Johnny Rocket's music

Chief Wahoo said:
The true shame is that the Sandcastle piece of property is perhaps the best piece of real estate for a hotel in all of Ohio. I would not be suprised if at some point the Sandcastle is torn down to make way for a new and more permanent hotel (perhaps something even year round) in the future. If gambling ever passes in Ohio I can almost guarantee it.

I want to commend you for a very well thought out post. Your articulate comments give a great concept of something I never thought about. Gambling is not a very positive method for economic growth, but it would be very successfuly if made legal in some parts of Ohio. Especially in my hometown, where there is tremedous access to riverfront development among the many "brownfields" left behind from our industrial past. Before Lighthouse Point, I thought CP should have built a lodge resort similar to Disney's Wilderness Lodge that opened in the mid 1990's. Maybe CP can construct something of the magnitude if Sandcastle is ever replaced.

Brian, everything has a reason. The reasons for having plastic instead of glass in the hotels are many. First, there is a significantly higher average of children that stay at Point hotels than at most other hotels and broken glass would be unsafe and costly. Second, washing glasses adds more time to cleaning the room and they really have limited time at that. With checkout at 11:00 and checkin at 3:00, that four hours goes by pretty fast when you are trying to clean 187 rooms.

Sandcastle has had many renovations but most of it's problems can be traced back to the original building materials that wreak havoc on the place. One huge positive thing they did was add screens to the balconies which helped keep out the muffleheads that were a real nightmare. Again, I think if they had known how profitable the hotels would be for them down the road I suspect Sandcastle would have been built bigger and of a higher quality.

As for the gambling issue, I can't take any credit for the ideas. Back when it was a state-wide issue Cedar Point supported gaming so long as they could be one of the predetermined locations for a casino. I personally wouldn't want to see gambling on the peninsula.

There may well be good reasons for all of these things. But, as someone who books at least 5 nights per month in hotel rooms (often in "resort" destinations, since that's where meetings tend to be) my impression of CP's properties (other than Lighthouse) is not a strong one. Not necessarily a negative impression; after all, I spend 6-7 nights over the course of a season in CP-owned rooms.

But, as the peninsula continues its transformation from amusement park to resort, I think CP would do well to spend some time thinking about how to improve the guest experience in the lodging properties. As an example, our extended family is considering a longish stay at CP, either instead of or in addition to our annual trip to the Outer Banks. But, my wife and I are the Pointers; for everyone else, it would be "a vacation," not "a trip to the amusement park." The hotels are fine for people who spend all day in the parks. Given their location, some modest improvements that guests notice could make the hotels themselves destinations---just as Breakers once was. Better restaurants. Better quality furnishings and improved decor in the rooms. Renovations to common areas.

It would take significant corporate will, and capital, to do. There is evidence (improved quality of construction in Breakers East and Express; the campground and LP improvements) that CP is doing exactly this, so I'm hopeful. And, since the occupancy rate is already high, perhaps they don't need to, and that's fine. But, compared to other "resort" hotels I've been to---even seasonal ones (e.g. hotels on Mackinac Island) the CP properties don't measure up. That's why I'm looking forward to trying Castaway. The water park will be a draw, but the lodging end of that property will have to carry its weight for it to truly succeed.

All good points but perhaps your most salient one was "and, since the occupancy rate is already high, perhaps they don't need to...".

Now, if the new CEO to replace Kinzel comes from a hotel background...which isn't out of the question given the direction the company has been heading...there may be a greater emphasis on upgrading. I think the folks who run the hotels would love to do that but they aren't necessarily the one's who make the final decisions on where the money is spent.

Chief Wahoo said:
I will take exception to the statement that the Point hotels are not well run. If you know anything about the hotel business you would realize that Cedar Point is in a league of it's own for the most part when it comes to the challenges they face.

Why, as a consumer, should I care?

Brian Noble said:
...my impression of CP's properties (other than Lighthouse) is not a strong one.

I'm on the same page there. That was reinforced after my stay at Universal's Royal Pacific this week. The value of the CP resorts is anchored entirely on location, and every year I see less and less value in that. The on-point resorts aren't even remotely worth the rates. We've stayed at LHP for three straight years, and this year we really struggled with whether or not it would be worth it.

In fact, it wasn't. Our bathroom was nasty. The toilet had not even been cleaned from the week before, the shower didn't drain, half the lights in the living area were burned out, the TV remote for the bedroom was missing, there were piles of used cotton swabs behind the night stand (I was looking for the remote) and the blankets were ripped. I wrote a letter to the resorts VP, not seeking money back, but just to express my displeasure over the whole thing. One of his underlings wrote back that I "know from previous years that's not up to their standards." What the hell difference should that make? That wasn't just some isolated single problem... the cottage was a dump, and not worth nearly $200 a night with taxes. I doubt we'll go back next year.

I think Cedar Point is in dire need of a reality check in so many areas. They're suffering in mostly small ways from a number of quality of service issues, and I think collectively it's going to bite them in the ass if they don't turn some of the around before they get worse. *** Edited 11/23/2004 1:13:52 AM UTC by Jeff***

Getting back to Johnny Rockets, CP might as well hire that burger character from the hit Nickelodeon show: "You Can't Do That On Television." Wasn't that guy's name "Barf" or something like that? An absolute classic! lol :)

Jeff,

I think your's is the first complaint I have ever read online regarding Lighthouse Point. It sounds like you had every reason to be upset about the situation. Perhaps there has been a philosophical change in management with regards to the hotels.

I remember the resorts as being expensive but we were clear in the knowledge that we had to strive to give the best experience possible. That meant a clean room for starters. It sounds like you had an indifferent housekeeper and the managers of that portion of the resort aren't keeping on top of their employees. It is a challenge, not doubt, considering the workforce but that is no excuse for things being filthy. I made my share of beds and cleaned my share of toilets over the years, at least enough to know that it isn't hard work but you must pay attention to details.

The response you received doesn't seem out of the ordinary. I assume there was also an apology. Frankly, if the cottage were clean it still isn't worth $200 a night in my opinion. But, they charge what they can. Many would argue the park admission isn't worth $52.

I do agree with you in that all of the small things will add up. Geauga Lake didn't become what it had over night. I saw the signs of what was to come many years ago. Cut corners here, go a little cheaper there. It can snowball pretty quick.