Terms of service

About these terms

These terms form an agreement between you and Balance & Bliss. By browsing the site, creating an account, listing a retreat, or making a booking, you accept them. If you do not accept them, please do not use the service.

We may revise these terms as the service develops. The revised version applies from the date it is published, and continued use after that date means you accept it. Changes will never apply retrospectively to a booking you have already made.

Our role in a booking

Balance & Bliss is a marketplace. Retreats are created, described, priced, and delivered by independent hosts, not by us. When you book, the retreat itself is supplied by the host under their terms and the cancellation policy shown on the listing; we provide the platform, take payment, and hold the deposit until the booking is settled.

We are not the organiser of the retreat and we do not control the accommodation, the schedule, the teaching, or the food. We take reasonable care to keep listings accurate, but we do not independently verify every claim a host makes.

Eligibility and your account

You must be at least 18 and able to enter a binding contract. You agree to give accurate information, keep it current, keep your login details confidential, and take responsibility for activity under your account.

We may suspend or close an account where there is a risk of fraud, abuse, or harm to guests or hosts, where these terms are broken, or where we are required to do so by law.

Bookings, prices, and payment

Retreat listings are offered by hosts. Prices may be shown in GBP. Fees, cancellation rules, and payout timing are disclosed at checkout or in host agreements where applicable.

A booking is made in two parts: a deposit that confirms your place, and a remaining balance that falls due according to the cancellation policy on the listing — on arrival under the Free and Flexible policies, or 30 days before the start date under the Moderate policy. Your booking is confirmed once the deposit is paid and the host has accepted it.

Prices are those displayed at the time you book. Where a listing shows a price in a currency other than the one you pay in, the converted figure is a guide only; your bank or card issuer sets the rate and may add its own charges. If an obvious pricing or description error is discovered before your booking is confirmed, we may correct it and offer you the choice of proceeding at the correct price or cancelling for a full refund.

Anything you arrange directly with a host on top of the booking — extra nights, transfers, treatments, or private sessions — is a separate matter between you and the host unless it was booked through the platform.

Cancellations, changes, and refunds

Every listing states one of our standard cancellation policies — Free, Flexible, or Moderate — or a custom policy the host has agreed with us. The policy shown at the time of booking is the one that applies. Full details are set out in our Cancellation policies.

If a host cancels a confirmed booking, you are entitled to a full refund of everything you paid through the platform, and we will help you find an alternative where one is available. We are not responsible for other costs you have incurred, such as flights, which is why we encourage travel insurance.

Host obligations

Hosts are responsible for describing their retreat honestly, holding the licences, insurance, and permissions their activity and jurisdiction require, meeting local health and safety rules, delivering the retreat as described, and responding to booking requests promptly.

Hosts agree not to list the same retreat elsewhere at a lower price on equivalent terms, and to honour bookings made through the platform. Commission, payment processing charges, and payout timing are set out in the host agreement accepted when a listing is published.

Reviews and content you submit

Reviews may only be left by guests who completed a booking, and must be honest, first-hand, and free of abuse, discriminatory language, or personal data about other people. We may remove content that breaks these rules or the law, but we do not edit reviews to change their substance.

You keep ownership of the photos, reviews, and other content you submit. By submitting it you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, reproduce, adapt for display, and publish it in connection with the service and its promotion. You confirm you own the content or have the right to grant that licence.

Acceptable use

You agree not to use the service unlawfully or in a way that harms it or the people who use it.

• No unlawful, fraudulent, harassing, defamatory, or discriminatory activity
• No infringement of intellectual property or privacy rights
• No malware, credential harvesting, or attempts to breach security or access other accounts
• No scraping, bulk downloading, or automated access outside our published interfaces and robots rules
• No booking or messaging designed to take a transaction off the platform to avoid fees
• No false, duplicate, or incentivised reviews

Travel, insurance, and your own responsibilities

You are responsible for your passport, visas, vaccinations, and any entry requirements for your destination, and for arriving with the fitness and health the retreat requires. Where a retreat involves physical activity, you should take medical advice if you are in any doubt, and tell the host about relevant conditions before you travel.

We strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance covering cancellation, curtailment, medical costs, and repatriation. We do not provide travel insurance and cannot obtain visas on your behalf.

Liability and governing law

To the extent permitted by law, our liability is limited as set out in the full terms. Disputes may be subject to the courts of England and Wales unless otherwise required by consumer protection rules.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Your statutory rights as a consumer are not affected.

Subject to that, we are not liable for the acts or omissions of a host, for loss caused by events outside our reasonable control, or for indirect or consequential loss. Where we are liable in connection with a booking, our liability is limited to the amount you paid for that booking through the platform.

Complaints and resolving disputes

Raise a problem with your host first where you can — most issues are resolved quickest on the ground. If that does not work, contact us through the Contact page as soon as possible and within 30 days of your retreat ending, and we will mediate between you and the host.

If a provision of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest continues to apply. These terms, together with the policies they refer to, are the entire agreement between us about your use of the service.