Hawkesbury River
Hawkesbury River
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
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4.0
94 reviews
Excellent
46
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35
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4
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2
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7
teamberg
Sydney, Australia161 contributions
Feb 2021 • Friends
We chartered the Capricorn from Luxury Afloat with a group of 6 (3 couples) for a long weekend and would like to share our experience so you get a better picture on what to expect.
In a nutshell, the only thing that was luxurious about the Capricorn was the charter fee. The boat itself was in an overall poor condition with rotten floor boards, corroded roof, half the instruments not working, worn/tired interior and greasy and/or dirty cutlery/crockery that makes your average student flat look like a presidential suite at the Hilton. We even lost a propeller from one of the two engines, which took over 6 hours to repair (mainly due to lack of staff and spare parts), so we missed out on almost an entire day of use. The beds are more suitable for lovesick teenagers that prefer to spoon all night long, rather that normal sized adults. Also factor in additional cost for a few chiro sessions afterwards as the mattresses are worse that what you may find in your standard backpackers bunk bed. The doors to the rooms generally can't be closed properly (including bathroom door), while (some of) the windows can't be easily opened. There are also no fly screens on any of the windows, so remember to bring a family sized bottle of insect repellent. The stereo system on the boat consisted of an old 90s car radio, so unless you bring the correct auxillary cable or your music collection on an USB stick you may want to consider bringing your own speaker system unless you prefer the sound of silence, boat engines or your own voice.
The best thing about the trip was experiencing nature on the Hawkesbury, waking up to the sound of cicadas and hanging out with your friends - all no thanks to Luxury Afloat.
We recon you are probably better off by renting a nice 3br house by the river and a paddle boat for half the price for a better experience.
In a nutshell, the only thing that was luxurious about the Capricorn was the charter fee. The boat itself was in an overall poor condition with rotten floor boards, corroded roof, half the instruments not working, worn/tired interior and greasy and/or dirty cutlery/crockery that makes your average student flat look like a presidential suite at the Hilton. We even lost a propeller from one of the two engines, which took over 6 hours to repair (mainly due to lack of staff and spare parts), so we missed out on almost an entire day of use. The beds are more suitable for lovesick teenagers that prefer to spoon all night long, rather that normal sized adults. Also factor in additional cost for a few chiro sessions afterwards as the mattresses are worse that what you may find in your standard backpackers bunk bed. The doors to the rooms generally can't be closed properly (including bathroom door), while (some of) the windows can't be easily opened. There are also no fly screens on any of the windows, so remember to bring a family sized bottle of insect repellent. The stereo system on the boat consisted of an old 90s car radio, so unless you bring the correct auxillary cable or your music collection on an USB stick you may want to consider bringing your own speaker system unless you prefer the sound of silence, boat engines or your own voice.
The best thing about the trip was experiencing nature on the Hawkesbury, waking up to the sound of cicadas and hanging out with your friends - all no thanks to Luxury Afloat.
We recon you are probably better off by renting a nice 3br house by the river and a paddle boat for half the price for a better experience.
Written 9 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Greg T
1 contribution
Aug 2024 • Family
We recently stayed in a cottage with our 13 year old totally blind Labrador as agreed with the management. A $100 cleaning fee was taken from our bond for "extra cleaning for property being covered in dog hair". Our dog sleeps most of the day, hardly leaves her mattress and does not climb on furniture. The only dog hair would have been on the floor and removed during normal cleaning of the floor, incuring no extra cost.
I had read in another review about this company making deductions from bond and having been a landlord with both holiday and permanent rentals dismissed the review as there are always 2 sides to a story. My mistake.
We would never stay again and will not recomend to anyone. In my opinion the term Luxury is well wide of the mark, far from luxury from whqt I saw.
I had read in another review about this company making deductions from bond and having been a landlord with both holiday and permanent rentals dismissed the review as there are always 2 sides to a story. My mistake.
We would never stay again and will not recomend to anyone. In my opinion the term Luxury is well wide of the mark, far from luxury from whqt I saw.
Written 11 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matthew P
Sydney, Australia115 contributions
Jan 2020
One of the greatest retreats away from it all, but still close enough to Sydney that it won't take days to get there. We started out at Colo River in Richmond and travelled to the Brooklyn, near to Hawkesbury River Bridge. Plenty of spots to stop for a picnic on the side river bank. Ample bird life, with the occasional fish jumping out of the water. We sighted a giant bass. Make sure you take plenty of sun cover gear like hats, long sleeve shirt and sunscreen. The glare and reflection from the water can give you some painful sunburn.
Written 21 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Teresa C
Metro Manila, Philippines1,571 contributions
Jul 2020
An easy drive from Sydney and worth a visit is Wisemen's Ferry. Little pocket places to stop by, pick up car ferry across the Hawksberry River. Calm, peaceful surrounds.
Written 28 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony W
Sydney, Australia4,604 contributions
Jul 2020 • Couples
This magnificent river is the perfect place for water sports, fishing or just enjoying a coffee on the banks of the river. Stopped off on the way back from the Hunter Valley to enjoy the peace and quiet of Brooklyn. Cannot wait for the walker weather to arrive.
Written 16 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lanastravel
1 contribution
After having a very bad experience with a company called Luxury afloat operating on the Hawkesbury River N.S.W I thought I would write this review , maybe it will save somebody else from the problems I encountered , After my partner decided he wanted to hire a houseboat we choose LUXURY AFLOAT ,I paid with my credit card and waited to receive my confirmation ,but received nothing I sent them a Email and they said I would get it the following day and 4 days went by,I received nothing. I contacted the office on the phone to have a woman scream abuse into the phone and tell me my e-mail was not working, I sent a cancellation after that unprofessional behavioir ,only to receive 17 e-mails in 1 hour.from this person , We ended up booking a hotel on the water instead and had no problems , so please be careful the company ,once you give your credit card details to unprofessional companies ,it is quit a drama trying to get your money credited .
Written 11 September 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Greg L
Greater Sydney, Australia5 contributions
Dec 2015 • Solo
We booked a Luxury Afloat Houseboat (Leo) from Monday to Thursday, and PAID for 4 days. We did however advise that we would only be able to use the boat for 3 out of 4 days, but were prepared to pay for the 4 days.
The Leo had recently been refurbished, however when we arrived on the Monday morning, we were advised that the Air conditioning had not been instated, as they were let down by the Air conditioning company on the previous Friday and again on the Sunday evening. Also that the fish finder was not working.
We departed on Monday at around 11:00am, unfortunately by Tuesday evening the boat had run out of fresh water, despite being able to handle 8 guests for 4 nights, this when we only had 4 people aboard and had been out for only 1 and ½ days.
We contact the company by SMS and was advised to turn off the water pump and use buckets of river water to flush the toilet (hardly Luxury), then return the boat back the following morning so they could find out why the water had run out.
We returned the boat at 10:00am and we decided rather than wait around while they look for the fault, then have it repaired, to cut our holiday short by a further day.
I was offered compensation of not paying for the fuel, which was just over $100.00, and I expressed our disappointment at cutting our holiday short and would expect a refund of a day. I also pointed out that we had already paid for 4 days, however, only use the boat for 2 days. I was advised that they would have to talk to the owners, and someone would call me back.
Well no surprise that no one called me back, so I contact Luxury Afloat on Saturday and spoke to one of the owners who was one of the most condescending people I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I was advised that this was a boat and problems happen, and we should expect thing to go wrong. I was advised that there was a leak in one of the pipes which had caused the loss of water.
I was also not told the truth, as she stated that we were advised at the time of booking that the air conditioning was not installed.
I was advised that no compensation would be offered and that they had many customers who were happy with their business.
Well I am not one of them and would warn anyone looking at booking a holiday with Luxury Afloat as they not only provide terrible service, they do not care when things go wrong nor do not tell the truth to their customers.
The Leo had recently been refurbished, however when we arrived on the Monday morning, we were advised that the Air conditioning had not been instated, as they were let down by the Air conditioning company on the previous Friday and again on the Sunday evening. Also that the fish finder was not working.
We departed on Monday at around 11:00am, unfortunately by Tuesday evening the boat had run out of fresh water, despite being able to handle 8 guests for 4 nights, this when we only had 4 people aboard and had been out for only 1 and ½ days.
We contact the company by SMS and was advised to turn off the water pump and use buckets of river water to flush the toilet (hardly Luxury), then return the boat back the following morning so they could find out why the water had run out.
We returned the boat at 10:00am and we decided rather than wait around while they look for the fault, then have it repaired, to cut our holiday short by a further day.
I was offered compensation of not paying for the fuel, which was just over $100.00, and I expressed our disappointment at cutting our holiday short and would expect a refund of a day. I also pointed out that we had already paid for 4 days, however, only use the boat for 2 days. I was advised that they would have to talk to the owners, and someone would call me back.
Well no surprise that no one called me back, so I contact Luxury Afloat on Saturday and spoke to one of the owners who was one of the most condescending people I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I was advised that this was a boat and problems happen, and we should expect thing to go wrong. I was advised that there was a leak in one of the pipes which had caused the loss of water.
I was also not told the truth, as she stated that we were advised at the time of booking that the air conditioning was not installed.
I was advised that no compensation would be offered and that they had many customers who were happy with their business.
Well I am not one of them and would warn anyone looking at booking a holiday with Luxury Afloat as they not only provide terrible service, they do not care when things go wrong nor do not tell the truth to their customers.
Written 4 December 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Louey1990
Sydney, Australia4 contributions
Jan 2015 • Family
I am always one to go on tripadvisor before booking, so for those that are the same take this as a warning. Make SURE they empty the sewerage tank, if they say they have then double check! I have also never left a bad review for anywhere, but cannot let this one slide.
We spent over $1000 a night in January aboard the homecruiser 47 (8 berth). We got there excited on the Friday afternoon, and as they showed us to our boat we saw a guy jump from the boat next to ours onto our boat and quickly hook a pipe up to the sewerage tank. We walked in and had a looked upstairs and by the time we came back down the guy was gone. We were amazed with the boat, rooms are small but it’s what we expected. On the Friday night the toilet was used ONCE for a number 2. Later that night we could hear the toilet gurgling so dad got the rope they supplied to try to unplug it as we thought it must be blocked. It seemed to work. The next early afternoon the toilet had not gone down after flushing so I called the boat company but they said they could not attend to us until the following morning (the day we were dropping it off). No matter how much we tried the toilet was not going down. On board there were 3 females who have all had their gallbladder removed so a toilet is essential after consumption of food. We had to take the dingy boat attached to the boat to land and go in the bush to release our bowels or of a nightime do our business in a BUCKET. Do you call that a luxury escape? That night/next morning, my father was up at 2am and 4am trying to put rope through a toilet full of urine because it couldn't go down and afraid that the gurgling noise was going to spill the toilet throughout the boat. Waking up on our last day we just wanted to get the boat back, by this time the whole lower level, including the kitchen stunk of sewerage. When the man came on board to take our boat into dock he too could smell it and we told him of our troubles. When docking the boat he checked the holding tank and said it was completely full. We told him only one person had gone to the toilet and he said the holding tank must have not been emptied because for a family of 6 it should last atleast 5 days with a family of 6-8, we literally were on board for 44 hours. The only conclusion he could come too is that the holding tank was not fully emptied, even though they have paperwork saying they did empty it they agreed it was not done properly.
They reimbursed us with a fuel and mooring fee but honestly when we still came out paying $2000 for 2 nights/ 3 days which turned out around 44 hours total on the boat which was destroyed by a holding tank issue on their behalf that is just not good enough. There was no incentive to come back, no discount for another trip or anything of that sort. We are shattered we spent that amount of money on a weekend expecting to make memories of a lifetime that was destroyed by something that should have been taken care of. No family boarding a vessel like this should have to worry about these things happening. So please make sure they empty the holding tank.
We spent over $1000 a night in January aboard the homecruiser 47 (8 berth). We got there excited on the Friday afternoon, and as they showed us to our boat we saw a guy jump from the boat next to ours onto our boat and quickly hook a pipe up to the sewerage tank. We walked in and had a looked upstairs and by the time we came back down the guy was gone. We were amazed with the boat, rooms are small but it’s what we expected. On the Friday night the toilet was used ONCE for a number 2. Later that night we could hear the toilet gurgling so dad got the rope they supplied to try to unplug it as we thought it must be blocked. It seemed to work. The next early afternoon the toilet had not gone down after flushing so I called the boat company but they said they could not attend to us until the following morning (the day we were dropping it off). No matter how much we tried the toilet was not going down. On board there were 3 females who have all had their gallbladder removed so a toilet is essential after consumption of food. We had to take the dingy boat attached to the boat to land and go in the bush to release our bowels or of a nightime do our business in a BUCKET. Do you call that a luxury escape? That night/next morning, my father was up at 2am and 4am trying to put rope through a toilet full of urine because it couldn't go down and afraid that the gurgling noise was going to spill the toilet throughout the boat. Waking up on our last day we just wanted to get the boat back, by this time the whole lower level, including the kitchen stunk of sewerage. When the man came on board to take our boat into dock he too could smell it and we told him of our troubles. When docking the boat he checked the holding tank and said it was completely full. We told him only one person had gone to the toilet and he said the holding tank must have not been emptied because for a family of 6 it should last atleast 5 days with a family of 6-8, we literally were on board for 44 hours. The only conclusion he could come too is that the holding tank was not fully emptied, even though they have paperwork saying they did empty it they agreed it was not done properly.
They reimbursed us with a fuel and mooring fee but honestly when we still came out paying $2000 for 2 nights/ 3 days which turned out around 44 hours total on the boat which was destroyed by a holding tank issue on their behalf that is just not good enough. There was no incentive to come back, no discount for another trip or anything of that sort. We are shattered we spent that amount of money on a weekend expecting to make memories of a lifetime that was destroyed by something that should have been taken care of. No family boarding a vessel like this should have to worry about these things happening. So please make sure they empty the holding tank.
Written 11 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
stinkwink
Sydney, Australia7,254 contributions
Jan 2019 • Solo
Hawkesbury is a 120-km-long river that originates from the confluence of the River Nepean and the River Grose, near Penrith. What I wanted to visit is his nonexisting riverhead. Pech. A lovely spring somewhere on the hillside was in my mind. Since I didn't get it, at least I saw the end and the middle, if not the beginning. This river always was able to show me something, that I haven't seen before, some hidden beauty, and I never get bored to investigate what is waiting for me after the next bend. From Barrenjoey Lighthouse you can see Broken Bay, where Hawkesbury flows into the Tasman Sea, with its mates, Brisbane Water, and Pittwater. Even if Hawkesbury only 120 km, which, for example, compared to the 2850km of the Danube, does not seem too long, but it is pretty good in Australia. For example, the Parramatta River is only 14km in length. Even more, Hawkesbury I flows through Ku-Ring-Gai Chase, Brisbane Water, and the Blue Mountains, watering three beautiful National Parks. During my hikes, we have met many times. My last glimpse was from Barrenjoey Head seeing it from a long distance as it was pouring into Broken Bay. After several meetings, I still couldn't decide if I liked him or Cowan Creek better, but that's not important. Both are wonderful.
Written 19 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JudyW155
Melbourne54 contributions
Nov 2018 • Couples
We booked 6 nights on The Henry Lawson Houseboat from Luxury Afloat in Kangaroo Point on The Hawkesbury. We paid $2000 to them ie $333/night.
Upon arrival we were told we had to switch to another boat, The Kingsford Smith, as the fridge was not working on ours. It was larger, so we happily agreed and transferred our luggage etc on board. We did not pay close attention to the details as we were being briefed on the operation of the boat.
We left the harbour and proceeded to our first mooring, 1 hour away. Once we had stopped we started to unpack our food etc into the kitchen cupboards. Upon opening to cupboards we found what could only be described as unsanitary conditions. There was congealed fat and black, unknown filthy material on the shelves where the bowls were kept. The sink pipe was disgustingly dirty. On further inspection of the boat the louvres on the bathroom door were coming off. They were starting to rot due to water exposure. The woodwork throughout was a disgrace. This was on a boat that supposedly had been ‘recently renovated’. You will see from the pictures associated with this post what we found. Next morning we complained and were told we could swap it out with the original boat we had ordered.
I spoke with the owner who told me that the boats were due for renovation next winter, so in actual fact their website falsely advertised that this had already occurred.
We returned the boat taking 2.5 hours out of our day to come back, unload and reload and go through another briefing.We were told that we would be charged for the fuel to return the boat, although this was later rescinded by the owner.
On closer inspection of this boat, there were several things wrong. Yes, the kitchen had been updated and was cleaner than the first boat but we had a number of issues. The horn didn’t work, the deck wash hose didn’t work, the torch didn’t work, there were no curtains on the main bedroom windows, there were missing handles on many of the windows and many of the windows lacked lubrication making them very difficult to open, especially without handles, the freezer didn’t work causing us to have to discard food, the shower drain was partially blocked leaving us standing in 3 cms of regurgitated waste water after each shower, the drain plug on the esky didn’t work,there was only 1 USB charging outlet for up to 6 passengers, there were no door seals to front doors which meant in howling wind it just blowed through the boat, there was no locks to external doors so that if you were to leave the boat to go onshore that anyone could gain access, to get into the main bed you had to crawl on all fours onto a hard 8 cm foam mattress which was supported only by a hard plastic frame on the floor( you could not even sit up fully in this bed without hitting your head), one of the tea towels provided was dirty, thin and full of holes. These are not even all of the faults we found. To top it off, when we returned to base, our car which had been left in their secure car parking area had been blocked in by 3 other cars. Luxury Afloat had to guess who owned those cars and try to contact them to find out where they were on the river so that they could collect the keys and move the cars. They managed to get the keys after an hour.
We contacted the owner for her response to all of the issues that we had with both boats. Her response “ Over 95 per cent of our customers come back having loved our houseboat experience. This is evidenced by the large number who return each year. We hope that you travel back home safely and that your next holiday you find a more enjoyable experience. Cheers Kerry”
There was not acknowledgment that we had any valid complaint, even though we were told by the office staff that upon return of the first boat that they recognised that the boat was dirty and they had recleaned it ( to what degree I don’t know)
We had really looked forward to a wonderful trip. I would want anyone who is considering hiring a boat through Luxuary Afloat on The Hawkesbury to reconsider. Their website did not reflect with any accuracy the true reality of the conditions upon either of the boats that we hired through them.
Upon arrival we were told we had to switch to another boat, The Kingsford Smith, as the fridge was not working on ours. It was larger, so we happily agreed and transferred our luggage etc on board. We did not pay close attention to the details as we were being briefed on the operation of the boat.
We left the harbour and proceeded to our first mooring, 1 hour away. Once we had stopped we started to unpack our food etc into the kitchen cupboards. Upon opening to cupboards we found what could only be described as unsanitary conditions. There was congealed fat and black, unknown filthy material on the shelves where the bowls were kept. The sink pipe was disgustingly dirty. On further inspection of the boat the louvres on the bathroom door were coming off. They were starting to rot due to water exposure. The woodwork throughout was a disgrace. This was on a boat that supposedly had been ‘recently renovated’. You will see from the pictures associated with this post what we found. Next morning we complained and were told we could swap it out with the original boat we had ordered.
I spoke with the owner who told me that the boats were due for renovation next winter, so in actual fact their website falsely advertised that this had already occurred.
We returned the boat taking 2.5 hours out of our day to come back, unload and reload and go through another briefing.We were told that we would be charged for the fuel to return the boat, although this was later rescinded by the owner.
On closer inspection of this boat, there were several things wrong. Yes, the kitchen had been updated and was cleaner than the first boat but we had a number of issues. The horn didn’t work, the deck wash hose didn’t work, the torch didn’t work, there were no curtains on the main bedroom windows, there were missing handles on many of the windows and many of the windows lacked lubrication making them very difficult to open, especially without handles, the freezer didn’t work causing us to have to discard food, the shower drain was partially blocked leaving us standing in 3 cms of regurgitated waste water after each shower, the drain plug on the esky didn’t work,there was only 1 USB charging outlet for up to 6 passengers, there were no door seals to front doors which meant in howling wind it just blowed through the boat, there was no locks to external doors so that if you were to leave the boat to go onshore that anyone could gain access, to get into the main bed you had to crawl on all fours onto a hard 8 cm foam mattress which was supported only by a hard plastic frame on the floor( you could not even sit up fully in this bed without hitting your head), one of the tea towels provided was dirty, thin and full of holes. These are not even all of the faults we found. To top it off, when we returned to base, our car which had been left in their secure car parking area had been blocked in by 3 other cars. Luxury Afloat had to guess who owned those cars and try to contact them to find out where they were on the river so that they could collect the keys and move the cars. They managed to get the keys after an hour.
We contacted the owner for her response to all of the issues that we had with both boats. Her response “ Over 95 per cent of our customers come back having loved our houseboat experience. This is evidenced by the large number who return each year. We hope that you travel back home safely and that your next holiday you find a more enjoyable experience. Cheers Kerry”
There was not acknowledgment that we had any valid complaint, even though we were told by the office staff that upon return of the first boat that they recognised that the boat was dirty and they had recleaned it ( to what degree I don’t know)
We had really looked forward to a wonderful trip. I would want anyone who is considering hiring a boat through Luxuary Afloat on The Hawkesbury to reconsider. Their website did not reflect with any accuracy the true reality of the conditions upon either of the boats that we hired through them.
Written 18 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are after a play ground for lunch with children between Sydney and Newcastle does anyone have any suggestions
Written 10 June 2015
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
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