Convince me to stay at CBR...

[magicwand]

My fellow WDW addict wants to check out the CBR. I know it is a large resort and probably a nice pool. Tell me the pro's and con's of staying there. Yes, I have read some reviews, now give me your opinions. Thanks!

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

Here's an unofficial website. Warning - it's kind of out of date. The room pictures have not been updated after the more sophisticated redesign, and the pricing is lower than it should be. But it does have some good information!

http://www.disneycaribbeanbeach.com/

I almost stayed there, but we got a better deal at Coronado Springs!

 

[Ali Mouse]

I am in the same exact situation.
I have stayed at Pop Century 3 times - loved it!!! (but I have 5 in my family now) and I have stayed at POR- it was ok but I didn't like the transportation.
Now we are going with a group of 16 and my sister in law has encouraged everybody to go to CBR! I have checked all of the reviews but likewise want the pros and cons from people on this site...
Most likely we will be staying there so hopefully there will be many Pros! If there are cons (which I am sure there is) please give advice on how to fix the cons as well.
Excited!!!!
-Also it would be great if you can add what village to book!

 

[sophie_the_pooh]

We stayed there in April 2014, and really enjoyed the relaxed theming. You almost feel like you're in a resort in the Carribean, with the colors all around and the beaches. The room was very nice and clean.
I was disappointed with the food court, the service was inefficient and the food was just ok, I liked Pop Century's food court much better. We had some issues with the bus service, had to wait more than 30 minutes for a bus to AK one morning. You have to know that there's 7 bus stops at CBR, which can mean longer waits.
I'm not saying I don't recommend it because we still had a great time, but this year we are trying CSR, more food options, less bus stops and the Dig Site which I'm sure my son will enjoy!

 

[sophie_the_pooh]

I am in the same exact situation.
I have stayed at Pop Century 3 times - loved it!!! (but I have 5 in my family now) and I have stayed at POR- it was ok but I didn't like the transportation.
Now we are going with a group of 16 and my sister in law has encouraged everybody to go to CBR! I have checked all of the reviews but likewise want the pros and cons from people on this site...
Most likely we will be staying there so hopefully there will be many Pros! If there are cons (which I am sure there is) please give advice on how to fix the cons as well.
Excited!!!!
-Also it would be great if you can add what village to book!

We stayed in Martinique and really liked the location, which was a short walk from the main building, even with a standard room.

 

[Ali Mouse]

We stayed there in April 2014, and really enjoyed the relaxed theming. You almost feel like you're in a resort in the Carribean, with the colors all around and the beaches. The room was very nice and clean.
I was disappointed with the food court, the service was inefficient and the food was just ok, I liked Pop Century's food court much better. We had some issues with the bus service, had to wait more than 30 minutes for a bus to AK one morning. You have to know that there's 7 bus stops at CBR, which can mean longer waits.
I'm not saying I don't recommend it because we still had a great time, but this year we are trying CSR, more food options, less bus stops and the Dig Site which I'm sure my son will enjoy!

CSR looks wonderful but the regular rooms only fit 4 people and the suites are significantly more - almost polynesian prices. So CSR is a no go for families of 5. Hum... I wonder which child i could leave at home? JK

 

[Ali Mouse]

We stayed in Martinique and really liked the location, which was a short walk from the main building, even with a standard room.

When did you go, how often did the busses come, and did the busses have room on them when they got to your stop?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Here's a pro - for the last few weeks, the price has been in the $144+ range. Two days ago, I checked the same Florida resident offer and also the annual passholder offer and found it for $119. Switched my one night reservation from Yacht Club for 2 nights at CBR for almost the exact same price (actually $3 difference.) There are other special offers - always check the special offers.

 

[sophie_the_pooh]

When did you go, how often did the busses come, and did the busses have room on them when they got to your stop?

We went in April 2014, the week after Easter. The buses to MK seemed to come more often, as for the other parks they're always seemed to be 2 buses to DHS when we wanted to get to Epcot, or 2 buses to Epcot when we were going to AK, etc... I would say we had to wait between 10-20 minutes for the buses (often 15-20) and most of the time had place to sit for at least 2-3 people in our party. We took the bus at the Martinique or main building stops, which are among the first stops on the ride.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

So we stayed there for a quick trip early this year - January 13th to 15th - so keep in mind that's a slow week, generally speaking.

At that time, only certain areas had been renovated. After exhaustive reading of information, comments and reviews, we decided on the Aruba section because we knew it was already renovated - and also because we are two adults with no kids and prefer NOT to be close to the pool, too close to the action, etc. We prefer a quiet area and don't mind a little walk. But what some people act like is a huge walk is really no big deal. We thought it was a very reasonable walk from Aruba to the pool bar and the food court (which are right near each other.)

I actually liked the food court - I saw it as more like a mall food court than as a "grab n go" type place (although there is a grab n go section.) I have to tell you there was a shredded pork sandwich with some kind of sweet relish on it that I really, really liked (and I am a big fan of the shredded pork sandwich, although I only eat meat on special occasions.) I got a similar pork sandwich at the Whispering Canyon Café at Wilderness Lodge for lunch, and it was not as good as the one in the food court - I think mostly because of that carribbean flair/relish that really made it for me. (Can you tell I can't wait to get another one of these when we go back in about 3 weeks?!)

So again, no kids, so I have a certain perspective. We at least stopped at the pool bar each day, and the bartenders were very friendly and chatty, which is not always the case, and makes the difference in experience when you are not a local.

We ate at the restaurant, Shutters, on our last day since we knew we'd have to get the Magic Express from that area. It's only open for dinner. The reviews I read were pretty bad, but we both enjoyed it. It's not going to be on par with Flying Fish Café or something, but it's not supposed to. The prices are reasonable, our server was great, and there's some kind of banana concoction at both the bar and the restaurant that is wonderful.

Atmosphere is good, gift shop good and extensive selection as gift shops go.

We did not go in the pool.

So the closest thing to a "con" I can come up with is the check-in is pretty bizarre. There is a separate building that is nowhere near all the other buildings, and that is where you check in. The Magic Express dropped us off at that little building, we checked-in, and then had to wait for another bus to get to our area. That just kind of stalled out our enthusiasm for a half a minute. So when you check out, you have to allow extra time to travel back to that building. We kind of forgot that by the time we were having our last meal at Shutters and realized the Magic Express would not pick us up there, but at that other building. In a time crunch, our waitress told us how to walk to it from there, which was not quite simple. But we lucked out and made it.

In general, the bus scenario was a little annoying going to and coming from the parks because there are so many stops, and I didn't think they came frequently enough in either direction.

This time we are driving up, so we'll have the car and not have to worry about any of those cons!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

When did you go, how often did the busses come, and did the busses have room on them when they got to your stop?

For us in mid-January, there was always room on the bus except if we closed the parks. Then it was a long (too long) wait between buses.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Also each area had it's own private quiet pool, which was usually pretty deserted, and a private beach area with hammocks and such. We didn't use any of that, but it was nice knowing it was there. We tend to go for short trips (2-3 days) rather than taking whole vacation weeks. I don't know how anyone affords that lol. If we went for a whole week, we'd be at the Red Roof Inn in order to afford food LOL.

 

[Ben_since_1971]

Pros: Beautiful theming. Although the resort is quite large and can hold a ton of people, you never feel (unless you are in the food court at breakfast or the pool middle of the day) like people are right on top of you. There are tons of places to find some peace and quiet. And the beaches are great for just climbing in a hammock or sitting in a chaise lounge and reading a book or just killing some time. Each village has its own pool that is usually a lot quieter than the main pool. The main pool is pretty neat. A couple of water slides and the kiddie play area looks awesome!

Cons: It is spread out so depending on where you stay you could have a long walk to either your village bus stop or the food/court main pool.

As for busses, yes there are 7 stops within the resort and they will stop at every one. But unless you are staying in Jamaica or Martinique (first stops for the resort depending on which entrance the bus uses), you won't have to sit through all 7. It adds maybe 10 minutes to your trip to the parks. I cannot compare bus frequency to other resorts, but there will be times the busses run less efficiency than others. In the 10 or so years we have stayed there, the number of times the wait entered ridiculous range for me (and I am pretty patient) I can count on one hand.

As for what villages to stay in, I recommend Aruba and Jamaica. Specifically buildings 51 (Aruba) and 45 (Jamaica). They are closest to the bridge that will take you to Old Port Royal (food court/pool). The other buildings in those villages aren't bad, 45 & 51 are closest. Barbados and Trinidad South provide the longest walks to OPR. Regarding the walking, if you always always always try to find a spot right outside the mall entrance nearest the store you need to go into, then maybe CBR isn't for you.

I can't think of staying anywhere else, although there are a few I would love to try before I shuffle off this mortal coil. The food court is ok but not GREAT. Never had a bad meal. Pool bar is awesome, and the bartenders are among the best I have ever encountered (should I be admitting I know a lot of bartenders? ). The theming and overall beauty of the place is amazing. I can't wait to get back there this December.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

You can always ask for a room close to the bus stop when you make your reservation and/or at check-in. We did that in January and it was just steps from our room in Aruba.

We have also stayed at Coronado and POR, and like CBR the best of the three.

 

[popcenturylover]

We stayed Dec. 13' & LOVED it! It was quiet & beautiful. Especially, after an early morning walk. Laying in a hammock on the beach was relaxing. My DD5 & DGS1 loved the pool. The rooms are a bit bigger than others. We stayed in Trinidad North which was close to everything. The buses were pretty good usually coming every 10 minutes with the longest wait being about 15 minutes. The only con that I had was the food court. Not as much variety as others. Hope this helps.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

Don't go.

As much as it is a very nice-looking Disney moderate resort, and it does have a nice pool, it does have drawbacks to it that I personally feel are a deal-breaker for any chance of me staying there again in the future. For instance, with the one centralized location for the food court and shopping, it can be quite a long walk (depending on where you're located) to get from your room to there and back. Especially is this irritating if you need to go out and use your refillable mugs to get drinks. For another, because this resort is spread out over multiple buildings it has its own internal bus system. This is a BIG problem for me because I just want to get to the parks (or whereever I'm headed) and be done with it......but you can't really do that here because there are multiple stops that the bus makes BEFORE it even leaves the resort. And then on the way back, that's another headache in and of itself as you're again waiting on the bus stops it makes before it reaches the one you want. Then you have the rooms themselves, which are tiny....as are the beds. And being that each section is basically a chunk of motel, when you leave your room you're already outdoors.....and because you're so close to the outside you have to deal with loud people walking by your room or even the light from the streetlights getting through your blinds to help keep you awake when you want to sleep.

The ONLY pros I can really think of were that some of the eating spots in the food court weren't too bad. Also, when you step outside at Old Port Royale, you're provided with a really nice view of the resort around the lake, making for some nice photo opportunities.

All in all..........I couldn't really recommend it to you to try it unless you're really on a strict budget.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Don't go.

As much as it is a very nice-looking Disney moderate resort, and it does have a nice pool, it does have drawbacks to it that I personally feel are a deal-breaker for any chance of me staying there again in the future. For instance, with the one centralized location for the food court and shopping, it can be quite a long walk (depending on where you're located) to get from your room to there and back. Especially is this irritating if you need to go out and use your refillable mugs to get drinks. For another, because this resort is spread out over multiple buildings it has its own internal bus system. This is a BIG problem for me because I just want to get to the parks (or whereever I'm headed) and be done with it......but you can't really do that here because there are multiple stops that the bus makes BEFORE it even leaves the resort. And then on the way back, that's another headache in and of itself as you're again waiting on the bus stops it makes before it reaches the one you want. Then you have the rooms themselves, which are tiny....as are the beds. And being that each section is basically a chunk of motel, when you leave your room you're already outdoors.....and because you're so close to the outside you have to deal with loud people walking by your room or even the light from the streetlights getting through your blinds to help keep you awake when you want to sleep.

The ONLY pros I can really think of were that some of the eating spots in the food court weren't too bad. Also, when you step outside at Old Port Royale, you're provided with a really nice view of the resort around the lake, making for some nice photo opportunities.

All in all..........I couldn't really recommend it to you to try it unless you're really on a strict budget.

Not to be argumentative, but the "long walk" issue can usually be fairly easily mitigated by asking for certain areas - it all depends on what's important to you and what's a "long" walk to you.

We asked for Aruba, which turned out to be located just right for us. It did not seem like a long walk to the food court, and it's a nice walk. We often walked it in the evening for a snack or to stop at the bar, etc. Never seemed like a problem. We don't do refillable mugs, so that wasn't an issue. (We pretty much stick to water and alcohol lol.)

Not to mention other moderate resorts easily have as much or longer walks. We had a much longer walk at Coronado than at CBR. But we asked for a quiet area near a bus stop, and that's what they gave us. That happened to be nowhere near the food/shopping area lol. So I can't complain. It was more important to me to get to the bus quickly and be away from screaming children than to be close to the food court. That's me, not everyone, obviously.

I completely agree with you about the buses. Below average experience there. That was actually a consideration as to whether or not we drove up from South Florida this time or flew up. We're driving up so the buses won't matter.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

Not to be argumentative, but the "long walk" issue can usually be fairly easily mitigated by asking for certain areas - it all depends on what's important to you and what's a "long" walk to you.

We asked for Aruba, which turned out to be located just right for us. It did not seem like a long walk to the food court, and it's a nice walk. We often walked it in the evening for a snack or to stop at the bar, etc. Never seemed like a problem. We don't do refillable mugs, so that wasn't an issue. (We pretty much stick to water and alcohol lol.)

Not to mention other moderate resorts easily have as much or longer walks. We had a much longer walk at Coronado than at CBR. But we asked for a quiet area near a bus stop, and that's what they gave us. That happened to be nowhere near the food/shopping area lol. So I can't complain. It was more important to me to get to the bus quickly and be away from screaming children than to be close to the food court. That's me, not everyone, obviously.

I completely agree with you about the buses. Below average experience there. That was actually a consideration as to whether or not we drove up from South Florida this time or flew up. We're driving up so the buses won't matter.

Actually on our one and only stay at CBR, we too were in Aruba, and none of us cared for the length of the walk to OPR. The problem with trying to request to be in a certain area is the maybe 30% chance that they'll accommodate your request, especially if you want to be in one of the closest and most-requested areas. My wife and I used the refillable mugs, and the other part of our party had kids who drank a lot of juice and soda, so they were having to walk all that way multiple times.......and needless to say, they didn't enjoy it. This was actually our first - and only - stay in one of the moderate resorts. Money was more of a concern this time and curiosity about how the moderates were to stay in.....and so our being spoiled on the deluxe resorts previously really made the negatives of the moderate stand out. My wife feels more secure - when we stay in a hotel - when she opens the door from our room and looks out into a hallway as opposed to being outdoors immediately. So I guess we'll just save up a bit longer and keep to the deluxe resorts.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Actually on our one and only stay at CBR, we too were in Aruba, and none of us cared for the length of the walk to OPR. The problem with trying to request to be in a certain area is the maybe 30% chance that they'll accommodate your request, especially if you want to be in one of the closest and most-requested areas. My wife and I used the refillable mugs, and the other part of our party had kids who drank a lot of juice and soda, so they were having to walk all that way multiple times.......and needless to say, they didn't enjoy it. This was actually our first - and only - stay in one of the moderate resorts. Money was more of a concern this time and curiosity about how the moderates were to stay in.....and so our being spoiled on the deluxe resorts previously really made the negatives of the moderate stand out. My wife feels more secure - when we stay in a hotel - when she opens the door from our room and looks out into a hallway as opposed to being outdoors immediately. So I guess we'll just save up a bit longer and keep to the deluxe resorts.

I hear ya - just goes to show how much individual perspective plays into it. We used to mostly stay off property at the cheap motels, so pretty much anything Disney other than the Value resorts is paradise by comparison. But I can see what you mean about going from the Deluxe down. Yes, money is definitely a factor.

We've stayed at Coronado, CBR, and POR. This time coming up, I had booked the Yacht Club at first as our first dabble into the Deluxe resorts. It was on a deal for only $235. But I only booked it for one night, and then we were going to stay off property for two nights. When I saw CBR go on sale for $119, I had to switch it. I just couldn't see the $235 for one night when we could get 2 nights at CBR and the total cost with tax was only $3 difference. Plus we had fun there last time.

Also just different perspectives on the walking. There's no right or wrong, just preferences. I'm doing extra eating, I could use a little extra walking LOL.

 

[Tinkerkelle]

Loved it. Pool fab, lush, gorgeous theming, great food court. Stayed in pirate rooms - all are located in the most remote 'island' so about 10 minute walk to port royale which was a thought after long day at parks with 2 little ones but we were aware of this and knew we'd be focusing on the parks and so it was fine. Pirate rooms fab - great detailing. Refurbed rooms look lovely too. Buses could get crowded/full as it seemed we were often the last stop before leaving for the parks so we walked to port royale at peak times and grabbed breakfast then got the bus there. Hope you have a fab stay.