Conley Bottom Resort — Hotel in Monticello

We reserved a week for our anniversary; looking for some quiet time together. We spend a lot of time apart and were so happy to have this time together in this beautiful place. This was our first trip together in a year. Upon arrival- they helped with loading and told us this houseboat is “brand new”. Our first night was spent in a creek near the resort- there were lots of boats going in and around our spot so we decided to find a creek farther away from the resort for more privacy. We found one- no cell signal- fine with me. Had a great first few days in a fairly secluded spot. The boat was clean. The mattresses aren’t comfortable- the ones in the bottom of the boat are on the floor- getting in and out is not easy if you aren’t limber- but it was fine; like camping. We decided that we should secure a spot closer to the resort Friday morning- lots of boats going out on Friday afternoon; we didn’t want to be late on Monday for check in. The boat was not starting correctly at first; it finally kicked in and we traveled to Faubush Creek. We realized when we got there- it was not a good spot for us. There were lots of smaller boats that came and parked right next to us with the plan to drink and be loud for hours. We untied to find another spot and the boat wouldn’t start. I jumped in the water and pulled the boat to shore tying off on a rock. We called the dock to tell them there was a problem. They didn’t come right away. I sat on the rocks of the shore next to my tie off. My husband investigated the problem. The mechanics showed up almost an hour after we called. They tinkered with the boat for over an hour and couldn’t figure out what was wrong- fuel wasn’t getting to the line. We retied the boat properly to the shore. The mechanics said they had to get a manual and study it to figure out what was wrong. They left and came back almost 2 hours later. By this time- it was late afternoon- we hadn’t done anything except wonder when they were coming back and if they could figure out the problem- daylight burning away. They brought back a beat up pontoon boat that had a broken fuel gage and doors that didn’t shut properly- and told us we could drive around in that rather than sit on a hot boat watching them work. We said ok- took the pontoon to get gas as it read “empty” and found it didn’t need gas. We kept that boat for a little over an hour and brought it back to the dock- and someone brought us back to our boat. It was around 6pm. They had found some electronic thing wrong with the boat and replaced it. We hadn’t eaten all day- and were very tired from the days ordeal. We decided to eat, go to bed and move in the morning. The people at the dock all told us we would be compensated at checkout for losing a day of our vacation. We moved to a quieter cove and enjoyed the last two days of our stay. Upon check out, we arrived early- boat was cleaned by us. We were told late arrivals would be charged 200$ so being on time was important. When asking about compensation for the lost day- we were told no compensation would be given. The old pontoon they gave us to take out for a short while was our compensation. 🤣 I argued that- we didn’t ask for that- it was not something we wanted- they insisted- we were told we would be compensated at check out by employees the day of the breakdown. The manager said- you didn’t move that night- so it must have been where you wanted to be. No- we were exhausted and hungry- we moved when we got up the next morning. “We gave you a pontoon- that’s your compensation- we told you that you could keep it all night… “ We didn’t want a dumpy old pontoon with a broken fuel gage, you insisted- and we only had it for a little over an hour. The resort charges you if you are late at checkout- but do not compensate you when their boat breaks down (They could have refunded the 6 hrs- I would have thought that was fine). I told the manager that his decision lacked integrity, and he knew it. He stated that he didn’t care. Mostly great vacation on a decent boat. Our one day of stress- should have been...

This place was ok. I was there the weekend of July 13-15th. We lucked out and found a really good campsite right on the edge of the lake. There was 6 of us and we were there for a bachelor party. We rented a boat on that Saturday. I will make a list of things that I liked/did not like.

Things I liked:

1. the whole area was really cool. The Conley Bottom Dock was nice, the staff was super friendly and had nice facilities. Obviously every think on a the lake will be a little more expensive so i'm not holding that against them.
2. easy access to the lake from almost anywhere on the premises.
3. clean restrooms, really clean! A major plus
4. everything felt very safe and family friendly

Things I didnt like:

1. the food at the restaurant was just ok, although their soft serve was phenomenal.
2. My biggest complaint was that we rented a speed boat for the day, and while the staff was super helpful and nice, the boat we rented was pretty expensive (compared to other places) and just not very nice. The gas gage wasnt working properly so we never knew exactly how much gas we had for sure, and also the speedometer was broken.No I asked about it and they told me they tried to get someone to fix it but never followed up. Also when we came to fill up we couldnt get the boat started, someone helped us and after sitting there for an additional 30 minute we finally got it work. I just felt like that was a lazy excuse and kinda turned me off.
3. They didnt have a ton of campsites. They had a massive amount of camper sites, which they say you could have camped on, but I highly recommend that dedicate a small area to just tent camping to assure people can get a spot. Luckily we showed up early enough and did get a great spot.

*pro tip!!! If you are renting a boat for a day plan on filling it up atleast once throughout the day. We had to fill up about mid way through and it cost us an additional $110 for gas that we weren't expecting and then we had to top it off once we got bac for the day ($25 extra.) so we had ended up spending $135 that we just didnt plan for. I guess boats just arent the most efficient vehicals.

Overall I liked Conley Bottom, but I will be down there again and will not rent a boat for them. The extra gas cost didnt bother me, it was mainly just the fact that our boat didnt work correctly and they didnt seem too concerned on getting it fixed. When we go back down there in Sept. we will likely rent a boat from State Dock, they have much better quality...

I drove my 13 yr old daughter down to stay at her friends lake house for the week...after me and my friend dropped her off we were looking for a place in the lake to have lunch and enjoy the lake view before heading back on the 3.5 hour drive back to Cincinnati. I saw the reviews for the cafe and thought it would be perfect...20 min out of the way but exactly what we were looking for...when we arrived we went into the gift shop for a while and grabbed some literature for house boats rentals since we are considering renting one next summer....we loved the looks of the marina and were very impressed....after, we went to the cafe...there wasnt any outside seating, a little disappointment since the lake is what we came for but we understood it was a Saturday and really busy...no biggie we would just eat inside then go sit on the rockers at the end of the dock ... we walked inside...weren't greeted by anyone...went to a table and sat there for 15 min without one person coming over to us watched a few that came after us get drinks and order...at that point we saw a outside table open so we hurried to grab it....I asked a server outside for 2 menus and she snapped back and said....did you let anyone inside know you were eating out here then spun the napkin holder around that had a small sign saying to go inside to inform of service outside...I advised her that we had been waiting inside for 15 min and no one acknowledged us...she turned and walked away without an apology...2 min later a younger server came out with menus and took our drink order...brought us our waters 3 min later and never returned to the table to get our order...we sat there for 25 min before we got up and left...in that 25 min 3 other servers walked past us multiple times and not once did they ever say anything to us....when we left we returned the menus inside and said we would be going some where else...still not one apology. Not a good look Conley Bottom! You lost us before you had us...and not just a $30 dollar meal!! We would have been back next year and spent roughly $4000-$5000 on a weeks visit and house boat rental!! We will be going elsewhere even if we have to spend a...