Report Review
I have really mixed feelings about the New London Waterfront Park Marina. The pier and dock facilities are fantastic - good quality concrete floating docks and abundant power posts with 30, 50 and 20 amp service. The location is outstanding - directly opposite the Amtrak station and between two ferry terminals. This is downtown New London and has abundant restaurant opportunities. The marina is part of a larger waterfront complex that features a long walk along the shore as well as a restaurant and raw bar of its own on one of the piers.
The one negative about the location is the noise. The trains and ferries operate frequently during the day with lots of whistles and horns. There is also noisy construction going on at the nearby State Pier during the day. All of these things settle down at night.
The big negatives to me are the so called amenities provided by this facility. The heads, showers and laundry are 1/4 mile away, near the aforementioned pier-side restaurant. We were told that the heads were locked and for use of the boaters, but they were, in fact, unlocked and used by the public on the pier. They were in decent condition. There are two showers which were locked, but one shower was being used as a storeroom for restaurant supplies. The other shower might have been nice if it were clean. It also needed hooks to keep clothes and towels off the floor. The laundry was also behind locked doors. It was dirty and full of scattered junk, including a large rusting fan.
Additionally, there was a gate to the marina piers that was supposed to be locked. We were given the combination but it proved unnecessary since the lock didn’t lock the gate. Thus, the piers were frequently used by fishermen who clearly didn’t have a boat in the marina. Some even cleaned their catch on the pier.
Finally, the marina is understaffed. It is not manned on weekdays at all so you’re typically on your own for timing up. There is supposedly staff on site on the weekends, but we were gone by then and couldn’t confirm their availability.
Due to the noise and lack of quality amenities, I probably won’t come back to this facility in the future.