Kings Island

Review: Kings Island Camp Cedar Cabins (Winter 2021)

<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Review&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Review&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Review" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22732" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>When the new Camp Cedar campground near Kings Island was announced in late 2020&comma; we were about as excited as one can get&period; Our family frequents the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;review-kings-dominion-koa-camp-wilderness-deluxe-cabins&sol;">Kings Dominion KOA<&sol;a> when visiting the park&comma; and always have wanted to enjoy Kings Island from a camp ground perspective rather than always staying at various hotels&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>We had originally scheduled to stay at Camp Cedar back in July 2021 for Coasterstock&semi; however&comma; a combination of issues delayed the opening of the park&comma; and we were rebooked into a hotel&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>When our family evaluated our 2021 Winterfest options&comma; we opted to once again visit Kings Island&period; So we looked up rates for Camp Cedar and found them to be quite favorable for the shoulder season&period; We booked a combination Friday-Sunday stay &lpar;2 nights&rpar; to enjoy the park for a couple of nights&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>We called ahead and found out there was no issues with checking in about an hour earlier than scheduled since the unit was vacant the night prior&period; Check-in was incredibly smooth and we were off to the cabin after checking out the lodge&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-1&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge 1" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22720" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The lodge is quite large with a big open room for the customer service area&period; Beyond that is the store&comma; which offers typical camping essentials and souvenirs&period; They also offer a small coffee shop &lpar;The Dry Bean&rpar; which includes gelato and quick bakery items&period; Beyond the store is a typical large lodge type room with comfy couches and a fireplace&period; At the far end&comma; of the building is the Ironwood Grill &&num;038&semi; Tap&period; Here you can find a full service bar with a variety of limited menu items&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-2&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge 2" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22721" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-3&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-3&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge 3" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22722" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-4&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-4&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge 4" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22723" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Outside of the lodge was the various pool complexes&comma; which were closed for the season&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Pools&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Pools&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge Pools" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22730" &sol;><&sol;a> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Kings Island Camp Cedar Cabins<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>We then proceeded to check out and get settled into our cabin&period; We choose a Hickory Cottage&comma; which offered built in bunk beds for our kids&comma; as well as a queen bed in the loft and a separate queen bed in the back room&period; A sleep sofa was also in the main sitting area for additional sleeping accommodations up to eight guests&period; We were assigned cabin 438 on the first loop past the lodge&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The first thing we noticed upon arriving in the area of the cabin is how they incorporated the terrain into the park&comma; which we loved&period; Not entirely sure how much woods there was before&comma; but there are also select trees that were left untouched&comma; adding a nice scene&comma; especially when it all grows in&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The downside was the campground in general&comma; and our cabin specifically&comma; is really close to the I-71&period; So all night long you hear the noise of trucks passing&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-1&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge Cabin 1" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22724" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>We then proceeded to check out the cabin&period; The entire unit had an overall whitewash décor and felt very new and beachy&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>There was a small seating area with love seat&sol;sleeper sofa and large flat screen TV&period; Adjacent was a kitchen complete with full size appliances&period; In the middle of our unit we had bunk beds built into the hall&period; Across from there was a bathroom with full shower surround&period; The back of the unit had a separate bedroom with queen size bed&period; Then in the upstairs loft was another queen bed&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While the cabins are new&comma; we immediately started to notice some issues&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-2&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge Cabin 2" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22725" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As a traveler&comma; you do not typically bring hangers with you&period; None of the closets had any hangers&comma; which means nothing could get hung up&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The biggest issue was the pocket door for the bathroom&period; It was difficult to even figure out how to get it out&comma; and there was no way kids were going to be able to get it open tucked in the wall&period; Once the door was pulled out&comma; then it did not align with the latch plate&period; The lock mechanism was also faulty and did not work well&period; There was even an instance where one of our kids did get it to lock&comma; and then was trapped inside the bathroom and unable to get it unlatched because of the poor alignment of the door&period; If you did not lock the door&comma; there was a large gap making it easy for anyone in the cabin walking by to see into the restroom&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The appliances and kitchen were very nice&period; It was great to have a cold drink in the fridge waiting for you after a long day in the park&period; The couple issues we had was they do not provide you with anything to make coffee besides a coffee maker&period; No filters&period; No coffee grounds&period; Nothing&period; This could be because of Covid protocols&comma; but in todays age&comma; we typically always find a complete coffee kit available at hotel rooms if they are not the pod style&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-3&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-3&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge Cabin 3" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22726" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In addition&comma; one of the things guests are supposed to do upon leaving is load and run the dishwasher&period; However&comma; they do not give you any pods to be able to run the machine&period; It would also be nice if they included a broom and pan to clean up after ourselves and help the housekeeping&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Our first night at Camp Cedar&comma; we opted to take the include shuttle over to Kings Island&period; Pickup was at the front lodge&comma; and they drop you off in the Kings Island pickup&sol;drop off area at the back of the parking lot near the Kings Island marquee sign&period; Not a big deal&comma; and a relatively short walk to get to the front gates&comma; but rather surprised the park did not give the shuttle access to drop-off near the gates like they do at Kings Dominion&period; The shuttle runs until 30 minutes after park closing&comma; so keep that in mind with the additional walk and demand for the shuttle&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>After our first night at Kings Island&comma; and ride back to Camp Cedar&comma; we had discovered that the entire block was without power&period; So we were unsure if our keycards would even work to get us access to our cabin&period; Before heading back to our cabin&comma; we stopped at Guest Services to request some extra sheets and blankets knowing that there was a good possibility of no heat&period; However&comma; the staff was rather unaccommodating and brushed us aside&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-4&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-4&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge Cabin 4" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22727" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Upon arrival back to our cabin&comma; we were quite surprised to see what appeared like all of the cabins were occupied&comma; as earlier in the day it seemed like we might have the area to ourselves&period; Luckily&comma; the keycards still gave us access to the cabin&period; At that point&comma; we settled in for the night and called it a day&period; However&comma; note&comma; we had no heat &lpar;electric&rpar; and no hot water &lpar;electric&rpar; with the power out most of the night&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>No one in the cabin got much rest the first night&period; Everyone on the first floor was extremely cold with very little in the way of bedding besides some thin sheets&period; For the two of us that stayed upstairs in the loft&comma; we had the opposite effect&period; For some reason&comma; even without heat in the cabin&comma; it was extremely hot up there along the roofline&period; So much so that we had the window open to try and alleviate some of the heat&period; Note&comma; we could not open both windows upstairs because of poor construction of the window latch that prevented it from sliding with the screws not being installed all the way&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-5&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-5&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22728" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Also keep in mind&comma; windows open means you amplify the sounds coming from the adjacent freeway all night&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In addition&comma; and this goes for all the beds in the cabin&comma; they were extremely soft and unsupportive&period; We would have liked to see them include a higher end mattress lineup&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While we had hopes of possibly using our firepit one night&comma; it was located on the opposite side of the cabin in an area that retained water&period; So it was completely unusable&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Fortunately the second night we arrived back at the cabin&comma; we had power&period; While not the perfect scenario&comma; we knew the technique to open the upstairs window to try and make sleeping in the loft a little more comfortable&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-6&period;jpg"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;12&sol;211203-Kings-Island-Camp-Cedar-Lodge-Cabin-6&period;jpg" alt&equals;"211203 Kings Island Camp Cedar Lodge Cabin 6" width&equals;"1024" height&equals;"768" class&equals;"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22729" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Pros<&sol;strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em><br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Nice terrain with trees&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Shuttle service to Kings Island&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Beautiful interior to the cabins&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Loved the covered front porch&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Site includes a charcoal grill and separate fire pits if needed&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Appears to have nice pool complex with adjacent food options&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Cons<&sol;strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em><br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Close to freeway&comma; which provides a lot of truck noise&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Outside lights provide a lot of cast into the units&comma; and with no blackout shades&comma; keep the rooms pretty bright and hard to sleep&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Closets did not have hangers&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Shower had very low water pressure&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8211&semi; Pocket doors were horrible&period; Difficult to open&period; Did not lock well and provided a gap&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Overall&comma; the campground was nice&comma; but one could tell it is still a work in progress&period; For example&comma; at the concrete pads for trailers&comma; they must have realized the pads were not wide enough&period; So they were going back and excavating to add in strips of brick on the sides of the pads&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>We are curious to see how well the cabins hold up after a year or so worth of use&period; While beautiful&comma; the materials seem like they will begin to show wear really quick&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>We look forward to possibly trying out the campground maybe once in the summer to get the full experience&comma; and maybe work out some more of the issues&period; However&comma; if the rates tick up too much more&comma; we would much rather stay at an adjacent hotel that we know has comfortable beds&comma; which is imperative after being in the park all day&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>&ast; If you liked this post&comma; join other readers who have signed up to for our <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;cpfoodblog&period;com&sol;newsletter&sol;">free Newsletter<&sol;a>&&num;8230&semi;because then you will never miss another update&excl;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- --><&sol;p>&NewLine;

Justin

Find me enjoying the atmosphere, the shows and covered in sugar from an elephant ear.

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