Barnes Brinkcraft Reviews Summary

Accommodation & Facilities

Pros:

• "Excellent accommodation everything you need for a stay."
• "The boat was very clean, and everything worked well on the Picnic type we hired."
• "It was clean, roomy and had all the facilities."
• "Lovely spacious boat the Serenade 3 from Barnes of Brinkcraft. All mod cons, fresh white towels and linen provided, with complimentary toiletries."
• "An extremely comfortable and well-appointed boat, in beautiful order, and very easy to handle (including mooring)."
• "The boat was perfect, a brand new electric day boat - It was very quite and smooth, and it wasn't polluting the environment."
• "The boat was very clean and had all the mod cons, bedding and towels provided."

Cons:

• "There we’re a few issues with cleanliness and general boat upkeep. Old socks found in bedroom cupboard plus toilet paper behind toilet."
• "The main corridor between front and back was narrow and sadly the position of the engine which was dead centre of the accommodation so was noisy when running."
• "It is an old boat and fairly basic."
• "The boat we had, Emperor 2, should be sent to the scrap yard. Rusty, smelly and damp and leaked when rained."
• "The boat didn’t have enough space to seat everyone, the toilets are far to small and very smelly you can stand in shower, the slippers seat is uncomfortable and very lonely as nowhere near everyone else seating."
• "The boat was quite tired and also could have been cleaner and better equipped."
• "Gas bottle was empty so we couldn't use the stove, boat was quite tired and also could have been cleaner and better equipped."

Customer Service

Pros:

• "The gentleman who handled the test run was friendly and knowledgeable."
• "Staff are really friendly and helpful, a real credit to the business!"
• "Customer service great and had no issues at all."
• "The staff are there are brilliant and do everything to make your break as good as possible."
• "Staff were lovely friendly and helpful."
• "The staff were very helpful and attentive."
• "Staff very polite and helpful."

Cons:

• "Only reason for giving 4 stars instead of 5 is that when arriving at boat yard the welcome at reception is a bit poor and even a bit confrontational from some of the people meant to be helping behind the counter."
• "We were so disappointed with the state of the boat and the customer service received."
• "When reported this to staff they were totally uninterested."
• "The individual who we spoke to was rude and dismissive, and took an approach that I struggle to describe as anything less than confrontational."
• "Wouldn't recommend the sales side, the lady was quite rude to me when I went in thinking it was the hire office."
• "The sadly the team didn't seem focused on customer service it was more like a get them in, get them out and turn the boats around."
• "We told the receptionist our concerns when we first saw the boat, she said to tell the man when he gave us the boat tour, he just shrugged his shoulders and said 'that's boats'!"

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Good price, easy reservation, easy check-in, simple instructions."
• "The boat was really good value at about £900 for 7 nights, it was really economical on fuel."
• "Hired the Brinklet day boat from these guys for 3hrs which was really good value at £80."
• "A much better size boat compared to some other companies we saw on the river for a reasonable price."
• "Excellent value for money and a lovely day spent on the broads spent in a comfortable boat."
• "Plus free use of a Barnes Brinklet boat for the entire week."
• "The boat was No Frills as it said when we booked but it was ideal for my wife and me."

Cons:

• "Car Parking Charges ???? with what you charge for the boat hire this should be free like all other boat yards."
• "The only stumbling point now is that the Brinks Quartet is getting old and doesn't deserve the Prestige class price any more."
• "No cons mentioned regarding value for money."