General FAQs

We are a very small company and part of our skill and success is that all of us in the office know every house. We visit them regularly to meet with owners, their property teams and check on cleaning and ensure they meet our high expectations. Our office is in the New Forest, and we are New Forest owned! We’re not part of a large group of companies and all our team are local. So not only can they give you information about the property, but they’ll help you plan ultra-local and local things to do, places to go, little treats and such. We pride ourselves on being transparent about our properties which is why we say the good and bad about them in our write ups. If you have questions, just pick up the phone or pop us an email.

At the top of each property page you will find photos, a 3D tour, a floor plan and a video reel.

Demand for our lovely places is often high. We operate on a first come, first served basis to keep the bookings system fair to everyone. This also ensures that our online calendars are kept current and accurate.

Yes. Sometimes.

In low or off peak seasons we can usually do flexible arrival days. Most owners prefer to do Monday or Friday checkins with weekends being a 2 or 3 night stay.

In the summer season, most of our houses aim for Friday changeovers for seven night stays. However, occasionally we get requests for a 10 day stay, or an owner who wants a short stay and then we will have short stay gaps.

In half terms we will try to have one week stay and one short stay, again sticking to Monday and Friday changeovers if possible.

Please do ask us if you feel that our booking rules need explanation.

In our peak season we try to have a minimum of a 7 night stay.  Over three quarters of our properties take 3 night stays throughout the year in off peak periods, and 2 nights minimum for the rest of the year.

Our checkin and out timings are set so that house teams have plenty of time to prepare the house to the high standards we expect for our guests. Early check in times are unfortunately in peak season – rare. However, in low or off peak season we can sometimes offer this,  as soon as the property team have informed us it is ready, we will let you know.

Free and included in your booking cost are: all bedding and linen, towels for the house, kitchen essentials, any baby kit you’ve requested and cleaning the house after you leave. We also supply a welcome gift with some treats to get you going for tea when you arrive. We will also provide some cleaning materials, access to cloths, hoover and mop, bin and recycling bags, dishwasher tablets and tea towels.

Certainly. We are happy to help you organise lovely treats in-house. There are some excellent caterers locally, lovely masseurs and treatment specialists who will visit you, dog walkers and importantly… mid week cleaners. Ask us before your stay. Giving us more time than less will make it easier for us to help you.

Cancellation of a booking is the final termination of your contract with the property owner. So we treat your instructions to cancel your stay as your final decision. Once we have written receipt of your cancellation we will immediately make the dates available for re-sale. This will help mitigate the cost to you of cancellation. We will try to resell the date but cannot guarantee that it will sell, or that it will sell at the same price that you first paid. Most stays are transferable to another group, but we will have to check that the group is suitable for the property and have agreement from the owner for the change.

We always suggest that guests purchase holiday cancellation insurance, just in case.

For more information visit our full terms and conditions here.

This is an incredibly rare situation. But where there are extenuating circumstances, it does happen from time to time. It is extremely unusual that we will need to change your booking once we have accepted it. If we do, we will tell you as soon as we know and give you options, either to refund, move dates or transfer to another property.

New Forest Escapes operates a non-refundable Damage Waiver Policy with all of the properties on our portfolio. This is a payment by you to New Forest Escapes and is in addition to any rental fees. This covers the cost of making good any accidental loss or damage to the selected property and/ or its contents caused through act or omission of you (and any of your guests or accompanying pets) up to a certain amount, which is specific to each property. Where such damage caused exceeds this amount, you agree to pay New Forest Escapes, acting on behalf of the owner, the full costs incurred in making good any such loss or damage above the predetermined amount. Wilful, neglectful or criminal damage will not be covered by the accidental damages deposit waiver, and this will be determined by New Forest Escapes. This fee only covers damage and will not cover cleaning costs over and above the norm. This policy applies to all bookings (property specific) placed on or after 1st July 2024.

The Damage Waiver Policy is not insurance and does not provide liability coverage. It is in place to protect guests from the potential costs of accidental damages to the New Forest Escapes property in which they are staying.

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If you’ve made a booking prior to July 2024, A damage deposit to the value of between £250 and £500, or for larger houses with a swimming pool, up to £1000, which is payable before the start of the rental period. This is for the purpose of reimbursing the Owner in the event the Guest or anyone in their group staying at the Property causes either excessive damage or incurs a need for extra cleaning or leaves the Property without settling invoices for additional services or supplies received during their stay.

We will contact you to pay your breakage/damage deposit. The Guest will be notified in writing of the details of any extra costs incurred within 7 working days following the let. The Owner reserves the right to determine what constitutes ‘damage’ however this will not include reasonable wear and tear e.g. a broken plate/glass. A £20 administration fee will be added to any damage costs. The Guest’s liability is not limited to the value of the deposit.

Yes. It includes VAT and our booking fees/service charges. The price will not change or be subject to surcharges once you’ve paid the deposit which confirms the booking. If you ask us for extra services for your stay, these are quoted separately and will be added to your bill later. For example, dogs, mid-stay cleaning etc. The breakages deposit is extra to your stay cost and is detailed clearly on our website on each property page.

No, this is a specialist area so we recommend you take out the right insurance for your needs.

Dogs are fun to take on holiday and we encourage our owners to accept dogs as part of their holiday home. But no matter how perfect your dog is, they are hairy and they do make a mess from time to time. We only welcome well-behaved dogs. Most of our houses are dog friendly and some owners veer to the more dog-tolerant side of things.

We explain on our website the size and number of dogs a house can have, and the charges for their stay. And we can’t guarantee that dogs won’t escape from properties with enclosed gardens.

If you have another pet, do ask, sometimes people bring parrots, cats or fish with them… Just ask us and we’ll see what we can do for you…

Yes, All of our houses are sold on an exclusive hire basis unless stated. Some of our properties do have an annexe or other houses on the same land and these maybe occupied by owners/other guests.

We love to know how our guests found our service and our houses. Having your feedback gives us a chance to improve our service and ensure things are running smoothly.

Our prices are set 12 months ahead and it is unusual for us to discount.

We try to be flexible about this, within reason. Friends are able to visit you in the property but there are limits at each house. You will have to ask us at the booking stage. They will not be allowed to stay the night unless we agree beforehand, however, so long as the maximum number of people is not breached, most of the time, this is fine (unless it is a low occupancy booking). We need to know who is staying because it is a condition of our contract with owners and is non-negotiable; guests will be asked to leave if they break this condition of their stay.

A ‘coastal house’ is one which are under 1 mile or so from the coast. The New Forest coastline and tidal rivers have some wonderful places to stay by them. Have a look at staying by the sea here.

We consider babies as those who are still using a standard travel cot. Often small toddlers will fit into them too (although they might be starting to touch the sides at both ends). So unless we specifically say we only take babies under a certain age, if your toddler is in a travel cot, don’t count them into the adult bed places when organising who is sleeping where. And do ask us at booking. You’re also welcome to bring your own travel cots if you’d like.

Child-friendly to us means that children are welcome and there is a good set up, at the property, for them. There will be appropriate bedrooms, toys for various ages, there will be facilities like high chairs, cots, stair gates and such. On each property page we clearly set out what is supplied for guests in our Essential Details section. However do also ask at booking and we’ll help you.

Most (but not all) of our properties offer WIFI of some sort. Being a rural area, and most of our houses being in the National Park, the service can vary hugely. Storms and bad weather in particular affect speeds. If you are coming from a city then you will need to adjust your expectations downwards… We can’t promise that you will have good service all the time during your stay. Having said that, it is getting better. The coastal properties are the better serviced and the 4G from the Isle of Wight is particularly good.

Please contact us straight away. We monitor the phone and the email from early morning to late at night, including weekends, and we will call you back. What we can’t do is fix things, if you don’t tell us, or after you’ve left. So please, take pictures, call us and we’ll do our best to help you out.

Southampton Hospital. 

Bournemouth Hospital.

Lymington hospital with a minor injuries. 

For a start, we rarely get asked for a brochure, but when we do, our answer is that we try to be as eco-friendly as possible which is why we run a paper-less office (as much as possible anyway) and why all our information is offered online. The number of houses we have ebbs up and down a little, and, because all of our literature is online, our web visitors can have peace of mind that the information they are viewing is accurate and up-to-date at all times.

Some of our houses are renamed. Most of these are so that we give our owners and their families, privacy. Where this is the case, we tell you the proper name of the house before you travel to stay. Our map locations are accurate but we do not give you the full address until just before your stay. Please take our word for it, that the general areas given for the properties are accurate where we say that a property is ten minutes from a specific location we do mean it!