Booking Terms & Conditions and Advice

Guest policy

• We have a strict “no children/no pets” rule at Villa Menaluna and so we do not accept children under the age 16 or pets of any kind or size

• The house is designed to sleep a maximum of 8 people in the beds provided (1 king bed, 2 queen beds, 2 single beds). We do not provide extra beds or baby cots, and there is no sofabed option

• Should you arrive with young children, pets, or more than 8 guests, we reserve the right to deny access to Villa Menaluna and we will not be liable for alternative accommodation for your dates

• Planning a stag/hen weekend or a raucous reunion? You’ll be far happier staying somewhere else. If we believe your booking is for a party-related reason, we reserve the right to cancel your booking at any time without notice and you will be subject to our cancellation policy below

Payment

• 50% payment of your total booking is due when you book and the balance will be due 60 days before your arrival date

• If you book within 60 days of your arrival date, payment will be due in full at the time of booking

• Payment is required by credit card or bank transfer - sorry but we cannot accept cash payments on arrival

• If at any time we cannot secure payment when due, you will have 48 hours to provide payment by bank transfer. Should we not receive payment by this time, we reserve the right to cancel your booking without further notice and to resell your dates to another guest. Any funds already received from you will be retained as a cancellation fee

Need to cancel?

• If you cancel more than 60 days before your planned arrival date, 50% of your paid deposit will be returned in full

• If you cancel within 60 days of your planned arrival date, you will be charged 100% of your booking fee and/or any monies already received will be retained as the cancellation fee

• If we can resell your cancelled dates in full to the same value, we will endeavour to refund you any monies retained, less a €100 admin fee for bank charges

• The cancellation of your booking by us for any reason which goes against these Booking Terms & Conditions, will mean any monies paid by you will be retained by us as a cancellation fee and the above refund policy will apply only if we can replace your booking in full

Health Quarantine and Travel Restrictions

• If your country of departure restricts your travel to Villa Menaluna, or if any member of your party tests positive for Covid-19 or has any other health-related matter which means you need to cancel, our cancellation policies above will apply

• If the Piedmont regional government restricts your travel to Villa Menaluna, meaning we have to cancel your booking, we will refund you in full or we can move your booking to new dates. If you choose the latter, we will refund 10% of your booking value as a thank-you gesture upon completion of your booking

• We strongly advise you to take out travel insurance that will cover you for any eventualities you are concerned about

Other charges

• Payment will be due before your arrival (and charged to your credit card or due by bank transfer) for:

  • €1000 damages deposit (refunded to your card after your departure assuming there are no chargeable damages)

  • €250 cleaning fee

• We reserve the right to charge for the following if required:

  • Additional cleaning fees for accidental/malicious damage to the house

  • Replacement fees for broken items or damage to the house

  • A deep cleaning fee for all upholstery/soft furnishings should evidence of smoking be found

  • Mid-stay linen and towel change

ID/Passports and other personal data

• We are required by law to record data of guests staying at Villa Menaluna. To make this process easier, we will send you a form to complete before you arrival, including copies of the passport/ID documents of your guests. On arrival we will need to verify this data visually

• We record your data in the police website and then after your departure we destroy/delete the forms you have sent

• Your email address and, if provided, your phone number, will be used to communicate effectively with you before, during and after your stay, relating to your stay only. We will not use your contact information for marketing purposes unless you have given us permission to do so. Should you agree to be contacted for marketing purposes (an occasional email at most) you can of course unsubscribe at any time

• We have a security camera system in use when the house is not occupied. When guests are at the house, only the camera covering the parking area is activated, for your security and that of the house. Recordings are captured on-demand and deleted after 30 days.

Villa Rules

• Our region and the village of Rocchetta Palafea is a tranquil and quiet place. For this reason, and to stay on good terms with our neighbours in the valley, we have a strict ‘no party’ policy which means we kindly ask the following:

  • Please do not invite external guests to stay at Villa Menluna, other than those registered with your booking

  • Please do not hold parties with external guests in attendance

  • Any external guests invited to visit for the day must leave by 22:00

  • Please keep external noise to a minimum at all times, and particularly between 22:00 and 08:00 each day

• The grounds of Villa Menaluna are extensive and whilst we have taken every precaution required to ensure your safety, we are not responsible for your actions or those of any of your party/family group whilst exploring and enjoying the house. Many areas are left wild in the summer months to provide shade for insects and animals, and we take no responsibility for any injuries caused if you should choose to explore beyond the identified path ways in the land plan provided

• There is absolutely no smoking allowed anywhere in the house or the gardens of Villa Menaluna. Our region is often under fire restrictions in peak summer months and we are all doing our bit to ensure accidental fires are not started. Please be aware that if a fire is started by you/your guests, that it is common for the local police to fine you as the guest for the damages caused, and also to charge for the intervention of fire services so please, don’t smoke or light a flame anywhere other than on the barbecue

• No barbecues or naked flames are permitted anywhere in the gardens or the house, except using the barbecue provided in the designated location, and the two wood-burning stoves. Please be aware that there is a large gas tank buried in the hillside behind the house. Fire extinguishers are available in the breakfast room, under-stairs cupboard and by the rear entrance door

• You must lock all windows and doors securely when you leave the house for any length of time and you alone are responsible for the safety and security of your belongings. Ensure you have adequate travel insurance should be travelling with valuable items. Whilst the house does have security cameras, for your privacy these are not active when the house is occupied by guests. Should you lose keys for any of the doors, you will be charged €40 per replacement key

Not happy about something?

• We really want you to love your time at Villa Menaluna so please, don’t stew on a problem or question that’s niggling you. We’re contactable by WhatsApp 24/7 and also we’re in the house next door so can quickly and easily stop by to see you to offer any help or advice. We really don't want to receive complaints after your departure about something that could have been resolved during your stay, so please help us to help you have a fantastic stay.

Breakages and Accidents

• Accidents happen so should you break anything or think you’ve cause damage or staining to any piece of equipment or furniture please tell us straight away. We’re reasonable people and usually won’t charge if we can rectify the situation.

• We also want to ensure you’ve got full use of the house during your stay, so would prefer to provide replacement glasses/crockery etc during your stay, and so we can ensure a full set for the next guest and not get surprises on check-out.

• For larger problems or damage, malicious or accidental, we prefer to address this with you and discuss costs during your stay so we can avoid awkward exchanges after your departure.

• We will need to check the house on your departure. Assuming there are no further issues your security deposit will be returned in full/less agreed deductions within 48 hours of your departure back to either your supplied credit card or a bank account.
  

Temporary Limited Access to Equipment or Facilities

• Things at the house will from time to time break down or need maintenance. Whilst every effort will be taken by us to ensure this is kept to a minimum through planned maintenance, we cannot be held responsible for unforeseen malfunctions to any piece of equipment or the sudden unavailability of a service/amenity of the house, the grounds or the pool.

• Similarly, Guests are reminded that we are in rural countryside and power cuts and disruption to water supply and WiFi, whilst rare, do happen from time to time. For this reason no refund or compensation will be given for any temporary outage of any utility supplying the house.

Keys and Access

• The main gate and front door of Villa Menaluna will be accessible by you through the use of Bluetooth Apps and you will be required to download these apps to your smartphone or other device prior to arrival in order to gain access on your arrival day. Access is granted on a guest-by-guest access with a unique code and only you and your guests with whom you share the access code will have access to the house during your stay. The codes will be shared ahead of your arrival once all payments are made and required paperwork/ID documents have been sent to us.

• This is good news for you as it means you cannot lose these keys and so do not need to worry about access to the house during your stay. We can reset your access at any time should you lose your smart device - just let us know immediately.

• Whilst the main gate and front door are digital locks, other door locks within the house are via manual keys and are supplied at the house which you are required to use to ensure the house is fully secured when leaving the house for any length of time. You will be charged for any keys which are not in place upon departure.

• For your security and that of the house, the main gate should be kept closed once you have used it for access/departure.

Local Environment: climate, noise, animals bugs

• Climate:

  • In the peak of summer Piedmont can be very hot - in the high 30s even low 40s (Celsius). There are plenty of shady areas at the house to escape the heat

  • We offer natural air-conditioning which is a combination of the thick walls of the house, trickle/tilt windows for constant air movement (we recommend this at night) and shutters which can be closed to keep the sun out of rooms during the peak of the day. If you need help with the shutters - which are the originals and a little stiff but which still do their job - just let us know. We also provide floor-standing fans for each bedroom

  • We suggest to keep bedroom windows and curtains closed during the day to keep the sun and hot air out (this may sound odd but it works) and then open the windows to allow air to circulate once the sun has set

  • The pool is not heated but does warm up with the sun as the season progresses. We have purposefully not made the pool too big so that it can reach a comfortable temperature earlier in the season

• Noise:

  • You are surrounded by farming land and vineyards and you will hear agricultural equipment in use during your stay. Whilst our valley neighbours are generally considerate with their timings for this, we cannot be held responsible for any disturbance you feel you’ve had a a result of this or other noise in the valley/surrounding areas.

  • You will also occasionally hear the barking calls of deer and grunting of boar as they roam the hillsides around the house, the calls of owls at night and possibly the scratching/chatter of the native ghiri (also known as edible dormouse or glis glis) which hang out in the trees and occasionally scamper across the roof of the house towards middle/late summer - they are completely harmless and do not try to enter the house, do not worry

  • The bells of the church in Rocchetta Palafea on the hilltop opposite the house do chime on the hour and more at specific times of day - consider it charming and you’ll eventually tune them out

  • Thankfully there are no roads immediately surrounding the house and only one other house (where we live - next door but out of site of you) so you should find your stay at Villa Menaluna a tranquil one!

• Animals and bugs

  • Villa Menaluna is situated at the end of a 700metre gravel and concrete track, tucked into a hillside and immersed in greenery. This brings with it tranquillity and peace but also a range of natural influences. In this part of Italy you will come across various wild animals and insects including boar, deer, badgers, field mice, pine martens, feral cats, the occasional grass snake, bats and small bugs of all kinds including small scorpions, mosquitoes, bees, wasps and hornets and ants and ticks.

    • What we have done to limit impact:

      • We have provided bug screens in all bedrooms and the kitchen and suggest you keep these closed at all times and keep your bedrooms doors closed during the day, to limit any annoyance from smaller creatures or bugs in your bedrooms at night.

      • Whilst the grounds of Villa Menaluna are mostly fenced, we cannot stop animals entering the garden or house area

      • We avoid using pesticides in the gardens in order to protect the fine balance of flora and fauna present, including many harmless and endangered creatures such as butterflies, bees, stick insects and praying mantis. However, we do use an organic spray near the house and pool to limit the annoyance of mosquitoes in peak season but cannot guarantee 100% you will not be affected from time to time

      • We supply a pile of natural coils for burning to repel mosquitoes which you can use on the terraces, pool area and outside of the breakfast room (not inside please!)

    • What you can do whilst staying at Villa Menaluna:

      • Do not consume food or drink anywhere other than the kitchen, breakfast room or terraces

      • Clean up any spillages or dropped food as soon as possible, particularly on the terraces or in the breakfast room or when using the barbecue

      • Use the external bins at the side of the house for your waste and please bag it up securely. If the external bin is full let us know and we can stop by to empty for you

      • Use natural eco-friendly body sprays to repel mosquitoes if you are normally affected by their presence

  • You may also encounter our own two very friendly cats - old boy Perry (white with black markings - now 16 and a complete flirt) and younger brother Pipistrello “little bat” (now 5 -recognisable by his batman face mask markings - inquisitive but slightly more wary of strangers). They will no doubt be exploring the garden of Villa Menaluna at some point during your stay - just shoo them away if you’re not a cat fan