Resort Marinas

Marina resorts pair wet-slip dockage with a full hotel or resort property — pool access, dining, spa, and on-property activities right off your slip.

Resort marinas are ideal for weekend trips, vacation cruising, and event docking. You get the boat-trip experience plus the hotel infrastructure, which is especially valuable when traveling with non-boater family or guests.

Examples include Bahia Mar (Fort Lauderdale, attached to a Doubletree), Pier Sixty-Six, Boca Raton Resort & Club Marina, Hawks Cay (Florida Keys), Wentworth by the Sea (NH), and Hammock Beach (FL).

Pricing reflects the resort amenities — expect $45–$80/ft/month for permanent dockage and $4–$8/ft/night for transient slips, often with pool and gym access included.

What it is and who it is for

Resort Marinas serve boaters whose needs match this dockage format: contract length, access pattern, amenities, boat size, and service expectations all matter. A marina can advertise the category, but the real fit depends on your LOA, beam, draft, power needs, insurance, and whether you need short-term, monthly, annual, or liveaboard-style use.

This category is strongest when the marina's rules, dock layout, and staff operations are designed around the boater's use case. For example, transient-focused properties prioritize arrival windows and quick check-in; monthly slips prioritize stable access and predictable billing; long-term dockage prioritizes renewal rights and storm planning; resort marinas prioritize hospitality and guest amenities.

How it works

Start by contacting the dockmaster with exact boat details and dates. The marina checks length, beam, draft, power pedestal, fairway clearance, and contract availability. If the boat fits, you typically provide insurance, registration or documentation, payment details, emergency contacts, and a signed rules agreement before the slip is confirmed.

Pricing is usually per foot, per night or per month, with electric and special fees separate. Availability changes quickly in peak season, so a verbal “we probably have room” is not the same as a confirmed reservation or executed slip agreement.

Pricing expectations

For resort marinas, use $45 – $80 / ft / month or $4 – $8 / ft / night as the planning range, then ask for a written all-in estimate. The quote should separate base dockage, shore power, tax, pump-out, parking, deposits, resort or club access, liveaboard fees where relevant, and cancellation penalties. The same boat can price very differently if the marina bills by slip length instead of actual LOA, applies a beam multiplier, or treats a short stay as transient instead of monthly dockage.

Common amenities and best use cases

Typical amenities for this category include hotel pool and gym access, on-site dining and bars, spa, beach access, resort concierge. The best fit is usually one of these use cases: weekend and vacation cruising, hosting non-boating guests, event and rendezvous docking, mixed business/pleasure trips. Confirm the specific amenity mix before booking because two marinas can share the same category label while operating at very different service levels.

Reservation process and mistakes to avoid

Ask for the all-in price in writing, including power, taxes, pump-out, parking, resort access, guest rules, cancellation penalties, and deposits. Confirm whether the marina bills by boat LOA or slip length, and whether appendages such as pulpits, platforms, and davits count.

The biggest mistake is choosing by category label alone. Always confirm the operating details: arrival channel, fuel hours, pump-out, storm plan, liveaboard rules, outside-contractor policy, and renewal priority. If a slip is mission-critical, call more than one marina and hold a backup option until the reservation is written.