Terms & Conditions

Pricing

The course price for all writing courses & retreats, painting courses and photography courses include course tuition, accommodation for the duration of the course, all breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and refreshments served throughout the day at the course venue, transportation to/from the airports and train stations specified in the “Getting Here” and course details section of this website, transportation on course outings, and admission fees to specified attractions on course outings. The price does not include airfare or other travel costs to Circle of Misse or our gateway cities,  price also does not include any discretionary costs on your part during course outings (e.g. snacks, drinks, purchases, admission to attractions not part of the group itinerary, etc.)

Travel Insurance

It is a condition of this booking that you obtain adequate insurance that covers medical and personal accident, including repatriation back home. EU/EEA residents should also ensure they have a current European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This card entitles you to state-operated medical care as a visitor to another EU/EEA country. Complete information is available here: https://www.ehic.org.uk/

Your travel insurance should also include trip cancellation and cover other expenses you may encounter because of travel disruptions. We strongly advise that you ensure that all members of your party are adequately insured at the time of booking as this protects your deposit.

Bookings

To secure your place on a course or retreat a deposit in the amount stated on the course specific page is required. Half of the deposit is refundable if you cancel 45 days before the course or retreat start date. This is payable by PayPal invoice or UK bank transfer. After you make the deposit we will contact you to confirm receipt and send further details. Places on a course, retreat or other activity are not guaranteed until the appropriate deposit has been received and confirmed.

For all courses and retreats we reserve the right to treat balances left unpaid after the due date as a notice of cancellation and cancel the booking.

Cancellations

As discussed above, all participants should obtain travel insurance that covers all contingencies including the reimbursement of cancellation fees and other travel expenses. This is for your protection. In the event of a cancellation, your policy should allow you to recover all fees and expenses.

If we cancel:

In the highly unlikely event that we have to cancel a course, where we determine continuation of the course is not feasible, we will offer you two options:

1. A full refund.
2. The ability to transfer to another course in the current season. If your chosen replacement course costs less than the cancelled course, we will refund the difference. If it costs more, you will need to pay the difference before we can complete the transfer. If the cancelled course is late in the season (Aug/Sept/Oct/Nov), you can choose a replacement course from the next year’s calendar when it is released.

If you cancel:

There are three options:

1. A refund minus cancellation fees based on the proximity to the course start date. We trust you understand that administrative and real costs, as well as substantial course planning, on your behalf mount as the course start date draws near. So we must charge cancellation fees based on the time of cancellation. All cancellations must be in writing via email or post, followed by a telephone call to ensure that we received your notice. The time of cancellation is determined by when we receive the notice. We also reserve the right to treat unpaid balances after the due date as a notice of cancellation. The cancellation fees (the amount we retain) are as follows (plus any fees charged to facilitate the refund by PayPal, a bank or any other fee processor used to make the initial transaction):
   • More than 45 days before the course start date: 50% of Deposit
   • 45-30 days before the course start date: Full Deposit
   • 29-15 days before the course start date: Deposit plus 50% of the remaining course fee
   • 14-7 days before the course start date: Deposit plus 75% of the remaining course fee
   • 6-0 days before the course start date: Deposit plus 100% of the remaining course fee
2. Transfer to another course later in the season. Please see our Transfer policy below for details on how to do this.
3. Give your spot on the course to a friend or relative. We will happily change the name on the course if you wish to send someone in your place. Please notify us of your intention to exercise this option as soon as possible in advance of the course start date.

Please note if you need to cancel or transfer your booking please notify us as soon as possible. Do not delay and do not wait for us to get in touch with you. Until we receive a written cancellation or transfer request we assume that you plan to attend to the course and proceed as such. The 45 day policy for half deposit refunds is triggered by the actual calendar day, not the day that we get in touch reminding you that your course balance is due.

Transferring A Booking to Another Course

After securing a booking with a deposit, you may transfer to another course or retreat of the same type and fee level, subject to availability and one of the following two policies applies depending on what phase of the payment process you’re in at the time of transfer request:

1. Prior to paying the full course or retreat balance for the original booking (in other words, you’ve only paid the deposit)
   You will be required to pay for the new course or retreat in full (minus your current deposit) to effect the transfer to the new course or retreat. We will invoice you for the balance via PayPal or you can pay via bank transfer
   The following cancellation fees (the amount we retain) then apply (plus any fees charged to facilitate the refund by PayPal, a bank or any other fee processor used to make the initial transaction):

    

   • More than 45 days before the course/retreat start date: 100% of the stated deposit amount for the original course/retreat booked
   • 45-30 days before the course/retreat start date: Full Deposit plus 25% of the remaining course fee
   • 29-15 days before the course/retreat start date: Deposit plus 50% of the remaining course fee
   • 14-7 days before the course/retreat start date: Deposit plus 75% of the remaining course fee
   • 6-0 days before the course/retreat start date: Deposit plus 100% of the remaining course fee
2. After paying the balance in full for the original course/retreat
   • We will apply your full payment to the new course/retreat.
   • The following cancellation policy (the amount we retain) then applies (plus any fees charged to facilitate the refund by PayPal, a bank or any other fee processor used to make the initial transaction):
     • More than 45 days before the course/retreat start date: 100% of the deposit for the original course/retreat
     • 45-30 days before the course/retreat start date: Full Deposit plus 25% of the remaining course/retreat fee
     • 29-15 days before the course/retreat start date: Deposit plus 50% of the remaining course/retreat fee
     • 14-7 days before the course/retreat start date: Deposit plus 75% of the remaining course/retreat fee
     • 6-0 days before the course/retreat start date: Deposit plus 100% of the remaining course/retreat fee

Accommodation

The price of courses include accommodation based on single occupancy. We do not charge single supplements, and likewise, if two participants, at the time of booking, let us know that they would like to share a double-room, we will accommodate that request at no additional charge, subject to availability.

Loss

CIRCLE OF MISSE cannot accept responsibility for any loss, damage or expense sustained by course participants as a result of an event or circumstance whether arising from natural cause, human agency, or beyond its control otherwise.

Regulatory Information

CIRCLE OF MISSE is a trademark and refers to Gastronomy and Creativity Courses on this “site”.

Privacy Policy

CIRCLE OF MISSE is committed to protecting your privacy in an open, transparent manner that puts your needs first and fully complies with GDPR and all other applicable laws and directives.

To help you understand how we use data, we’ve crafted a detailed Privacy Policy Notice page that includes resources and further information on GDPR and our security practices and policies through all phases of your relationship with us.