Terms of sale

Last updated 11 September 2026

Who you are booking with

These terms apply to bookings made on this site, operated by [COMPANY NAME], [REGISTERED ADDRESS], registration number [NUMBER] ("we", "us").

We let châteaux and large historic properties in France on behalf of their owners. We contract with you in our own name for the stay. The property itself is owned and run by a third party, and this matters in one respect only: what happens on site is done by the owner and their staff, while your contract for the booking is with us.

What you are booking

Each listing is for the whole property. Nobody else is staying there, and the price is for the château, not per person, unless the listing says otherwise.

The photographs, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the sleeping arrangements and the description are supplied to us by the owner and checked by us before the property is listed. Historic buildings are not hotels. Floors are uneven, rooms are of different standards, and some parts of a property may be closed. Where that is the case, the listing says so.

We sell accommodation. Anything else you arrange around the stay is contracted directly between you and whoever provides it.

A request is not a confirmed booking

Choosing dates and pressing Reserve sends us a request. It creates no contract and does not hold the property.

We confirm or decline within [one working day]. If we confirm, we send you the total, the payment schedule and our bank details. If the dates have gone, you are told straight away and you owe nothing.

Your booking exists once we have received your first payment. Nothing is charged, held or authorised on a card before that.

Price and what it includes

The price shown is per night for the whole property, in euro. Amounts displayed in other currencies are converted at a reference rate for guidance and are not binding.

The total you are quoted at confirmation includes the nightly rate, cleaning and linen, and any local tourist tax. It does not include anything the listing describes as optional, or anything you arrange directly with the owner during your stay.

Once you have paid, the price is fixed. There is no seasonal adjustment and no supplement added afterwards.

Extra guests. The listing states how many people the property sleeps. Bringing more than that number without agreeing it with us in advance may mean the owner refuses them entry, and no refund is due in that case.

Paying

The full amount is due when you book. That payment is what holds the dates; nothing is reserved before it arrives.

[DECISION TO MAKE: whether stays above a certain total — say [3,000] euro — may instead be paid as a deposit now and a balance closer to arrival. Taking everything up front is simpler and is what the rest of these terms assume. A deposit converts better on a large booking made months ahead, and costs you a second collection.]

Payment is by bank transfer. Card payment is available up to [5,000] euro. Bank charges on a transfer are yours; if the amount received falls short of the amount invoiced, the difference is due before arrival.

Security deposit. Most properties require one, typically between [1,000] and [3,000] euro depending on the château. The amount is stated at confirmation. It is either held by us or taken by the owner on arrival, as the listing specifies, and returned within [14] days of departure less the cost of any damage.

Changing or cancelling

• More than seven days before arrival: everything you have paid is refunded in full.
• Seven days or less before arrival: no refund. The property is paid for by then and the week cannot be re-let.
• Bookings made inside that last week are not refundable from the moment we confirm them.

Seven days is the point at which the money leaves us and reaches the owner. Before it, cancelling costs nobody anything; after it, the property has been paid for.

We will always try to move a booking rather than cancel it. Whether that is possible depends on the owner’s calendar, and a move to a higher-priced period means paying the difference.

Because this is accommodation for specified dates, the statutory right of withdrawal for distance contracts does not apply. Your cancellation rights are the ones set out above.

We recommend travel insurance. A cancellation for personal reasons is still a cancellation.

If we have to cancel

If a property becomes unavailable through no fault of yours — a fire, a flood, a sale, an owner who withdraws — we will offer you a comparable property for the same dates or refund everything you have paid, at your choice. Refunds are sent within [5] working days.

Our liability in that case is limited to that refund. We are not liable for flights, car hire, catering or any other arrangement you made around the stay, which is why we recommend insuring them.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

During your stay

You are responsible for the property and for everyone in your party. Damage beyond ordinary wear is chargeable, against the security deposit first and directly if it exceeds that.

The owner or their representative may enter the grounds for maintenance, and will tell you beforehand where it is practical to do so.

House rules are stated on each listing — smoking, pets, events, music after a given hour. They are part of your booking. Ignoring them can end a stay without refund, and on a historic property some of them exist for the building rather than for the neighbours.

Events. Where a listing allows weddings, parties or professional events, that permission is specific and often subject to a separate fee, a higher deposit and a headcount limit. Tell us at the time of booking what you intend to hold. A booking made as a family stay and used as a wedding is a breach of these terms.

Problems

Tell the owner first, on site, at the time — most things are fixed in an hour by someone who is there. If it is not resolved, tell us the same day on [CONTACT NUMBER] or at [CONTACT EMAIL].

We cannot put right a complaint we hear about for the first time after you have gone home, and a claim raised then will be assessed on that basis.

If you list a property with us

This section applies to owners, not to guests.

Rates. You give us a net figure per night by season, or you ask us to set the price and tell you what you would receive. Either way, the figure agreed is what you are paid, whatever we sell the stay at. We do not charge you to list and we do not invoice you a commission.

Payment. We transfer your net amount seven days before the guests arrive, or on confirmation where the booking is made inside that week. That date is also the point after which a guest can no longer cancel, so the money we send you is money we can no longer be asked to return.

Availability. Tell us what is let, however you like. A guest request is checked with you before anything is taken, so a week you have let elsewhere costs nobody anything — provided you answer.

Photographs and descriptions. You confirm that you hold the rights to the photographs and text you send us, or that you are licensed to have them published, and that you permit us to publish them and to have them translated. If a photographer commissioned the images and retained the rights, tell us before we list. You indemnify us against a claim arising from material you supplied.

Accuracy. Rooms, beds, what is closed, what is under repair. A guest who arrives to find the property materially different from its listing is refunded by us, and we recover that from you.

Cancelling on a guest. If you withdraw a confirmed booking, we refund the guest in full and you bear the cost of rehousing them in a comparable property where that is possible.

Ending the arrangement. Either of us may stop at any time, with no notice and no penalty. Bookings already confirmed stand.

Governing law

These terms are governed by [JURISDICTION TO BE SET WITH COUNSEL].

If you are a consumer resident in the European Union or the United Kingdom, this does not deprive you of the protection of the mandatory rules of your country of residence, and you may bring proceedings in the courts of that country.

Changes to these terms

We may change these terms. The version that applies to your booking is the one published on the day you booked, and we keep a copy available on request.