Sandpoint Watersports
Sandpoint Watersports
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About
We are proud to now offer a boat load of fun for you too. We offer only the best ski and pontoon boats available at reasonable prices, while making the booking process easy and pain free. You can view prices, availability and book your reservation online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Should you have questions please feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email.
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Sandpoint Watersports
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
10 reviews
Excellent
8
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
2
Laura B
19 contributions
Jun 2021 • Couples
Highly recommend Sandpoint Watersports if you are in the Sandpoint area and looking to get out on the water. The pontoon we rented was brand new! They offer anything and everything you need to enjoy time on the lake. Highly recommend!!
Written June 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Familyvacation123
Redmond, WA21 contributions
Jun 2020 • Family
Super fun day out on the 2017 jet boat, that looked brand new. We also rented a tube for extra $25.
Recommend you arrive early to sign paperwork. Give yourself time. There are bathrooms at the marketplace next door, and a restaurant. Gary was very patient and clear with showing us how to operate the boat. It was pretty straight forward.
It got a little cloudy/cold, so we came in early. We called and Gary met us at the refueling dock.
Bring a USB cable for the sound system. We couldn’t get Bluetooth connection to work. (Probably our fault!). They have lots of life jackets.
Highly recommend!
Recommend you arrive early to sign paperwork. Give yourself time. There are bathrooms at the marketplace next door, and a restaurant. Gary was very patient and clear with showing us how to operate the boat. It was pretty straight forward.
It got a little cloudy/cold, so we came in early. We called and Gary met us at the refueling dock.
Bring a USB cable for the sound system. We couldn’t get Bluetooth connection to work. (Probably our fault!). They have lots of life jackets.
Highly recommend!
Written June 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amy B
Camarillo, United States7 contributions
Jun 2018 • Family
Gary was super thorough explaining the boat to us. It was a brand new boat! Spoiled us! Gave us tips on places to take the boat for fun trips on the lake when we weren't tubing or boarding. Reasonably priced rentals so we could keep the boat on the dock and home we rented on the lake. Super fun!
Written July 9, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Talia R
1 contribution
Aug 2023 • Friends
Ive been renting jet skis on lake pend oreille for a couple years. This year I made the mistake of booking with sandpoint water sports. From the moment we arrived we were treated so rudely simply because we had a friend on a boat on the water. A previous rental that day had damaged a ski, the ski I was going out on, and the employee had such a bad attitude towards us for it. We were told to walk if we weren’t ok with his rule of no tying to the boat (we weren’t planning on it), his safety speech was so incredibly rude, I can’t believe we didn’t walk. Things were said like “I’m not saying this because I think you’re stupid, I’m saying it because I know you’re stupid” and “if I have to come fix your mistakes im not gonna be in a good mood”. He was beyond rude and I never felt comfortable during my rental time. Waste of my birthday weekend.
Written August 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PamRick
ND8 contributions
May 2018 • Family
We are from North Dakota and we were in Coeur d'Alene to visit our son and his family. We all went to Sandpoint and rented a pontoon from Sandpoint Watersports on Memorial Day as a spur of the moment activity. The rental was reasonably priced and the pontoon was of superior quality; we had absolutely no trouble with anything on the boat. We were impressed with the proprietor and his wife- they were so accomodating and friendly. It was an excellent experience on an absolutely beautiful area.
Written June 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mike k
2 contributions
Jun 2021
Our initial contact with Sandpoint Watersports was fine. Easy to book. I gave them a call a month in advance to check on the condition of the jet skis. I was told the jet skis were 2020 models and the condition was “Amazing” So I booked a boat and a jet ski for a full day.
Red flag #1.
Upon arrival everything seemed fine. We signed paperwork and headed to the dock. This is when the red flags started popping up. The owner Gary Chapman and I were discussing docking the boat at our rental house on the lake. Gary stated that “Sandpoint is a bunch of entitled pricks, so I better be careful about docking anywhere.”
Red Flag #2
While going over the boat Gary started naming off all the recent additional billing he did to customers. $6,000 for damage because one of his CHEAP dock bumpers did not protect his boat. $400 for this infraction $550 for this or that infraction. I understand the pride of having good equipment but also became concerned when I heard that almost every previous renter did something Gary didn’t approve of and charged them for it.
Red flag #3
We then inspected the Jet Ski. My initial impression was that this was no 2020 model. It was beat all to heck. The glove box door was broken. The paint looked like it had been through 3-5 years of abuse. This thing had obviously seen its better days. It was NOT in amazing condition as I had been told. Upon leaving the marina it was apparent my initial impression was correct. The Jet Ski was so under powered that I was dragging a bit in the water. Granted I am 225 LBS. Two adults cannot ride this thing for fun. 1 small adult and 1 child at best.
I did not cancel at this point because I had over 30 family members waiting at a reunion 17 miles across the lake. Securing another boat and jet ski the day of would have been impossible.
And here is the rest of the story.
Saturday went OK. The kids named the Jet Ski “Rat Rod” because it looked and ran like a made over old wreck. About 5:30 it was time to head back. I had my oldest son who was on the documentation head back with the boat and my 27 year old nephew on the jet ski. There were a total of 6 on the boat. I told them “if it got any choppier and windier to slow down. Gary would rather have you a few minutes late than fish his boat off bottom of the lake.” It did get more windy and choppy so they slowed down. The 17 mile trip took nearly an hour. They arrived at 6:25. 25 minutes late. On the dock stood Gary. Gary was about to blow a piston. He was screaming at the top of his lungs “MotherF**** this. F you that.” Spittle flying, face beet red. At least 100 curse words in 5 minutes they said. (7 people) Gary went in between “we were tracking you on GPS to we were concerned about your safety.” Well Gary, if safety was the issue and you had GPS location…why did you not send a boat? Gary knew they were slowly making their way to the marina… safety was an excuse for Gary but not the people on the boat. Maybe just a little too much to drink for Gary and he could not take a boat? Not sure.
Finally my 21 year old daughter in law said “sir, there is no need to act so threatening with all this yelling and screaming and cussing”
Get ready for Gary Chapmans response.
“YOU ARE AN OVERLY EMOTIONAL FEMALE, SHUT UP!! I AM NOT GOING TO SPEAK TO YOU”
It was at this point Gary’s low IQ parrot of son started chirping in. He apparently wanted things to escalate into a physical confrontation.
My family took the high road and left as quickly as possible not wanting any physical confrontation
Yes, Gary did bill me an addition $250.00 That’s Gary’s profit center. He will bill you for some reason. Any reason he can find. He will threaten you violently and treat your girls like the misogynist he is. As a father of four, I would highly recommend looking at another source to rent your equipment for summer activities. Financially, emotionally, mentally, it would be a wise choice to refrain from doing any business with these folks.
We are now left with hiring an attorney to recoup the extra fees and the full fee rental on a dilapidated jet ski.
Red flag #1.
Upon arrival everything seemed fine. We signed paperwork and headed to the dock. This is when the red flags started popping up. The owner Gary Chapman and I were discussing docking the boat at our rental house on the lake. Gary stated that “Sandpoint is a bunch of entitled pricks, so I better be careful about docking anywhere.”
Red Flag #2
While going over the boat Gary started naming off all the recent additional billing he did to customers. $6,000 for damage because one of his CHEAP dock bumpers did not protect his boat. $400 for this infraction $550 for this or that infraction. I understand the pride of having good equipment but also became concerned when I heard that almost every previous renter did something Gary didn’t approve of and charged them for it.
Red flag #3
We then inspected the Jet Ski. My initial impression was that this was no 2020 model. It was beat all to heck. The glove box door was broken. The paint looked like it had been through 3-5 years of abuse. This thing had obviously seen its better days. It was NOT in amazing condition as I had been told. Upon leaving the marina it was apparent my initial impression was correct. The Jet Ski was so under powered that I was dragging a bit in the water. Granted I am 225 LBS. Two adults cannot ride this thing for fun. 1 small adult and 1 child at best.
I did not cancel at this point because I had over 30 family members waiting at a reunion 17 miles across the lake. Securing another boat and jet ski the day of would have been impossible.
And here is the rest of the story.
Saturday went OK. The kids named the Jet Ski “Rat Rod” because it looked and ran like a made over old wreck. About 5:30 it was time to head back. I had my oldest son who was on the documentation head back with the boat and my 27 year old nephew on the jet ski. There were a total of 6 on the boat. I told them “if it got any choppier and windier to slow down. Gary would rather have you a few minutes late than fish his boat off bottom of the lake.” It did get more windy and choppy so they slowed down. The 17 mile trip took nearly an hour. They arrived at 6:25. 25 minutes late. On the dock stood Gary. Gary was about to blow a piston. He was screaming at the top of his lungs “MotherF**** this. F you that.” Spittle flying, face beet red. At least 100 curse words in 5 minutes they said. (7 people) Gary went in between “we were tracking you on GPS to we were concerned about your safety.” Well Gary, if safety was the issue and you had GPS location…why did you not send a boat? Gary knew they were slowly making their way to the marina… safety was an excuse for Gary but not the people on the boat. Maybe just a little too much to drink for Gary and he could not take a boat? Not sure.
Finally my 21 year old daughter in law said “sir, there is no need to act so threatening with all this yelling and screaming and cussing”
Get ready for Gary Chapmans response.
“YOU ARE AN OVERLY EMOTIONAL FEMALE, SHUT UP!! I AM NOT GOING TO SPEAK TO YOU”
It was at this point Gary’s low IQ parrot of son started chirping in. He apparently wanted things to escalate into a physical confrontation.
My family took the high road and left as quickly as possible not wanting any physical confrontation
Yes, Gary did bill me an addition $250.00 That’s Gary’s profit center. He will bill you for some reason. Any reason he can find. He will threaten you violently and treat your girls like the misogynist he is. As a father of four, I would highly recommend looking at another source to rent your equipment for summer activities. Financially, emotionally, mentally, it would be a wise choice to refrain from doing any business with these folks.
We are now left with hiring an attorney to recoup the extra fees and the full fee rental on a dilapidated jet ski.
Written June 23, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Teresa B
Bonners Ferry, ID45 contributions
May 2020
When God created Lake Pend o'Reille in Sandpoint, Idaho, he was having one of his best days. Mother Nature seems to have played favorites with the region. Despite the fact that our family has traveled the globe (89 counties and all seven continents) and live in Northern Idaho, one of our favorite family activities is to rent a pontoon boat on Lake Pend o'Reille and leisurely cruise the lake viewing the homes, catching rays and/or fish, drinking cool beverages and finding hot sun. Music blaring, or nothing but occasional conversation; pulling a tube or knee board at top speed, of just drifing. The memories of a lifetime are started on the pontoon boat, and yes, we do use red Solo cups.
We've rented boats from all the marinas and rental shops in Sandpoint, Hope and Dover and none are even close to being as unbelievably good, no, GREAT as Sandpoint Water Sports. Why didn't we find them sooner since we only live 45-miles away and rent often!
First of all, the equipment. SWS has top of the line equipment that is spotless. You won't find dog hair embeded in the old carpet, torn upolstery, stains, spider webs, or left behind trash under the life jackets (things we've seen on previous rentals). Our pontoon boat literally had the "new boat" smell. Unlike other marinas/facilities where you have to park far away or slep coolers and gear down stairs, at SWS you can park close to the boats and use the carts they provide to go to cruise downhill on a ramp to the docks. The folks at SWS are super fiendly, helpful, and the mandatory orientation was clever, clear and concise.
Besides a pleasant, speedy checkin, what we really appreciated was their attitude. Although the boat was contractually due back at 6 pm, Gary Champman, the owner said, "If you're going to be late, don't worry, just call us at this number. Or if you come back early, we'll be watching for you and meet you on the dock." Gary gave us tips on where to go, what to avoid (lake was still very low) and showed off the boats neat features like BlueTooth connectivity for musis. While we'd declined renting a float to pull, he gave us a tow rope to borrow. Our portable compressor didn't work on the lake, but lucky us, SWS had a brand new one under the console. Viola, the giant Pug floatie was in the lake and my Daughter, Granddaughter and our GrandPugs were on the lake with smiles so wide they could have eaten bananas sideways!
When we arrived back at the dock, not only was Gary and his son smiling, they helped us unload and pack up the cart they'd brought down to greet us. I waited around to pay for the gas we used (like I'd had to do at all the other locations we rented from), but he smiled and waved my off saying, "Your credit card is on file. We'll use it to fill it up and text you the amount." Before we gone five miles from Dover Bay, our Granddaughter, Reagan, was asleep and "bing," here came the $$ amount of the gas with a nice message.
We're all still smiling today. We couldn't possibley give this facility and the owners a higher rating. .
We've rented boats from all the marinas and rental shops in Sandpoint, Hope and Dover and none are even close to being as unbelievably good, no, GREAT as Sandpoint Water Sports. Why didn't we find them sooner since we only live 45-miles away and rent often!
First of all, the equipment. SWS has top of the line equipment that is spotless. You won't find dog hair embeded in the old carpet, torn upolstery, stains, spider webs, or left behind trash under the life jackets (things we've seen on previous rentals). Our pontoon boat literally had the "new boat" smell. Unlike other marinas/facilities where you have to park far away or slep coolers and gear down stairs, at SWS you can park close to the boats and use the carts they provide to go to cruise downhill on a ramp to the docks. The folks at SWS are super fiendly, helpful, and the mandatory orientation was clever, clear and concise.
Besides a pleasant, speedy checkin, what we really appreciated was their attitude. Although the boat was contractually due back at 6 pm, Gary Champman, the owner said, "If you're going to be late, don't worry, just call us at this number. Or if you come back early, we'll be watching for you and meet you on the dock." Gary gave us tips on where to go, what to avoid (lake was still very low) and showed off the boats neat features like BlueTooth connectivity for musis. While we'd declined renting a float to pull, he gave us a tow rope to borrow. Our portable compressor didn't work on the lake, but lucky us, SWS had a brand new one under the console. Viola, the giant Pug floatie was in the lake and my Daughter, Granddaughter and our GrandPugs were on the lake with smiles so wide they could have eaten bananas sideways!
When we arrived back at the dock, not only was Gary and his son smiling, they helped us unload and pack up the cart they'd brought down to greet us. I waited around to pay for the gas we used (like I'd had to do at all the other locations we rented from), but he smiled and waved my off saying, "Your credit card is on file. We'll use it to fill it up and text you the amount." Before we gone five miles from Dover Bay, our Granddaughter, Reagan, was asleep and "bing," here came the $$ amount of the gas with a nice message.
We're all still smiling today. We couldn't possibley give this facility and the owners a higher rating. .
Written May 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve R
Ventura, CA28 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
On a recent family vacation to Idaho we rented a pontoon boat for the day from Sandpoint Watersports. They even delivered it to our dock! We went with the Lowe Tri toon because of our larger group. Had a great time cruising the lake and pulling the kids on the tube. The owners are really nice and accommodating. Fantastic experience..
Written August 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shannon L
14 contributions
Jul 2016 • Family
We loved our experience renting a ski boat from Sandpoint Watersports. I found them online when I googled boat rentals and they were the first that came up. I called and had an immediate reservation. The rental was nice, clean and fast. They were so helpful. I had a son who broke his ankle 8 weeks ago, they helped him in the boat and out. They were there to greet us when we arrived, gassed up for us, with no surcharge. No boaters insurance to purchase, it's included in the price of the rental. No huge $500 deposit per rental. Rates extremely reasonable. I just loved the whole experience. Easy to find, easy walk to the marina from parking lot. Definitely would recommend to my friends and would rent here again on a future trip.
Written July 14, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jyly
12 contributions
Jul 2016 • Family
This has been the best vacation in a long time. The owners Gary and Trinette Chapman are awesome people. The ski boats, pontoon boats and jet skis were a blast. We will definitely be doing this again:)
Written July 5, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.