Terms and Conditions
In making a booking for the Pelumbra Writing Retreat, by phone, post or online, you agree to the following terms and conditions:
Bookings
All bookings must be accompanied by the appropriate deposit (25% of the applicable fee). Your booking is not definite until we have confirmed it by email. The balance of your fee is payable no later than one month before the retreat starts. Unpaid or late balances may be treated as a cancellation. If we do not receive your balance when it’s due, we reserve the right to offer the place to someone else.
Travel insurance
We cannot reimburse travel costs or other losses incurred by you in the event of cancellation by us or you. We recommend that you take out travel insurance to cover potential loss arising from cancellation or other eventuality affecting your booking, including reimbursement of fees, travel or other costs.
Cancellations
Cancellations of bookings will be accepted up to one month before the retreat takes place. Your deposit will be returned less a 50 Euro cancellation charge. If you cancel your booking after this time, we will retain the full deposit. For cancellations later than one month, we will do our best to find someone else to take your place and, if we succeed, the balance of your fee (less the full deposit) will be returned. If we cannot re-fill your place, we will retain the full fee.
Transfers
If you are unable to attend you may - with our written agreement - nominate someone else in your place, and transfer any deposit and fees you have already paid.
Conduct
Writing Retreats rely on a supportive environment that depends on tolerance and understanding of all participants and their creative work. We therefore ask that you are thoughtful and respectful of the other writers and help foster an atmosphere conducive to creativity.
We reserve the right to refuse a place and/or to exclude from a retreat any writer who behaves in an abusive or disruptive manner or engages in any discriminatory conduct. No refund will be given if exclusion is made for these reasons.
Damage and cleaning
The grounds are your home during your stay; please treat them with care and respect. We will seek reimbursement for any damage caused or excessive cleaning required as a result of your stay.
Pets
Please discuss with us if you want to bring a pet.
Smoking
Smoking is not permitted inside the houses but there are plenty of protected outdoor spaces for those who enjoy a smoke.
Guests and companions
We are not able to accommodate companions or guests who are not taking part in the Writing Retreat. But we welcome companions who want to have a go, even if this their first time. Please discuss with us.
Under-18s
We are happy to accept serious writers of any age, but this is an adult workshop suitable for those able to work unsupervised on their own writing. It is not appropriate for children.
Privacy and data
By booking, you agree that we may collect and store personal information about you. These include: your personal contact details; gender; details of your booking and booking history, including any dietary needs you have told us about; records of payments (not including credit/debit cards numbers etc.), any correspondence and any other information we need to keep in order to administer your booking. All personal information is kept securely on electronic systems. We do not store payment card details. We will use this information to communicate with you about your booking and we may, unless you tell us otherwise, communicate with you occasionally about our work and other retreats and support for writers that we offer. We never share or sell information about our participants with any third party, either in aggregate or in individual form.
Loss
The organizers of this Writing Retreat cannot accept responsibility for any loss, damage or expense sustained by participants as a result of an event or circumstance whether arising from natural cause, human agency, or otherwise beyond its control. Where we are unable to provide the place to you for any reason, our liability is limited to return of the fees paid. At all times, our liability to you is limited to the retreat or retreat fee you have paid.
Participation and access
We are committed to providing a supportive and welcoming environment to all. Some of the sleeping accommodation is accessible without stairs, and most of the meeting, writing and eating areas are on the ground floor (and outdoors under trees). However, if you have specific needs, it is important that you discuss these prior to booking, to establish whether your needs can be met.
Comments and complaints
While we make every effort to provide a high quality experience for all writers, you may on occasion want to offer comments or make a complaint. At the end of the retreat we will give you the opportunity to provide feedback through our evaluation form but if you feel this is not sufficient, you may wish to make a formal complaint. Note that all complaints should be made, in writing, within ten working days of the end of your retreat.