boatfolk.co.uk Reviews 18

Our experience of Boatcare in Portland is poor. The experience of booking, quotations, scheduling, payment, communication, responsiveness is so bad I only use the team if I have to. A recent experience took three weeks just to get a quote - chasing, lack of comms, misinformation all leads to a lack of trust. Our boat is still there - in a black hole of non-comms and non-action despite emailing management. After this current works I will avoid them like the plague. This is not an isolated incident - they have ignored previous requests for quotation, made mistakes on invoicing - multiple times, missed deadlines, been unresponsive. The work is mostly good but the service around it is poor.

We were invited to visit Haslar Marina for a weekend after connecting with their team at the Boat Show, and we were not disappointed. The staff were amazing, going above and beyond to assist us. The marina boasts a lovely setting, excellent and clean facilities, and a great restaurant called The Creek. Thanks to Deano, Immi, Jordan, Sam, manager Ben and the rest of the team for making our stay so enjoyable. We will be back!

So today we had a chat with the operations manager at Portland marina and from previous conversations before this it sounded positive but the questions got very personal, I explained that I was medically retired he then went on to ask what was wrong i was asked to get a letter from my doctor saying I was fit to live on a boat, he then went on to ask if we could afford to live at this marina i explained that we get benefits because of our conditions and yes we can afford it. We then get an email saying our vessel wasn't suitable enough to live on board for comfort and safety. It is a 33ft by 10ft sail boat. I will point out that some live abroad there are not as big or wide as ours. Basically he has discriminated us for not working and having a medical problem. Absolutely fuming. Do not judge before you know!!!

I have used pretty much all of the services at Deacons on the Hamble/boatfolk this summer/autumn. The staff across all the services are excellent, super friendly knowledgeable and helpful. Nothing is too much or too little for them. THANK YOU and see you again from JennyWrenVII

Stayed at both Portland and Weymouth marinas, very friendly and helpful. Had a prop shaft decouple and everyone was really helpful and knowledgeable, got me sorted and back in the water within a day.
Would highly recommend. All round good service. Thanks guys

The operational staff are quite friendly, but at a corporate level they are awful.
They have driven away so many good people that they now deliver really poor service, and are staggeringly expensive.
If I could; I'd use somebody else.

Deacons Marina. 5* customer service.

I have berthed for the winter before moving to a new marina in the location we wanted to be. The service and staff are absolutely 1st class. Since leaving I needed an emergency lift, the team came to the rescue, lifted the next day, price and service were excellent.

Moored in Bangor (Co. Down).
The management is awful. Pontoons are not washed, and very little sign of maintenance. The only time staff are present on the pontoons is to check meter readings, or to check that visiting boats have paid.
The manger is more interested in personal vanity projects than caring for the loyal berthholders. His actions have led to several boats vacating the marina.
As the Boatfolk management contract expires in September 2024, it appears that they are just using the berthing fees to prop up other (non-local) parts of their business as there has been absolutely no reinvestment in Bangor marina.
This despite unwarranted increase in berthing fees every year. Boatfolk are not providing any extra services, though at times the office seems to be overstaffed - particularly off season.

So very pleasing to see Marina Staff checking thoroughly mooring lines for Boats in the Marina (Portland) during heavy storm last Friday / Saturday, well done guys, this give me reassurance you look after your Customers assets, McGregor

I had a berth in the drystack for two years ,from last June up until the end of May 2023 still no pumpout facility, shocking for the marina of that size taking in weymouth as well must be a thousand boats and no pumpout. You can make your own mind up.

Since Boatfolk took over our marinas around Weymouth and Portland the cost has gone up so much we no longer feel it represents value for money. Little improvement has been made to both services and infrastructure yet the price seems to go up by at least 5% each year now. Lift outs are really expensive for maintenance and you are rammed into such a tight gap in the boat yard your boat will often end up covered in someone else's antifoul which has happened to us twice even though we have coppercoat and no need to antifoul ourselves.

Expensive, power is not included in the charges. Compared to other south coast marinas they come up short - not enough information for visiting boats. Also, after spending days at sea having to walk up the road to the garage to get cash out to use the washing machines is frankly ridulous. Other marinas use a token system so you can pay by card for tokens rather than going to a cashpoint for cash and getting it changed at the marina office. This is apparently under review but really? most people don't carry cash these days. Staff are lovely so this is not a moan about them.

We were found a berth in Portland as a visitor. When we went to pay and asked to stay some extra nights were told we had come to the office at 10am each day to see if they had space . Being told, when it is too late for the tide, that you have to leave is not customer service especially if it is strong winds also it is dangerous especially as we are in our seventies. We had planned to stay for a week we left at 6am the next morning to catch the tide at least we saved a lot of money by not paying £41 a night
Been there previously and had no trouble. Policy spears to be when you phone up and book a berth they tell you they are full even when there’s lots of empty visitors berths .
Lots of comments on Westerlys Facebook page saying the same thing!

Didn't interface with the leadership team, but very impressed with the help, support, attitude and relaxed friendliness of the staff at Haslar and East Cowes. I'll prefer Boatfolk marina's in future planning.

Are very corporate and have hiked fees since takeover of the former business. Front line teams very good, upper management shocking. Read the small print, they will take every penny they can. Avoid

Service seems OK. Did offer some part discount during COVID during lockdown in Wales although could have been improved upon for goodwill.
Facilities are OK but jetties need improving for the prices charged. To be fair they do seem to be doing something about it.
Staff are very pleasant and supportive.
Boat lift is eye wateringly expensive.
Overall prices are a bit steep (like a few Marinas in UK).
E.g. For a 12 metre boat its £1k a year cheaper in St Tropez Marina in the South of France.....