Terms and Conditions

It is our sincere wish that you thoroughly enjoy your holiday so we would appreciate it if you would take the time to read the following pages which we hope you will find useful. This and other information in our brochure forms the basis of the contract between you and us. References to "you" and "your" means all persons named on a booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date), or any of them as applicable and "we", "us" and "our" means Diamond Shortbreak Holidays Ltd.

1. Our brochure & website

The information and prices shown may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information and prices at the time of printing, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. All timings are approximate. You will be notified of precise timings, pickup routes, hotel name and order of excursions/ visits when you receive your tickets as they could occasionally be liable to change e.g.;- for weather and/or operational reasons. The duration of your holiday includes the days of departure and return. Any illustrations do not necessarily depict your destination unless specifically stated.

2. Booking your holiday

The person who makes the booking ("party leader") confirms on behalf of all persons named on the booking that you understand and have accepted our Important Holiday Information and our Booking Conditions. We will communicate with the party leader or with your travel agent. The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to us and for passing on to all party members all information and documents sent to him/her. You may book over the telephone, through our website or by post. If you wish to make payment by cheque, we recommend you telephone us first to check the availability of your chosen holiday and to make a provisional reservation. We will hold this reservation for 48 hours (or such longer period as we may agree) to enable you to send us the applicable payment and your signed booking form. Once we have received your signed booking form and all appropriate payments (see clause 3), we will, subject to availability, confirm your holiday by issuing a confirmation invoice. Alternatively, if you are able to pay by Visa, MasterCard or UK Maestro credit or debit card, you can book straight away over the telephone. Subject to availability, your booking will be confirmed at the end of the telephone conversation on the basis that you accept these booking conditions. We will then send you a confirmation invoice. As a further option you can book through our website using any these credit or debit cards. Any acknowledgement of your booking generated by our computer system is not a confirmation of it. This is provided by the confirmation invoice which we will issue as soon as your booking is processed. Please check the confirmation invoice carefully as soon as you receive it. Contact us immediately if any information on the confirmation or any other document appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later. We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracy (for which we are responsible) in any document within 14 days of our sending it out (5 days for tickets).We will do our best to rectify any mistake notified to us outside these time limits but you must meet any costs involved in doing so, unless the mistake in question was made by us and there is good reason why you did not tell us about it within these time limits.

3. Payment

In order to confirm your chosen holiday, you must pay us a deposit and any applicable insurance premiums as set out on our booking form or website at the time of booking (or full payment if booking within 4 weeks of departure).The balance of the cost of your holiday must be paid no less than 4 weeks before departure. If you do not pay all sums due (including any surcharge see clause 5) in full and on time we are entitled to assume that you wish to cancel your booking in which case you are liable to pay cancellation charges according to the scale set out in clause 8.NO REMINDER WILL BE SENT. We reserve the right to increase or decrease our advertised prices at any time prior to your booking being confirmed. Any change will be advised to you at the time of booking (see clause 5). For cheque payments that cannot be cleared by our bank an additional charge of £5.00 per unpaid cheque will be levied to your booking. Personal cheques cannot be accepted if booking/paying within 21 days of departure. Except for flight inclusive bookings, all monies you pay to one of our authorised travel agents for your holiday with us will be held by the agent on your behalf until we issue our confirmation invoice. After that point, your agent will hold the monies on our behalf. For flight inclusive bookings, all monies paid to such agents for your holiday with us will be held on our behalf until they are paid to us or refunded to you.

4. Your contract

A binding contract between us comes into existence when we post or e-mail your confirmation invoice to you (for postal and internet booking) or verbally confirm your booking where you book by telephone using a credit or debit card. This contract and all matters arising out of it are governed by English law and no other except as set out below. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other

matter which arises out of or in connection with this contract or your holiday ("claim") must be dealt with under the ABTA Arbitration Scheme (if the scheme is available for the claim in question - see clause 21) or by the courts of England and Wales only unless, in the case of Court proceedings, you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In this case, proceedings must either be brought in the courts of your home country or those of England and Wales. If proceedings are brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may choose to have your contract and any claim governed by the law of Scotland/Northern Ireland as applicable (but if you do not so choose, English law will apply).Your holiday contract is with Diamond Shortbreak Holidays Limited of Anson House, Compass Point, Northampton Road, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9HW, registered company number 3546467.

5. Our price

We reserve the right to raise or lower prices at any time before your holiday is confirmed. We will advise you of any difference and the applicable price at the time of booking. After booking we will only increase or decrease prices in the following circumstances. Price increases or decreases after bookings have been confirmed will be passed on by way of surcharge or refund. A surcharge or refund (as applicable) will be payable, subject to the conditions set out in this clause, in the event of any change in our transportation costs or in dues, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports. Even in the above cases we will only levy a surcharge if the amount of the increase in our costs exceeds 2% of the total cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges). If any surcharge is greater than 10% of the cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all monies paid to us (except for any amendment charges) or alternatively purchase another holiday from us as referred to in clause 10. Although insurance (where purchased through us) does not form part of your contract with us or of any "package", we will consider an appropriate refund of any insurance premium you have paid us if you can show you are unable to use/reuse or transfer your policy in the event of cancellation or purchase of an alternative holiday. A refund will only be payable if the decrease in our costs exceeds 2% as set out above. Where a refund is due, we will pay you the full amount of the decrease in our costs. You have 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice to tell us if you want to cancel or purchase another holiday where applicable. If you do not tell us within this period of time, we are entitled to assume that you will pay the surcharge. Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the holiday or within 14 days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whichever is later. Please note that arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your holiday due to contractual and other protection in place. We promise not to levy a surcharge within 30 days of the start of your holiday. No refund will be payable if any decrease in our costs occurs during this period either.

6. Special requests and medical conditions/disabilities

If you have a special request, you must advise us or your travel agent at the time of booking and clearly note it on your booking form. Although we will try to pass any reasonable requests onto the relevant supplier, we regret we cannot guarantee any request will be met. Failure to meet any requests will not be a breach of contract on our part. We regret we cannot accept any booking, which is specified to be conditional on the fulfillment of a particular request. All such bookings will be treated as "standard" bookings subject to the above provisions on special requests. If you have any medical condition or disability which may affect your booking (including the booking process), please tell us before you book so that we can advise as to the suitability of the holiday and/or assist you in making your booking. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking and whenever any change in the condition or disability occurs. You must also promptly advise us if any medical condition or disability which may affect your holiday develops after your booking has been confirmed.

7. Changing your holiday

Should you wish to make any changes to your holiday after your confirmation invoice has been issued, you must notify us in writing as soon as possible. Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet any such requests. We charge an amendment fee of £10 for each alteration, plus any charges incurred by us or incurred or levied by our suppliers. Any alteration by you after the "balance due date" will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and be subject to the cancellation charges below.

8. Cancelling your holiday

If decide to cancel we must be notified as soon as possible. If notification is by telephone, this must be followed up in writing by letter or email within 24 hours by the person who booked the holiday. Cancellation will take effect from the day we receive written notification so we recommend using recorded or registered post when writing. In order to compensate us for our losses and expenses on cancellation, we charge a cancellation fee in accordance with the following scale. Percentages shown are of the total holiday cost excluding amendment charges and insurance premiums which are not refundable in the event of cancellation.

9. Transferring bookings

If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you) providing we are notified in writing not less than 14 days before departure. Where a transfer to a person of your choice can be made, all costs and charges incurred by us or imposed by any of our suppliers as a result together with an amendment fee of £20 per person must be paid before the transfer can be affected.

10. Changing or cancelling your holiday

We start planning the holidays we offer many months in advance. Occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct errors in brochure and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed and cancel confirmed bookings. However, we will not cancel your confirmed booking after your balance due date unless you are in breach of contract (such as failing to pay on time) or we have to for reasons outside our control. Most changes are minor. Occasionally, we have to make a "significant change", which is a change made before departure which, taking account of the information you give us at the time of booking, we can reasonably expect to have a major affect on your holiday. All changes which are not "significant" are treated as minor changes for the purposes of these booking conditions. Significant changes include the following changes when made before departure; a change to a lower quality of a main hotel, a change of accommodation area which adversely affects the operation of the itinerary and tour itinerary changes involving a confirmed major destination being left out. We will tell you of the change as soon as possible. If there is time to do so before departure we will offer you the choice of the following options: 1) Accepting the changed arrangements, 2) Purchasing an alternative holiday from us, of a similar standard to that originally booked if available. We will offer you at least one alternative holiday of equivalent or higher standard for which you will not be asked to pay any more than the price of the original holiday. If this holiday is in fact cheaper than the original one, we will refund the price difference. If you do not wish to accept the holiday we specifically offer you, you may choose any of our other then available holidays. You must pay the applicable price of any such holiday. This will mean you’re paying more if it is more expensive or receiving a refund if it is cheaper or 3) Cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us. The above options are not available where any change made is a minor one. If we have to make a significant change or cancel we will where compensation is due, pay you the compensation payments set out in the table below depending on the circumstances and when the significant change or cancellation is notified to you subject to the following exceptions. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted where (1) we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care or (2) we have to cancel because the minimum number of bookings necessary for us to operate your holiday has not been reached - we will notify you not less than 4 weeks prior to departure if this is the case. No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time) or where a change is a minor one. A change of pick up point, flight time of less than 12 hours, airline (except as specified in clause 19 "Flights"), type of aircraft (if advised) or destination airport will all be treated as minor changes.

11. Force majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss (as more fully described in clause 18(2)) as a result of, "force majeure". In these booking conditions, "force majeure" means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include (whether actual or threatened), but are not limited to, unavoidable technical problems with transport, war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, epidemic ,fire and all similar events or circumstances outside our control.

12. Coach travel arrangements

A minimum number of passengers are required for a pick-up point to operate. In the unlikely event that your chosen pick-up point does not achieve sufficient numbers you will be offered the nearest available pick up point or offered to join the tour at the ferry port. Coach seats are allocated prior to departure and take into account, as far as possible when your booking is made and any requests.

There are a limited number of seats toward the front of the coach (usually the first three rows) that can be reserved for just £5 per person. Guaranteed seats cannot be reserved on feeder journeys or to/from a U.K. port. If your tour is cancelled for any reason and seat reservations are not available on your new tour you will be refunded the supplement. No other compensation will be payable and you won't be entitled to cancel. From time to time, it may be necessary to reduce the number of seats available at a supplement for operational reasons. Where already booked, any supplement will be refunded but no compensation will be payable. Once allocated, these seats are reserved for the duration of the holiday. Any timings given are provisional and for guidance purposes only and are subject to change. Final timings and seat numbers will be advised with your travel documents approximately 7 to 10 days prior to departure. On occasion departure points may be included in addition to those listed in the brochure and taxis or minibuses may be used for part of the journey.

13. Luggage allowance

As space is limited we ask that you restrict luggage to one suitcase per person weighing a maximum of 18 kilograms, plus light hand luggage.

14. Coaches

Your coach will be modern comfortable and manned by experienced driver(s). Almost all coaches we use (particularly those on longer journeys) have a video, toilet, drinks' machine etc for your greater comfort. Coaches used on airport/port transfers, shorter weekend trips, etc, do not always have these extra facilities but will still be comfortable. Taxis or minibuses may be used for part of the journey. By request of our previous passengers we do not allow alcohol or smoking on board our coaches.

15. Delays

In the event of a delay to the departure of your tour we will do our best to keep you informed. Should a delay exceed 4 hours during the outward or return journey either the carrier or ourselves will endeavour to provide meals at mealtimes and, if appropriate overnight accommodation where reasonably possible. We will make every effort to ensure that your coach will be to the standard described in the brochure. However, we cannot accept any claims from passengers if a different vehicle is used for a short term emergency replacement. 

16. Safety standards

It is the requirements and standards of the country in which any services which make up your holiday are provided which apply to those services and not those of the UK. As a general rule, these requirements and standards will not be the same as the UK and may sometimes be lower.

17. Accommodation

Unless otherwise stated, our holiday prices are per person and based upon the shared occupancy of twin or double bedded rooms. Single rooms are in limited supply and are often smaller in size than twin/double bedded rooms. Where there is a supplementary charge for single rooms, details are given in the brochure. En suite facilities designate rooms with private bathroom equipped with either bath or shower and WC. On holidays including half-board (dinner and breakfast) meal arrangements, dinners will normally be based on a set menu unless otherwise stated. Please note that hotel ratings used in the brochure refer to local classifications. Grading systems vary from country to country and cannot be compared on a like for like basis. As far as possible we will use the hotel stated in the brochure. Occasionally it may be necessary to use an alternative hotel of equal standard and you will be advised at the earliest opportunity. Any such change will not be a significant change. The term 'hotel' includes motels, inns and other equivalent establishments according to local classification.

18. Our responsibility

1) We promise to make sure that all parts of the holiday we have agreed to arrange, perform or provide as part of our contract with you are arranged, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that, subject to these booking conditions, we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted holiday arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient as a result of the failure of ourselves, our employees, agents or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your contracted holiday arrangements. It is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. In addition, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers). 2) We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (including loss of enjoyment or possessions),damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following: - the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or 'force majeure' as defined in clause 11. 3) Please note we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by us and we have not agreed to arrange them as part of our contract and any excursion you purchase during your holiday. In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, in any advertising material or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you. 4) The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract - and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred - will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with the local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable holiday maker to refuse to take the holiday in question. 5) Where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money), the maximum amount we will have to pay you is £30 per person affected (unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under this clause or clause 18(6) below) as you are assumed to have taken out insurance at the time of booking. You must ensure you have appropriate travel insurance to protect your personal belongings. For all other claims which do not involve death or personal injury, if we are found liable to you on any basis the maximum amount we will have to pay you is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under clause 18(6) below. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday. 6) Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea or rail carrier to which any international convention or EU regulation applies, the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay you will be limited. The most we will have to pay you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the travel arrangements in  question (for example, the Warsaw Convention as amended or unamended and the Montreal Convention for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability No 889/2002 for national and international travel by air, the Athens Convention for international travel by sea and COTIF, the Convention on International Travel by Rail).Where a carrier would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable international convention or regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we similarly are not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the carrier for the complaint or claim in question. Copies of the applicable international conventions and regulations are available from us on request.(7) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description (1) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or (2) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers. Additionally we cannot accept liability for any business losses including self employed loss of earnings.

19. Conditions of suppliers

Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier's liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable international conventions (see clause 18 (6)). Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned.

20. Behaviour

When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you. Full payment for any such damage or loss (reasonably estimated if not precisely known) must be paid direct at the time to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier. If the actual cost of the loss or damage exceeds the amount paid where estimated, you must pay the difference once known. If the actual cost is less than the amount paid, the difference will be refunded. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party's full legal costs) as a result of your actions. We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you behave in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party or damage to property, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

21. If you have a complaint

If you have a problem during your holiday, you MUST report the matter to the driver or our representative and the supplier of the services in question IMMEDIATELY. If the matter is not then satisfactorily resolved, you must complete a written report (form available from our driver or tour manager) and follow up your complaint in writing to us within 28 days of your return, including a copy of the original report form. We regret we cannot accept liability if you fail to notify the complaint or claim entirely in accordance with this clause (this exclusion does not apply to any claim which involves death, personal injury or illness). Disputes arising out of, or in connection with this contract which cannot be amicably settled may be referred to arbitration if you so wish under a special scheme arranged by ABTA and administered independently by IDRS, part of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on the customer in respect of costs. Full details will be provided on request or can be obtained from the ABTA website (www.abta.com) or from ABTA. This scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking. Neither does it apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The scheme can however deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. The application for arbitration and statement of claim must be received by the IDRS within 12 months of the date of return from the holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the scheme may still be available if we agree, although the ABTA Code does not require such agreement.

22. Data protection

In order to process your booking and to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements we need to use the information you provide such as name, address, any special needs/dietary requirements etc. We take full responsibility for ensuring that proper security measures are in place to protect your information. We must pass your information to the relevant suppliers, such as transport companies and hotels. The information may also be provided to security or credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them, or as required by law. This applies to any sensitive information you give us such as details of any disabilities, or dietary/requirements. If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, we cannot provide your holiday. In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant parties. Diamond Holidays may contact you by mail, email or telephone with information and offers on services. If you would like to see the information held by us about you or prefer not to receive information on our goods and services, please write to Data Controller, Diamond Holidays, Anson House, Compass Point, Northampton Road, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9HW.We do not disclose or sell customer names and addresses to third parties for marketing activities.

23. Financial protection

Diamond Shortbreak Holidays Ltd is a member of ABTA with membership number W0552. Where your holiday does not include flights booked with us, ABTA will ensure that you are not left stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking in the unlikely event that we cannot provide your holiday due to our insolvency. Please go to www.abta.com for a copy of the guide to ABTA's scheme of Financial Protection. We also hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence, number 9357, granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. When you buy an ATOL protected air inclusive holiday or flight from us you will receive a confirmation invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our ATOL. In the unlikely event that we cannot provide your holiday due to our insolvency the CAA will ensure that you are not left stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. Please note: Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL scheme.

Privacy Policy

The Diamond Holiday group is committed to protecting your privacy and this Privacy Policy sets out the types of information we collect and what happens to it. Please also view our Terms & Conditions

Contact Diamond Holidays  
You are entitled to a copy of your information held by us. If you would like to see this please contact us at enquiries@diamondhols.co.uk or write to:

Diamond Holidays

Anson House

Compass Point

Northampton Road

Market Harborough

Leicestershire

LE16 9HW

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Your Consent
By using our website and if you have not advised us to the contrary, you are consenting to the collection and use of your personal information by Diamond Holidays and its trading names in accordance with this Privacy Policy. When you use this site, you are agreeing that we may use your personal information for the purposes set out in this policy.