“Chorus. Very comfortable boat. Only two slight problems. A few blind spots whilst mooring. Particularly mooring stern on. Very drafty and cold salon when sliding roof closed. Big gaps allowing cold drafts. Even when heating on. The staff were very friendly and helpful. In the main we enjoyed our holiday as we always have during our many visits to the broads.”
“Having done boating holidays before, I knew what kind of craft I wanted. The details of the boats with floorplans and plenty of pictures made it easy to find the right one. The online booking process was easy to navigate. Pretty happy.
One fly in the ointment, having mooring spikes as an extra is at odds with my experience on the Broads and other inland waterways where many casual boaters seek out quiet spots rather than busy public moorings.”
Hi Richard
Many thanks for your review
The spikes (or rhond anchors) are always on the boat - we do, however, charge a refundable deposit for the mallets .... that way we have some left at the end of the season !!
All the best,
The Team at Barnes Brinkcraft
“Very good service polite staff from start to finish.The boat Blenheim had every thing that we needed apart the oven was not working properly but all in all a very good holiday. Thank you”
Thanks Mark
Much appreciated. We'll add this to the fix list
FYI - we have on call engineers who can pop out to fix stuff like this - even after normal working hours
All the best
The Team at Barnes Brinkcraft
Thanks Heather
I'm really sorry the boat wasn't as clean as it should have been. Please give us a ring, and we will die a little of embarrassment and then sort out the issue
All the best,
The Team at Barnes Brinkcraft
“All staff very pleasant and helpful. The holiday was very nice, saw places we didn't see last time.
The Royall Satin was OK but tired, needs a make over. The curtains do not fit the windows leaving gaps. The curtain rails need a fair amount of navigation to open and close them. The interior lighting was a mixture of sub standard units, LED is the way to go. The back doors, when closed, one can see daylight through the gaps and when the wind blew, we certainly felt it laid in bed, not good.
Next time we hope to pick a boat more modern.
The inventory, pots, pans etc where very good quality. There is certainly a need for cushions on the seating, saves bringing pillows off the bed.
We asked for a blanket for the bed, that was no trouble, they even brought an extra quilt which was needed due to the drafts from the back doors.
Overall our experience was good, hopefully next time it will be excellent.”
“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”
“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.”
“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
“I had trouble with a form at the end of booking trying to record names. I was not told that I would receive an email with a similar form to complete. Also the opportunity to determine bedding requirements was somehow lost.”
Hi Richard
Thanks for the feedback - this is really useful. We will try and improve on this. I must admit we ask several times as we don't always get the information we need the first time we ask !!
Yours
The Barnes Brinkcraft Team
Thank you, Adrian
We're really glad to hear you had a good time - hint hint, we are currently offering an early booking discount for 2026
Yours
The Barnes Brinkcraft Team
“Our experience with Barnes has for the most part been positive. I think the only negative was the reception staff on our arrival & departure. We found the same member of staff to be quite abrupt when they could have been more welcoming. We found the booking procedure easy and straightforward and the location is very good to start our break. We will more than likely book again with Barnes Brinkcraft for our 2026 break.”
Thank you Simon
I am sorry you experienced this - normally our team our pretty welcoming and I am sorry you didn't experience that on your visit
All the best,
The Barnes Brinkcraft Team
