Castaway Bay aims for 'tropical' look

Saturday, 27 August 2005

By BRANDI BARHITE
brandibarhite@sanduskyregister.com

SANDUSKY - Castaway Bay wants to celebrate its one year anniversary in November by looking less like a Radisson hotel.

Cedar Point's indoor waterpark will get $2 million in touchups this fall, partially because of guest comments.

By the holidays, all 237 rooms will have some type of improvement, said Brian Peiffer, general manager of Castaway Bay.

Among the plans are fresh paint for the ceilings and new wallpaper, draperies and bathroom countertops.

Hallways will get upgraded lighting and new carpet.

"Some guests said 'awesome waterpark, now let's work on the rooms,'" said park spokesman Bryan Edwards on Friday.

"It was a combination of guests' comments and our plans to renovate the rooms. The ball was already in motion, this aided it along," he said.

While park officials say the improvements are not directly linked to area competition, the improvements will keep the resort competitive, Peiffer said.

Kalahari Waterpark and Resort opened in May. Great Wolf Lodge has been open since 2001.

"We always wanted to provide a complete product," Peiffer said. "This will complete our product."

When Cedar Point was transforming the Radisson hotel into an indoor waterpark resort last year, its priority was the waterpark, Edwards said.

This year, the attention is being turned to the rooms. Room furniture was replaced this summer.

Last year, the hotel's existing 237 rooms were renovated to include adjoining rooms for vacationing families and pullout sofas. Tropical bedspreads, curtains and art were added to fit with the new theme of the once business-oriented hotel.

Peiffer said the newest room renovations will start after Labor Day with sections of the hotel closed during the work.

Although Castaway Bay is a year-round operation, the fall is the least busy time, he said.

"We have continued to have strong performances at Castaway Bay," Peiffer said. "Our hotel has been strong all summer long."

Parent company Cedar Fair reported in August out-of-park revenues through the end of July were up 15 percent, or $7.5 million, in large part because of the success of Castaway Bay, according to Vice President and Corporate Controller Brian Witherow.

For the quarter, both occupancy levels and average daily room rates at Castaway Bay improved from a year ago when the property was operated as a Radisson hotel, he said.

Cedar Fair doesn't release detailed occupancy rates.

In addition to the room renovations, two meetings rooms at Castaway Bay will be turned into rooms for birthday parties. The resort will still have three conference rooms and a ballroom, Peiffer said.

Cedar Fair spent $22 million turning the Radisson into Castaway Bay, which opened Nov. 5.