Elmers Lake Geneva Boat Line

Just like the rest of the reviews on this page I’m suggesting to anyone trying to enjoy Lake Geneva: TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE!!! Horrible customer service, rude business people, and unfair treatment! Took a boating exam to get a temporary license and they promised to hold my spot until I finished… TOTAL BS!!! They gave my jet ski to a couple that was behind me in line and then told me to come back the next morning! If that’s not bad enough, as I walked away they let another couple on to the next jet ski!!! These people ruined my weekend and I will never think to give my business to them! There are 3 – 4 boat rental places near them along the lake, they are a lot more friendly, charge the same rate, and will treat you properly!

FIND ANOTHER COMPANY!!! Initially they seemed super friendly and reliable but unfortunately learned my lesson. Rented the catamaran for my sister’s bachelorette party from 10−2pm. About 3 weeks prior to the party I called and asked if we could switch the rental to 12−4pm instead to which I was told yes, but they were having trouble entering it in the computer so she would take care of it and I could call back. 2 weeks before the party I called to confirm that they were able to enter the 12 – 4 rental to which I was told no and that someone else had reserved that time. I asked if there was another boat that could fit 10 people and if we could arrange for a driver. I specifically asked for a pontoon but was recommended a deck boat and told it would fit 10 people comfortably. I cancelled my catamaran rental and reserved the deck boat instead thinking it would work out great as it cost less than the catamaran anyway. I was sent a confirmation but the cost on the confirmation was still that of the catamaran ($ 150 more!). I emailed the company to make sure that it was an honest mistake and that we would only be charged the fee of the deck boat. I never received an email back but figured it would be something I could figure out the day of the rental. Again, giving them the benefit of the doubt. The day before my sister’s bachelorette party I was called to verify my rental for the CATAMARAN. When I told the young lady that I cancelled the catamaran 2 weeks earlier she argued with me and said it was never cancelled and it would have been in their system if it was. She was saying I needed to pay a cancellation fee since it was now within 24 hours of the rental. I told her I cancelled the catamaran and rented a deck boat instead and would not be paying any cancellation fee. She could not find record of my deck boat rental. When I offered to give her the confirmation code from my email confirming my rental she said it would not be helpful. She said the confirmation code is for my record and is of no use to them! What!!! I asked to speak to a manager to which she put me on hold to go get one only to get back on and say «uh…actually, I am the manager.» Again, what!!! she told me she needed time to look into things and asked if she could call me back. I waited 2.5 hours for a call back which I never received. I called back and again asked to speak to a manager or owner at which time I told there was none. She said she did in fact find my rental from 2 – 5 for the deck boat but that there was an error and they double booked and it wouldn’t be available until 3. As upset as I was, I had no choice but to take a 3 – 6 rental as my sister and her friends were all planning their trip to lake geneva just for a day on the boat. Without the boat I had no bachelorette party for my sister. I thought everything was settled only to receive a call an hour later telling me that the boat actually could not fit 10 people, it could only fit 8. Remember — they are the one’s who recommended this boat to me when I asked for a pontoon that could fit 10 people! In the end I never got a boat through them (or anyone else) and my sister’s bachelorette party was ruined. I called every other rental company on the lake and none of them had a boat available so last minute. I will say so many of those other companies were incredibly helpful and understanding of my situation; making calls and recommending other places for me to try. Elmer’s not only made HUGE mistakes but the entire time tried to place the blame on me for everything. Not once did I get a sincere apology until the end of the day when Morgan told me it was their mistake that the boat could not fit our entire party. Please look somewhere else.

Elmer’s Boat Rental has been our favorite boat rental in the past many years. This year was our favorite time. Kent and Alex who run the business rented us a brand new NauticStar Deck boat. It was clean, smooth, easy to steer and handled beautifully in the choppy lake. They gave us a boater safety briefing before we left and made sure our guests and us had our life jackets, our tube and rope, and all our gear. We are extremely pleased with this boat rental and find them more accommodating than the others. It’s a good idea to rent online or by phone before going because it is a popular place. We will be renting from them again.

This was a very inconvenient experience. We were trying to rent a few jet skis to enjoy on Lake Geneva after taking the boating license test and signing liability contracts. We were told only 1 jet ski is allowed at a time. This was extremely frustrating because we were told this after we did an hour worth of paperwork and had family waiting for us to come back to give kids rides on the jet skis. Imagine telling 6 little kids that the jet skis we promised them were not allowed out at the same time.
Got a full refund and never going back.

After going through the whole process, which took about an hour, this included taking a boating test, providing information such as credit cards and drivers licenses… we come to find out that only one wave runner can go out per hour. This meant half our group had to stay behind to wait while the others returned. The point was for us to go together and the worker knew that from the beginning. It was a total waste of time! And not only that but our money would not go back to our bank accounts for 3 – 5 business days. I will never come back here and wouldn’t recommend them to anyone!

I have never in my life experienced such horrible customer service. Megan, was great at her job. «Kent» known as the boss & owner of this unprofessional business was the HUGE issue here. After an hour of going through the whole entire process of 1) reviewing the info for the boating license 2) taking the actual test & 3) making 4 transactions that included credit cards & such, the male employees notified Megan and told her that we would not be able to let 2 wave runners out at once. We then had to refund all of our cards and on top of that now our cards will not be credited for 3 – 5 business days. On top of all this Kent was purposely ignoring Megan’s phone calls to ask why 2 weren’t allowed out at once. The MOST, unprofessional, customer service & training of a business. I do not recommend this rental service to anyone!!!

Rude kids running the show here for the summer. Not so client friendly and particularly disorganized. I went to rent a boat and it seemed like they were doing me a favor by giving me the option. Seems very complicated. They started the process and then some manager started shouting at the ladies Manning the office that they could not take more bookings… To which they seem confused. As a client, or potential client I was disturbed. Suffice to say I took my business elsewhere, actually across the street where I was greeted with a smile and 5 star service.
These guys don’t deserve the business based on my experience.

Rented a pontoon boat for a 12 person bachelorette party plus a driver. Elmers really helped us out in a pinch. We were looking for a boat fast. We got there and the boat was clean and ready for us to hop on right away.
We were having so much fun they let us stay out for an extra hour for less. Our driver Brandon was super friendly and helped keep us entertained the whole day.
Thank you!

Reserved boat from 11am-​2pm. The rental fee was a flat $ 395. Although, I arrived at 10:50am, I was not assigned a boat until 11:30am. I informed the manager that I expected to have the boat for the full 3 hours. The manager stated that he was unable to accommodate my request, since another party had 2pm reservations, but in exchange, he would offer me a 20% discount off my rental fee. I agreed. When I returned at 1:50pm, the manager stated that the boat’s small, rear door was broken. He immediately started yelling (and used profanity). I told him the door was in the same condition as it was when I received the boat. He continued with his profanity, and stated that if I didn’t pay for the door, he would contact the police. I insisted that the door was not damaged, but for the sake of not contacting the police, I agreed to pay for the door. He informed me that the cost of the door would run approximately $ 60, but he was required to take $ 180, just in case the cost to repair the door was higher than his estimate. He stated that he would forward me a copy of the repair receipt. However, after I signed the receipt, he wrote on the receipt «All Sales are Final.» That language was not on the paper when I initially signed it (nor did I initial next to his handwritten modification). I insisted that he refund the $ 180 immediately, and contact the police. He refused. I also noticed that he charged my credit card for the full rental fee (not discounting it 20% per our earlier agreement). As a result, I want to dispute the $ 180 and $ 79 (20% of the $ 395).

I rented a pontoon boat with a captain from 11 – 5 for my buddy’s bachelor party. Our captain was great and accomodated all our requests. He took us all around the lake and stopped at some of the bars so we could go in and get some shots! We were a rowdy crowd and he was very accomodating, along with being lots of fun. I put my reservation in through their website and there were no hidden costs or fees. I would HIGHLY recommend this company for any time of event, but especially for parties where you want a captain on the water and allow yourself the luxury of relaxing.

BEWARE! THIS COMPANY ARE LIARS AND THIEVES. We rented the pontoon and when we returned the manager accused us of damaging a door which we never opened once. The funny thing too is when we docked he jumped on our boat and went right to that door and said something is wrong with it and didn’t even check the rest of the doors! Very odd like he knew it was broken before! The door was shut and wasn’t damaged. He made up something saying it wasn’t balanced. then he threaten to call the police on us and said he knew the police really well and would make something up to have us arrested. So be careful!!! You rent from them you will get blackmailed and hustled we ended up paying $ 180 extra.

So we paid for the boat THEN they tell me the radio doesn’t work. Odometer doesn’t work yet they say max speed limit is 35MPH. Wouldn’t give a partial discount. Management can contact me if you want to discuss my service!