CBR, will I be disappointed ?

[pandora174]

Really had our hearts set on PO-FQ for 1/22 - 1/29 but my TA couldn't get either the AP or fl resident rate. Did get us CBR for $79 night. We've never been there so that's a plus. I've read that the resort is SO big & that worries me. I don't want to pay any extra $ so I was going to ask for a room as close as possible to the main bldg. on my reservation and at check-in. I think my DH will like the bigger food court. Any suggestions ? How is the selection in the food courtyard ? How are the busses ? Are the rooms and buildings kept up ? Any suggestions, will be most appreciated.

 

[solotraveler]

Will you be disappointed... no, I don't think so.

CBR is a VERY big place no doubt, but I think that tends to be overstated a little bit. I stayed in Aruba 54 back in 2001 and it was only about a 5-10 minute walk door to door to the food court area. Two minutes tops to the Aruba bus stop. I found the rooms to be very nice. Definately my favorite of the moderates. The rooms and buildings are kept up very well IMO. I have not been there since the food court remodel, so someone else should be able to help you there.

Transportation was FANTASTIC when I was there. CBR is very centrally located and it seemed like the buses were frequent and it never took terribly long to get anywhere. Just be prepared that the bus makes several stops inside the resort before heading out.(Just like at PO)

Hope this helps somewhat!
Have a great trip!
Solotraveler

 

[safetymom]

I think you will enjoy CBR. I found CSR to be much more spread out than CBR.

The food court and main pool are close to each other.

I suggest reading the FAQ's for CBR listed below. You will find lots of first hand reports about the resort.

The food court has lots of selections and has a grab and go market for quick meals. It also has a central check out.

 

[Avalanche]

We stayed in CBR July 2003 and POFQ July 2004 (Both were shortly after renovations)

Even though POFQ is beautiful, we like CBR a lot better.

At CBR mousekeeping and the CM's were fantastic. (The best we've encountered at Disney) The bus service was wonderful. Even though we made a couple of stops within CBR, we didn't like that POFQ buses went to all the stops at POR. Seemed to take forever. We didn't like the food court at POFQ. Service was slow and all the CM's seemed to be in a bad mood. I had really looked forward to staying at POFQ again (hadn't been there since '96) and even though we had a fun trip, POFQ was disappointing.

If you don't want to pay the extra to be in the prefered section (Martinique) be sure to request one of the other sections that is close to the food court and main pool. (Have it noted on reservation and ask again at check in)

 

[jsmla]

My DH and I spent several days at the CBR earlier this month and we really, really liked it. I too was disappointed that this was the only mod. available to me but I was very agreeably surprised. Our room was fresh and comfy and had a fridge already installed. There was a slight smell of laminate glue in the room so it must have just been put in. We stayed in Jamaica 45 which was a pleasant 5 minute walk from OPR. We usually used the OPR bus stop when returning from the parks because the walk was much nicer than the bus with those lights flashing on and off. The only problem was that our quiet pool was closed for rehab. We used the one at Aruba when we wanted a quiet swim. I like Aruba's beach area better than Jamaica's too.

I may be wrong, but the rooms here seemed slightly larger than those at the other mods. and ours looked out over a lovely courtyard and seemed much more intimate than I expected in such a large resort. Driving to the parks was very quick compared to CSR.

We didn't use the food court so I can't comment on that.
Hope this helps.

Jennifer

 

[Ilovestitch]

I love CBR!! They have a really nice foodcourt and the rooms are bigger than the other moderates, in fact the rooms are the same size as at WL!

CBR also has beautiful landscaping and lots of baby bunnies and ducks walking around. The mousekeepers are awesome- we get towel animals every day and the rooms are also spotless.

I think CBR is in the process or may be finished installing refridgerators in all the rooms, too. -Steph

 

[kbkids]

I was in the same spot as you a few weeks ago. POFQ is my favorite resort, but all we could get was CBR. Although I still like POFQ better, we had a great time at CBR. We stayed in Jamaica, Bldg 45 - great location if you don't want to pay extra for the preferred!! We could easily get to the food court/main pool area in a quick 5 minute (very scenic too, by the way) walk. The beaches were nice. Illuminations can be seen from the resort from several locations. We watched them from the hammocks on South Trinidad's beaches and once from the beach by the main pool. We never had an issue with buses, either going to the parks or heading home. Our bldg was maybe a 2 minute walk, if that, to the bus stop, and I don't think we ever waited more than 10-15 minutes for a bus. Coming home, either we just timed it right or just got lucky, but there was never a line waiting for the bus, and one arrived within 10 minutes every night.

http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_opr.htm
This website has the menu for the food court - only ate there once - but what we had (rotisserie chicken) was good. My only complaint is that I love hot chocolate at night after getting back from the parks, and only twice during the week was it delicious, the rest of the time, it was very watered down.

The buildings were very pretty, and our room was very clean. There was a refrigerator already in our room as well. We had plenty of room.

The resort is very beautiful! I couldn't sleep one night and went out to the beach and laid in a hammock (around midnight). It was so peaceful - had great weather - enjoyed listening to the ducks in the lake.

I will still check for POFQ first because I do still prefer it. I like the pool better there, and although the food court at CBR was fine, I just prefer POFQ's selection. But, that said, I wouldn't hesitate to stay at CBR again. We had a great time!

 

[Mortlives]

Actually, between the two of them, I liked the pool better at CBR. The theming is better executed, I think, and hot water runs down the wall into the hot tub in a mini waterfall. Out of the 3 moderates I've stayed at, it is the main pool I prefer. All the moderates have pros and cons, and all of them are worth staying at at least once. You will enjoy CBR.

If you do get put in Jamaica, the walk to the food court involves crossing the lake on a lovely bridge, and walking through the wonderfully landscaped island in the centre.

Kungaloosh!
Morticia.

 

[FOTM_Ring_Bearer]

You'll like the CBR. The food court has a nice selection and we enjoyed it a lot. I got pot roast one night and 2 people could have easily split the plate. Jamaica and Aruba are good locations, just a short walk across the bridges. The rooms are larger. The buses do stop at each island, but it really doesn't take very long. We usually walked to OPR, ate breakfast and caught the bus from there. We took our mugs with us to the parks and coming back we would get off at OPR for refills and snacks. The landscaping is lovely. You'll have a great time.