Aside from being spread-out, why the bad reviews on CBR?

[ptrbryant]

Of all the MODS, the tropical island theming of the CBR appeals the most to me. However, fans of the resort seem few and far between. I've read that it was recently renovated, but still see current reports of "worn and dirty" rooms...huh? Our family loves walking, so the fact that things are spread-out doesn't really bother us. We also always tend to use our own car, so transportation isn't really an issue, either. Could anyone give specifics on the negatives---or even better, the positives of the resort?
Thanks!
Karla B.

 

[safetymom]

For every resort on Disney property you will find those that don't enjoy the one you like. There are many many fans of CBR. You might want to read the trip reports in the FAQ's listed below.

People go with different expections. They may or not be met. I have stayed at POR, CSR, CBR. By far my favorite is CBR. If you look on this board you will occasionally see a bad report from their vacation. Take it with a grain of salt because you may feel differently if you stay there.

 

[stemikger]

I stayed there once. I really liked this resort. The only slight complaint I had was with the main pool. It is really not large enough for a resort this size. Most if not all of the sections have their own quiet pool, but for the fun main pool with the slide and hot tub, I thought it should have been much larger.

Other than that, this resort is my second favoriate (my new favoriate is Pop Century). And as far as it being spread out - walking around this resort is a real treat. The grounds are really beautiful.

Here are the resorts I stayed at and the order in which I liked them:

1. Pop Century
2. CBR
3. POFQ

All of these resorts were really great, I think it's just a matter of taste on which you would prefer. Pop Century was relly colorful and fun - plus because it was so new, I really liked it ther. CBR - has the most beautiful grounds of the three and POFQ is more subdued, but has a great themed dragon pool. I would not hestiate to recommend any of these.

 

[christianweecare]

I have also stayed at all the moderates. CBR is big but so is CSR. We spent years staying at CBR while our children were growing up and have always had a good stay. The resort is beautifully landscaped. As the previous poster stated everyone has their own opinion regarding each resort. We have always had favorable stays at CBR. On the other hand, we don't care for CSR--so each their own.

 

[Mermaid02]

I was concerned too- but I decided I'm going to stay there (I love the tropical island theming) and I'm going to make up my own mind. I'm very excited!!

 

[SeaSpray]

It was exactly 4 years ago that I was planning our first family trip to WDW and I was also surprised to see a lot of negative comments about CBR. The tropical theming greatly appealed to my DH and myself, so after doing a lot of research we decided to go ahead with our decision to stay at CBR. Let me tell you, we LOVE CBR!! You're right, it was recently refurbished, including every guest room and the entire Port Royale area. CBR even got an entirely new sit-down restaurant which gets excellent reviews.

Take a look at my web pages from our stays at CBR (2001 & 2002). You'll see only a small glimpse of just how beautiful this resort really is!

 

[DVC-Don]

We stayed at the CBR in December of 2000 and enjoyed our stay there. There was a lot of negative posts back then also.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I've never stayed there but I have a friend (not a Disser) who will only stay at CBR. She loves the tropical feel and the beach. SHe also said that she never had a problem with transportation (of course they drive so they have access to a car). She does pay extra for a preferred building so they don't have to walk so far. Hope it helps.

 

[jeepgirl30]

I stayed there a few years back. I have said I do not like the resort and would be very hesitant to stay again. I do continue to mention its been a few years and I'm sure the rooms have been refurbished since then.

The reason I did not like it was because the room was dirty and smelled like smoke. I was only staying 2 nights and was there during a large conference. I knew the rooms were limited and didn't want the hassles of changing rooms. The whole place just seemed a little run down to me. I had stayed at CSR months before and it was still very new.

I wouldn't stay there again because there are so many other places I want to try and if I'm going to do another Mod it will be CSR. I just love that place.

I would not discourage anyone from trying it. As I said I'm sure it has been refurbished since my stay.

 

[adisneymama]

Just wanted to throw in my .02....

We stayed at CBR in 7/03 our first stay at a Disney Resort. The property itself is beautiful. Our room was very clean, the only problem we had was that it smelled of smoke. We had requested a non smoking room because I am a severe asthmatic. We called the front desk and were told that they didn't have "designated" non smoking rooms. They simply put air purifiers in the rooms to get the smoke smell out if someone requests non smoking. They did offer to let us try another room, but it was such a hassle to have to drive all the way back to the front desk area and then what if that room still smelled like smoke. They did spray febreeze in our room but never did bring the air purifier in as promised. I ended up buying some air freshener that removes smoke smells at the grocery store and that helped. The bad thing was once we got home all of our clothes and luggage still smelled like smoke.

Also, the bus situation was less than desirable. Because there are so many stops it took forever for the busses to get there. Also, we found ourselves standing many times holding a stroller and a toddler. We had our car so we ended up driving back to the MK since that bus was by far the worse.

We did another trip 5/04 but stayed at Pop Century. WE loved it! Pop has designated non smoking rooms, the grounds were smaller so there wasn't as much walking required. Also, the transportation was great. The busses were never far apart and since there was 1 stop to load and unload it worked out much better. We never once had to stand, and they even sent extra busses for Pop for the extra magic hours.

If you don't mind the bus issue or if you will be driving and the potential for a room that smells like smoke won't bother you, I would say go for it! CBR is really a beautiful resort. If however those things could be a problem, I would stay somewhere else.
HTH

 

[gingermommy94]

We LOVE the CBR!! We stayed there last year and we loved it so much, we're staying there again this year.

I read all of the negative reviews before we stayed as well. I just try to remember that you can get a bad room at any resort as is evidenced in many reports on these boards.

I love the theme and layout of the resort. It's quiet and beautiful..and I can't wait to stay there again.

 

[safetymom]

I am surprised at the information you received. CBR does have none smoking rooms and they should have put you in one.

 

[LindaR]

To the OP.........if CBR appeals to you, then don't worry about what others say. You have to form your own opinions. There are things that you and your family like that maybe others would not and visa versa. Example: you read alot about how folks just LOVE AKL. DD16 and I absolutely did not! We would not return there - that's just us. I don't let anyone tell me where to eat or not to eat, where to stay, what to wear, how to tour, etc.

Read the boards to gather info, but weed out what you think will not work for you.

BTW, DD16 and I are staying at CBR in late March. This will be our first time there. We always rent a car and don't use Disney transportation and, like you, enjoy walking. We like to explore whatever resort we are staying at. We also always ask for a room farthest from the food court/main building because, in OUR experience, we get into quieter areas and have always been given a room upgrade (corner room/water view).

Enjoy your stay!

 

[adisneymama]

This is the info that the Manager gave us. We were told that because the resort is so popular that they would have to turn away guests if they designated non smoking rooms. What they do is they have magnets with the "no smoking" symbol on them that they move from one room to another when the room is suppose to be non smoking. They then bring in the air purifiers and such. We were told that because that resort stays booked up, they can't afford to have a room that is always a non smoking room because they would lose too much money.

 

[cobbler]

My take on CBR, least fav moderate.

We went in '00. We had a nice room, very clean and was really surprised that the resort was what 12-14 years old at the time? The main pool was shut down for refurb when we were there but that didn't matter because it was sooooo cold to swim. We went down when they had ice storms in ATL at superbowl time.

The food court I didn't like, apparantly they changed it since then so this is good. Then if you wanting something from different places you had to pay at each place you went to, not like most are that you go to the different stations and then pay at once before you leave. Again I guess they changed this.

We did go back the next year to look at the newly remodeled pool (but didn't swim in it, just looked at it) and we were kind of glad that we didn't get to swim as it was very tiny.

There are a lot of stops, 7 I believe and that was kind of irksome but nothing to major because we enjoy the ride and relax

It also didn't bother us about being spread out, I don't mind walking.

So we may give it a try again, but I have to stay at all the other resorts first

It isn't bad, just not one of my favs like coronado is.

 

[kellymouse]

CBR is the only place we will stay too! We even stayed their over GF last year on our Honeymoon! I love the main pool and there is this awesome little bar outside next to it that we sit after we come home from the parks and have a drink. You really feel like you are in the Bahamas!
The only downfalls I can think of is I think the food court is pretty junky, but so it most of the food at DW, and that it is a huge resort so you might be really far away from the food court. It's nice to be next to it so you can refill your mug, be next to the pool, and be close to where the "action" is. I know you say your family likes walking, but trust me, DW is HUGE, and you are so tired of walking and you really don't want to waste valuable time walking at your hotel to get to the food court, gift shop, etc.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

Love the theme. It's very pretty, relaxing. Love all the bunnies and ducks. My kids loved playing on the beach. If it's the resort that most appeals to you, then go for it

I've stayed there 3 times over a several year period. Other than some long lines to check in (and that's not enough to turn me off) each time has been a great experience. Each time I got ALL my room requests also.

Here's a few pictures of the grounds:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ladytrampscampandangel/album?.dir=1a76&.src=ph

You know that no place is going to be 100% perfect for everyone every time so things can happen at ANY of the Disney resorts. Overall though, I think they do a pretty good job.

My goal is to try ALL the Disney World resorts so I move around, but I'd be happy to stay at CBR again.

 

[ADisneygirl]

This is the info that the Manager gave us. We were told that because the resort is so popular that they would have to turn away guests if they designated non smoking rooms. What they do is they have magnets with the "no smoking" symbol on them that they move from one room to another when the room is suppose to be non smoking. They then bring in the air purifiers and such. We were told that because that resort stays booked up, they can't afford to have a room that is always a non smoking room because they would lose too much money.

I have not stayed at CBR, but I find your information concerning non smoking rooms to be quite alarming. I wonder if that is how they designate all the non smoking rooms in WDW? What a terrible way to run things.

 

[leighe]

DH and I loved CBR and are considering returning there this summer. We loved the theming, the decor, the landscaping. We also found it to be quieter than some of the deluxe resorts we have stayed at. Because of the exterior corridors and lush vegitation we felt so secluded and private. Each village has its own quiet pool, which we enjoyed more than the main pool (but we are still kid-less - that might change when we have little ones along). The food court was probably my least favorite thing about the resort, but truthfully, I'm just not that impressed with any Disney food court. I think Mara at AKL was the best and still not great.

You're going to have a great time!

 

[scoutsmom99]

Like others have mentioned every resort has its negative comments, but in my opinion CBR is a great moderate resort. Great location for DTD, Epcot, and MGM (I think it should be considered an MGM resort!), big beaches, lots of pools, water recreation, good food court, lush grounds, large rooms (340 sq ft compared to 314 sq ft at other mods), great theming, you can see some of the higher illuminations fireworks. I have stayed at the resort in September, October, June, July, and I will be there again in less than a week and have never had long waits for the bus and it is a quick (5-7 min) loop to the other bus stops. Also wanted to add that according to my 2004 passporter Aruba Bldg 51, Martinique Bldg 21, and Trinidad North 31 are the smoking building. CBR has yet to dissapoint me.