Photo Album - Cedar Point's Express Hotel

Cedar Point held a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning for the newly remodeled Cedar Point's Express Hotel. Here are some photos:

https://pointbuzz.com/Photo/Album/790

Very nice pics! Thanks Walt!

I'm not 100% certain, but it looks like they didn't feel like going through the trouble of replacing the carpet in the room seen in photo #7. Kind of a shame if they did all that work only to leave the old carpet in.

A major improvement over the old datedness.
Keeping in mind it's their budget hotel it will now be worth the rates (as long as they put better mattresses in), I haven't stayed off point in a couple years. But nice job.
And I Love the duck in the last photo, great shot!

I'm curious if this was really motivated by Holiday Inn moving in next door. Kinda hard to promote a value hotel when there is one next door in better shape. They should be on par with each other now.

It was probably motivated more by the fact they expanded the room capacity and it made sense to do an update/renovation/rebranding all at the same time. Sports Force Park was more of a driver of this than the Holiday Inn.

While Ive never stayed there, it looks like they did a great job with the detail work and decorating.

That holiday inn has such little capacity I can't imagine it was even a thought in the planning process.
The old Express had huge inventory, now it has almost 25% more.

Agreed this was for SFP.

I wasn't speaking on capacity but in terms of updating the hotel itself. You can add more rooms and not give the entire hotel a makeover but the park decided to do it all. Just going off my own thoughts but I feel like the new HIE had something to do with the decision to give a complete makeover. As a guest if I have the two to pick from I am going to go with the new Holiday Inn. Breakers Express was not on par at all with the new HIE which is why I am sure it played a part. With the new addition and upgrade, I am curious now how the two compare price wise.

The update was over two seasons as the new furniture was added last year. It looks very nice and looking forward to my stay this year. With the new mini fridge i have a place to store co-beer.

I dont see Holiday Inn as any factor in this at all. It makes no sense. The hotel was due for an update. Of course you will do it at the same time you are expanding it. And Cedar Point expanded it because of the new sports complex.

Express has the advantage of park tickets, early entry, a large pool, etc. I think most guests with the intent of visiting CP for a couple of days would choose it over the Holiday Inn.
My guess is they'll both do ok.

Agreed as above.
Also, if you are worried about competition from a new hotel, you wouldn't add inventory.

Looks good! Kind of surprised though they didn't add in some type of restaurant/bar.

Looks like Sandcastle will be up next for 2018 I would assume.

If not 2018, hopefully soon. Could be 2018 for Sandcastle, but might not be since the brand new wing of Hotel Breakers is scheduled to open in 2018.

The restaurant / bar for express has been and is former TGIF/QSL. Pony is within stumbling distance.
And the park owns the DQ across the street as well.

Express also clears out to almost a ghost town during the day unlike Breakers. And take into account that express is their budget hotel.

Since Express has expanded and Breakers expansion will be available, maybe Sandcastle will close for '18 and a great new resort will open in it's place for the '19 season.

Sandcastle sits on what has got to be one of the most desirable spots on Lake Erie. It's just beautiful there and is far enough away from (but close enough to) the hustle and bustle. I've always envisioned an awesome new hotel tower (or two) at the end of the Point. An addition like that would further cement CP's reputation as a first class place to visit and stay for a couple of days.

Is it me, or are hotels all being too trendy in recent years? This isn't a knock on this hotel, as I think it looks great. It's just that hotels all seem to be going in a direction where if they don't update everything, every five years, they run the risk of looking dated.

We stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last fall that was just beautiful. Very contemporary. As much as I loved it though, I wondered how it would appear in a few years.

I should really be asking my brother-in-law this... he's an architect responsible for the look of a number of chains right now.

Well in the case of Breakers, I think that it DID need done, as it was extremely dated.

I think the trendy deal just helps business. I mean, a hotel that looks new/rennovated may have more curb appeal (thought of new sheets/beds/pillows/clean/etc.). Whereas one that isn't as up to date may feel "old." I'd hope this isn't public perception though, as many venues that have remained the same way for awhile do have a charm to them. Red Roof Inn for instance, ceiling infrared heaters...an absolute must, with nice cream colored decor.

I hope you are being sarcastic when you say Red Roof Inn has charm!

Jeff, if your brother is partially responsible, well...three cheers for him.

We used to have a couple and then soon-after family tradition of staying at one hotel when we visited the Point; that would be the Best Western Suites (formerly Comfort Suites) just off 250 near the Meijer. Why? While Breakers would have been nice, it was such a dive. Really, it was a dive back in the 1990's. Sandcastle was even worse (IMO), and Breakers Express was just cramped with a cheap feel to it.

Then last year after the renovations to Breakers we decided to give it a try, and there is no looking back. Goodbye, suites off 250; it is likely we will never see you again as Breakers is now our home.

As a customer, I want a room that is updated, clean, fresh, and modern; and we always look for family suites wherever we go (meaning, separate room for mom and dad). For us, a fridge and microwave (and ideally a small kitchenette) is no longer a luxury, it's a standard.

Hotel Breakers exceeded our expectations in so many ways; I'm really excited to see what they do with Sandcastle; I honestly had not thought of a complete redo as RCMAC suggested, but that is intriguing. It's such a poor piece of property taking up such a beautiful piece of land. Kind of like Mean Streak. :) Does RMC do hotels?