Able Hawkesbury River Houseboats

Best holiday ever to be had

Excellent experience with the Able team - we had a week on the luxury 10 berth Fascination houseboat. Everything was perfect on the boat and so well maintained. Great kitchen and bathrooms and spa. The Hawkesbury is so beautiful and peaceful. Great for kayaking as took our own, not good for bushealks as cliffs are steep. We caught several bream, flathead fish. Were there last week of September and weather was warm with clear skies.

Friendly helpful staff. Well run organization.

Very friendly staff, they were very helpful with renting a runabout for the day.

The runabout was large enough for 4 of us to fish comfortably, it was clean, spacious for an esky + gear, and the motor was easy to run.

Overall we paid $150 for a full day, it was definitely worth it just to cruise around and check out the scenery.

The lady that took our details at reception was lovely, and the gentlemen that helped us to return the boat was great.

Expensive and dated.

Visited and hired in July which is a low season. We were lucky to get some warm weather on the Friday which flowed into the Saturday. We were unsure about the reviews across different networks as they were either really good or really bad.

We hired a 10 Berth Boat. One of our crew picked the boat up during business hours and we all met her later that afternoon. The intention was for her to use the runabout to ferry us and our gear to the boat which would need to be anchored in the river. As we arrived we saw the runabout leave the boat then simply disappear down river as we realised that the motor mustn't have been starting. I jumped in my kayak and between that and the provided oars we were able to get it to the jetty by the car park. We spoke to Able Houseboats who sent a technician with a new motor, after some negotiation that we shouldn't have to keep the motor revving just to keep it going (it was stalling when idling and then was difficult to restart).

We got loaded into the boats and got all the gear across. The boat was relatively spacious for our crew of six, but a full 10 would be a bit of a squeeze. The decor was very dated, clearly they maintain their boats but aren't keen, in this case, to keep its appeal in the new millennium. The section where the map is kept has a backing of floral fabric - something which could be easily changed to give the impression of keeping it updated.

The boat was reliable and started every time, we did have minor issues on the Sunday morning but it was a very cold morning so put it down to that.

The beds downstairs were both of double size. The two "fold-out" beds are not of double size, but are sleepable by a loving couple. The two bunks are single. For the upstairs bed if you had an inflatable or 4WD mat of double size you could probably fit it in there and make it a little more comfortable. The bed at the front of the boat did not really allow for both our pillows to fit. The downstairs beds get a lot of noise from the water throughout the night, which is fine until you get a lot of wind and it batters like crazy.

The boat comes with cooking utensils and hand-me-down pots and pans. We would recommend bringing some non stick stuff if you're keen on cooking anything properly. The oven is smaller than standard so trays from home won't fit and there were none provided in our case. There is plenty of gas though and we had no issues starting. They provided a kettle to boil water on the cook top which was easy as. Overall the utensils, pots and pans seemed like they have been brought from home or an op-shop. Kmart etc have so much decent stuff for cheap these days that would make the experience that little but better.

The BBQ at the back of the boat was handy and heats up well once you have the hood down. The piezo didn't work for us so lighting was a bit of a nuisance but we made do. We found that it didn't operate well if the boat was in motion.

The rooftop was simple and had suitable cover for daytime and the lighting was enough to provide for some evening entertainment. Plenty of chairs and a table.

The TV has a DVD player which works fine.

Fridge was reliable and cold.

We found that the rear esky held ice longer than the front one, so keep more stuff in that one.

For 6 people there was plenty of storage space, including a wine rack below the TV and storage in the nose of the boat for stuff that wasn't important.

Anchor needs to be manually pulled up and down, no automated anchor.

The shower had OK pressure and the temperature was pretty reliable for the environment.

Motoring Hours - Please make a note of the hours on the dashboard before starting your hire: they go up quicker than real human hours so be mindful of this by using the gauge. We went to Spencer and back and it cost us $460, considerably more than driving, walking or taking a plane.

Overall we spent just shy of $2k for 2 nights in low season. We probably wouldn't return again, especially in peak season as the costs would be quite scary for the experience in return.

Amazing views excellent customer service and luxurious boats

We had a brilliant Easter weekend on the river. The team were super helpful and the boat itself was clean, generous in size and a perfect home for four days. Looking forward to coming back!