Maximo Marina Ventures LLC — Attraction in Saint Petersburg

Not ethical. What Marina would ever sell ethanol gas without a big sign, especially on the pump facing the water! I'm not the only one who knows about this scam so something is fishy, even if they have a label posted somewhere. Not until after a boating friend called to meet up and I mentioned Gulfport's lines being closed for a few weeks, did I find out the guy handed me an ethanol gas pump hose. My friend said it's a known scam that only the pump near the shack is non-ethanol. Secondly the guy never said a word about it being ethanol gas, even after I said they had a good price compared to Tierra Verde High and Dry's gas at a couple dimes cheaper, which another friend just texted me (TV doesn't sell ethanol gas so it would have been the perfect time for him to correct my thinking it was ethanol gas e.g. Well this is the regular ethanol gas theirs is non ethanol mid grade that's why it's a big difference in price (anyone in the boating world in this area knows TV only sells mid grade non-E gas like Gulfport and most other places, unless u r new here). Third, to just allow people to fill up with ethanol gas without warning them it could ruin you fuel pump/lines/etc is not good customer building. BTW, It WILL ruin your pump etc, trust me I went through 2 of them at $400 each year when I didn't have a marina nearby and non-ethanol was 30 miles away so I had to resort to reg GAS or spend an extra hour lugging 5 gas cans back and forth to my boat lift. And the pumps were the new ones made for ethanol, straight from the dealership, not online. If you don't believe me, that black dust you find in your f/w separator when using ethanol gas is broken down rubber from you tank level reader or lines. After the second pump and discovering the dust, I knew additives didn't work that well, even sentry. At the least Maximo should have asked if I had fuel additive or tried to sell me some, and that is just good business. Fourth they were charging non-ethanol prices when the ethanol gas is literally $2 cheaper else where for the past 2 to 3 months. I left with a smile until I talked to my friend and found out that people who go there know about the scam. I will never go back and I have put over 600 hours on my boat in the past few years; that is a lot of gas. They could have earned my business and gave me reasons not to buy gas at Gulfport (fuel additive brand and info, eager service, saying thanks for supporting a local business, offered to bring ice or just ask, rattle off a few things we might need like bait, or such and such is biting on this type of fish today.... anything). The guy did offer to turn on the pump for me which is not always the case so that was nice = 2 stars. Minus 3 for unethical practices and laziness when it comes to good business and informing your clients of basic things like, this pump is junk gas! Pardon the grammar - write this...

We had been a member of the marina for less than a year and had several issues with our boat along the way. While it makes it difficult to place accountability on the marina because they have no cameras in the dry storage lot (which doesn’t make much sense) they refused to show any concern for the damage to our boat on more than one occasion. We did not ask them to pay for any of the damage, just to keep a closer eye on the boat at night with their 24 hour security, and they refused to show any concern for our issues or the vessel. After having significant damage twice we decided to place an insurance claim and had to file a police report. Once we did that, the dock master asked us to vacate the marina. At that point, we were glad to leave and joined another local marina and have experienced much better customer service. Maximo was our first marina experience, and now that we have a comparison, along with a friend who also relocated to another marina after issues with Maximo, we can strongly recommend you think twice before leaving your vessel with Maximo. Yes, the facility is very nice, but the poor service and risk of leaving your boat with a marina that shows little compassion or concern about your expensive toy could likely turn into a similar experience and disappointment. There are several other local marinas with much better serivce and security. Also, since we lived in the area we decide to try the new restaurant and it took almost an hour to get served and it was not busy at the time. The wait staff although not unpleasant, they were not checking on us to see if we had any issues with the delayed service. Once the food finally arrived, we realized the other reviews were pretty accurate with mediocre food quality. The food was cold and not worth what we paid for it. We may give it a few more month to work out the kinks and try again, but for now you can find another marina restaurant locally that delivers consistently...

Four of us went on 7/5/18. Despite being a new restaurant, the service staff was very efficient and friendly. Good service.

However, the food was expensive and not that great. We had a hamburger with 1/3 cup of corn salad ($14) and three grouper sandwiches with 1/3 cup of slaw ($15 each). The buns looked and tasted like cheaper grocery store buns. The blacken grouper sandwich had black pepper on it but was not blackened. We asked for three tarter sauces for the grouper sandwiches. When we received the bill, we were charged 50 cents each for tarter sauce (it was basic tarter sauce for a $15 fish sandwich!). Also, for a $14 hamburger or the $15 fish sandwiches, we were told there were absolutely no substitutes. There should have been substitutes as the corn salad and the slaw were not that great and none of us would have ordered them. French fries were an additional $5. We would have rather spent the money on a good restaurant elsewhere in St. Pete. The food is definitely not worth the cost. We will not be eating there again unless the quality and prices improve.

The physical layout and design of the restaurant is quite nice, both inside and out. We stopped by the tiki bar to say hello to friends and found the bar to be nice.

South St. Pete needs a good neighborhood bar and restaurant, but the Getaway is not the place right now. It is a good place for drinks, but not dining. Once the newness of the restaurant wears off, it will likely be difficult for the Getaway to continue if it does not improve its food offerings...