Terms & Conditions

Reservations:

The Mainstay Inn is open daily, late March through the first part of January. Historically, the deep winter months can be too cold but Cape May has become a year round destination with the town planning many events through the December holiday season. Our answering service will inform you of the current status of the Inn at all times.

Your reservation includes a full breakfast each morning and an elegant afternoon tea service from 3pm to 4pm each day. You are also provided use of our spacious outdoor areas and veranda, beach chairs, free high-speed internet, our famous chocolate chip cookies, after check-out changing room, and shower.

Full payment is required for a one-night stay. For all other reservations a 50% deposit less applicable tax is required to secure your reservation and will be charged to the Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express card provided. When booking your reservation less than 14 days before your arrival, the entire reservation amount will be charged to your credit card. We do ask for a two night stay on weekends and three nights during holiday weekends. Shorter stays and lower prices may be available off-season or during the week, Sunday through Thursday. Reservations made by third-party websites will be charged a 100% deposit at the time of booking.

The remainder of your balance is due at check-out and can be paid with credit card or cash. Your reservation is not confirmed until your deposit has been successfully processed. An automatic confirmation will be sent by our reservation system to the email you provide.

Check-Out time is any time before 11AM; we do our best to turn over the rooms in under three hours to have them ready for Check-In time, 2PM until 8PM daily. Please understand that we will not compromise our standards in the interest of time so please be patient if your room is a few minutes late for reasons that may be out of our control. Please settle your bill the night before if you plan to leave earlier than breakfast the morning of checkout. If you plan to arrive after 8PM please call the inn and we can set up a late check in for you. We offer the use of beach chairs each day and have a shower/changing room for those that wish to extend their day after checkout.

Like other businesses, we do get last minute cancellations so give us a call. If we can't assist you, we try to keep up on the availability at other quality inns in Cape May and will do our best to find you suitable accommodations.

We try to offer a personal touch to your reservation. Please review the descriptions of the rooms and do not hesitate to call with any and all questions regarding room specifics and/or our recommendations. While we now have an on-line reservation system we welcome those that want to call and talk with us and do things the old fashioned way.

We are available by phone daily if you want to discuss reservations for any of Cape May's great restaurants and attractions.

Child Policy: Our fire escapes require through window access in some cases and are not rated for small children, so children 10 years or older please.

Pet Policy: We are unable to accommodate pets.

Smoking Policy: The Mainstay Inn is a NON-SMOKING & NON-VAPING property. For the health and safety of our guests, smoking and vaping is not permitted in any of the interior rooms of the houses and outside on the wooden porches. A minimum $250 cleaning fee is imposed for smoking and vaping inside the house. If you absolutely need to smoke there is a rear patio between both houses that can accommodate your smoking needs. We also prohibit the burning of candles or incense in any of the buildings on the property! Your complete cooperation is expected.

Weddings and Events: Cape May is a very popular wedding and event destination. If you are planning an event that requires the use of any of the Inns public spaces please contact the inn directly by phone as there are some local restrictions for such use.

Cancellation Policy

Because of our small size, cancellations affect us significantly. A last-minute cancellation leaves us little chance of filling the reserved space. For this reason, the Inn maintains a strict cancellation policy.

If your plans change after your reservation is confirmed, cancellation notice is required 30-days in advance of your arrival date. With this advance notice, we will refund your credit card deposit minus a $35 cancellation fee, per room reserved. The $35 cancellation fee also applies to changes to your arrival/departure date that result in a shorter stay.

Reservations cancelled less than 30 days prior to your arrival date will be charged in full, unless your room(s) is re-booked by another party. We will make every effort to re-book your room(s) and will refund any room(s) we are able to re-book minus a $35 cancellation fee per room reserved. If a cancellation is made within 24 hours of the scheduled arrival time, you will be responsible for the room charges for the entire reservation (your credit card will be charged for any balance that may remain due). Guests who arrive after their intended arrival date or check out before their intended departure date are responsible for the days reserved in full.

The Mainstay Inn cannot accept responsibility of inclement weather, changes in travel plans, personal sickness or injury, family emergencies, etc.

If you are worried about an unexpected emergency we encourage guests to consider purchasing outside trip insurance to cover the event of unexpected emergencies that arise and impede your travel plans.

Cancellations MUST be made by phone, not via email