Sandcastle Suites Land

What do we think will be used for this land? I know some of it was taken over by campers but I believe there is still a good chunk of land left?

I’m still very surprised they just tore out the hotel instead of doing a full on remodel.

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There were additional ‘Ultimate Patio’ sites added recently. Most of the land that was occupied by Sandcastle are these sites now. There is a small patch a land at the very northern point, but it’s low and sandy so I doubt it’s buildable. My bet is it’s going to be these patio sites for the foreseeable future since they bring in some serious cash for little staffing required.

Sandcastle seemed like a great idea at the time and was a fun place to stay the first decade after it opened. Breakers was a dump, so having semi decent lodging on point made it a winner. The beach down that way was meh, but the view and pools were amazing. It felt like its own little summer resort.

Major problem though was that walk, and it was disconnected from the improvements Breakers started making. There didn’t seem to be more than a 5-year plan though in terms of having a cohesive vision for the resorts. By the early 2000's when the tower and east sections opened at Breakers along with more restaurants, it pretty much made Sandcastle non-desirable. It might have been more peaceful out there, but nobody wants to walk farther for less amenities.

Breakwater Café had amazing views, but again not many wanted likely to walk back there for dinner and then to have to walk all the way back to the park after. We had dinner there one evening and were the only ones in there. The breakfast was the only thing that made sense by that point.

The refresh to Sandcastle was done on the cheap and didn’t help things. I stayed there it’s final weekend on a $45 Hotwire deal and it was pretty much vacant. They literally couldn’t give the rooms away.

The west wing at breakers pretty much replaced the capacity that Sandcastle had. It makes more sense to have a central hotel with all the restaurants and amenities in one place. Makes staffing much easier too.

The RV Patio sites are sold out constantly and are a major winner. The campers are fine without amenities since they bring their own. Only thing I wish is they kept the Sandcastle pool, as LHP could use a second pool sometimes, and that would be a prefect location.

Sandcastle's two phases were built on a "value" budget but charged pretty premium rates. I don't think Kinzel et al were fully confident in the future of the resort side of the business back then. The construction methods were minimalist even though the suite set up was nice and afforded the opportunity to charge a higher room rate.

I remember showing up there in the mid 90s and wondering why they built all those balconies knowing guests would not be able to use them much due to the bugs/muffleheads. Being from Florida I suggested that they screen in the balconies, which we ultimately did (and made the housekeepers lives much more pleasant as a result).

Back when Ohio was debating casinos Cedar Fair was hedging its bets and I suspect the tip of the peninsula was a likely place for one, had Cedar Fair been approved as a potential location. When that didn't happen, converting the property to more campsites allowed for a better ROI (minimal staff requirements vs the hotel, for starters).

Not sure if/when they will do anything with the tip of the peninsula...but I still think there is an opportunity on the west end of the Breakers to incorporate an indoor water park wing to the hotel that would have some synergy with Cedar Point Shores. There is quite a bit of land down by the original lazy river that would tie in nicely with Breakers.

In a vacuum I love the idea of converting some of the outdoor waterpark into an indoor one, but I wonder if it makes business sense. First, because I assume, perhaps ignorantly, that indoor waterparks are more costly to operate than outdoor ones, and second, because I wonder if that might cannibalize some Castaway business. Not that they really care where revenue comes from, but CB loses some appeal if an indoor waterpark can be had next door to the ride park for roughly the same cost. For us anyway, staying at CB instead of Breakers was a tradeoff of proximity for the indoor waterpark. If you can get both, does the value proposition of CB change for the worse?

Fair point. But, if there is room in Sandusky for Kalahari, Castaway and Great Wolf...I suspect a Breakers indoor water park is viable. More to the point, I could see some kind of winter package offered at a premium price point that includes the room/suite, indoor water park, and some type of behind the scenes tour. The market for those experiences seems pretty strong.