Lost Creek Marina & Cafe

Don’t give your money to this establishment. The owner is a slave driver and the kids who run the place are just that, kids. I worked here for a short time and the abuses I saw and endured were too much. Peoples cards getting charged without consent, unsafe/​damaged boats, old food, bad service and unsanitary conditions make for a bad time… Save your money go somewhere else where you are not supporting this maddness.

BOAT RENTERSD BE AWARE… I scheduled to rent a boat several weeks out. We had a family medical emergency which was not allowing us to make the current reservation we had scheduled. I called 14 days in advance to let them know we would not be able to make it up there do to the medical emergency that occured. They told me there was nothing they could do and are keeping my $ 85.00 deposit. I tried to explain I was from out of state and will not be arriving and they still said sorry nothing we can do. Their web site says no refunds so if you do rent a boat and a death or anything else occurs BE AWARE they will keep your money… It seems somewhat illegal to post no refunds and not have any exceptions such as this. They make sure they get your money when in fact they could very easily refund your deposit and re-​rent the boat out. Seems like a pretty shady business… I will persue this and will let every social media link be aware until their policy is changed… They are only damaging their own reputation…

The marina has done a great job a helping me with my boating needs. The guys down at the dock are helpful and go out of their way to protect my boat and help me launch. When we stop in for worms for fishing or ice cream on a hot they are generally prompt and courteous at the store.

My family went back to the lake this summer, and to our dismay, they no loner have the same chef. The food was blah, and the service was so slow that I actually considered leaving. The wait staff seems to be more interested in chatting with each other than doing their job. After that ordeal was over, we went down to the marina and rented a boat. The two teenage boys that we’re running the quagmire were patronizing and rude. They acted like they were a 5 star general in the navy. I think this place could be great with a different owner (one who cares about their customers) and a staff that actually does their job.

I’m hoping the owners gets this because we love this lake and the marina has so much potential. As far as food goes, they are very reasonably priced. We had fried items and they were decent, particularly for the price. The soft serve ice cream is great on a hot day (assuming machine is turned on). The service was incredibly slow and we waited close to an hour for our food. Next time, I would spend the extra time driving into shady cove rather than waiting so long. My main issue is that a lot of the employees make it seem like a huge chore to be assisting you. When we left they had three people working in the kitchen but for our group and the several others, there was only one which is probably why everything took so long. We also had to pick up our food from the kitchen and get up from the table to find our server for water. We rented a boat slip and there was a mix up that wasn’t entirely their fault but it took forever to figure it out and one of their employees was make snide comments about me behind my back (witnessed by my wife). One of their employees was going full speed in their rental boat in a no wake zone! I understand this a summer job for a bunch of 20 somethings but they would really benefit from more active management and supervision

NOTE: This is a review of the boat rentals, and not the Café.
TLDR: Very unsafe boats, badly managed boat rental service.
People at the front desk do not know what boats are available, and employees at the docking area don’t seem to care about what happens to their customers. They put 4 adults on a boat that was clearly meant for 2 adults and 2 little kids. We have rented boats at many other places, where the staff is very safety conscious and vigilant. This is not one of those places.
We had a terrible experience with the paddle boat that was literally half under water while we were in the middle of the lake, with water quickly submerging the entire boat. We were tipped completely to the left and the pedals were stuck. Luckily for us, we had friends on a motorized boat who could help as we were clearly in a dangerous situation. When our friends reported to the staff that the boat was stuck in the lake, they didn’t bother with taking part in the rescue and handed our friends a tow line (!). The staff literally did not budge to help us.
The best part? As if this experience wasn’t enough to ruin our day, we had to go through heated arguments with the staff and the owner in an attempt go get refunded for this experience. The owner was especially condescending, and the argument ended with her asking one of us in the group to essentially shut up and listen to her patronizing speech on what we should have done. This was when we decided that this was the most ridiculous business that we have ever encountered and we walked away. One of us in the group actually saw an employee flipping us the bird as we walked away. Can you believe it ?!
To the business owners — you guys put us on a defective boat and had our friends on the other boat spend all their time rescuing us, and you expect us to pay for this? You should probably visit other boat rentals and see how professional and safety conscious they are.