I recently arranged a boat rental with Big Water for an assorted group of family members. Some of these people can be pretty vocal about their feelings, and NOBODY had anything bad to say! From the first employee we encountered at the gate (very nice young lady who gave good directions) to the last everyone was friendly, professional and helpful. The boat (pontoon) was clean, in good repair, and powered by a Mercury engine. I mention this because Mercury engines have a longstanding reputation for reliability. So, one less thing to worry about. I should also mention that my wife is disabled, so getting into the boat was a little more difficult for her. The employees at Big Water didn't hesitate to come to her aid and make the process as easy as possible. It was a small thing, but it meant a lot to us! Lake Hartwell was beautiful, and I would absolutely rent from Big Water again! read more

Lost a toe nail on the dock and Just had to pay 18 freaking dollars 6oz of sunscreen do better read more

Big Water Marina & Campground - Boating Near Me - Starr, South Carolina

What a great place to camp and awesome views of the water. Staff in the office was wonderful! read more

Big Water Marina & Campground - Our site - Boating Near Me - Starr, South Carolina

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We had really good food and service from JR Cash, unfortunately our boat was scratched down to the fiberglass because of the dock. We had bumpers on every cleat but there is something metal below the dock line that was rubbing our boat while we were at dinner. Very disappointed and wish we could return, but once we get this repaired, we will not risk our boat getting beat up like that again. read more

Big Water Marina & Campground - Scratches down to the fiberglass. - Boating Near Me - Starr, South Carolina

Love the atmosphere, the view and the energy in this place. Need more boat slip space for guests coming to the restaurant. Will be back soon! read more

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In hindsight, we should have thought twice when we saw that all other campsites were fully booked and the big water was still half empty. After all, it's peak season and only 3 DAYS in advance. The property manager LELAND TUCKER was being extremely unprofessional and hostile to us the first time we met. He totally ruined our vacation by being extremely unrespectful, YELLING AT US the entire time and KICKED us OUT of the campsite for NO REASON. If you want to have a good day, then stay out of this campground while he is still the manager. However, in order to make this review useful for everyone, I will put our dramatic story to the end, and start with a reflection of the campsite facility. We traveled in camper vans from east coast to west coast, also stayed at hundreds of campsites/RV sites in the states. In our eyes, Big Water can be rated as "Poorly Managed By Sloppy Amateur", for a few reasons: LACK OF SPACE. Many sites are just paved ground with lines, as they used to be the parking lot of the boat ramp, and they didn't bother to adjust the lines to make the space larger. Expanding your RV might hit your neighbor. (some other reviews also mentioned this, the real size might not match the description on website) DOG POOP EVERYWHERE. For the sites with some grass, they are full of dog poop. And when you walk on gravel road, watch out for the metal wires randomly hidden here and there because it may put a hole on your foot (happened to me) CARELESS FURNITURE ARRANGEMENT. Picnic table was put on uneven ground, sitting on one side will tip over the whole table, like a seesaw. Fire ring was weirdly set right under the picnic table as if anyone would like to burn the table. WRONG, UNCLEAR SIGNS. Saw this in other folks' reviews as well and our neighbor felt the same: signs were missing, unclear, and in our case, wrong. We booked the site closest to the parking lot in the "P" section (it's the only one that is level, suitable for tents). On the website it's "P001" but on the campsite itself there is a piece of wood with a small number "4" on it. And if you are looking for the mysterious space called "the office", it's hidden above the restaurant, no sign leads to it either. RUDE and HOSTILE ONSITE MANAGER. Other staff were very nice and trying to be helpful. Unfortunately, only this guy called "LELAND TUCKER" was very rude, but he claimed himself as "EVERYONE HERE HAS TO OBEY HIM FOR ANYTHING" and his decision superseded everyone else's. Customer satisfaction is foreign language to him. He is obsessed with authority and power. Basically he is not a manager, he is the LORD. Go somewhere else if you want to have fun, this land is all about yielding and obedience. I saw in google review, some folks were forced to move 3 times. We tried to rebel against KING TUCKER's ruthless ruling but we failed and were exiled. The other nice staff were embarrassed and compassionate to what happened to us, they wanted to help but couldn't go against their boss. Our Story of getting KICKED OUT: We booked the campsite next to the parking lot in the "P" section, so that it's easier for us to move things. When we arrived at 8PM, an RV trailer occupied that site. Called the "emergency number" on the website twice but no one picked up. We consulted a guy at the restaurant ,and he consulted a staff member having dinner at the restaurant. We were told to take any open space and settle for the night. All the other sites in the "P" section were extremely hilly, and not suitable for tent camping. Therefore, we decided to go to the "B" section and put up our tent in the "B009" site. At 10 pm a group drove to us and thought they actually booked the spot we were in. Since 7 out of 9 campsites in section "B" are empty, they were ok to set up their tent in another site. Note that we were very friendly to each other, all sites in "B" are pretty much the same, no one is unhappy. Next day in the morning, LELAND TUCKER, sorry, his majesty arrived at our site, accusing us of taking other people's site and asking us to move back to "P" section or go home. We tried to explain that 1) the one we booked was occupied by a RV trailer 2) the other sites in "P" section is extremely uneven 3) the other group is happy where they are. In fact, they spent hours setting up their tents, for sure they don't want to move anywhere. 4) Majority of the "B" section are unbooked, there is no additional customer coming 5) we offer to pay for the site if necessary The response we got for every proposal was "I don't care, shut up, collapse your tents, and leave". (In yelling, condescending and extremely unrespectful tone) By the way, later we found that the other group actually booked "B008", it's not the one we took! The signs were so sketchy, even the manager himself doesn't know which is which, and of course, he doesn't bother to check either. read more

goodmorning beautiful people let me just say that it has been a roller coaster of weekend with the weather and our pontoon. we have been with big water marina for about a year and we love it ! the staff have been friendly and extremely helpful. on the fourth of july , it was a pretty tough storm, the next day we head to our boat and it was sinking . YEs, sinking (from a dry rot plug) ugghhh we were quickly given the best advice and the next day David and his crew , helped us 100%, they were patient and full of knowledge. They were able to safely get out our boat with no damage thank you to the big water crew workers and let me just add - whoever is running junior cash -is doing a great job y'all handled yourself well in the blackout- i would recommend both places keep up the good work thank you read more

The staff is nice. The restaurant is nice. Everything else is a joke. I had a guy with a backpack blower right behind my camper this morning at 5:45 AM. He was there for about 30 minutes. I also see that no one from this place has responded to any reviews. They don't care. Rent at your own risk. They got me for $1400 and no cancelations. read more

24 hour fuel on the lake. Nice location on the lake. Restaurant on premises with a nice view of the sunset. read more

Big Water Marina & Campground - Boating Near Me - Starr, South Carolina

Nice place at Lake Hartwell. I dare to say that right now it is the only one who has potential. The service is friendly. Drinks and food is standard. I hope in the future they will have more slips for boats and people in the service. This could be The Place at Lake Hartwell but it is not there yet. Fingers crossed. read more

Big Water Marina & Campground - Boating Near Me - Starr, South Carolina

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Our 5-day stay at Big Water Marina was not the best. The views of Lake Hartwell were fabulous. The restaurant J.R. Cash was great! Food and staff great. However, the campground facility left a lot to be desired. The general area and camp sites were unkept and needed landscaping. To get to your camp site you had to drive thru their boat maintenance area. There were no places to walk your pets. Everything was gravel with no access down the hill to anything with grass, without going back thru the maintenance area. It was a big safety issue. They have a lot of work to do! read more

Officially DONE with BIG WATER Marina J.R.CASH GRILL & BAR....Seating FIVE ADULTS at a 4 seater is total BS. Food & drinks, even service is good but not getting squished in and being told that it's THE MANAGER that won't allow putting tables together for 5. read more

I don't see a spot for J. R. Cash's Restaurant on Yelp just yet. It is a restaurant located here. The first problem, and it is a big one , is the parking. It is a nightmare. They tried to accommodate this problem by having a golf cart service drive you up to the restaurant from the parking area (yes, it is that far). This was hit and miss. The first young man had to be reminded that this is what he was supposed to be doing and was quite rude. The second, who returned us to the area, was very nice , knew manners , and was courteous; he got a tip. Our waitress was very nice , but clearly overworked. I am glad we had her for a server though, because the other young lady was very rude. We got one of the "bucket drinks" to share - it is large ! Tasty ! But, our friend ordered a Blue Moon Beer. It came in a can and was warm. We ordered Lava Shrimp for our appetizer and it was very good. We had the flounder and shrimp for dinner - also good. It came with coleslaw and a side. The coleslaw was about two bites, served in the same container that holds the tartar sauce and ketchup. Overall, the food was good. There was live music and he was pretty good. Outside seating on lake is nice. We got lucky with decent weather but no fans for those days when no wind is present. It gets two stars because it appears this restaurant was opened way before it was ready. Whether you are going here to camp or eat at the restaurants, the only word I can use to describe Big Water is "chaotic." The small cabins are cute. Campsites have no organization and no shade. I would advise putting some energy into organizing. It has great potential but is a mess in there right now. read more

Clean and spacious! Staff was friendly and would be a great place to stay in the summer.

This place is trash! Fuel pumps hardly ever work properly and the docks are in extremely poor condition.

Just got home to Chicago from a nice trip to SC for a week. Our party rented 2 vessels from BWM, I spoke with Darlene in June to reserve a Sea Ray & a Pontoon, Darlene & Amy were a pleasure to work with , My wife Daughter & I had a death in family we came down 2 days after our friends, they picked up the boats , I informed the staff prior to our friends leaving first of all there was never any problem. They ran a very professional, friendly business. We have dealt with renting boats before . BWM is by far the best. Thank you ladies for a no hassle rental. Sincerely the Petersen, Howard , Epperson & Panico Families. Keep up the good work read more

Amazing company. We rented a pontoon boat for all day and had amazing service. Everyone took great care of us. We had a Groupon it was during the COVID-19 outbreak read more

Beware - this marina isn't the best or most attractive on the lake. It's mediocre. While the price is better than most, you get what you pay for! Low budget. The girl answering the phone was not very informative or helpful. Ask her a detailed question and you get dead silence. In person she isn't much better. And all the fees are figured out by hand, with a calculator. Had to show her how to figure tax on the items. She was trying to overcharge me (out of pure stupidity I hope!) Our boat - a 20ft pontoon with 75HP motor - was in shambles! The seats were ripped, the canvas top was full of small holes, the interior a disaster. The ONLY saving grace was that the motor worked flawlessly. Add insult-to-injury and they informed me they were planning to upholster the boat "this week" in preparation for the 4th of July holiday - well thanks for that notice. Customer service is a joke. They offered "free air" for the tube we had to buy (they don't offer ANY equipment) and they had a hard time airing it up - because the "leaf blower" was broken?! WTF?! Finally, look out for the hidden costs. We weren't told we had to buy oil for the motor. I knew we had to fill the tank with fuel - not once did they mention 4-cycle oil. Would have been nice to know! Thankfully we didn't run the tank dry of else the motor would have been harmed. Go elsewhere. Spend a few more bucks to have a worry-free time. Trust me! read more

Beautiful lake to rent a pontoon. No better place to rent from than here, this place is the best! Great people, great rental rates, we were treated awesome. We will definitely come back!! read more

Facility is older and appears somewhat unkempt. We go there to rent pontoon boats for the day, and find it an excellent value. Substantially less costly than other marina's, on a short, deep water cove not too far from the dam. Again, the boats' appearance is not the most elegant on the lake, but is mechanically sound and all necessary accessories (life preservers, etc) are included in the rental fee. Staff is friendly and helpful. Although not perfect, we like the place, and love the value provided. read more

Awesome little place on the lake to grab some snacks or supplies for your boat. Was surprised how reasonable fuel prices are. Absolutely loved Leanne in the office. She's so sweet and helpful. I want to rent a slip here just so I can hang out with her. She really made us feel at home. You should definitely stop by. read more

Very nice campground friendly staff the only thing we didn't like was that they don't have cable tv for when you are relaxing in your camper but we will be returning. It has beautiful lake views from all campsites the restaurant has good food also read more

These folks were super nice and made a half-day on Lake Hartwell enjoyable. Very friendly and helpful, they provided all we needed for this half-day trip with regards to the boat - and this was my first time renting a boat so i didn't know what to expect when I walked in other than what we had discussed over the phone. I would certainly recommend Big Water Marina for your boating needs if you are on the south portion of Lake Hartwell on the SC side, or even the GA side. read more

I'm giving a 5 star rating for customer service. We rented a boat for the day. We chose them because their price was the cheapest. Unfortunately the ski boat we rented was not working that day. They tried to call and let us know before we left, then jumped through all sorts of hoops to give us a day on the lake one way or another. The boat we ended up with was not what we'd hoped for, but we still enjoyed the day, and they offered us a full refund and did not charge us for gas. You can't help if there is an equipment malfunction, but I really appreciate their top notch customer service. read more

The worst marina ever. They scammed us like a true carpet bagger. They took our deposit and rented the boat to another party. Claimed they called us multiple times when they did not. We explained we were five minutes away and they continued to be rude and threatening. Seems like they have a backwater way of dealing with customers, terms, and transactions. I would advise anyone who values their time, money and dignity to not utilize this place. You'd be better off creating a raft of twigs and branches as a device to float on hartwell than using this horrible establishment. Thanks for absolutely nothing... read more

I reviewed for Big Water Marina on July 29. We rented a pontoon for a full day but after having nothing but problems, returned it hours early. We were told by the manager/owner that our charges for the day would be refunded completely...about $280. After speaking to him, I gave a great review. It is now August 25 and we have yet to receive the refund to our credit card. I have left three messages for the manager/owner with no response. I'm very disappointed. I'd rather not be offered a refund than to be deceived. read more