Can't decide- upgrade from moderate to deluxe?

[em_and_them]

We have booked the Caribbean Beach Resort for our February WDW trip, but now I'm second guessing it. I reviewed the pics on here of CBR, and it was a little disappointing. We haven't been to WDW for 15 years, and we didn't have any options then because we weren't the ones booking the trip. I have a bad habit of micromanaging the details of things like this and can't decide whether I'm over thinking it!

My husband thinks that it doesn't matter which resort we stay at since the majority of the time will be spent at the parks, and the extra money would be better off spent on experiences and souvenirs. Any thoughts on this? Advice? The resorts that are really intriguing to me are the Beach Club and the Contemporary.

 

[Pkltm]

I think it depends on how much time you will spend at the resort.

 

[DrunkJam]

I guess it depends what is most important to you?
How important is it to have multiple options to get to the parks? To be able to walk to one / two? To be on the monorail?
How important are the resort facilities? Dining Options?
Your husband has a point, if you are not spending much time at the resort, or if other things matter more. Not forgetting that Caribbean beach is not a bad choice anyway.
I guess it depends what is going to make YOUR holiday the best it can be?

 

[em_and_them]

So many choices!!!!!! Aaaahhhhhch!!!!

We fly in on Saturday morning, plan to go to the park on Sunday through Friday, and then fly out again on Saturday. For those of you who have stayed at CBR, what did you think compared with other resorts? It looks a little cheesy in the photos. The website makes it look so fancy, and after seeing photos others have taken, it was just a little bit of a let-down.

 

[Minniesgal]

If you are spending the majority of your time at the parks I'd just stick with moderate.

I'd book deluxe for resort time and dining

 

[buzzrelly]

For me, personally, I would either upgrade to Deluxe or save the money and stay at POP or AoA. I stayed at CB once and did NOT like it at all. I thought it was too spread out and kind of a pain to get around. And the rooms are not much better than the Values-neiter has an inside hallway, and there really isn't much more space. I've stayed at The CR, Poly, BC, and ASMo, CB, and POP. I am now a DVC member but even so, when I went down for a quick trip last December, I chose to stay at POP with my friend. The food court is nice and they have their own busses and it's easy to get around and get to the mug refill stations. Just my opinion...

 

[Jonas_Swe]

So many choices!!!!!! Aaaahhhhhch!!!!

We fly in on Saturday morning, plan to go to the park on Sunday through Friday, and then fly out again on Saturday. For those of you who have stayed at CBR, what did you think compared with other resorts? It looks a little cheesy in the photos. The website makes it look so fancy, and after seeing photos others have taken, it was just a little bit of a let-down.

To add to the confusion... Sorry!

But if staying at a Moderate resort, with the best value. Close transport and exceptional service and better amenities than most moderate, I'd go for The Coronado Springs Resort!

It's IMHO the deluxe of the moderates. And you'll pay for the moderate pricing, but get a wonderful resort experience.

Not saying that CBR is bad in any way, but since you found the user pics a bit of a let down, I understand where you are coming from regarding that. And you won't be disappointed with the CSR.

That's my best tip for you!

 

[maxiesmom]

So many choices!!!!!! Aaaahhhhhch!!!!

We fly in on Saturday morning, plan to go to the park on Sunday through Friday, and then fly out again on Saturday. For those of you who have stayed at CBR, what did you think compared with other resorts? It looks a little cheesy in the photos. The website makes it look so fancy, and after seeing photos others have taken, it was just a little bit of a let-down.

I didn't find it cheesy at all. In person it is very pretty. The reason I'm not that fond of it is the size and the number of bus stops.

Have you looked at pics of any of the other moderate resorts? Me, I wouldn't stay at or book a resort I didn't think I would like.

 

[Aliceacc]

My brother in law could well afford to stay in any resort he chooses.

He chooses CB every single time. They love it there.

We've never been, since we're a family of 5. But based on his family's experiences, I would say you should try it.

 

[karly05]

Have you taken a look at the other mods? CBR has never appealed to me, and the sprawling size is a turn-off. I love POFQ, small, pretty, easy to get around, one bus stop, boat to Disney Springs, nice stroll to POR.

I also agree with a PP about considering POP. I visited POP this year and am seriously considering a stay there next year to save $$. Lots of folks here love it.

 

[mickeygirl78]

I love CBR, it's my favorite resort. I can't even imagine anyone thinking it's cheesy. POFQ to me is cheesy. We stayed at YC last year and I loved it but loved CBR just as much, the kids liked CBR more. If you will be in the parks most of the time, I wouldn't waste the money upgrading to deluxe. However if CBR is not your cup of tea, maybe switch to another moderate.

 

[dansdad]

So many choices!!!!!! Aaaahhhhhch!!!!

We fly in on Saturday morning, plan to go to the park on Sunday through Friday, and then fly out again on Saturday. For those of you who have stayed at CBR, what did you think compared with other resorts? It looks a little cheesy in the photos. The website makes it look so fancy, and after seeing photos others have taken, it was just a little bit of a let-down.

Not cheesy at all. CBR is our favorite Moderate and our 2nd favorite resort in all of WDW. And there are only a couple resorts we haven't tried. It is right below the Boardwalk. Every one of our friends or family that we recommended CBR to have gone back multiple times. It's such a beautiful resort and has a great laid back and relaxed atmosphere. Which is a very nice change from the craziness of the parks. We feel like we get 2 vacations in one when staying there.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Count me in the group that is not a fan of CBR. We have stayed at all the mods except CSR (not staying at a convention hotel because I have had my feel of conventions over the last 30 years of work ). We feel that POFQ is the right size for us. We didn't like the size of CBR or Riverside (and CSR is about the same). Give me the small feeling of POFQ every time.

But, we too like POP and are actually staying there this Sept. for a few days for F&W. Pop has never disappointed us at all. Love the king bed rooms if you can snag one.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would be in the CBR is cheesy camp. If you can swing it, I would switch to BC or CR (BC is my preference, but if you are spending most of your time at MK, do CR). With the proximity to the parks, these resorts will cut down on transportation time quite a bit. You will also get a much bigger room.

If you want to stick with a mod, I'd switch over to POFQ or POR.

 

[AliceIn]

I think CBR looks very pretty, and we were considering staying there. Ultimately, I decided to move to a deluxe, but the reason wasn't to do with the rooms or the actual property itself. The moderate resorts have smoking areas near the rooms, and all the doors are outside. I found that you could not be guaranteed a room on the other side of the smoking area, which was a deal breaker for us. The smell of cigarettes is a migraine trigger, so we opted for a hotel where there was a much lower chance of being impacted by designated smoking areas near the room.

 

[Sue M]

We had a 10 day stay at CBR. It's very pretty. Especially loved the hammocks on the beach. Landscaping is beautiful. Because like CSR it's built around a lake, location can make or break a stay. We were in Jamaica, and thought it was a great location.
Nothing wrong with CBR and rooms have been recently refurbished.
But our fav moderate is POR-Riverside. Mansion section. The mansion section is beautiful.

It sounds like you really aren't going to be at your resort to enjoy ammenities, so I would not upgrade to a deluxe.

 

[BabyFu18]

I've never stayed at CBR but I did go over one trip to look around/visit, I thought it was very cute and relaxing, the pool area looked nice, it is spread out but we took a leisurely walk around and it was fine. If you aren't going to spend much time at your resort enjoying the amenities it has to offer then save money and go with your cheapest option. If you do upgrade to a deluxe I say take some time off from the parks and utilize all the extra amenities your paying for.

BTW, I have stayed at both the Beach Club and the Contemporary and they are both great, but they are significantly more expensive than a moderate so I think really you'll have to decide where your money is best spent and where your time will be spent.

 

[Donald Duck888]

To me the decision of deluxe vs moderate comes down to location. If you are spending most time in parks then it comes down to how important it is to you to walk or monorail or boat back to resort vs taking the busses. When I stay deluxe I look at it as a premium paid for the location as to me at least that is the biggest benefit to them.

 

[addiln]

We stayed at CBR a few years ago and really enjoyed the resort. It is our favorite moderate resort. The main pool was awesome but I really preferred the smaller quieter pools that the resort had to offer. The picture that some people posted does not do this resort justice. The main issue I have with this resort is that is spread out. It can be a walk to get to the main pool and restaurant depending on where you stay. The resort does have a bus that will transport you around the resort at least.

In the end if you are not going to be sending a lot of time at the resort it really does not make sense to upgrade to the deluxe resorts. If you are spending a lot of time there and you don't think you will be happy there I would upgrade. I would hate to have my resort choice ruin the trip for me since it is such a small part of the trip in the end.

 

[goofyfordisney]

So many choices!!!!!! Aaaahhhhhch!!!!

We fly in on Saturday morning, plan to go to the park on Sunday through Friday, and then fly out again on Saturday. For those of you who have stayed at CBR, what did you think compared with other resorts? It looks a little cheesy in the photos. The website makes it look so fancy, and after seeing photos others have taken, it was just a little bit of a let-down.

Hi,
You sound like me and my planning style (I tend to overthink a bit too). In this case I think you should be glad you're 'over-thinking' and take a second look at other options.

I've stayed at AKL, BC, CBR and PORFQ. I stayed at CBR on a girls trip with my mom & sister - I didn't care for CBR at all. I think it was just too spread out and I don't think it pulls off the Caribbean theme at all. The room & bathroom were just okay...that was 5 years ago though. I wish we had stayed at Pop!

I also didn't totally fall in love with BC either! We spent more money to get a water view and we had a terrible view of the quiet pool and a room that was in serious need of a refurb! Ugh..so disappointing! But, the rooms have undergone a major refurb since we were there so it might be somewhere we'd try again. The main pool was so crowded that we never could hang out there!

I liked POFQ much better than either BC or CBR. AKL was great and we'll be staying here again in November as part of split stay with a stay at WL with our adult kids.

I guess it depends on what's most important to you. For us, when we go on Disney vacations, we try to treat ourselves (while keeping the budget in mind).

We choose to stay in the resort that will offer the best room comfort and resort theme and location to the parks. My husband doesn't even want to try a value resort because he thinks the beds won't be comfortable!

Hope this helped...Good luck with your planning!