Some Frequently Asked Questions & Answers

What time is check in and check out?

Check in is any time between 3.00pm & 11.00pm, 7 days a week.

If you may be arriving earlier, please be aware that the hotel is closed from 11am-3pm each day (to enable us to clean the rooms, carry out essential maintenance, etc.).

Apart from to our existing multiple night stay guests, there is no access to our building during our down time.

Checkout is normally by 11am, however, if you're planning to leave before 7am on a weekday (or 8am on a weekend), please let us know and we can arrange settlement of the bill the night before.

You might also be interested in this blog post "Can I arrive before 3pm?"

What are your meal times?

We serve breakfast from 07:30 – 09:00 Monday to Friday. And from 08:30 – 10:00 at the weekends.

Evening meals are served from 18:30 – 20:00.

If you wish to eat outside of these times, we can provide you with a list of local restaurants in the area, who are normally serving much earlier and later.

Is it necessary to book a table for dinner?

We are not open to non–residents so it's not really necessary to book for dinner.

If you would like to let us know your plans that could be useful, especially if a large number of you would like to eat at the same time.

I am not staying at the hotel but can we come along for a drink or a meal?

Sorry no. We do allow one or two guests of our residents to come along for a drink, on occasion. However, many of our business travellers actually prefer that our bar and restaurant is closed to the general passing public.

If you have friends or colleagues that you'd like to bring along to the bar for a drink or food, during your stay, this is normally okay. Please do let us know though, if you can.

Is the hotel suitable for business travellers?

Absolutely, the majority of our weekday guests are in the area on business and we have many returning business customers. (Generally, when people have stayed with us once, they become regular guests and want to stay with us every time they're in the area again).

You will have seen from our photos, we are very comfortably appointed, with a range of modern artworks on the walls.

Most of our guests comment how they prefer coming to our hotel with character, rather than the monotonous experience of many of the popular chains of hotels. Many actually go out of their way to be able to stay with us again,

We also try to get to know our guests by name, and aim to provide a professional whilst still being personal, accommodation service.

With only 8 rooms, you know we won't be far away to help.

Your fellow guests normally have some stories to tell, and it's not unusual for new business networking to form in our bar area over some drinks. We have travellers from virtually all industries and sectors.

Our staff are comitted and very carefully selected for their personality and professionalism, and have generally had quite an interesting background too!

They take pride in their work, and a genuine interest in our guests' stay, which is what helps set us apart.

Does the hotel have internet access?

Yes, free broadband wireless internet access is available throughout the hotel.

We have wireless routers on each floor, and the current password can be provided at reception on arrival (and it's in your room too)

This is a WPA-2 connection (a hard wired connection can also be made available on occasion, in the reception area only).

Are children or pets allowed to stay in the hotel?

Unfortunately not (however well behaved they may be). You can read more about this through our blog post.

One of the reasons our hotel is so popular is the chance for our guests to escape from their daily schedule. Particularly our leisure travellers often come to stay with us, to temporarily ease the commitments of their children.

Pets are also unable to join you at the hotel for reasons of health and hygiene (although we do have a couple of rabbits securely kept in their own house outside, in our private courtyard area).

Do you offer the rooms for day time meetings and/or coffee?

Unfortunately we are normally closed from 11am-3pm each day, so we cannot provide you with meeting facilities during this time

(Unless alternative arrangements have been made directly, subject to availability, for an additional fee).

Can you do me a deal on the room rate?

Unfortunately, we are contractually bound not to offer discounts to our rooms rates, from those published on our website. Our prices are fixed at the rates shown, at all times.

As you can see from our published rates, we typically offer a saving to our rate Suites for weekday checkouts. Otherwise, all doubles and luxury doubles are available at £95 or £115 per night respectively.

We don't offer discounts for booking a year in advance, nor do we charge extra for booking at the last minute. (For these reasons, our prices do often work out cheaper than the large chains).

Don't forget though, that our standard rooms rates include all of the following at no additional costs:

Free Broadband WiFi for our guests, throughout the hotel (often charged at £15 per day at other hotels)
Free incoming direct dial telephone line to your room.
Free outgoing calls to 01, 02, and 03 numbers, directly from your room.*
A free, freshly cooked to order breakfast, from a variety of options (including smoked salmon, full English, porridge, bacon sandwiches, etc.)
A wide choice of free Teas, Coffee, Latte, Cappuccino, Espresso, Hot Chocolate, biscuits, yogurts, cheese, etc. throughout your stay.
Fine Egyptian Cotton Bed Linen, on all beds.
Powerful showers in all rooms, with baths in a few too.
Great staff.

*Please be aware that only the first 30 minutes of outgoing calls are free.

Is there a car park at the hotel?

Yes we have a private car park at the hotel which is free to current residents. There is however only one space available per room.

If you wish to leave your car at the hotel for the day, (for example whilst travelling into London by rail from Farnham Station), this is fine for guests staying multiple nights, but will be subject to availability for guests staying just one night.

Is the hotel available for private functions?

It certainly is. This is an increasingly popular choice of use for our hotel, to hire the whole hotel for exclusive use.

We can cater buffets for up to 50 people with a range of meal choices, and accommodate up to 8 couples in our double+ rooms overnight with a freshly cooked breakfast included in the price.

Please contact us for a visit to the hotel and a prearranged tour of the rooms, and/or for further details.

Essentially, if you book all 8 rooms (at around £1,000), you will have secured the exclusive use of the hotel.

What is your cancellation policy?

Our normal cancellation policy is 48 hours but this can be longer for block bookings (of more than 2 rooms/nights).

You can review our extended periods in the Terms and Conditions on our website.

Do you have smoking rooms at the hotel?

No. All rooms are provided as non-smoking at Hotel de Vie, and there is no smoking anywhere in the hotel, or within 6 feet of any open doors or windows of the hotel.

We do have a smoking area outside the hotel in our own private well lit courtyard (with tables, chairs and ashtrays available).

Please note: smoking anywhere within the building (including hanging out of a window) is now illegal. As we would then also have to close out the room for at least a couple of days after any infringement, all guests agreements include acceptance of a minimum £300 cleaning charge should you decide to smoke anywhere in the hotel. You may also be asked to leave immediately with no refund but full costs payable.

What do the locals think about Hotel de Vie?

We are a small, professional, regular hotel. However, through working very hard, listening to our guests, and doing all we can to ensure the staff are as good as they can be, we are now independently reviewed as the number one accommodation in the area, by more guests than any other in the area. This seems to have upset some of the larger accommodation venues, who now seem out to tarnish our good name.

We are also closed to non-residents, but that is for our own guests comfort and safety, rather than any other reason.

Unfortunately though, a number of gossips in the local area have spread a particular myth about the hotel, and by the nature of rumour, it has been added to, exaggerated, and manipulated. We are now trying hard to undo this popular misconception, through a series of face-to-face discussions, open house events, and press coverage. We hope the slanderous comments will cease soon.

Can I have breakfast in bed?

A full breakfast service in their room, is available for guests staying in the Scarlet Suite only.

Unfortunately we're not able to offer dining facilities in each room, as there's nowhere to eat properly in any rooms other than the Scarlet Suite.

We do however, have a comfortable restaurant area downstairs for residents.

What makes you a hotel, rather than a B&B or Guest House?

Although Hotel de Vie only has 8 en-suite guest rooms, and we're not open to non-guests, we are a small boutique hotel, rather than anything else.

Hotel de Vie also has it's own licenced bar, and restaurant area for guests and their visitors.

It's true that our rooms have beds, and we serve breakfast as part of our room rate, but this does not make us a B&B, or guest house. Far from it.

Although the owner/manager lives in their own self-contained apartment in the loft of the property: they have self-contained accommodation, and therefore do not need to share use of the guest areas for personal use (but they do regularly try to meet with the guests). Their full-time team of carefully selected staff do not live on-site however, but come and go around their shift patterns (so there is not always someone here during the down time).

What facilities do you have for disabled guests?

Unfortunately as a small hotel expanded around a private residence built in the 1930s, HdV has limited provisions for disabled guests. Please check any specific requirements, before booking.

If we can assist in any other way though, please do let us know.

For a basic initial summary, please review the following.

Guests with Hearing Impairments:: We do not have induction loops fitted in the hotel.; The fire alarm is sound only.; We are not yet able to communicate effectively in BSL or similar.
Guests with Visual Impairments:: We do not currently have any of our paperwork, signage, or equipment available in brail (although large print can be normally provided upon advanced request, and/or dictated verbally as required).; There are some small slopes and steps around the hotel, which are not typically marked with highly contrasting colours.; Due to the age of the building, not all floors are completely even.
Wheelchair users and guests with restricted movement:: Our car park is gravel, and there are two steps from our paved area, into our front door (we do not have a ramp available).; There are a total of five paved steps from the public pavement to within our front door.; There is a small step up, between our lounge and guests toilets (which are also not wheelchair accessible).; There are three steps down out from our lounge area to our gravel smoking area.; Most of our plug sockets are at skirting board level.; Most of our rooms are on the first floor, and we do not have a lift.; Due to the age of the building, not all floors are completely even.; The only room currently on the ground floor (the Scarlet Suite) does not have a wheelchair accessible toilet (due to it's restricted size) nor does it have grab handles anywhere in the room, nor overhead hoists or handles. Similarly, there is a 4 inch step between the bedroom/lounge area and the open plan bathroom area. The rim of the bath is also raised above ground level (around 2.5 feet high).