gordon's motel & canoe rental

We wanted to spend a day with the nature descending the buffalo river, on our way there we called the place that we made reservations the day before and they told us that it was too late (12pm) and we're never going to make it on time. So we start calling other places everybody said the same thing, until we call Gordon's Motel and this nice lady told us to come over and she'll make sure we have our ride. When we arrived and the lady was so nice. Then their van pick up us and they were so nice too, we had an awesome day, beautiful views and adventures. When we got to where they we're going to pick up us they were there already waiting for us. The canoes and equipment were in good shape and the service was really good!!

I called Gordon's motel for a canoe rental and the lady on the phone said,"25$, now give me your credit card number." I asked her if she could drop us at steel creek and then pick up our canoes at Kyles point. She said very curtly, "yes now give me your credit card number." I asked her if it was only 25$ for the canoe rental and she said, "Yes, now give me your credit card number!" She was clearly annoyed by me trying to ask questions to confirm that I was buying what I wanted. I thought this was a steal of a good price for a canoe so I got one that day and reserved another for a friend a few days later. Great price for a canoe right? When we arrived at Gordon's motel and Canoe rental several days later the impolite older woman working the desk whipped out a paper and starting jotting down all the hidden charges she failed to mention over the phone. She then said the 25$ i paid per canoe was just a reservation fee that she did not mention once over the phone (she was too busy drooling over my credit card number). Then she charged $50 per canoe ($100), $40 for shuttle for 4 people (never mentioned that either), and she changed our canoe start and end points from what we agreed to over the phone a few days ago. She said that she could not drop us at steel creek because, "The water level dropped too low in 2 days to drop there because it would tear up our canoes." The total came out to around $156 with all the hidden charges and taxes. My friend and I then told her to give us a refund since she changed every stipulation of the sale. She then said she would call,"Johnny law" on us for arguing for a refund. When we asked her what her standards for business practice were she said,"I just make stuff up as I go." We then waited outside the office for 20 minutes for her to send out an older man to discuss the situation with us and process our refund. After all this was over we went to steel creek and guess what, every other canoe business was dropping there canoes there. The river was full of people having no issues navigating this area. The people at Gordon's motel said that they have been a family business for over 50 years and that their prices have always been up front. I asked, "If i had never floated before, hypothetically, how would i know what the prices are when you don't tell me over the phone?" He then said, "Well....... our prices have always been the same as she (the lady I had been dealing with) told you over the phone." I said, "She only said 25$ per canoe." The man argued, "I don't believe that." Horrendous people. Horrendous experience. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!!!!

A few friends and I thought that an impromptu weekend float would be fun. Right? WRONG. When we called to reserve a canoe, the woman on the phone was immediately rude. We were unhappy with her demeanor, but she told us a canoe would be $25. Ok, it can't be that bad then? WRONG. We were told $25/canoe, that the drop-off/pickup times were between 830 am and 6pm, and we specified that a specific drop-off point was possible because we were meeting a friend there. When we walked into the office, the woman told us that canoes were $50 each, that we HAD to be back by 330 pm and that we WOULD NOT be dropped off at the point we arranged. She also must've "forgotten" to mention on the phone that she would charge us $40 to shuttle us to the drop-off point, making the bill almost 3x more expensive than what we discussed. REALLY? We respectfully asked questions about this arrangement, and when we asked for a refund, she kicked us out of the office and threatened to call the cops. Again, REALLY? After about 10 minutes, a slightly nicer gentleman agreed to give us a refund after having to explain our reasons for frustration again. There are many other canoe companies in the area; give them your business! Gordon's will flat-out lie about their prices on the phone and they will have your credit card number in the process. Fingers crossed that refund actually makes it on our card.