If you click on the links in this post, we may earn money from the companies mentioned in this post, at no extra cost to you. You can read the full disclaimer here.
Cedar Point’s Express Hotel
Last year when my family headed to Sandusky, Ohio for an annual trip, we stayed at Cedar Point’s Castaway Water Park & Resort. But this year we took our Cedar Point vacation, we tried a new hotel. This time, we stayed at Cedar Point’s Express Hotel.
Now Cedar Point’s Express Hotel is definitely a different hotel. As the name would suggest, it serves as more of a hotel rather than a luxury resort with lots of amenities. So you may be wondering, did this hurt our trip to Cedar Point? Did we regret staying at Cedar Point’s Express Hotel? And the answer is: absolutely not! We positively loved staying at Cedar Point’s Express Hotel. It far exceeded our expectations. We’ll go over why in this Cedar Point’s Express Hotel guide & review.
But before I begin, let me say this. If you are planning a trip to Sandusky to visit Cedar Point, please click here to find out how to save money on tickets. Okay, had to get that out of the way to help you guys out! Now, back to reviewing Cedar Point’s Express Hotel.
Hotel Atmosphere
The atmosphere of Cedar Point’s Express Hotel is immediately inviting when you drive up to the hotel. Once you see the topiaries of the PEANUTS characters you can tell this is a great, family-friendly hotel. And from there, my opinion just went up and up!
So one thing I liked about Castaway Bay was the hotel’s Caribbean theming and feel. But I loved the feel of Cedar Point’s Express Hotel, too. First of all, I really loved the color scheming. The colors give the hotel a really happy, upbeat feel.
It certainly didn’t hurt this happy atmosphere that the staff was extremely nice and helpful. It was like every time I walked down the hall, I was greeted by a grinning employee asking me if they could do anything. This has certainly not been my experience at, well, almost every other hotel I have stayed in. This really added to my family’s enjoyment.
This atmosphere actually reminded me of Universal’s Cabana Bay Resort in Orlando, which is also one of my family’s favorite resorts. Basically, the atmosphere just really helps give your family a really happy vacation.
Hotel Layout
Another thing I really loved about this hotel was the layout. The hotel is sort of shaped like a square around a courtyard with a pool. Fun fact: this hotel used to be called Breakers Express as recently as 2017 and when it did, it had a U shape but it has since been closed with the addition of more rooms.
Anyway, I really love the way it is set up for a few reasons. First of all, with all the rooms being connected, this means you will be protected no matter what the weather is. Let’s say, for example, it is raining. You’ll be able to get to your room without getting soaked. This may seem like a minor thing, but when it’s pouring, it’s really not. I also like how compact the layout is because it means that you’ll never get a bad room. And what I mean by a bad room is a hotel room that’s far away from the rest of the hotel. Sometimes when a hotel is really big and you’re stuck in the back, it takes forever for you to get the lobby in case you need something. But that’s not the case here, and that’s really great.
Additionally, there are helpful signs up that can help you find where your room is, which is also really helpful. Especially at night when you want to just get back to your room and put your feet up!
Hotel Rooms
Cedar Point’s Express Hotel offers guest rooms with two queen beds, which I really like for families of four. If your family is larger, there are connecting rooms available you can book.
The beautiful color scheme of the hotel shows up in the decor of the rooms. My family really liked the pictures up of Cedar Point roller coasters. It really gets you excited to head to the theme park. The mini-fridge and refrigerator are also a nice touch. My room had a great view from our window of the pool outside. The bathrooms were also nice and spacious and offered a lot of freebies (shampoo, conditioner, etc.).
Pool Complex
As I mentioned earlier, the hotel’s pool lies in the courtyard in the middle of the hotel. The pool is great and is a wonderful option for cooling off in the hot afternoon sun. There are lots of comfortable seating around, too, if you want to relax while others in your party swim. In addition to a pool, there is a great “sprayground” for the little ones. Basically, they’re able to splash around in the water if they can’t swim yet. Since Sandusky is such a great vacation option for families with kids, this is a wonderful feature.
Hotel Perks
One of the advantages of staying at Cedar Point’s Express Hotel over staying at any of the other hotels in Sandusky is the perks. By staying at an official Cedar Point, you get special perks. My favorite is being able to get in the park an hour early. We took advantage of that and arrived at Cedar Point around 9:30 AM. Honestly, we aimed at 9:00, but yeah, life happens. If we had shown up a little earlier than 9:00 AM, that would have let us in earlier.
When we got past bag check and got into Cedar Point, we were able to show our passes and walk past everyone else. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty cool being able to walk past everyone and see the rest of the park and feel special. It’s great that Cedar Point’s Express Hotel has this feature but not the more expensive price tag like Castaway Bay or Hotel Breakers.
Here are the rides or attractions that are available when you get there early:
- Camp Snoopy
- Steel Vengeance
- Skyhawk
- Maverick
- Millenium Force
- Valravn
- Gateway Keeper
- Ocean Motion
- Cedar Downs
- Cadillac Cars
- Midway Carousel
Hotel Dining
So one of the big differences between the Cedar Point’s Express Hotel and a hotel like Hotel Breakers or Castaway Bay would be the dining option. Basically, Cedar Point’s Express Hotel does not have one. They do have a gift shop in the lobby with a few grab and go options, but there is no restaurant.
But there are nearby restaurants. It’s really close to Castaway Bay so you can head there for the breakfast buffet at Mango Mike’s or grab a meal at Quaker Steak and Lube. Quaker Lube is actually where my family ate during our stay at Cedar Point’s Express Hotel. You can also head to the nearby Thirsty Pony or McDonald’s. In fact, you can see how close McDonald’s is in the above picture. And of course, there are tons of dining options at Cedar Point itself.
And finally, you could consider bringing your own food. This, of course, saves a lot of money. And your hotel room does have a mini-fridge and refrigerator. You can even have food sent to your room through Amazon Pantry. And you can enjoy a nice meal eating outside at one of the tables around the pool or at the table in your room.
Hotel Pricing
But the other big difference between the Cedar Point’s Express Hotel and the other Cedar Point hotels would be the price. The Cedar Point’s Express Hotel is significantly cheaper. As usual, we recommend booking through Hotels.com. Not only are you going to pay less, but you can earn nights towards free trips in the future. Like maybe a trip back to Sandusky, Ohio!