Safe Harbor Jefferson Beach

I have been at Jefferson Beach Marina since 2011 and have a great experience overall. The marina continues to make improvements, the service staff is friendly and helpful. I would also like to give a big shout out to the service team (mechanics) led by Ron Jiovani who have always done great work on my last two boats and have helped me out in several situations for urgent repairs.

UPDATE - we did re-book our night that ended up being 2! Experiencing an engine issue, the marina got someone out that afternoon so we could get underway the next day. Staff couldn't be nicer. Vince @ the marina was super quick responding. Great facility, clean and pretty easy to get to. Restaurants close by and in the Marina. Highly recommend but I think they are super busy in the summer months. Post before we booked - We did not end up staying due to the weather, so my rating is more on the customer service. The marina was very quick responding to our messages and inquiries. Our slip info and bathroom codes were sent well in advance as well as a contact phone number if needed. Unfortunately, due to the changing weather, we had to cancel our reservation and that was confirmed within minutes. We will definitely try to get to this marina in the future!!

We were not given dock assignment prior to arriving. Map of the marina was not in a readable format (dock numbers so blurry you couldn’t even guess what they were). And no one monitored radio on arrival. We had to dock at the gas dock area to determine any instructions. Highest gas prices we saw in the entire month of boating around Michigan. Put us in a slip with a number of seasonal boaters who were VERY inexperienced, and frankly unsafe. Particularly when one boater near us was cooking on an open flame on the back of their boat, we were afraid to leave our boat unattended. Witness numerous very unsafe docking incidents nearby (using pilings as bumpers, breaking 4x4 dock poles). Bathrooms, facilities appeared to be very nice. However, we never used them. We will not ever come to this marina again.

There were no dock hands to help us dock so at least another boater was kind enough to help us. No one from the marina came out or contacted us. We needed to walk to the marina office just to get the bathroom code they gave us. No welcome package, Wi-Fi code etc. No information at all. When we did go up to the office and ask for it, they were genuinely surprised that no one had given us this information. It was 83° in Sunny the day we were there and walking to the office and then to the service office and trying to find someone to help us with our engine issue. Ended up being a five mile walk in the hot sun. Was not pleasant. It is a huge chore to do anything at the Marina because you are so far from everything. That evening we went out and had to walk over half a mile just to meet our Uber and the same one that Uber dropped us off at the boat, well a half a mile away from the boat. We don't mind walking. Walking we do it all the time but to do anything here is it ridiculously long walk! I would not come here again. Also, the service department was not helpful and the other marinas we contacted in the area referred us back to Jefferson Beach, they told us they don't really have experience working with Detroit diesels. We needed to walk at least 5 mi just to try to find service and go back and forth from our boat. This would not have been so bad if it was not 83° and blazing hot sun! We actually found it hard to believe that they don't have some type of system to help people. We couldn't even go to West Marine to buy the things we needed for the boat because we couldn't carry them from their front office if we had them delivered. Just not a good experience at all.

Your reservation approval was again slow and only approved after our arrival Marina lost electricity before arrival and failed to say anything when contacted by phone prior to arrival Staff was friendly Not sure I’ll frequent safe harbor if alternatives are available Dockwa is disappointing at present W Paladino

The crown jewel of marinas on the nautical mile of Lake St Clair. From every member of staff to the complete service offered by facility. They are attentive and accommodating to all levels of boats and boaters.

Location was great, Dock help was fantastic.

It was too much walking to get from one restaurant to another. All of the gates linking them together are all chained up.

Member of Safe Harbor at Toledo Beach so the stay at Jefferson Beach was complimentary. Seamless booking experience and timely information from Vince. Facilities are new and excellent. A great stay.

Excellent facility with brand new floating docks, really nice bathrooms that are clean and well maintained. Vincent and the staff made us feel like family and the gas dock crew are super efficient and helpful.

Perfect! Third time transient boater, staff and facility is great!

Was great clean and fun

Awesome place, new docks and clean restrooms with showers. Plenty of restaurants in walking distance. Vincent the dock master was super helpful. Definitely will be back

Very nice staff beautiful docks

Vincent, the harbormaster was very helpful prior to docking and he came down to the boat to make sure we got in okay. Only negative thing is that the docks need more cleats.

Fantastic spot! Great people and their new A Dock is super nice. I only wish they had a water taxi or a community vehicle that would help in getting to restaurants such as Hook, Mikes, and Zef. The restaurant within Jefferson Beach called Watermark is great but if you are staying for more than a few days then you may want to explore other dining options. It is about a 20 minute walk outside of the marina to Jefferson and back into a different marina to get to a restaurant. Another suggestion would be to provide gate access b/w marinas and eliminate a small section of fencing.

Great stay overall very difficult trailering boats in due to no ramp access and lack of trailer parking.

The marina was clean, laundry was $1, restaurants were handy and personnel were efficient and friendly.

I wish i could put more stars. This Safe Harbor St Clair shores is Wonderful the staff is friendly helpful. they help us with more slip time when we needed it. Jessica help at the fuel dock with a pump out when it wasn't her job, the person had car trouble not her fault. the grounds are beautiful, clean. lots of things to do Restaurants have very good food. things for kids , fire pits, they even have weddings here. Clean bathrooms and laundry 100% better than Safe Harbor Toledo Beach Marina. that one doesn't deserve the name Safe Harbor. thank you again for everything.

We are a 56' Powerboat. Deep channel, easy to navigate. Staff dealt extremely well with rude customers on an incredibly busy 4th of July weekend. Staff was refreshingly friendly and caring! Definitely a return stop.

Marina, Service Department, Fuel Dock, and Office Staff was great! Super helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. Will come back!

We made a same day reservation. The office assured us that they had plenty of depth for our 7 foot draft sailboat and while the office would no longer be there when we arrived, the fuel dock would be there to assist us. We get there, fuel up, check in at the fuel dock and off to our dock. We hit bottom getting into our dock. I called the fuel dock and they told us they couldn’t help us and to call the office which was closed. They gave us a phone number to call but no one answered. Left a message. We basically wandered around the harbor trying diff docks u til we found one that was deep enough.(hit bottom two more times in other docks). Messaged on dockwa and was told that was ok. But absolutely no support in the moment and the fuel dock could have cared less. What the heck. We stayed here a few years ago and it was great - help tying up, rides to the store etc. facilities are nice enough-long walks to get to bathrooms, showers etc but clean. However this experience overshadowed everything else. Why isn’t there any support after the office closed? Why were we left to our own devices to find a dock? The dockwa response I got was oops sorry- I must have mixed you up with a different reservation? How many reservations do you get 2 hours before arrival? How are you a safe harbor marina where boats may need refuge and no one knows where to dock them? Horrible experience!!!!! Do not know what kind of damage we may have gotten on our keel but will be contacting you when we haul this fall. I asked for someone to call me today but I haven’t heard anything - no surprise there.

Fun times at Jefferson Beach. Great to stop off at our old stomping grounds

The Docks and facilities were very nice the electrical and water connections were very nice the people working at the fuel docks were really nice I did enjoy my stay although if I had one thought it would have been nice if there were some more food snack options and somewhere to purchase Safe Harbor souvenirs just a thought I would definitely come back.

Nice new docks. Clean marina

Outstanding service department

dock was clean power and water was adequate thank you

Great Marina to stay at!!!

Wonderful. Dock A is awesome

Nice Marina. Meet a lot of nice people. Service manager was quick to take care of a situation. All around good place. I’ll be back….. Mike and Carolyn

Our stay in SH Jefferson was awesome. Great location to the Nautical Mile. The staff, especially Pam, were great and very accommodating!!

Jefferson Beach Marina was great as well as email and line drawing showing directions to the slip....... Really a good experience........and I rarely rarely fill out surveys.

The staff are very Friendy especially Pam and Chris the security guy. Boaters were also very respectful.

really enjoy the marina, bathrooms clean, however the transient docks need upgraded electrical boxes/connections and adding some dock cleats would be a big improvement.

docks could use some cleats, resturant (watermark) food was good, the service department was helpful, seemed strange to be in a dock with seasonal dockers all around.

great stay .lots do do in the area.

Pam, Taylor and Connie are the best.

We enjoyed our stay. Ammenities were nice and the staff was great. We left the boat there for a couple of days and we felt very comfortable that it was in a secure location and that it would be looked after.

No problems all went well. Fuel very expensive

Excellent facility and staff

Very welcoming. Excellent communication voice and email. We needed to look carefully at the slip map as slips aren’t well marked from the water.

Staff was very helpful, docks do not have cleats rather you tie to the dock fender posts

Great dock crew at the fuel dock and check-in. Assistance from fuel dock personnel was great, helping us tie in upon arrival. Always a favorable experience at JBM!

Very friendly and accommodating Enjoyed our 3 nites there this week

What was GREAT: Using Dockwa to reserve a slip and then the marina texting a diagram of the marina with our slip assignment. It’s the only way we knew what to do once inside the marina. The head ‘guy’ and ‘dock girl’ were completely tuned into helping boaters. What needs to IMPROVE: The dock crew didn’t have a working radio or a back up hand radio for hailing vessels. The place is enormous, like mega big, yet the dock crew don’t travel with radio packs? How are they communicating and managing the docks? You need an Uber to use the facilities and every marina with restaurants are gated off from one another- to tender over you will venture into the lake or you could hike. We saw 4 party boats, big boats with big fun, I hope there was a captain; Luke Duke flew into the marina and hit a sailboat like it was NASCAR. On our next trip, we will try a different marina.

The staff is friendly and cooperative, exceptional service.

Very nice marina. Well run and maintained. Very clean too. It is maintained to a high standard. I feel they really make great efforts to make sure you stay is pleasant. Only negative comment is that the marina is so big you can end up far from restrooms and showers.

Staff at the gas dock were very accommodating and friendly. Office staff very good as well. Housekeeper in the restrooms and laundry was excellent, spotless areas she was friendly and helpful.

Don't respond to radio hails despite Waterway Guide saying they monitor radio. Disorganized. I received email with dock assignment, but upon arrival was told it was taken. Had to wait 15 minutes for new assignment. Dock hands not the most helpful. Requested 2- 30 amps for power, only had 1. Transformer blew during night and lost all power.

A very crowded marina but overall pretty good

Clean facilities and very courteous staff

I really enjoyed staying at Safe Harbor Jefferson Beach. It was the biggest marina we had ever stayed at. The people on the other boats were really nice too. I was looking forward to using the fitness center, but it was closed due to COVID. Showers were clean, and laundry room was nice, with multiple machines. The laundry room was a little bit of a walk from our slip, but they have carts to carry things around. We really liked going to Watermark restaurant for dinner.

Very nice, helpful, clean, nice bar scene. Busy.

Everyone was very helpful. Great facilities.

It was wonderful! Bathrooms and laundry rooms were spacious, nicely done, and clean. Close to restaurants and stores. The marine was quite at night. Moorage was reasonable!

From the moment we contacted Jefferson Beach for dockage, until we departed, Semo Post and his staff gave outstanding service. Semo went out of his way to make sure we had a slip, then sent associates over to give us important information and to make sure all was well. Semo helped with arrangements for our dining at the Watermark, and made our anniversary special. The next morning Semo called to make sure we knew that we could stay as long as necessary to wait out the storms in the area. We highly recommend this marina for the convenient location, the quality of the marina, and especially the care they give. Sue and Al Sutton 8-25-20

Nice Marina. Lots of restaurants near by.

Nice laundry, bathrooms, and fuel dock. Fuel prices a little high. Docks ok with the high water.

Great marina, showers and bath house are super clean and have recently been remodeled. Everyone was very helpful.

We had a fantastic stay at Safe Harbor Jefferson Beach Marina! Beautiful spot on St. Claire Shores with easy access from the lake and gorgeous sunsets. Semo was very helpful with immediate responses via the dockwa app and availability by phone. Thanks Semo! Watermark restaurant on site had delicious food. We’ll be back!

Absolutely the best marina staff ever. I launched a new to me yacht at JBM and became a transient guest there for 3 weeks while working out the kinks in the new boat. Semo and his team treated us like royalty. They delivered packages to us to save us having to stop by the office, the service staff was efficient and clean, the gas dock was well staffed and very helpful, the marina manager was always willing to take my call and provide me with local knowledge. All in all this was the best marina experience I have had in 15 years.

Very nice people andhelpful

Fine, easy to get in. Nice young man to assist. Wish we could go to Mike's restaurant without hiking all the way to Jefferson and back in!

Was told to tie up at fuel dock just to get a slip assignment, twice. First slip was too small. Fuel dock was very busy. The docks do not have cleats so the dock help took 15 minutes, each time, to tie us up. They were inexperienced. Second slip was next to a wall of covered slips, so we had no view in that direction. Also had a loud water pump, of some kind, in our slip running intermittently. It took more than an hour to get tied up in our slip. We were across from Brownies Restaurant/Bar which attracts loud, go fast boats. A constant parade of boats. We were told that the dock master had quit and the staff was not trained.

Great, clean safe and no drama.

Very clean and organized. Good docks. Only wish they had a pool.

The marina was clean, shower houses were nice, air conditioned and clean. Marina staff we dealt with were very nice and helpful. The problem was while we were there the marina was have issues with high water. They couldn't do anything about that but where they had us docked was on the wrong side of about a 50 yard long section of driveway that was under water. The trouble was any time we wanted to leave our dock to go to a restaurant, or shopping or anything, we had to wade thru this high water. Plus the dock was a long walk from either one of the shower houses, and, again, to get to the one we had to walk thru the water. To get to the marina store for ice was even further, it was a good 15 minute walk. When it really annoyed me was the day we did walk to the marina store for ice and found there were plenty of empty docks within a couple minutes walk of both the store and one of the shower houses, and we would not have had to walk thru the water. The person who assigned us our dock was well aware we were transients, that we did not have a car and had to walk thru the water to get anywhere and yet stuck us over there anyway. Jefferson Beach has been the most expensive marina so far on our trip and the most inconvenient. Probably the only way we'd go back is if they can promise us in advance that we'd be docked in a more convenient location.

great facilities, staff couldn't have been nicer.