HotTug, Brienz

This was by far the worst experience I’ve had in Switzerland. The people running this place are dishonest and only interested in taking your money. Prices are misleading, hidden fees are added without warning, and once they have your payment, they make excuses instead of providing the service you actually booked. The boats are poorly maintained and unsafe, and when you try to question anything, the staff become rude and dismissive. I’ve never experienced such unprofessional and shady behavior from a business that survives off tourists. There are plenty of reputable boat rental companies around Lake Brienz – do yourself a favor and avoid this one at all costs. They prey on unsuspecting visitors and ruin what should be a beautiful day. Stay away – it’s a scam operation.

My family of four (2 teens), really loved the floating hot tub. It actually snowed the morning we did it, then the snow turned to rain. So it was cold and overcast and it was still one of the highlights of our trip! The lake was about 50 degrees and the hot tub stayed really warm, so we enjoyed jumping in the cold lake and getting back in the warm hot tub. I can only imagine the experience would have been elevated with great views and great weather, but it was still incredible! Bring snacks, cell to connect to their speaker for music, umbrella to cover snack bag if raining. You’ll love it!

Best thing ever ever ever. Would do 100 times over. Mendy was a greatttt help and made us have a great time. Thank you guys so much. Def coming back

Staff was very helpful, and went the extra step to help one of our guests with a minor medical issue get quickly to a pharmacy. There’s a small but sufficient place to change and leave outer clothing. We went on a foggy day, so no view, but brought our own snacks, drinks, and music and enjoyed our time anyway.

Amazing experience! Highly recommended! Really need to try this Hottug during the winter period. My family totally enjoyed the Hottug. We loved the smell of the burning wood, the boat was easy to drive and we enjoyed the scenic view of the beautiful lake. The lady was so kind to hand us a bluetooth speaker for us to play music, it really made a huge difference with the music in the air. No regrets with Hottug!

**Avoid this place – it’s a scam!** We booked two boats for our proposal video shoot, but due to a minor delay, Andrea, a staff member, became abusive and racist. Despite our apologies and willingness to pay for the extra time, she demanded an outrageous 750 Swiss francs and threatened to call the police. Her unprofessional behavior, shouting at us in front of everyone, ruined our special day. This place preys on tourists with intimidation tactics. If you’re a person of colour or don’t want to be ripped off, stay far away from this business. Don’t let them ruin your experience.

I had never seen or heard of a hot tub tug boat until this place. It’s genius! Essentially an electric hot tub with a wood fired hot tub that you drive around Lake Brienz. Jump into the glacial cool refreshing waters of the lake and climb back into the hot tub boat. Was tons of fun and one of the highlights of our trip. Costs 255 CHF for 90 minutes. Can bring food/ drinks (Coop is 5 min walk away). Pirate Bay includes 1 free dry bag (for your phone/ wallet). Has a changing room and storage cubby (not locked). Bathroom is across the street at the train station. Boat is slow (1 mile/ hr) and easy to drive. Ladder on board makes it easy to climb back in. Can control the temp of the hot tub by adding more or less wood. Water is changed every trip. Can bring your own towel or rent for 8 CHF. So scenic and fun. Highly recommended!

We rent a boat here and everything was amazing! Very friendly staff, they explained everything to us. That was my first time driving a boat and I think that wasn't last time! And the boat was really nice, looks like a new one.

We rented the hot tug boat and absolutely loved it! There was heavy rain predicted for our time slot, so they reached out and asked us if we could come earlier to avoid the bad weather. When we arrived the check-in process was easy. They explained how to use the boat and sent us out. The lake was beautiful, and the boat was relaxing. Highly recommend!

Had an awesome experience with the hot tug with my family. We changed into our bathing suits and I'm the cold we quickly jumped into the hot tub in the glacial waters. We floated out into the water and the guy tub was so warm we actually did a could water plunge into the glacial water which was amazing! The speaker for us to play music was a nice added feature. We brought a bottle of to wine and snacks and had the time of our lives!

The team here aims to please. I showed up on a beautiful Sunday afternoon without a reservation. I was hopeful to get out on the beautiful Lake Brienz and they were able to accommodate. Don't assume the luck I had... make your reservation prior, if you can... as they provide a popular and well-earn service. Equipment was great and they had an onsite boat to quickly change and provided storage while I was on the lake. Very grateful to have found Pirate Bay.

We hired a speedboat to experience the lake and we were not disappointed! The staff showed us how to drive the boat and the best spots to see the waterfall from the lake. We spent the hour whizzing around the lake taking in the views feeling like James Bond 👀😂 We spent 90 CHF for the boat which in our opinion was totally worth it. They have cheaper options like kayaks, row boats and pedal boats available. One of the best experiences we had, thank you to the wonderful staff who were very friendly and approachable.

Booked the biggest boat they have which is the lounge boat. When arrived and requested the boat they said you drive. I said I don't want to drive and that I need a captain, it was not mentioned anywhere that the lounge is a self-drive boat. The annoying part which made it 2 starts experience is the guy working there as the manager. When he came out and I said I did not know and did not see it anywhere it's self-drive and I need a driver and I pay for it or I cancel. He said we will not cancel and “Why do you need a driver” Is it because he swims better than you” Horrible attitude and all the time looking at the screen when talking to him. He thinks being funny with kids is what's called hospitality. He ruined our day and we ended up arguing with someone who doesn't have a sense of customer service. For me it's like why do I have to drive the boat when I wanna spend all the time with my kids and family? And why I have to argue about this If I will pay and you can provide the service. I told him we are not here to negotiate and we leave and we don't want the money or we stay and get a driver for the boat and we pay. He ended up charging us 220CHf which is 70% of what we paid for the boat itself. But Kai the captain who drove us was a great person and very helpful and super friendly.

Amazing experience! We rented a motor boat for 2 hours and was able to visit the Giessbach Falls and Itselwald. The staff were very friendly and explained everything perfectly. 100% worth doing when visiting Brienz!

The staff at our hotel in Interlaken suggested the Hot Tug experience. WE ARE SO GLAD THEY DID>!! We had a wonderful afternoon floating in Lake Brienz. The entire experience was so worth it!! Can't recommend this highly enough....you've gotta try it!

We enjoyed the "hot tug" experience, leaving shore at 19h30. We had so much fun! The weather wasn't great, but we had a brilliant time and we were looked after really well by the team at Pirate Bay. Would 100% recommend for anyone wanting to enjoy a really unusual experience!

This was a last minute activity we booked directly when we got to Bienz....luckily they had a spot for us. This was one of the most memorable things we did on our multi-country tour of Europe. So much fun and breathtaking views. We had four of us (husband, wife and two adult children), it seemed like the perfect amount without being crowded. They provide a waterproof speaker to stream tunes from your phone, and we brought our own beverages (although you can also purchase them there). So so so much fun. Felt wonderful jumping in the glacial water and then back into a nice warm hot tug! Do this.