Caribbean beach resort...

**Capt_redshirt** · 01-10-2013, 10:23 PM

so planning my trip for this October and we are debating a few different hotel options a few I've stayed at and one i haven't..... which brings me to my question what are the pros and cons of Caribbean beach resort?

**Ms. Mode** · 01-11-2013, 06:42 AM

We really like CBR (even though we've only stayed there once) it's a beautiful resort. The buses are for that resort only and don't hop over to other resorts, they just circle CBR and then head out. We stayed in a building close to Port Royal so we would be close to "the hub", but I can see where it could be a little jaunt over to breakfast is you are in one of the "outer" buildings. Other than that I think it's a great place to stay.

**MargaretMessler** · 01-11-2013, 07:00 AM

It was beautiful, great for walking around, Old Port Royale is nice. But I hate the bus system. While it's good this resort doesn't share with others, the multiple stops within the resort (since it's so large and spread out) makes it seem like it does. Depending on the route the bus takes into the resort, you can end up waiting a long time or being on a crowded bus. I end up using the car most of the time when we stayed there.

**Figment!** · 01-11-2013, 10:51 AM

Stayed there several times, and just stayed there again this past October.

Personally, I've always really liked how spread out the resort is; it makes me feel less like I am at a hotel and more like I am staying in a tropical village.

This past October I stayed in Jamaica and enjoyed the leisurely walk across the island in the central lake to the main food court/shopping area each morning/evening enjoying the tropical grounds and lake.

Never had an issue with the rooms and now the standard rooms have a whimsical Finding Nemo motif.

On the down side it is a very large resort. If you stay in one of the "villages" further away from the central food court/shopping area (Old Port Royale), you may find the walk impractical or time consuming to wait on the internal shuttle. Also there are many bus stops as they stop at each village, so some patience is required when traveling between the theme parks and your particular village.

**roses** · 01-11-2013, 08:34 PM

We just stayed here in October (even got to stay a bit longer due to Sandy). I have to say, I absolutely loved the property - and I'm having a hard time thinking about staying at other places. We stayed in Martinique Building 23, right next to the bus stop, never waited more than 10/15 minutes for a bus. My daughter and I would walk in our jammies over to get breakfast in the morning - it only took 5 minutes or so with all the stopping to see the lizards.

The staff was great, the pool was amazing - the movies under the stars was fantastic - and you can see Epcot's fireworks from the beach!

**AmandaChan** · 01-11-2013, 10:18 PM

pro -
beautiful grounds. loved walking around in the early am before everyone gets up
cool pool for kids
cute buildings
bar had great service
bus service was great for us! we went in june 2011 and never had to wait too long.

con - (personal experience)
housekeeping (we had bad, bad experience)
I got ate up some funky bug and had huge welts all over my back?
site is spread out. i would only go back if I was guaranteed a preferred room.
i got lost in the midst of the buildings WAY TOO OFTEN. I don't know why I had such a hard time navigating through them.

**caryrae** · 01-13-2013, 10:09 AM

Seeing your Jack Sparrow avatar doesn't the CBR have pirate rooms?

**Capt_redshirt** · 01-13-2013, 12:09 PM

yes they do... i had looked at those rooms as an option does anyone know which building those rooms are in . if there is a high chance that ill be in a preferred room real close to old port royale then it wouldn't be an issue and id pay the extra 30 a night

**roses** · 01-13-2013, 03:54 PM

I believe the Pirate Rooms are located in Trinidad South, which is one of the furthest villiages from the pool and Olde Port Royal. I stayed in Martinique 23 - it was only about a 5-7 minute walk (walking with a toddler) from there.

**Crow** · 01-13-2013, 05:02 PM

stayed a few times..it is large.
cant say too much about food court selection. it was ok.
the last time there was hs groups at the pools and practicing at night.
buses were ok
its not my fav mod, probably at the bottom.

**johnsouthjersey** · 01-18-2013, 01:06 PM

Have stayed at CBR 6 times and always enjoy it. Trinidad North or Martinique will put you close to the food court if is important for you. Main pool was redone around '10 ad kids enjoyed it. We plan to return to CBR again in the future.http://www.intercot.com/discussion/i...s/thumbsup.gif

**jonahbear2006** · 01-19-2013, 12:21 PM

I love it. I am a DVC girl and a deluxe girl and I will stay at CBR anytime anyday. I also really loved AOA. The walk to get drinks everyday was pleasant, the beaches were nice, it was quiet, the pool is amazing, and the food there is great. No complaints from my end, at all, about this resort.

**hauntedmansiongirl** · 01-23-2013, 11:18 PM

We stayed in a pirate room in April. They are very cool! They are in the far, far buildings of Trinidad South. Close to a bus stop and a quiet pool, 10 minute walk to Olde Port Royale and the pool. The beds look awesome and are comfortable but are small. The corners are rounded off, so it seems even smaller. But the "plank" carpet, barrel nightstand etc are so well done. The walk over to the food court is very scenic- you feel like you're on a tropical island.

Good:
*food court has lots of choice and the prices aren't too bad (soft serve ice cream as a dessert on the DDP was a huge bonus for us)
*pool theming is amazing and the slide was a big hit with our 11 yr old Godson; always had room in the hot tubs as well
*the quiet pools are a nice break from the chaos
*the arcade was decent
*landscaping is gorgeous and it is very well maintained
*pirate rooms have awesome theming
*CMs at check-in were great- quick moving line, answered all questions and were able to accommodate a few unusual request that we had; they also gave us pirate swords and eye patches and balloons because we booked a pirate room

Bad:
*buses were a long wait at times, but we have had that at every resort except CS- it is common to have lots of people standing at busy times
*mousekeeping wasn't as good as other resorts: Pop Century and CS definitely win out in that regard- 3 days they didn't get to our room until after 5pm

Have a great time!

**DizNut42** · 01-24-2013, 09:17 AM

We have stayed at CBR several times and have always enjoyed it. We love the theme and walking around the resort is always fun. In fact, one of the photos I have taken here is my desktop wallpaper. We have stayed in every section except Aruba and the walk to Port Royale has never been a problem for us. Buses have never been an issue for us either, but we generally go at off times. Last time we had a pirate room and that was just super themeing.

**Lacy** · 01-24-2013, 09:58 PM

Glad to see the CBR getting mostly positive responses. We stayed here this past November for the Wine & Dine and had a great stay. I was really nervous beforehand because I had read negative reviews here and other places but it was the only moderate available as a host hotel for the race and we didn't have a car and that was the price point that we wanted to spend. We went with my extended family and I made all of the reservations for the trip so was nervous that the CBR would be too spread out and have horrible bus service and then my family wouldn't have as nice of a trip and hold me responsible

But we were all very impressed - the grounds were gorgeous, rooms clean and spacious, good bus service and a nice variety at the food court. None of us minded the full instead of queen beds and actually found that it was nicer to have the space in the room. The walk to OPR was pleasant and about 5 min - we were in aruba. My son loved the playground, pool, beaches and marshmallow roasting! Overall, the family all agreed that we preferred it over our normal and old favorite - Port Orleans Riverside. It is closer to the parks so the bus rides seemed shorter and we never had too long of a wait.

Overall I think it is a great choice for a moderate and would not hesitate to recommend it!

**Kenny1113** · 01-24-2013, 11:41 PM

Thank you for this thread! I am actually on line for this purpose. We are staying at CBR for a last minute trip this weekend. I have been reading up on the resort and I have seen several negative reviews

(in regards to pirate rooms I read that the mattresses are thinner than a regular mattress???? )

I am so happy this thread was recently posted on. This makes me feel much better!

I'll report back with our opinions of the resort as well

**Kenny1113** · 01-27-2013, 11:49 AM

So we just checked out today and I'm on the fence about this resort. I hope my review won't sway anyone out of staying there because I definitely think its worth at least trying once.

It is HUGE, but I love the grounds of the resort, it is so quiet. Which was really nice. We were in Aruba building 53 which was not a bad walk to the food court and main pool. The bus situation is a little frustrating, but it's nice to not have to wait in a huge line to board the bus because there are several little stops throughout the resort. We had our car so we just drove everywhere.
Now to the bad and possibly the reason I will not stay here again. When we checked in and first got to our room it was very humid we figured it was because the room was empty so we lowered the AC and headed to lunch and DTD. When were returned the room was not much better I spoke with the front desk and they said they would send someone out to take a look. We headed to dinner and returned to our room that night, it was not humid, but very cold. When we adjusted the temperature to our comfort the humid feeling returned. This is now 10:30 at night and I called the front desk to have them switch our rooms. I was tired and really didn't want to switch rooms but the room was very uncomfortable. So we settled into another room in the same buding around the corner. This room seemed better and we were tired. Once we adjusted the temp, this room was only slightly better. It seems that the rooms have a fine line between freezing and muggy

I never reported it again because this was a short stay and I really didn't want to move again.
I hope it's just this building with this issue. I will have to do research into wether or not the rest of the resort has this problem before I stay again. But we really did like the resort, I guess just not the room...

ETA: I forgot to mention that the CMs were really nice here. The beds weren't too uncomfortable like at Value. They were doubles but seemed more comfortable.