Caribbean Beach FAQ part VI

[Radiorox]

I was up in early June staying in Aruba 57. The grounds, main pool, dining area, quiet pool and shops were excelent. Food wise they had an excellent variety! Loved sitting on a hammock by the beach and the little island area was very cute.

The walk to OPR is not a big deal for me. When you go to WDW you need to put yourself into the frame of mine that you have to walk a lot. No biggie!

Cons: Bus ride around the resort to get to the parks takes forever depending where you are staying. But, the same can be said for POR and CSR. Just hop on a little earlier.

Rooms: Strongly disliked them. It looks older and worn out and it made me wish I'd paid a little less and gone to POP or ASMu. The room was musty, the carpet had a wet spot in it. I take Lysol with me and got some of the smell out using that on the vents to the AC unit.

Unless there is a refurb, I wouldn't stay there again.

 

[davebon23]

I think getting rid of Nemo is okay because of AoA. The white in the rooms will be ok, but when I think of Caribbean I think bright colors like the buildings. Hopefully they will add some splash of color along with the white bedspreads to make it more tropical.

HAD TO FIX POST, HOW COME IT KEEPS MESSING UP MY WORDS THAT I TYPE. LOL!!

 

[LAS321]

We just returned on July 4th from a week's stay in Aruba 54. We love this resort and find the grounds so beautiful and the whole resort just so relaxing.
We did, however, have the horrible mold smell in the room they initially put us in. We knew right away that staying in that room wasn't an option. We called immediately and they apologized and gave us a different room and even upgraded us to a waterview! It was still in Aruba 54, which is a location we love. Even in the new room we had that moldy smell blowing out of the AC unit from time to time. It wasn't anything like the first room, but it did still smell. I don't know what the problem could be but I think it's something they need to address.
We never really had any problems with the buses. Sometimes it took longer to get back to the resort, but it was never a big problem and we try not to get stressed out about that when we're on vacation....it's so nice to have someone else doing the driving!
When we were packing up to leave a Mousekeeper came by with the new throws for the beds....they were just unpacking them and putting them at the foot of the bed over the white quilts....they were the old bedspread design...
While I agree that the rooms could use a little updating, I still think this is the nicest resort of the moderates....we just love it there and can't wait to go back!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Just had an interesting chat session with a Disney rep about the new design of the rooms at CBR. I forgot to copy it before I closed it, but in general she said that it was being changed because of AoA. Now that there are Nemo rooms there they don't need a redundant theme at CBR. She also said they wanted the rooms at CBR to look clean and fresh, whatever that means.

Stephanie, thanks for posting the update! I kind of figured that they would be changing out the Nemo theme since, like the CM said, the AoA now has Nemo. It sounds like you got a CM who actually knew what was going on. Most that I talk to or do an online chat with don't have a clue.

Where abouts can the pictures of the two "mock" rooms be found?

I don't remember exactly what page they were on but I know that they were posted on this thread about a month before we left for our stay which was May 22nd.

 

[pigletto]

Sigh. I am really not excited to be hearing all these mold reports. Both my son and husband are asthmatic and while it isn't too bad normally, several nights of mold would be awful for them.
I mentioned previously we stayed one night in a room that was damp at CSR. It had mildew up in the high corners. There was no smell though, we were tired and didn't notice it until we went to bed. We stayed and everyone was fine in the morning. I will not hesitate to ask to be moved until I'm in a room that's not going to make my guys sick at CBR. My sisters dog can make my husbands breathing really really bad so I am concerned what a moldy room would do

 

[mickeystoontown]

Radiorox and LAS321, I'm sorry to read that you had musty moldy smells in your rooms. My mother, bless her heart, wouldn't turn on her air conditioner in her room and it had a moldy smell as well. But, once we convinced her to turn on the air and get some air moving, the smell went away. Hopefully, they will do a refurb at the resort and these issues will go away.

 

[dansdad]

Sigh. I am really not excited to be hearing all these mold reports. Both my son and husband are asthmatic and while it isn't too bad normally, several nights of mold would be awful for them.
I mentioned previously we stayed one night in a room that was damp at CSR. It had mildew up in the high corners. There was no smell though, we were tired and didn't notice it until we went to bed. We stayed and everyone was fine in the morning. I will not hesitate to ask to be moved until I'm in a room that's not going to make my guys sick at CBR. My sisters dog can make my husbands breathing really really bad so I am concerned what a moldy room would do

I have asthma and mold is one of my triggers. In 4 stays at CBR, I've not had any issues. I've had to switch rooms once at POR and once at BC but not at CBR yet.

 

[hannahmachell]

I'm sure that the answer to this is somewhere...however I'm going to ask again. Is there a store at CBR? Am thinking of doing an order with garden grocer but wondered what options there were at the resort itself?
Thanks!

 

[dansdad]

I'm sure that the answer to this is somewhere...however I'm going to ask again. Is there a store at CBR? Am thinking of doing an order with garden grocer but wondered what options there were at the resort itself?
Thanks!

Yes there is. It pretty much has all the staples:

Bread
Milk
Chocolate Milk
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Donuts
Chips
Pop
Beer
Liquor
Crackers
Breakfast bars
Granola Bars
Candy

Anything special you would like to know about?

 

[hannahmachell]

Yes there is. It pretty much has all the staples:

Bread
Milk
Chocolate Milk
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Donuts
Chips
Pop
Beer
Liquor
Crackers
Breakfast bars
Granola Bars
Candy

Anything special you would like to know about?

Thanks! That helped a lot...nothing special really. Just wondered if I should be too concerned with garden grocer or not..

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm sure that the answer to this is somewhere...however I'm going to ask again. Is there a store at CBR? Am thinking of doing an order with garden grocer but wondered what options there were at the resort itself?
Thanks!

I posted pictures of some of the items for sale in the store in my trip report. You can use the link in my signature below to access those. There are more pictures on the CBR pic thread.

 

[musicmama]

DD and I are staying from August 30 to Sep 2nd, reserved "standard". I am somewhat disabled these days and I'm renting a car for easier transport. Don't need a handicapped accessible room (and really don't want one) but stairs and long walks are a problem so I will probably rent a scooter for park visits. Really looking forward to a little bit of pool/beach time but concerned that I won't be able to walk around the resort too well.

What building(s) should I try and request and should I note the problem with stairs? Should we upgrade to preferred?

Thanks in advance. This is our first moderate experience due to a great rate. I'm used to Pop and I know how to navigate there, but I've never seen CBR and really relying on Disers' expert advice!

 

[PictureJumpr]

Definitely call and have your reservation noted that you can't be placed upstairs for physical reasons.

As for preferred or not, we never do.
I always book standard (or king, sometimes) and just request Jamaica/Aruba near the bridge - it's not that far from there to the food court/shop/pool at Old Port Royale, and the bus rides are easier.

The value of preferred to you would have to be weighed against your personal preferences and budget, but especially with a scooter I wouldn't necessarily call it a must-do.

 

[ninamouse]

Yes there is. It pretty much has all the staples:

Bread
Milk
Chocolate Milk
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Donuts
Chips
Pop
Beer
Liquor
Crackers
Breakfast bars
Granola Bars
Candy

Anything special you would like to know about?

Do they have Chip A'Hoys and the big bags of Cheetos? They are my favorite snacks when visiting from the UK!!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Do they have Chip A'Hoys and the big bags of Cheetos? They are my favorite snacks when visiting from the UK!!

I checked the pictures from Mickeystoontown's new TR and they do show the big bags of Cheetos. Didn't see any Chips Ahoy so I don't know about them, but the Cheetos are a yes!

EDIT: Here is the picture showing the Cheetos. She was just there the end of May. Lisa, I hope you don't mind me posting this here for them!

 

[ninamouse]

I checked the pictures from Mickeystoontown's new TR and they do show the big bags of Cheetos. Didn't see any Chips Ahoy so I don't know about them, but the Cheetos are a yes!

EDIT: Here is the picture showing the Cheetos. She was just there the end of May. Lisa, I hope you don't mind me posting this here for them!

Oh thank you so much! Can't wait to get my hands on those Cheetos!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh thank you so much! Can't wait to get my hands on those Cheetos!

I think that I remember seeing Chips a Hoy cookies but in small packages. I could be wrong though. I'll look at my pictures from 2012 and see if they are there since I took more pictures that trip.

 

[pigletto]

I have asthma and mold is one of my triggers. In 4 stays at CBR, I've not had any issues. I've had to switch rooms once at POR and once at BC but not at CBR yet.

Thank you very much for this. Dh and I discussed it and he reminded me that we have never had a bad experience at Disney that someone wasn't willing to help us with. If the room is moldy we can ask to move. We've always had excellent service from Disney, and I can hardly picture them saying "Too darn bad.. sleep in the mold and have an asthma attack"

No point in "borrowing trouble" as my mom would say. I'll assume it will be fine and if it isn't there is always a reasonable solution.

 

[delilah18]

Has anyone had problems with mold in the martinique or trindad north?
Is in just in certain sections or the resort in general?
Also have people in my party with breathing issues
Thanks

 

[Tiggr924]

Has anyone had problems with mold in the martinique or trindad north?
Is in just in certain sections or the resort in general?
Also have people in my party with breathing issues
Thanks

We only had problems in Aruba, but haven't stayed in Martinique in quite a few years.