CBR - Did I make a mistake?

[DisneyMomx7]

Hi,

This is our first time staying at a moderate. In-laws are coming with us for 7 days and DH said they would have a heart attack with deluxe prices. I picked CBR because we visited there last summer and liked the beach feeling and also because I had read that the rooms were slightly bigger than the other mods.

Lately it seems on the boards that most people favor POR and CSR. Should I switch? We have a prefered room booked so I figured most of the complaints were about the size of the resort and that would help. Please be honest - especially with in-laws with us for 1/2 our trip I want the resort to be nice. While I know it won't be the same as a deluxe please tell me which mod you think is the nicest. Thank you.

 

[Allison]

I was just at CBR in December and I LOVED it. It's very nice, very beautiful. I have stayed at POR and while I enjoyed it also, I prefer CBR. I like the beach theming.

 

[safetymom]

CBR is a beautiful resort to stay it. I have stayed at POR,CSR and think CBR is much better.

You might want to read the FAQ's listed below for more information.

 

[catbertdave99]

You'll love CBR!! Make sure you read the FAQ's listed on Safetymom's post. We love the white-sand beaches, the hammocks and beach chairs, the Caribbean Steel Drum music playing at Old Port Royale, the quiet pools, the lake and boat rentals, the walk around the lake.... it was our vacation within our vacation!

 

[MagicDreamer]

We stayed at CBR about three weeks ago and LOVED it. Our room was bigger than our room at CSR was, and the food court was much better. Of course, with any resort, it's all about your personal taste. In our opinion, CBR was wonderful! I will stay there again!

Hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[johnnyr]

Don't believe everything you read. CBR is a great resort. We were just there last December and already made reservations there for this coming December. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this resort gets such a low rating here. The bus service was great, the island atmosphere with a Disney twist is wonderful. The rooms were clean and bright. Grounds were spotless and the kids were treated to towel anamals everyday. You will not be disappointed. Go and have a great time!

 

[scoutsmom99]

I agree I think you will really enjoy CBR. It is a big resort with a lot of different things to do. It has the largest rooms of any moderate (340 vs 314 at others), great Caribbean Beach feeling, lots of pools, a marina, bike rentals, a new pirate cruise, volleyball court, 3 playgrounds, a nice outdoor pool deck (which includes tables chairs, outdoor pool table, a bar), lots of birds, loads of turtles. If you enjoy a tropical beachy feel you will love CBR. The rooms were also rehabbed in 2002 and this past fall the rooms had a new a/c heating units put inside them. It seems like for every person who doesn't like a resort there is someone who does like the resort.
Here are some pics:

CBR Jamaica Building:

Shot of Jamaica Buildings Coming from bridge to OPR:

Turtle at CBR:

Marina:

Picnic Tables:

View From Jamaica Pool Area looking towards bridge to OPR:

CBR Bus stop at OPR:

 

[Cmbar]

Just one question. What is most important to you? We just returned today from the CBR. It is a nice resort. I say nice because I don't think it is beautiful as most do,BUT I might have much different taste than you, so it is hard to say. We did not get a preferred room because the resort was booked solid for our stay. But we did still get in Martinique in bldg 23 which was right on the edge of the preferred rooms. Not a bad walk to OPR. We have stayed in POR & POFQ.. CBR is bigger and it does have little sandy beaches around. The quiet pools are nice especially if you have them to yourselves, which is possible since there are so many of them. The main pool in my opinion was small and just plain ugly. Crowded all the time because it was small and we were there in 60 degree weather so not as if everybody was swimming!

We thought the bus service was good. We loved being in Martinique because most times we were dropped off first, but they did change up the bus routes and therefore sometimes we were second or third stop. Food court was good, sit down restaurant mediocore.

Now keep in mind that on the last two days of our stay the Cheerleaders arrived. NEVER AGAIN will I go when this happens and when they are at our resort. There were too many of them and although there were exceptions, many were rude and loud. Doing their cheers outside of the rooms at 7:20 am. I have small kids and we were not happy about that.


I just looked at the pictures posted above and I am guessing those were not taken in the winter months, because those pictures look beautiful and that simply isn't what we saw.

In short, If you are paying for the preferred rooms, you wil be fine. If you want to impress your family, then you will probably be fine. But it you want to get places quickly then I would definitely switch to POFQ. Small resort, excellent buses and loved having the food court and everything in one place. CBR is just too spread out for my taste. I didn't like having to take a bus or shuttle for everything. If we were in one of the far away rooms I believe I would have hated this stay. Just my opinion though.

Sorry can't give it a raving review. Did you ever consider renting DVC? Costs about the same if you structure correctly. We will definitely be going back to Boardwalk villas next time. Good luck and happy planning.

 

[Aurora63]

You know, whether or not you will enjoy a resort is completely subjective. There will be people who disagree no matter what you think. If you liked it, then I think you will be fine. Go into it with a positive attitude.

 

[Lilolvr]

There is something like 8 or nine bus stops so it seems to take forever to leave the resort. It's also extremely large so be prepared. You have to pay for a preferred room in order to be close to everything.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

scoutsmom99 - just loved your pictures. That was what we saw when we visited last summer. It just reminded me what we liked about the resort!

I'm not nervous about long walks since we are paying for a preferred room. I'm definitely going with a positive attitude. It did have a "right" feeling for DH and I when we visited in July. I signed the kids up for the new pirate cruise and I think we'll enjoy it immensely. We're staying for 10 nights (in-laws are only staying for 7) so we're keeping the extra room when they leave (family of 5) - noted it on our reservation, hopefully we'll get connecting or at least adjoining rooms.

Thank you all for your comments. It made me get excited all over again.

 

[ADisneygirl]

As you will hear as many positive remarks as negative remarks about just about all of the resorts, I firmly believe you should go with your gut feelings and stay where it appeals to you. Things can and do go wrong for people at all the resorts, so there will be negative remarks about places others rave about.

We want to eventually say we've tried all the resorts. Some we return to time and again, like the BWI. Others, we will not go back to.

We had a less than stellar stay at CBR. Some things were just chance/bad luck. CRO made an error when we called to shorten our stay. They should have simply modified the existing ressie but instead they re-made a new one. They did something to the ressie that made my preferred location room change to a preferred view room. Don't want to go on too long about this again, but believe me, with an elderly parent along, I really wanted that preferred location. At check in, they were not friendly or accomodating in the least. It was hard for her to climb the stairs too to our room every time we left it. (they said there were no first floor rooms) I think the fact that I was worried about my mom was the worst part. The lack of maid service (had to call and request them to show up at the end of each day) and shabby room only added to it.

But, like I said, so many people here have had wonderful stays there and can't believe the conditions we were subjected to while there. The problems we had could happen at any resort. But because they happened at CBR, we didn't like it there.

 

[safetymom]

I just looked at the pictures posted above and I am guessing those were not taken in the winter months, because those pictures look beautiful and that simply isn't what we saw.

I just did a short stay at CBR and the colors and the weather was beautiful.

 

[scoutsmom99]

I just looked at the pictures posted above and I am guessing those were not taken in the winter months, because those pictures look beautiful and that simply isn't what we saw.

Actually some of the pics are from my stay in Jan 2005 the others are from my stay in September 2005.

scoutsmom99 - just loved your pictures. That was what we saw when we visited last summer. It just reminded me what we liked about the resort!

Your welcome. I hope your family has a great stay

 

[Sinderelli]

Scoutsmom- Thanks for the pics! We are headed to CBR in less than 2 weeks and your pics gave me that excited, knot in my stomach, I can't believe I'm going to Disney feeling!

 

[TINKTWINS]

CBR is a nice resort, they all have some strong points, it really depends on what you need. Keep reading up on them, pics help too, but you will know once your fully informed what will be the best fit.

Heres what I liked about CBR. The quiet pools, you almost have it to yourself, which may be a plus if you and your inlaws plan on using it!
The food court is great, the have good food and its very cheery. And sitting outside to eat by the main pool, Oh Boy, listening to the tropical music, sends me into a real happy place!! In fact I searche high and low to find similar music to play at my pool back home, in fact today, being buried in almost 2 feet of snow, I could use some now!!

Dont worry, your going to Disney!! Your stay will be great!

 

[chocolate mouse]

We are going to WDW for the 1st time in march 2006 and also staying at CBR. I have read so many different reviews of it that my head is spinning! Should we swap to a different hotel or not, are the walking distances to OPR going to be too far, etc.etc.etc. For every good review I have read a bad one. I think we have to take things as we find them as everyone likes different things, and what is important to one person may not be to another!.We are all so excited to be going to WDW any way that I don't think anything could dampen our spirits! Roll on March 10!!! me DH DD8 DS3

 

[boxer]

I hate to bash any Disney resort, so I will not give my honest opinion on CBR.........but I will say that we too had doubts about CBR before our trip in December, and I WISH I would have listened to my gut feeling, and changed this resort.

It all ended well anyhow since we got changed to CSR, and that is now my 2nd favorite resort.

 

[deedeed]

We are going to WDW for the 1st time in march 2006 and also staying at CBR. I have read so many different reviews of it that my head is spinning! Should we swap to a different hotel or not, are the walking distances to OPR going to be too far, etc.etc.etc. For every good review I have read a bad one. I think we have to take things as we find them as everyone likes different things, and what is important to one person may not be to another!.We are all so excited to be going to WDW any way that I don't think anything could dampen our spirits! Roll on March 10!!! me DH DD8 DS3

I have to say, I have stayed at every type of disney resort in the past. Deluxe/moderate/value. I cannot complain about any of the resorts at disney! Every resort is taken such good care of and the landscape and theming on the grounds is unbelievable. There really is no bad choice at disney so do not let any of the bad reviews change your mind. People just have different opinions on what they like. I have stayed at CBR 2 xs now and I thought it was great! This time I am going to try POR just to see the other theming. You will have a great time no matter where you are, enjoy your trip!!!!

 

[Bugsmom73]

I too really like CBR, it is the only moderate I have stayed at and will likely be the only one. DH really liked it and I think for our next trip we are going to stay at moderate. I would be happy to stay at one this time, but our friend really wants AKL.