Upon arrival at Castaway Bay you are greated with a large ship and animatronic parrots and cannons that actually explode. The lobby is decorated in a Caribbean feel and is very bright, colorful, and friendly. You then attempt to check-in but of course you can not. So ultimately it is time to put on your suits and go to the waterpark. The locker room is very small and extremely crowded but it does get the job done. The small lockers for $3 are more than large enough. The waterpark itself is very nice they keep it warm in the park and the water is relatively warm. The tubed water slides are very fast and exciting. The two passenger raft water slide is also very exciting. The wave pool is just alright because in order to get the full effect you must be dead in the middle of the pool which is extremely difficult if the pool is busy. A nice feature is the indoor/outdoor hottub. Guests can stay indoors or swim outdoors where a nice steam affect is present on a cool day. The problem I had was that the jets were far and few between and what jets they did have were rather weak. Another problem was that the jets were on a timer and occasionally turned off for some reason. Also, the filters were extremely loud to the point that talking was very difficult. The waterpark was more suited to the youngsters (I am 24.) but it was still very nice. I would give the initial waterpark and lobby a B+.
Once we were able to check into our hotel room I was shocked to see that the Caribbean feel did not continue past the first floor. The colors went from bright yellows, pinks, and greens to the typical Raddison hotel colors of grey, black, and red. There have not been any changes or upgrades to the hotel from when it was the Raddison Hotel. The rooms were rather small, the water pressure in the shower was horrible, the hallways were poorly lit, there were no place to sit in the lobby or anywhere else, the walls were thin, and you did not even receive a newspaper in the morning. I could have stayed at a Red Roof Inn and stayed in the same style room for less than have the price and still received the Plain Dealer in the morning. Ultimatley I was disappointed in the hotel rooms. I gave the hotel room a D+.
Ultimately my overall grade for my weekend stay at Castaway Bay a C+. It was an average hotel room with a nice waterpark. For my money I would rather stay at Great Wolf Lodge. And actually one of the custodians at Castaway Bay actually suggested Great Wolf Lodge to us over the place where he was employed. At least the theme is continued there.
Castaway Bay has at least 2 places to eat. There is a restaurant on the ground floor (Mango Mike's, I believe) and a bar on the second floor. There is also a place to get food and drinks inside the waterpark.
http://www.castawaybay.com/public/food/
MrScott
Mayor, Lighthouse Point
The food service at Castaway Bay is par for the course. There is a restaurant on the first floor called Mango Mike's. For lunch and dinner Mango Mike's has a usual menu which also includes Pizza Hut menu items. There is a Friday's right next door, but is not connected to Castaway Bay. There are tons of restaurants right around the corner such as Red Lobster, Cracker Barrel, BW3's, and another seafood joint that is sponsored by Castaway Bay but I can not recall the name right now.
Our family had the same experience as you did, but we had young kids with us. Our room was small, bathroom had mold, lighting very poor. We decided to do the resort thing and only eat at the hotel. Terrible choices for breakfast. Mango Mike's buffet is sub-par at best and for a 2 year old it was $5.95. We definitely would not return. We shared our opinions of the room to the front desk, they didn't really care. We went in March.
Adam, I think your assesment is right on. I would add one thing. We went in December and found our room and the hallways to be very chilly. We were very disappointed in the rooms also. We have been to Great Wolf before and plan on going back there at the end of May. We find it to be a better overall experience.
You must be logged in to post