Are waterview rooms worth the extra cost?

[ang79]

First family trip to Disney, will be hubby, myself, and our two daughters (age 6 and 9). Going w/ the free dining promo at the end of Oct. Excited to stay at Caribbean Beach Resort, online photos look great and I think our kids will enjoy the pool and Caribbean decor. We are going w/ friends and they have booked a standard room, but my travel agent suggested a water/pool view as it might get us closer to OPR for food, main pool, etc. Is it worth the extra $170 or should I try to switch to a standard room if it becomes available?

 

[Fantaluminishes]

It depends on what you are looking for. "Water view" can mean a view of a fountain, or a water feature from a distance. Also, because moderates don't have balconies, I think "water view" is a waste of money.

But if you are looking for something closer to amenities, and preferred rooms aren't available, then this category might work. I'm not familiar enough with CBR. I've had a water view preferred room at CSR, and had a fountain outside and below my room. The only "view" was when I stepped outside of the room. BUT I was very close to the main building, with the restaurants and shops. On another stay at POR, I was near the river, but FAR from the main building. It is what it is.

 

[Kevin355]

No. Maybe at Contemporary or the likes, but at CBR, it is highly unlikely that you will sit in your rooms and look at the lake/pool/fountain. The resort is external entry and people will walk by your rooms.

 

[Bree]

When it comes to Value or Moderate I think it is a waste of money. It's not like you have a balcony to sit on and enjoy the view. Every time I had to stay at a val or mod I kept my curtains closed. It creeps me out to have people walking by looking in our room. I would spend the extra money for a preferred room at CBR, CSR or POR.

 

[PoohsFan1]

For us it really depends on if we are staying in a deluxe/DVC resort or if we are staying in a moderate or value resort. If I am in either a deluxe resort or a DVC resort, I have a balcony (I know there are some exceptions with the Poly and BC) and if I have a balcony, I want to make sure there is a nice view with it so I will pay extra for the water view. Now as for the moderates and values, I have to say that I just got wise with them on our last trip in January. That trip my 2 DDs and I were on a girl's only trip and were staying at POFQ, I paid extra for the river view because I thought it would be so neat to watch the ferry boats go by. Well, since there is no balcony in the moderates, I really didn't watch them, and if I did, it was while we were leaving the resort and heading to the bus stop, so I really didn't pay attention to the view. So for our next trip in October we are staying at CSR and I decided that it just isn't worth it to us to pay the extra $$ to have a water view room since our shades are always closed anyways so that other people don't look into our room as they walk by. If they ever put balconies in the moderate resorts, I would definitely pay the extra $$ for the water/river views, but until then the regular old standard view is just fine with us.

 

[Meldev]

I booked water view rooms at CSR, not so much for the view, but more for the location of the rooms. Views mean nothing to me at moderates, not like we have a balcony really. But, looking at map of the resort, I believe water view rooms may put us closer to locations we would prefer, that's why I chose it.

 

[mchelle77]

We had a water view at CBR and I can assure you that I never once spent more than 10 seconds appreciating the water view from my room ... It was always from the pool chair!

 

[goofy friend]

Take the standard room, the water view is not worth the increased cost.

 

[JennyDrake]

Take the standard room, the water view is not worth the increased cost.

DITTO!!!

 

[minnie mum]

I agree that a water view room is a waste of money at mods and value resorts. And it won't guarantee you a room closer to OPR ,since most buildings will have at least a few rooms in that category. Instead, ask for building 45 or 51, since they are the closest non preferred buildings to OPR.

 

[Sue M]

Its nice to get a free upgrade to one, but at a moderate I wouldn't pay for one. I book Garden views and they're usually only $10 more a night then standard. I disliked being close to parking lot. Your TA jas a point of being closer to lake path with lake view, but depending on location you could still be far from OPR. I think the garden view would be nice because they have little patios with tables & chairs sprinkled around the gardens. If your room overlooks one of these areas, it would be a nice place to sit after kids are asleep. Depending on ages.

We stayed in Jamaica, that was a very good location, close to bridge over to OPR, and bus stop was close too. Most of the time Jamaica was first pick up because it's closer to bus entrance.

 

[POOHsie]

Take the standard room, the water view is not worth the increased cost.

The negative thing about booking standard view is that it's likely to be on the side of the building facing the parking lot. And some parking can be about as close as pulling up to 7-11.

Looking at Caribbean Beach rack rates on Mousesavers.com, there's rates for standard, pool/water view and preferred. Preferred will get you into the two sections (Trinidad North and Martinique) on either side of the main bldg, food court, and main feature pool. But the price difference per nite from standard to preferred is $204 vs $266 (weekday, incl tax). That's $62/day difference.

Water/Pool View would put you on the side of the bldgs facing away from parking. View could be a mixed bag. $204 vs $226, or $22/day more. For that little splurge, it will definitely make you feel refreshed and removed from the workaday world. The Jamaica section should be what you want to request in advance. As Sue M posted (above), it's a short walk across the bridge to the main bldg. Runner up request would be Aruba section. Your friends should also request Jamaica/Aruba sections in advance.

Here's a resort map pdf: http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/CBMapFront.pdf
Mousesavers CBR rack rates: http://www.mousesavers.com/2015-caribbean-beach-room-rates-season-dates/

 

[ozliz]

I agree that it is not worth it where the only way to see the view is to leave your curtains open so that anyone walking past can see in. I had water view at POR because it was the cheapest available on Orbitz the day I was booking with a promo code but wouldn't choose it unless I had a good big window or balcony that did not have a walkway outside it.