Castaway Bay - Any feedback on this resort?

CPfan1976 said:
Like Brandon (djDaemon) stated above, one of the shortcomings of CB is the food,(I've never tried Mango Mikes' BTW but have frequented the TGIF before) which is a shame because there is a lot of competition down rt. 250 to go eat at.

An alternative to Friday's is Thirsty Pony, which is within stumbling distance. :)

Unfortunately, there's no nearby alternative for breakfast. Though as bad as Mango Mike's is, even McDonald's would be preferable.

Thirsty Pony is one of my favorite places in Sandusky, generally excellent bar food, especially the burgers. I would highly recommend it over one of the chains like BW3.

Agreed on Thirsty Pony. Ever since our first visit (which admittedly took too long to happen, since the place sorta lacks curb appeal), we make it a point to stop by once or twice each visit, if only for a few strong drinks and some sliders.

All of this makes me imagine (wistfully long for?) that instead of Chickie & Pete's, there could have been a Thirsty Pony branch onsite at CP.

CPfan1976 said:
^^ I was there the same day as you were and am curious as to whether you visited the Snack Shack there for food? The pizza is disgusting, sorry. Not just my opinion but other guests as well.

No, we left the hotel and ate at Chet and Matt's since it has been mentioned as a good place to eat several times in these threads.

Good choice :)

I've always felt Castaway Bay has been really underrated and has been doomed to the Kinzel ea. (Heck, one of the animatronic parrots in the lobby clearly says, "Hi, Mr. Kinzel!") But that still doesn't change my opinion on how it is a pretty decent place to stay. I think the theming there is great, and even though the water park doesn't compare well with Great Wolf or Kalahari, I still enjoy it. I think CP needs to market it a bit more at the park, I never seem to see ANY ads or signs for it on the peninsula. What do you guys think? (Also, I must compliment how much I love the painted mini-lighthouse right outside Castaway's entrance. DT and Space Spiral is on it!)

Why do you feel it's underrated?

The water park is fantastic, but the rest of the hotel is pretty unremarkable and in need of updates. A couple of years ago we had a room with twin sheets on a queen size bed, and the desk person working the phones was actually arguing with me about what we had. (They eventually sent someone up to put the right size on.) Not a great staffing moment. By comparison, I've never had anything but excellent service at Great Wolf Lodge (though with admittedly higher prices).

I've found that in general, GWL prices are pretty in line with CB, if not cheaper. Granted, I always utilize some kind of discounted rate in both cases, and would never look at, nor bother comparing, peak, non-discounted rates.

Scottyf said:
Why do you feel it's underrated?

Maybe underrated was a bad choice of a word there. I just feel like the park doesn't advertise it as much as everything else, and I sometimes even forget about it. :/

It's hard to advertise CB as part of any deal with CP really, because if you're coming down to Sandusky for CP, then staying at a waterpark hotel (CB, GWL, Kalahari, etc.) is not very cost effective. I.e. when you're at CP, you're not using the indoor waterpark, for which you paid a great premium, and you may as well have stayed somewhere cheaper. If CB was on-peninsula, that might be a different story.

Castaway Bay doesn't have a lazy river so it will never stand up to the other indoor waterparks in my book.