We decided the evening before that we wanted to rent a boat for the day. We called everywhere and no one had any available. I found Bills and was hesitant to use them due to the negative rating on yelp. After I reviewed the ratings, we decided to take a chance and I am so glad we did! A lot of the reviews said the staff was rude, and a bunch also said they were charged unfairly for "damage" to the boat or propellor. We took videos of everything when we got the boat before leaving the marina and decided we would take a chance. We also took the insurance so the most we could lose was $250. Given the cost of these rentals was less than many others, we decided it was worth the risk. Our experience was perfect with Bill's. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. Patient with our kiddos questions. Informative about the lake and their advice was spot on. The return process also went smoothly and we were not charged for any damage since we returned the boat in the same condition as when we started. I would call them first next time because of the reasonable prices and great service. We had an absolute blast on the lake and spent the entire time fishing, cruising and tubing. Used up almost all the gas too! read more

Beware! I brought a new Bennington in for warrenty repair that was refused since I didn't buy it there. Unbelievable!

Absolutely terrible people to do business with! Had a deal for a boat trailer and the day before we travel to get the boat they say that the purchase order is no good and we are raising the price over $2000! DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM!!! read more

I used Bill's Marine Services to rent a 22' pontoon boat on Deep Creek Lake Md. it was Father's Day so I was prepared for a bit of delay and aggravation. NO SUCH THING. Every step of the process was delightful. Each employee with whom I interacted was pleasant and very helpful. Every question was answered completely and with patience. The boat was very clean, in excellent working order and very simple to operate. All told, BMS contributed to one heck of a nice Fathers Day. read more

Bills marina is super close to our location and the employees are always very polite. We rented a pontoon for the full day. We did so in advance as stated. However, at no time were we told $125.00 CASH ONLY refundable deposit is required the day of when I called a week in advance and paid in full with my credit card. It is also not on the website OR at the very least anywhere that I could find. I have no issues paying the cash only required deposit. I do, however, have an issue with not being told at any time I was making the reservation. Most people do not carry cash or at the very least that much. Additionally, as we are in midst of COVID-19, the closest ATM location to this marina is Arrowhead. Those employees, while having to do their job are also having to count those entering and exiting and deal with people like me, needing to only use thier ATM. No one gets paid enough to deal with the frustration and hassle of this business model. Lastly as an FYI, may be buy covers for the USB ports so they don't rust and are a fun upsale for your day on the lake. read more

[This review is for the boat rental service.] What a disappointing experience. While I understand that they cater to longer term rentals (multiple days), their overall customer experience and communication lacks. My brother called Bill's ahead of time to determine when/how we could rent a boat for a single day. It is basically first come, first serve --- therefore we were instructed to arrive when then opened and not before. So we did as told and showed up at 8AM. We were first in a line of around 25 other folks and waiting for over an hour just to be told that they ran out of boats. "SERIOUSLY" Why couldn't they have mentioned this to us or even placed a sign out front. The super sad part was that they told us that if we showed up at 6AM that we could have gotten a boat. But I thought we weren't suppose to show up early???? Also, they only communicated they ran out of boats to us and not the other folks in line. (Of course we shared our findings.) There were no apologies, no recommendations for a future day, and when asked what other options we might have from them... they said nothing. After reading the other reviews, it sounds like Bill's does a great job on the sales and service side of boats, but renting is something they need to work on. Luckily we ended up finding another close by option. read more

Our family had a positive experience with renting a 70hp pontoon boat for 2 days. We called a week ahead to reserve the last pontoon available during the July 4th week. The helpful staff at the North Center (near McHenry and the WISP resort) provided useful tips about docking stops and a basic safety orientation for operating the boat. The condition of the boat was clean and relatively new. Kyle inspected the boat carefully before we left the dock. We docked the pontoon boat at the North Center overnight at no extra charge. Be sure to have $125 in cash available as a security deposit! Kids 13 years and younger must wear life vests at all times. After talking with young staff members at two other places, I found the staff at Bill's Marine Service to be more knowledgable and reliable. Don't be shy to ask questions before you head out onto the lake. The staff have a lot of experience and can provide a map to guide you to the public docks at the Lakeside Creamery, Subway, Arrowhead Deli, or the State Park. We'll definitely rent from Bill's again on our next trip to DCL. read more

We've had two very good rental experiences with Bill's. The pontoon boats are clean and run well, the front desk person very nice and personable. The north location is easily accessible. Unfortunately at the end of our most recent rental we returned the boat and noticed that one of the young dock attendants had a swastika marked in pen on his arm. The front desk attendant was apologetic and said she would talk to him. However, I cannot abide renting from a place that harbors hate amongst it's workers. We will be taking our business elsewhere for future boat rentals at Deep Creek. read more

Our personal boat lost power on the lake. We called the Deep Creek Lake state park marina and their first question was "are you a resident?" We are not. The Deep Creek Lake state park marina then gave us a number for an auto parts store... Eventually we were connected to Bill's Marine Service. Seth came like an angel and gave us a jump and then followed us back to the pier. Even when we made a wrong turn he waited patiently for us to figure it out and turn around. Seth is a beautiful and caring human being and he is a great representative for your company. We truly appreciate the assistance he provided. read more

Had a great experience with Bill's Boat Rental! Customer service was great, from the girl in the rental booth to the guys on the dock. (Shout out to Ben!) Next time we come to DCL, we will be renting from Bill's! Thanks guys, for making our little get away weekend, so much fun! read more

Good service! We were apprehensive at first due to several low ratings. Everyone was friendly, helpful and informative. We enjoyed our 4 hour pontoon boat ride on the lake. Awesome day! read more

Bill's Marine Service - Check in was easy and quick. - Boating Near Me - Oakland, Maryland

We rented a fishing boat on Memorial Day weekend and it was a great experience. We had hoped to get a pontoon but they sold out while we were in line (it's frustrating that they don't take reservations for one day rentals). The staff saw that it was just my husband and I, our 2-year old son, and a our dog so they suggested we take the fishing boat. It was brand new and provided plenty of power and speed for just the 4 of us to cruise around the lake. And it was much cheaper than the pontoon! We really enjoyed our day out on the water. The staff were friendly and helpful. Taking and returning the boat were both very quick and easy. The guys at the dock gave us good info about operating the boat and where to go. I thought the cost was very reasonable and they were fair with gas costs upon return. read more

Terrible business and service!!! Tried to reserve a boat earlier in the week and they would not allow me to do so because the said; "we don't reserve boats, first come first serve on that day." I was first in line that day and they said we don't have any boats because they have been reserved. Both locations told me the exact same thing. Then, I asked to speak with the manager and he did not deny they did this but did not care. His response, "sorry but nothing I can do." At that point, I didn't want to give them any business but just admit they were wrong and unethical and change business practices. He ignored and didn't care. If they are that unethical will rentals, imagine how they rip people off with sales. Never rent or buy from this company. As a veteran on July 4th, it was disappointing to be treated in this manner by the manager who approved of unethical and immoral behavior for profit. read more

Staff friendly made check in quick. Boats are older with stained seats from weather but ran well.

We rented a 75hp Pontoon boat from Bill's Rental at the South Rental hut and the entire experience was fantastic. The girl at the rental office was helpful and quickly processed us onto our boat. The young man who explained the boat and its operation was also nice and helpful. We then motored down the 400 yards to Bill's Outdoor Center and rented a tube. Also staffed by friendly folks who quickly got us on our way. Enjoyed a great 4 hours on the lake at a reasonable cost and then headed back to the dock. Once again a great group of young people gassed us up and checked us back in. It was a very good experience and the price was reasonable. When we go back to Deep Creek lake again we will be renting from Bill's! read more

We had a very positive experience at Bill's both in terms of boat rentals and boat purchase. First of all, we rented a 190 hp Bayliner 185 for two weekends. The boat was clean, fairly new and we had absolutely no complaints. The staff was helpful and friendly and the boat performed without a problem during our hours out on the lake. We had such a great time that we began researching boats to purchase. I used BoatTrader.com and spoke with dealers locally and from a range of states from VA to PA to IA to AL....It was an education in terms of the different approaches taken by the salesmen all over the southeast. Throughout all of my research, John Kealy at Bill's Marine was head and shoulders above all the rest. He was professional, knowledgeable, patient and gave sound advice. We discussed a range of issues such as fuel injection vs. carburetor and he gave intelligent, thoughtful answers to my multitude of questions. We ultimately purchased a used boat from John at Bill's Marine and the boat has won rave reviews from family and friends alike. If you are looking to purchase a boat at Deep Creek Lake then I would strongly suggest that you speak to John Kealy at Bill's Marine Service. Happy Boating! read more

We rented a pontoon boat for two half days. everyone was friendly and customer service was good. We had engine trouble on day two. It they were out with a new boat in 20 minutes so it was no big deal. Definitely recommend them. read more

This review is for the rental boats. The people that work out on the doc are the reason I gave 3 stars instead of one. The rental boats are lousy quality. I realize I only had experience with 2 boats but they're probably all the same year and type of boat. First we rented a power boat with a larger engine and after the 5 of us got on the boat, went thru the inspection and signed all the documents the boat wouldn't even start. They switched us to a power boat with a smaller engine and this one started. Unfortunately once we were out on the lake the boat alarm would go off and the engine shut down whenever I tried to go in reverse. Whenever we tried to go fast the back cushion ledge over the back of the boat would open straight up so obviously we could never go fast. In summary they have nice people working there with poor quality power boats. read more

Be sure to read your contract carefully before renting here. We were given a boat that was completely out of oil, causing loud beeping that began about 20 minutes into our rental. We were told that we should have called them at the first sign of trouble, but we had no cell service. They offered no compensation for our trouble and unpleasant experience. read more

This group is awful. If you didn't buy it from them don't bother. Allegedly an authorized Loadrite Dealer but won't even do warranty work unless you purchased it from directly from here. read more

Extremely helpful employees, we received excellent customer service and the guys here were more than willing to help us and provided lots of useful information. Will definitely be coming here again, and would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a smooth and fun experience. read more

The guy did not give us life vests, we were out on the lake and figured out that the guy did not provide them which seems highly illegal not to give guests a life vest. You also have to pay for gas after which makes zero sense because you're renting it. When we come back to deep creek, we will be looking elsewhere!!!! read more

The Service Center has been very helpful in getting our new used boat started, working to get a custom cover on our boat and helping us when we had end of year starting issues. They have been very responsive and helpful. read more

Best place on Deep Creek Lake to rent! Would HIGHLY recommend. Nice people and nice boats :)

Had a great weekend in deep creek, the rental staff and all their services were incredible. Staff was very helpful and friendly, being my first time Danny at the dock helped us out with some good areas to go. Would recommend this place to anyone looking for a weekend of relaxation. read more

Terrible customer service! Honestly what a bunch of rude, inconsiderate people they have working there. We stopped by and acquired all of the information on renting a boat. We were told that they had a line of people at 7:30 in the morning, and that it is first come first serve (no reservations) so if we wanted a boat we should get there early. My husband and I were there at 7:00 a.m. I'm guessing it was Bill who showed up at 7:30 and told us nothing except that they were not open until 8. At 8 on the dot, the rest of the staff rolled in and told us that they were sold out. They claimed that they had multi day reservations. Ummm, seriously? And Bill couldn't take two minutes to tell us that we were wasting out time? Sounds like a load of garbage to me. Don't waste you time. read more

Did not get my deposit back. Rented a powerboat, water sports tow rope, and a knee board. The rope was dropped when the rider fell in the water. The rope was instantly sucked into the propeller causing damage that allegedly rendered it unusable. Water sports ropes are meant to float. This one sunk immediately. read more

Bill's marina is a bit like Jekyll and Hyde. They are excellent when it comes to picking you up if your boat becomes disabled. Even coming out to get us when we were stranded and they were closed. However, once they get you to the Marina they become Hyde and work on their schedule. Offering terrible customer service and operating on their own schedule. What you would expect from a business that has the monopoly on DCL. read more

Very professionally run business. Don't have to know anything about boats or aquatic related vehicles because the owner and workers can help you out with anything you need. Extremely well organized and a very thorough marine service, would definitely rent from them again, highly recommend this company! read more

Just had a very disappointing experience with these folks. My wife stopped in and got all the details about renting a pontoon boat for the day, so I was there at 7:30am waiting for them to open just as they told me, waited 45 minutes in line and when it was my turn at the rental window I was told that I could pay for the rental with a credit card just as they told my wife however I still needed a $125 cash deposit to rent the boat "needless to say they failed to mention that to my wife" I had $90 cash in my pocket but they wouldn't take that and by the time I went to an ATM and got the cash all the boats were rented. So I'm left with two disappointed children. Thank goodness for Deep Creek Lake Boat Rentals as I'm in their office right now as they're saving the day for me! read more

TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE Avoid this marina for any business! Rented boats here for 5+ years, leak of 8500 gallons of raw sewage into DCL and they wouldn't consider refunding a small $150 deposit. GREAT customer service for a repeat customer that has spent $6K plus over the years. You have lost my business forever! Told me they won't be able to re-rent the boat, it's 4th of July week, seriously? 11 days till my rental and she says "our policy is 15 days." Not smart business.... She said..."just avoid that part of the lake..." read more

Rented ski boat '190' and had a bad experience. Be very wary of these people and rent somewhere else if you can. Bait and switch: quoted price and came back next day and would only rent boats costing $100 more. Misleading: Told only to expect to burn 5 gallons of gas ended up paying for 20 @ $5/gal. Also told not to worry about hitting bottom - no sand bars. Not true, and lost$125 cash deposit from propeller damage from a sandbar. Our propeller had prior damage and they still kept deposit, REFUSED to demonstrate that deposit was not also kept from prior renter. Dock manager said that they keep customer deposits all the time. They are very aware of the hidden shallow spot issue and is why they only take cash deposits so they cannot be disputed. Make you pay for gas before even looking at propeller for damage. GM is Bob and he said that he stood behind his dock manager. Won't rent from Bill's again, too much of a shifty, hustle business. read more

Terrible customer service. I echo many of the comments here in that they will hide behind a policy in order to treat a customer unfairly.

This is a great place if you don't mind stopping at multiple locations to get all the stuff you need and being forced to listen to multiple tell you it is the other location's problem. We went to the McHenry location to rent a pontoon. Since we were getting a one day rental they would not allow a reservation in advance. We had to stand in line for it. Turns out they couldn't rent tubes there, and they also didn't have enough life vests. They said it was not their fault, but we had to go to the other two locations to get everything we needed. Guys weren't that knowledgeable either in terms of the rules. The boat was in ok condition, so that is a positive. I also was not happy that we had to pay for fuel at the end of the day, which is different from other places we have rented from in other cities. read more

This place is absolutely HORRIBLE!!! Okay service at first, until we got onto our pontoon... got maybe 3 miles down the river, stopped to let the kids swim... for there to be no anchor. You would think that an anchor would be 100% necessary right? Well anyways, we try to restart the boat and it wouldn't start.... and now that we had no anchor, we drifted into rocks waiting for them to come help us. Half an hour goes by and there was no help, by this time we crashed onto shore into rocks. We call again and they said he had just left the dock at BMS ... so another 30 minutes passed by before we received any help. He then proceeded to tell us that he could not compensate our time for the hour wasted waiting for help. He gave us 15 extra minutes to be back at the end of our time... OH , and he was wearing NO MASK the entire time! We finally get out onto the water again, only to find out that he didn't even know if we had an anchor on the new pontoon, and said it "wasn't a requirement" and there was no power steering on the new pontoon!!!! The whole ride sucked, we couldn't just go straight without the boat veering to the left or right randomly. We get back to dock at the end of our time, and asked JED what he was going to do for us considering everything we want through from the jump.. which he promised he would compensate us when we got back to return the boat. Jed, who claimed to be the manager and was in fact not, said he could only waive the gas for the first pontoon.... like that's even a question? We then went back and forth with the RUDE, UNMANNERED, DISRESPECTFUL, and NON-CDC Compliant Jed to see what he was going to do for us... he then continuously interrupted us saying he was not going to do anything for us. After arguing with Jed, he agreed to give us $6 off of our gas for the second pontoon. I stopped by a kiosk by the parking lot to ask for the manager, who was in fact NOT there that day, after Jed said he was the manager. Jed then ran up behind us and we continued to tell him that he lied about being manager and we were very upset about the customer service, and service in general from the entire day, and quality of their boats... Jed then yelled at us saying HE DID NOT CARE and that we were NOT the first people to tell him about the sucky service! You would think that to continue good business and customer service they wouldn't have people like Jed working there! I wouldn't even give this place 1 star but I'm bound to 1 star to write a review.... read more

Great boat and friendly people! We rented from them today after having problems with another rental company in the area. The boat was great. No issues and everyone we dealt with was very friendly. Very reasonable rates. We will be back again this week to rent again. I recommend checking them out for boat rentals! read more

We had a horrible experience at Bill's Marina. Walking in, the young lady at the front desk immediately had an attitude with us when she stated that we were a day late picking up our boat. Showing the paperwork, she realized she made a mistake but she did not apologize. They also did not mention on the phone that you needed an all cash deposit- meaning that my poor mother had to go out to the closest ATM and withdrawal the cash. The boat was nice, but our experience was soiled with the lack of niceness during arrival by the one staff member. read more

Asked for a quote on a boat. They come back at over $100,000. I tell them "I know how much that boat should cost". They come back with a bunch of excuses why it's so high, but they could sell it for $78,000. We decide to go look at it and no one waits on us. 20 minutes we walk around the lot. Employees standing all around. I guess we will spend $78,000 somewhere else! read more

We purchased a new Cobalt from Bills. Donnie Storch and John Kelley were very helpful and made our experience a memorable one. Donnie, you have been extremely helpful over last few years, making each vacation a memorable one. When it came time to order our new Cobalt, you were able to see that our selections matched what Cobalt had to offer. You communicated with George, at the factory, our desires and were able to get us exactly what we wanted. When it came time to order the new boat, John was also there to offer assistance. We feel that we got a terrific deal, both with our new purchase and trade on. You delivered the boat to our home and before you left completely reviewed every detail with us.We appreciate all the help we received and will always recommend Bills Marine Service. Thank You! read more

Heed the reviews! This place is completely unacceptable and has zero customer service. Boat rentals go quick and can not be reserved...that's understandable. We went there around 11 and got told that a boat would be returning at 12 and we could have it. We left to go pull out the deposit and when we returned at 1130 the lady at the front desk told us "Sorry, those people were here first" as she pointed to a group of gentlemen that just walked in the building. We were a group of 9 with 5 kids that just got their hopes up and then let down because this lady lied to us. Don't promise us something and then tell us "sorry". I'm about to go looking for the infinity stones so I can snap this place out of existence like Thanos. read more