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Hotel Boat Holidays |
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One of the ways to sit back in complete
comfort and enjoy our waterways is to take a hotelboat
holiday. As the name implies, the boats have all the comforts,
service, and full-board accommodation you would expect in a
hotel but contained in a single, or a pair of, wide or
narrow beam canal boats. |
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Cruise periods run from short breaks to a
week or more. They generally start and finish at locations
where it is easy to join the boats from public transport.
Individual companies cover much of the waterway network
during their season, so there is a wide choice of areas.
Indeed, by choosing from the whole programme provided by
APCO operators, you could cruise virtually the whole canal
and river system by hotel boat.
A pair of hotel boats cross Chirk aqueduct on
the Llangollen Canal. |
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Hotel boats offer single, twin and double
cabins – many with full en-suite facilities. There is a
dining room, lounge and bar and outside seating areas. None
carry more than twelve passengers so there is a high
standard of individual service from the friendly and
knowledgeable crew and a pleasant and informal atmosphere
between passengers. |
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Superb cuisine is the order of the day, with
full English breakfasts, snacks, lunch, teas and often a
four-course dinner. Chefs are used to looking after those on
special diets. All food is prepared in the on-board kitchen
and often includes such homemade items as cakes and bread.
You can of course choose to ‘walk-it-off’ along the towpath
or help the crew with the locks - or simply relax and enjoy
the passing waterway scenes! |
The conviviality of a meal aboard. |
Booking is by individual cabin but there is
the opportunity for whole-boat charters by groups. Some
companies run special interest cruises featuring subjects
such as painting, embroidery and waterway and industrial
history. Excursions to places of interest just off the
waterway are often organised as part of your holiday, and
cruises are planned to include overnight moorings at
agreeable locations with time to stroll for the inquisitive. |
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Hotel boat operators are proud of their boats
as they are in their way the successors to the pairs of
working narrowboats. Paintwork and decoration is often
traditional, always smart and the brasswork gleams. Just one
of the many reasons why their passengers return time after
time. |
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Contact APCO or one of the specialist
companies listed on the Hotelboat Companies page to find out how you
too can experience the comfort aboard a hotelboat holiday. |
