anyone who has stayed at Caribbean beach please respond

[bullynj]

we were about to book Caribbean beach for the first week of April with a preferred room so that we were close to the main Pool a just found out there are no rooms left at a discounted rate so we either need to find some other place to go or we will need to take a pirate room. So I have two questions

1-how large is this resort, r the pirate room was scattered throughout the resort?
2-are there any other resorts that have a food court that is one thing we love about this particular resort


We stayed at old Key West last year we were way too far away from everything I do not want to be in a situation like that againI would rather stay in a hotel then go through that. anyone who could give me some information I would greatly appreciate it I need to book or vacation today

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

I'm not sure. We had a sea themed room that was pretty far from everything. It was a large resort. I assume the rooms are scattered throughout though.

Most of the resorts have a food court aside from a few of the deluxes and I think CSR just has that pepper market thing.

 

[KatMark]

we were about to book Caribbean beach for the first week of April with a preferred room so that we were close to the main Pool a just found out there are no rooms left at a discounted rate so we either need to find some other place to go or we will need to take a pirate room. So I have two questions

1-how large is this resort, r the pirate room was scattered throughout the resort?
2-are there any other resorts that have a food court that is one thing we love about this particular resort


We stayed at old Key West last year we were way too far away from everything I do not want to be in a situation like that againI would rather stay in a hotel then go through that. anyone who could give me some information I would greatly appreciate it I need to book or vacation today

We have never stayed at the CBR (we stay at a different moderate), but we have visited numerous times. I personally find the talk of the "long walks" to be overexaggerated. If you were to take a pirate room, the walk is probably about seven minutes to the pool and food court (or you can take the internal shuttle). I've had a longer walk from my room at the Contemporary to the food than I have from the furthest section of the CBR (Trinidad South) to the pool/food.

The pirate rooms are $25 more per night. All of the values and moderates have a food court (although the one at the CSR is a little different than the others).

 

[safetymom]

The Pirate rooms are all located in Trinidad South. The rest of the resort has a Nemo theme in the room.

 

[addiln]

we stayed at cbr in 2009 in aruba. it was a nemo themed room. the walk to the main pool was not that bad and we were pretty close to one of the smaller pools as well. we had a great time there and would go back there again.

all the resorts have a food court of somesorts so that would not be an issue

 

[Baltazar]

We stayed in Jamaica, I didn't think it was all that far from the lobby building (about a 7 minute walk). Each Island section has their own quiet pool so to swim we did not need to go to the main pool. Each section has it's own bus stop as well.

I've never stayed at Old Key West so I can't really compare. We were use to the closeness and size of the Value resorts, we did feel a bit disconnected at CBR.

I suppose your only choice is to try and get a non discounted preferred room or just book a discounted room and request close to lobby building.

Resort Map

[edit] Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge have some pretty reasonable rates (for a deluxe) and the rooms are relatively close to the facilities. (not as spread out as CBR)

 

[Amy&Dan]

There is no room at CBR that is further than 10 minutes to the main area, most are much closer.

When we stayed, at CBR we were in Barbados and the walk was about 7 minutes to the main area. We loved CBR, in fact we love all the mods.

Port Orleans Riverside has an incredible food court, I think the best on property. It is also a spread out resort, however it does also have preferred rooms so you might check that.


Port Orleans French Quarter is another great resort, its very compact by Disney standards and it also has a great food court.

As Kathy said, CSR has a bit different set up than a food court, but Pepper Market is wonderful and so is CSR!

I love OKW, but it feels less like a hotel than the mods and it was set up to be that way. I also think OKW (and most other deluxe's and DVC's) is lacking a LOT in the way of good counter service options.

 

[bullynj]

thank you for all of your feedback so it sounds to me like we should not book a pirate room that we should just request a regular room and try to close everything.

I don't mind staying in another resort but I want to stay somewhere that has a awesome pool like this place does that is why I love Caribbean beach we loved the ability to walk from the pool to the building inside eat lunch and then go back swimming - I just want to make sure that we are not really far away I guess I can find out what a non-discounted room will cost.

we even considered staying in a normal hotel but I don't know if any have the kind of food choices the Disney resorts do. UGH

 

[saskdw]

Yeah, don't pay for the Pirate room unless the romm itself appeals to your family. The Pirate rooms don't have prime locations. If the prferred rooms are all gone try requesting a room accross the bridge from the food court. CSR is also a very similar resort. We have tryed both and like both places.

 

[bullynj]

what does this mean CSR

 

[Amy&Dan]

what does this mean CSR

Coronado Springs Resort. Its another moderate resort, similar but different too!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

coronado springs resort...

we've stayed at both and we much much much prefer CSR. the rooms are beautiful, there's a great pool and children's play area, busses are best of the moderates we've stayed at!!

if you do stay at CBR... the pirate rooms are pretty far out there... i would suggest a regular room. we stayed at barbados and it was close to check in/check out and that was kind of nice.

 

[stashbin]

I am sorry to be negative, but when we stayed at CBR we didn't care for it. Our room was so far away from the common areas that we had to take an internal shuttle to get breakfast in the mornings.
We prefer POP just because all the rooms seem to be within walking distance to the food court.
Also, the extra money wasn't worth it because the room size wasn't that much bigger. But...we tried it.
Just not for us.

You may love it though...lots of people do!

 

[crusoe2]

We've actually stayed in the Trinidad South section of CBR where the pirate rooms are located. It was about a 10 minute walk up to the main pool and food court. Not really that bad and the view along the way is gorgeous.

One thing I would caution you about tho is that the mattresses in the pirate rooms are not your standard mattress and box springs. If you go to the resorts section of this site, there is an official Dis review that shows pictures and gives some info on these. You may be fine with them but I know we would not be. So glad I saw that before we booked.

Since you mentioned the food court being such an important part of your resort, there are a couple other things you might want to know. The food courts at Port Orleans Riverside and Coronado Springs are not right next to the pools like the one at CBR is. At Riverside the pool is out on an island and you go over a bridge to get to the food court but it isn't terribly far. At Coronado it is quite a distance to the food court but the pool bar serves a limited menu. I haven't been to Port Orleans French Quarter so I can't tell you much about it.

 

[saskdw]

coronado springs resort...

we've stayed at both and we much much much prefer CSR. the rooms are beautiful, there's a great pool and children's play area, busses are best of the moderates we've stayed at!!

if you do stay at CBR... the pirate rooms are pretty far out there... i would suggest a regular room. we stayed at barbados and it was close to check in/check out and that was kind of nice.

I have to strongly disagree about the bus service. We stayed CBR for 10 days in Dec. 2008 and the bus service was fantastic. We just stayed at CSR Dec. 2010 for 9 days and the bus service wasn't as good. It was still probably better than most resorts, but it wasn't as good as our experience at CBR. I also noticed that everytime we waited for a bus at the theme park 1 or 2 CBR busses came first. From what I have experienced and the 1000's of reviews I have read CSR and CBR have the best bus service on the property, but I have to give the nod to CBR.

As far as the resorts as a whole, they are 85% the same with the 15% being subjective to personal taste. There were some things that were better at CSR and some things that were better at CBR.

 

[3boys4me]

We stayed at CBR in November. I had requested Jamaica 45 and did not get it. I understand it was just a request. But we were put in Barbados 11! You can't get much farther out than that. Lucky for us we had our car so my dh could go get the kids breakfast and some coffee without having to take the bus or waste alot of time walking. For just adults I guess the walk isn't so bad, but when you have little ones slowing you down that wal in the morning eats up a lot of valuable time. Also, the food court is really nothing special.
We really enjoy CSR, the rooms are much nicer and have all recently been re-done. But it too is a big resort and room location can mean alot. Also if you are not on the dining plan, the pepper market can get very expensive.
We would not stay at CBR again.

 

[saskdw]

We stayed at CBR in November. I had requested Jamaica 45 and did not get it. I understand it was just a request. But we were put in Barbados 11! You can't get much farther out than that. Lucky for us we had our car so my dh could go get the kids breakfast and some coffee without having to take the bus or waste alot of time walking. For just adults I guess the walk isn't so bad, but when you have little ones slowing you down that wal in the morning eats up a lot of valuable time. Also, the food court is really nothing special.
We really enjoy CSR, the rooms are much nicer and have all recently been re-done. But it too is a big resort and room location can mean alot. Also if you are not on the dining plan, the pepper market can get very expensive.
We would not stay at CBR again.

Yeah, how far the walk is definately relevant to your situation. We didn't have a problem with the walk at CSR, but for less mobile people or families with little ones its more of an issue.

The food court at CBR is nothing special as you put it, but I don't think its ment to be. It's just a convient way to get some food in a quick fashion. When we stayed at CBR we were in Martinique 25 which is right beside the food court. We could cruise in there and fill our mugs all day long. There was lots of healthy quick breakfast options at the market, fresh fruit, cereal, milk, juice, etc. For a good sit down meal though you did have to go somewhere else. I would pay for the preferred room at CBR to be close to the food court.

We didn't have a close room like that at CSR, but I found the walk shorter and the resort easier to get around than CBR. We didn't mind staying in the Ranchos location. Now that they have preffered rooms at CSR we would probably get one if we go back though. It's vacation after all, might as well make it as enjoyable as possible!!

 

[shan136]

We stayed at CBR in early december 2010. We also had a pirate room, which my nephews loved. The resort is beautiful and the walk from Port Royal to Trinidad south is about 10 minutes, which in the scheme of things is not that far. The bus service was great, the pool awesome and the food in the food court very good (although it felt a bit crowded).

However, my DH and I felt very far from the action. If you are going to stay at CBR I would strongly suggest a preferred room and take a look at the map to request buildings closes to the center. Trinidad North is preferred, but some of the buildings seem like a long walk to the center.