Sorgente Cornish Holiday Cottage

Here are our terms and conditions plus some useful information, by making a booking you thereby agree to them. We realise that this may seem a lot to read, but by doing so will help you decide on whether you continue with making a booking with us. Thank you.

A damage deposit is taken at time of booking, at time of writing this is £150

We operate a 60 days ‘strict’ policy for cancellations. This means that if you cancel with less than 60 days before checkin your payment will not be refunded (except damage deposit).

Click here to download this as a pdf document.

Terms and conditions disclaimer

We make efforts to supply you with correct and complete information on our website. However, we do not carry liability or provide guarantees for the information being up-to-date, correct or complete. We reserve the right to make changes or additions to the information provided without prior notice. Offers or sales confirmations are binding. Despite our careful checking of the content, we can take no responsibility for the content of external links. Only the operators of the linked webpages are responsible for their content.

CHECK-IN

To allow you the flexibility of arrival time, you will not be met at the cottage on arrival. The contact number we have for you must be a mobile number so that we may send you an SMS with the key safe code. This will be sent within the days just before your check-in.

We also require an email address so that we may send instructions on how to self check-in to the cottage using the key safe code. This allows you to arrive anytime after 15:00 without worrying about meeting us there at a specific time.

Please respond to the text message so that we know you have the code. Bare in mind that due to security reasons this may actually change on the day of your arrival. In which case a new one will be sent before check-in time of 15:00. Please keep your phone on and charged during your journey, and check regularly during your stay.

All instructions and advice provided in the property must be read by each guest, young children should not be left unattended, especially in the bathroom and garden. Information/instruction labels are there for your convenience and safety.
It will also avoid the possibility of you losing part of, or all of your deposit.

Children and babies are very welcome at Sorgente

We provide one high chair, a baby bath, two stair gates, and a fixed fireguard with safety gate.  Please bring your own cot, you will also need to bring your own cot bedding. If anyone in your group requires waterproof under blankets/covers, then you should bring them too, a soiled mattress will be replaced (not cleaned) with a new one, purchased using your damage deposit.

Maximum number of guests is four, with a fifth being a child under the age of two at time of check-in, sleeping in their own cot.

CLEANLINESS

This is not a guest house or hotel shared with us or other guests. We do not offer full cleaning services during or following your stay. As a self-catering property we expect that guests provide any products and provisions required for their stay and to leave enough time to clean and tidy before checkout. This will avoid extra charges being deducted from the deposit.  All kitchen utensils, dishes etc must be washed, dried and put away in their relevant cupboards.

Sorgente cottage is cleaned between lets and there is no extra charge for this unless a heavy clean is required after you leave or do not leave the property as you found it. We ask that food is not consumed in the living room or anywhere upstairs. In addition to no food, children should not have drinks on the sofas.

WHAT’S PROVIDED (minimum)

Two sets of house keys;
Electricity and gas;
Bedding and two pillows per guest;
Two towels per person (not to be removed for the beach);
Hand soap (bathroom), liquid hand soap (kitchen);
Tea, coffee, fresh milk, sugar, salt, pepper, fresh flowers, toilet roll (minimum);
Tea towels, apron, oven gloves, washing-up brush;
Aluminum foil, cling film, roll of paper towels;
Hair dryer;
Iron and ironing board;
Clothes horse;
Adapter plugs (EU to UK);
High chair;
Baby bath (only for use inside the main bath)
Stair gates;
Cleaning liquids and cloths;
Large black rubbish sacks, small rubbish bags;
Vacuum cleaner;
Washing machine (no drier or dish washer);
Gas central heating;
24hr Wifi broadband;
Torch;
Slippers.

Additional with fees:

Full welcome pack* – in addition to the standard pack (above) you will also receive a bottle of wine, a Cornish Cream Tea (scones, jam, clotted cream), a local newspaper. All products will be local and organic when possible.
Kiln-dried logs and kindling for the wood burning stove (pay for what you use) £20 for one opened sack, £30 for two opened sacks.
* complimentary for all bookings of 7, 14, 21 nights with Friday check-in.

WHAT’S NOT PROVIDED, to be provided by yourselves:

Baby changing mat, cot and bedding, mattress protection from bed-wetting (for any bed used);
BBQ and charcoal;
Washing machine detergents;
Beach towels;
Extra rubbish removal;
Baby Cot/Travel Cot;
Dish washing/drying service.

Fire safety precautions and safety

We take safety of our guests seriously. Our cottage is maintained for your comfort and safety. However please remember you must take care of yourself and family in what are unfamiliar surroundings.  

• • Check the layout of the property so you know how to get out quickly and safely. Check the fire fighting equipment and read the instructions on how to use them.
  • There are Safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs but it is the responsibility of the parents/guardians to supervise all children within the property or in the garden. The stair gates must be fitted correctly to be safe, please DO NOT remove them. We appreciate that they may be a little inconvenient if you do not have young children but the next guests may then have ill-fitting gates which could cause their children harm.
  • The living room wood burner gets extremely hot! Therefore we advise against using this whilst toddlers or crawling babies are present. There is a fixed fire guard with child-proof gate. Only kiln-dried logs can be used, do not leave the fire door open. Do not place any item on the stove or clothes to dry on the safety gate or close to the fire at any time.
  • Do not cover radiators (or place items on them to dry).
  • Do not use or keep matches, cigarette lighters, candles or incense burners/sticks in the property or garden area. Sorry, but religion is not an exception to this rule).
  • Do not use deep fat frying such as chip pans.
  • At night and when you go out make sure all portable electrical items are off and disconnected (unplugged) from the power supply, such as the TV and internet router, and chargers. Also that the gas cooker is not lit and nothing is left cooking in the oven.
  • Do not use the washing machine if you are going out before it can be completely finished. It has fast cycles so you should not have to wait long.
  • No portable electrical items may be used in the bathroom, other than a compatible shaver using the shaver-only power supply. Never use a hair dryer in the bathroom. Never use the shaver socket for anything else.
  • Do not CLOSE the heat recovery air VENTS in ANY room – not even for a short time! We want you to have a safe and enjoyable holiday so taking a few simple precautions will ensure this happens.
  • If the highchair is damaged in any way, do not use it, please inform us or the property caretaker immediately – this equipment must conform to British Standards
  • Check the garden for any steep drops and ensure children cannot access any garden tidy boxes.  Do not climb the stone walls or access the area beyond the BBQ. This is for you and your children’s safety.
  • Ensure that when you are away from the property, it is locked and secured.
  • The gas water heater is checked by a registered gas CORGI inspector each year, the most recent certificate is in the property.

If, after reading the manuals, you are unsure or have any doubts about using the water heater or other equipment please contact us (all instruction manuals are provided).

Luxury rain shower

Please be aware that the luxury shower and bath are very contemporary and not what many people are familiar with We recommend that all guests read the instructions very carefully before attempting to use it. In the past, guests have not done so which led to their frustration and damaging the valves. We needed to call a plumber to fix it (minimum charge £50). Do not worry, all is clear by following the operating instructions 🙂

Why NO SMOKING or NO PETS?

We provide a cottage to standards fit for allergy sufferers, for some children there are very few places to stay on holiday and we pride ourselves on being able to offer suitable accommodation. Please respect this. We do not permit smoking or pets in any part of the house or garden areas. We are very strict on this and reserve the right to apply a minimum £150 surcharge if not adhered to. This is not a fine but amounts to the extra efforts by our staff to ensure the cottage is returned to the high standards once more for the following guests. We appreciate your understanding 🙂 thanks!

For the same reasons we ask that you refrain from using strong smelling products such as:
Air fresheners, either aerosols or sprays and especially the reed diffusers using essential oils or other perfumes, incense or joss sticks.

Rubbish/garbage removal and recycling

Good news! We employ a waste management company to remove your waste on Friday mornings.
You no longer have to separate any recycling as the contractors have their own licensed waste transfer station. Therefore place ALL waste in the same dustbin sack provided. Please rinse or wash empty containers first, crush and replace lids where possible. Collection of one sack of mixed waste is included in your booking.
A £6 surcharge is applied to each extra sack. Therefore we recommend that you crush any containers as much as possible, including plastic bottles and replace caps. Place disposable nappies in a separate sealed plastic bag before adding to the sack in the dustbin.
Please do this even if your check-out day does not fall on a Friday. In this case we will advise you on what to do with any additional waste created since Friday.
The £6 surcharge is also applied if you forget to tie your sack or do not place it out on time, or it is ripped and/or spills contents.
Please do not remove the dustbin from the garden, only the sack(s). Place the tied sack(s) inside the larger seagull-proof bag found in the garden tidy box. Place this in front of the house where it can be seen easily by the collectors BEFORE 09:00 (9am).
For bank holidays the collections are Thursdays.

Taking these steps will reduce the chance of seagulls (or other animals) making a mess and the council sending us/you a fine. Please ensure that no dirt or liquid drips through the house or on to furniture.

PARKING

We highly recommend that you use a car to stay here.

Whilst we cannot provide off-street private parking, there is usually a spot directly in front of the cottage. Our neighbours are respectful with parking. If you find someone parked in front of the cottage, it is unlikely to be a neighbour but someone else visiting the area.  Sometimes you may have to park a little way up the hill. We have a polite notice asking people to keep clear for wheelchair access as the space is tight. However, this is a public highway and therefore anyone is allowed to park there. Parking is free near the cottage, there are no meters.

In Falmouth, parking is not free and often time limited. There is a park and ride, and a park and float, not far from Sorgente.

A note on driving in Cornwall, try to avoid being on the road at rush-hour, it can add a lot of time to your trips as there are often bottle necks. Truro to Penryn for example is notorious for this, we ourselves often make that mistake coming back from the Eden Project 🙂

!! Note to surfers and water sports enthusiasts

There is not enough parking space available for trailers, campers or vans larger than a normal car. High-sided vehicles will block the windows and doors of our neighbours, as there is no foot path between the road and the terraced cottages.
The back yard/garden area does have space to hang your wet suits on a line. We always rinse all the sand off ours before leaving the beach area, at the cottage sand is difficult to remove and may block the drains.  Sorry but no canoes, windsurfing boards or paddle boards.