Champlins Resort Reviews

This was our first stay on Block Island and first stay at Champlin's. We came in on a 40ft motoryacht to stay from Wednesday to this Past Sunday (8/13/17). One thing I noticed is that Champlin's is REALLY BUSY. I have been to many marinas however none as busy as this. Its not a huge marina but they do make the most of it and yes it can get a little cramped. However those dock hands work their butts off and do a great job. Never once did I feel underserviced, especially when you take into account how many boats are there, leaving or coming in on a daily basis. On a regular basis you can see a guy walking the dock, talking in a boat while running down to receive it with his crew. That guy ran that operation like a pro.

The marina itself is nice and has good amenities. From a fuel dock, complete with bar, restaurant, snack bar, bakery, pool and even laundry service. Also on the property is a rental agency that rents scooters, bikes and Jeeps. I opted for a Jeep but with the horrible parking in Old Harbor, I think maybe next time it will be a couple scooters.

Overall it made for a great first experience, I couldn't ask for more out of this crew.

Overall: unfortunate situation, good ending. My ocean kayak was missing a rubber seal meant to prevent it from taking on water in the platic cavity. Not being experienced, I didn't notice and went out on the water. I achieved neutral bouancy, and got pushed over by the ripples in the Great Salt Pond. This would be a negative review, except when I discussed the issue with the attendant and owner, they handled it so professionaly and quickly, that I would give them repeat business. The attendant refunded my rental charge and the owner reimbursed me for my phone in full and committed to better equiptment checks to prevent missing seals in the future.

This place is Amazing. The owner is professional and yet friendly. The marina is beautiful and kid and dog friendly. The kind of people that go to Champlins are all there to have a fun time with there families. We have been boating for years now and have been many place from New Jersery to Flordia. Champlins has a place in our hearts for her. Thank to the establishment, staff . WE c ant wait to come back for Labor Day.

What a disappointment. We came in on the night of Sunday September 6, 2020. The guard who was checking ID s let our 19 year old friend in who had a fake ID! But, wouldn t let our 20 year old friend in who didn t have a fake ID, but showed his real one. We called the bouncer out for letting someone in with a fake ID and not letting our friend that s older in. The bouncer went absolutely crazy and lied to the owner saying this group of people were fighting with others at the bar and they re yelling at other customers . Really? That s funny. He completely lied to the owner. He wouldn t even let us passed him, never mind to the bar or to even talk to other customers. Absolutely insane! I have the whole thing on video and I can t wait to post it everywhere to blast these people!!!! SHAME ON THAT GUARD/BOUNCER

This is a horrible place, false impression from website, next to housing for Ballard s hotel...

Time of your life!!!!!!!. Coming by boat to Champlins for 15 years. Wouldn't go anywhere else.

I will preface this by saying we paid $400 a night for our room.
Our first experience upon arrival was to be left waiting at what appears to be the front desk, but unless you look closely at the surface of that desk to see a small sign saying that the main office is down the hill, nowhere near where the taxi drops you and your bags off, you would have no idea. (Another guest saw us standing there waiting and told us.)
So you carry your bags down to the main office, which looks more like the office of the maintenance dept, very cluttered and disorganized. Not a good "first impression".
We arrived before check-in, but the web site says you are welcome to use the "resorts" amenities before actually checking in to your room. We were going to use the pool while waiting, we went over to the pool area and asked about towels. There are none. they do not provide them at the pool area. I went over to the main office to ask about getting some and was told that towels are in the rooms. But we don't have a room yet, so we don't have access to towels. I said "really you can't give us towels? We don't have our room yet." and she said no.
What kind of "resort" doesn't supply towels at the pool?
So we skipped the pool and just kind of sat around and waited for our room.
When it became available we go to it and walk in and get hit with a VERY musty odor. It smelled horrible. Like mold and sewer. We were so tired we just wanted to lay down so we just left the door and the window open for a while to make it a bit better. After a while we turned on the A.C. and that made it a little bit better, but whenever housekeeping came, they would turn the A.C. off so we got to return to musty smelling room every time they came. We had asked for a roll away, and when I booked the room on the phone I was told it would not be a problem. Well they brought one alright, but it just BARELY fit in the room, not to mention the arms that hold one end up are bent, causing one end to collapse so my son went crashing to the floor. With the roll-away open you literally could not open the mini-fridge door it was so tight.
Oh and the towels-there was three towels for the three of us. Three towels for three people to use at the pool, beach, and shower. My wife asked for more. They never came until she called again hours later.
Went to the bar at the end of the dock, no bloody mary mix. Okay ginger ale then. $9 for a one liquor mixed drink and a flat ginger ale.
Go to the movies one night. The "theatre" is a musty pole barn. It was VERY hot in there. The fans were just blowing around the smelly humid air. And the theatre doesn t take credit cards, so walk back to the room in the rain to get cash.
Breakfast at the snack bar took FOREVER.
When we finally got our orders, mine was completely wrong (they gave me someone else's order) and my wife's and son's toast was black. Like not just well done, burnt to carbon. They never got it right.
Other things like overflowing trash cans, trash on the ground that staff members REPEATEDLY walked right past, and even silly things like the flower barrels were in need of weeding badly.
Add to all this staff members smoking pot outside our room and did I mention there were bugs in the sheets? Small flea size flies.
After spending $900 at Champlin's to say we were disappointed with our experience is an understatement.
I gave Champlins multiple opportunities to respond to me via e-mail or phone before I posted any review, they chose not to. I called again and spoke to the "manager" Randy and he said that he credited my card for the $40 charges for the broken roll-away. (That was a lie. I checked with my bank and there has been NO credit issued.) I asked him what about all the other issues as I will be sharing my experience far and wide. His response was "we don't offer refunds under threat of review". I hung up. I then posted a review on Tripadviser and 15 minutes later I got a call from Randy saying would it be okay if HIS manager contacted me the next day. I said "of course". That was six days ago and still no call.

Could not have had a better experience. From dock hands to their fabulous facilities, everything was outstanding. Can t wait to come back.

Very Disappointed !!! They Pack Boats in there like sardines. Always loved This Marina until now. Dock master Joe is Very Unprofessional. Could not be bothered about the damage that occurred to my Boat. Lied numerous times that he was gonna take care of it. Made us wait 2 hours for paper work that until this day I did not receive for damages. Management needs to fix these problems and teach their staff some Respect!!!!!

This is a beautiful place, and close to all the action, but not too close. However, it s a little unclean and lacks a lot of local information.

Cool bar on a dock with decent drinks. Been to Block Island a few times and never been here befote

Used to be good. Was there for 3 night , 3 boats. Everyone there seems to have an attitude. Pool was dirty, could not go in. Very expensive . I know it' an island and the season is short but the marina is not what it used to be. Would never go back

It's an exclusive place to meet up n host out doors activities

Great place. Rooms very clean. Very friendly staff. .Everything you would want at a resort. I would highly recommend this place

Dockside bar with great views and the best mudslides on the island

I was there past the normal season so I can't say much about the resort when it's in full swing. I can say the view of the Great Salt Pond every morning is breathtakingly beautiful and the staff was absolutely wonderful. This resort boasts it's own theater, restaurant and a cool little bar at the end of the doc. Moonlit walks along the dock are especially beautiful.

I have been to Champlin's many times for drinks after and before the ferry. I went with my family and bought 5 mudslides for everyone, i then got a text message from my bank saying my card overdrafted. Once i checked, I saw that Champlin's not only charged me the $50 for the five mudslides, but $500.00 charge as well. I called them, the woman that answered was extremely rude, unhelpful, and said she would call back immediately. No call back. I called back, she answered, then she seemed to just not know what to say and hung up. I called back- the manager answered hastily and immediately was rude, told me the credit card company put $500.00 and they had no charges for over $100 the day I was there and was extremely rude the whole time, wanted to get me off the phone immediately. He said the $500 wouldn't post, and that it will be pending then disappear. And as expected, the $500 posted to my account, along with the $50 that was the correct amount. I then had to handle this as a dispute with my credit card company, since Champlin's was the one that posted it.

I couldn't believe the lack of customer service and rude employees when they were the ones that messed up. I will be spreading my experience around to all I know that travel to Block Island.

Not exorbitantly priced for Block Island. Good drinks

Great mudslides on the fuel dock... other then that this place is pretty run down and past it's prime.

whats with the music being projected out onto the mooring field super late at night? it would be one thing if it stopped at 10pm but to have it going on past midnight is ridiculous. it ruins the entire mooring field experience.

Besides staying here, people come for the mudslides and events like Christmas on labor day weekend

This review is for the marina. We always stay/dock our boat there. We feel safe to see that there are 5 or more boat handlers to help you, especially at 4th of July weekend. You pay extra $$, but it is all worth it!

arrived at the marina sept 4 2020 labor day weekend , which we had a reservation for a 3 night stay. on arrival found the marina to be severely overbooked. i was directed by the staff to my dock which did not have enough depth for my 42 boat which caused damage to my props. i was assured i would be compensated thru their insurance for the damage, 3 months later still no offer for compensation. very disappointed

BEWARE! Would give zero stars if it was possible. Place wasn't in bad shape, but my credit card was charged twice. Visited Memorial Day weekend and paid with a credit card, then my card was charged again the same amount exactly a week later even though I was nowhere near Block Island. Contacted Champlin's, spoke to a girl at the desk and gave my information. Never heard back from them about what they were going to do to make things right. Filed a fraud case with my bank who is doing the research. If you go here DO NOT run a card for anything because it seems like they save credit card information and will use it in the future. Try to use cash if possible, best of luck.

The people are very helpful ..BUT THE POOL IS GREEN I WOULD NOT SWIM IN IT

We came here during COVID thinking it would be nice and social distanced. Every boat had a trump flag and blasting music. Drunk people everywhere with no mask. The rooms were moldy and smelled. We left after one night. We rented 3 day s of boat slip and they didn t refund us. Lost

I was very excited to go here with friends once I turned 21 but when that happened the staff wouldn t even let me down the dock to sit with friends because my ID was expired. Mind you when I went at 12 the night before my birthday they didn t even card me. Fair to say I will not be returning.

Not really anything to do and what you can do is expensive

I stopped by with a few friends for drinks during a recent visit to Block Island. We unwittingly showed up before opening and were asked - perhaps a bit gruffly - to wait for half an hour before entering the dining area. Once we did get inside, the service was good and the food and drinks favorable.

We spent two nights at Champlains this week. The staff members were friendly and helpful, the pool was dirty, the docks were decent, the surrounding area is beautiful. On our first night they put us on the outside end of the farthest dock towards the inside of the harbor. We went to bed around midnight and at 1am my wife woke up startled saying that someone was on our boat and that she heard footsteps on deck. My first assumption was that she was crazy but after a few minutes she convinced me to go on deck and have a look around. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary so I went back to bed. A half hour later she heard the same noises again. Regretfully I stayed below deck this time and went to sleep. The next morning we awoke to our coolers being robbed. Our boat and the boat next to us. They took water, alcohol, Gatorade, and $1,000 worth of yeti coolers and fishing lures. The manager that morning was somewhat helpful in calling the police for us. They refused to show us the surveillance camera footage but claim they gave it to police. They told us conflicting stories once that they had footage of another patron leaving the bar and stealing our stuff, bringing it back to his boat, and then a story of teenage pirates coming in on paddle boards and robbing us. Later that day I went back to the office and found a short and stumpy dismissive and arrogant grumpy little elf of a man in the place of the manager. I later found out this little guy was actually the owner!!!! I simply asked him if they had anymore information on the robbery and he immediately got a rude tone and asked me if he looked like the police. I told him there was no need to be nasty and that I was only asking because the manager had told us that there were other cameras that he wanted to have the camera guy check for more evidence. He told me to call the cops if I wanted more information. The whole thing felt shady, as if he was protecting someone. Maybe it was his employees that robbed us who knows. Anyway at no point did we ever get any sort of apology, no offer to move us to a more secure location even though the place was empty the next morning. No offer of any sort of compensation whatsoever. The lack of concern, lack of apology, and the attitude and complete lack of customer service by the OWNER made this experience horrible. The last day I felt obligated to let others know of what happened so that they could secure their belongings and not have the same experience. The cocky SOB of an owner came out and asked me if I wanted to borrow a megaphone to tell people. Do yourself a favor and stay at any other marina other than Champlains. Right next door is Payne s and it looks like a great spot. We will be staying there our next trip to Block. Again ****BEWARE AND BE WARNED STAY AWAY FROM CHAMPLAINS****

Not sure if it's the competition that is having people trash this resort , but since I arrived the management and employees here are amazing. You have to realize this is a summer resort and closed in the off-season, so their employees are new, in-experienced seasonal. Randy at the front desk was fantastic in showing me to my room and then switching my room and even appologizing when the previous guest jammed a window open. There is the tropical storm coming towards us and I'm nervous and not sure if the ferry will be operating when I check out. However, the owner overheard my concern and personally told me that they would pick up the tab for any additional nights until the ferry is running again OR if I was to check out early, they would refund me. That my friends is world class customer service and they can be assured I'll be back next season!

I would give negative stars if possible. Oliver I the marina side was AWESOME, but Morgan on bar side (her name tag says she's from NY) was HORRENDOUS. I've been a waitress, bartender, manager - all of the above, and I've NEVER complained because I wouldn't want to betray a fellow restaurant worker. She was so bad, that I would BETRAY that code. I went to Champlins to order the world famous mudslide, she told me I should be ordering the pre-made one because it was "better" (no, you just didn't want to make the drink I asked you for) then proceeded to roll her eyes and IGNORE US on every request going forward. My boyfriend was so upset and asked her why she was acting the way she was, to which she replied with a smirk. This girl shouldn't be working in any type of service that requires contact with the public because she absolutely sucks ass.

It was terrific and the food was great. Reasonable prices for what you get.

Nice little change of pace for the block island Summer night life style. I went here a few days ago with a friend at 8pm and spent like 3 hours in the arcade. Then we went to the dock where they had live performers a dance floor and and a great mudslide. Gotta love block island