Review Caribe Royale

[jt'smom]

Just got back from a week stay at the Caribe Royal and since I rarely see it mentioned on here, I thought I would give a quick review. We stayed 6 nights and paid a mousesavers.com rate of $729.50 total in a 1 bedroom suite. "We" includes myself and DH and 12yo son, and 14yo and 16yo nephews. Space was a bit tight with kids that age, and next time I would definitely go with a 2 bedroom villa which would have been around $1200 I think. The rooms were a little worn looking although the beds were very comfortable, but the housekeeping was outstanding. We found the bathroom standard hotel size, and it was nice to have vanity outside of toilet/shower area. The vanity also had a nice cushy bench, which was a welcome with tired feet! The only real disappointment in the room was the tiny microwave (standard popcorn bag didn't fit) and the fact that you're told that you have a fridge, but in fact it is a mini bar and unusable. To be honest, the wet bar area was a big attraction for us traveling with teens and it didn't do us a bit of good in the end. We had to just go and get a cooler with ice to keep waters and sodas cold. Also, I had bought 2 big boxes of microwave popcorn which we couldn't use for snacks. We were surprised how quiet it was, even though our tower was full of both vacationing families and convention people. We didn't use any of the facilities except pool and hot tub and both of those were not crowded when we went down each night. Getting into disney was a straight shot and just a couple of miles max. We were back and forth in less than 10 minutes parking lot to parking lot. We would stay again IF we could get the same low rate, otherwise I would probably stay on-site and get 2 mod rooms if we took our nephews again.

 

[loriandmatt]

thanks for the feedback. i see this place advertised online alot and we even drove past while visiting WDW in June. it looks so nice.

the info you provided gives me a better mental picture to consider.

thanks again.

 

[RussellDisney]

Anyone stay recently? We may have a chance at another WDW trip late this summer and are considering off-site/save money. Thanks.

 

[wdw-ocd]

Anyone stay recently? We may have a chance at another WDW trip late this summer and are considering off-site/save money. Thanks.

We'll be there in exactly one month from today!

Hopefully it'll be as nice as the pictures on their site! I'll be sure to write a report when we return.

 

[Praise2Him]

We have reservations for early June in the 2 bedroom, since we have 5 adults. It looks nice on the website and we were able to get the Mousesavers rate. We also plan on cooking most meals to save money.

 

[ColinCodyMom]

We have stayed in the 2 bedroom villas twice and 1 br suite once and we LOVE it here. My only complaint was with the doorwalls so we always ask for a top floor room now and receive this if available. They said their engineers made a mistake and didn't figure the amount of noise the sliding doors would make for the people in rooms below and it sounded like a freight train each time. One call to the manager and a bell man helped us move our bags. The screened in porch is AMAZING!! The large pool is fantastic. We will be back for sure and loved it so much that we don't even think a room at disney can beat it although we are giving it a try in May. Good luck.

 

[bennythepug]

we are staying here in July with a mousesavers rate on a one bedroom. I'm concerned now, after reading the first review- regarding the microwave size. Is it really that small? we plan on doing a lot of cooking/eating in the room

 

[JennSaint]

Just got back. Loved the newly renovated suites. The microwaves are really small. May be big enough for a small plate. But we didn't need a microwave. Pool was chilly not as warm as the Disney resort pools but very nice.
I've only stayed on-site previously and didn't like going to MK when staying off-site. It took us 1 hour just to get to our car after Mk closed. And we even shopped for a 1/2 hour first. Between the ferry and tram shuttle one hour is a long time. I missed just hopping on a bus and going right to the resort. If I wasn't doing a Disney vacation I would definitely stay here again. But when going to the parks I prefer on-site.

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

I am planning on staying here in May. I originally booked the Buena Vista Suites but after looking at pictures, the pool just looks too small. I had thought that since they were sister properties we would be able to use the pool at the Caribe, but when I asked, they said it was not allowed. The free buffet at BVS was also enticing, but I switched due to wanting a bigger pool. It looks beautiful in the pics. I also booked the mouseavers rate. I also have a reservation at the Beach Club but we are not really sure we are going to to do the whole Disney thing this time. We are thinking maybe of 2 park days and then seeing some other sites, but, I will decide by tomorrow when my deposit is due. If we stay here, we will get a rental car. I am really torn as to where to stay but it is looking like this will be the place! For anyone who has stayed here, can you tell me if there are restaurants walking distance (aside from onsite) and any other stores etc in the immediate area?

 

[MarthaJr.]

We stayed at Caribe 7 years ago. You will LOVE the pool area! I don't recall which restaurants are nearby...maybe someone else can help you with that one. We usually check www.tripadvisor.com before we book a hotel just to see what people are saying about it just before we plan to be there. Hope this helps.

 

[Praise2Him]

I am planning on staying here in May. I originally booked the Buena Vista Suites but after looking at pictures, the pool just looks too small. I had thought that since they were sister properties we would be able to use the pool at the Caribe, but when I asked, they said it was not allowed. The free buffet at BVS was also enticing, but I switched due to wanting a bigger pool. It looks beautiful in the pics. I also booked the mouseavers rate. I also have a reservation at the Beach Club but we are not really sure we are going to to do the whole Disney thing this time. We are thinking maybe of 2 park days and then seeing some other sites, but, I will decide by tomorrow when my deposit is due. If we stay here, we will get a rental car. I am really torn as to where to stay but it is looking like this will be the place! For anyone who has stayed here, can you tell me if there are restaurants walking distance (aside from onsite) and any other stores etc in the immediate area?

We are actually doing a split stay in June. The first 3 nights at Caribe Royale because we will have 5 adults and need the 2 bedroom suite, then the last 3 nights at BVS because 2 of us are leaving and we only need a 1 bedroom and BVS is cheaper.

(BTW, I don't know when you booked, but we also used the Mousesavers rate and a couple of weeks later it dropped by $20/night. We called and were able to switch to the lower rate! So definitely keep checking Mousesavers!)

We were told that we could use either pool.

I know they are close to Downtown Disney and I believe it is walking distance. There are lots of restaurants there. We are eating at TRex one night.

Let us know how it is when you get back!

 

[Mcbruns]

We are actually doing a split stay in June. The first 3 nights at Caribe Royale because we will have 5 adults and need the 2 bedroom suite, then the last 3 nights at BVS because 2 of us are leaving and we only need a 1 bedroom and BVS is cheaper.

(BTW, I don't know when you booked, but we also used the Mousesavers rate and a couple of weeks later it dropped by $20/night. We called and were able to switch to the lower rate! So definitely keep checking Mousesavers!)

We were told that we could use either pool.

I know they are close to Downtown Disney and I believe it is walking distance. There are lots of restaurants there. We are eating at TRex one night.

Let us know how it is when you get back!

Thanks for the update. Can someone confirm if it is walking distance to Downtown Disney?

 

[marypopfan]

I stayed there last june and it is not in walking distance to downtown disney.

 

[MinnieGi]

No, on the walking distance to DTD! Caribe Royale is close by car to the entrance of Disney and close to DTD by car but not walking distance at all. I was surprised at how close Caribe Royale was to Disney! Its a wonderful off-site location.

We stayed at Caribe Royale for an adult only trip and had a wonderful time this past August. We also used the mousesavers rate and thought it was a great value. There are quite a few eating places right at the hotel, but we usually ate at Disney or at some local restaurant. We did order room service though one night and it was yummy and came promptly up. The pool is great, very pretty.

We usually stay on-site so we were so surprised at how much we liked it and found it convenient to Disney and things off-site in the area.

 

[Frothy]

Did you eat at the Venetian Room?

 

[MinnieGi]

Did you eat at the Venetian Room?

I'm not sure which restaurant our food came from but it was tasty. We did not actually sit at any of the restaurants at the hotel, but they looked nice.

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

I am getting really excited for my stay here. I have been reading some really good reviews on it. I did let my Beach Club reservation go yesterday so Caribe it is! I wanted to try to save money on this trip because I am really hoping to go back in December and stay at the Poly or BC during the holiday season. This will be a couples only trip during my birthday week--even though I won't actually be there on my birthday because I was not able to get my actual BD off from work (I'm a payroll person and there would be a mutiny if paychecks didn't arrive on time lol) It was a hard decision to give up the BC, but when I worked it out on paper and then looked at the pics of Caribe, it really helped with the decision. We will be there May 8th-13th. My trip timer is from our trip last December and I have no idea of how to get it off!

 

[Mcbruns]

I am getting really excited for my stay here. I have been reading some really good reviews on it. I did let my Beach Club reservation go yesterday so Caribe it is! I wanted to try to save money on this trip because I am really hoping to go back in December and stay at the Poly or BC during the holiday season. This will be a couples only trip during my birthday week--even though I won't actually be there on my birthday because I was not able to get my actual BD off from work (I'm a payroll person and there would be a mutiny if paychecks didn't arrive on time lol) It was a hard decision to give up the BC, but when I worked it out on paper and then looked at the pics of Caribe, it really helped with the decision. We will be there May 8th-13th. My trip timer is from our trip last December and I have no idea of how to get it off!

You need to go to your signature and delete the Dec. timer.

 

[ColinCodyMom]

To those asking about restaurants within walking distance... there is a ponderosa across the street as well as a 7 eleven. Other than that, about a mile down the road, there is a cici's pizza and a bennigan's I believe. And a couple miles down there is a perkins, mcdonald's, burger king, and many shops and stores in the crossings. Downtown Disney is definitely not in walking distance. Caribe Royale is fantastic. Have a great stay.

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

Thanks for telling me how to do that! I had no idea!