Herbert Woods Reviews 

Our toilet had trouble from day 1, as novices to boating was unaware that this was due to it not being pumped out prior to us taking.
Called Herbert and told to wait for engineer who currently is stuck in traffic on Acle Straight.
Went to the location they instructed, waited 2 hours, no one came so called again to be told that nobody was ever coming!!
Don't like being lied to and wasting a day of my 6.5 day holiday!
Sorted out the problem with another company and was informed that it probably hadn't been pumped out for some time!!!
Disgusting!!!!!! I spent the last few days pushing someone else's poop through the toilet, breathing in nasty spores!!!
If I had to contend this sort of problem at a hotel, I would walk out! Unfortunately when you find yourself in the middle of the broads, you don't have that option!
What I did expect though is when you call the company they do not lie that they will help and not intend to turn up when promised!!

We have just spent an excellent week on the Broads; perfect weather, beautiful scenery and great service from Herbert Woods. We arrived after office hours on Friday evening and were given sound instruction so that we could handle our boat safely. The boat itself, Princess Light 1 was a little dated, but we booked at the last minute and the images on the website prepared us for that. It was however, spotlessly clean and had everything that we needed for the week. Handover of the boat when we returned to Herbert Woods at the end of the week could not have been easier. Staff were friendly and courteous. We would certainly use Herbert Woods again, but would book earlier and go for a newer boat.

We hired a boat for a friends stag. The deposit was hefty but this was returned in full at the end. We were checked in quickly by the reception desk and shown our boat on time. The only hold up was the man who comes around to do the brief training exercise as we waited almost an hour for this. Other than that the boat was clean and we had no issues on the water. Very enjoyable weekend and will definitely use Herbert Woods again in the future.

recently rented the gliding light 2 from this company and on first impressions i was blown away.but shortly after the excitement of getting underway we started to find issues with the interior of the boat. the floor smelt the door handles were very loose and even worse then that when it rained the window above the main area leaked onto the floor and sofa(passable reason for the smell) there was small rips in some of the leather and in general the boat should have been better kept considering the amount of money it costs for what is really only 3.5days on a boat.in short look around because altho the reception and out side look is very nice on closer inspection the boat wasn't looked after

Found the place nice and easily. Was quick and easy sign in with friendly staff. Then shown to our boat, then allowed time to get all our stuff sorted and then shown all around the boat and how to use it etc by yet more really friendly staff. Was underway by ourselves very quickly after being made to feel comfortable controlling the boat. Travelled down to Great Yarmouth Yacht Station and back again the next day. Easy return and helpful staff assisted with bringing the boat back in. Unloaded and returned all paperwork with ease and effecency. All staff are really friendly and helpful. Everything was to a high standard of cleanliness and comfort which was alot better than i expected. Highly recommend. Great value for money and Fantastic experience. Will hopefully be returning very soon.

We spent the June half term week on Royale Light (one of H Woods Elite Class boats) and we had fantastic fun. Neither my husband or I had ever done a boating holiday before and so we set off with some trepidation. However, all the instruction we got on how to use the boat was excellent, the boat itself was lovely with every facility imaginable and in beautiful condition. When we picked the boat up, it was so clean and H Woods had left us a little welcome pack which was a lovely touch. We spent four and a half days sailing up and down on the Broads. We found some lovely pubs, had some lovely walks and, on the day it was raining, spent the day inside the boat playing games, eating too much and watching telly - perfect. The kids absolutely loved it. I would recommend this holiday to anybody and we will definitely do it again. The only thing to watch out for (which is nothing to do with Herbert Woods) is the mooring. Get in early to avoid disappointment - the popular moorings (near the pubs) get really busy quite early in the day so you have to time things right if you want to go on a particular walk or go to a particular pub for lunch. Also, some of the nature walk moorings are very popular. Overall - I give five stars - excellent short break!

Great holiday, boat clean and well equipped. Staff friendly and very helpful.

Friendly, professional and nothing was too much trouble. We arrived 15 minutes before the boatyard closed on a Saturday evening in pouring rain and the Herbert Woods staff were still waiting for us, ready to give up a bit of their Saturday evening to supply us with our equipment, boat and first-timers' tutorial. Really impressed and will definitely be back!

Staff are very helpful. Boat was clean.
The whole process of collecting boat at the beginning of holiday and dropping it off at the end was very easy.

The boat Starlight 3, was from the Elite range - but not so Elite.
Leaking sink, one toilet didn't work properly, hot tap in bathroom 2 not working plus other minor issues.
Woodwork needed a refurb/revarnish in cabin, upholstery not so clean.

However staff at the site really, really brilliant people all the way.
Have not decided whether I would hire a boat from this company again.

"Great stuff,..good old fashioned customer service,...we loved it,from booking in,..to booking out,...we will return,..and we have suggested it to our friends,who have taken a keen,interest,,...I cant think of a remark to make against our lovely,break,...a pat on the back,for all the staff,who we came into contact with,......!"

Booking was fast and easy, everyone I delt with was friendly, helpful and profesional. So much infact that I booked another holiday with them when I returned from my first every holiday with them.

We are always made to feel so welcome, the boats are clean, well equipped and there is a boat suitable for every need. From check-in to check-out, nothing is too much trouble, we have been going back for ten years and really look forward to our next visit.

We enjoyed our week on the northern Broads very much , in spite of some atrocious weather. The reception was friendly and efficient, and the boat was fine, though it would have been helpful to have had fuel, water and effluent tank gauges. Our main problem was the inadequacy of the handover instruction. We were taken through the main points very quickly, and then had a trial run down the river from the boatyard and back. We quickly learnt the technique of steering in a straight line, but that was about it as far as practical instruction was concerned. For the last part of the return trip, the instructor took over the steering and mooring while we completed the paperwork. It was only when we came to moor ourselves on the first night in a torrential downpour and howling gale that we realised that we had had no hands on instruction in mooring techniques. Luckily, we were rescued then and on the second night by other boaters, but worries about our mooring abilities cast a stressful shadow over the first two days of the holiday. Eventually, we discovered that the key section of the skipper's manual was, surprisingly, the one on turning the boat in a narrow channel. After that all was well - approach slowly against the current, tie up bow first, and then - crucially and counter-intuitively - bring the stern in by turning the wheel hard over away from the shore and putting the engine into forward. Life would have been so much more pleasant if all that had been explained fully during handover, and we had been allowed a couple of practices before setting off on our own. It would also have been helpful if the skipper's manual had been available to read online before collecting the boat.

With that reservation, we sere very happy with the service provided by Herbert Woods, and would certainly consider using therm again for a future holiday on the Broads.

From the moment we arrived at Broads Haven we were impressed by the friendliness and efficiency of all Herbert Woods staff. Our boat, Swan Light, was spacious, clean, well equipped and met all our expectations, the handover was also informative. This was our eighth boating holiday on the broads, but our first with Herbert Woods, who on this experience are much more customer orientated than other boatyards, for example the informative skipper's manual and broads map which was provided free of charge. The holiday itself was a delight and even a fault with a toilet was attended to quickly and efficiently by Bill, your call-out engineer. Overall we were very impressed with the whole service provided.

Herbert's boat yard was clean and tidy and all the staff was helpful on arrival, they looked after our bags prior to taking over the boat.
Crusading light 1 was our boat, it was old and a bit scruffy inside but it never let us down during our week and was full of everything you could want. And only after seeing what you get up to on the water do you then realise that an old boat fits the bill just right.
Overall it was excellent and I am looking forward to going again.

The only negative was the Internet you are required to pay for £6 for 90 minutes or £10 for 24hours. In this day and age Internet should be a free service at the boat yard At least.

Royale light was fine, but the amount of snags was out of proportion . Starting at the stern,the rear door was extremely difficult to open and close. The door itself looks out of place on such a white boat,and actually looks cheap.Inside the rear cabin ensuite there is no drain in the floor,so water collects in the lowest point in the floor. The positioning of the sink could only be designed by a purblind idiot,how are you supposed to wash your face when the sink is under a shelf! The door to the bathroom was warped,or the frame was and was almost impossible to close with any lack of considerable force. The rest of the boat was what I would expect of a boat at this price. Nice holiday let down by the rear cabin,on which the whole crew(all experienced sailors) totally agreed upon.

This holiday was OK, I'm glad I went but would not repeat it. We were a party of 6 adults and the living accomadation did not really cater for that. But the room on the boat was no more than I expected, its a floating caravan. The big down side for us was the stench of the toilet facilities, maybe because no one else has mentioned this we were unlucky and should have reported this, but at times it was unbearable. It was not dirty facilities but just very smelly. The boat was clean and the actual toilets were clean. I must congratulate the staff who were very nice and polite at all times.

Great boat, lovely holiday. Herbert Woods staff were very helpful and efficient, both the admin team and the boat staff. A very nice gesture was the welcome bag with goodies to start our holiday with. Several essentials were also on the boat as an aded bonus, loo roll, matches, tea towels.
I would highly recommend Herbert Woods, far better than the boatyard we had used on our last Broads holiday.