Caribbean Beach Resort FAQ

[safetymom]

They have safes in all the rooms but no mini bars.

 

[IheartMickey]

I just came back from CBR last night. I honestly can't say that I have an opinion right now. I'm neutral on the topic. But here are some things that bothered me about staying there.

The buses were great in the beginning of our stay, but then later on in the week it was horrible. At one point I was stuck at Downtown Disney for thirty minutes at about 11pm, I was upset.. Just had a fight and wanted to go back. I wasn't the first one there waiting, there was others waiting longer then me.

The same thing happened at Epcot, it was early evening and the bus took 30-40 minutes.

Also, OPR closes at 11pm. Room service stops at 11:30. If you're hungry after those times you're just out of luck, aside from picking a random take out place in the phone book. I bought the free refill mug but since we came back late a lot I hardly got to use it.

Luckily, the bus stop had a soda machine. It would have been nice if there was one next to the ice machine like at most hotels.

And another thing, the signs say that the quiet pool opens at 7am. It never did. I went one morning at 9am and the worker was still cleaning the pool.

Another time I went at 8am and there were still the signs up saying the pool was closed.

And also, a few days into our trip a family with a small child was placed next door. Every night we were woken up by the crying. By the last day we wanted to strangle the child.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone for staying there, it wasn't like it was horrible. The resort is nice, I would probably go there again. But I did have a miserable vacation due to going with three girls my age (17-18).

 

[safetymom]

Sorry to hear that you didn't see the Disney magic on your trip. All the value and moderates close their food courts at 11. It would be nice to have a soda machine but I do think it is nice that you can get free refills with your mug.

Your comment about the transportation is why I take a car. You were trying to leave DTD late at night. I am sure there aren't as many buses at that time. I am sure that other resorts have issues like this also.

Did you try another quiet pool? Yes they are open but they do have to clean the pool sometime. It is nice at CBR that you have others to go to.

I am sure once you have a chance to think about you will realize that CBR is a nice resort. You just had the bad luck to be given noisy neighbors.

One of the great things about these boards is other will become aware of the hours for the food court and your comments about the bus transportation. That way they will be able to plan their trip to WDW. Thanks for posting.

 

[bunnyfoo]

Originally posted by IheartMickey
And also, a few days into our trip a family with a small child was placed next door. Every night we were woken up by the crying. By the last day we wanted to strangle the child.

We had a similar problem. We had a family with kids who would run up and down the cooridoor early in the morning yelling. Then their parents would yell at them sometimes making them cry. *sigh* Sometimes I wish they'd put all the families with older children and couples without children into the same building Of course, there's nothing saying that those without young children will be nice and quiet

We had a similar problem with the food court so we would just buy snacks earlier in the day. But I know what you mean about getting a hot late night snack...

 

[Whitegloves]

It's been about 10 years since we stayed at CBR. With 5 family members we stayed at POR. Now with DD's fiance we get 2 rooms anyways so decided to try CBR again. We are heading there soon (Yippee!). I didn't realize they don't have soda machines near the ice makers. POR does, not that I used them much, at $1.00 per can. Kind of makes you wonder why, Disney makes a fortune on those machines. =0)

 

[IheartMickey]

The soda machines at CBR at $2.50 for a 20oz bottle.

 

[mitros]

We were there in May, and the coconut postcards are still there. Must be a popular item.

 

[mickeys friend]

We are planning a trip with 8 adults and 1 Jr,can you tell me which building to ask for if we want to be near the 1st bus stop and the Old Port Royal and one of the quieter pools?Also where can I find a map of the resort and the room numbers? We will want on the 2nd floor and have the standard rooms booked.Being the first stop for the bus is most important for us,2nd would be the food court,3rd would be the quieter pool.Thanks,mickeys friend

 

[IheartMickey]

The first bus stop is Jamaica. I believe that's about a ten minute walk to Old Port Royale. The next stop is Aruba, then Barbados, Martinique, Old Port Royale, Trinidad North, and finally Trinidad South.

I'm not sure which building is closest to the quiet pool. But there's only like three building (I think) for each village, so it's only like a minute walk.

 

[HunnyPots]

They must change the order of stops from time to time because we stayed in Martinique three weeks ago and were the first stop every morning. Of course, we were also the last stop every night.

As far as noise from the main pool, don't worry about it. We were in Martinique 25, which is very close to OPR and the main pool, and we never heard a sound. We almost felt like we were the only people there!

 

[safetymom]

Hmmm I responded yesterday. Wonder where the post went.

I suggest you ask on the transporation board where the first bus stop is at CBR. Chip and Dale will most likely answer you.

I also have on my web site the map that they give you at check in. It doesn't list the room numbers just the building numbers.

Every village has a quiet pool. If you don't mind walking 5 to 10 mins to Old Port Royale then people like to stay in Jamaica and Aruba. Martinique and Trinidad North are the closest to Old Port Royale and will become preferred buildings next year.

I think it is hard to get all your requests in one location. According to Chip and Dale they dispatch buses on demand so being the first stop may not be that important. I can't speak from experience because we use our car. Many people have been satisfied with the bus service from CBR.

Remember that you can make a request for building and room location but that is all it is. If you haven't booked your rooms ask for your requests to be noted in your reservation.

I haven't had a bad room yet at CBR. I used to request ahead of time but the Disney magic has worked for me many times with room locations.

 

[Whitegloves]

SafetyMom said..."I haven't had a bad room yet at CBR. I used to request ahead of time but the Disney magic has worked for me many times with room locations."

She is right. The Disney magic has worked for us on many occassions. We have never had a bad room at any of the WDW hotels we have stayed at. (We been staying on property for the last 14 years.)
We all take a guess at where we are going to be put when we first choose our hotel, then we have fun seeing who guessed right when we get there.
Diane =0)

 

[Jakesmom1]

We have reservations at CBR for Labor day week.

We have stayed on site in the past. Contemporary when I was single, ASMR after my son was born.

Curious as to how the CBR compares to the above two.

Also most of the pix I have seen of the rooms were pre renovation.

Any info also on WDW hours in Sept. greatly appreciated, WDW site not available for Sept.

Thanks

65 days and counting

 

[spedtcr]

What should I expect to pay for a room in May? Thanks!

 

[safetymom]

Jakesmom1, I suggest you look at the pictures on my web site. They are from my recent trips after the renovations at CBR.

CBR is a beautiful resort. I don't like to compare resorts that are in a different class. For us we prefer staying at the moderates because it allows us to take more trips. If you budget allows then a deluxe is a great choice. We also stayed at AS and found the resort nice.

spedtcr, I suggest you look at http://www.mousesavers.com for the historical rate data.

 

[mom2of2]

Jakesmom:
It's hard to compare the 2 resorts that you mentioned to CBR because they are all so very different. CBR is beautiful and you feel as if you are on an island. You open your door to beautiful landscaping, lake or courtyard. There isn't a bad room or bad area. It's a moderate and has free coffee/pot in the room, limited room service, wonderful CM's IMO and is close to MGM and Epcot.
The Contemp is a monorail resort so it's close to MK and the AS resorts are about as far from MK as you can get. CBR is pretty close to them all.

spedtcr,
It depends on whether you are an AP or PAP holder or when the codes come out. I paid $106 per night in March and that is at peak season. I'm a DC holder but that won't matter come December.

Good luck to you both

 

[bunnyfoo]

Originally posted by spedtcr
What should I expect to pay for a room in May? Thanks!

I got a room with a king bed for just under $100/night with an AP discount. I think with the room only code it was around $120/night (incl. taxes)

Keep an eye on http://www.mousesavers.com ... that way you'll know as soon as an AP or room only code is posted.

 

[spedtcr]

Thanks, everyone!

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

I checked into CBR last Saturday and was given my requested location of Martinique Building 25. Chatting with the CM about it and he told me that soon locations such as this will be charged a premium, like it is with ASMo for example, since they are so often requested now

Just thought I'd pass that along. I think he may have said starting next year but can't swear to that.

 

[Momto8]

My DH, 2 DDs and I got back from CBR & AKL late Tuesday night on 6/17. We had a great time. Had most of our rain the first 2 days. After that only a couple of showers but they didn't last long. We were there for 11 days.

For obvious reasons, I will only post about our stay at CBR on this thread.

We all liked CBR very much. We were in Jamaica Bldg 43, close to the bus stop, room 4356. We had a standard view at AP rate of $74/night, but faced the courtyard. We were not too far from the quiet pool, which was convenient, as we used the laundry facilities late one evening, and about a 5-10 minute walk to Old Port Royale. We were also close to the bus stop. We did have to wait longer than normal for the buses on a couple of different days (maybe 25-30 minutes), but for the most part, did not have any trouble. No problems at all at park closings either. No sooner would one bus leave when another one would pull up within 5 minutes. For the pickup route, sometimes they picked up first at Jamaica, sometimes it was in the middle stop and sometimes it was the last stop. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it.

We all liked having the curtain in the room, so one of us could get dressed while someone was in the shower. I also felt that there was much more storage space in the room than at POR or CSR or even some of the deluxes.

Housekeeping at CBR was very good. We requested extra towels and pillows and they brought them within 15 minutes. We did have a slight problem with getting our room clean one day. We left a little after 9:00 and came back around 4:00 and they hadn't cleaned our room yet. I called Housekeeping and they apologized and asked when I would like them to be there. I told him that we would have to take showers (we were at Blizzard Beach that day) and asked them to wait until after 5:00. In the meantime, they immediately brought us some clean towels to shower with. The guy kept coming back to clean and we weren't ready yet, so he finally said to just open the blinds and he would know that we were gone. All in all, I think the room was very clean. They didn't do any towel animals, but did put my DD's stuffed animals in the window one day. We tipped them everyday and extra when we requested towels, etc.

We only used the main pool once as we went to TL and BB a few times. The only really negative I felt was that I was disappointed with the food court. I just felt they didn't have the choices that POR or AS have. We didn't eat here but a couple of times. We got a pizza one night, but really thought it didn't taste very good, but it could have been me as I wasn't feeling the greatest that night. I think it was because of the heat that day that I didn't have much of appetite. After that I lounged by the pool that evening while the kids swam and had a frozen strawberry daquiri when my stomach felt better.

We stayed here 6 nights and would definitely go back.

Safetymom, Sorry it took me so long in getting around to posting here, but it's been one thing after another in our house since we got home and also busy with helping our son and his wife move to their new home.