“The accommodation - Bewick Swan - was excellent, each bedroom had its own en suite with walk in shower and plenty of hot water as required,the kitchen was also very well equipped, and the whole cottage was clean and comfortable.
The only fault that we could comment on was that we would have been unable to use the barbecue if we wanted to do so........the reason for this was that previous users had left it in a mess - beyond anything that the cleaners would be expected to sort out.
The free day boat was a slight disappointment as the handover was not thorough enough as one person was not able to show how the cover was deployed and no explanation of any checks that needed to be made; and there was no map to enable the mooring which was on the other side of the river, to be found.
These minor points did not detract from an otherwise enjoyable holiday. So many thanks.”
Thank you Richard
Especially for the useful feedback. You are right, the BBQ should have been cleaned. A quick phone call to our office to let us know and we'd have wipped over to sort it out
Ahh boat directions - we have a map to help people find the day boat site - we will investigate further
All the best,
The Team at Barnes Brinkcraft
“Staff were friendly helpful and polite
Boat had a few problems some of which we felt should have been fixed before letting the boat out
This is why we only gave 4 stars
Many thanks mark and lin”
“Great team and boat. Departure was 230pm after tour around the boat. Easy hand over process, better than Herbert woods. During week no issues with boat and spoke to help desk several times and got answered within seconds. All great. Return hand over very slick. Even allowing us to back up the car to off load was great. Thanks- we’ve booked again for next year already!”
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry the bed wasn’t as comfortable as you’d hoped and that you had an issue with the heating — we can usually sort that quickly while you’re out on the river, so please do give us a call if it happens again. We’re pleased our engineers were able to help promptly when you needed them.
“We have stayed in Wroxham many times over the years but usually in the Peninsula Cottages properties and have had very good experiences. However the Barnes Brinkcraft property in which we stayed (Crested Glebe) was not as well equiped and there were some issues which we reported to the office but were not dealt with while we were there. I think the difference was perhaps because the Peninsula Cottage were privately owned holiday cottages. However we enjoyed the holiday despite the mixed weather.”
“No problem's at all. Boat was ready for us as soon as we arrived, Same boat we had last year so we knew what to expect and we were not disapointed. We have used this company for a few years now and never had any problems, All straght forward and pleasant to deal with.”
“I resist superlatives like excellent, because I don't know what turns "good" into "excellent", but everything was fine.
Our week on the Broads was what I wanted, and the only deviation from the plan was not due to Barnes Brinkcraft. The boat was fine, comfortable, easy to handle, and the information given was well laid out and comprehensive. Staff were informative and friendly.
In short, yeah, good one!”
“This not so much a reflection on Barnes Brinkcraft service but rather on my choice of boat and the quality of the craft. As a first time hirer of a Norfolk broads cruiser, I opted for the cheapest boat Jazz 1. On first arrival it didn't seem too bad but unfortunately the sleeping areas were extremely uncomfortable. We did at first try the bunks to double bed option but found that to be unworkable. The sofa to double bed was slightly better but again not exactly comfortable. The inside steering has a dining chair but when raining you have to stand as the wiper barely covers the top half of the screen. The throttle controls are extremely slow to react and you have to put fully forward or backwards before adjusting to correct throttle requirements. This unfortunately makes it difficult to manoeuvre when mooring. As the week went on it did get easier knowing about the throttle actions. The bathroom and separate shower were nice with good strong pressure on the shower. The small but basic galley was adequate for 2 of us and tbh we were surprised at the size of the fridge. It was bigger than the one in our touring caravan. Without a speedometer we had to rely on the app to find roughly the speed we were doing, but again, this is on a basic craft.
As for Barnes Brinkcraft I have to say that the check in and return process was easy and painless and the staff helpful. Would like to make a special mention of a young lad who's name unfortunately we did not get, for his quick response in helping us moor up back at the yard after I lost steering trying to get into the bay. His quick actions going from mopping the deck of a boat to responding to my wife's call for help, got us quickly moored and able to offload our gear.
Would we do another trip? Possibly in the future but on a more luxurious craft. So to finish, thank you to the staff at Brinks for your help.”
Response:
Thank you for your honest and thoughtful review. Jazz is part of our No Frills fleet and, as you’ve found, she’s not in her first flush of youth! Your comments about the beds are really helpful — we’ll take a look at that over the winter. The throttle setup is similar across all our boats and does take a bit of getting used to, but we’re glad you found it easier as the week went on.
Windscreen wipers on boats never quite match those on cars (there’s not much room for a big motor on a cruiser!), but your point is well made. We’re delighted our team made your handover and return easy — and especially pleased to hear our young crew member was quick to help when you came back in.
If you decide to return, do have a look at our Mid-Range or Elite fleet — they offer a few more home comforts.
All the best,
The Barnes Brinkcraft Team
Hi Christopher,
Thank you for your feedback! We're sorry - we usually do better. I hope you give us the opportunity to try again
Best wishes,
Team Barnes Brinkcraft
“All to plan. Uncomfortable seat angle.Difficult forward vision through metal frame of windscreen. In 0ver60 years of boat hire never had no possibility of forward mooring rope being used. Very enjoyable day otherwise.
Friendly very helpful boatyard assistant on day.”
“We had an amazing time on the broads. The customer service and boat Sonnet 1 experience was, however quite poor. Sonnet 1 toilet desperately needs an opening window and adequate draft and rain proofing around the sliding roof areas. We bought some pipe lagging to prevent inclement weather penetrating. Our experience of poor customer service was at the start of our holiday when we were advised that Sonnet was not ready, we eagerly awaited a phone call whilst parked adjacent to Sonnet. We watched the preparations which appeared to be compled then sat waiting for a further 2 and a half hours where no activity took place. During this time I went into the reception and was told Sonnet was not ready. We anticipated more activity but none happened. There were many cruisers being prepared and dispatched and reception was busy, I would presume we had been overlooked. At 4.30 (we had arrived at 11.30) Daniel approached us and politely ask why we were there, advising we were waiting for Sonnet and a phone call Daniel made and enquiry and advised us that Sonnet was ready and we could board and he would send someone. I collected life jackets from an empty reception where the staff appeared to be embarrassed. All other boats and guests had already been despatched. An engineer boarded for the trial run and apologised. This has been our 15th time on the broads having hired several boats from Barnes and I am very disappointed with this event. I would like to suggest a much more customer focused experience for customer arrivals and would welcome an opportunity to help you review and improve your current processes. Kindest regards Sandra Stokes”
Dear Sandra,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience — and for your continued loyalty to Barnes Brinkcraft over so many visits to the Broads. We’re truly sorry we got it wrong this time. You were completely overlooked on arrival, and that’s not the service we aim to provide.
We really appreciate your patience and understanding, and we’re looking carefully at how we can prevent this happening again. We’re currently developing a customer app that will help improve communication around boat readiness and check-in — it should make things much clearer for everyone in the future.
That said, we know technology won’t ever replace genuine, attentive service, and we’ll be reinforcing that with the team too. We’re all human, but we should have done better.
Thank you again for your thoughtful feedback and for offering to help us improve — it means a great deal.
Kind regards,
The Barnes Brinkcraft Team
