Frequently Asked Questions
QUICK FACTS
- Minimum 22 adults (30 in peak).
- Check-in 3pm
- Check-out 10am.
- Phone 1300 76 13 76.
Current rates, deposit, bond, Inclusions, member discounts, and pricing for extras:
see our Pricing page.
Booking & Payment
All payments, including deposits, are non-refundable. Our Deposit is due immediately to secure your dates on a first-paid-first-served basis, see Pricing page. Final payment due no later than 40 days before arrival. Bond due no later than 10 days before arrival. Payments by direct deposit: Berrima Retreat, NAB BSB 082268, Acc 454707203.
Bond: amount subject to change based on group size or type, see Pricing page, due 10 days before access by EFT. A credit card authorisation and personal guarantee option is available for select guests, please ask our team. By paying the bond you warrant that your group is aware of and will abide by these terms, and you indemnify us against losses or claims from a breach. Breaches may be charged against the bond, with further claims if that's insufficient.
Bond refund: returned within 10 days if terms were followed. Any claim on the bond is charged at cost incurred plus our Bond Handling Fee, see Pricing page.
Cancellations & Changes
- Flexible Booking Option, paid with your deposit: lets you change your stay dates within 14 days of the original booking date, subject to availability, without change or cancellation fees. A credit is applied to the new booking, less the flexible booking fee itself; new-date rates may differ. This is our recommended way to avoid the fees below. Current pricing: see our Pricing page.
- We also recommend travel insurance to protect against change or cancellation costs, including weather, traffic delays, or natural disasters; we don't offer refunds for these. No refunds for late arrival, early departure, or unused nights. Booking fees, extras, and pet surcharges are non-refundable once paid.
- Cancellation within 90 days of arrival: no refund; unpaid balance is immediately due in full.
- Cancellation with 91+ days to arrival: deposit is non-refundable. The remaining balance is due per the standard payment schedule above, final payment 40 days before arrival.
- Late payment: we may cancel a late or unpaid booking and the full tariff becomes payable, full tariff equals total booking value less the bond. We may also cancel a booking for any reason on our part, with a full refund.
- Avoiding fees: take the Flexible Booking Option, or if you or we can replace your booking at the same price and dates, we'll refund all monies paid less our Booking Change Fee, see Pricing page, refunded after the replacement group checks out.
- Significant events, such as bushfires, earthquakes, floods, or government-imposed lockdowns and health orders, are covered by this same policy. Note: paying a deposit reserves specific dates; changing dates cancels the original reservation and these cancellation terms apply.
Access, Zones & Accessibility
- Check-in from 3pm, check-out by 10am, extended access available for a fee, see Pricing page. We'll aim to have the property ready on time, but no refund or credit applies if there's a delay. If paid extended access is revoked, for example to allow cleaners to prepare for another group's changeover, the extended access fee already paid will be refunded in full.
- Zones, exclusive access for members:
- Zone 1: main residence paddock, pool, kids arena, BBQ area, front paddock, lawns and gardens. Guest access.
- Zone 2: Dam paddock, shared with farm animals and staff. Gate stays locked; access only if you've hired kayaks or have prior approval; all persons must be supervised.
- Zone 3: workshop and farm machinery. Staff only, strictly off-limits.
- Zone 4: additional farm paddock. Staff only, strictly off-limits.
- Driveway near Zone 1 is a shared zone, please don't block gates or driveways.
- Owners, staff, contractors, or our dog Milo may be present in or transiting zones 2 to 4 and the driveway. Non-member bookings have access limited to the areas booked, residences are always exclusive to your group regardless. Day-only stays get BBQ, pool, kids arena, and activities access only, no residence access unless booked.
- Accessibility: one bathroom with handrails, fold-down shower seat, grab-bar toilet, open shower with curtain. Main residence is wheelchair-friendly with wide double doors into the media room and tiled common areas. Front and back doors have a roughly 100mm step with a portable ramp provided; front door is 1200mm wide. BBQ area is level concrete through to the grassed areas. Accessible bathroom has a lower sink and mirror.
- Gates and fences: keep all gates closed to keep sheep and alpaca contained. Some fences are electrified, Dam and Top paddocks, avoid touching any fence you're unsure of. The Zone 2 gate stays locked and is only opened for approved kayak or dam use.
Guests, Visitors & Extra Fees
- If required by health orders or instructed, all guests and visitors may need to register onsite using our registration form, updates required within 10 days of arrival unless otherwise approved. Other NSW check-in methods, such as a QR code, may also apply. No mattresses, tents, caravans, campers, motorhomes, or extra cars beyond your approved and pre-registered numbers.
- Guest numbers exceeding what's agreed, extra beds used, or day visitors not pre-advised, are charged our Excess Fee per person per day, times the days booked, see Pricing page. We may require numbers to be reduced immediately or terminate the booking without refund.
- Third-party services you engage, such as a caterer or beautician, must comply with these terms, carry Public Liability insurance, and be pre-approved and pre-registered.
- Uninvited visitors: access is exclusively for paying guests. Our Excess Fee applies to any visitor not pre-approved, see Pricing page. Guests may not invite unpaid persons onsite without our written permission and payment of any applicable fee.
- Weddings, celebrations, and day visitors: our Event Visitor Fee applies for approved group visits of up to 4 hours, see Pricing page. Prepayment and approval required before access.
- Bed and guest counting: mix and match rooms freely, up to your total approved guest count, 1 person per single bed, 2 per king bed. Splitting a king into 2 singles requires 14 days' notice; our Bed Split Fee applies, see Pricing page.
House Rules
- General rule: leave the property as you found it. By booking, you and your guests accept these terms. You must comply with NSW Health and Planning short-term rental laws, our terms, and the STRA Code of Conduct. No food or drinks in bedrooms. Report any damage immediately on 1300 761 376.
- Noise and nuisance: 8:45pm curfew, no outside noise audible to neighbours, no unapproved speakers, strict no-party, no-fireworks policy. Our Noise Notification Fee applies per notification asking you to stop. Our Noise Attendance Fee applies per staff attendance if a first notification goes unactioned. These fees repeat if the issue continues. Our Noise Complaint Fee applies per complaint received from any person, neighbour, council, police, or regulator. Current amounts: see Pricing page. Any related costs, for example vet fees for spooked farm animals, are recoverable during or after your stay. Serious or repeated breaches may mean the whole group is asked to leave immediately, with no refund.
- Pets: most pets welcome, our Pet Fee applies, pre-approved in writing only, see Pricing page. An undeclared pet found onsite incurs our Excess Fee plus steam-cleaning costs. Guests supply their own pet bedding, keep pets off furniture and beds, bag and bin all mess including outdoors, and pay for any damage. Supervise pets at all times, foxes and farm animals are nearby.
- Smoking: not permitted inside any building. Evidence of indoor smoking incurs steam-cleaning, laundering, and linen-replacement charges.
- Cleaning and bins: general standard is to leave things as found; extra cleaning or repairs are charged at our Cleaning Rate, see Pricing page. Bin night is Sunday, red and yellow bins out on the kerb. Excess rubbish must be taken with you to avoid extra fees. Our Extra Bin Fee applies if needed, see Pricing page; 1 red and 1 yellow bin included as standard.
- Keys: the smart lock is set to the organiser's mobile number, last 6 digits.
- Loss and damage: report all damage, breakage, or loss immediately, you'll be charged for it. Report any pre-existing fault on arrival to avoid being charged.
- Lost property: you're responsible for your own belongings. Return of left-behind items is arranged, and charged, deducted from bond, at your request; unclaimed items are disposed of after 7 days.
- EV and vehicle charging: not permitted, we don't supply fuel, gas, or electricity for guest vehicles, trailers, EVs, or caravans. Our Excess Fee applies per vehicle per day, see Pricing page, payable by the organiser or vehicle owner or deducted from the bond; the booking may be cancelled for breach.
- Children: supervise closely around fencing, pool, dam, stairs, gym, kids' arena, verandas, balconies, and cleaning chemicals. Children under 10 shouldn't sleep on the top bunk. We take no responsibility for children or pets onsite.
Safety & Emergencies
- Emergency:
- 000 for medical, police, or fire.
- 106 text relay for deaf, hearing, or speech impaired.
- Bowral and District Hospital, 97-103 Bowral St, phone (02) 4861 0200, open 24 hours.
- NSW RFS 1800 679 737 for fire bans and bushfires, rfs.nsw.gov.au.
- NSW SES 132 500 for floods and storms.
- RSPCA (02) 9770 7555.
- WIRES 1300 094 737 for injured wildlife.
- Bureau of Meteorology, bom.gov.au, for weather warnings. Live Traffic NSW 132 701.
- In line with the NSW STRA Fire Safety Standard, the property has evacuation diagrams displayed in each bedroom, interconnected smoke alarms, and kitchen fire safety equipment.
- General safety:
- Supervise children at all times.
- Check gates, fences, trees, the pool, the inflatable jumper, and toys for hazards, and report any risk immediately on 1300 761 376.
- This is a rural property, snakes, wombats, kangaroos, foxes, and farm animals may be present; keep your distance.
- Pool: your responsibility.
- Keep gates closed
- Children and anyone needing extra care must be supervised at all times, in and out of the water.
- Inflatable jumping pillow
- Children only: adult supervision required at all times.
- No visitors, adults, or pets on it.
- No footwear, food, drink, glass, or cigarettes on or near it.
- No rough play, pushing, or jumping near the edges.
- Stay an arm's length from other jumpers.
- Avoid use in hot weather when the surface gets hot, or when wet.
- Equipment: bikes, kayaks, and other recreational gear should be checked for damage before use, don't use if unsure of safe practice.
Legal
- Your booking is with Berrima Retreat Pty Limited,
- Property ID PID-STRA-862 or PID-STRA-00862.
- You're granted permission to occupy for the dates, times, and guest numbers as approved and confirmed.
- The NSW Code of Conduct for Short-Term Rental Accommodation applies, fairtrading.nsw.gov.au.
- Breach of our terms or the STRA Code may result in a bond claim, termination of occupancy, eviction, and/or listing on the Bad Books Register.
- By booking, you agree that a breach may see your details registered with such registers; we may refuse or cancel bookings for guests already listed, or with negative feedback on other booking sites.
- We've described the property as accurately as we can but can't guarantee against errors or omissions, a site visit is recommended before booking.
- We're not liable for the presence of wildlife or pests, for equipment or utility failures, report these to us first, or for loss or injury from events such as weather, fire, flood, or travel delays, no refund applies.
- We may enter the property without notice for protection or maintenance, giving notice where practical. We may update these terms at any time; the current version is available at https://berrimaretreat.com.au/faqs
Privacy Notice
- We collect what we need to manage enquiries and bookings, protect it, and don't sell it.
- We collect: names and contact details, phone, email, address, payment and ID verification details, correspondence, technical data such as IP address, browser type, and pages visited, for analytics and fraud management, and payment-processing.data.
- Card payment privacy: see stripe.com/au/privacy.
- Why: to send info packs, confirm bookings, manage your stay, process payments and refunds, manage reviews, improve our site, and manage exclusion registers.
- Sharing: we don't sell your data. We share only with trusted providers such as booking processors and cleaners, or authorities where required for compliance.
- Security: reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards; access limited to staff and contractors who need it.
- Cookies and analytics: yes, including Google Analytics; payment processors may also use cookies.
- Your rights: request access, correction, or removal from marketing lists by contacting us, we respond in line with the Australian Privacy Principles.
- Contact: Berrima Retreat, 1300 76 13 76, berrimaretreat.com.au.