“The house was incredibly clean and the whole operation was very well organised. We loved the complementary day boat hire too.
The top floor bedrooms were very hot and only limited ventillation was possible.”
We're so pleased you enjoyed your stay and found everything clean and well organised. It's great to hear the complimentary day boat was a welcome bonus too.
The recent spell of hot weather was certainly warmer than we're used to, so we completely understand your comments about the upstairs bedrooms. We hope to welcome you back again soon.
All the best,
The Team at Barnes Brinkcraft
“The service and overall experience was excellent. I have three comments on the Electra. Firstly, our boat made a fairly nasty graunching noise at full throttle. Secondly, the enclosed cabin lacka any ventilation which on a super-hot sunny day like today makes it very uncomfortable for the driver. Thirdly the plastic sheet that folds over the instrument panel, when folded back, reflects the sun in a way that it can make it quite difficult to see where you are going. It needs an anti-reflective surface on the under side.”
Thank you for the review, Julian. We're really pleased you enjoyed your day overall, and we appreciate you taking the time to share such helpful feedback.
We'll pass your comments about the noise, ventilation and dashboard cover on to our engineering team. The recent hot weather certainly highlighted a few things that aren't normally so noticeable, and feedback like yours helps us continue to improve.
All the best,
The Team at Barnes Brinkcraft
“Loved the boat layout but was disappointed with the clearness and information provide. We were lucky we had boating experience.
Felt more information on pick up is essential especially tide times and phone numbers. Felt the kids hanging around , chatting and cleaning was not representative of the company. They looked feed up and even a manger was moaning at the them in front of us.
Overall could experience but cleanliness and information let you down.”
“The service from all concerned is, as always, 10/10. I have to say that this year’s boat was really showing its age and mileage at the hands of The Public. I feel she may be in need of a full refit. We didn’t appreciate fully the access issues we’d be presented with. I have an injured knee and my wife is also challenged having just received news she is in remission from cancer.
The steps in and out are apx 1.5x the height of normal steps as are the ones to The Flying Bridge. This access is also very narrow and you must turn sideways to get your shoulders through. Had I been a teenager I’d have shrugged these inconveniences off but I’m not so it was a constant problem. You live and learn.
Nevertheless, I have little doubt that we will be booking again!”
“Generally we were happy with the boat and the booking process.
My only minor piece of feedback would be on communication when arriving and departing the boat yard. An explanation on the process would have been really useful. We were left a little bit in limbo trying understand where to go and who to see. When returning I visited the reception 3x to finalise the boats return, deposit return etc.
A simple explanation with clear direction or even a staff member allocated to our party for 15 minutes would have resolved this.
Great trip and generally really satisfied. Thank you”
Thanks for the review. We're really pleased you enjoyed your trip overall, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback.
Your comments about arriving and returning are really helpful, and we'll pass them on to the team. A clearer explanation can make all the difference, especially at the start and end of a holiday.
All the best,
The Team at Barnes Brinkcraft
“1st time on the boats, we had a great time would highly recommend , arrived earlier than what I had booked so was aloud to go out earlier which was good as we travelled for an hour
Thank you”
“House was very nice although the beds weren't that comfortable as me and my 3 boys are all over 6ft my youngest is 6ft5,so beds without a board at the bottom end would be better in air BnB as we all struggled to get a good sleep due to kicking the board when we tried straightening our legs, another thing that wasn't great was outside area ,the tree's and bushes all need cutting as all the outside furniture was constantly covered in leaves ,I tried brushing them up but it was a pointless task as more kept falling down,and because of the overgrown trees and bushes we had no sunlight in the garden”
“I have been to Barnes Brinkcraft and stayed in the Mallard mostly and also the Daisy.
The Mallard is great because it looks out onto the river and is so interesting watching the boats and the birds go by all day! The problem is the settees all three of them are so old and so!!! Uncomfortable!!! I know they have been there since we've been coming which is since 2019!
I did mention this last year when we were in the Daisy and you said you were hoping to update the living areas- but still the same old bumpy lumpy uncomfortable sofas ever!!
I would also like to say we were a bit disappointed with the cleanliness of the place although not filthy you could tell it had only had a very quick wipe over and for a four star accommodation I would expect a better finish - the beds were well made and clean sheets although again the mattresses where not very comfortable quite lumpy and slopped on one side in both the double rooms.
I feel I've done nothing but complain- the compliments are that we love the area the houses are placed in, the staff are very friendly and helpful - but please update the sofas it would have made the time spent in the mallard so much more comfortable and enjoyable- especially as we spent more time in the house than usual because of the weather.”
“We had a great week on the Broads in a boat that was exactly as described - no frills but absolutely fine! Great cooker and fridge. Lots of useful information - altho maybe it could be sent out to you a bit earlier to digest and plan! Very friendly staff, super helpful and efficient too. A wonderfully relaxing holiday. Thank you”
“Booking online was pretty simple but I was disappointed not to receive a booking confirmation email. I just emailed receipt for the deposit which gave no details of the booking and extras it covered.”
“Well organised The engineer came within half an hour when I had a problem with the sliding canopy
The food hamper was excellent and the general condition of the boat was good.”
“I was unable to book the duvets on the website.
I had to phone your company to find the address of the property.
Having filled in the dates, some of the properties were unavailable and I had to go through the system to find this out.”
“The staff were very friendly and efficient. The boat was as expected, except the beds were extremely uncomfortable. This will stop me hiring again unfortunately as I came home after 3 nights exhausted from lack of sleep! We took an extra duvet but even lying on top of 2 duvets, I was waking up in the night with sore back and hips.
The rest of the boat was fine, except the WIFI did not work after day 1 and we couldn't find any instructions to reboot the router. But not a great issue as we were there to switch off and relax anyway.
The trip itself, the Norfolk broads was wonderful. Great location, amazing nature. In future though, we will only hire a boat with comfy beds!”
“Looks like a great range of craft to choose from that will suit budgets at all levels.
Booking was easy and looking forward to being back on the broads after an absense of 30 years!”
“We had a great time on the water once we had got used to the boat. We had the electric boat and was a great size for 2 of us. It took us a while to get used to the steering and the throttle . Although the young man that checked us in and showed us the ropes was lovely , we would have benefitted from a more detailed explanation / showing us how the boat worked and rules of the river eg what to do when coming out of a broad - this would have been very helpful and would have lead to a less stressful start to our trip, but overall, we had a fantastic time and would definitely recommend.”
