Avoid, avoid, avoid.
Anything in the iA Great Lakes area run by the Parks family should come with a warning that you will pay top dollar for the crappy products and services you get in return. These people find the most creative ways to unapologetically separate you from your money.
The marina and the it's crappy Barefoot Bar give off the vibe of tacky Spring break/Vegas destination. It's definitely to be avoided if you're over say 30, and desire a dignified place to have a drink or get a bite to eat that isn't served on a paper plate. All the food is convenience store quality, and the drinks are mostly premixed sludge that contain a hummingbird beaks worth of alcohol.
Quick story: I sat down at the bar around noon midweek. It was mostly dead, yet it still took 20 minutes to be acknowledged by any of the 3 idiots behind the bar. I ordered a margarita and a cup of ice water. I was told I had to pay $5 for a bottle of water. The premixed frozen marg came and tasted like syrup and no tequila whatsoever. I asked if I could get some added since I couldn't taste the tequila. I was informed (rudely) that I could BUY a shooter for $3 and pour it in the already expensive $8 drink that should have had alcohol in it to begin with. Now I'm in for $11 for a shitty syrupy marg in a PLASTIC CUP with no salt or lime! Plus the $5 water I needed because I was thirsty on a hot day!
This was not my first bad experience with Parks, but it was definitely my last.
My family and I have had homes in the Boji area going back 4 generations, and this cheese ball family are an embarrassment to the area in my opinion. They all remind me of used car salesmen, carnival barkers, and Gypsies. They run a shell game. They ask you to pay top dollar for minimal return.
Second story: when I moved back to the area I began shopping for a watercraft and ended up deciding on a wave runner.
I made the mistake of buying one from Parks before looking around elsewhere. Upon paying cash for an overpriced watercraft, I was told that it should run for a long time provided that I keep the impellers away from weeds and sand.
As I don't have my own dock, I arranged to keep it at their marina on one of their hard plastic "floats". The fact that these people are too cheap to provide hoists for pwcs is another example of their shoddy service.
Wanna guess where they parked my brand new watercraft? These geniuses had my jet ski on a float located in one of the weediest parts of East Lake (after being warned about the harm weeds can cause!!) On my second time out on the jet ski, the engine seized up and started smoking due to a mass of weeds. As I was apoplectic with frustration, I immediately decided to end my relationship with Parks Marina. Their service sucks! The parked me in the weeds knowing it would damage my jet ski and then have to pay them more $ for repairs!
I told them to eat s**t. I took the jet ski across the lake to Mau where I traded it in for a kick ass better looking Sea Doo, a HOIST rental in a weed-free part of West Lake and top notch customer service (oh, and a better restaurant that caters to adults and doesn't resemble Cancun during Spring break! In short, ALL of my experiences at Parks have involved paying waaay too much and receiving crap products and crap service! I'll. Never go back there for any reason ever. read more
