Cove Palisades Resort and Marina — Local services in Madras

The staff was very friendly and nice at the marina, but unfortunately we had very bad luck with there equipment. Our vacation was supposed to be from Friday to Monday, which we rented a house boat and ski boat together as a package. Our first day on the lake, we went to go tubing and the ski boat wouldn't start. We had to call the resorts mechanic to look at it, and then he had to get us a new starter for the ski boat. Our group floated around the house boat until he got back to fixed it. The whole process took over 4 hours that day. On the second day which was the last day for all of our guests, we decided to take the ski boat out again to play. We checked our gas Gage before we left, and it said it 3/4 full. Once we got out on the river and started tubing, the gas gage dropped to empty, and we headed back to the docks to get gas. Unfortunately we ran out of gas and the house boat had to come get us again. The boat got to us and we were able to get the ski boat secure. We then fired up the house boat to go back to the docks and it wouldn't start. Guess what!we then had to call the mechanic again, which he said he was very sorry that we were having such a horrible time with the boats. Yes it was the starter on that house boat now, but it was so messed up he had to tow us back to the marina to fix it. So we're stranded again for a third time for at least 5 hours at the docks. Unfortunately because we didn't want to continue to break down, we decided to end our vacation a day early and head back home with the rest of our guests. We spent over $3300.00 with this company and the best they could do is give our full deposit back, which i guess was nice. All of our guests were so upset with the marina, they thought the company needed To do more. Thank you for the mechanic from lake Billy Chinook marina, he was the reason we got to enjoy what time we had on the lake. What time we got to spend was amazing, but everything else was such a pain. Everyone' was so tired, hot and stressed out. We were very disappointed and it was not worth the money! Save the frustration and book a trip to...

Such a great time for families! This was our first ever time boating on our own and it couldn’t have been a more enjoyable experience. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful with getting us signed-in, geared-up, and familiar with the boat we would be renting. I left the marina fully confident that I could pilot the boat for the day and came back wanting to do it again! The boat itself was also in excellent mechanical condition and a breeze to drive.

I need to give a special shout-out to two of the guys among the dockside staff, who helped us get our toddler ready to roll. I regret not catching their names, but this was the first time our little guy had ever gotten on a boat and he was scared of it, I guess the slight bobbing at the Marina was freaking him out. These guys went out of their way to help us eventually get him calmed down and comfortable enough to take off. We were honestly worried we would have to bail on the day, but they saved us! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Without them, we would not have had the opportunity to make a great family memory. Also a big thank you to the gentleman in the boat house, who was kind enough to let us get off of our first boat, regroup with our son, and still take a different boat out later in the day. We greatly appreciated that level of flexibility.

We definitely look forward to coming back with more family and friends, hopefully making this an...

Read the cancellation carefully. If the state has "advised" the lake contains a dangerous to humans and animals algae bloom within 2 weeks of your rental the least you will eat is half the rental rate. If they don't return your calls due to their poor in house communication as happened with us you will eat the whole rate. Ours was $289.00. Their position, after being passed around to 3 people, is that the lake was never closed. It was only "advised" to not get any water in your mouth while visiting the lake. And the guy you left the message with the night before that only called you back after you left another message the following Wed., yeah, he already went home. Too bad for us. 100 degree plus day and 3 children on the boat and by the way, don't let any water get in their mouth. We were offered 1/2 day free on another visit after Nixon two stepping through 3 different people. I understand they need to make a living and circumstances where beyond their control. They were also beyond ours. We don't pass the cost of doing business on to our customers. Just not a...