Castaway Bay Resort-Sandusky, OH

[stitchfriend]

We are going to CedarPoint this summer. We are trying to find a hotel on property to get the 3 day ride/slide ticket. Looking at reviews on some internet sites. This one is not the greatest in reviews. Has anyone stayed there? Can you give me some feedback on your stay? It's a choice between Breakers Express or Castaway Bay Resort. I just want a clean and comfortable hotel. I heard they are not as clean as they should be. Can anyone confirm ? Please I need help, Need to book soon.

 

[mrudman]

I've not personally stayed at either of those resorts (only live about 80 minutes from there, so we just make it a day trip), but remember if you go with Castaway, you're paying extra for their indoor water park (looks like it's about $70 over the price of Breakers Express).

You don't by chance have a camper do you? The Camper village gets all the same perks, and it's about $70 cheaper than the cheapest room at Breakers Express.

 

[java]

I can't help with either of those resorts. We went last year and thank to the DIS we chose to stay at Lighthouse point! I LOVED IT! We are a family of 6 and there was plenty of room for us. It was easy walking to both parks. It's right on the lake. It came with a grill so we grilled dinner one night. Really a great little trip and we would go back and stay there in a heartbeat.
So just wanted to throw another hotel into your choice. It was clean. And cute.

 

[mindyd]

We stayed there I wouldn't do it again it was about two year ago it was not very clean was run down. We went in winter and none of the activities were very good or what was described and even meeting the Peanut characters was an issue.

 

[DZNEE4US]

We live about an hour away, and have stayed there twice. It does need to be referbished. BADLY. That said, my kids loved it. You are staying so close to the actual water park, that you never need to go outside (which is wonderful in the winter!). They offer bunk beds, which fits our family nicely. The water park is good for young kids (in my opinnion I'd say 3-10 year olds). If you have teenagers, they may be bored. It's an option, & it's close to Cedar Point. Just don't expect Disney quality or cleanliness.
I will agree with one of the other posters about the activities- they are not consisent in scheduling them. Snoopy may not be where he is said to be at any given time. My daughter loved the bedtime story with the characters that they did have one night.

 

[stitchfriend]

Thanks for the info from everyone. I'm not expecting it to be Disney Quality, but I do want it to be clean. I have two teenagers (12,15). Do u think they will be able to do the waterpark? Any one else with feedback ? Love to hear their stories. Some people say the rooms on the bay side are more smelly and unclean than the others. We were looking at the Pelican Room non bayview. any thoughts???????

 

[cvjw]

We stayed there a few years ago, and it was in desperate need of a refurbishing. Unless something has changed, I would never stay there again. We stayed at the Kalahari for 4 nights before moving to Castaway Cay, and the difference was night and day. FYI, the water park at Castaway Cay is not suitable for 15/12 year old boys (ages of my boys). They thought the water park was very lame. The much preferred the water park at the Kalahari.

 

[tinan]

Hi. I'm not sure what the pricing is for the 3 day ride/slide ticket but I can tell you that their platinum season pass was a good deal! We purchased that for $159 which is admission for both cedar point and the waterpark as well as any other cedar faire property and included parking at all of those parks. Castaway bay is not worth the money for teens. I also second Kalahari (not a cedar faire property, but close enough to cedar point). As a matter of a fact, I'm taking my turning 17 dd there for her bday with some of her gfs this weekend. If you have a camper I second the campground or as someone else mentioned Lighthouse Point. Breakers Express, think more along the lines of a quality inn or super 8 hotels. If you are not required nor care about staying on property there are a ton of hotels in the area too.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

Is Breakers Express the one that is across the bridge/causeway and not actually at Cedar Point? If that is the one I am thinking of then don't stay there. It's like a Super 8 or other low budget motel. Not very clean either.

 

[tinan]

Yes! That is the one......the one that is still on the causeway and not in walking distance.

 

[HayGan]

We have stayed at Castaway Bay twice and LOVED it both times. We didn't find it to be at all run down or dirty (and I am very picky about my hotels!) Our most recent trip was in October 2011. It isn't as big in terms of the water park area as Great Wolf or Kalahari but we had fun. I would suggest staying at another property if you aren't going to use the waterpark feature. I've nly stayed at Breakers Express one time (about 8 years ago). It was ok then but certainly nothing fancy.

 

[stitchfriend]

We have stayed at Castaway Bay twice and LOVED it both times. We didn't find it to be at all run down or dirty (and I am very picky about my hotels!) Our most recent trip was in October 2011. It isn't as big in terms of the water park area as Great Wolf or Kalahari but we had fun. I would suggest staying at another property if you aren't going to use the waterpark feature. I've nly stayed at Breakers Express one time (about 8 years ago). It was ok then but certainly nothing fancy.

How old are your kids? Did they enjoy the waterpark? My kids are 12, and 15. Do you feel they will have a good time? We will use the waterpark some, but we are there for cedar point and soak city. We are staying 6 days, but 2 of the days are for travel. So we have 4 full days there. 1 extra day of no parks, so we thought that would be a good day to enjoy the hotels waterpark. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Here is my thoughts. Don't stay there. It is run down and the waterpark wont be as much fun for your boys.
What I do suggest is to stay at this BestWestern which is not too far from Cedar Point. It is nice clean and is a suite hotel so you have a seperate living room area. Which you will probably need with 2 teenage boys. Here is the link to that hotel
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwes...ge=SelectHotel&isMapOpen=true&selectedHotels=

You said your boys would use the waterpark at Castaway for the couple days you will not be at Cedar Point. What I would do is to stay at the Bestwestern a few nights then go a stay at Kalahari for 2 nights ( the two nights you won't be at Cedar Point). Kalahari will keep your boys busy and they would truely LOVE it. There is so much there for them to do.
www.kalahariresorts.com/oh

Oh and if you do stay at the Bestwestern or Kalahari you must try Danny Boys pizza which is one intersection north of Kalahari and on the left hand side of the road if you are driving north bound. They have really good food. Not only do they serve pizza they have a full sit down restaruant with all kinds of pasta on the menu. And VERY affordable!

 

[stacy347]

We went to the Castaway waterpark area this past June using the evening passes (didn't need a room as we live 2 hours away, and drove home after). We were already going to be in the area for the African Safari, so we thought we'd check it out.

I had a family member who just raved about Castaway, how awesome it was, and she couldn't believe I never took my girls there. We were just not impressed. I am so glad we only got the $15 passes to try it out. My girls at the time were 12, 14, 16 and 18 and while we made the most of it, and did have some fun, I can not fathom paying their room rates for that experience.

I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere close to a Disney experience, but I was certainly expecting better than what it was. There are only a few "exciting" things for teens to start with, and one of the slides was shut down the whole night.

I will say that we did very much enjoy the water coaster ~ we alternated between that and the wave pool pretty much the whole night.
My niece (6 at the time), seemed to enjoy it the most, and I would say it is definitely better for the younger set.

My now 17 year old has been to Kalahari a few times and she says it is much better, so that will be our next non-Disney trip, I think!

 

[turning40withMickey]

We have stayed at Castaway Bay specifically for the waterpark. We did not find it to be dirty, in fact, I loved the scent of the shampoos and soaps in the rooms, I think they are Bath and Body works products. The room suited us fine, as it had bunkbeds (we took four kids) as well as a queen bed in the 'suite'. We did the "activities" in the evening, karaoke, meeting Snoopy, but it is DEFINITELY not going to impress teenagers! My ten year old loved it, the 13 and 16 year olds wanted no part of any of the "cheesy" stuff.

The waterpark is small, and I do not think your teens will be impressed. We enjoyed the watercoaster and the wave pool, but it wasn't a waterpark I would want to spend a whole day or several at. We went in the winter, just as a getaway to try out another waterpark.

Many have mentioned Kalahari, nearby, and a much more impressive waterpark. In summer, Kalahari also has ziplines your teens might like, and the indoor and outdoor water areas. Kalahari has flow riders (like surfing), the water roller coaster, and many more slides than Castaway.

The early hour admission or package to Cedar Point is enticing, but don't count on the waterpak as a big plus when you make your decision.