Amelia Boat Club & Rentals

They gave us a pontoon boat that had a broken gas gauge but were assured by Robert the manager that the tank was full. 4 hrs into our whole day rental the boat stops. Robert came out and told us that the gas pump was broken but the tank still had gas. At the Marina they told us we would get credited for the hrs lost on our rental. A day later, we get charged an extra $232 for tow and gas because the boat had no gas plus the full day rental. Shady business.

My family and I rented a pontoon boat from Amelia Boat Club for a day trip with the family. However, our experience was far from enjoyable. We were given the keys to the boat without any instructions and discovered that the gas gauge and depth sensor were not working. The dock hand assured us that the tank was full, but only the navigation worked accurately after the manager, Robert, fixed the depth sensor.
A few hours into our ride, the engine shut off. We called the office and told them that we thought we ran out of gas but they said that it was impossible since boats that are rented for a whole day always come back with some gas left in the tank. We were then instructed to drop anchor and wait to be towed. After 40 minutes of being tossed around by the waves and trying to keep an elderly person and an autistic child hydrated and cool, Robert arrived. He inspected the motor and confirmed that indeed, we did have gas but the gas pump was not delivering fuel to the motor.
Robert towed us back to the marina, a slow and bumpy 2-hour journey. On the way back, he mentioned in an amused way how this season he has towed boats almost every day, up to four boats, in one day alone, because they’re always breaking down.
Upon our return Robert assured us that we would be refunded for the remaining time prior to breaking down. However, we were charged an additional $232 on top of our initial $744 charge the next day. When we called Robert, he informed us that it was for towing and gas because the boat had run out of gas - despite him previously confirming that there was gas in the tank.
We reminded Robert about the broken gas gauge and how we were told that we had nothing to worry about because we had a full tank of gas prior to leaving.
When asked to speak with the owner, Robert reached out to him and the response was, that’s too bad, the charge is staying. Overall, we are extremely disappointed with our experience with Amelia Boat Club and feel that we have been treated unfairly. We would not recommend this company to others.

Absolutely horrible experience! Wife rented pontoon 4 hours for my birthday, the boat was run down, dirty and faulty! Steering wheel was so difficult to turn wife couldn’t even turn it, trim on outboard motor not working at all and other problems. Went back to the dock to ask for replacement working boat and told they had nothing and they would not even refund our money!!! Even thought they admitted it was broken. SHADY BUSINESS! STAY AWAY!
Robert Nix runs a shady business by renting out unmaintained boats and he knows it. He doesn’t seem to care about the safety of you or your family.

I rented a pontoon as I have dont several times before for my girlfriends birthday. The boats are generally dirty and run down but that is to be expected when renting. Thirty minutes after I left the dock, a terrible thunderstorm rolled in and I had to immediatly seek shelter from the lightening. The storm lasted the entire duration of my rental so I asked for some sort of a credit to use at a later time in the spirit of their written weather policy. Below isthe email I sent to the manager Robert Nix because he was not there when I returned the boat. He was 100% unwilling to even discuss any compensation whatsoever. Absolutely terrible business decision and the type of customer service people should know about. I will never do business here again and recommend others look elsewhere for boat rentals.

Good afternoon Robert.

I received the email below today asking for me to provide Tripadvisor for a review or my recent rental and I would really like to provide an excellent review of my experience. I picked up the boat at 1PM for a 1-5 rental and asked about the weather. The radar looked clear and the guys there didn't seem to think there was a reason for concern. On my way downtown a huge storm formed and rolled in with massive lightening strikes that lasted over two hours. I called the marina at two and told them I was able to get to the downtown marina and was going to ride out the storm under the deck at Brett's. At about 4 oclock, the rain let up enough to take the boat back without too much fear of lightning. When I got out I asked about getting a credit for "storms with high winds, lightening and thunder" as stated on your website's FAQ. I was told that the manager would get in touch with me to let me know. I called back at noon today and left a detailed message for the manager that was not returned.

I realize that I did leave with the boat but anyone that was outside yesterday between 1:30 at 4:00 knows that it was impossible to be on the water and the fact that I used zero gas shows that I did not use the boat beyond seeking shelter after 30 minutes on the water and returning directly as soon as it was safe. This was my view for about 2 hours downtown before I took the boat back.

Please advise if I will be given a credit for a future rental. Thank you for your consideration.

I inserted a picture of the lightning I took while waiting out the storm in the email. It is also attached to this review

We had a great time boating up to Cumberland Island and Amelia River. The boat was plenty big enough for nine of us. Awesome experience and highly recommend Amelia Island Boat Rentals.