Cedar Point trip question

I have had good experiences with the Econolodge on 250 (near Diana's). Decent nightly rates, clean rooms. They have been slowly renovating the place as well.

Also, AAA membership discount rates are available with the big chains, usually saves 10-15 dollars per night.

In addition to what Jeff pointed out I think Sandusky (and much of Vacationland in general) is a seasonal town and many of the hotels there close in the winter. They’ve tried hard to up their brand as an off-season destination, but with powerhouses like Great Wolf and Kalahari the small places still don’t stand much of a chance. So they shut the places up for four months and the results are evident. Once years ago, early season, I booked the low-rate Howard Johnson and I swore I was the first one to enter the room in how ever long. Lamps were hanging off the walls, there was a stench, and the door didn’t shut. I got straight outta that crack house.

Moral: around there you get what you pay for. The pricey CP resorts really are the best bet, especially for a multi-day stay. And even they can have issues, which I usually can blame on inexperienced seasonal help, especially in the early season. One time at the “new” Express I got in my nice room, pulled back the covers for my usual bed inspection, and there was a skid mark on the bottom sheet. I kid you not.

Hey! Maybe we can get the award-winning Mrs Gonch to open a nice hotel up there. With a friend/family discount!

RCMAC- I was just gonna post asking what hotel Lady Gonchar works for... You beat me to it.

With the diverse travel group on these boards, and a Disney centric theme to a lot of the posts here, it’s interesting to take a look at the quality of the WDW rooms.

Even the Deluxe resorts.

I’ve stayed at some pretty awesome hotels across the globe in my travels, especially Asia.

I kinda crack up when I see top notch reviews of WDW resort rooms like they are leading the way.

Don't get me wrong, any room at WDW is certainly adequate. But compared to some of the properties across the world that I have been fortunate to stay at (on my parks dime), WDW doesn’t have a clue in many respects.

ShaneDenmark said:

RCMAC- I was just gonna post asking what hotel Lady Gonchar works for... You beat me to it.

She's overseeing 8 currently. Not really park adjacent in any case.

2 in Columbus (Polaris area - one coming to Easton in 2020, that will be her #9), 4 in the Dayton Area, 2 in the Liberty Way/West Chester area north of Cincy...those would be relatively close to Kings Island, I suppose.

I need to suggest she offers an "Enthusiast rate" of some kind, somehow - except, knowing how damn cheap enthusiasts tend to be, I suspect a reduced rate would still be too high. (more than the "just a place to sleep" places, at least)

"Just tell 'em Gonch sent ya!" (insert car salesman smile here)

Hanging n' Banging said:

Don't get me wrong, any room at WDW is certainly adequate. But compared to some of the properties across the world that I have been fortunate to stay at (on my parks dime), WDW doesn’t have a clue in many respects.

Disney resorts occupy a fairly narrow range in terms of room experience and service quality, despite the much wider range in pricing. Most of the differences are down to what's *outside* the room in terms of location, resort amenities, environment, and overall design. In general, they are comfortably above the "family on a healthy budget" experience you might find at a Holiday Inn or similar (even at WDW's low end) but not quite equal to the branded business-class hotels that I tend to find myself in most of the time. That's down to both room experience and general level of service, neither of which are equal to, say, a better-than-average Westin let alone places elsewhere that deserve to carry the "resort" designation.

At its core, Disney isn't really a hotelier; they have a lot of rooms at WDW, but those rooms benefit from being at WDW, so Disney doesn't really have to do what most other hotels have to do. They have a handful of other locations (Anaheim, Oahu, Hilton Head, and Vero Beach) but those are small one-offs and mostly driven by their timeshare business, which never has quite figured out how to do well outside Orlando.

That's very different from the cruise business, where Disney does a much better job. They deliver a good value in my (limited) experience, despite not being anywhere near the low end of the cost range.

I've got Disney cruises #17 and #18 soon, and yes, their cruise game is on another level compared to the hotel business. I think there's some overlap with things like front desk experience, even at value resorts, but the shipboard dining experience and room maintenance is top shelf. Mind you, some of that is to mitigate disease risk, which is why their ships are so impossibly clean. The value varies on destination and itinerary... I find the Caribbean trips to be overpriced, but Alaska and Northern Europe are exceptional values (to me).

So, I finally made visual contact with the Maples. I have heard people talk about it over at Pointbuzz before, but for whatever reason never really noticed it...probably because we got in the habit of taking Cedar Point Road after getting off on Rye Beach Rd. for many years now.

We took a quick day-trip up to Cedar Point today, and given the horrible condition of C.P. Road we headed to the causeway, and there it was.

I made a mental note that it looked to be in pretty decent condition; well kept, manicured, etc...at least from the outside. Meaning, for that type of motel, it looked like whoever is in charge was doing about a good of job that can be done (again, from the outside).

I stayed at Maples a couple times and while older with smaller rooms, it was a perfectly fine place to rest at night. Happy to hear it’s still open.

I always tell people to get a hotel over in Port Clinton. Much nicer hotels than what is in Sandusky, some with even better views than Breakers. Although Thirsty Pony's Cedar Stables is really going to change the lodging game here in Sandusky.

For better or worse?

Definitely better. As a resident, it is great to see the Cleveland Road area getting the improvements it is.

It's described as a "boutique" style hotel; have there been any renderings released of what it will look like?

Here's a sample of a renovated room here.

when are the cedar stables renovations to be completed?

slithernoggin said:

Jeff said:

I won't stay anywhere but Breakers at this point.

I'd love to stay there -- when I was young my family stayed there often. But it's well outside my price range these days.

Heck, part of the enticement for the trip is the promotion Cedar Point is running for Michigan residents, $39 per person admission and free parking.

I have had consistently good luck with the EconoLodge on Cleveland Road. It's cheap, clean, and has coffee and toast in the morning. I won't stay at any of the off brand joints. But you can!

I've stayed at the Maples a number of times, but generally I avoid off-brand places.

That said I'll check out the Econolodge.

I was shocked at how adequate the Econolodge across from Thirty Pony was.