I just got back from a week long stay at CBR, so I thought I would give my impressions.
Except for on Thanksgiving Day, I saw very few people at the resort. Where was everyone?
The Grab and Go "deli" worked out really well for me. Yes, it is extremely expensive, but it was quick and easy.
Now the bad.
I was checking in very late, especially after my flight was delayed. I got to the resort around 1:30am and was happy I would not have to lug my bags around any more. After being checked in by the grumpy front desk person, she circled some areas on the resort map and sent me on my way. I asked what I was supposed to do with my bags, and she told me it was only a short walk. Yes, it is a short walk when you do not have a lot of bags.
Not in the mood to fight, and just wanting to get to bed, I headed out into the darkness. At this point, I should also mention, it is freezing (OK, not freezing, but really cold) cold right now in Orlando and I am not dressed for this weather.
If you have ever been to CBR, you will know that finding your room for the first time is not the easiest task. I was about to find this out.
I was heading for Barbados 15. The initial walk was not too bad, but then I could not find my room. One sign pointed me in one direction, and another one did not have the room number on it at all.
I was now very pissed off and was trying hard not to let this tarnish my Disney vacation. This is supposed to be "The happiest place on earth!"
I finally found my room.
Now I was under the impression the rooms had been renovated recently. If recently means 10 years ago, then I was confused.
The door stop was broken. The bottom of the AC unit was rusty. The corners in the bathroom where dirt collects were all dirty. The TV was at least 10 years old. One of the things I always hear about Disney is their attention to detail. It was very apparent that this Resort did not follow this standard.
At this point, I should say that I am not a morning person. My strategy was to sleep late and then stay up late.
Well, CBR had other plans. Every morning I was woken up to loud machinery outside my door. I always found this strange as I was in a corner room, and not really in the center of anything. They were either cutting the grass or gardening or washing something down. Now I understand that all of this needs to get done, but I wish they would have posted the hours somewhere. For example, you will be woken up between 8 and 9am by loud machinery, so do not expect to sleep-in in the mornings.
Then there is the TVs. With all the money they spend on their cable system, I would have thought there would be better choices. And why can't I turn of the closed captioning? The TV system seems like it was setup many years ago and never upgraded with the times.
I wasn't in my room much, or even at the resort that often. The location was really good as far as getting around to the various parks. But even with the good location, I would not recommend staying at this resort.
I want to go back to Disney, but I need to find a different place to stay.