Cedar Point's Castaway Bay

Lots to do and fun for the kids, but will you have time for it all? Castaway Bay is great for families with kids, as there is plenty to do. However, if you are using it as your base of operation for a visit to Cedar Point, you really won't have time to enjoy everything they offer if you stay at the park late. The pool closes at 8pm, which is very early for a hotel pool, but I am sure it has everything to do with the availability of life guards beyond that time. I would have loved to come back from Cedar Point exhausted with sore feet to a nice swim or sauna, but there isn't anything available after hours. Our room with a king and bunk beds was very nice, but the A/C is only 1 unit opposite the bunk bed room, which stayed hot during our stay no matter how cold we set it. The cool air just didn't reach the bunk bed room. There isn't any complimentary breakfast or coffee, so we went to the Starbucks downstairs in the morning to get our coffees and put it on the $50 'incidentals' charge put on our credit card when we checked in. But the $50 wasn't there. So we go to the front desk right next to Starbucks, and they say it 'dropped off' for unknown reasons. So they put another $50 'incidentals' fee on my credit card and we pay for our coffees. Days later after we are home, I still see the original $50 from when we checked in and another $50 from our coffee run the next morning on my credit card. I'll have to contact the property to straighten it out. Overall, it is a good place to stay near Cedar Point. The water park is great, the arcade is fun, but if you think about it, you are paying extra for their amenities that you just may not use.

Fun but a bit chaotic Let me start by saying we are much more typical hotel people when we travel to amusement parks so this is not our typical place. We only use hotels to sleep mostly. Pros: Kiddo enjoyed: water park and arcade, donuts in lobby food place. Mom: hot tub area in water park was nice after a day at the park. Coffee place tried to make Starbucks with recipie book. Con: sooo noisy, our room was right next to the lobby and every time that Lobby door opened we were blasted with sound. When door shut we heard nothing. Also loud hallways and sounds would come through till 10-11pm. If you have sensory sensitivity kiddos or adults it's overwhelming majorly. As a whole it was a fun Hotel there was a lot to do there was activities for little kids it felt like most the restaurants were closed though inside the hotel but I didn't really look into it very much as we were only there two days for Cedar Point we just used the attached walkway and went to the restaurant next door for dinner one night mostly at the park. We had no issues with the room it was plenty clean we did have an ADA room so our base was a little different but it worked fine for the two of us. It was clean, tidy, and comfortable.

Good value, fun waterpark, about Days Inn/Travelodge quality accomodations with a theme. Stinks severely. Good value Overall pretty mid experience. The rooms were uncomfortable and reeked severely of petroleum or sulfur. We couldn't decide which. Didn't do anything about it because it was throughout the hotel. Suspected it was either the swamp or nearby industrial site. Beds were very uncomfortable and super cheap bedding. Room conditions were OK, some minor wear, but very serviceable. Front desk staff were great. The water park is what makes this worth it. We had fun there even though we hadn't intended on visiting. (We were just there for Cedar Point and Castaway Bay was the best deal/available) It's unfortunate the water closes so early and ... militantly. The second hand struck 8:00 and everything shut down instantly and the staff started pushing everyone out swiftly with little concern of people drying off, collecting belongings. The BBQ restaurant was disappointing (food quality).

Value as value gets... My family of 4 (15 and 12 plus us) stayed on a Mon thru Wed. I was skeptical and really wanted to stay at the Hotel Breakers, but this was a not planned trip to Cedar Point and our emphasis was park access, not amenities. We arrived around 6 pm and made reservations in the parking lot. Making reservations was easy as was checking in. Once checked in, our room was a bit of a let down but first we headed to the water park which was a nice treat for the kids who were a little road weary (Chicago to Toledo Zoo to here). Disappointing that the small water coaster wasn't working. I ordered Dominos for pickup (10 min drive) and met back at the room. The $40 pizza offer from Castaways was a bit pricey I thought. The room is just too much cheap materials to feel comfortable. Matching the colored floor to the mural felt harsh as the floor was plastic feeling. Pillows were terrible and the bed was just a bed. I did ask the next night for more comfortable pillows and they just didn't have anything to offer. Literally a pain in the neck. I paid extra for their bay view... Don't!!! It's not a view worth spending more on. I'd rather have a bigger window than the portal you get for effect. It does have mini fridge and a microwave...no coffee?!?!?! We had a great day at the park. The package included a parking pass and gave early access which helped jump start our day with 3 rides down before general admission hit. Btw... I never paid for a Fast Lane pass and only didn't ride Steel Vengeance and the Sirens Curse... Still a full day! If I do it again, I'd plan on staying at the Hotel Breakers. HOWEVER, there IS value in staying here with the water park and parking and early access. I just wouldn't stay here more than what I did.... and I'd bring my own pillow. Plus, the bath towels are small!! Good luck.

Definitely recommend Castaway Bay. Friendly staff. Nice for families with younger children, I recommend the resort but I am very dissatisfied with my visit to Cedar Point.