Frequently (and not so frequently)

 Asked Questions

1. Why do you take a deposit?

We take a £10.00 per room per night deposit to ensure that the person booking is sincere and genuinely committed to following the reservation through. It costs us time, card fees and staff wages to process each reservation and all these factors are taken into consideration.

2. Why is the deposit non-refundable?

Each time a reservation request is received at Ardenwood, staff spend time answering specific questions customers may have through e-mails or phone calls. More time is then spent individually customising every booking confirmation to ensure all the details for each guest are correct. We then process the deposit on our card payment machine, at no cost to the customer. We however, still have to pay the bank charges for this deposit transaction.

3. Why must I pay the deposit by the debit or credit card?

Offering Ardenwood a valid debit or credit card to secure the room serves 3 purposes:

·         It gives us some insurance of being able to charge for the room should a guest decide to leave without paying.

·         It gives us some insurance for recouping costs for damages to the room or items taken from the room.

·         We charge the card for the cost of the room should a guest not abide by our cancellation policy.

4. Why don’t you accept the deposit to be paid by cash or bank transfer?

Paying by cash or bank transfer does not give us any recourse should there be damages to the room or should a guest leave without paying, or should a guest fail to inform us in time of a cancellation.

5. Why don’t you accept cheques?

For the same reasons as the previous question, as well as for the following reasons:

In our first year of business we lost almost £4000.00 through bad cheques.

This is clearly not an acceptable way of doing business. If you purchase a service you are expected to pay for it and we must do our best to guarantee that we will be paid for the service we are providing.

 6. Why do you charge guests a card charge for card payments?

This is an extra facility we have provided for the convenience of our guests who prefer this method of payment.

However, the bank charges us a monthly charge to rent the card payment machine. They then also charge us a percentage for every transaction we process. This percentage varies depending on what kind of card we process. Either way, as a small business, this is a costly facility to offer our guests and so for those who choose to pay by card, we must make the charge of 3% for credit cards and 1.5% for debit cards to at least try and cover some of these costs.

Please note that we never charge guests a card charge for the initial deposit. We pay the charges for this initial transaction ourselves.

For those who understandably object to card charges and prefer to pay by cash there is a bank machine located directly across the road from Ardenwood.

7. Why do you have a cancellation policy?

A reservation constitutes a legally binding contract between the person making a reservation and the accommodation provider, i.e.: Ardenwood Bed and Breakfast.

It is a legal agreement between the two parties which must be observed in accordance with the accommodation provider’s (Ardenwood’s) terms and conditions. These are stated on our website. These terms and conditions are re-iterated in the reply letter to any queries as well as in the confirmation email which is sent out.

8. Why are you so strict about applying your cancellation policy?

We receive a very high volume of requests for our rooms from people wanting to book rooms well in advance. The demand for our rooms almost always out-numbers the amount of rooms we have available.

Without enforcing our cancellation policy, when guests cancel without giving us the notice time stipulated in our cancellation policy, we generally end up losing money.

We try and make our cancellation policy VERY clear in a number of ways. We display it on our website, we also state it during phone enquiries, we include it in any reply emails and reiterate it a final time in all confirmation emails.

8. Are there any exceptions to the Cancellation Policy?

No, there are no exceptions.

9. Why don’t you offer full cooked breakfast during the week?

We did initially offer full cooked English breakfasts every day, however, as the majority of our guests during the week were business travellers requesting healthier options while working away from home, we have catered to the majority.

10. Why do guests have to pay £4.95 for cooked breakfast on weekends?

This is done to keep the room rates lower for those who do not want a full cooked breakfast. Charging for the extra breakfast also helps to minimise wastage. Many guests would often order cooked breakfast just because it was included only to realise they were already full from the Continental choice we offer.

 11. What does your Continental breakfast include?

Eggs, (boiled, poached, scrambled or fried) cooked to order.

Toast(white or brown) or Ryvitas

Ham, cheeses, freshly made fruit salad, prunes, yogurts, cereals (including porridge), milk, juices, coffee and a selection of teas.

12. What time is breakfast served?

·         Mon-Fri  6:30am – 8:30am (final sitting)

·         Sat-Sunday 7:00 -9:30 (final sitting)

We regret that service beyond these times is not available.

13. Why do you charge guests a surcharge if they do not vacate their room by the scheduled check-out time?

Our Housekeeping team are employed for a limited number of hours per day. Working to a schedule, they must complete all the rooms within a certain time-frame to ensure that the rooms are ready for the next guests. When guests do not vacate by the check-out times stated, we end up paying staff for additional hours of work needed for them to catch up. This charge will then be passed on to the guest and will be deducted from their card.

14. What are check-out times?

·         On weekdays the latest check-out time is 10:00 am.

·         On weekends the latest check-out time is 10:30 am.

 15. Why can’t guests check-in before 1600hrs?

Between 10:00am and 4:00pm our Housekeeping team are busy doing bed-changes, laundry, hoovering, cleaning, etc.  Deliveries, errands and the general domestic behind the scenes jobs that go into making Ardenwood presentable to the public also happen between these hours. By 4pm these jobs are completed and we are then ready to accept guest.

16. If I’m staying at Ardenwood for several days do I still have to be out of the B&B between 10am and 4pm?

No, once you check in you are entirely free to come and go as you please.

17. Is there a curfew time?

No. Guests are not expected to return by a certain hour. All we ask is that guests who return to Ardenwood after 11pm do so quietly. Drunken, loud or anti-social behaviour will result in the accommodation contract being terminated immediately without refund or negotiation and the guest will be required to leave the premises at once.

18. How close are you to town centre?

We are approximately a 10 minute walk into the town centre.

19. How close are you to train station?

We are approximately a 500 metre walk from the train station.

20. Do you have secure parking?

Yes, Ardenwood Bed and Breakfast is located within ¼ acre of walled premises where we provide private parking for our guests. The property is accessed by security coded electric gates. The grounds and all public areas of the house are monitored by continuous CCTV cameras.

21. Do you share guests’ details with any other organizations?

No, we will never share your details with any other individuals or organisations.

22. How long do you hold on to card details?

We keep card details for a period of 7 days after the guest has checked-out. This way if there are any damages to the room or if any items are missing, we will charge the customer’s card.

 23. Why do you ask for the names of all guests who will be in the room?

This is done to prevent individuals booking a single room and then turning up with multiple people. We have had individuals book a room for themselves, only to then turn up at check-in with 6 mates at the door all expecting to stay in the same room based on the 1 room booking.

24. Can I cook in the bedroom?

Absolutely not.  Cooking of any sort is strictly forbidden in any of the bedrooms. We regrettably must mention this after our Housekeeping team (with the help of the smoke alarm in the room) discovered someone with a portable hob  in their room complete with pots, cooking oil, onions and a whole chicken,etc...

 25. Can guests use the Ardenwood kitchen to prepare food?

No. Ardenwood is strictly run as a Bed and Breakfast. We do not have any self-catering facilities.

26. Are there any restaurants near Ardenwood?

Yes, there are several. These include an Indian restaurant 3 doors away, a woman friendly restaurant/pub serving fresh food around the corner from Ardenwood, as well as many restaurants in the town centre (10 minute walk away).

There is also a large 24 hour Tesco within a 10 minute walk from Ardenwood for salads and sandwiches.

 27. Can guests bring hot cooked food from a take-away into Ardenwood?

Yes. Hot food from outside can be consumed in the Ardenwood dining room. We will gladly supply plates and cutlery. Please do not consume any hot food in the bedrooms.

28. Why is it forbidden to bring hot cooked food into the bedrooms?

We have had to employ outside agencies to get rid of the smells and stains caused by guests eating hot take-away food in their rooms. This is a cost that we are not prepared to bear and guests will be charged for any additional cleaning costs that arise through neglecting this rule.

The dining room at Ardenwood is always available for guests to enjoy their meals from out-side.

29. Why can’t guests smoke out of their bedrooms windows?

Like all public establishments in the U.K, we are a strictly no-smoking environment. Ashtrays are supplied outside the front door under a sheltered location.

We have had to employ cleaning agencies in to de-contaminate rooms where guests have tried to sneak a cigarette out the window, only for the smoke smell to still be very obvious in the room. We cannot offer rooms to the public that smell of smoke.

Guests will be charged a de-contamination/loss of earnings fee of £150.00 if the smell of smoke is present in the room.

30. Why do I have to fill in a registration card when I check-in?

It is the Law.

All guests are required by law to complete a registration form on arrival and will also be asked to produce a form of I.D. This is in keeping with the Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972 (as amended) and applies to all accommodation providers.

31. Why do you ask for full payment when I check-in instead of when I check–out in the morning?

There are a few reasons for this:

·         Paying your bill during the busy breakfast service may cause you to be delayed as we do not have enough staff to man both the office and dining area at this time of day.

·         Paying when you check-in allows us time to have your invoice prepared for you with all the details you wish to have included on it for when you check-out.

·         We regret to say payment is also taken up-front to avoid guests leaving without paying their bill.

 32. Why do you have CCTV cameras and coded electric gates?

This is to help customers feel more secure about leaving their cars parked in unfamiliar surroundings and to monitor who comes in and out of the building and grounds. While the proprietors have taken this additional measure to help further ensure that customers’ property is safeguarded, we remind you that the proprietors liability for customers’ property is limited, as outlined in the Hotel Proprietors Act (1956).

33. Is there free internet access in the rooms?

Yes. 13MB down and 1.3MB up.