Comfortable Beds
Quality mattresses and mattress toppers. Plump pillows, duvets and extra blankets for a good night's sleep.
Our Boat
The Edward Elgar Hotel Boat
The Edward Elgar is the largest capacity inland hotel boat in the UK. She has stairs much like you would find in your home with railings and full head height throughout. Comfort is a priority on board with quality seating, mattresses and furnishings. The entire boat also has climate control for air conditioning and heating.
This page has all the information you need to discover what a cruise on board is like including the facilities, access, service and food.
88
Feet Long
11
Twin Cabins
3
Decks
Included on all cruises
We try to make sure as much as possible is included in our cruise fee.
- All meals featuring traditional English food
- House pour wines, beers, spirits, and soft drinks.
- Tea & coffee at all times
- Daily afternoon cake
- Live entertainment, games and quizzes
- Daily tour or excursion
On board
Boating, with creature comforts
En-Suite Facilities
Every cabin is en-suite with shower, washbasin and w.c.
A Window in Every Cabin
Our windows don't open for safety reasons, but we have a highly effective ventilation system on board to make you comfortable.
Peaceful Nights
Our advanced battery and inverter system means we don't need to run generators at night, keeping the boat perfectly quiet.
Comfy Saloon
Plush dining chairs, seats and sofas in our saloon help you to relax whilst looking out of our extra large viewing windows.
Cosy Bar
A variety of wines, beers, soft drinks and spirits are served from the bow bar. Most drinks are included. You can run a tab during your stay and pay by card for premium drinks.
Upper Viewing Deck
The best seats in the house! Being 15 feet above the water, our passengers spend most cruising time up here on fair weather days.
Live in Crew
Our live in crew are on hand to look after your every need, to guide you to each excursion and to point out interesting places along the river.
Reliable
The Edward Elgar cruises along at a gentle pace, losing only 5 hours of cruising time (on one occasion) as a result of on-board breakdown in the last ten years.
In their words
Our Passengers Say It best...
Watch video interviews of our passengers talking about their cruises on the Edward Elgar
Service
Great Service & no hidden costs
Food, Drink & Special Diets
Our chef cooks up three freshly-prepared meals every day featuring traditional English food you know and love. Tea and coffee is complementary and wine, beer, house pour spirits and soft drinks are available free of charge . If you have a special diet then just let us know at the time of booking and we will be ready to accommodate your needs, you only need to tell us once!
Accessibility Guarantee
All of our moorings are either within a 400m walk of the daily excursion or we lay on transport free of charge. We have been assessed by Visit England to be suitable for elderly guests who can still manage stairs unaided. Complete access guidance is available below. Please note some tour destinations are historic buildings which are less accessible. See our Access guidance area for more details.
Optional Tours & Excursions
The boat is your home from home whilst you are with us. Our excursions are at no extra charge so if you don't feel like going along, then just collect a cup of tea and a book and find yourself a seat by the window to relax the day away. You don't have to attend any excursion if you don't want to.
WiFi & Entertainment
Every cabin gets access to our on-board WiFi which is available throughout the boat when we are in a good signal area! Every cruise also features at least one night of live entertainment as well as deck games and quizzes.
"You couldn't have felt safer...highly recommended"
-Dennis Gardener, 2020 passenger
Read All Our ReviewsSample Menu
Freshly Made food aboard
Breakfast
- French Toast with cinnamon served with Parma ham and slowly roasted tomatoes.
- Toast, cereals, juices & coffee or tea
Lunch
- Homemade Scotch Egg served with a runny yolk, salad and celeriac coleslaw.
- Apricot fool.
Afternoon Tea
- Homemade carrot cake.
Evening Meal
- Cotswold gin-cured Salmon with fennel and orange.
- Braised beef in Gloucester brewery dockside dark beer served with mashed potatoes and caraway carrots.
- Treacle tart.
- A selection of local cheeses served with biscuits.
Quality assured
4 Star Hotel Boat - Visit England Quality Assessments
The Edward Elgar has regular assessments by Visit England and has retained a four star rating for more than ten years.
2023 Assessment
Read the 2023 Assessment2021 Assessment
Read the 2021 Assessment2020 Assessment
An assessment was not conducted on board in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic. Improvements made for Covid safety are noted in the 2021 report above.
2019 Assessment
Read the 2019 AssessmentAccess Guidance
Further infomation on access is available on our access guidance page.
Read Edward Elgar Access Guidance Document
Good to know