"If we could give a minus * we would"

If we could give a minus * we most definitely would . We Booked a winter cruise on the basis that the brochure said " These boats all have warm air heating systems to ensure you won't be cold on board" . Well that might have been the case during the day, but we were told not to have the heating on when we went to bed for risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, I don't feel the cold normally BUT it was unbelievably cold in the bedrooms and toilet, there was no way would we have a shower it was freezing. The blown air heating didn't even reach the said rooms during the day, so it never even got warm in the first place, all the bedding and clothes felt damp.
The windscreen didn't have any form of demister so we couldn't clear the screen , which was a real pain when motoring and it snowed.
We only found out from a fellow boater at 10.20am that the environment agency were going to shut the barrier to the Marina at 11.am ... If we didn't get out by then we could be stuck inside it for days, NO ONE from the marina told us that...
Very disappointed as to the short distance we could travel due to bridge restrictions and high tide, Wroxham and Acle were as far as we could go , and that's it. The freezing temperature at night forced us to cut short our holiday from10 nights to 7 nights.. honestly it was that cold especially with no heating. My advice if you want to book up in the winter, only do so if you are an Eskimo. We left the fridge door open to warm us up.
Another thing to look out for is the fuel gauge was OFF the full symbol when we left , so it wasn't a full tank of fuel yet we were charged £140 when they topped it up ( allegedly)... All in all it was one of the worst holidays we have had, would we recommend it.. NOT A HOPE IN HELL...
The plus side was the ladies in reception were kind and understanding, the " main man" who showed us the boat was bl**dy rude , horrible and patronising...

"Sadly never again. "

We are experienced Broads boaters, and this was our 4th time with Herbert Woods. The last time was six years ago, and sadly this time the standard has dropped considerably.
The main issue is the boats. Not just tired and old, but very dirty. We had dogs with us, and paid over £100 for extra cleaning. I have to say we returned the boat a darn sight cleaner than when we picked it up. They can’t say that you get what you pay for, as other companies are offering far more modern, cleaner boats for a similar price. The boat cleaners should spend less time being surly and actually down right rude to customers and more time doing their job..!! The reception staff were ok, apart from the fact that I called about some lost property and was promised a call back when they were “Less busy” A week later I’m still waiting. The boat proficiency check was ok, but no mention was made about the risks due to the tidal differential, and the effects on mooring warps. which regular boaters will know is important.
I’m sorry, but there is plenty of competition on the Broads and I won’t be coming back.

"DO NOT BOOK Bright Light 2 - needs scrapping."

We had Bright Light 2 - AVOID! DO NOT BOOK this boat!!! The boat had not been pumped out so as we got moving both toilets stank and there was no disinfectant in the tanks, the boat had not been filled with water, roof does not fully retract, sharp edges on window trim, water pump leaks, severe rain leaks so one of the beds and the seating area were soaked, sliding door (entrance to boat) sticks, have to open sliding door to get in cutlery drawer, toilet pedals stick, lights not working or flickering, front shower had to hold pump out button all the time or it flooded, back panel outside boat kept falling off-would not stay on, no caps on pump out pipes. We had to get Richardsons to do a proper pump out and they found a cloth that had blocked the front toilet that had been in there years, engineer had to come out because the 2nd toilet could not be unblocked due to faulty pipe work, engineer could not fix as boat needed taking apart to find the fault. None of the boat was clean inside or out. We had to ring the boatyard practically every day and all they said was bring it back in - using our fuel to go backwards and forwards and spoiling the holiday even more was not helpful advice! The boat needs scrapping.
The broads themselves are beautiful and the places we stayed were fab, fortunately we had great weather otherwise we would have all come home because of the boat.

"Contract Breakers"

We booked our family boat holiday with Herbert Woods in April. It coincided with a friend’s holiday also booked with HW and we were all excited at being on holiday together. This week, three weeks before the holiday, Herbert Woods phoned me to say my holiday has been cancelled. The explanation was that the boat we had booked was taken out of service due to an accident and offered a full refund. Bear in mind this is three weeks before we were due to travel; so I asked what other boat they could offer as an alternative. They said they had nothing for the same dates but would look for availability at other boat yards. When they got back to me they offered several boats but I would have to pay extra above what I had already paid for our holiday. We were on a tight budget and couldn’t afford the £683 for the equivalent specification boat offered. We had no alternative but to have the refund as Herbert Woods had no compassion or intension of helping us achieve a holiday for the same week.
Herbert Woods’ terms and conditions clearly state that if I cancelled within 56 days of the holiday, not refund would be made. They have sewn up their own cancellation terms to get out of any liability if they cancel.
I would sue them for breaking their contractual obligations and unfair terms and condition but don’t have the financial resources to pursue a claim.
Shame on you Herbert Woods for leaving a family high and dry without a much anticipated holiday.

"Just got back from a weeks holiday with…"

Just got back from a weeks holiday with herbert woods it us the first time we have done any boating but i have to say it was the best holiday i have ever had all of the staff are amazing so helpful and polite nothing is too much trouble the boat was great well equipped very clean and everything in working order thank you to all staff we have booked to come back next year we enjoyed it so much

"Another wonderful 3 weeks on Summer…"

Another wonderful 3 weeks on Summer Light 1 can't fault it it was wonderful all at check in are wonderful jennie Rob Shirley Sharon evie and john are all so helpful even spoil poppy the dog she knows where they keep the dog treats every thing went well there and when we went to where the boat was tied up and we got on it was absolutely spotlessly clean and the hand over was just so smooth and all the hand over staff are so friendly nothing is a bother to them Graham Phil stevie and wee dave are just so friendly keep up the great work guys see yous all next year take care stay safe all at herbert woods from Arthur rosemarie and poppy

"A Great Weekend Experience"

I have to say that our experience was much better than some of the others that I have read. . We had saved to celebrate my daughter’s 50th birthday and chose Platinum Light 1 which was only one year old. The boat was very impressive. We were given an intensive training tutorial. We were very lucky with the weather. We did have a few issues with the control panel but the Engineer came out on the Sunday and got it going again. The customer service we received from Herbert Woods was really good and their communication is very professional. We did fill in a feedback form and we were offered a management discount to use against another trip. We have booked with them again for 2025 and hope that we experience another enjoyable trip.

"Enjoy a weekend sitting in your own p *iss and shi *t"

Boat was filthy and covered in cobwebs and bugs; the toilets didn’t work and were leaking foul water, surrounded in pee and poo. The shower didn’t drain so we couldn’t wash it away nor could we wash ourselves. Waited for an engineer to fix it, hours lost on our holiday, on for it not to be fixed!
Boat was leaking, dripping, the smell of the toilets ran through the boat making it unbearable, only for them not to sort it.

Sent in a “feedback” form which is a complaint apparently but after reading reviews I am not hopeful of any sort of outcome.

"Not even completed our holiday and was…"

Not even completed our holiday and was disappointed before we even set foot on the boat. Arrived at the boat early to see them taping one of the back bedroom windows up. Obviously bodging a leak up as it was raining at the time. Proceeded to reception to be greeted with very poor customer service when informing them. The first staff member looked as us gone out and said she didn't know what to do but said I'm sure they are sorting it out. Was told shortly after the boat was ready. Window still taped up. Reported back to reception and asked to speak to someone else who said yes they've done it. When asking how he just said I don't know but I'm sure they have if they said they have. Got on the boat and found it had just been taped up. 4 days into the holiday the toilet wouldn't pump to work. Rang the 24 hour service number to report it and ask them to come out to repair. Got told it wasn't an emergency as we had another toilet. Yes we do have another toilet on board, but we wasn't able to pump the brown water out of the toilet as the pump leaver wouldn't work so was left with brown unhygienic smelling water , I can only imagine is contaminated unhygienic water. This had been present in all toilets on both the boats we paid for , and looked like they hadn't even been emptied from after the boat was used previously to us. As for the cleanliness of the boat, I dont think either boat had seen a cloth and clean soapy water or a dust pan and brush. The lino flooring was sticky and all coming up and uneven in the kitchen area, and bits of gravel and dust everywhere. The sofa when we wiped it turned the wipes black. Customer service is only helpful when it involves them taking your money at point of booking. Will not use this boat company a 2nd time.

"Cannot recommend this company at all."

Cannot recommend this company at all.

We booked Glow of Light for a few days over the Easter holiday for myself partner and granddaughter. On arrival at the boatyard the welcome was friendly enough but the boat itself was tired and grubby and it was obvious the pictures on the website had been taken several years previously.

The boats interior was tired, the windows inside the main area were covered in mould inside but after the initial less than thorough training we set off to find a mooring for the evening. The first evening was a nightmare, the boat had a sliding canopy which didn’t seal allowing the wind to blow through the cabin making it very cold. The heating was inadequate and we spend the evening sat in our hats and coats to keep warm. After a disturbed nights sleep we headed back to the boatyard but rather than look to resolve the problems, the receptionist just told us to write and complain. We did this but they are now hiding behind their terms and conditions stating we should have rung their 24 hour support line rather than head back to the boatyard.

They totally ruined our Easter holiday break and I would suggest anyone looking to book a holiday on the Broads choose a different company.