Saint Louis (hotel barge)

Hotel barge Saint Louis on the Canal de Garonne.
History
France
Name: Saint Louis
Owner: SARL Saint Louis Barge
Operator: Owner operated
Port of registry: Lyon
Route:
Builder: Gebr. Boot, Alphen a/d Rijn
Launched: 1923
Status: in active service
General characteristics
Class and type: Commercial passenger vessel
Tonnage: 127
Length: 29.2 m (96 ft)
Beam: 5 m (16 ft)
Height: 3.2 m (10 ft)
Draught: 1.2 m (3.9 ft)
Decks: 2
Installed power: 2 x generators – Lister Petter Diesel 380Volt 14 KVA and Honda 220Volt 4.5 KVA
Propulsion: GM 6V72 diesel motor, 180 H.P
Speed: Canal cruising speed 3 knots, Maximum speed 8 knots
Capacity: 6 passengers
Crew: 4 crew
Notes:
  • Fuel capacity 3,000 litres, Water capacity 10,000 litres
  • 6 person Bombard Commando tender with 6HP Mercury outboard

The Saint Louis (named for Louis IX of France, later canonised) is a Luxemotor hotel barge, which operates as a hotel barge on the Canal de Garonne in South West France. She is one of around 60 barges offering luxury cruises on the French waterways, bringing a total of 60 million euros of revenue to the mainly rural areas where they operate, according to a study by Voies Navigables de France.[1]

History

Built in 1923 by Gebroeders Boot in Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands, Saint Louis was a bulk carrier and served on the Dutch inland seas and waterways carrying cargoes of grain and gravel until around 1985. At that time she was converted for use as a supply vessel in the port of Amsterdam, using the name Supplier 2. In 1994 she was sold and then converted into a hotel barge. She spent the first 10 years of her new life as a hotel barge on the canals of Burgundy, in central France. The Saint Louis was then bought by Barbara and Alasdair Wyllie in 2004, when she was taken down the river and canal system of France to arrive on the Canal de Garonne, in south west France.[2] She was acquired by the current owners, Peter and Wendy Carrington, in 2014.

Accommodation

Saint Louis has three double cabins for guests and separate accommodation for her crew of four. The guest cabins all have en-suite bathrooms. The boat has full air conditioning and central heating. The barge carries a crew of four and is owner-operated. The owners themselves fulfil the key roles of pilot and tour guide and chef/head housekeeper.

References

  1. ↑ Les péniches-hôtels en France (PDF). Béthune, France: Voies Navigables de France. 2015. pp. 12–18.
  2. ↑ "Lazy days on Saint Louis barge".
The saloon-dining room on Saint Louis
The sundeck on hotel barge Saint Louis
Guests enjoying the sundeck on Saint Louis
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