks prior to arrival – your deposit of 25% is non-refundable but we will return any balance already paid
- 4-8 weeks before arrival – 50% is non-refundable
- 2-4 weeks before arrival – 75% is non refundable
- Less than 2 weeks before arrival – we are unable to provide a refund
Refunds
We do not provide refunds if your travel plans are disrupted (eg by bad weather, road closures, cancelled services); please check your travel insurance covers you for this.
If the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage becomes unavailable after you have booked (for example because of flood damage) we will refund monies paid to date.
Dogs
Housetrained dogs over 12 months old are welcome by prior arrangement. The cottage is near open water and cliffs and may not be suitable if you have a young or excitable dog.
Size of party
No more than 6 people (adults and children) may stay at a Keeper’s Cottage at any one time. If more than six people stay in the Cottage, your booking may be cancelled and you may be asked to leave with no refund made.
Problems or complaints
Please tell us straight away about any problems; we will try to put things right as soon as we can for you and for our next guests but we rely on trusted local trades people who may not be available at short notice, overnight or at the weekend. Sometimes replacement items are not available locally which can cause delays.
We cannot consider compensation for complaints raised after you leave or if you won’t let us try to remedy matters during your stay.
Damage
We do not charge for minor breakages or fair wear and tear. We would expect you to cover the costs of any major breakage or damage such as a window or piece of furniture.
Please tell us as early as you can if something meets with an accident so that we can replace it in time for our next guests.
The safety of all our guests comes first, so please do not hide damage to furniture, electrical items or anything which may compromise the safety of future guests.
Insurance
Please make sure you have adequate travel insurance covering travel arrangements and healthcare.
Please lock the cottage and close the windows whenever you go out because we cannot be held responsible for any accidents, break-ins or theft within the cottage during your stay.
Limitation of liability
We cannot accept liability for any injury, loss or damage, consequential or otherwise suffered by you or any other member of your party, unless there was wilful default by us or our employees, or unless personal injury or death was caused by our negligence.
Cliffs and open water
There are cliffs and open water immediately outside the walls of the Lighthouse Compound which are made more dangerous when bad weather makes the ground slippery. Everyone in your party and anyone who visits you must understand the dangers the water and cliffs present to infants, children, teenagers, adults and dogs.
As the person placing the booking, you agree to take full responsibility for the safety of all members of your party, your visitors, and any animals you bring with you, and agree to indemnify the owners of the Dunnet Head Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottages, their employees, agents and representatives from any liability, loss, damage or expense, including without limitation, legal fees and cost of litigation, resulting from any accidents or incidents relating to the nearby cliffs and open water occurring on the way to or from the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage or while staying there.
Disclosure
Failure to disclose all relevant information or comply with these terms may lead to termination of the contract and loss of booking without a refund.
Arriving and leaving
We often have guests leaving and arriving on the same day; the Cottage will be ready for you from 4:00pm onwards and we need you to leave by 10:00am.
Keys
There is a £25 charge for replacement keys.
Cars
There must be clear vehicular access the Lighthouse at all times. We are not responsible for any actions taken by the Northern Lighthouse Board, their contractors or agents or the emergency services if your vehicle blocks access to the Lighthouse.
There is parking outside the cottages for three cars.
Before you go
Please make sure everyone in your party allows themselves enough time to tidy up before you go; over-staying is unfair on our cleaners and our next guests.
Please leave the Cottage as tidy as you found it to help our cleaners can get it ready for our next guests on time.
Kitchen items (crockery, cutlery, cookware) should be clean and put away, or loaded into the dishwasher. Please leave the games, books and DVDs tidy and let us know if anything’s broken or missing.
Please put your rubbish and recycling in the wheelie bins on your way out. It would be kind if you could take any glass with you.
Rubbish and recycling
The wheelie bins are emptied on Thursday morning. Please use the kitchen bins to sort your rubbish and put it into the appropriate wheelie bin by the gate before you leave or when the kitchen bins are full.
Toilet and septic tank
Like many rural properties, the Cottage has a septic tank. This is safe and hygienic so long as the only thing that goes down the toilet are the three Ps (Pee, Poo and Paper!). Please use the bins in the bathroom for everything else; “disposable” or “flushable” items often contain undeclared plastics which won’t break down in the septic tank.
Smoking
Smoking, vaping or using e-cigarettes are forbidden inside the cottage including the porch but you may do so in the compound.
Dogs
The following rules will help you keep your dog and the nearby farm animals, wildlife and birds safe. They are a condition of your stay and if you don’t follow them we may ask you to leave immediately without a refund.
- Please do not leave your dog alone either in the Cottage or in your car.
- Please keep your dog under strict control in the Cottage and on a lead while outside. There are cliffs and open water nearby which could be dangerous to your dog if it is distracted by birds or other wildlife.
- Please keep your dog off the furniture and do not let it go into the bedrooms at any time.
- Your dog should sleep in its own basket or bed in the living room
- Please clean up your dog’s poop and hair before you leave.
- We will pass on the costs of any excessive cleaning including the costs of dealing with fleas or parasites.
Cliffs and open water – safety rules
The lighthouse compound is surrounded by cliffs with open water nearby.
PARENTS AND GUARDIANS: Only you can prevent an accident! These rules are to keep your children and dogs safe while they stay with us.
- Do not let your child leave the compound without supervision and make sure your children understand and follow this rule.
- Do not let your dog go outside the compound while off the lead.
- Don’t be distracted by animals or by other people while you are supervising your children or dogs.
- Beware of loose ground, slippery paths, water and overhanging cliff-tops at the top of the cliffs.
Additional Facilities
Additional facilities such as the telephone, Wi-Fi and broadband are not included in the contract to provide accommodation although we will always try to ensure an unbroken service.
Mobile signal
The mobile signal at Dunnet Head is variable and often poor but you are welcome to make and receive calls over our Wi-Fi if your mobile phone can do so.
Broadband and wifi
Wifi is free but, like a lot of remote areas, Dunnet Head has a slow broadband connection; speeds are partly dependent on how many people use the service at once. It is a condition of using the Wi-Fi and /or broadband services that you and your party use them responsibly and do not use them for illegal activities. We will cooperate with legal authorities to the fullest extent if asked to provide information about usage, logs or other records.