Opinions needed for places to Stay

I know this is a great place for some opinions, so here's where I need them.

My fiance and I have been dating for about 3.5 years now, living together for 2 of them. I popped the big question on December 3rd, about 4 months ago and we are getting married July 1st.

We have had a tradition that we started, since the first year we started dating, to go to CP every summer, no matter what.

Well, we kept thinking about where we wanted to go for our honeymoon; we kept thinking about different places and what we loved to do.

Its CP all the way. Each year we've went, we've always went on a strict budget and didn't really get to do alot of things we wanted to do. (Stay in a nice hotel, jet ski, parasail, eat on a REGULAR basis lol) So we've picked our honeymoon spot to be CP. We're going over the july 4th weekend but staying alot longer, for almost 2 weeks.

We're having some problems finding a good hotel though. I wanted to stay on point somewhere like Breakers or at least Castaway bay, but my fiance wants to have a hot tub in the room for us to relax in. The real problem though, is that the hotels on point just don't look that nice, the nicer stuff is off-point. Or, I think the problem with a couple of them was that they were just WAY overpriced, like $250 a night.

I need some opinions and recommendations from Anyone. Where you've stayed, why you liked it, etc. My fiance and I would Really appreciate it.

Most of the hotels in Sandusky off Point are 1 and 2 star hotels or motels. I wouldn't use those for a special occasion like a honeymoon. I've heard that Kalahari and Great Wolf have nice rooms, but I've never stayed there. But for those prices, you can stay right on Point. The CP hotels are nice, as long as you stay away from the old section of Breakers, and you can't find a better location.

I would book a suite in the Hotel Breakers East section. You get a lake front view, you're right by the pool and a number of restaurants are close to your room.

You can get a room with a hot tub if you get a Horizon Suite at Breakers. Expect to pay around $425 - $575 a night for that. If you can do without a hot tub, you can get a regular suite for about $305 a night. Breakers has 3 public hot tubs you can use, including a huge new one for this year.

I'd stay at Lighthouse Point. There is a very nice pool there, with hot tub, and you can sit in it as the sun sets watching Mean Streak makes it's laps. You could also grill out for her or head over to Friday's or Famous Dave's for dinner. The view is beautiful from the cottages or while walking on the beach.

Have fun and enjoy, regardless of where you end up staying!

MrScott

Thanks for the suggestions both of you.

$300 a night is a ton of money for just a hotel room, at least in our opinion. Which could be why we're having a hard time finding some place decent. I think the place my fiance was looking at was at Comfort Inn because it had the hot tub and it was like $150 a night.

In my opinon, the Comfort Inn just doesn't sound like "honeymoon material" but we really can't afford $300-$450 a night, seeing as we're funding our own honeymoon. Her parents are deadbeats and mine are paying for the wedding so they can't justify paying for the honeymoon on top of it.

We'll see what happens though. If anyone else has opinions too I'd love to hear em :)

I stayed at the Fairfield Suite on 250 a few years ago in the Jacuzzi room. It wasn't a suite, but it was affordable and nice. I think it was about $100 for the night and I booked it the day before we got there.

Can the mayor of Lighthouse Point get the honeymooners a price break? Or is it only a ceremonial posistion without power like the Queen of England. ;)

I've heard that the Breakers is extremely nice. I'd strongly recommend Lighthouse Point like MrScott though. For the price it's beautiful, you can't beat the view of the lake (if you get one of the edge cabins/cottages/whatever), especially at sunrise/set although it looks great any time. Like MrScott said, the hot tub is nice and you get a good view of Mean Streak as well as Top Thrill if you know how to look ;)

The only downside for you two would be that since it is also a campground, be prepared to have kids with you in the pool area =P

MrScott,

Know of anyway to search to find info about Lighthouse point? Apparently on CP's Resorts site, it says there's no info for 7/2 - 7/8 (our honeymoon dates)

Call them directly: (419) 627-2350.

What do you mean by "no info for 7/2 - 7/8 (our honeymoon dates)"? Are you checking availability for those dates and not getting any info? If so, they may already be booked.

Call them and ask.

MrScott

7/2 to 7/8? That's over 4th of July. Good luck. Try Breakers. (Shamless plug: i'm working there this summer)

^Magum was your first coaster? :)

I'm staying at Breakers Express for the first time on May 7, but I'd recommend Lighthouse Point to everyone. It is a step away from your standard hotel room and gives you great views of the lake. The privacy of the place is much greater than any hotel as well. CP does get a bit pricy especially on the week you're going.

You might consider splitting some of your room time between on-Point and off-Point. For example, spend some time at Breakers or one of the other nice on-Point places for the first several days. After that, move to a lower-priced property off-Point. You could try Sawmill Creek, in Huron. They are a nice place, and their standard room rates for a double or queen won't exceed most other places. They also have 2 - pools, several restaurants on property, shops, etc.

There is also the other direction to look, toward Toledo. There are some decent places in the Port Clinton area. It really depends on your choice of amenities and what you want available when you are in the room, such as room-service, or on-property services like valet.

Some places I'd avoid: Holiday Inn, Sandusky. A dated property trading on the cachet of the now-outmoded Holidome. Ramada Inn, across the street is of the same vintage. Both date from the mid-1960's. However, the Roadhouse at the Ramada does serve a decent steak, and their salads and baked sweet potatoes are outstanding.

Congrats & Best Wishes on your marriage.

Try the Breakers Express, if you're looking for around $150 a night. Nothing spectacular, but its upkept well, has a pool, hot tub, game room, and you get all the benefits of staying at a CP hotel.

Breakers Express isn't bad at all. I stayed there 2 years ago and the only thing is you have to drive to the point (which is only about 2 minutes). The hot tub is not in room however and can get very crowded on the weekends. I haven't been to Breakers yet. I booked there last year but had to cancel due to my wife being pregnant. This year due to prices of things i will be staying at Express again. It is a decenly priced hotel and would recommend it if you want price and the hot tub outside.

I have stayed at all properties mentioned, and have nothing bad to say about Breaker's Express.

But nothing beats staying On Point, especially at Lighthouse Point.

Do what you can and stay where you may. But LHP is the best, if it can be afforded.

MrScott

Tank said:Some places I'd avoid: Holiday Inn, Sandusky. A dated property trading on the cachet of the now-outmoded Holidome. Ramada Inn, across the street is of the same vintage. Both date from the mid-1960's. However, the Roadhouse at the Ramada does serve a decent steak, and their salads and baked sweet potatoes are outstanding.

I personally thought the Holiday Inn was nice (haven't been to the Ramada Inn), we even went back there two more times. It's good for the money, the rooms are clean and the beds are comfortable. I wouldn't recommend it to honeymooners, but I'd say there wasn't anything bad about it.

There was this one off-site motel we stayed at once, it was next to some campground. Absolutely atrocious. The paint was peeling off the walls, the bathroom had nests for 47 different bugs, the beds were mildewy, and the TV only got like a half a channel. I think there was a small hole in one of the walls too, I can't remember. I can't put my finger on the name, but if you come across a cheap motel that is paired with a campground (they have the same first part of their name), that would be it.

Well, maybe not bad per se, just not up to what I think Holiday Inn purports itself to be. The rooms are on the small side, and the bathrooms are microscopic. The bathrooms don't even have vent fans in them. This is a problem of design, unfortunately, and to upgrade them would be cost prohibitive. The Holidome area is sort of OK. The pool is the star attraction there. You just don't see pools that size in hotels any more. Of course, it used to be an outside pool, many years ago.

Have you thought about staying on one of the lake erie islands? I've never stayed there, but when I went I noticed that Put-in-bay had some nicer hotels, and bed and breakfasts... also, i would think there would be less kids around.

Yes, Put-In-Bay has a few nice hotels. The prices are right up there with the Cedar Point Resorts. PIB is definitely the party place, but I wonder if Carpy wants 10 guys simultaneously hitting on his wife every time they leave the hotel? :)

In the words of a song from a famous PIB entertainer: "There's beads, boobs and beer at the Bay - at the Bay!"

If you want to get any room in the area for 4th of July you may have to pay alot. They are hard to come by. Lighthouse point is the best priced as it essentially is a suite and you have a pool (usually not too crowded) and the "pier" that goes out into the water.

I'd say look into Kalahari or Sawmill Creek. Sawmill Creek has a golf course and very nice rooms but you'll pay (they used to have honeymoon/anniversary packages). Kalahari also has nice rooms and the price usually is usually a bit more reasonable.