Caribbean Beach Resort

[hamm1207]

We just booked a trip to Disney for the first week in October and it's our first time venturing away from the Value Resorts. We're passholders, so we decided to take advantage of the discounted room rates. We're staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort for 3 nights. What should we expect? Thanks!

 

[went503]

a really great time at a really big resort. A lot of walking (really not that bad as some may mention) Fun resort, great pool, sandy beaches. You will not be dissappointed.

 

[Goofy22]

Me too next August!!!! LMK how it is !!

 

[Sue M]

We stayed in Jamaica, and had a very nice stay. The resort is beautiful, landscapping so lush and tropical. Love those hammocks on the beach. I enjoyed strolling around exploring.
Rooms at Pop are 280 sq ft, and resort has 2800 rooms vs CBR rooms are 340 sq. ft. and resort has 2112 rooms. The CBR buildings are smaller, and only 2 stories high, so you'll find the resort quieter and doesn't feel crowded.
We stayed 10 days and loved it.
Each village has it's own bus stop, so you're never far from one.

 

[Blytheny]

Oh my goodness, you will love CBR! We've stayed there three times now, and think it is a wonderfully relaxing and beautiful resort. It's large, but not unmanagable -- like the pp said, each "island" has it's own bus stop, so no worries about having to trek a long way each morning (or evening!) to get where you're going.

My best piece of advice? Request a room in Jamaica or Aruba, in a bldg that is close to Caribbean Cay. (This is the island that is in the middle of CBR's lake, and via it's bridges you have access to Old Port Royale and the main pool.) It is a lovely walk, and one of the easiest ways to get around.

Be sure to take time to "smell the roses" while you're there... take a stroll along the walkways, lie in a hammock... it's definitely worth the time taken to enjoy how beautiful it is there. (and be sure to hit the pool and check out the pool bar... their drinks are delish, and it the pool is wonderful, esp. since it's rennovations.)

Most of all -- have fun!! I bet you'll love it!

 

[kaligal]

No elevators. Other than that, it is how it appears. It's bright and colorful and has Nemo rooms (unless you opted for Pirate rooms).

 

[stitchfriend]

We stayed here for the 1st time this year back in August. We loved it so much that we will never stay value again. We stayed ASMO back in 2008 and it was so noisy (our room was by the elevator that kept chiming all night and the beds were not comfortable).

The CBR had comfortable beds and pillows. The whole resort is big and needs alot of walking, but we walked alot at the values too. We loved that it was so quiet....no noise....no elevators. Q-U-I-E-T...

We were in the Aruba building 51, 1st floor room 5106. We had people above us and next to us. Heard no sound, except for the usual toilet flush or shower. We were closer to the Jamicas bus stop than our own stop.

Have a wonderful time and enjoy all the amenities the resort has to offer. The pool and the hot tubs are great and relaxing.

 

[hamm1207]

Thank you everyone for the your comments! We're really excited about the upcoming trip! It sounds and looks like a beautiful resort! I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

 

[MikkiMouse]

I'm going there in October!!! Really Excited

 

[Crazy Kanga]

I'm going there in October!!! Really Excited

Us too and can't wait!

 

[mrsltg]

We're going back for our second trip. I really loved CBR during our first visit and look forward to being there in about 9.5 weeks!!!

 

[I*heart*MickeyMouse]

If you have a stroller or more than one kid that you don't want to have to lug up the stairs at the end of a long park day then request a ground floor room. I wish I'd known that there were no elevators when we stayed there 9 years ago...

other than that it's a great resort

 

[Rayvnn]

Which rooms have a king size bed in them?

Leslie

 

[natt]

Just booked today!! I'm going Oct. 24-26 and almost embarrased to admit that I'm going solo!! 2nights plus a decent last day... just me!!! No kids, hubby or itineraries.. only myself to please!!! DH and I stayed at CBR one month after opening in '88 and there were only 2 islands. We've bought DVC since then, and I'm looking forward to the excuse to revisit where our very first Disney experience began... and all at my own pace

 

[blondietink]

We just stayed here for the first time in August and loved it! We were in the Aruba section and spent most of our time while at the resort at the quiet pool .... it was really hot out. The grounds have lush vegetation, loved the beach hammocks, Caribbean Cay. Food court was ok, but we didn't like the main pool as it was way too loud and busy for our taste. Bus service to the parks was terrific, mousekeeping was great and the one minor repair the room needed (clock didn't work) was repaired within 10 minutes of our phone call. Bell services was right on time for our luggage pick-up that needed to be transferred to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Lastly, the room was huge compared to either a value or theother moderate we have stayed at, CSR. Have a great time!

 

[PlanningNextTrip]

DS (turning 3 during vacation) and I will be staying there October 28 - November 5th. Looking forward to it!

 

[aenelson]

Going Oct 18-27 for Disneymoon I can not wait to CBR, hoping to stay in Aruba

 

[Sofia's Dad]

Just came back fom CBR. Suggestion is to get a preferred room. If you have kids the main pools are great. The resort isn't for everybody.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Our first onsite stay was at the CBR. Since then, we've stayed there a total of 5 times. We instantly fell in love with the resort and are going back again in May, 2011.

The rooms are larger than the value resorts and have a slight Nemo theme. You'll also have a fridge and coffee maker in the room. There's always been plenty of storage space for our family of three (four at times...if our college aged daughter was able to go with us). If you have room, pack a few extra hangers or you can request that mousekeeping bring you more.

I really like the fact that each resort billage has their own covered bus stop, quiet pool, laundry facility and white sandy beach.

Yes, the resort is large but it's no so large that you'll spend all day long walking to and from Old Port Royale (Main pool, food court, etc.) The promenade around the resort is just 1.4 miles around and OPR is approximately in the middle of the promenade.

We've stayed in Jamaica 41 twice, Martinique 25 (paid preferred because that's all they had available), Martinique 26 (free upgrade) and Martinique 23. All of those buildings were great locations and our walks were minimal.

Mousekeeping has always done a good job cleaning our room and making sure we had everything we needed. We took our towels from our room to the pool. We called housekeeping when we got back and they brought replacement towels in no time at all.

I agree with a previous poster....the resort is quiet. We never hear our neighbors and we never feel crowded. That's because the resort is bigger and the guests are distributed throughout.

The main pool was redone a couple of years ago and is now zero entry. There are two water slides and two hot tubs. Oh, and for the little kids, there is a separate play area. Both the main pool and the play area are pirate themed.

If you don't want to walk to the main pool, you will find a quiet pool in your village. We often made us of the quiet pool and never found it to be overly crowded. One of our favorite past times is to spend some time on the beach making sandcastles or just lazing in a hammock or beach chair.

The resort marina has a variety of watercraft for rent as well as surrey bikes. Both are nice ways to see the resort from another perspective. Kids can take the pirate cruise that leaves from the marina. I forget the price of the cruise but I remember it not being too expensive. Oh, and there's also a pool table at the marina.

We usually eat at the food court two or three times during our stays and have always been pleased with the quality of the food. The food court has various stations that offer different food items. Our favorites are the handtossed chicken caesar salad, the reuben sandwich and the rotissiere meats. If you want something quick, you can go to the Grab N Go station and find premade sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit, fresh baked items and more.

The resort store is divided into two sections with one side selling beachy/tropical merchandise and the other side selling the more traditional Disney items.

As far as the bus transportation goes, we've never had a problem. The longest wait we've ever had was about 20 minutes and that was just once. Every other time, they came quickly. There are two different routes that the buses take in and out of the resort. Some come in from a side entrance. When they take the side entrance, they stop at Jamaica first and make their way around the resort until they reach Trinidad South. If they take the front entrance, they will stop at Martinique first and make their way around the resort until they reach Jamaica. Because the resort is centrally located, it won't take you long to reach any Disney theme park, water park or DTD.

I hope that this information has been helpful. I have lots and lots of pictures posted in both of my trip reports. The most recent are in the "Who Knew Choking..." report. Just click on the link below to have a look around.

 

[Melanie B]

We stayed there 2 weeks ago and had a room in Aruba. The resort is big but really beautiful. It really did feel like we were in the Caribbean. There is an internal bus that runs about every 20 minutes and stops at every "country", customs house and Old Port Royale. Port Royale is where the food courts and gift shops are. Our room was very clean, comfortable and had a fun theme.