Important information

When you book a ski holiday with us, read our important information before you travel. We've covered all the most important details you need to know before you go.

Our address

• 18/19 Duke Street
• Dublin 2

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.

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 & Local Events

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 Crystal Reservations Department when you confirm your holiday booking. We shall always do our best to meet your requirements, but no guarantee is given as this does not form part of our holiday contract with you, irrespective, of the fact that details of the request may be found on your confirmation invoice. If, however, your request is essential to your holiday arrangements, please make this known at the time of booking in order that we can ascertain whether this is possible with our supplier. This will require us contacting the supplier and confirming the request to you in writing, for which there will be an administration charge of €45 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).

Crystal prices include:

Air holidays

• Return air flights and transfers (coach, train, taxi or rental free car hire in some USA/Canada resorts) to and from your resort
• Flight baggage allowance usually 44lbs (20kgs) but 15kgs on selected routes. See Travel information on page 281.
• Accommodation and meals as per your booking
• Help & advice from your resort rep or agent
• All local taxes unless otherwise stated in the hotel description, VAT, Irish and overseas service charges, and bed linen
• All current airport taxes are included in our prices including the Air Travel Duty

Accommodation only

On some dates we are able to offer accommodation only holidays which include accommodation and food basis as booked. Should you require transfers these can also be arranged on our transfer coaches, at additional cost, as long as you are travelling on one of our charter flights. Otherwise, we would be pleased to offer you the option to buy car hire or private taxi transfers.

All prices include VAT on all holidays to EU countries and are based on the rates of exchange at the time that this brochure went to print: US$1.60, CAN$ 1.57, EUR 1.11, Sfr 1.33 and YEN 129. In addition to the details confirmed on the invoice the price of your holiday includes all currency surcharges, local taxes, VAT, Irish and overseas service charges, all current airport taxes. Due to circumstances beyond our control airlines may cease to operate on certain routes which may have an effect upon the holiday price.

Crystal prices do not include:

• Meals and accommodation en route (except where specified)
• In-flight catering on some short haul flights
• Airport holiday supplement, where applicable
• Ski travel insurance (which you must have, see web)
• Carriage of skis and snowboards on charter flights (included on some scheduled flights)
• Porterage of luggage at any stage
• CDW or local taxes on car hire
• Any services provided locally that are advertised as being available at the booked resort or accommodation, but not described as free of charge e.g. child care/ski school, hotel facilities.
• Any local gratuities, taxes charged by hotels/condos in USA/Canada
• Credit card handling fees.

Administration charge

1. We reserve the right to levy an administration charge in certain circumstances to cover any additional costs incurred by us, such as contacting suppliers to check availability or special requests, returning lost property, special ticket dispatch, extra administration relating to late bookings within 7 days of departure etc. This charge is €45 per booking, but may be higher to cover special ticket dispatch costs. This charge does not relate to changes you make to your booking.

Whilst on holiday

1. If you want to make changes to the booked arrangements in resort, for example upgrading your accommodation, changing resort or extending or reducing your holiday duration, changes will be subject to availability. Any extra costs or cancellation charges must be paid by you locally. All changes must be arranged with us in writing, either through our local representative/agent, area office or, if this is not possible, our head office in Ireland.
2. The accommodation booked must only be used by those persons named on your invoice unless otherwise agreed by us in writing. You are not allowed to share the accommodation or let anyone else stay there.
3. You are responsible for any damage caused to your holiday accommodation during your stay, except by unknown third parties and any justifiable charges made by the owner/hotel manager in this respect must be paid by you locally.

Super deals/Summer savers/Late availability

Superdeals may be allocated into apartments, mobile homes, hotels, chalets or Crystal run hotels. Neither Crystal 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 non-smoking or family chalets. Accommodation is not always from that advertised within our website and may or may not represent a financial saving on website 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 catered 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 Crystal managed chalets or hotels would receive meals on the same basis, where dinner is for 6 nights per week only (7 nights in Switzerland). Please note: We are unable to guarantee any special requests on Super deal 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 as available at their designated accommodation.

Money Savers and Early Booking Offers

• Unless otherwise stated Money Savers and offers cannot be combined with any other offer including, but not limited to, Wipeout sale offers
• Free night(s)/discounts are automatically included in the price you pay
• Your inclusion of special offers such as hotel credit, free activities, free ski packs and free meals are only valid if confirmed on your invoice
• All free room upgrades are subject to availability and as such will only be confirmed at check-in
• USA/Canada validity dates in the brochure/website refer to the nights of stay at the accommodation rather than the departure date of the holiday
• If you have received a discounted holiday price i.e. less than the advertised brochure price, Money Savers and offers listed in the brochure/website may not be valid
• All offers are subject to availability and change and can be withdrawn without notice

Health Matters

Customers are reminded that they should check with their own doctor for advice on medical requirements of the host countries. From 1st September 2005, the E111 travel health insurance document was replaced by the new European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The old style E111 ceased to be valid from 1st January 2006.

However, as this only provides limited cover, we require all our customers to have adequate holiday insurance cover. Therefore, please ensure that you have arranged sufficient alternative insurance. For treatment in any country you will need to produce your passport.

High altitude: for customers going to high altitude resorts, it is suggested that, if relevant, you contact your doctor as some customers encounter difficulties due to the high altitude of the resort. Please bear in mind that when walking at altitude you should allow time to acclimatise physically, drink plenty of water, reduce alcohol intake and ensure that appropriate warm clothing is taken. Your doctor and suitable publications will provide further information in this regard.

Special Needs, Disabled and Elderly Customers: we are happy to advise and assist elderly, special needs or disabled customers to choose a holiday. However, some of the properties featured in this brochure may lack even the simplest facilities such as ramps for wheelchairs and lifts etc. Therefore, we must be provided with full written details of any disability or special requirements before booking to ascertain whether the holiday of your choice is suitable.

A comprehensive form is available specifically for this purpose, which you should request when making your booking. Similarly, if you have a medical condition which necessitates special seating requirements on the aircraft or wheelchair assistance at the airport we must have written confirmation from your doctor prior to booking. Failure to advise us of any such requirements prior to booking may result in the chosen holiday being unsuitable and may cause inconvenience and distress to all customers on that holiday. In that case we reserve the right to terminate your holiday arrangements with us, for which we would not be liable to make alternative arrangements or to make refunds or pay compensation.