Cedar Fair to purchase Sawmill?
From the Sandusky Register:
"Cedar Fair, Cedar Point’s parent company, signed a deal Tuesday to purchase Sawmill Creek Resort, a reliable source told the Register.
Sawmill Creek Lodge opened in September 1972 on Cleveland Road, near Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve, becoming one of the first places to establish year-round tourism to the area with its high-end resort and offerings.
It boasts a 240-room hotel; an 18-hole golf course, heralded as one the best in the area; a convention center; shops; condominiums; restaurants; and a marina."
Oh man if my Platinum Pass gets me some sort of golf privileges at Sawmill I'm totally moving to Sandusky, haha.
My wife and I actually spent a portion of our honeymoon there; have also visited several times. The convention center hosts a biannual conference I attend, too.
It will be great to see positive developments at the property; although, I hope it doesn't get "Cedar Faired" in terms of price and environment. Obviously would be a strong addition in the Sports Force Park support/hotel area.
I'm not a local so I looked this up on Google. The reviews for this place, especially recent ones, are brutal. Sounds like it needs a lot of renovating to become something respectable again.
They will probably ship this off to Kings Dominion or another park that could use some sort of hotel & Resort.
ROUNDABOUND.
.. but for sure not Michigan's Adventure.
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Well, CP took over the aging Radisson to make Castaway Bay and it wasn’t in great shape.
I think this could be a smart move. It offers yet another hotel option that includes other resort amenities. And just might attract the type of customer that would like a nice place to stay even when they have no interest in a visit to CP to begin with. Honeymooners, boaters, golfers, shoppers, etc. It also further enters CP into the ever-growing year-round market. Throw in a nice, updated restaurant with a popular bar and even locals shouldn’t be able to resist.
and, my wish, we might finally get a boat taxi from the "mainland" to the marina!
Tall and fast not so much upside down...
A water taxi would be nice, but probably expensive. Saw Mill is still a ways down from the CP peninsula, not to mention this is on the lake side, not in the bay. As I’ve mentioned in another thread, it’s a great opportunity for Cedar Fair. If upgraded right, SCR can be marketed along with the sports facility. Especially with the golf course included in this purchase.
Maybe once they get this all fixed up, they could have a winterfest like Kings Island does in November and December. This way they don't have to worry about the winds off the lake as much.
I think Sawmill Creek is primarily going to serve the athletes and spectators of the sports park. What's really nice is they now have a hotel in both directions, the other being Castaway Bay.
^^ No around where the golf course is currently. Maybe turn that into a little walkway for all year round. Then when winter comes, turn it into a winterfest.
^^Castaway Bay is like the bastard stepchild in the CP accommodations family. It doesn’t look like the others and it rarely gets the attention it needs. And in the CP lifecycle a lack of attention is the kiss of death, which makes me wonder if CB is up for a replacement in the near future.
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^That's an interesting thought. The amount of land still available here (i believe something like 50 acres) could really be used to make something worth peoples attention in the Indoor Waterpark market. I like that idea a lot. Move the indoor waterpark to Sawmill Creek. Tear down what is currently used for Castaway Bay and give that hotel a much needed renovation. Done right and they can really steal some thunder from Kalahari while also marketing to the sports crowd. When does the indoor sportsplex open? This year if I recall correctly.
Sawmill Creek is already a usable name for an indoor waterpark. They'll probably rebrand but it's usable.
I don't see Castaway Bay ever being totally removed, at least not the hotel. It's the perfect place for overnight accommodations for the sports facility users. The indoor water park was an afterthought. The former CF leadership never thought Great Wolf and Kalahari would take off like they did.
It's no secrete the current regime of the company is evolving their hotel portfolio. I wouldn't be surprised myself if a new indoor waterpark is constructed at Sawmill Creek, while CB gets a complete overhaul. CB opened as a Radisson hotel over 30 years ago (1988 I think), and could be transformed into some sort of night entertainment complex, as well as cater more to the boat crowd. I don't see it happening, but CB would get a water taxi service to CP before Saw Mill ever does.
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