Terms and conditions

Our address

King's Place
12-42 Wood Street
Kingston-upon-Thames
Surrey
KT1 1JY

Minimum Age

We do not accept bookings made in the name of persons aged under 18 years.

Holiday insurance

It is a condition of booking that you take travel insurance which must be of at least equal standard to Crystal recommended insurance. You must either take the cover recommended by us or take out another policy offering at least the same or better cover (no liability will be accepted for the consequences of your travelling without adequate travel insurance).

Accuracy of website

All information on this website is to the best of our knowledge and belief correct at the time of publication. However, we reserve the right to make changes to information contained within the site and will advise you of these changes at point of booking or when they are known to us. This advice will be limited to that which is fundamental to the contract or which we believe may affect the enjoyment of your holiday.

If any facility detailed on this website is essential to the enjoyment of your holiday, please advise us at the time of booking and we will try to advise you of the latest information. However, we are sure you will understand that at times certain advertised facilities may not be in operation and we may have no information or prior warning of such matters.

Photographs

Many pictures are included for their attractiveness and general relevance; those with specific notation refer to hotels or relevant features. Photographs of rooms represent the type of accommodation available, but not all rooms will be the same and room sizes, decor and furnishings will vary, particularly in older or historical buildings.

Tours and cruises

Local conditions may demand a change to the amount of time spent in a town or resort or even eliminate a stop altogether.

Meal service

Hoteliers may decide to change from buffet service to waiter service - or vice versa. We will inform you of this if we are advised in advance.

Artist's Impressions and Computer Generated Images

In some cases on this website we have had to use an artist's impression or a computer generated image of a hotel, apartment residence or chalet. This image will be an accurate representation of the property based upon the information available to us at the time of publication of this website.

Ski in/ski out

This indicates that you can ski to or from 50 metres of the hotel, chalet or apartment.

Guaranteed snow

This indicates resorts that will always be open but does not take into account any closure of lifts due to wind, poor light visibility or a resort's decision to close due to low numbers.

Early and late season/peak dates

During local or national holidays abroad, you may find facilities like ski schools and shops are closed or have limited opening hours. If visiting a specific place is important to you, call your destination's local tourist office direct. You may find certain facilities, such as restaurants or nightclubs, closed during your stay, perhaps for redecoration. These closures may affect facilities in your accommodation as well as in the resort, especially early and late in the season. At the beginning and end of the season some ski lifts may not be open and ski and public bus services may not be fully functional. If you are free to travel at any time and not tied to school holidays, we would recommend that you avoid peak dates such as half-term as many resorts are extremely busy.

Recommended Venues

All 'recommended' restaurants and other venues featured on this website which are not owned by Crystal are not under our direct control and have not been inspected by us. Therefore, any recommendation is merely an indication that these facilities have proved popular and are worthy of mention and are not a personal recommendation by Crystal.

Resort development

The noise and inconvenience of building work inevitably seems worse on holiday. That is why our overseas staff keep us constantly informed about developments. Ask your travel agent for up-to-date information from our Reservations team. As the situation may change quickly at a local level, we can have no control over building schedules. We will, however, always do our best to tell you about any specific work going on near your accommodation if time allows before you go on holiday.

Events such as concerts, festivals, conferences, sporting events etc. may sometimes cause restricted access to resort amenities ie. roads, shops, bars & restaurants.

Special requests

For any special requests consult your travel agent or the First Choice Reservations Department when you confirm your holiday booking. We will consider special requests such as vegetarian meals, high or low floor preferencesintheaccommodation,whenyoubook. Wewilltellyouwhether there is a charge for the request. We can only guarantee requests for which there is a charge, or those that are confirmed in writing. For those enquiries where we need to contact the supplier we will make an administration charge of £35 if made over 56 days before departure or £50 if made within 56 days of departure.

Currency

A small amount of foreign money can be very useful when you arrive abroad. In Slovenia, Sterling is widely accepted in banks, hotels and bureau de change.

Scottish and Northern Irish bank notes can cause confusion outside the UK. Should you wish to take any sterling abroad, it's probably best to take English Sterling notes.

Credit/Cash Cards - most major credit cards are widely accepted in most countries abroad and can often be used in automated cash dispensers with your usual PIN number. Most European countries also accept cash cards with Cirrus & Maestro using your existing PIN number. Credit cards are not widely used in Austria.

Noise

In early and late summer, resorts are less busy and, consequently, quieter. Italy, for example, is not an excessively noisy country, but traffic and other sounds can present problems in most places of the world today, particularly in cities. Also, as many lakeside resorts are serviced by a perimeter road around the lake, at busy times some traffic congestion and noise is inevitable. Make sure you read the resort and hotel descriptions carefully to help you identify those which are stated to be in quieter locations and those which may not be (eg hotels in or close to town centres, or near main railway lines or roads).

General Information for groups

Group reductions and free places are based on the basic 7 night holiday price only (even if you are taking a longer duration) and do not include flight supplements, extra meals, insurance or ski packs. Only 1 free child place is allowed per group. The free place given will apply to the lowest price holiday. The party size is determined by the number of full fare paying passengers.

All passengers must pay the full deposit, regardless of free places. We can arrange for your group discount to be given in some form other than free places whether this is childcare, lift passes, special lessons or even private transfers. Just give us a call and we will make the arrangements. All names must be supplied in writing at least 10 weeks before departure date. Name changes may be made on charter flights only, up until ticket issue, usually 4 weeks before departure. However, after this time an administration charge will be levied on all bookings where names have either not been supplied or changes are made to named passengers travelling. If the group size reduces your booking, the number of free places will be reduced accordingly and may be lost if all the conditions are not complied with. If the group size increases after booking we cannot alter the original group discount.

Excursions/activities

Après Ski events

The advertised events are dependent upon operational availability, minimum number of participants and pre-season auditings, and therefore, some events may not always be available due to insufficient demand or, in some cases, adverse weather conditions. All mentioned restaurants and other venues featured in this brochure which are not owned by First Choice are not under our direct control and have not been inspected by us. Therefore, any recommendation is merely an indication that these facilities have proved popular and are worthy of mention and not a personal recommendation by First Choice.

1. Heli-skiing opportunities offered in the brochure, or locally, are arranged with the best local operator. As with all adventure sports, you partake at your own risk and you will be required to sign a disclaimer prior to the activity. Please also note that if, due to adverse weather conditions, or other circumstances beyond our control, the heli-ski package is unavailable during your stay, our liability is limited to a full refund of the cost paid.
2. Any other excursions or hazardous activity in which you partake locally, such as tobogganing, paragliding, inner-tubing or snow-mobiling etc., are at your own risk and liability and may not be covered under the terms of your holiday insurance. Please check the details of your individual policy before participation.
3. Our specialist ski courses (Jumps, Bumps & Powder) will always be dependent on the following:
   1. Weather, powder or piste conditions
   2. Minimum numbers (on some courses)
   3. That your skiing/boarding is of a suitable level to join the course
   4. That you have appropriate insurance cover.

Ski and Snowboard Escorts

Places for escorted groups are on a first-come, first-served basis, provided your standard allows you to keep pace with the rest of the group. Your Ski/Board Escort will assess your standard on the day whilst taking the weather/snow conditions into consideration. Days of operation for different standards of skier/boarder will also be advised at the beginning of your holiday.

This service is available 3 days a week in selected resorts in France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Andorra. We will always ensure the service is available on your first day of skiing. In selected USA and Canadian resorts a "Mountain Host service is offered. In order to ensure mountain safety this service will only operate with a minimum of 3 people and a maximum of 12.

Our Ski Escorts will be happy to accept boarders in their groups, and our Board Escorts will accept skiers, as long as they feel that your standard is suitable for the day's tour. Please note that the Ski or Board Escort services may be restricted or curtailed by local regulations in force. A local charge may be levied if local authorities insist on the use of local instructors and we are obliged to use this service. Please also note that ski escorting services are sometimes offered as part of a "ski away day and may incur additional costs such as transport or lift pass.

Superdeals/late availability

Superdeals may be allocated into apartments, mobile homes, hotels or chalets. Neither First Choice nor the travel agent know precisely which resort or accommodation will be allocated at the time of booking, as this is done locally, except where supplements have been paid to guarantee a specified resort area, termed a Resort Superdeal. In all cases the standard of accommodation will vary according to availability but we will provide you with accommodation of the star rating selected by you. However, we cannot guarantee any specific facilities will be available other than those confirmed on the invoice and accommodation may be provided in smoking / non- smoking or family chalets. Accommodation is not always from that advertised within our brochure and may or may not represent a financial saving on brochure prices, particularly when extra flights or accommodation have been contracted to meet demand. As rooms are allocated locally, we cannot guarantee that rooms booked on a Superdeal for groups will all be in the same property.

If half-board is requested this will be indicated on your invoices as "CA or HB. However, this does not guarantee either hotel or chalet accommodation will be provided. Half-board arrangements may be provided by way of vouchers for restaurants, hotels in the resort, or by an arrangement with one specific hotel or restaurant. A "CA or HB Superdeal allocated into one of our chalets would receive meals on the same basis as described on page 13 where dinner is for 6 nights per week only.

Please note: We are unable to guarantee any special requests on Superdeal holidays or specify the bed type.

For bookings within 15 days of travel, a late booking charge is compulsory at an extra charge of £15 per person, or more if express delivery is required.

Superdeal bookings do not qualify for any special offers advertised in the brochure as available at their designated accommodation.