Carribean Beach

[thatdarncat]

Can anyone tell me about Carribean Beach Resort. How's the bus service? The rooms? The pools? The cleanliness? Thinking of switching from Pop for my Sept. vacation.

 

[DNBois]

DH and I are heading there for our fourth time!!! We absolutely love CBR and will not stay anywhere else - we do not hang out by the pools much during our stay as we spend time at the parks almost the entire time. But the main pool right next to the Old Port Royale (food court) is somewhat small although beautiful - it does have a small water slide and hot tub; the other 'islands' have pools but no hot tubs or slides. If you book in Trinidad North or Martinique (next to the food court) you will pay extra for the convenience of being next to the food court (good option for those with children). But we thoroughly enjoy Jamaica - we stayed there last May and we loved it so we booked that area again for our Sept. trip - it is a 5 minute or less walk over a small bridge to the food court (the walk there is so beautiful that it makes it even more worth it) and you have a pool (nice sized) very, very nearby - you can also watch the WDW fireworks while laying on the hammocks outside your hotel room. The bus service is very good - you probably will not wait more than 10 minutues for a bus and we choose Jamaica (another perk) b/c the bus almost always picks up and drops you off first. We have always thought the cleanliness of the hotel was excellent - never a complaint from us - hope that helps for now - let me know if you have any other questions. You should definitely check out safety mom's Carribean Beach Resort Facts for other great information and photos - to make a long story short (which has definitely not happened in this case), you will not regret changing your resort choice

 

[stemikger]

I stayed there 4 years ago and I really liked this resort. I did not have a room near the food court and it was a little hike, but I enjoyed the walk because the grounds are really beautiful there. I loved the food court and the outdoor pool bar. My only slight complaint is that the pool near the food court although nicely theamed is on the small side. However, each section has their own quiet pool which is nice for late night swims. Plenty of Disney Magic and the bus service was great. No other complaints I will stay there agian.

Hope this helps.

 

[safetymom]

CBR is a beautiful resort. You will truly feel like you have escaped to the islands.

The thread listed below contains lots of great info on CBR.

 

[murph103]

We stayed at CRB earlier this month and we loved it. We were in Jamaca Building 45. It was right by the bridge to cross the lake so it was convenient to the food court and the main pool. We didn't like the Jamaca pool because the water was entirely too warm and my DS loved the slide at the main pool.

The food court was fine for breakfast and maybe lunch. We weren't impressed with the full-service restaurant, Shutters. We bought the refillable mugs and we probably got our moneys worth from them since we ate breakfast there 5 days and we always went over a couple times to get drinks for everyone.

The bus stop was 2 minutes from our building and we never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. Jamaca was usually the first stop in the resort so we were the first ones on and the first ones off. We usually had to wait at the parks for the CRB bus, especially when leaving MK after the fireworks. But it was a lot easier using the buses than driving around WDW. We didn't move our car from the time we checked in until it was time to leave for home.

The only day that housekeeping didn't get to our room in the morning was on Saturday when there were a lot of people leaving and a lot of new people arriving; I'm sure they were very busy that day. But our room was always cleaned and we had plenty of clean towels every day.

All in all, we had a wonderful stay at CRB and when we return to WDW in a couple years, we'll stay there again.

 

[murph103]

Too bad I can't type

I meant to type CBR and not CRB. Sorry if I confused anyone

 

[thatdarncat]

This helps ALOT! I was just wondering, how long does it take by bus to get to the parks. I'm guessing it would be easy and fun to take the bus to Epcot and then take the monorail to MK. But if anyone has taken the bus, have you noticed how long of a drive it is?

 

[DNBois]

I can't remember how long it took but I believe from CBR to the parks it may have taken anywhere from 10 - 15 minutes. And yes, we had fun hopping on the park monorail and going from one park to another - you cannot go to WDW without riding the monorail

 

[disneyatl]

We loved CBR. We stayed there our first visit on property. Just another piece of information on CBR. There are several bus stops for the different "islands". So, depending on your stop, you may have to stop up to three times before heading off to the parks. Same thing returning to the hotel. Not to worry tho, it doesn't add much time to the bus ride.

 

[gigi1313]

did not like cbr at all... we were very disappointed... the place was just too big (and we were in a "preferred" building, yet the walk to the main pool/food court was lonnnnggggggg!)... bus stops were a hike... second floor had no elevators (after a very full day of walking in the parks, w/two small children, it was all we could do to drag ourselves up the steps at night! and we took mid-day breaks!)... mousekeeping never made us towel animals, yet we saw them in alot of others windows (and i even left a note requesting them!)... bus service was not good (one night we waited almost an hour at epcot... we did get a $20 refund on our bill when we reported it)... rooms did not feel much bigger than a value... minimal room to put stuff away (drawers and such)... even the mugs, which we bought, were a waste 'cause it wasn't worth the hike to the food court, we bought canned soda from the machine instead... and we had requested "near transport/food court/main pool" and supposedly we had it!

if i knew then, what i know now (thanks to these boards) i definitely would have asked to move...

our next trip is scheduled for pop century... i have a feeling we will like it better... esp 'cause we are getting two rooms (for just more than the price of one moderate!)

oh, and please realize, i am not a complainer by nature... the things i did like about cbr were the water mice and the ability to see epcot fireworks from our "balcony" (outside hallway)... and the fact that we were IN DISNEY WORLD!

 

[hulabird]

gigi---

The walk from a PREFERRED building was a long walk to you? I always stay in Jamaica and I even think that walk is super short and quick and I am always the one elected to go and get our late night snacks in OPR at night and I still don't think the walk is long at all and I am no power walker or anything like that, but I would think the preferred locations would be even quicker. When you say bus stops are a hike, what is a hike to you?

If I had listened to a post like that before I tried CBR, I would have been scared away. Yes CBR is big, but the only hikes I would see would be if you were in Barbados or Trinidad South. I stayed as far down at Jamaica 42 and didn't consider it a hike to anywhere. But I guess everyone is different, it doesn't bother me to walk unless it is a super long walk, but I have not experienced that at CBR.

Just my opinion. I love the place.

 

[been there done that]

We can't wait!! It will be our first time staying here but we're excited. We've heard more good reviews then bad!
I was happy to hear that DNBois loves CBR so much. I've noticed that you've also stayed at Contemporary and GF. Do you like CBR better than those resorts?
Threads like gigi1313 scare me a little but Hulabird reassured me not to worry. Anyway, we'll be in DISNEY!

 

[leighe]

DH and I stayed there last summer and loved it! We were in Trinidad North - I think that is a preferred location now. It just took a couple of minutes to walk to the main pool/food court. We never had a problem with the bus transportation. I think the longest we ever waited for a bus was 10 minutes. What we loved the best was the tropical theming and the quiet pools. I thought that CBR was quieter and more private (maybe because it is so spread out) than some of the deluxe resorts I have stayed in. You're going to have a great trip! Oh - the main pool is ADORABLE - a pirate fort.

 

[gigi1313]

we were in one of the trinidad's which i was under the impression was preferred location (we paid for it to be preferred!)... plus, i do suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, so what is 'long' to me may not be as long to others... and, lastly we had two slow-poke children who were in strollers in the parks, but not at the resort... anyway, we were far happier w/everything at the all star sports two years prior, and that is the basis by which i judged cbr... expecting a mod to totally wow me beyond a value... and i was wrong...

 

[safetymom]

If you went to CBR in 2001 there were no preferred locations at that time. Preferred locations and the additional charge started in Jan 2004.

In your case it may have been a long walk but I don't think it is any worse than any of the value resorts. When I stayed at ASMusic we had a long walk to the food court that was much longer than any room we have ever had at CBR.

 

[safetymom]

If you went to CBR in 2001 there were no preferred locations at that time. Preferred locations and the additional charge started in Jan 2004.

In your case it may have been a long walk but I don't think it is any worse than any of the value resorts. When I stayed at ASMusic we had a long walk to the food court that was much longer than any room we have ever had at CBR.



PS: In 2001 you had a choice or regular or waterview rooms.

 

[DNBois]

been there done that-
I first stayed at CR when I was 14 and at the GF when I was 16 or so with my family (I am 33 now) and I loved both of them. The GF was absolutely gorgeous but not sure it it would be worth it for the $$$ for us; I love, love, love CR - my husband and I stayed at CR (tower room) for 3 nights and 7 nights at CBR for our honeymoon in May of 2000. We did love CR but we honestly loved CBR as much if not more (except for the fact you can't take the monorail or walk to MK like you can at CR). To top it off, we just booked with the AZZ code and lowered our rate from $133 to $85.
And I know we are all entitled to our opinion but I also doon't understand how someone could think that CBR is too large and that the rooms aren't that large - CBR actually has the largest sized rooms of all the moderates and from jamaica (bldg 45) to the food court it was only a 5 minute blissful, peaceful walk but I guess to each his own

 

[been there done that]

DNBois: Thanks for responding. Wow, you got a really good rate!($85.00 a night) That is great! We are going for eight nights; we got 2 free nights and 7 day length of stay passes for $2000.00 Not sure if that's good or bad but next year we'll try to hold out and book last minute for AUG. or SEPT.
Anyways, we can't wait to get to CBR. We are going to call and request Jamaica 45. We have to wait 48 hours before we go. Hopefully we'll get it or Trin. North!

 

[DNBois]

If you want a great suggestion, put in a request for Jamaica Bldg 45 like you mentioned and then when you arrive just politely ask if there are any upgrades - DH and I paid for a standard room last May and when we arrived we asked the same question - we were upgraded to room #4556 (corner room) waterview and the bldg. is right near the bridge to go over to Old Port Royale - if you can't get that, you could always ask for Aruba #51 which is right across from Jamaica Bldg #45.
Have fun - so jealous - wish we were leaving in 4 days

 

[been there done that]

We already paid for a waterview room so we probably won't get an upgrade. We tried to get a king room but we'll have our DD(5), and our DS(1, in a crib) so guest services said we have to have two doubles Our kids ALWAYS end up in our bed! I'll try to put them both in one of the beds if DS won't sleep in the crib.
Anyways, thanks for the advice. I'll check out the Aruba location on the map!