Caribbean Beach Vs. Coronado Springs

[Horizons '83]

Hello all!

For years now I have stayed at the Swan and Dolphin but next year my wife and I want to stay at a true Disney Property while still staying on budget. We found some great rates for January and these 2 resorts are within a few dollars of each other.

For those of you that have stayed at these resorts: Based on your stays what is your preference? What are some pros and cons?

As always I really appreciate your feedback!

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I've only stayed at Coronado, and Caribbean is on my wish list so I'm also interested in reading responses.

I will say that I love Coronado. I liked it more than Port Orleans French Quarter.

It's the convention center, so it seems to have a more adult crowd, and has some extra amenities as a result. Makes it a step up from other moderate resorts.

Crowds for buses were generally smaller than other resorts I've stayed at.

Beautiful themed pool with water slide.

I love just walking the grounds there. You can stop and relax in a hammock, and it's just a pleasant experience to just stroll around the lake.

Pepper Market quick service restaurant is quite good, with many different food stations so always something for everyone.

It is spread out, so the walk from one's room to the restaurants & lobby may be an issue for some people.

There are multiple bus stops so you don't have to walk all the way to the main lobby to catch one. Minor downside is there will be multiple instances of loading and unloading before your bus departs the resort for your destination. Still better than sharing a bus between multiple resorts (which happens during off-peak hours at the Port Orleans resorts for example).

 

[Horizons '83]

I've only stayed at Coronado, and Caribbean is on my wish list so I'm also interested in reading responses.

I will say that I love Coronado. I liked it more than Port Orleans French Quarter.

It's the convention center, so it seems to have a more adult crowd, and has some extra amenities as a result. Makes it a step up from other moderate resorts.

Crowds for buses were generally smaller than other resorts I've stayed at.

Beautiful themed pool with water slide.

I love just walking the grounds there. You can stop and relax in a hammock, and it's just a pleasant experience to just stroll around the lake.

Pepper Market quick service restaurant is quite good, with many different food stations so always something for everyone.

It is spread out, so the walk from one's room to the restaurants & lobby may be an issue for some people.

There are multiple bus stops so you don't have to walk all the way to the main lobby to catch one. Minor downside is There will be multiple instances of loading and unloading before your bus departs the resort for your destination. Still better than sharing a bus between multiple resorts (which happens during off-peak hours at the Port Orleans resorts for example).

Thanks so much for the insight!

 

[Lucky]

There are multiple bus stops so you don't have to walk all the way to the main lobby to catch one. Minor downside is there will be multiple instances of loading and unloading before your bus departs the resort for your destination. Still better than sharing a bus between multiple resorts (which happens during off-peak hours at the Port Orleans resorts for example).

Caribbean Beach has several more bus stops than Coronado. To me that's the single most important difference between the two resorts. We stayed at Caribbean twice, but never went back after staying at Coronado. We've stayed at Coronado 4 times now.

 

[Master Yoda]

I will keep it short...I have stayed at both resorts multiple times. I would rather save the money and stay at a value before I ever stay at Caribbean Beach again.

 

[Andrew C]

I am a big fan of the Caribbean Beach Resort's renovated rooms. They were done very well. If you choose CBR, try to get the Jamaica building as it is the first stop on the bus route for most routes from what I remember.

 

[ShookieJones]

I will keep it short...I have stayed at both resorts multiple times. I would rather save the money and stay at a value before I ever stay at Caribbean Beach again.

I'll keep it even shorter: CBR suxx.

 

[Jahona]

I have stayed at CSR, POR, and POFQ. I have yet to stay at CBR. My favorite moderate out of the group has been CSR. I love the atmosphere and the theming.

@Buzz2001 is an avid CSR fan and has a great website with detailed info on the resort. http://buzz2k1.wix.com/coronado

 

[Raeskull]

We've stayed at Cbr 3 times and are booked to stay there again at the end of the month. We love it, the theming, the quiet and even the walk to Port Royale. Its not for everyone but hey thats why Disney has so many different resorts. The only way to know which you like is to try them, which is What I hope to do. Anyway about the resort it has a great pool, beautiful grounds and newly renovated rooms. I think whichever you chose you'll have a great time.

 

[Horizons '83]

Seems like there is a big split on CBR. We are now also considering Wilderness Lodge (a little more expensive) but I have heard great things.

 

[Andrew C]

Seems like there is a big split on CBR. We are now also considering Wilderness Lodge (a little more expensive) but I have heard great things.

I don't think anything sucks about CBR. The new rooms are great, the grounds are beautiful, the pools are really nice. They have a decent food court. If you get into the correct building, any potential bus problem is negated.

The two main complaints about CBR that I have heard is about the buses (mentioned above) and that it is very spread out so if you have a building in a undesired location, you may be doing a lot of walking.

That being said, CSR is amazing as well. So I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Now WL is in a different league. I have never stayed there so I will let others explain.

 

[Jahona]

Seems like there is a big split on CBR. We are now also considering Wilderness Lodge (a little more expensive) but I have heard great things.

Now WL is in a different league.

Exactly like what Andrew posted. WL is one of the best value deluxe resorts and if you like the great outdoors has awesome theming. Another plus is the room entrances are inside so you don't have to walk through the rain, if it's raining. The other positive thing is there is only one bus stop for the resort, but you do share some buses with the Contemporary.

 

[Raeskull]

We stayed at the Wilderness lodge last November during the pool renovation. Nice hotel, the lobby can get very noisey and the quick service resturant is very small. It gets verybusy there in the mornings and can be hard to find a seat. I can't comment on the pool but the quiet pool was fine. There are 2 great things about this resort. First its closeness to the Magic Kingdom and second the boat ride to it. Loved that would stay there happily just for it.

 

[Bairstow]

We've stayed at both Coronado and Caribbean Beach within the last 2 years.
They're both nice, but Coronado was better in nearly every way. The only thing I really preferred about Caribbean Beach was that its quick-service food court is a little nicer than the Pepper Market at Coronado.

One thing to keep in mind about Coronado Springs is that it's actually three resorts in one, and each area has a distinctive theme and specialty.
The cabanas are roughly similar to Caribbean Beach in theme, close to the main facilities and good for families.

The casitas are somewhat urban in feel and are closer to the convention space.

The ranchos, which I prefer, have the most distinctive Mexican theme, and are a little quieter.

 

[SAV]

We were trying to decide between the 2 when I was planning our trip 2 years ago and we chose Coronado Springs Resort and I'm glad we did. It was incredible. Beautiful grounds, Dig Site Pool is amazing, and as it has been mentioned, 3 distinct area's/theme's. We stayed in the Cabana's section. At that time CSR had queen beds and CBR didn't, so that was another huge selling point. Since the refurb, CBR has them too. I like the deluxe amenities offered at the moderate price point.

 

[Buzz2001]

Another vote for CSR! I love the business class rooms with access to the lounge.

 

[sophie_the_pooh]

We stayed at CSR with our 4 year old son last month and loved it! We stayed at CBR last year and were disappointed by the food court and the multiple bus stops. CSR had much better bus service (4 stops vs 7 at CBR makes a big difference), and we loved Pepper market, many options to choose from, great service, nice exterior area by Laguna Bar. We enjoyed the main pool and the Dig site, we will definitely go back (until we can afford a deluxe...).

 

[SosoDude]

We love CBR and have stayed there twice, but we hear such good things about CSR that we are giving it a try in November. CBR has beautiful grounds, and we can't hear steel drum music without thinking about the good times there. We hope CSR gives us those same feelings !

 

[FrostyNaples]

We will be trying them both for the first time in this 4th quarter.

I like a hands on approach. Plus price was right in order to do so.

 

[erstwo]

We have stayed at both resorts. Both times as a family of 4, both times on last minute or unexpected trips. I have to say I enjoy them both for what they are: moderate resorts. I fully agree with Buzz2001 that the Business Class rooms at Coranado are a step above the rest. We LOVED the lounge. It rained a good bit on our trip to CSR and we spent rainy afternoons in the lounge playing board games and having a beverage and snack. It was nice to have a 'living room' and a nice light breakfast included in our room rate. Pepper Market is weird. Not a bad weird, just a totally unique WDW experience - a complete one of a kind (at least for me - until BOG opened for lunch in MK.) CSR seemed just as family friendly and family filled as any other resort. I'm sure there were plenty of convention go-ers but they either brought their families along or stayed in their rooms because everywhere we looked it was families just like ours.
I see that CBR has it's haters, but we spent a good bit of time there on our trip as it was a totally unexpected trip (it was right after the 2011 tornadoes. No power at home for 5 days, so we escaped to WDW and we didn't even go to the parks until the 4th day - still in shock I guess) and we loved the Caribbean feel. I loved getting up every morning and going for a run around the lake. My husband and son went fishing. We liked the food court. The bus stop was right outside our (quiet, far away from the food court) building and seemed to run frequently. No complaints. I would go back anytime.