Legal Notices

Terms and Conditions of your Booking with SandyBlue

1. Your Contract is with SandyBlue Lda

   These Booking Terms and Conditions, the Essential Information also referred to as Addendum A and Final Departure Information together with our privacy policy, our website terms and conditions of use and with any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, form the basis of your contract with SandyBlue Lda (“we” or “us”). Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” include the first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person added or transferred to that booking.

   By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

   • He / she has read these terms and conditions and has the authority to and does agrees to be bound by them.
   • He / she consents to our use of information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
   • He / she is over 21 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions, declares that he / she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services.

2. Your Holiday Contract

   A binding contract is made with us by payment of your reservation deposit, payment in full if you are booking within 12 weeks of departure and the completion of the booking form (which also confirms your agreement to our Terms and Conditions).

   These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by Portuguese law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of Portugal.

3. Essential Information Regarding your Tenancy

   These terms and conditions must be read in conjunction with the Essential information regarding your tenancy herein referred to as Addendum A which forms part of your binding contract with SandyBlue.

4. Paying for Your Holiday

   At the time of booking, you will be required to pay a deposit of 25% of the value of the accommodation. All deposits are non refundable. For some reservations with specific resorts you will be bound by their terms and conditions which may have different deposit requirements. We will advise this at the time of booking. All bookings are subject to a 2% service charge.

   The balance of your holiday price must be received by us no less than 12 weeks before arrival date. If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as a ‘cancellation’ in which case the cancellation charges set out in clause 11 will become payable.

   If you cancel after we confirm your booking, you must compensate us for losses, as we incur costs from the moment you make the booking. The closer your cancellation is to the departure date, the less likely we are to recover the costs by re-selling the holiday at the original price. Our cancellation charges therefore increase as the departure date approaches, and you must pay us the sums up to the maximum shown in Clause 11.

   Final departure access to property information will not be supplied until your holiday has been paid for in full, we have received any applicable refundable security deposits for the property and all passport information for all guests.

5. Accuracy

   We endeavour to ensure all information, contract and booking conditions and prices both on our website and in our partner websites are accurate however occasionally changes and errors occur, and we reserve the right to correct prices and update and amend all information on our website or partner websites in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to our contract before confirming your reservation.

6. Your Holiday Price

   All prices include VAT at the prevailing rate. We reserve the right to offer via our marketing: discounts that can not be retrospectively applied or used in conjunction with any other offer you may have had. We can also amend the price of unsold holidays at any time and correct any errors in the prices of confirmed holidays including any changes in costs such as services or amenities requested by the guest: extra cleaning, extra laundry costs, baby travel cots, foldaway beds, extra linens, or any other items that are separate to the rental of a property. For a SandyBlue Longer Stay of 28 nights or more, utility bills on selected properties are included. Where this applies, we operate a “Fair-Usage” policy which will be handled on a case-by-case basis. In the event large utility bills are judged to have arisen from excessive or neglectful use, we reserve the right to charge this excess to the guest. We reserve the right to amend the values of any applicable refundable security deposits at any time (See Clause 7).

7. Damage to property and Security Deposits

   Accidental Damage Cover
   All properties are subject to Accidental Damage Cover (ADC) by a non-refundable charge of €7 per maximum occupancy, per week, which will be added to your booking value. This ADC charge covers you for accidental damage to the property during your stay up to the value of €200 per incident. This expressly excludes damage caused through negligence and/or vandalism.

   If there has been any accidental damage to the property that exceeds the value of €200, you will be notified by email within 10 days of your leaving date and we will discount the amount above €200 from your refundable security deposit. However, if SandyBlue believes that this damage was caused by negligence and/or vandalism, ADC will not apply and the full cost of any repairs or replacements will be deducted from the refundable security deposit. In the event of any damage, we ask that you notify us immediately regardless of value.

   ADC does not cover lost house keys which will be immediately charged if lost.

   Security Deposit
   Some high value properties and certain 3rd party agent properties can also be subject to a refundable security deposit. The security deposit is payable at least 4 weeks prior to arrival date or typically with the final balance payment of your holiday.

   The type of payment required, the amount and when it is payable will be confirmed to you at the time of booking. Security deposits are set by SandyBlue owners and agents and vary from property to property. We reserve the right to amend the value of the security deposit at any time.

   As with ADC, any damage caused to the property must be reported immediately and any damage cost will be deducted from your security deposit. Your ADC will cover the first €200 of any single incident.

   With both ADC bookings and those that require a security deposit, if any member of your party cause any damage to your holiday accommodation, any item in it or on its premises, you (the ‘lead’ booker) and/or your party will be required to pay for the loss and/or damage caused. We will hold you and each member of your party, jointly and individually responsible. We will issue you (the ‘lead’ booker) an invoice for immediate payment.

   We reserve the right to take photographic images of any damaged property at any time during the course of the tenancy or after departure as proof of damage.

   Following your departure, the property management team will inspect the property and you will be informed within 10 days of any issues identified. If no issues are detected, your security deposit will be returned in full within 14 days.

8. Confirmation

   Please check your confirmation email, payment receipts, final departure information and all other documents you receive from us immediately on receipt. You must contact us as soon as possible if any information appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later and it may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within a reasonable period of time.

9. Changes to your booking

   Should you wish to make changes to any details of your booking following final confirmation, we reserve the right to charge a minimum €50 administration fee.

10. Transfer of bookings

    If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you and satisfying all the conditions applicable to the holiday booked) providing we are notified not less than 14 days before departure, all details of the new member of the party are provided to us in accordance with our booking procedure and you pay an amendment fee notified to you at the time your request the transfer, meet all costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers and the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.

11. If you cancel your holiday

    Once your holiday has been confirmed, any changes or request to cancel can only be made by the lead party. Cancellation date is determined by the date we receive your email and confirm we have received that email. In all cases the deposit for your holiday reservation is non refundable.

    Our cancellation charges increase as your arrival date approaches. The cancellation charge detailed is calculated on the basis of the total cost of the holiday payable excluding amendment charges which are not refundable.

    If you have to cancel for a reason covered by your insurance policy, you may be able to recover the cancellation charges from your insurance company. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned.

    When only some members cancel in a group that has booked a holiday together, the full value of the reservation must be bourn by the remaining members of the party.

    For all accommodation types, the following terms apply:

    • Cancellation anytime from date of booking to 63 days before arrival date - loss of deposit
    • Cancellation 56-62 days before arrival date - 50% forfeit on the total value of the booking
    • Cancellation 42-55 days before arrival – 75% forfeit of the total value of the booking
    • Cancellation 15-41 days before arrival – 95% forfeit of the total value of the booking
    • Cancellation between 0 and 14 days before arrival – 100% of the value of the booking is forfeited
    • No refunds will be given for guests not travelling or for any unused services

12. If we change or cancel your holiday

    It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your confirmed travel arrangements or cancel them however we do start planning arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally, we may have to make changes and correct errors on the website and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. In the event of minor alterations, we will do our best to notify you before you travel.

    If a ‘significant change’ (see below) or cancellation has to be made to your holiday property we will notify you as soon as possible. You may then: a) accept the changed property; b) accept an offer of an alternative holiday of comparable standard from us, if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value; or c) cancel your booking completely, in which case we will refund you all monies paid by you.

    Note: In the event that you choose an alternative property, if the substituted holiday property is of a lower price than the one originally booked, we will also refund the price difference. If the substitute holiday is of a higher price you will pay the difference to upgrade. The original terms of our agreement will transfer to the substituted accommodation.

    We will not pay you compensation where we make a major change or cancel before departure or in the event that 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.

    The above sets out the maximum extent of our liability for changes and cancellations and we regret we cannot meet any expenses or losses you may incur as a result of change or cancellation.

    We will not pay you compensation and the above options will not be available if we make a minor change or cancel as a result of your failure to make full payment on time or where the change(s) or cancellation by us arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you.

13. Force Majeure

    Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by any event which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. These events can include, but are not limited to war, threat of war, civil strife terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster and adverse weather, sea, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concern’s control.

14. Building Works

    The law does not dictate that neighbours or resort management need to advise of building works or noise adjacent to and or near any property. Therefore we cannot be held responsible for any resulting disturbance. Any building work which may commence in the local area is completely outside of our control, this can include noise from landscaping, building and road works.

    Building works are legally allowed to place from Monday 8:00am to Saturday 6:00pm. These are the normal and legally recognized working hours in Portugal. Some building works can also take place with additional licence for longer hours and also on Sundays and bank holidays.

    However, should we become aware of any building work which may reasonably be considered to adversely affect the enjoyment of your holiday we will notify you as soon as possible, and if possible, will offer you the opportunity to transfer to an alternative available property at the published advertised price.

15. Special requests

    If you have a special request that does not form part of the arrangements described on the website please inform us in writing at the time of booking. We will do our best to comply but cannot guarantee this.

    We regret that we are unable to advise prior to departure if special requests cannot be met. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

16. Disabilities and Medical Problems

    If you or any member of your party has any; health issue, medical problem or disability which may affect your stay, please provide us with full details before we confirm your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details. 

    If the medical issue becomes apparent when you are in tenancy we cannot accept any liability in any circumstances due to your non-disclosure of the medical condition at the time of booking.

17. Holiday Insurance

    Travel insurance is essential. The policy should be valid from the time of confirming your booking. Your insurance should have cancellation cover as well as multi risk, medical and repatriation. We highly recommend that insurance purchased must have a 24-hour emergency telephone service. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover that you chose not to have for your holiday.

18. Our Liability to You

    1. We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “accommodation provider” subject to these booking conditions, if we or our suppliers perform or arrange your contracted holiday arrangements negligently, taking into consideration all relevant factors (for example following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your holiday), we will pay you reasonable compensation. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.

    2. We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:

    1. The act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected; including non disclosure of medical conditions,

    2. The act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party who provides supplementary services for the accommodation, which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or

    3. Unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or

    4. An event which either ourselves or suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.

       The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equal to the applicable excess in your travel insurance policy in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

    5. Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description 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 (f) any business losses.

    6. All decisions regarding any monetary values, refund or compensation of any description, is only with direct written confirmation and agreement solely between the leader of the party and the Director/s of SandyBlue Lda.

    7. We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our accommodation agreement. For example; any facility that is provided or maintained by a third party, any excursion you book, or any service including internet provider or facility including communal pools or similar amenities, tennis, golf or other similar leisure activities, chefs, child care, restaurants, transfer and taxi services which any other supplier agrees to provide for you.

19. Conditions of Suppliers

    Some 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 which will form part of your contract with us.

20. Additional Help

    If you or one of your party suffers personal injury, illness or death during the holiday through no fault of ours or your own, we will, at our discretion, give you general assistance. The offer of assistance is without prejudice.

21. If you have a complaint

    If you have cause for complaint whilst on holiday this must be brought to the attention of a SandyBlue Lda. representative and relevant supplier immediately so that action can be taken at the time to rectify the problem. Should the representative/local agent/ supplier or property management company be unable to resolve the matter, details of the complaint must be notified to SandyBlue Lda in writing within 14 days of the end of your holiday. Failure to do so will affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint.

22. Behaviour

    At all times during your holiday, you are expected to have consideration for your fellow travellers and other third parties. If in the opinion of ourselves, any service provider, accommodation owner or other person in authority, you are or appear to be behaving in such a way as to cause, or to be likely to cause, danger, distress, annoyance or damage to third parties or property either ourselves or the supplier concerned may terminate your holiday arrangements. In this situation, we will have no further liability to you and will not be responsible for meeting any expenses you incur as a result, making any refund or paying any compensation. Subject to clause 7, you and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the accommodation owner or other supplier prior to departure from the accommodation. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you. We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

23. Passports, visas and health requirements

    We are required by law to lodge all passport information with SEF Border Control. This information must be provided on your reservation booking form before we can release the Final Departure Information for your holiday.

    It is your responsibility to hold a valid passport, visa and/or entry permit. Your passport and travel documents must be intact: you may not be able to travel if they are damaged or have been tampered with. Passport, visa and health requirements are subject to change and it is your responsibility to check the up-to-date position in good time before departure. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

24. Use of electronic recording devices, photos and video

    SandyBlue reserves the right to use recording devices for electronic mail, texts and telephone calls and meetings. Specifically in the case of disputes for evidential purposes, the tenant permits SandyBlue Lda for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; the right to record with video the meeting and all conversations with the tenant/s and to be able to photograph the article / object / situation in dispute.

    All items disputed remain the property of SandyBlue Lda.

25. Use of information you give us and communicating with you

    In order to process your booking and provide you with your confirmed holiday, we will need to collect and process personal information. For operational reasons, this data is held at various secure locations. When needed, we must pass on certain elements of this data to the companies, organisations or property owners who need them so that your holiday can be provided. For example, SEF - the Portuguese government border control authority requests all passport information for every guest. Others include resort accommodation providers, transport companies, banks or from our affiliated companies.

    Where you provide us with this personal information, you consent to this data being used as described in this clause. We would also like to send you information about our products and services that we think will be of interest to you. We may do this by post, telephone, SMS or email. We are entitled to assume you do not object to our doing any of the things mentioned above unless you email to us at [email protected]

Addendum – Book with Confidence pledge

Last updated 10^th January 2022

The following terms replace terms and conditions above where appropriate.

From 12 weeks you will be expected to travel unless Covid 19 Restrictions* (as defined below) apply to your travel plans. We know that restrictions can be put in place at very short notice and you are likely to be concerned about this. We want to help and make your booking with SandyBlue an enjoyable experience. If Covid 19 restrictions* are applied at very short notice which makes your arrival impossible, we will work with you to find the best solution. We would want as much time as possible to resell your booking to another country of departure where restrictions might not be in place. If you cooperate with us by giving as much notice as possible, we will protect the money you have paid, less a charge, by issuing a voucher for use in a SandyBlue property to be booked by end December 2022 and for bookings before September 2023. The charge would be a maximum of 15% of the booking value.

* Covid 19 Restrictions are defined as:

• You are prevented from travelling under newly imposed Government restrictions either in your country of departure or Portugal.
• Your country of departure has placed Portugal on a “Red List”.

Travel Insurance

It is your responsibility (as the lead guest on the booking) to ensure that you and all other parties in your booking have travel insurance. SandyBlue is NOT liable for any costs you or any member of your party may incur due to travel restrictions, outside of the terms described above. SandyBlue is not a provider of travel insurance.