Island Party Hut

Awkard loading on a narrow ledge with ladder, but the location is good. Island Party Hut charges more than the $2/SF as advertised but it seems to be only option on the east end of the Chicago River. They are sensitive to protecting their dockspace and don't want any charters but let me pick up friends for a 30-min window and drop them off an hour later.

Very friendly staff and enjoyable atmoshere.

This is the 3rd time we have docked here, and effectively the same experience every time. The dock is challenging to access as ladders are only available in a few places, the 'gate' is long walk and one that is a bit hazardous if you have younger or older and guests, and I have NEVER seen a dock hand available to help with lines (except one time, when one magically appeared to charge me for going 15 minutes over my scheduled time).

Great dock. My go to place for day trips into Chicago. Be aware that you have to climb up onto a wall to get out of your boat.

The staff at Island Party Hut were very friendly. But, this dock was disappointing. We literally had to stand on the side of our boat and hoist ourselves up to a small ledge in order to get out of the boat. Had we not been fit, this would have been impossible. At a minimum, they should have a ladder at each dock, but they don't. This was the worst part of our trip to Chicago.

Only problem was , I lost an engine just before docking. Called Island Hut and asked for a dock hand to stand by to help tie up. No one was there and no clear markings telling someone where exactly to dock.

no one there knew we were coming, space wasn't ready, no power, no facilities. Had to rent a hotel.

I would not recommend docking at the island hut. We pulled up during our reserved time slot and there was no ladder to climb up. We had to hoist people up out of the boat. Tons of weeds so it made it hard to find the cleats to tie up to. Also once we did find a way out off the boat to the sidewalk, it was gated off with no entry or exit way. We had to climb over the gate just to get to the island party hut. Not worth the money to go here!

The staff didn’t answer call on marine radio about what slip to park in and no one to help you get tied up. Other than that - all good. Also get 15% off food & drinks at bar for booking dock space.

Good experience, friendly staff and good food. Only are of opportunity, the dock confirmation did not include a dock location or guidance where to position the boat, however, there was a sign on the wall indicating that the slot was for Dockwa booking…but it was hard to see. I think that if they clarified this on the confirmation, it would solve the problem.

Was nice, they called and let them know ahead when we were coming.

The dock on the river is very nice, no power or water, but very nice face dock good for big boats. Anyway, arrival went well, was greeted by an employee on arrival and thry said that the dock I was at (dock 1) was good, that the city had security guards patrolling the riverwalk, and that I should go and enjoy some island tiki inspired drinks, which I did, multiple drinks. Woke up the next morning around 10 am to my buddy yelling at me that someone needed me up on deck, told my buddy to tell em to go away because I was hungover. He yells down again that some female security guard (the ones that patrol the riverwalk) was going to call the police for some reason. Well now I have to drag myself out of bed and get up topside and see what the hell is going on. I'm greeted by a security guard that claims I cannot dock there and I tell her I have paid for this slip overnight ($100). She wants to see a receipt which I show her but apparently she was thinking I was lying or something and didn't expect me to produce a receipt which I did. She had nothing to do with the marina and was only doing what she was told to do by the owner of Island Party Hut, his name is Joe. So now she tells me I have to go see the owner, that its him who wants me out. I am pretty ticked by this point and eagerly look for the owner that threatens guests with city owned security. I find him and tell him I paid to dock here, but he tries to claim "oh you parked in the wrong spot, we dont own that spot, the city will ticket you." I show him the sign where it clearly says "Dock 1, Island Party Hut" and he then claims oh well this is where our commercial boat parks. I asked, "what commercial boat." Joe then points to a small whaler 40 feet behind me that had been parked there since we arrived the previous evening. I told him why didn't he park here then and he tried to blame one of his employees. I said his employee told me to park here to which he said that was wrong. Joe claimed there were supposed to be signs claiming that I couldn't dock there but there were none. He was forced to apologize but all of this could have been avoided if he had simply messaged me on the app (I mean the name of my boat is on the back in big letters and you can find me on dockwa) instead of using some security guard to threaten me with calling the police if he wanted me to simply move.

The dock hand was right there to assist when we came in, helping to tie up the boat. We had a nice lunch, all the staff were wearing masks, and customers needed to wear when ordering. Just one caution. If you have a large dog (ie 90 lb German Shepard) you have to life the dog up to the dock and it can be a challenge, and then walk along a thin walkway above the water. We managed fine, just takes some maneuvering. Nice staff, fun place to dock along the river in Chicago.

We really enjoyed our 2 night stay at Island Party Hut. Everyone was very attentive and accommodating to us. Amber was great (always waiting to assist every time we departed or docked). We had dinner both nights. Really good grilled burgers, hot dogs, brats. Really fun atmosphere.

food options are limited, but the space is awesome

We have never gone boating in Chicago before and Island Party Hut had amazing response time to all my questions. It is a great location to dock and walk down the riverwalk. It was easy to access and they had air conditioned bathrooms. Someone was there to help us tie up and untie when we left. Will definitely be back again!

Absolutely great for the entire day or overnight

Easy to get to and dock at as well. Recommend to all boaters, but please... leave us a spot as space is limited! lol

Drinks were over priced. Food selection was okay. What we had was fine. Counter service only.

Docking was better than the food. Hard to complain, at least there's more than 3 choices of riverside restaurants to dock at now.