Heartland Gondolas

We went on the wood boat ride on the river front. The driver was friendly. Price is reasonable at just $4/person. They provided bread to feed the ducks, geese, and swans on the river. It was a peaceful tour around the river past a beautiful fountain and back.

I had my first experience with Heartland Gondolas Inc. last night. We had a reservation at 8:30pm for 4 people on the private Gondola. Mike, the owner, had told me on the phone that it would be $10 per couple. When we got there our boat driver (who wasn't Mike), told me it was $20 per couple. I informed him that was not what I was told by Mike. He walked about 100 yards away to talk with Mike and then came back to inform me that Mike thought there was only one couple that I booked, but he would go ahead and do it for $20 but I could tell he was super angry. The gentleman (I don't know his name) then proceeded to give us the cold shoulder the whole ride. Wouldn't answer questions unless asked several times and then just gave one word answers. He scowled the entire ride. I felt bad because of the confusion so I apologized again after we got off the boat. He looked away from me as I was talking and drank a big swig of his gatorade and then LITERALLY turned his back on me without a word. My family proceeded to thank him for his time and he didn't acknowledge any of them either. At this point I was furious. No matter how you feel you should never treat people this way. I immediately went over to Mike by the big boat and had a talk with him. Barely did I get my story out when Mike said he completely remembered our phone call and he had told the "boat guide" that our rate was $20 flat. So the boatman LITERALLY LIED TO US and then made us feel terrible and uncomfortable the entire ride with the grand finale of completely ignoring us at the end when I was only 1 foot in front of him. Mike was super nice and asked if I wanted my $20 back. I declined but I want to report this because the gentleman under his payroll was absolutely terrible and needs to be removed. He is most likely trying to scam all of us unsuspecting guests. If I hadn't talked to Mike I wouldn't have found out the truth.This ride would have been an amazing experience if it hadn't had been for the boatman. The view of the city and the fountain are breathtaking. I highly recommend doing a tour at sunset.

My husband and I showed up for a gondola ride I had reserved for 9PM. Mike Biggs apparently double-booked said ride and, instead of apologizing for his mistake, he just told us to wait another half hour and he could "probably" get us next. He never even apologized for his mistake. Huge inconvenience and waste of time, and a horrible customer service experience.