Coronado Springs Resort - Have I made a mistake?

[Graham9]

We have suddenly found we can afford to come to WDW in the first two weeks in December. Unable to get in Riverside or French Quarter, we could only get reservations in Coronado Springs.

But I am starting to have concerns, having read some reviews. Whilst most reviews say its reasonably good, there is a worrying number of bad reviews, quoting bad service, dirty rooms, lack of security, apathetic staff and so on. (Which I was shocked to read as this is a Disney resort)

Can anyone convince me I have not made a mistake? To be honest, I'm in two minds about cancelling althogether.

:lookaroun:lookaroun

 

[Glasgow]

Every resort .. every trip ... is what you make it. They all have plusses and minuses, some more than others of course. Either way, it's up to you to have a good time

 

[SchultzFamily]

Disney has so many different resorts because so many people have different tastes. What one person likes, another doesn't. We have stayed at the CSR six times and are arriving tomorrow for our 7th stay for our 25th anniversary trip. A lot of people don't like CSR because it is so spread out--that is one of the reason's we like it--we don't feel like people are on top of us and it has a peaceful, serene atmosphere. A lot of people love Contemporary, we don't particularly care for it. The best way to find out if you like a particular resort is to try it yourself. The CSR offers a lot that the other resorts don't.

 

[LenYJr]

I stayed at CSR in 2006 and also loved it. The setting is beautiful and I echo some of the other comments in that the room that the 'spread out' resort gives you is actually quite wonderful. Each building feels like it's on its own.

Also, they were very smart with the buses. When a bus comes in from a resort, it circles the resort first, stopping at 3 bus stops, 1 behind each 'village' and then it stops at the lobby/giftshop/etc. building.

I stayed literally as far away from the lobby as it was possible to stay, but had no problem. When we didn't feel like walking, we walked less than 50 steps, hopped on a bus and headed over. They also have some golf cart/tram type vehicles which pick up around property.

The atmosphere is terrific and the landscaping wonderful.

 

[Lucky]

I've been at CS since last Sunday, and finally leaving tomorrow. This place is beautiful. I like the other moderates, and will go back to POFQ next time probably just for variety. But CS is the best.

 

[bayoumoon]

We stayed at this resort in Jan-Feb 07. We found it very nice. We stayed in the Cabana's building 9B which was very convenient to bus stop #1 and the main building, which has the restaurants and lobby, and is a short walk to the pool. We also took advantage of the health club where we got messages at a really good rate of 90$ for 50 mins, what a great way to end our vacation. The view is amazing! You can take a very romantic walk around the lake, beware it is a very large resort and is spread out. We found our room clean and was surprised by towel animals a couple days during our eight night stay. Hope this helps. Don't be discouraged it really is a great resort.

 

[EmOhYouEssE]

Coronado Springs is a nice resort, although it is much too big for our taste. It is also "southwestern" themed, and being from Colorado, it didn't do anything for us.

A lot of people love it. We didn't. We didn't hate it, but if I had the choice to stay there again or offisite, I would choose offsite as it couldn't possibly be any more inconvenient to stay offsite as it was to stay there. Had we had our own vehicle, we might have felt differently, but the walk to anything was just ridiculous after a long day at the parks.

The rooms are large and well decorated. Mousekeeping was top knotch. Bus service was "eh" (hit or miss, but that is expected at any resort).

I wouldn't cancel based on bad reviews if I were you; but I also wouldn't have booked it to begin with. We just were not happy with the walk from our room to the main building, to the closest bus stop, ect. I think it depends a lot on where your room is located; ours was in a horrible spot. We swim a lot at home, so we don't use the pools much on vacation, but the pool did nothing for us on the theming (big pyramid overlooking a large rectangular pool). In retrospect, we should have asked to be moved.

Service at the front desk was excellent. The gift shop was great. No complaints on any service levels, it just wasn't "our thing". Although, on a side note, we did see Janet Reno while we were there. She was there for a conference of some sort and we saw her in the lounge area. Very nice and well spoken TALL woman :lol:.

Although we didn't care for it, my vote says to go and give it a shot to see. Newton's 3rd law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For every person that hates it, one must love it

Any day at Disney is better than a day at home!

Em

P.S. POFQ is our favorite mod in case anyone was wondering. We love the cosieness and themeing, as we can't get that here.

 

[Disney05]

No mistake. CSR is great! We love this resort. It's big. People complain you have to walk a lot here because of the size. We don't really care about walking. The grounds are absolutely beautiful! Enjoy it.

 

[alanindy]

In any service related business, more people make an effort to complain about something negative that happened to them than those who make an effort to tell about a good experience.

Also, it is strange that many people who complain find it necessary (whether intentional or not) to embellish the story - especially in online forums - thinking that it gets them something better as compensation or "sticks it to them (the business)."

At my business, I have heard complaints about something that was on camera, recorded, and even witnessed by others, and the person complaining added non-factual details (lied), etc. Which could have been intentional or just a foggy memory or bad perception due to the emotion of the moment.

So as others have said - take those online postings with a grain of salt.

Coronado is different from most on property and I found it to be a vacation within the vacation since I literally felt I was not in central Florida - just like at Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge due to its theming.

If you get the 4th floor in the Casitas section, you'll can have a great view of other structures on WDW property - Exp. Everest, Summit Plummet, Tower of Terror, Swan & Dolphin, etc.

 

[slappy magoo]

I've only ever visited the grounds, never spent a night, but I don't think I'd cry if I "had to" stay there.

 

[Lucky]

In any service related business, more people make an effort to complain about something negative that happened to them than those who make an effort to tell about a good experience.

Also, it is strange that many people who complain find it necessary (whether intentional or not) to embellish the story - especially in online forums - thinking that it gets them something better as compensation or "sticks it to them (the business)."

At my business, I have heard complaints about something that was on camera, recorded, and even witnessed by others, and the person complaining added non-factual details (lied), etc. Which could have been intentional or just a foggy memory or bad perception due to the emotion of the moment.

So as others have said - take those online postings with a grain of salt.

Coronado is different from most on property and I found it to be a vacation within the vacation since I literally felt I was not in central Florida - just like at Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge due to its theming.

If you get the 4th floor in the Casitas section, you'll can have a great view of other structures on WDW property - Exp. Everest, Summit Plummet, Tower of Terror, Swan & Dolphin, etc.

That's what we had last week, 4th floor of Casitas Building 1. They made us leave our room in Ranchos after 2 days because of some sort of maintenance issue, and upgraded us to a VIP Suite in Casitas (Room 1474) overlooking the largest fountain with a view of the lake and pyramid.

 

[Graham9]

Update

After some careful thought and sorting out a few work issues, we have decided not only to stay at CS, but to extend our stay by a few extra days. We are coming to weekend past Thanksgiving and staying to the middle of December, with enough time (and hopefully money) for Christmas. We have done Christmas a WDW and although it was nice, we wouldn't want to repeat it.

Thanks for all the replies....

:wave::wave:

 

[coltow]

After some careful thought and sorting out a few work issues, we have decided not only to stay at CS, but to extend our stay by a few extra days. We are coming to weekend past Thanksgiving and staying to the middle of December, with enough time (and hopefully money) for Christmas. We have done Christmas a WDW and although it was nice, we wouldn't want to repeat it.

Thanks for all the replies....

:wave::wave:

Where are you staying then?

 

[Graham9]

Where are you staying then?

Coronado Springs, but not sure where in CS as yet.

 

[KingStefan]

Co...We just were not happy with the walk from our room to the main building, to the closest bus stop, ect. I think it depends a lot on where your room is located; ours was in a horrible spot. We swim a lot at home, so we don't use the pools much on vacation, but the pool did nothing for us on the theming (big pyramid overlooking a large rectangular pool). In retrospect, we should have asked to be moved...

This is precisely why you need to specify preferences for this resort on your reservation. At POFQ, every room is convenient to everything. At CSR you really should choose where you want to be.

 

[cameronmouse]

we stood at coronado springs for our honeymoon in 06. We liked it a lot there werent any complaints from us at all. they actually have a good restaurant at the hotel, Maya Grill. We recommend the hotel.

 

[Burning Metal]

My wife, 11 yr old stepson and I just got back (3 weeks ago) from our first ever stay at Coranado Springs. We absolutely loved it and would go back there again in a heartbeat! The main pool was incredible, my favorite out of ALL the resort pools, the slide was great. We spent about 2 hrs one night just going down the slide, then getting back on it and down again...it was a blast! The resort is BIG, lots of walking but we didn't mind at all as the grounds are beautifully landscaped...lots of nice flowers and platings and all. The Pepper Market was good, never had a problem at all with getting our food or drinks and there was plenty of choices. One of our favorite things was getting up early when the sun was just coming up and walking from our room to the Pepper Market for breakfast. It was nice and peaceful and not many people up and about at that time.
The ONLY downside was the bus service. The buses came regularly enough but with the resort being so big it seemed like coming back from the parks it took forever for them to drop you off. I do understand though and it wasn't really a big deal, I mean it is a BIG place afterall! We ended up after the second day just taking our own car to the parks, Hope you enjoy your vacation as much as we did...we can't wait to go back to Coranado Springs!

 

[disneynut4u]

We booked 3 rooms at Coronado Springs in 2002. We got what we requested (all 3 next door to each other), and close to a bus stop. We never had any problems with the buses. We thought the food was really good, just not too sure about the layout, though, of the food court. We loved the theming and the overall feel of this resort. Our goal is to stay at each DW resort, and so far of all the moderates and values, Coronado is our favorite. Enjoy your stay here!

 

[RachelP6877]

we have stayed at all mods and this is our FAV!!!

 

[Lucky]

This is precisely why you need to specify preferences for this resort on your reservation. At POFQ, every room is convenient to everything. At CSR you really should choose where you want to be.

I put in a request but we didn't get it. It can't hurt to ask, but don't count on getting what you want.