Le Boat Benson

Hired a nice boat, shown the ropes and off we went. The boat is quite old and lacks modern comforts but is spacious and more than capable of Thames travel. Unfortunately, it broke down 2 hours in, but back up came and fixed the problem. We encountered the same problem again on returning to the yard, which was a shame, but otherwise, the break was ok. Also, I didn't realise that diesel fuel was extra on top of the hire!
May 1st, 2023

Oct 28th, 2022

WARNING!!! they charge a small fortune for each hour the boat engine is running. Check before booking what their current rates are, as you can add a LOT to the cost of a simple holiday. Apart from that, read on.... Ours was a terrible experience, we had to abandon the boating holiday after one night due to a very damp boat (even the pages of our books crinkled up! and clothes in the wardrobe were damp). Boat in poor condition, very uncomfortable beds, very disappointing. Broken shower. We are experienced boaters and have never had such a poor vessel. Tried to get some form of refund/compensation as really, the boat was "not fit for purpose", but they only offered us a very small sum. Hugely disappointing.
Oct 21st, 2022

Excellent service. Boat in good condition. Great week on the Thames.
Oct 1st, 2022

Arrived at Benson along with several other groups all eager to get onboard and start their holidays. We were able to park close to the boat and unload and we had a parking spot reserved which was a good start. Our boat was a Caprice 525 which is designed to sleep six but it was only the two of us on board so we had plenty of room. I have read some of the other reviews and agree with many of the comments in that the Le Boat's do look battered externally which is understandable bearing in mind most of us are not master mariners and and although you're given a practical demonstration we watched some quite comical boat fails entering & exiting locks locks many of which were privately owned boats! Internally the boat was clean and agree the mattress was quite thin but after the first night we opted to sleep in the main cabin area and added an additional mattress from one of the spare cabins which worked a treat. The onboard heater worked fine and the boat warmed up quickly. The boat did have some mechanical issues with the water pump not working before we even left Benson then a day later remaining permanently on with fresh water running into the bilge & finally a microwave that had given up the ghost but all of these were resolved quickly after a quick call to the team at Benson. Le Boat charge an additional charge for engine running hours so where as we would have been quite happy motoring slowly all day we tended to go full throttle for half a day and then moor up but in fairness to the team at Benson they did deduct some hours due to the issues we had encounter & we were able to return the boat later due to the late get away at the start of the holiday. If your after 5* cruising then go on an Azamara cruise ship & take a mortgage out, if you want a fantastic week away and the weather is kind to you especially as late in the season as our trip then I would recommend Le boat but be realistic about a boat that's been used a lot over a period of time.
Sep 21st, 2022