Northaire Resort and Pontoon Rentals — Hotel in Helena Township

Taking a pontoon boat from Bellaire is a great starting point as we explored Lake Bellaire, traveled through the Grass River, through Clam Lake and ultimately Torch Lake. All were great experiences, and the family had a lot of fun. The pontoon boat was very nice as well. The gentleman that was at the launch location was very nice and very informative on some of the areas to see and the time it would take to reach them. The only reason I didn't give a 5-star review was because we weren't informed of the entire cost of the boat rental. A taxes and "fees" charge were added to the cost. I questioned what the fees constituted and the answer I received was "it might be a fee for using a credit card". I also was charged a $50 dollar pet fee and was told their company is the only one that allows pets on boat rentals. I later found out this wasn't true. It's just nice to know the entire charges and what they are for when renting a boat rather than later. It kind of reminded me of a cable TV company.....where you see the monthly charge but with "fees" it ends up being more

• UPDATE after owner's response **

I think my point was misunderstood. I understand about state tax being a mandatory charge. That is not the charge I was referring to. "Other fees" shown in the charge was not disclosed, which we were not made aware of during the rental process. And I do remember calling you BEFORE we took the boat out questioning what the "fees" consisted of, and you said that wasn't your company charging it but rather the booking service. I asked if you could check into it and call me back and that did not happen. A disclosure that you charge a credit card fee, when not paying with cash, would have been appreciated as we would have used cash. Also, you mentioned "If this was a surprise to you, we would have refunded your rental as we spoke about charges before you took the boat out." This goes back to my issue of charges not being disclosed before we took the boat out.

• UPDATE after owner contacted us by phone **

The owner offered to remedy our experience, which was a nice gesture. I reiterated that it was not the amount of the fee but rather the fee not being disclosed at the time of rental. A paper receipt is not generated at the time of rental but rather everything is done electronically. I never received the email until the morning of the rental, which is when I...

The time on the boat was awesome. Returning it was a pain. I have never driven a pontoon and had extensive training from Dale. The weather wasn't the best but we still had fun. With the wind and choppy waves, I was hoping I would have assistance bringing it in since I called when I got close to the dock. Dale was not available and the girl working was a new hire and had as much knowledge about the boat as I did. After getting it docked it was brought to my attention the prop was bent and i would be charged $200 for a new one. I was very careful about keeping the trim up when I was in shallow water and even had a body perched at the back watching it was just high enough to keep us moving but not stirring up the muck. I have the pictures of the before and after. Since I didn't have the knowledge of what to look for, I trusted their word. After further review and showing the photos and actual prop to two different career welders, I was told the prop was previously repaired in the exact spots were I was accused of breaking it. When I brought it to Dale's attention, he blew me off and told me that while it may have been previously repaired it was still broken during my rental and it was my responsibility. Since I signed the contract, I was obligated to pay. Also, he said that the gas gauge was not properly reading Full and as I drive it would move around a bit. I probably wouldn't spend more than $25 on gas to fill at the end of the day. Since the weather wasn't that great we ended up idling up and down the green river for about 2 hrs. We didn't go more than 7 mph for most of the 5 hr day. The last hour we were in deeper than 20 feet and decided to kick it up to about 15 mph until it got too cold. I returned the boat on 3/4 tank. Since I didnt want to mess with the waves at the gas dock, I opted to pay the $15 charge to have the gas filled for me. I later got the bill for $29 worth of gas. I still don't think the tank was full when I initially left the dock since the needle did not move at all. Needless to say, this place cannot be trusted. If you rent, have some one with you to raise the BS flag if they...

We rented a pontoon boat for our extended family of 11 to tour the lakes on a Sunday. The rental process was easy and Loren was great. She met us at the boat which she had ready on time and had dried thoroughly because it was a rainy morning. She gave us a great briefing with map, highlighting the connecting, lakes and rivers with emphasis on hazards and current, and how long it took to get different places. She was very informative. The boat was comfortable and clean and despite poor weather, we had a great time as a family. we liked the pickup location because it gave us immediate access to clam lake and was adjacent to torch lake. (There is a choice of pickup locations. This location had a portapotty, picnic tables, four new boat slips and dedicated car parking.) Because of the weather and wind on Torch, we went up the scenic Grass River to Bellaire Lake first. Very beautiful. If we’d had better weather (chilly and rainy on/off) we probably would have rented a tube and enjoyed time at the sandbar on torch lake, but going slowly up the river to the lake Bellaire then through the river to Lake Skegemog and back worked for us instead. Alden is an easy stop and cute town but beware of the very shallow rocky bottom outside their docks. Overall a very good boat rental experience with nice people and equipment. We liked that the return time was 7 PM rather than earlier like some other rental locations. We would rent again from...