No you do not have to stay there. We stayed next door in a condo & went there most nights. The carnival is fun. Fire eater. stilt walker, music , crafts. We did not partake in any of the all you can eat offerings during the week but ate dinner off the menu twice. Food was good, prices average. Lots of families, vollyball nets, picnic tables in the sand with teens playing cards etc. We loved hanging at Iggies at night.