Island Houseboats Inc. - Lake Cowichan, British Columbia

Kristen

Fabulous family adventure! We were a group of adults, teens and preteens and each of us had a blast. The boat was clean and comfortable. Communication with the company was easy and clear. I would highly recommend this “aquatic glamping” for a fun family summer vacation.

But bring gloves! Our landlubber hands were not used to hauling in large wet ropes for beaching each night.

Bronyn S.

Disappointing service from an expensive company.

One of the two boats we rented broke down in the middle of the lake, drifted away, and we had to be pushed by a speedboat to arrive at a beach. Mechanics tried to service the boat and said if we wanted to sail around, someone would need to manually shift the engine in order to go into drive.

Not a user friendly experience, turned the houseboats into glorified storage units while we hung out landed on the beach for the weekend. Hot tub was grubby, boats were shoddily maintained with exposed wires on the deck underneath an inoperable steering wheel.

No partial refund was offered for a boat clearly in disrepair that couldn’t even make it across the lake.

I would recommend finding a different company to do business with.

Soleika M.

Don't bother contacting them. They seem to lack capacity for timely, professional, client friendly booking. 2 weeks of calls and sms...no response. God forbid should we need an emergency support. Done with this place. ps. last booking was cancelled because rowdies damaged the boat we were assigned. Do the managers have rules? How can this be allowed to go on until the last minute and impact on the hard earned holidays of the next group? Caveat emptor, this buyer is now fully aware.

Risebridge T.

I’m giving this review a one star only because there is no option for zero stars. Terrible customer service and no accountability. Seems like a monopoly which leads to the absolute lack of service. Never would I rent from this company

Preet D.

Save yourself the headache, go to the Schuswaps, Ossoyus, or Kukanusa Lakes (no more expensive). I'm sure people may have had a good experience but that was because, luckily, nothing had gone wrong. They have no ability to to deal with any issues without being extremely intrusive and disruptive to your vacation. After giving my family the worst vacation we've ever had they told us we were expecting to much. I guess a gassed up, ready, clean and working boat was too much to ask for. No apology or compensation of any kind was even suggested, let alone offered. We wound up cleaning and repairing their boat by the rep's own admission. Do what you want, but be warned!

Melissa K.

We shared a boat with a group of friends and it was a blast. Everything was ready/working on time/accordingly with all the kitchen/cooking supplies we needed. Overall it was a great experience. We'll be booking again.

Corrie H.

Quite an expensive trip, be aware that there are lots of hidden expenses- like paying for your own gas and sewage. Those are extremely necessary to a boating trip so we were surprised at those not being included. Also the boat was very old and a bit grubby. Fantastic experience but not good value for money.

Melina S.

Had a wonderful time on houseboat. Beautiful weather. Houseboat met all our needs. Any glitches were taken care of by Jeff who was very accommodating and helpful. Would definitely repeat the experience.