This review is for their General Store ONLY since we did not rent a boat from them. The store is located just outside the check in gate for the camping grounds. There are within sight of each other. The store is basically stocked to support the campers but also the people renting boats who may have forgot some critical needs. For such a tiny store they have managed to stock just about every need one could think of. And no matter how prepared you think you are, it seems you always forget something or run out of some supplies. This store has been a lifesaver for us. We needed a smaller styrofoam cooler to take on a boat instead of our full size cooler on wheels - check, they had it. We needed something to go on a sunburn - check, they had it. And it was a great product, an aloe gel with lidocaine. We forgot to bring the cereal, brought the milk, but forgot the cereal - check, they had eight kinds to choose from including our favorite, Frosted Flakes. Last year when we brought the granddaughters, they had all that weird packaged candy they like. And of course, they have three giant freezers of bagged ice. At $2.50 a bag, I think that's pretty reasonable all things considered. Some prices are high but fair for being remote. Kroger is six miles away. They aren't gouging you like some places outside the State Recreation Area. read more

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My bf and I rented jet skis on a Sunday morning and I can't wait to do it again. Go in the morning and you get an early bird price! (And the lake isn't as busy) As someone who has boated on Monroe my whole life, jet skis created a whole new experience of the lake. I had never driven one, but it was super simple. Next time I'll rent one for longer. :) No complaints in regards to the staff. It's never a bad idea to take photo/video of the jet ski or boat before you head out on the water though. They were very thorough with us and I felt prepared! You may want to note that a $7 fee is required to get into the park where they are located- unless you hold the state park pass! read more

Rented ski boat for 4 hours on a Saturday. Due to pandemic they had a table set up outside to checkin for your rental and asked only 1 person go to the checkin and required you to wear a mask. The general store was open if you wore a mask and they were limiting the number of people inside, though we didn't go to the store. Nearest bathrooms were by the camping area and they were clean. Signs were posted to wear masks and practice social distancing in the restroom area. Our ski boat was definitely older and the canopy was no longer attached. The boat ran great and it's nice that a full tank of gas is included in the rental so no charge upon returning it to refill the boat with gas. Reason for 4 stars was the boat could use a better cleaning. We were the 1st rental of the day at 9am so would expect a clean boat. Upon opening the storage area to place skis / flotation noodles, it was very muddy and there was leftover trash from someone's lunchable along with an inflatable coozie. Recommend bringing your own cleaning wipes to wipe things down before using them and am glad we did. To get to the rental area you do have to pay an entrance fee for the state park, which I think was around $7. Overall though it was a great experience and a fun time on the lake! read more

Quick, efficient and great customer service made our rental of a pontoon an enjoyable experience. The only issue was trying to get through to the business via phone upon initial attempt to make a reservation. The hours are limited; therefore, can be difficult to reach someone when convenient for workers. The accessibility to the boat was a short walk from the parking lot and an easy walk up a ramp making this an option for the handicapped which is exciting as many boat services done have an easy on and off length and exit. Kudos for doing this instead of utilizing a dock! Upon existing the boat, we saw a worker disinfecting then washing off the boat. Again, great job and very reassuring during covid. Highly recommend this rental. Be prepared to pay park entry fee as it is located inside the state park and paid for at the general store. read more

Lake Monroe Boat Rental - Pontoons to the right brought to renter right up the shoreline. - Boating Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

We rented a pontoon boat with a slide with a large group of people. It process was painless. We showed up and the boat was ready. We loaded up and set sail. We returned once during the day for a bathroom visit but spent the remainder of the time riding around Lake Monroe and swimming. We packed tons of coolers and enjoyed lunch out on the water. There was plenty of seating on both levels and the boat was very easy to drive. This has become an annual event! read more

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Told us we damaged their jet ski, we absolutely did not. Never touched another jet ski or the boat. When we turned it in, dude said we damaged it and it would be about $200 to repair a 2 inch scratch. The paper we had was already marked with a scratch on the back right, but then they told us this was a new one. Read the other reviews. They do this to people all the time. By the looks of the jet skis, they don't even repair them, just pocket the money. Dude probably put $200 in his pocket. This particular jet ski had scratches all up and down it, as did the other one we had. When asked for a damage estimate, we got a hand written piece of paper that said "jet ski damage, $200". Don't rent from them. If they are the only one available, take a bunch of pictures and videos to protect yourself, or they will take advantage of you. read more

Boats were barely functional and whenever we would begin to go a comfortable speed. Sucks and I wont be recommending this place.

First of all the location of this place in the maps is not correct. It's actually inside the Park for which you have to pay $7-10 to get inside. I think this is a form of a lie I.e telling people a wrong location. Some Employees have no empathy or professional courtesy as it felt like all they want is money. When I was there, I just wanted to get out of there. It's like a monopoly as there's no other boat rental around so they can ask any rent price. Limited choice of food, and other super generic items that are priced considerably more than their actual cost. Try to get your food beforehand. read more

Lake Monroe Boat Rental - Boating Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Rented jet ski and a pontoon here a few times and it was a good experience. Jet ski are generally available but pontoon are mostly booked so you need to plan in advance. Prices are fair and the whole process of pretty easy. You usually get 10-15 mins as a bonus :) One thing that was worrying last time though was that we rented jet ski and returned it in exactly the same condition (we didn't do any damage or put a single scratch on it) but we were told there was a new scratch on the inner footrest area... Thankfully, we didn't have to pay for that. Be careful with inspection and take your own photos before rental starts. read more

Check in was painless... staff was good... The boat on the other hand, was ran down and only went 10mph. The reason I know how fast went was bc I got my gps app out that clocks speed as well and with 8 of us on there, on a 12 person boat, that thing did not go. 50HP motor turned way down. Spent most of the time trying to drive to a location and back. The ladder in the rear sucks so bad, it was shifting everywhere when trying to get back on the boat and the anchor rope had so many knots in it, we had to get closer to shore line to anchor down or drift like we did for the whole day. For $342 I rather been able to push 25/30 mph and had a new rope where we could've tied to a cleat and a better ladder where I wasn't killing my knees trying to crawl on the boat. They also tried to sale us a tube to go tubing and I'm not sure how u can do that at 10mph!!!! read more

Staff is rude and owner was incredibly obnoxious in his demeanor. Save yourself some money and time by finding somewhere else to rent from.

A little shy at first, but after gaining composure this young gentleman gave us an excellent explanation on how to safely operate our double decker pontoon boat and jet ski. Will return to rent again! read more

Lake Monroe Boat Rental - Friendliest staff on Lake Monroe! - Boating Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Friendly staff. Reasonable rates. Big, beautiful lake. I was in town to drop the kid off at college, so I had to get some kayaking in. Just a short drive from Bloomington, this recreation area is fantastic. read more

This is my first time renting a boat and the whole experience was flawless. We rented a pontoon and were very happy from book to return. Dock seemed very well staffed and organized. Our boat was very well maintained. So glad the guys at the office asked if we wanted a tube because this was my 11 year olds highlight of the trip. She was grins ear to ear. 2 hours on the lake with gas and tube trip was $134 which seemed reasonable. There is a $200 damage deposit that is returned upon checkin if no damage. Our pontoon was 28' and could have easily accommodated 4 or 5 more people. Lake Monroe seemed very clean and well maintained. read more

Lake Monroe Boat Rental - Boating Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Without question, the finest boat rental this side of the Mason-Dixon. I had a boy name of Ehlerding help me with my boat and we had a great day. read more

I have rented here several times and the staff is extremely courteous. They provided us with a positive and memorable experience. Lil Stevie was the lil guy that took care of us and his side kick Ehlerding was very helpful as well. A+ service located in beautiful Paynetown State Recration area. read more

The guys at Lake Monroe Boat Rental went above and beyond for me and my engagement/engagement party. They answered all my questions about my special circumstances of needing to rent two boats to be picked up at different times and also helped keep the second boat a secret from my then girlfriend so my engagement could happen exactly as I planned. 10/10 would rent again. read more

Rented jet ski's twice here, once last summer & this summer. Super nice people inside. Idk about the other reviews, they may have caught them on a bad day. The price to rent is a little much, but I'm 2/2 on having great experiences. read more

Rented a ski boat on a Saturday. The interior was covered in mildew and the engine had trouble starting until it warmed up. Good thing we did not need to use the life jackets, because there was water sloshing in the compartments below the seats and the jackets were soaked. The hatch for the ski locker was slimy. Also, no air pump or plug in at the dock to blow up our tube. The only positives were that the staff were all nice and the radio in the boat worked. read more

We have been coming to Paynetown camp ground on July 4th weekend for years (besides last year due to the Covid-19) and we usually rent our Double Decker pontoons for the 24 hour rental from here but not only did their prices recently jump WAY up from $585.60 after gas and taxes to $710.48, another $124.88 for the 24 hr. rental but they are saying now that on that day you won't be able to rent the 24 hr. rental instead they are going to charge you 2 rental fees the All Day $656.98 and the Overnight $426.93 totaling $1083.91 For the 24 HR. rental, CRAZY.... So that's over $500 dollars more each Double Decker (we need 2) for that day. In the past we have been accused of damaged to a rental (a 2 inch long scratch) and they tried to keep our deposit until I proved the scratch was already there they marked on my sheet. This family owed business does not have very good reviews at all. We will be renting from the other ones now, which is cheaper. read more

We had a fair experience with the 24 pax boat we reserved and used for the day. My issue is with the wave runner rental. Had two wave runners for 2hrs each. Upon returning them our group was charged for new "damage" to one of the runners. I was amazed as the supervisor in the return area picked away at an already sanded/repaired/painted spot, declaring it was new damage. He is literally picking pieces of bondo off the craft and saying we caused it. When I said I saw what he was doing he IMMEDIATELY shut down the conversation and simply stated that it was new damage and he was done talking about it. I actually felt bad for the young men working there as I could see it in their faces that they knew the supervisor was lying. Upon returning the pontoon boat at the end of the day, I was amazed as the same young men were chatting it up as they picked up rocks from the landing area and took turns throwing them at a post or wench on the end of the dock while people unloaded the rental boats. I wonder, might some of this "new damage" to things be possibly done by flying rocks? I have the video of employees throwing rocks if the company cares to see it. I doubt they will. It really was a shame to have those two experiences taint an otherwise great day. read more

I'm a teacher with two masters degrees. I decided to take seven middle school girls on a boating excursion. The customer service in the office was abrasive and what I consider rude. I had a question in regards to my bank account, and the woman asked a male coworker to explain it to me as if I did not understand. I was extremely offended. I will not recommend this company to my school, friends, or family. Raccoon lake is a better excursion now, and the customer service is fantastic. read more

I would not recommend this rental location to anyone. My daughter and some of her friends rented some boats A few weeks ago. At the end of the day while docking the boat they followed the employees instructions which resulted in what they say was a damaged prop. The college kids were charged $100 extra. They clearly took advantage of female college kids to get extra money. The same group of college kids rent boats every year at different lake and have never had such poor service or have been taken advantage of like this year. read more

DO NOT RENT FROM THEM!!! my whole entire 300 dollar deposit was held on a jet ski that i was on the whole time, and i'm sure that the damage they are blaming on us wasn't from us. i talked to the manager on the phone, who was rude and didn't care at all, and the workers gave us a different quote than he did. some of the damage was even underneath, where the worker didn't check previous to our ride, but we still got charged. my dad even knows about the type of work that needs to be done and is sure it shouldn't cost the 300 dollars. make sure that if you go to lake monroe boat rental (which i don't reccomend) that you check EVERY part of the boat your renting and take pictures so they don't try to steal your money too! we were very upset with the service and especially the manager! read more

Monroe lake is very large and beautiful lake. I rented a ski boat and enjoyed the ride. But the Boat rental company charged $25.00 for damages. I had an argument and that spoiled my evening. If you are not an expert boat driver then be careful while returning to the docks. There is a very likely chance of your boat kissing the dock while returning and the person receiving the boat would give an expression that you have almost damaged the boat. In my case they pointed a 1/4" incision on the side of the boat that kissed the docks. Generally you would see a black markings when that happens similar to when the tire of the car kisses the curb. I am not sure how the incision has occurred. I believe that the incision was already there and i was unduly charged. Initially they told me it would cost $50.00 but on further argument they reduced it to $25.00. My kids also overheard some other people arguing about the damage charges for their boat. I think the Monroe Boat Rental Inc is very particular when the rented boat kisses the curb. Before taking the boat for a ride , please check all the sides for any existing dents. If you are not an expert boat driver , the best thing is to call for assistance when returning the boat to the docks to avoid any boat damage charges. Sukumar read more