Urban Kai Gandy — Attraction in Pinellas Park

Same as the previous review, starting off our experience was pleasant. Staff was decent. Not excellent customer service, not terrible. When we went to get into the kayaks, we were told (per owners request) we had to wait 30 mins to get into our kayaks because of the weather. Even though weather was fine.. they said lightning in the area i have pictures to prove it was a sunny day. We made no fuss about the wait to management. It was 3 pm. They close at 5 pm. And we rented for 2 hours. I told the boy we rented for 2 hours, would we be able to stay out past 5 pm and he said no but they can prorate your time and give a discount. So i was fine with that. We waited, boarded at 330 pm, exactly 30 min wait, (i took a picture in front of loading spot for proof) & had a fun time. We get back at 445 pm which is the time they requested us to be back. So we were out for a total of 1.15 hours. We go up to the counter and asked for a prorate of our time out and was denied it even though it was owners request that we do not get in for weather. They could of told us at the time of renting that there was a wait for the weather. I understand business' are struggling with money right now with covid but you know we are too. We tried to have a nice day out and i feel like we were screwed and management was there and they did not express good customer service to me. Just be cautious when renting from this place. Disappointed and probably wont return.

RESPONSE TO OWNER:

The young boy that was on the docks let me and another party know that the reason we were not allowed on the water was per the owners request. He did NOT seem knowledgable in anything other than listening to the owner of this company. Thank you for your rude response to my customer service review. This is just a prime example of what you will reveive when renting from here. I am glad you are happy that you robbed us of 45 mins that we paid for at your facility. I will never forget my experience and lack of customer...

Last week I had the beautiful opportunity to use a friends paddle board in the Tampa Bay and I fell in love, then deciding that I will buy one I researched the boards day and night. Yesterday 8/1 I decided to take my only day of the week off to go to Urban Kai about 45 minutes away from me on Gandy Blvd. Urban Kai is a retailer of NSP/Surftec boards. They are built with an eco board project seal on the board meaning that the boards provide a measurably reduced carbon footprint, are made up of renewable, recycled and/or up-cycled material inputs AND they use materials and processes that reduce toxicity during manufacturing. As an environmentally aware person, I wanted to make an responsible purchasing decision and at the same time get a board that was aesthetically pleasing.

So as we pulled up to Urban Kai we parked just passed the store by the water and the grounds are beautiful, there is a little hammock village within the trees with table to chill. I was a little lost and a man by the water didn't just point but walked me to the store. The Amy and Ida listened to all of my wants and needs from the boards themselves, to board safety, and transportation. These lovely women bent over backwards to accommodate my husbands indecisiveness. Additionally, they were so sweet to my daughter that was exhausted and bored sitting in the store with me on this unbearably hot day. When the transaction was complete Amy's husband (whose name escapes me) placed the boards on the soft roof rack and strapped them down with additional straps in the middle for safety and peace of mind.

I am disappointed to see that there are so many reviews on here that don't appreciate that the staff is legally binded to certain protocol for safety and that these gentlemen by the water are in 90+ degree weather all day!! It's a really easy time to be critical of a business but the good stuff is right under our noses.

Thanks a million to the...

Reserved a guided MANGROVE kayak tour for my husband and I and my parents who were visiting from PA and barely got to go through any mangroves at all! The only reason I asked for a guide is so we wouldn’t get lost in the mangroves. Went to an amazing mangrove tour in Sarasota years ago and there were so many diff directions to go within the mangroves you could get lost. I thought this might be similar, so I requested a guide. Amy, our guide, was on a paddle board, didn’t ask us what we wanted to see and just assumed it was manatee and dolphin so she had us paddle real hard (my dad has a bad shoulder) into the middle of NOTHING (see pic) not near any mangroves. We got most of the way out in the middle of nothing and I finally asked her if she was taking us to mangroves this direction and she said the tides weren’t right to do the mangroves and bc she was on a paddle board she was worried abt the fin on her paddle board getting damaged...so I guess that should have been a sign. Mangroves are usually hard to stand up paddle board in and kayaks don’t have a fin, our guide for mangroves def should have planned for that 🙄 I told her that was the whole reason we booked so she took us back and we went through one little dinky tunnel. Didn’t get any interesting info or fun facts the entire time...something you expect you are paying for from a tour guide. Should have just rented our own and ventured ourselves. NOT WORTH THE EXTRA $$$ FOR A GUIDE. Would rent from them again, but I def DON’T RECOMMEND a guided tour, if you can even call it that. WHAT A JOKE! If you don’t have mangroves, don’t advertise a MANGROVE TOUR! At least when someone calls to book, don’t let them book one if you can’t take them in the few mangroves you have! Very disappointed! I’m embarrassed I took my...