Terms and Conditions

• Lead guest: the person making the booking must be 18 or over and give us accurate contact and guest details, so we can look after everyone properly.
• Confirming your booking: your booking is confirmed once we receive payment (or the 25% deposit for exclusive use) and send you a confirmation email. Occasionally we may need to decline or cancel a booking, for example if there’s an availability error or these terms aren’t followed. If that happens, see section 3.
• Guest numbers: the Castle sleeps up to 14 guests and the Coach House up to 6. Only the guests named on your confirmation may stay overnight. If you’d like extra guests or day visitors, just ask us first. There may be an extra cost.
• Minimum stay: 2 nights, or 3 nights for exclusive use of the whole property. Longer minimums may apply at peak times such as holidays.
• Rates: all rates are in New Zealand dollars and include GST. They vary by season, availability and special offers, and are fixed once your booking is confirmed.

• Paying for your stay: to secure your dates, we ask for full payment at the time of booking.
• How to pay: we accept Visa, Mastercard and bank transfer, or another method we agree with you at booking. All payments are processed securely.
• Extras: if you add guests or something is damaged during your stay, we’ll talk with you first and then may add the cost to your booking.
• If you can’t make it: please let us know as soon as you can, even on the day. If you don’t arrive and haven’t been in touch, the booking is treated as a no-show and is not refunded.

2a. Exclusive Use of the Whole Property

When you book the whole estate, we close the Castle and Coach House to everyone else for your dates. Because of that, these bookings work a little differently:

• Minimum stay: exclusive use bookings are for a minimum of 3 nights.
• Deposit: a 25% deposit secures the property for your dates. The deposit is non-refundable.
• Balance: the remaining 75% is due 60 days before arrival, and we’ll send you a reminder before then.
• If the balance isn’t paid on time: we’ll get in touch first. If it’s still unpaid, we may release your dates to other guests, and the deposit is not refunded.
• Booking within 60 days of arrival: full payment is due at the time of booking.
• Security bond: exclusive use bookings carry a refundable security bond, paid with the balance. The amount depends on the length of your stay and is shown in your booking confirmation. We’ll refund it in full within 7 working days of departure, provided there’s no damage to the property or its contents. If we do need to make a deduction, we’ll talk to you first and show you what it’s for.
• Card on file: we’ll also ask for a valid credit or debit card to be held on file for your stay.
• If costs go beyond the bond: the bond isn’t a cap. If repair or other costs come to more than the bond, we’ll invoice the difference separately.

• We know plans change. We’re a small property with only a handful of rooms, so a late cancellation has a big impact. These terms help us manage that fairly:

  • More than 30 days before arrival: full refund, less 10% to cover booking and payment costs.
  • 15 to 30 days before arrival: 50% refund.
  • Less than 15 days before arrival: we’re unable to offer a refund.
  • Special or non-refundable rates: these are offered at a lower price because they can’t be refunded.
  • Changing your dates: we’ll always do our best to help. A change of dates is treated as a cancellation and a new booking, so it depends on availability and the rate for your new dates.
  • Leaving early: we can’t refund nights that aren’t used.
  • If we have to cancel: in the rare event we need to cancel, we’ll offer you a full refund or new dates. We can’t cover other costs such as flights or travel, so we recommend travel insurance (see section 10).

  3a. Exclusive Use of the Whole Property

  Booking the whole estate means we turn away every other guest for your dates, often many months ahead. For that reason, exclusive use bookings have their own terms:

  • Deposit: the 25% deposit paid at booking secures your dates and is non-refundable.
  • Balance: the remaining 75%, due 60 days before arrival, is non-refundable once paid.
  • If you need to cancel: please talk to us as early as you can. If we’re able to rebook your dates, we’ll do our best to help.

• Castle: check-in is from 3:00pm and check-out is by 11:00am.
• Coach House: check-in is from 2:00pm and check-out is by 10:00am.
• Early check-in or late check-out may be possible on request, subject to availability.
• Your host will meet you or send arrival instructions by email. If you will arrive after 8:00pm, you must let us know in advance.

• No smoking or vaping inside any building. A cleaning fee applies if this rule is broken.
• No pets. Pheasants, sheep and other animals live on the property.
• Parties, celebrations and gatherings are welcome within the noise limits in section 6. Please tell us about any party or event when you book, and keep to the maximum number of guests at all times. Weddings and commercial events need our written approval.
• Earnscleugh Castle is a Category 1 heritage building. Please treat the buildings, grounds and furnishings with care and tell us about any damage or breakage straight away. We also encourage eco-friendly habits, such as recycling and saving energy and water.
• The Coach House is a relaxed guesthouse suited to families of all ages. The Castle is for adults only, unless the whole property, the Castle and the Coach House together, is booked as a full buyout.
• Children must be supervised at all times, especially near the pool, spa, river, ponds and driveways.
• Your host, or a representative, is on site for your stay. Please follow their reasonable directions.

• Earnscleugh Castle must meet the Central Otago District Plan noise limits, measured at neighbouring homes.
• From 10:00pm to 7:00am, keep voices low outdoors. Outdoor music may play softly.
• Personal fireworks may be used before 10:00pm only, and never during a fire ban or restricted fire season.
• Personal drones may be flown over the Castle grounds only, following Civil Aviation Authority Part 101 rules. Do not fly over neighbouring properties, roads or people.
• If we receive a noise complaint, your host will ask you to turn the noise down straight away. If the rules still aren’t followed after we’ve asked, we may need to ask guests to leave, and the stay won’t be refunded.

Earnscleugh Castle sits on a 30-acre heritage estate in the Earnscleugh valley, one of Central Otago’s great fruit and wine growing areas. Our neighbours are orchards, vineyards, wineries and farms. They give the valley its blossom in spring, cherries and stone fruit in summer and golden vines in autumn, and they keep it working all year round.

Life in a working valley comes with its own sounds and rhythms. During your stay you may notice:

• frost fans and frost-protection helicopters, which protect the blossom and fruit on cold nights, often overnight or early morning and mainly from September to November;
• bird scarers and gas guns during the growing and harvest season;
• tractors, sprayers, harvesters, trucks and irrigation pumps, which can run at any time of day or night when the season calls for it;
• spraying, dust, smells and work lights from normal orchard and farm work;
• livestock, birds and wildlife, including the sheep and pheasants on our own land.

This work is lawful, carried out by our neighbours and outside our control. We love being part of it, and we hope you’ll enjoy it too.

Because this is the nature of the area, rural and farming activity on neighbouring land or our own land is part of the setting and isn’t treated as a fault with your stay. We’re unable to offer refunds, discounts, compensation or relocation for noise, dust, smells, light or other effects of it. If something is bothering you, please tell your host. We’ll always help where we can.

Getting around the estate

The grounds include gravel driveways, uneven ground, swinging gates and fences, ponds and the Fraser River. Please take care, especially at night, and keep to 15 km/h on our driveways.

• Castle guests use the main driveway and park behind the Castle.
• Coach House guests use the second entrance and park in the dedicated parking behind the Coach House.
• The second driveway is also the fire service access to the Castle. Do not park on it or block it at any time.
• The pool, spa, sauna and ice bath are for Castle and exclusive use guests only. Use them at your own risk. No glass, and no swimming, spa, sauna or ice bath use after drinking alcohol.

• The Castle has a fire alarm linked to a sprinkler system. Every bedroom has an evacuation plan on display.
• If the alarm sounds, leave straight away by the nearest safe route and go to the assembly point on the front lawn.
• In an emergency, dial 111 and ask for the service you need.
• Never cover, disable or tamper with smoke detectors, sprinklers, call points or fire equipment. Any false call-out charge or repair cost caused by guests will be charged to the booking.
• Candles and open flames are not allowed inside, except where we provide them.

• You stay at your own risk. We recommend comprehensive travel insurance that covers cancellation, curtailment and medical costs.
• You are responsible for your own belongings and vehicles. We are not liable for their loss or damage unless it is caused by our negligence.
• You are liable for the cost of repairing or replacing anything damaged, destroyed or removed by you or your guests. After telling you, we may charge these costs to the payment method used for the booking or, for exclusive use bookings, deduct them from the security bond.
• If you book for someone else, for example as a gift, you confirm you can accept these terms on their behalf.
• If you are injured in New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) may help with treatment and rehabilitation costs, and generally replaces the right to sue for personal injury. ACC does not cover illness, travel disruption or the cost of returning home.
• To the extent the law allows, we exclude liability for loss, injury or damage arising from your stay, and our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid for the booking.
• Nothing in these terms limits your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Fair Trading Act 1986 or any other New Zealand law that cannot be excluded.

• Neither party is liable for failing to meet these terms because of events beyond its reasonable control. Examples include natural disasters, severe weather, fire, pandemics, government orders, power or water outages, and strikes.
• Where possible, we will offer other dates or a refund for nights we cannot provide.

• Please raise any concern with your host during your stay so we can fix it straight away. Any complaint not resolved on site must be sent to us in writing within 30 days of check-out.
• We collect and hold your personal information under the Privacy Act 2020 and use it only to manage your booking and stay.
• These terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand. Any dispute is subject to the New Zealand courts or the Disputes Tribunal.
• If any part of these terms cannot be enforced, the rest still applies.
• These terms and your booking confirmation are the whole agreement between you and us for your stay.