Luxury Houseboat♡

Buyer Beware

6.0

Being on a boat on the Backwater is a great experience and well worth a visit.

− It's important to stress that this is India and not everything works as you might expect. Going on a houseboat on the Backwater is a great experience and shouldn't be missed. HOWEVER, the pictures and description are not what you get as this is an entry for an agency who will find you a place on a boat when you book - you will NOT be on this boat. The description doesn't reflect what you get on any boat and if I had to guess the person putting on the original entry has simply ticked every box available to them. Most boats don't have a bar and are often 'dry' so be aware but you can sometimes  bring your own. There is no food menu so it's a take it or leave it choice. In other words, no choice but the food on our boat was good. Wi-Fi was only available once you dock at the end of the day as most of the boats don't have their own independent WiFi. There was also no toiletries or toilet paper so bring your own. This trip was meant to be for 4 nights but to our amazement we discovered on the morning of day 2 that we had to move boats with 15 mins notice. The whole houseboat set up is really geared towards a 1 night stay so we had to go for a walk each day whilst they cleaned the boat. My advice would be to book directly through a Houseboat web site where you can book a specific boat and don't do more than a couple of days. Finally, if you are lucky it will turn out okay in the end but be prepared!

Bad

1.0

Very different sort of stay but a mixed experience

6.0

The back waters of Alleppey are well worth seeing- a completely different part of India. The boat is docked in the morning. It Sails from 1pm -5.30pm and docks again overnight. You can see a lot during the sail and there is an opportunity to take a side trip down the narrow canals. Staff were friendly. Meals were served on time

− The room was really not as described - it was more basic. There was no TV or refrigerator which were expected from the booking. The shower was poor and had only luke warm water. Some facilities described as being in the room e.g. dining table are not in the room but rather in the dining room on the boat. When we arrived we were not given a key the room and had to ask for one. There was no toilet paper in the bathroom. The owner did not accept credit cards ( again booking information said all cards were accepted). The meals were Indian food which is fine but it should be made clear there is no alternative. I dont think many non Indian guests do this trip.

Lovely experience enhanced by the very helpful and sweet staff.

8.0

− The toilets could have been cleaner and newer. However the staff were very helpful.

We had a good time overall, but the boat couldn’t really be described has luxury,

6.0

The staff were friendly

− The boat was quite dated, not really luxury

Exceptional

10.0

great ambiance. room clean and comfortable. staff behaviour also wonderful.

− great ambiance. felling really nice. room clean and comfortable. staff behaviour also wonderful.