Buena Vista Suites? Caribe Royale? HELP!

[snykymom]

What can anyone tell me about these two resorts? I'm an "onsite" girl, but things are so expensive that we're looking at possibly renting at one of these.

How did it feel being off-site? What are the resorts like? Big? Crowded? Comfortable? Anything? (We're 3 adults, BTW.)

Thanks!

 

[Macprincess]

We are a family of five FL resident AP holders. We average about one weekend stay a month and a least one week in the Orlando area each year. When we don’t do onsite Caribe Royale is more often than not our offsite hotel of choice. We have stayed at tons of offsite locations. We have also stayed at Buena Vista Suites.

Standard rooms are similar at both resorts. Standard rooms sleep six and have two queens and a double pull out sofa bed in the living area. There is only one bathroom which is in the middle of the two rooms. Beds in the bedroom are very comfortable. I can’t personally comment on the sofa beds but my kids have no issues sleeping here. Each room has two flat screen TV’s, a small fridge and a microwave.

Buena Vista Suites is the smaller of the two properties. It has a small, in my opinion, sort of boring pool area. It does come with a free buffet breakfast which is decent and helpful to the budget. Staff has always been friendly and rooms clean.

Caribe has more of a resort feel. They have an awesome pool area complete with waterslide, water falls, Jacuzzi and pool side bar area. We often order lunch and drinks by the pool. They do have a convention hall so you will see conventioneers but with a nice mix of families on vacation. This resort also offers two bedroom suites which are very nice, sleep 8, have full kitchen, in unit washer/dryer and come with daily maid service. I actually prefer these suites to DVC resort villas.

Unlike so many higher end offsite location there is no resort or parking fee here. They do offer a resort shuttle to Disney but it’s very limited. I highly suggest having your own car if you stay her. Also, shop for discount at these resorts I never pay rack rates here.

 

[100AcreWood]

I would check the mousesavers rates on both of these hotels. We booked Buena Vista for October so I can't comment because I haven't stayed there yet. However, since we booked the deal we have decided to extend our stay by two more nights. Unfortunately they will not extend our deal since the deal has expired. I now I have to check in and out on three separate reservations. I was thinking of spending one night at Caribe just to compare since I have to move around anyway.

 

[snykymom]

Mousesavers just came out with a Hot Deal for Buena Vista Suites - from $89/night in October. That's what prompted my question - you may want to try to rebook into one reservation.

I got a 2 BR Villa at Caribe Royale through Mousesavers for $193/night; a 1 BR AKV is almost twice that. Still haven't made up my mind! Thanks for the advice, though.

 

[Macprincess]

Try Last Minute Travel for discounts on these two resorts. I just this morning booked Caribe for Labor Day weekend. Was able to snag standard room for $89 a night. Two bedroom villas were listed at $167.79 a night. The hotel name is not listed but it's pretty easy to figure out with pics. Caribe is listed at 4 star, Downtown Disney/ Lake Buena Vista, 15.22 miles from airport. Phone number is also listed. You could always call this to double check if this is the resort before you book.

I have used Last Minute Travel to book here twice and had no issues.

 

[vicki_c]

We've stayed @ both, but think Caribe Royale is much nicer (and it's supposed to be - that's how it's marketed - as a resort).

 

[Zeppelin]

we just finished our Disney vacation and will be doing a write up but i want everyone to know Caribe Royal is highly recommended...we only stayed one night before moving to the Contemporary for four nights and thought if i ever stayed off site this is the place...

1) terrific price- i got a queen suite, pre-pay, total $95 for the night with tax...

2) plenty of parking near the towers...

3) nice, big pool which was open late...

4) outstanding breakfast buffet with a nice price ($13.95 adults/$7.95 kids)..

5) clean rooms, nice showers plus a sink outside the bathroom so i was able to shave while my wife showered before we made out way to WDW...

6) CVS/Walgreens right across the street- so we went over and loaded up on bottled water and goodies to bring to the contemporary...

7) beautiful lobby w/the restaurants- also outstanding lemonade cooler in the front..not a big deal but the little things are nice..

i'm sure there's more but it was well worth the price..only downer was they charge $9.95/day for internet...

 

[100AcreWood]

We found a great deal on Buena Vista Suites' Thursday specials. This was back in July. It was one night for 99 and the second for 49. We booked 6 nights but decided to stay for 8. So I have three separate reservations now for that week. We are staying for 8 nights (never stayed that long at Disney) for $700 total lodging. I hope we like the Buena Vista! We have three children so the extra beds and space is a big deal.

 

[susan4000]

I'm interested in the Buena Vista Suites, also. Just saw the deal on MouseSavers and am thinking of cancelling my Treehouse reservation for two rooms at the BVS, it is less than a third the price. I have never stayed offsite, but this seems really close. Thanks for all the information.

 

[reelmom]

We always stay at Buena Vista Suites and we love it. It is fairly close to the parks and about a mile away from DTD. The free breakfast buffet is great for the budget. They have a pretty good selection of food. The meats change everyday but there is usually scrambled eggs, potatoes, waffles or pancakes, grits, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, and cereal on the bar everyday. They even have a station for eggs cooked to order and you can get toast and bagels there as well. The pool is not fancy, just a pool but serves its purpose. The staff is friendly. We have been going there for about 6 years and see the most of the same staff everytime. To me, that says alot about a place of business. You can get good deals on the websites Thursday one day sale. You can also get good rates with Advanced Purchase. The only downfall to advanced purchase is that they charge your credit card the day you make a reservation and it is non-refundable, so make sure you are definately going. The usual Advanced Purchase rate is $79.00 a night. I alos like the fact that there are lots of restaurants around BVS. We usually leave for mid day breaks so we either get lunch on the way back to the hotel or dinner on the way back to the parks. Saves us money by not eating park food.

 

[100AcreWood]

Thanks for the information. We hope we like it, especially since we're staying 8 nights! We have stayed at the Doubletree DTD a lot in the past but their full size beds are not big enough for us. And they are charging daily parking fees which is a bummer. It adds up.

Happy to hear the good report!

 

[WheelCEO]

I was a die hard on-site deluxe resort kinda guy, with that being said.. I've stayed at buena vista suites about 6 times in the last yr and have no complaints whatsoever

 

[newmouse2008]

You can book with Dreams unlimited Travel and get the $89 rate!!!! here is a link for easy booking. If you have any questions let me know. This is a great property with amazing rooms!!!



http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/Resorts/bvsuites/index.htm

 

[spindoctors]

We absolutely love the 2BR villas at Caribe. They are spacious and well maintained. We also think that the location is super convenient.

 

[labdogs42]

Anybody stayed at Caribe Royale again recently? I'm lookingat it for a possible Christmas 2012 trip. AllEars shows a price of $125 a night during that week which is amazing! POP is around $175 a night at that time!

 

[SgtClaymore]

Buena Vista is really nice and can accommodate to any couples or family's needs. I have never stayed at the Caribe Royale so I can't really say anything about it but Buena Vista is fantastic for the dollar!

 

[Zeppelin]

Anybody stayed at Caribe Royale again recently? I'm lookingat it for a possible Christmas 2012 trip. AllEars shows a price of $125 a night during that week which is amazing! POP is around $175 a night at that time!

yes...we stayed there last year, albeit only for one night until our WDW vacation started...highly recommended; rooms were clean, easy in and out, the restaurant breakfast was good and the price was right...

 

[mrzrich]

Anybody stayed at Caribe Royale again recently? I'm lookingat it for a possible Christmas 2012 trip. AllEars shows a price of $125 a night during that week which is amazing! POP is around $175 a night at that time!

Christmas week is the one week I would not stay off site. Parks sometimes close for capacity. Off site guests are the first ones turned away. Resort guests are given more priority for admission. Also AM EMH gets resort guest in at 6 AM on some days. FP are often gleeped up early that week.

 

[labdogs42]

Christmas week is the one week I would not stay off site. Parks sometimes close for capacity. Off site guests are the first ones turned away. Resort guests are given more priority for admission. Also AM EMH gets resort guest in at 6 AM on some days. FP are often gleeped up early that week.

We figure we've been to WDW enough that if it is crowded enough for the parks to close, we don't mind going back to the hotel and hanging out! We ended up deciding on a Windsor Hills townhouse for that week and we don't mind having all that space for less than on property. And there's no way I'd get up for a 6am EMH!

 

[FayeW]

Are Buena Vista Suites and Caribe Royal affiliated? Can you use the amenities at the Caribe Royal if you stay at Buena Vista Suites?