The store itself is great. Lots of unique and different items than the others around. Cute decor. It's more affordable than some of the others as well which helps when you are on a trip and have kids haha. I can't speak on the rentals as we haven't tried it yet. Fun little giant chair prop outside to take photos as well. read more

Purple Ape - Prop chair. The only photo I got - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Westerly, Rhode Island

We left our prime spot on the main beach to spend the rest of our day renting pedal boats as shown on their website. When we got there we were told that they dont have them anymore,nor do they rent jet skis either. (The sign at the light says otherwise) Asked the guy at the shop to work out a deal for kayaks instead since they dont carry what is advertised and he said he couldn't. We weren't willing to pay another $40 for parking to go back to the beach so went home early, upset that we didn't get to do what we went for. I would suggest changing the website as well as taking down the misleading signs in the area read more

Horrible experience. Staff was so rude did nothing about my friends getting sucked out by the current. Called me overdramatic and made me and my friends cry. Low quality life jackets that barely kept me afloat, no strap to connect you to the paddle board so it drifted off. So expensive for how low quality the entire setup was. Horrible customer service. Never again. No safety regulations in place. Have never been more disrespected. read more

Purple Ape - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Westerly, Rhode Island

We rented a jet ski from Tom 2 weeks ago. He was very personable and helpful. We had so much fun!!! I highly recommend this place. read more

Purple Ape - My boyfriend and I having a great time on the jet ski - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Westerly, Rhode Island

I love it! It's a destination! My kids look forward to going every year! The staff is amazing! Whether you want a t-shirt, sweatshirt beach merchandise or to adopt a hermit crab this is where memories are made! You can rent Jet skis, hydro bikes, and paddle boards! Taking a family photo in the oversized Adirondack chair is a must! The local kids that work there along with the attentive owner always make you feel welcome! It's a great way to start or end your beach day! I highly recommend stopping by you will not be disappointed! We look forward to this destination every year as a family! You can now even rent a condo on the property! read more

Fun place, prepared to get wet though. They don't have an area that you can board the water bikes without stepping waist deep into the water. I've rented water bikes from 2 other places and they usually have docks that you can get on the bike without getting wet, so you're less cold in the fall. The redeeming factor is they just rent you the bikes, no supervision so you can really paddle wherever you want to. We went really far, looked at the homes around the water, looked at the crabbing area. read more

Great staff!! Process was easy , smooth and I had lots of Fun !!! Even through COVID times everyone was in good spirits and also Wearing their masks which made us feel safe too. As good as it could get !!! read more

Purple Ape - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Westerly, Rhode Island

Where else can you buy a tshirt, a boogie board and a hermit crab all in one stop?! They are a huge gift shop that offers rental services ( jet skis, kayaks, ATV's, etc.) Some people would call it a tourist trap but my Misquamicut Beach flip flip beer bottle opening magnet disagrees! I like souvenirs! Worth a stroll through. read more

This business has no safety concerns. My daughters and their friends (all under 18) went paddle boarding this afternoon and were let in without any safety lessons after they revealed that they had never been before. Then, 1 hours later (1 hour after the allotted time had ended) my daughters and their friend were still out- screaming for help, while the other two friends were asking the two men at the table for help. Three other patrons came to help them as much as they could, and returned to shore to tell the workers who still didn't care that three girls were screaming for help. Once another friend got to shore, she asked the workers over and over again to help but they said they had been watching the whole time and that the girls could walk to shore (it was over 7ft deep)- another hour later- they finally answered the calls and came out to jet-ski my last daughter back. When they arrived at shore, he turned to the friend and told her rudely to be quiet and that my daughter was laughing the whole time, she was hyperventilating. PLEASE do not go here! read more

Thanks so much for Tom & his staff for making my trip to Misquamicut so memorable. Had a blast. Hope to be back soon. Part of what drew me here was the website, with the Bob Marley music/vibe and it's one of the few places around to rent jet skis. read more

Purple Ape - Misquamicut memories July 2019 - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Westerly, Rhode Island

This place is very close (.2 miles may be) to misquamicut state beach. Parking is a bit troublesome. They have limited parking spots. If you don't get one of that, then all the close by parking spots are $20 all day. I drove .2 miles away and put my car in misquamicut state beach parking, which was $14. I anyway had to go to beach after this place. Jetski was fun, this was my first jet ski experience. You stop by at the yellow rental kiosk for renting. Yellow kiosk is all there is. No indoor place. read more

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Love this place! I cannot say enough nice things about the owner and staff. The shop itself is pretty cool. I was unsure of what exactly it was until I went in there and checked it out because it looks like a mini golf attraction which really makes it stand out. The giant beach chair is perfect for your family vacation photo! You forgot something at home? No problem the Purple Ape has everything you need for the beach from beach toys to sunblock and after sun care. Need a gift or trinket to bring home or to remember your trip to Misquamicut...This is the place you should stop for that. They have hermit crabs and hermit crab accessories if you are looking for a small pet. They also have hermit crab races on Wednesday nights! Need a jet ski, paddle boat, kayak or paddle board? You can rent all of that at Purple Ape. I'm sure I'll be back again! read more

Tom and staff are amazing. Great quality for a fair price. Polite staff and fun atmosphere. Here's a hint. Don't act like a pompous asshole and u won't be treated like one. Love the jet skis. Thank u Tom!!! read more

I was on a trip with my best friends family and her aunt was able to go up and purchase jet skis with no problems. We then went up my 18 year old friend and I and her mom and we got nothing but attitude from Tom. He did not let my friend drive even though she had her valid ID and I am an 18 year old african american which I felt very uncomfortable around this man. He was acting like since we are woman we will not understand anything he was saying, it felt like we were talking to a wall. He then proceeded to say "I don't need the attitude" when we tried to start over and ask for jet skis. read more

Had a great time renting a jet ski with my 16 yo son. It's been a long time since I've been on one and my oldest has been bugging me to try one. Unfortunately you have to be 18 to rent one , so he had to go with me. We decided to go for a half hour , which is $100 . Even though their website says $75. Must not of been updated. You also need to put a deposit on a card for $500. A bit pricey but I get it. Their check in process went pretty smooth , a few waivers , a pre test followed by a safety video you must complete. Well needed a great refresher for sure. After that we were shown in the water how to operate and we were on our way. We were on the bay side and it was cool for the half hour we had . My son had a great time and definitely held on to my vest tight as we got it up to top speed. A great time , will return. Just keep in mind that things like low tide on the bay side and choppy ocean effect the operations. read more

After a day at the beach this was one of the few places opened. Loved their selection of gifts and nickknacks. Good parking. If you're a on the left side of the political spectrum you'll love it here. I bought as much as I found to support them. read more

Purple Ape - Awesome stuff - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Westerly, Rhode Island

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UPDATED 2019: Wow. "How have the mighty fallen" or something, would give zero stars if possible. Website useless (last update 2013), mobile site marginally better. Since I've rented before and they don't take reservations, went 6/22/19, arrived 10:30-ish. Price hikes (OK), deposit major hike (OK), informed due to low tide we'd need to wait until afternoon if we wanted salt pond side (less expensive half-hour rentals). Turns out they just started renting the day before due to chilly ocean, glad we hadn't gone a couple days earlier as had been the plan - a working website would have prevented these issues... Since it was a birthday/father-son thing and my boating-licensed 19 year old son has never actually piloted one, upsold myself to $175 per unit 2 unit ocean rental which WOULD have been $350 net, plus deposit. THEN... probably in violation of their V/MC merchant agreement, would "only" process my checking account MasterCard as a debit. No, run it through to sign. "It still needs a PIN." NO IT DOES NOT. THEN... "Oh, you'll have to use another card for the deposit since PIN transactions screw up the deposit refund." NUUUUPE, we left, and as leaving heard the guy tell another renter who "needed" my son and I so they could go to the ocean side too "their card was declined." Nice. Double-checked later with my bank: choosing to use a debit Visa/Mastercard as a credit card (their whole raison d'être) NEVER EVER requires a PIN. Maybe pilot error, maybe store policy to save fees, maybe a third party payment processor, and to be fair, they are not the first vendor I've seen this from lately, but I DON'T CARE. Lost my business. PREVIOUS 5-STAR: Rented a jetski from Purple Ape a few times, excellent every time. Good quality skis, well maintained. Wish you could reserve a time slot but understand how that could be a nightmare for the shop what with no-shows etc. Also reasonable prices on stuff like water shoes. And I have a great photo of me and my then-14 year old son in the giant beach chair - happy times! read more

Rented jet ski's for 1/2 hour. My wife and I loved it!! Keegan and Tom were professional and helpful with every one of our questions and concerns. The jet ski's were fast and fun! I would strongly recommend coming here on your misquamicut vacation. read more

Excellent service for my family inside the store and out in the jet ski booth. Jet skis were a blast, cant wait to come back next year!

I went here with my son and a friend and his son. We had a great time . The experience exceeded my expectations. Great job Tom and Dave

Worse customer service i've ever received. Myself and 5 other people wanted to rent jet skis and we waited patiently in line, a older man came over and asked us if we were all looking to rent jet skis, we responded with "yes" and he then proceeded to roll his eyes and walk away. Then after waiting for 30 minutes we finally get to talk to the man at the front to make reservations he is chewing his gum in between speaking to us. He then told us with an extreme amount of attitude that we couldn't do the jet skis separately. So after waiting for 30 minutes as there were 3 workers standing around, they couldn't have informed us. Overall if you want business you need to not roll your eyes when you're about to make business. Second if you're going to chew gum learn how to respectfully do it. If i could give this place 0 stars i would. Beyond disrespectful and overpriced. I can go to New Jersey for $70. I know where I will not be going next year. read more

Told not to come within 500 feet of shoreline to the left of the buoy and don't pass the Buoy. so I did as instructed then the instructor yells at me saying I'm being recklessfor coming within 500 of the buoy!?? He literally told me not to pass it. When I showed my frustration for the mistake made by him he threatened to punch me in the face nd kicked me off the ski with 20 minutes left. This is ridiculous. Not to mention it took him 15 minutes passed when we were supposed to start for the instructor to show up. read more

Rented 2 jet skis from them yesterday. Had a blast!!! The instructions were great and the jet skis worked beautifully. It was nice that you had to go slow in order to get out to the ocean - gave you some time to get used to them. Driving around in the ocean was a blast! read more