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by Scott K. - Verified user on Mar 08, 2022
Slip and pool were great
by Captain V. on Sep 28, 2021
First time there this weekend. This will be our go-to weekend place now on. Fantastic place, We had so much fun. Only sorry it was the last weekend open for the season, which makes no sense as forecast is in the 70s the next few weeks.
Will be there opening day 2022.
by TAMARA S. - Verified user on Sep 27, 2021
Beautiful view of the bay from the beach bar. Band was great, will go back next season.
by William W. - Verified user on Sep 19, 2021
Very clean, very nice Marina! We love the small beach and amenities and convenience.
A good restaurant would be a plus!!!! We will def come back! Thank you!
by Danielle O. on Sep 07, 2021
Tolchester Marina has become like a second home to us! I've been coming here with my parents since I was a kid and now my husband and I go several times a month during the summer season. It's one of my favorite places around for many reasons. They have continued to invest in the property, there is always something new or improved each summer. Their staff come back year after year (I think that speaks volumes about a place) and they have become like family to us and could not be more accomodating. The Shanty Beach Bar always has great music, a fun atmosphere, good drinks and good simple food. If they ever list brisket on the menu, get it- it's awesome. The Channel Restaurant has an excellent breakfast. They are one of the more dog friendly marinas that we frequent and the beach area are great as well with the best sunset views on the bay. They have security on weekends and I think this is good, it keeps the atmosphere more family friendly. They also can do boat repairs. We broke a shaft coming in there one time, were taking on water and they got our boat out immediately. Their quick actions helped minimize the damage to our boat. We ended up having Tolchester do the repairs and they worked well with our insurance company and had us back in a week later. I could go on and on!
by Cheryl T. on Sep 01, 2021
Weve been boating here over a decade since the Shanty was literally just a bar. Every year the owners add additional ammenities, seating, decks, piers, etc. they have the best music line up and sunsets on the bay. Very friendly and accommodating and such a wonderful community of boaters make it our Go To on the bay. Love it here. Rain or shine we make our fun here!!
by Sandy P. on Aug 30, 2021
Absolutely love Tolchester Marina! We have been visiting for several years now, never disappointed! The marina is clean and the staff is friendly and attentive. The Shanty Bar is always a great time and the entertainment always fantastic. The restrooms, pool area, and piers are clean and neat. Tolchester is truly our home away from home! We feel as if we are visiting family each time we visit.
by Andre E. - Verified user on Aug 30, 2021
I had heard that marina had added floating docks but i was put on a very old dock near the covered areas. Dock is in bad need of repair and same for electrical. Damaged my shore power cable in one of the outlets. Restaurant is not inviting at all. Beach is the best part of the marina. Strange entrance but plenty water at all points. Best to review a layout prior to arrival.
by Christine M. - Verified user on Aug 27, 2021
The staff is great, Tolechester is always fun. My only suggestion is clean the power & water hooks ups. They were loaded with spiders and webs. It makes a huge difference for us keeping our boat clean. Other than that Tolechester has excellent customer service and will be an annual destination for us.
by Robert B. - Verified user on Aug 21, 2021
Great marina tucked away off the bay. This was one of the best kept marinas we have visited on the Chesapeake. Nice Tiki bar on the weekend we were there along with some great and very friendly staff. Superb floating docks with true 50 amp 230 volt power. Nice to have on a 90 degree day. My only negative is weak WiFi. We will definitely return.
by Carl k. - Verified user on Aug 17, 2021
Great as usual. Great location
by Brian P. - Verified user on Aug 16, 2021
First time I have stayed here. Visit often. Poor weather which isn’t anyone fault. Just wish there was a heads up since the bar closed suddenly. Great weather in the morning which made up for everything. Fuel pier crew is great and provided great assistance getting settled in.
by Bryant G. - Verified user on Aug 16, 2021
Great service excellent dock hands. Loved our stay. Sunset was incredible! Excellent Bartenders
by Susan P. - Verified user on Aug 15, 2021
Cigarette butts around the pool bar. No one checking the pool water ph, etc as it got so cloudy later in the early afternoon.
Great bands! Shabby chic.
by Gene L. - Verified user on Aug 15, 2021
One of the best sunset views on the Chesepeake Bay. Always helpful and courteous Dock staff. Sand Bar is a plus even with this years limitations.
by Robert J. on Aug 13, 2021
We have been coming to Tolchester Marina for at least 6 years now. We have custody of our granddaughter, who will be 9 years old in September. She has always been with us, along with our golden retriever. Tolchester is our home away from home. Cathy and her entire staff are like family to us. From the minute we pull in, the dock master and crew are there to greet you with a friendly hello and help us tie up. The security staff is wonderful. There are rules in place for a reason. Follow the rules and you won't have a problem. The bar staff is phenomenal. With the large crowds on the weekends, you could not expect any better service. The views and sunsets on the bay are beautiful. We always enjoy ourselves when we visit, which is usually 2 to 3 times per month. I always say there is something for everyone, the pool, the beach, the tiki bar, the bands, Tolchester has it all!
by Doug F. - Verified user on Aug 12, 2021
First time at Tolhester Came by boat. The transient dock was very nice. Once here nothing else needed. Pool is awsone. The property is magnificent. Thank you Tolchester the stay was wonderful. We will be back. Doug and Chrissy.
by Mary O. - Verified user on Aug 11, 2021
Always wonderful! Leap of Faith will be back!
by Kathy B. - Verified user on Aug 09, 2021
We haven’t been here in a few years for various reasons and covid. We decided to take an over night boat trip with another couple on their boat. We all had mixed reactions to Tolchester. We feel they could do much better with the place as it’s a beautiful location. We all got several different frozen and mixed drinks to all be disappointed. We all got atleast one of the rum buckets and I have to say, with as much alcohol I watched them pour into it, I felt zero, nothing, no buzz or a thing from a bucket of alcohol and I’m not a huge drinker. The others in our group said the exact same thing which, this proves they are significantly watering down the alcohol! Also, two of the guys walked away with their drinks to go close up their boats because rain was coming in. When they tried to return, with their exact same drinks, they were stopped by “security” saying they cannot bring their drinks in. Yes, they have signs ALL OVER THE PLACE about not bringing in any outside alcohol, but it was the drinks they just bought and they were gone about 10 mins to close the boats! They did let them in but this is not the first time we’ve had it happen here in years past. They stop you if you are carrying a bottle of water in! It’s ridiculous! Also, if you get a day slip, don’t let them see you eating on your boat. Apparently, you are not allowed to eat snacks on your boat or drink your own drinks on your boat if in a day slip. More bs! Along with this, the bands did all cancel for the day because of rain due to come in. It did rain, but not all day so we were disappointed by this as they could have had other music playing a bit louder. Some other things…they don’t allow you to bring snacks to the beach area. They only allow you to buy their food. I have special diet restrictions so this was very annoying to me. But I survived by going back to the boat and into the cabin to eat. Still, very annoying!! There are also no sand chairs on the beach. We did have some and I saw others that brought their own, along with beach umbrellas, but it would be nice if they offered this…even if you had to pay. The pool was fine….although, very small. The food was ok…just mostly burgers, dogs, fries, chicken strips, bbq sandwiches and such. A few with us did eat and they said it was fine. Nothing elaborate or exciting. The bathrooms at the pool area were a bit disgusting. My husband went up to use it in the morning and to shower but said he turned around and walked away because they were so filthy. And he’s not that particular. The staff at Tolchester were just ok. The security or people that stop you about drinks etc, are rediculous! The bar staff were ok…well some were slow but others ok. The ones working the food stand were fine. The dock hand was actually really good, polite, and very helpful. We did notice there were a ton of open spaces/slips under the awning part of the marina. Which has me curious as to why they were not full with full time holders. Perhaps because the place has gone down hill?? It was noisy with someone on one of the piers blaring music ALL day and night but we were not that close (thankfully) but wanted to make note of this. Actually, at a distance, it was nice to listen to but I’m sure others on that pier may not have been too happy. They also had another party going on all day Saturday so it got very crowded that evening and lots of cars/golf carts running them to/from parking lot. We ended up leaving the bar area early and sitting on our boats to get away from the huge crowd. I just think Tolchester could have called in anyone, someone to come play music as this is what we love about this place…and I’m sure, someone would have grabbed the opportunity to play, even last minute, to make some money. But it seems they didn’t even make an effort when the other bands cancelled that day. Come on…couldn’t even get someone strumming a guitar and singing?? Anyway, overall, we were disappointed in the place and that may have been our last trip there until we see some changes or improvements.
Marina Response:
We do not typically respond to reviews but we feel it necessary to address the slanderous comments made here.
In 25 years of operating the Shanty, we have never watered down liquor. That practice is not only unethical, but illegal. To suggest that your perceived level of intoxication proves that we water down liquor is defamatory and nothing short of libelous. As you say yourself, our bar is wide open to public view and our customers are able to watch their drinks being prepared. We do not underpour, and we certainly don’t water down our bottles. We won’t make a suggestion as to why you felt no effect from alcohol, but it is not a sentiment ever shared by other customers.
Bringing outside food or alcohol into a licensed establishment is against the law, hence all of our signs. We cannot allow customers to return with drinks, even purchased from us, because we cannot guarantee said drinks have not been altered while out of our sight. There are other establishments with this same rule in place. The same is true of bottles of water and other non-alcoholic beverages. Outside alcohol has been discretely smuggled in in seemingly innocuous bottles, and so we must be vigilant. It is not something we enjoy. Further, our day slips are complementary spaces for patrons of the Shanty. We do not allow eating and drinking in day spaces because they are meant to be “parking spaces” for the bar. We also do not allow people to eat and drink at their cars in the parking lot. Eating and drinking in a day slip can be equated to going to a restaurant and eating food you brought while sitting in your car.
The bands cancelled out of concern for their equipment. This was disappointing for us all but understandable based on the forecast and weather in the area. We did attempt to replace them but were unable to. It is unfair of you to base a negative review on a personal assumption about our efforts.
The private party did not go on all day; it started at 7:30PM. While reserved space for a party is not indicative of a typical day at the Shanty, large crowds are frequent.
We encourage customers who find issues with restrooms or other parts of the facility to bring their concerns to our attention. The bathhouses were found to be clean when staff left at midnight, and our custodial service cleaned them on Sunday morning.
It is apparent that your review was designed to damage our business and our reputation. We apologize that your experience was negative, but it is clear that Tolchester is not the place for you.
by Larry L. - Verified user on Aug 01, 2021
We had a nice stay at Tolchester marina for two nights; live bands both nights with a local favorite, Kanye Twitty, the second night. Floating docks all new within the last couple of years; dock hands are all very helpful; the only downside is that the Channel restaurant is not open for dinner do to an inability to find help; another unfortunate casualty of the pandemic;
by andy a. - Verified user on Jul 25, 2021
We love this place but with no restaurant on site open for non bar food it's a challenge to stay...sad the restaurant on the boat yard is not open or rarely open...and not for dinner.
by Jeffrey D. - Verified user on Jul 25, 2021
Reservation went well. Dock master and dock hands were great.
by Denise C. - Verified user on Jul 25, 2021
We were new to boating. Dock hand gave bare minimum guidance. Office help check in very minimal. Didn’t even tell me about the bathroom code. Food opportunities minimal, at best. Only greasy carnival food available. No consistent, regular hours for office nor restaurants. It felt like we were bothering the staff and they didn’t want to work.
by Donald S. - Verified user on Jul 19, 2021
Killer Drinks, long wait to get them, need more staff. Marvin the shuttle driver was GREAT with a really good sense of humor. Restaurant fixed a great service, but again lack of staff (1 Waitress), it took 20 minutes to get acknowledged. Fish Fry on Saturday was great. The Nantucket shed had lots of holes in it so when ir poured the boat got wet....not a biggie but hate drying it on Sunday morning. They also need to clean their finger docks, lots of bird crap all over. All things considered, I've been in worst Marinas. We had a good time!
by Steve C. - Verified user on Jul 18, 2021
Great except huge storm which cancelled some live bands, but they can't control that.
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