I'll start off by saying that the water park, itself, is very nice. It's a good size, with a variety of activities for younger and older folks to enjoy (although no lazy river feels like a serious oversight). The arcade is also nice and spacious, with a great variety of games that seem well-maintained. However, there's some issues that really detract from the experience. Customer service was my biggest gripe. The check in guy was pretty cold at first, but later he was more helpful. I was especially disappointed with the snack bar staff. The water park snack bar is in a dimly-lit corner, and when I went in, there was no one visibly working there. After a minute, a lady came out from the back, and I asked if the snack bar was open at that time. She gave me a condescending look, and didn't say anything, as if I should obviously expect the location to be open, despite the lack of an open sign or employee behind the counter. Then another guy comes out and starts making the order and neither him nor his coworker talked at all, just kinda scowled and made my partner and I feel like we were doing something wrong just by being respectful paying customers. They were the kind of workers I'd expect to see at a run-down McDonald's late at night, not a family vacation resort. The hotel itself is also nothing special. The beds are small and not particularly comfy, but the rooms are clean and nice enough. But the walls are THIN and you hear way too much noise from other guests. Overall: good waterpark+okay hotel+bad staff=mixed experience read more

Ooooooh, where do you start when you want to say, "What the H*ll?!" The very first offense was the entire room smelling like MOLD AND MILDEW. What caused this?! We don't know - what did we find? Water left in a tub! LEFT. IN.A.TUB. HOW LONG?! Who knows?! When I immediately complained, all they did was send someone to clean the tub. Did this work? Absolutely not. The room absolutely REEKED of mildew. The next night, I could NOT stand it. I asked for spray. How does one sleep with mold filling their room and no way to vent or open a window?! There were 6 people staying in this room. Four adults and two children under 8. Our room was at the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuurthest end of the hall, which leads one to believe it's forgotten about... The second offense were the crumbs and the blood left on the pull/ out bed (which in and of itself was an absolutely terrible bed for sleeping. You could feel every piece of hardware holding that crappy bed together.) Knowing that we JUST opened the pull-out bed and there were crumbs in it - NOPE! Not only was there crumbs, but when we took the actual sheets off, because we also had to do that ourselves as well, there was old BLOOD ON the sheets! As a woman, we know what old blood looks like and it was on this bed on the sides tucked in. That's unacceptable. Before we went to go to sleep, we saw 8 lovely legs creeping beneath another bed. Imagine what we didn't see. On Sunday, we stripped the sheets and piled them on all the beds and BOTH mattress were covered in yellow stains. Sweat? Urine? Who knows...?! The staff was less than enthusiastic for an environment that's supposed to cater to kiddos. Seriously, if you don't like kids, don't work there? The 'dance party' for the kids last maybe a half hour. If that? Who does that? And it's in the 'lobby' of the main entrance where there's a giant boat with barnacles, a mast you can light up and a talking-tube that goes up to the second floor. That's it. Literally. The rest is hotel and one craft room and arcades that charge you extra if you're not 'VIP'. Very few staff working the food places or around to ask about it. The best employee interaction came from a lovely girl in the late hours, when asked if the dock was okay to walk on, could we get back in, etc. She was so polite and friendly! I didn't see her name tag, but she had a bow in her hair - (Thank you for showing compassion and courtesy!) On Sunday, the slides were 'shut down' in random locations, we assumed it was due to a lack of staff since they slowly opened up after noon, but by then a good chunk of people are leaving due to check out. In the end, our visit was disappointingly-lack-luster and downright unsanitary. I expected more from a location dedicated to kiddos and their families. Even in the beginnings of the 'off season' as Halloweekend is around the corner, I had higher hopes. I understand 'bad days' and 'off weeks' but what I didn't understand was the lack of genuine care in a company that literally houses hundreds of families throughout one season. It said opened in 2004?. 22 years and this is the best you think you can do? In a world full of chaos, kids need fun and good memories. Do better Castaway Bay, do better! read more

The theme is cute and the facility is clean that is all the positive feedback I can provide. It just did not meet our expectations. There is no lazy river, hot tub or outdoor pool. The biggest issue was that you MUST wear a life jacket if you are under 56 inches. (4ft 8in), that's even if a parent is with you and the max depth of the pool is 4 feet. Within 10 minutes my kids who are 6 and 7 were bored and disappointed. We booked for 2 nights and left after 1 and went to a neighboring similar business for a night and had a lot more fun. Just not for us. read more

I do not think I will ever come back here again! It had been a few years since we visited and things have definitely changed for the worse. Number one reason why I cannot come back is because of lack of hand and body soap! This year we got a Cedar Point season pass and I wanted to use the hotel discount. I think I should have looked elsewhere from the start, my mistake, but I really wanted to stay on property and the kids used to love the place so much! I was suppose to get the "special" 20% off discount but they only gave me 10% and the prices for each package where so outrageous even though the ten percent off should have resulted in the same price. Like the 10% off plus two free park tickets was way more than the just 10% off. The woman on the phone was rude and said they were different packages, but that makes no sense! If I get 10% off and two free tickets why is it more than just 10%? Whatever, I booked it and it was still almost $500 for the night! When I got there the front desk two girls were certainly very rude and unfriendly, which is odd (the rest of the staff was extremely welcoming and kind by the way). I arrived pretty early and the room was already available which is great, but they emailed me several times to pay them $75 more to get early access to my room! Why the money grab? When we got near the room the entire all smelled like must and cat urine and the actual room also smelled like must and urine. The beds were tiny and although it looked like they updated it, it was all old and worn out. The clock radio alarm was dirty and moldy. We needed to use the bathroom but noticed there was no hand soap. Then we looked in the shower and the shower gel was gone and there was no soap. I left the room and asked the cleaning staff and they told me they also had no soap, that it was on order and not going to arrive until the following week. So I asked, but how am I going to wash my hands? They did not know. I went to the front desk and asked for hand soap and they were really rude and gave me one tiny piece and balked when I asked for a second one. What kind of place charges $500 for a small room but has no soap? Our safe was also not working and we asked them to fix it and that we would be back late. They said they would send someone when we were gone. We went to Cedar Point for the day and came back at night and the safe was not fixed. Then we opened up the couch bed. There was no bedding, no sheets, no blankets. We went to the front desk crew, it was three gentlemen, and they were extremely kind. They gave us towels, shower gel, the bedding, and apologized. The next day my husband found bugs on the pull out and that is gross! We did use the waterpark the next day which was fun. I do like their tiny park, it was a good chance to relax. The husband and kids did the slides and I hung out in the hot tub and wave pool, but the attendant who lets you into the pool is a bit prickley. My child is also upset about new theming. I am not sure what happened to the Peanuts and some of the animatronics. They still have fun entertainment for kids and the people working there were friendly although I think I heard them talking about a guest once the guest left on their way to a break and it was not kind. Overall, I have spent way less in Hawaii, Vegas, and expensive Disney hotels than this place? I will go down the street to Great Wolf next time. I checked, and their prices are way less and offer an outdoor pool. Another review said worst hotel they had ever stayed at, and they might be right especially since I spent so much money to be here. It is very unsanitary to have no soap to the point that there should be an inspection of the property. Does that mean people who work here can't wash their hands? Food is prepared here. Just horrible! read more

Castaway Bay by Cedar Point Resorts - Resorts Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

Location 10/10 Up to 10 minute drives to cedar point, bars, restaurants, and downtown Sandusky. It would be super lovely if there was a shuttle between cedar point and their hotel properties. Rooms 7/10 We had a combination room. The doors were difficult to keep open so we could go between the two. They were okay. The floors were kinda gross, wouldn't recommend walking on them without shoes. There isn't really anywhere to unpack your clothes. The mattress was okay. The pillows were terrible and super flat, my neck hurt waking up each morning. The bathrooms were clean, there was shampoo, conditioner, and body wash mounted on the shower wall, but one of the rooms conditioner and body wash was completely empty and the staff never replaced it even after we asked. It was really nice to have both a mini fridge and a microwave in both rooms. Waterpark 8/10 Decent. Lots of slides, different sizes for all ages. It was really disappointing that the hot tub was closed though. Woulda been nice to stick our feet in after long days of walking at cedar point. Cafe in the Lobby: - Coffee 0/10 The employees don't know how to make majority of the drinks they have on their menu. We ordered an American with cream and a vanilla latte with oat milk one morning and the americano had no creamer and the entire latte was white; It was fully oat milk and no espresso at all. Absolutely disgusting. - Pizza 8/10. actually was ok. Looked like a frozen pizza. Tasted like a frozen pizza. Other amenities: Very little kid friendly between the dance parties, and craft room. The arcade was a decent size and lots of games. I also like that they offered mini golf, bowling and an escape room. However, they were kinda pricey. read more

Castaway Bay by Cedar Point Resorts - Pizza from the Lobby Cafe - Resorts Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

I really doint think that this place is worth all that we paid for it. The water park is smalll and the room was small. There were no food options on property other than breakfast. The place was dirty as well multiple things closed daily in the water park. Staff were nice wish there were more around the resort. read more

See all

They said they gave me an upgrade, then had me scan my card. After, they said, oh, there are no rooms, you could pay twice as much to rent a whole other room, though! Which makes absolutely no sense. They almost seemed to imply that the room we reserved, 2queens, was also given away when they fake gave me an upgrade. Fortunately, that was just this manager woman trying to intentionally create drama. They also said they couldn't explain what I had been charged and why, implied that I was charged the extra hundred (s) for the upgrade, though they couldn't say how much or give me anything in writing or give me a refund. She said this was all "a vendor", because the company is clearly one that tells employees to tell that lie when all the "companies" have the same name and logo. No, a wholly owned subsidiary is not a vendor and the parent company is not a vendor. I now figure that they have this woman making sure that their employees are terrible at their job and drag the ratings down, because they have plans to just close the place and they need an excuse. The amenities seem nice, but the 3 rating on every site from customers all saying how unpleasant, dishonest, opaque, and impossible to work with this company (and all the other fake divisions they claim) are is on point. I find low budget places do far better at running their companies. read more

Everything was horrible it was the worst hotel I ever stayed at. I got sick from the waterpark and the mini golf course had a weird odor that smelled like pee. And I couldn't sleep because there was very loud music playing at night. read more

I want to rate this experience higher, but there were just so many scratch your head moments. This was our first time staying at the resort and while it was opening weekend for Cedar Point, Castaway Bay is a year round establishment, so I can't blame the lackluster service on first weekend jitters. First, the good: The price point was fairly cheap for a resort with amenities. The room rate was around 160.00 per night with options for add ons. The room itself was large and faced the Bay. We purchased the King's Island Gold All Parks Pass this year and were pleasantly surprised to find that, at least during this opening weekend, we received discounts at most of the food establishments on site. Our stay included the indoor waterpark and we also got indoor blacklight minigolf and duckpin bowling tickets. They have small decorated doors for Gordy and all of his friends. When you ring their doorbells, you get different jokes and comments themed to each animal. The odd: For our 3 day stay, our room was not serviced. If room cleaning is something that happens every other day or upon request, that should be mentioned at check in. There are no open and closing times listed for any of the food establishments. High Tide is only open for breakfast, Rocket's Market is similar to a Starbucks and seems to be open until maybe 11pm, the Sprinkles Shack is connected to the Market and has similar hours, I think, the Surfside Bar is inside the waterpark itself and is the only place to get alcoholic beverages, but only during waterpark hours 10am-8pm. And then there is the mysterious Mama Chetta's pizza that tells you to call from your room phone (there aren't room phones) to order. When we tried to do so on our cell phones, it never connected. I'd love to tell you their hours, but again, none are listed. There were many parts of the resort that were "under construction" and looked to be in various levels of renovation. An entire side of elevators was out of order, several areas had caution tape and/or wet paint signs, and Famous Dave's is coming soon, or so said the sign that was blocking a hallway. Various activities for the kids occurred in the lobby foyer in front of the impressive ship. While this entertainment was joyful and not altogether odd, the decision to place this incredibly loud extravaganza right next to the front desk when there is a perfectly amazing stage on the second floor was. Upon check out, we had to literally shout to be heard by the staff. The bad: Communication across the board was just not solid. We don't work here, we don't come here all the time, so give us the important information and the tips, tricks, etc that you think would be helpful to have a great time. The staff were incredibly nice, but didn't really seem to have a good handle on the property and how to share it effectively with guests. We went to the arcade room to redeem our duckpin and minigolf only to find no on there. When we went back to the front desk, they asked us if we had gone to the "main arcade." Well, we went to an arcade. Turns out, there is a second one. How are we suppose to know that? When we returned to the duckpin and minigolf, we were still left all on our own. When we tried to order at the Sprinkle Shack, the menu lists cone/cup/milkshakes. On the machine itself, I noted flavor burst flavors. When I attempted to order, the worker let us know that the flavor bursts weren't working. Fine, but then what flavors do you have???? We ordered a slice of pizza and mozzarella cheese sticks at the waterpark. After we had paid, the worker gave us the pizza and said it would be 15 minutes for the sticks. Why wouldn't you ask if we wanted the items to come out together? The pizza was Mama Chetta's. Friends, this pizza was God awful. It may have been because it had been sitting in the turnstyle for hours, but heaven help me, I have had tastier pizza from the Chuck E Cheese game room FLOOR. The bread was as moist as a rock and had the flavor of dust. The pizza sauce was the surface of the sun hot and yet the cheese on top was lukewarm. When the cheese sticks came out, I kid you not, one of the six was completely void of cheese on the inside. It was stick. The other five were blessedly edible, but for 7 dollars, I want all of my cheese sticks intact. The waterpark itself was fine, but the area is not that large and due to "staffing shortages" 2 slides and 2 play areas were closed. I get it, I really do, but I wondered why they didn't rotate every hour or so to open up other areas. One worker said if they had more people show up for work they would open the other areas, but the areas remained closed for the duration of our time there. It feels like it has the potential to be great. The pieces are there, but some important customer service details are missing. We would go back to Cedar Point, but I don't think we would return to Castaway Bay. There just aren't enough amenities and restaurant options to make it a worthwhile trip. read more

A beautiful hotel that appears to not have adequate management. It was generally dirty. The elevators, windows, hallways/floors were filthy. The room was clean but small and the mattresses were cheap. We left a day early. It was sad to see a place with such potential not being managed correctly. With that being said, the waterpark was nice and clean and the lifeguards were "on it." I witnessed several practice drownings and rescues by employees to ensure the lifeguards were alert & aware. Overall, would not recommend. read more

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE I have been bringing my family to castaway bay for the last 10-15 years. It is the smallest of the three parks in Sandusky (castaway, great wolf, Kalahari), but the family loves it because we grew up with it. Last year the hot tub was not working. This year, the hot tub, pirate ship, and barrel were not working due to 'safety.' It was nowhere at all on the web site. We drove three and a half hours, and after being told at checkin, they were very non chalant about it. The lady at the check in said although 3 attractions are closed, 5 are open. I said that's almost half the park. After complaining, I was offered 20% off. The hot tub is a huge attraction! Thanks but no thanks. The staff was rude, and we ended up going to Kalahari for the weekend. The time wasted going to castaway, trying to find another place to go, etc, is time we will never get back. If we would have known before leaving we would have passed on the trip. Instead, I had to spend money I didn't have to not disappoint the family staying at a more expensive resort. I will not be returning. Sad to lose a customer after almost 15 years. read more

The hotel overall was nice and people were very friendly but that's about where it ends. Problems 1) we only had 2 towels when we checked in considering the room was cleaned I would have thought we would have gotten more 2) beds where SO UNCOMFORTABLE they where hard and the sheets kept coming off. I knew what size beds we where getting but for a hotel like this you would expect queens not doubles! 3) they only had a small roll of toilet paper left in the bathroom and no spares the cabinet where we assume would have been more was locked so we had to call the front desk....AGAIN! 4) this hotel is so loud I expected noise from kids running down the hall as I've been to universal and Disney but the noise there doesn't compare to the noise here! Both rooms on the sides of us put in noise complaints against us when we only had the TV on bare minimum at like 8pm but yet when 3am rolled around they had screaming, banging on walls and running down hallways! We didn't answer anymore calls from them after. read more

The place is in general good shape but the rooms are just blah. They are clean but they have vinyl floors which o do not like. The AC unit is audible from outside the room. The beds are totally average. For the price I was expecting a little more. If the nightly rate started about 70 less I would give it a higher score Based on lower expectations. The indoor waterpark is nice and clean. Keep expectations reasonable and you will be very pleased. The price is a bit high for what you are getting. read more

It was a decent experience. Our kids enjoyed the waterpark. They do have a bunch of dumb rules while you are in the waterpark though. We got yelled at for swimming to close to the walls and we also got told that our 3 year old was not allowed to wear her swim shoes. Probably won't be back. read more

The front desk staff was great! But the room not so much. The place felt like a children's hospital on the 3rd floor. We had reserved a family room for 1 night and our experience was BAD! We got to our room around 6:30/7 there were stains on the pull out couch and there was an H inside the pull out couch left over from a banner from a previous guest. When we got to the room, and we wanted to too was shower then go to dinner. My 15 yo godson took the first shower and noticed the tub was not draining at all! After close inspection, the drain was fully clogged with hair(soooo disgusting). We called for maintenance and the guy brought a snake like tool to get the hair out. But then he needed to leave to get a plunger to get the water to go down. Once done nobody came to clean the bathroom so we decided to go to dinner and shower when we got back. I asked to have the bathroom cleaned while we were at dinner. We got back to the room and the bathroom still had not been cleaned. The maintenance guy who cleared the clog was the guy they sent to clean the bathroom not a member of the cleaning staff and this guy had no clue. He only brought a cleaning spray and some guest towels to clean the tub and Nothing to clean the floor with. For Just for using the guest towels alone, I will not go back to this hotel. But anyway, once he cleaned the tub he asked me to inspect to make sure he did the cleaning correctly... ugh if you don't know how to clean a room why are you the one doing it. It was just disgusting and definitely not worth the $$$ we paid to stay there! read more

horrible! The food was disgusting. Had to pay even if you're not eating. Way too pricey. basically paid 30 dollars not to eat smh.

So we took a quick overnight trip to Cedar Point and we stayed at Castaway bay. The Check in was quick and the personel was very friendly. The motel is great for younger kids. The arcade and escape room was overpriced. The water park was fun for our kids. The breakfast buffet was good food but very unorganized because people act like animals. The beds are so small and uncomfortable. Forget about getting a good nights sleep in those beds. We ask for a 12:00 check out and they were fine with that. Overall it was great for the kids, hard on the wallet and sleep. read more

First Impressions: * Front desk guy, very long nails, made a rude comment about a customer who called about towels * Room was not properly cleaned; brown curly hair and crumbs in beds. * Trash (disposable syringe package) left behind the toilet * Shower would not drain throughout entire stay (4 days), hair from previous customers shaving comes out of drain upon pooling. * Seemingly understaffed, stressed out employees - visibly miserable read more

Castaway Bay by Cedar Point Resorts - Resorts Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

*Updated review.* The owner had a supervisor reach out to me. They promptly and professionally took care of the problem. I was very happy with the outcome. Now, the type of customer service I was expecting! That's what you call supervisor customer service! I am looking forward to my stay. Thank you! read more

We spent 2 nights on a weekend at the resort. We booked the bunk room which had 2 bunks and a king sized bed at the room/waterpark only rate in late February 2026. The good: Waterpark and room were clean. The staff were all super friendly and helpful. Kids really enjoyed themselves (10 and 14). There are lots of restaurant options within 3-5 miles to fit any budget. The majority of lifeguards took their jobs seriously and enforced rules. It was less expensive than other indoor waterparks. Room fridge was great for storing snacks and drinks. Nearly everywhere in the hotel is crazy loud, but, the craft room was a great place to take a sensory break and slow down for a bit. The area by the aquarium on the third floor was also quieter often. There was a seating area for reading and tables available for boardgames with a view of the bay. The bad: We waited in line at 4:15 pm for a half an hour to just check in. They had a line of people filling the entire lobby with 4 staff checking people in. It was not streamlined at all. The changing room did not have a curtain or door on it. Nor did the bunk room. The only place to change privately was the small room off the bathroom with toilet and shower. Walls are paper thin. You will hear everything going on in the hall and the rooms around yours. We also happened to be right off the elevator bank which added a whole new level of noise. Elevators are slow and tiny. With luggage, you can fit 3-4 people tops. We chose the stairs almost every time despite our room being located on the 3rd floor right next to the elevators. That said, the stairwells are super loud as it's all metal and cement/concrete. Large attractions do close. The wave pool was closed half the day Saturday which was our kids favorite thing. You need a special card for any arcade, bowling, or golfing you do and that's an extra $3 charge plus what you load onto it. They have cute character "room doors" throughout the hallways. These are often right next to a room door and kids will push the buttons to make them talk all day/night. So many of the areas were unnecessarily loud. You couldn't hear anyone speak in the arcade or waterpark. Stairwells were like banging on metal drums while they echoed between 4 floors. The ugly: Their mini golf (albeit it glow course) is highway robbery. $10 per person (despite being told it was $6 by staff) and only 8 holes. The 9th hole was just putting your ball up a ramp into their skee-ball cup. If you mad it a fun sound went off, if you didn't, it collected it and played a failed sound. Our "bay view" window was COVERED in bird poop and cobwebs on the exterior side. The entire side of the building was filthy to look at. I would not suggest paying extra for the view. This might have been a one off experience in the activity pool but the one time we tried it, I had teenagers tackling me from behind as they fought over basketballs. I was pushed over multiple times by them when they crashed into me (and others in the pool) and nothing was done about it by parents or lifeguards. My kiddo and I eventually left because the ball he and another younger kid were playing with kept getting takin by the teens. Overall, it was a cheaper room option than other places but I'm not sure we'll be going back again. The extra fees for everything else adds up quick and sleep was nearly impossible with the noise level around our room. read more

Never, ever, EVER book a family trip to this resort. The person who made the reservation had a flight delay and they wouldn't check in the other members of the party without refunding the full amount to the card under which the reservation was made (7-10 day delay) and charging a new card the full amount. And the registration desk employees should be working at the DMV they were so unhelpful. read more

Place looks nice, pool is kinda boring but still sorta fun, service was great and, food was good read more

Castaway Bay by Cedar Point Resorts - Lobby - Resorts Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

I was really skeptical after reading reviews but now I'm wondering what these people were expecting. Check in was 4pm which I didn't realize until I looled at the reviews the day of. We got here a little early and figured from the other review saying that the rooms were never ready on time. We were just going to hang out at the indoor waterpark. It was 3 PM, but my surprise they checked us in and got us in our room with no issues. The floors are laminated which I like because being at a waterpark and inconsiderate people going into their rooms wet can make the carpets start to stink. I have been to other indoor water parks/hotels where the whole place just smelled like chlorine. This was NOT the case here. I saw others complain about the beds and yes, they are not the best, but I slept fine and have seen worse. I will say do not expect anyone to sleep on the "sleeper chair" bed because it's hard and I can imagine anyone ever being able to sleep on that. There was a nice size mini fridge, microwave and a table for two. I saw how expensive breakfast was so I opted to bring stuff for breakfast. A half gallon of milk, lunchables, strawberries, grapes, etc all fit in the fringe with no issue. I didn't see one big in our room which was my biggest fear from the reviews but, nothing. It was also stated the rooms were run day, I didn't see that. There were some spots on the wall where paint was missing which looked like someone knocked into it and messed up the wall. When you have kids acting crazy in the rooms this is to be expected. Was the bathroom immaculate? No. But it was clean, enough towels and little shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap. There is a hairdryer in the room. There are also hooks in the shower to hang your wet swim stuff which is nice so it's not dripping on the floor all night. My kids enjoyed the activity's in the lobby such as game time, story time and the dance party (twice). As for the waterpark. The kids loved it. So much so they wanted to leave Cedar Point early to come back and swim more before we had to head home. I particularly enjoyed the hot tub. The first day we were here the basketball hoop pool was closed and one of the water slides on the activity structure but my kids didn't notice. The second day just the slide was still closed but everything else was open. There is really enough for any age to enjoy. The other amenities we didn't utilize were the arcade, mini golf, bowling and escape room. We also did not eat any food here. We did order DoorDash once while here and just a heads up, you have to meet them at the lobby because staff will not let them bring it to you. Something to note. If you are a pass holder and you want to utilize the early entry, you have to ask for the pass at the front desk before heading to the park. There are changing rooms in the waterpark area with showers and changing tables. Overall I would say it's worth the money if you do it right. With my 10% off with my season pass holder status I paid around $170 for a basic room with two beds. This also includes 4 waterpark passes good for all day the day of check in and all day the day of check out. Considering what the price is for four waterpark passes for the day alone is, I would so you are getting a pretty good deal. We will be back again. read more

Castaway Bay by Cedar Point Resorts - One of two play structures (other one is for young children/toddlers) - Resorts Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

Unfortunately our stay at Castaway Bay was disappointing. Definitely grateful to be able to book a room during the holiday weekend but I always expect rooms to be clean and amenities to be available and working. We cut our stay short and left a day early because I couldn't take showering in that bathroom or paying another night just to sleep uncomfortably. The water park was not completely open so it didn't cater to the age range of our children (there's only so much sitting in the wave pool that we can do). This hotel was being "remodeled" in 2021 when we came so we stayed at another Cedar Point "resort". I was excited to be able to book the room on short notice during this 2023 Labor Day holiday especially since it was just remodeled. To my great disappointment I don't think the actual rooms were remodeled. The walls were filled with scratches, scrapes and like they've been fully lived in without any cleaning or paint updates. The paint was actually chipped. The floors weren't mopped and the bathroom (yuck). I don't think the bathtubs had been properly cleaned in a long time (the dirt ring was there to prove it). I started traveling with cleaning spray and Lysol a while back so it was handy and my spray of a layer of Bleach cleaner proved that the tub hadn't seen cleaning products before we arrived. Just know this review is being typed maybe 20minutes after pulling out of the parking lot. My family was at the water area and I texted them and said we're leaving; I was already at the desk. I couldn't take staying another night not being able to sleep because the walls are so thin my daughter stayed up last night listening to a couple's full conversation about their issues with their daughter because the walls are so thin. Oh and the air conditioner must be programmed to sound like water is crashing on the side of a building or boat. As for the water park, the main attraction to those over 8 or 9 years old are the obstacle course and slides... the slides were closed. The wave pool had bandaids floating in it. The cute decor was DIRTY and the floor needed a good power washing (again this "resort" was just remodeled right???). I LOVE writing reviews (specifically good reviews, I don't think being mean and overly critical is necessary) but every now and again I have an experience that is just disappointing and disgusting, unfortunately this was one of those times. I would like to say that the best thing about the hotel was the front desk staff. They are the kindest and maybe most patient people I've ever seen working in a hotel that caters to families. They are the reason for the 3 stars because otherwise I'd give only 2. Even when working alone and having multiple guest issues, I never saw anyone break a sweat and they responded professionally and kind (especially Daniel who was working alone Thursday). They are the true highlights of the Cedar Point "resorts". FYI I say "resorts" because until I have a good experience with a clean environment, I will continue to question Cedar Point's use of the term "resort". (In 2021 we stayed at Cedar Point's Express Hotel and this year Castaway Bay.) If I could, do it over again, we would've driven from Michigan straight to the park and back home. I'd actually like a full refund for the hotel stay. Staying in our car might've been better than that experience. We're headed home to be able to take showers and soak our feet to prevent any fungi . :-( I almost forgot: there's no dresser in the room, no iron (you have to request one) and ironing board, and no hangers. read more

See all

We stayed in a family suite. Clean room and loved the waterpark. Wave pool was kinda cool but was really fun. Sauna was nice and hot, loved it! Slide were fun also read more

This review isn't going to be about the resort, per se, but the great customer service I experienced. I got sick a week before our Christmas trip, I was going to send the kids anyway, but the person that held the credit card had to be there I appreciate when they do that for security sake, but I have to say that the people I spoke to customer service were wonderful. They really tried to help me figure it out and then when they finally had to give up mostly because I couldn't figure out a way to get the funds there, they were so nice to me and helpful. So we had to postpone our trip but I assure you I will go back there. Superior excellent wonderful customer service superior! read more

This water park was fun . The staff other than the young lady that was doing the Roller coaster ride when we rode it she was the most friendly. The staff doesn't smile and some didn't really understand English very well . The place itself was fun for all ages and even the hot tub was nice and enjoyable. But I encourage a training on smiling and customer service skills . The staff almost looked sad to be there and like they were made to watch for safety only . So needless to say we would not go back but the grandkids had a blast . The cleaning staff however were friendly and did greet you when they saw you in the hallways . The lifeguard staff should take some notes from them smile more it goes a long way . The enthusiasm of working in a water park should be there some what . read more

See all

Just left our second time staying and very disappointed. We came from out of state for one night. We checked into our room and instantly once the door opened hit with a very strong exhaust gas smell. We called front desk and my kids were complaining of the smell and my husband and I had headaches. The supervisor came down with a maintenance man who checked the filters. Clean. They couldn't explain where the strong exhaust gas smell was coming from . They told us at first " could be someone's exhaust outside " since we were on first floor. Well the smell wasn't going away and we decided to go to front desk where we had to stand with two energetic kids under 5. The manager and supervisor went back and fourth with us for an hour at the front desk ofering no real solution. They told us there was nothing they could do but would get us an " ionizer for an hour" so we would have to clear the room for one hour and return. I told them it was a bandaid to the problem, they continued to argue with us and when I said it wasn't safe and I wouldn't be sleeping in a room that smelled of exhaust they finally decided to give us another room after the manager saying " we moved some things around for you " . No, no they didn't they argued with us for an hour and were very rude and even at one point told us the " exhaust smell was coming from the plumbing and not flushing the toliets " . Truthfully unreal when it comes to fumes causing multiple guests headaches in the hotel room. The supervisor walked us to our new room and when I told her to have to supervisor go into our old room and actually smell what we did she replied " don't worry that room is blocked off for the remainder of the week" ... but here they were arguing with us for an hour that we had to stay in that room. Unreal. Also no hot water In shower. Other than that the kids loved the pool and put put, the other staff members were very nice and outgoing! read more

I have many small complaints about castaway bay most seemed very petty and not worth mentioning such as they don't offer an add on packs ( for purchase) for a birthday event they suggest if you want to celebrate there renting the birth suite and throwing a party... annoying but what ever... their bundles actually cost more then if you get to the hotel and buy things individually but you aren't aware of this since their website doesn't tell you the cost of activities..... they advertise amenities for the rooms only to find out that the amenitlies are outdated suchbas which tv station offered in the room due to a dispute with the networks and cable providers ( which is a 2 yr old dispute and should be updated on castaway bay website because obviously they can't control what the cable provider offers but they can control their channel line up that they provide to guests).... Then comes the actual waterpark we were told at check in one ride was down which was a bummer for my older kids but what can you do only to get in the water park to find out that half the waterpark attractions were closed when questioned why we were told only one the assured me I was told just miss understood which I wasn't.... if you want a waterpark on Sandusky save yourself the headache and disappointment and go to great wolfs or Kalahari not worth the price and rude staff read more

We have enjoyed both of our visits at Castaway Bay. Both times, we booked a room here in order to maximize our time at Cedar Point. It's a lovely place to stay with lakefront views and the indoor water park is great for relaxing after a long, hot day at the park. That said, it's all starting to feel a bit dated and in need of modernization. Our first visit was four years ago and we LOVED it. Wouldn't change a thing. Our daughter was 5 and thought it was paradise on earth. The kids activities and waterpark were perfect for her. Now, she's 9 and even she noticed the place was looking a bit shabby on our return visit this summer. The Snoopy/Charlie Brown characters no longer enchanted her - although she did give them hugs. Absolutely nothing had changed in the hotel or indoor water park since our last visit; the place was exactly the same, only with four more years of wear and tear. It's starting to show its age and definitely time for refurbishment. The water park seemed very dimly lit - almost as if they were keeping the lights low so you wouldn't see how rundown the place is starting to look. That said, the price is right - so if you're looking for an affordable place to stay near Cedar Point with a decent indoor water park and you're okay with all of it not being super shiny and new, then I think you'll have a very enjoyable stay here. Also, shout out to the chocolate muffins at the little breakfast joint here because they were seriously DELISH. read more

See all

It is amazing,first of All there are when you get to your room you get a nice view from your window and their is a Art's and crafts room,a gym,a indoor water park,a arcade,mini bowling,mini golf,a buffet,an ice cream shop,a coffee/donut shop, schedules that have different events in the main lobby,and a escape room that is tricky and fun.but the only reason I'm not raitting it give stars is because it's overpriced(for good reason )they don't take cash only card,and the towels made my head itchy but I would recommend just bring your own towels. read more

Booked this resort with a Cedar Point package because of proximity to the park. Very clean rooms, polite staff and nice game rooms. Beds definitely could use an upgrade. Breakfast is pricey for the quality of food though. Water park was nice and had loads of lifeguards. Will probably book a different cedar point property because our kids are too old for the theme but great for little kids. read more

Fun water park, friendly staff, good location close to Cedar Point. A few suggestions: The hours for the restaurants and waterpark could be made more apparent. Maybe on the brochures or on a sign in the lobby. The rooms could definitely be a little cleaner. The lamp shades were a little dingy and the walls and doors were scuffed up. But nothing too bad. I would definitely come back. read more

We booked on Groupon with an advertisement of $94.00/night. We booked a two double bed room and sleeper sofa for two adults and one child. My first disappointment came when I went to book and there were no $94.00 nights available when you went to book. We found two nights for a higher price and booked through Groupon anyway thinking we were still saving money. When we arrived check in was smooth. Headed up to the room and the first thing we noticed were there were no hangers to hang our winter coats up in the designated area. We put them over the rod and disregarded it. When we saw the size of the beds, they were much smaller than anticipated and I immediately called the front desk to ask for an upgrade to our room. The front desk said because I booked thru Groupon I had to go thru them to make changes. I immediately started a chat with Groupon because you can not contact them via phone. The person who picked up my chat was Sandeep G. @ 7:37 p.m. I asked for an upgrade to my room (was hoping for queen beds). He looked into it and told me they couldn't do anything, the hotel was the only party who could help us. I told him I already asked the hotel and they told me it has to go thru Groupon. I asked for Groupon Management and he said he would place ten dollars in Groupon Bucks on my account to help make up for this experience. (It has been three days and there is not ten dollars in my account as of yet!!) He said he would send me to Groupon Management and they would email me. I asked him to stay on the chat with me until I received the email and he left the chat without acknowledging that request. While waiting for the email, I contacted Castaway Bay Reservations Line, the person who answered told me there was nothing they could do and I asked them to elevate to management. They transferred me and told me they will call Castaway Bay front desk and discuss it with them. They did this and told me there was a miscommunication and the front desk thought that I wanted a free upgrade and if I was willing to pay the difference they could change my room. I never once said I wanted a free upgrade! Noone even mentioned upgrade fees, which I would have been okay with if they were reasonable. I already figured there would be rate differences for queen bed rooms. Castaway Bay Reservation Management told me they just talked with the front desk, would connect me back to them and I could get the upgrade. Transferred back to front desk and the person told me he was sorry but there was still nothing he could do. I asked to talk to Management at Castaway Bay and he put me on with a supervisor. The supervisor told me to contact Groupon again, I told them the reservation desk agreed I could have the upgrade but he insisted there was no way to help me. He said Groupon would have to refund me and he said good luck getting that to happen, as they have had several issues with customers who booked Castaway Bay thru Groupon. After 1.5 hours on phone with both companies, we finally decided to begin our vacation. Here are some disappointments from around the Hotel: No Hangers in room to hang winter coats Called front desk for extra toiletries and after several hours noone brought them. Had to flag housekeeping out of another room to ask them if we could grab it off their cart. (They handed us the items immediately) Went to buffet in the morning and some of the dishes were dirty Headed to Waterpark and the towels they provided were very small and very rough. The bathroom area in the waterpark was dirty, and the shower stalls had awful stains/scuff marks all over them. The schedule for the lobby entertainment that they hand out at check in, was different than what is posted in elevators. Some of the activities were not put on anyway, leaving large groups of people standing and waiting for nothing!! Based on this experience I cannot recommend Castaway Bay, or Groupon at all. This is the worst customer service I have had in a very long time! read more

We are in town to visit some family and friends. We booked 3 nights at this hotel because it was pretty much all that was available in the area. When we first checked in and got to our room we smelled this awful odor. We thought it could've been the AC unit in the room. We had plans to go out right when we checked in so we dropped our bags and changed after a long 9 hour drive. When we got back later in the night the smell was so bad it made us physically sick. We got terrible headaches and were extremely nauseous. I started looking around because the smell reminded me of black mold. I looked up at the ceiling where the smoke detector is and at the other things on the ceiling. It was black mold. Maintenance showed up to the room after I went and notified them that something was wrong and the second he walk through the door he knew I was correct. They told us they would give us a new room, so we moved. If we could smell it so strongly when walking in why didnt the cleaning staff alert someone that there was a terrible smell in the room when they were preparing for us to arrive? When we got to our new room I was so sick I thought I was going to throw up. I went into the bathroom to shower hoping it would make me feel better, but when I got in there was hair(looks to be pubic) all on the walls at the top of the shower and what looks to be purple shampoo on the shower walls. They clearly didnt clean this room very well. It is very stressful that we have two more nights in a hotel that clearly doesnt care about the heath of there customers or the cleanliness of there rooms. read more

Found a live bed bug in a suite room. Spoke to Joe the manager who did not want to do anything about it. Do not go there unless you want to spend the day at a laundromat and wasting even more money!!! read more

Castaway Bay by Cedar Point Resorts - Resorts Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

The showers were cold had to call the front desk to get it working. The pools and slides are fun not that deep though. The food is good,arcade is fun, was also some activities to do that were fun for the kids. Overall 2.5 stars. read more

I booked here for our first time staying in OH, to visit Cedar point. I'm an advocate for having my own experience in new places vs. reading what type of experiences others had. With that said, I booked a room for my family of 6 07/03-07/07. Upon check in front desk staff was cold and bothered when asked questions. Our 1st room smelled so bad upon entry that we immediately sprayed body spray to kill the odor. My husband then looked at the room filters, they were filthy! He cleaned them his self in the hotel bathtub...helped but didn't kill the mold smell...but then my 5 year old picked his bed pulled the sheets back and there was a black spider moving frantically to escape. That was enough for me to call the front desk as my son is allergic to spiders and swells into pain if bit. To our surprise house keeping showed up to spray our room with freshener and let us keep the bottle in our room...I called again and said we need a new room, conditions were not safe. 2nd room we stayed in for 1 night because NATS were so bad we couldn't eat or drink anything in our room..on top of nats everywhere or balcony door didn't lock. We were on the 1st floor. The next night we booked at another hotel to try and sleep and to be free of bugs and mold smells. We paid $2000 to stay at Castaway bay, to then spend another $227 to stay at a different hotel for livable conditions. Upon returning back to Castaway bay we called the front desk and proceeded to tell them our experiences and the gentlemen laughed. When I asked the manager to come to my room to see for themselves they sent head of house keeping. They noted the smell, so the nats and swatted a few him self and noted the broken balcony door I expressed my unhappyiness due to the lack of customer service and or safety of my family. They moved us to another room where we ended our trip a day early. Bugs are so bad in this facilty, my son woke up with six bites that swelled his arm so bad we couldn't go to Cedar point to finish our trip. I have pictures of the bugs, my sons arm and receipts to prove we booked at a different hotel during our time booked at Castaway bay. As I mentioned earlier, I believe in creating our own experiences but sometimes these reviews hold weight, this one being one of them. I will not recommend this hotel or ever step foot in there again. read more

See all

This place is very clean, well, except for the third floor windows but that is to be expected. However, the past three mornings as I was standing under a shower that had all the pressure and water flow of a soaker hose (very little), after three nights of listening to all the conversations in rooms near me due to the large gaps under the doors, I had to ask myself "Why am I staying here?". If you have young kids, perhaps there is value added for the price as relates the indoor water park. My son and I enjoyed the hot spa. A couple of the arcade games he liked. However, this is not the same quality and experience as staying at Hotel Breakers, but for almost the same price. If all you want to do is go to the park, I'd suggest staying at someplace out of the CP ecosystem. One part of Castaway Bay that I found to be substandard and horribly managed is the coffee/muffin/ice cream kiosk right near the front desk. The employees on duty hide in the alcove in the middle so they can have their private conversations and seem annoyed at having to break off to service customers. Last night, my son commented "these people really hate their jobs" after one of the employees acted annoyed he had to make a milkshake and mumbled his way through the interaction. TLDR: a clean place that is overpriced for just a place to crash while going to the park. read more

I was very pleased when first arriving so were my kids! This was supposed to be my birthday/mothers day gift! Lol. but after being in my room for a night it slowly declined. At first my babies kept going in the fridge which is nbd they're happy never seen one before... COOL! But then I see them eating a pack of sour cream.... But we didnt have any sour creme... and it was cold... it was someone's leftovers from a previous stay my kids found it... in the fridge... I shrugged it off they didn't eat any I got it quick; anyway let's ignore it and go swimming. After swimming I went to give the kids a bath in the bathroom. I have twins 18months + 4yr old. I pull the shower curtain and someone's dirty booty rag who was NOT from my family is on top of the shower curtain dried up and crusty. Like idk how long it's been there! Almost falling in my babies tub water like WHAT! That's nasty... what if somebody had some kind of disease? Could that have spread to my babies? I call the front desk and they want to send house keeping... maaam my kids are naked in the tub, I don't want housekeeping. I expected my room to be clean when I entered and not have booty rags on the ceiling. They didn't want to compensate or offer anything for the inconvenience. Not impressed :( I came looking for vacation, to relax with family In a clean environment... I didn't have that feeling here. I wouldn't recommend read more

Castaway Bay by Cedar Point Resorts - Booty rag - Resorts Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

See all