CBR - tell me all about it!

[mudpuppysmom]

I just booked CBR last night (thru Magical Journeys actually...thanks Melissa!!) and we have never stayed there, not has anyone we know stayed.....tell me the good, bad and ugly please. We are staying next Thursday thru Columbus Day.

[Strmchsr]

The good would be the pool (one of the best - especially the kid's pool), the beaches, and the rooms are pretty quiet and really feel like you're secluded, unlike some of the resorts which constantly feel busy. CBR is really a place you can realx. The bad is it's very spread out and depending on where you are, it can be quite a hike to the main building if you want to go to the gift shop or food court.

[4disneynuts]

We have stayed at CBR numerous times and love it there. The atmosphere is as if you are in the caribbean. We love the calypso music the beautiful flowers and just overall feel of the resort. Our daughters love laying in the hammocks on the beach and just relaxing while dragging their toes through the white sandy beach.

The rooms are pretty basic but we always say we are there for the parks and overall experience. The rooms are pretty much a place to sleep and shower. The one thing we do like about the rooms is the double sinks, especially if you have teenage daughters getting ready. LOL They are decorated cute and tropical and pretty much have what you need for your stay.

We have found that even when the resort is at capacity you would never know it. It is still quiet and peaceful which is something we like. (We stayed at All Star Movies one time and there was a school group there that was awful. They were jumping off tha balconies and even had to have a security guard come stand outside all night because they were so disruptive.)

The pools are great! The main pool has a nice slide and awesome play area for the younger kids. We love the quiet pools that are in each village. It is nice to have that option if you just want to sit by the pool in the sun and relax.

The food court is great. They have a nice variety. We especially like the dinner that you can get a choice of salmon, turkey, chicken and pork i believe, plus your choice of sides. It is a nice meal other than a burger. The turkey is awesome.

The bus stops are nice as they are covered and always clean. Yes people complain about wait times but your at Disney, you are going to have to have patience and do some waiting. You can't let it frustrate you or ruin your fun.

The resort is large and spread out and you do have to do some walking but you do a lot of walking anyway at the parks etc. You can request a village closer to the food court and main pool and they are pretty accomodating if they have something open. We have always had our request filled.

All in all it is a great resort. We have only stayed at All Star Movies and Wilderness Lodge so can't really say about the other moderates (I really would like to try the Port Orleans Riverside some time but my DH and DD's love CBR too much - LOL)

I can honestly say we have not had a bad experience at CBR in all the times we have stayed there. All the CM's have always been polite and helpful and have a smile on their faces. The only problem we had was the first time we went and it took several hours to get our luggage, (we took ME and it usually takes 3-5 hours), it took about 8 hours for our luggage to arrive but they gave us a $75 food voucher to make up for it. Nothing is ever perfect and sometimes things happen, you just have to take it in stride and not let it affect your fun!

Have a wonderful time on your trip and you will have to let us know what you think when you get back!

:mickey::mickey::mickey::mickey::mickey:

[etibbetts]

I just stayed there last month, it had been 11 years since my last stay there. I love CBR. It never felt crowded. I only had to stand on a bus twice (when I stayed at Pop I was always standing!). The food in the food court was good. The kids loved the main pool & slides.

I highly recommend you request a village. I would request Jamaica building 45. It is a short walk to the food court / pool (Old Port Royale). We stayed in Jamaica 44 and it was a little further from OPR but right next to the bus stop. It is a pain having to make 7 bus stops, but at least you don't have to walk as far to your room. I did notice people at Barbados having complaints about busses, as they would fill up prior to getting to them - especially w/ DTD busses that start at the front bus stop. We didn't have any issues however.

My only complaint was that staff was awful at restocking things. They ran out of coffee multiple mornings, ran out of straws (in all four dispensers). They just seemed disorganized. The laundry could use to be updated - several dryers didn't work that great.

[ISLE39]

I hated it 2 weeks ago. I was moved to art of animation cars suite on day 2 of 9 of my vacation. They transported me and all of our luggage n scooter. Worst hotel i have ever stayed in. Never ever again

[Strmchsr]

Worst hotel i have ever stayed in.

Having stayed at CBR a couple of times I would definitely say it's not the worst hotel out there, even if it's not my favorite moderate. What, specifically, made it bad for you? That might help the OP.

[Kenny1113]

We stayed at CBR for the first time Jan 2013. The theming was great. The grounds were beautiful. The resort was soooo quiet, DH really enjoyed that (it takes a lot for him to really like a disney hotel ;) ). However the AC in the 2 rooms we were in did not work properly. The rooms we VERY HUMID. The CMs were VERY helpful in trying to correct the situation. They moved us from one room to another (because of the AC) and sent some one in a van to help us. We hadn't fully unpacked yet and were only moving a few doors down so it was not necessary.
I would be willing to give this hotel another chance.

[ISLE39]

Lets see. At checkin the person checking us in was so dry and unfriendly. When asking him if i was getting a crib in the room as requested and not a pack n play. He respoded by repeating after me sarcasticly yes you are geeting a crib and not a pack and play. After telling him we had a scooter and a double stroller they placed us in a second floor room. Cbr has no elevators. After calling they told us they would come tomour room take our carryon luggage and move it and hold it until we returned from the parks when we returned they took an hour to get our stuff to the room. The new room had a fridge as i needed it for my son but guess what it wasnt working it was not one of the unplugged ones. They changed that. Fast forward to going to have dinner. Ordered 3 meals and a kids meal. 2 meals were wrong. The kids meal was micharged .

Next morning im searching for stuff from my 2 yr olds bag guess what itsgone cbr lost it in the move. They sent it to another room. After the bag loss now i had loss close to 3 hours of park time in two days on my sons first trip. Told the manager i wanted a new resort. They were able to move us to the art of animation suites no charge. They gave us ultimate fast passes to the park that day I will never stay at cbr again ever nor will i ever recomend it

[MrPeetrie]

Isle39, that does sound like a very bad, un-Disneylike experience. Sorry to hear about that.

I have a mixed opinion about this resort. I like it, but DW vows "Never again!"

It's picturesque. It has a nice pool complex. And I LOVE having breakfast out by the lake. But it has some drawbacks.

It's HUGE, which is common for Disney, but there's an internal shuttle bus to assist. To me, it seems location is crucial. Get a good location--have a great stay. Get a bad location and you're stay will be a challenge.

On our last stay, we were in S. Trinadad in the farthest room from Old Port Royale. And we were on the second floor with a 2-year-old, a stroller and no elevator. Mornings getting down were ok, as we were fresh. Lugging everything up the stairs at night became laborious.

The walk to Old Port Royale In the morning seemed long but enjoyable. But we'd have to stop there almost every night for milk or packages and the walk back to our room seemed dreadful. (I have stenosis, so after a long day I'm in great pain.)

The buses were another issue: S. Trinadad is on the wrong side of the bridge. Waiting for the Magic Kingdom bus on busy mornings was terrible. We'd see the bus, coming our way. But because it was always full, instead of driving past the bridge and hitting our stop, it would turn right, cross the bridge, and exit. Disney is aware that this happens as there was always a CM there, monitoring the situation. He called for a private bus. After 45 minutes, he asked for the bus to pick us up and our stop had a private bus ride to MK. Bus trips back to CBR were quick and plentiful.

Room cleanliness was another issue. This was the first time on property we've encountered an issue with cleanliness. When we arrived, there was a hair on he coffee maker, so we never used it he entire 10-day stay. There were other issues, as well, and my wife actually wrote an email to Disney about it -- our first negative email since we've been coming in '99.

As I said, I'd stay there again, but DW has veto power over this resort. If you get a nice location, I think you'll like it.

[buzznwoodysmom]

We have stayed in the pirate rooms (farthest section from main pool, food court, gift shop) twice, and in a preferred room once. Even when we were in the farthest section we still enjoyed our stays at CBR. And getting around never seemed to bother myself, my husband, or my kids. My mother, however, didn't like the location of the pirate rooms hence the reason for the preferred location the last time we stayed at CBR.

We love the tropical feel of the resort. All three times we stayed at CBR it was during the summer and we wanted a tropical feeling resort, without the Poly price tag! :blush: If your looking for a tropical getaway from the parks that won't break the bank this is a great resort!

My kids LOVE the pool here. We love the beaches. Even tho its such a huge, spread out resort, it's always so quiet, which is another thing we love.

We have eaten in the food court more times than I can count, and have eaten at their TS restaurant once, and have never had any major complaints. Sure, Shutters isn't our favorite TS on property, but it was nice to have a TS place within the resort that didn't need an ADR.

We never had any major issues with the bus, even when staying in the pirate rooms. There were times we waited a while, but after staying at over half the WDW resorts, I can honestly tell you this can happen at ANY OF THE RESORTS. For us AKL was the absolute worst for bus transportation, but there are other guests who have had zero issues with buses there. It's just something that has its drawbacks no matter which resort you are at.

As for room cleanliness, we didn't have any issues that I can recall. We've had housekeeping issues at other resorts, CSR comes to mind, and even once at our favorite resort on property, WL (we were credited one night's stay it was so bad). However, our room was always clean at CBR, as far as I remember.

I think you will enjoy your stay at CBR. And if for some reason you don't, then try to do something about it, like getting moved to another resort. Have fun!

[mudpuppysmom]

Well. We stayed and while I won't say, NEVER AGAIN, it's not on even my top 5 list. We are driving hme now, so I'll report more later, but I will say, THIS WAS THE M O S T UNMAGIUAL trip we have had in 12 years!!!!!

[Strmchsr]

Sorry about that! I'll say last week was probably our most Unmagical trip ever as well just because the crowds were ENORMOUS. Way bigger than expected. My boys were crushed we didn't get to do MNSSHP because both nights we were down there sold out. I've never heard of a Sunday and Thursday that early in October selling out.

[Melanie]

Sorry about that! I'll say last week was probably our most Unmagical trip ever as well just because the crowds were ENORMOUS. Way bigger than expected. My boys were crushed we didn't get to do MNSSHP because both nights we were down there sold out. I've never heard of a Sunday and Thursday that early in October selling out.

I'm seeing that tonight is sold out as well. I hate that October has become so popular. :unsure:

[buzznwoodysmom]

Well. We stayed and while I won't say, NEVER AGAIN, it's not on even my top 5 list. We are driving hme now, so I'll report more later, but I will say, THIS WAS THE M O S T UNMAGIUAL trip we have had in 12 years!!!!!

Oh no! So sorry to hear that. Was this your most unmagical trip mainly because of the resort?