Well, I think you have already prepared yourself for the fact that your dear sister in law is going to piss and moan no matter where you stay and no matter what you guys plan. I fully understand your situation. I have a sister in law like that too. I've just learned to live with it.
All that being said, let me give you some scoop on the CBR. Before we booked our first stay there, I read all the info on the boards and wasn't too concerned 'cause we were going to be in Disney and we wouldn't be spending too much time at our resort. One thing I couldn't find on the boards was a very detailed report about the room, the food court, the pools, etc. I wanted to know what kind of furniture the rooms had. I wanted to know if I would see bunnies at the resort. I wanted to know if the buses ran regularly. I wanted to know what kind of food was served in the food court. I wanted to know everything!
So, I decided that I would make notes during my stay and come back and post everything I could about the CBR.
We have stayed at the CBR twice now and absolutely loved everything about it! A stay at the CBR is like two vacations in one. You get a Disney vacation but you also get a nice beach vacation.
The resort is a large resort but that means that the guests are spread out and you don't feel crowded. You will check in/out at the Custom House which is at the front of the resort. Some people don't like the fact that it's located away from the other resort buildings but think of it this way....more than likely, you won't have to visit the Custom House more than twice during your stay...once to check in and once to check out. If you do need to visit the Custom House and don't want to walk, you can always take the internal shuttle bus.
The resort is made up of several different villages. Each village has several "clusters" of buildings that are all painted bright colors. For instance, Jamaica buildings are yellow and Martinque buildings are blue. There is a promenade/walkway that connects each of the villages and makes a complete loop around the resort lake. The walk around the promenade is just 1.4 (or maybe 1.3) miles all the way around. We really enjoyed talking walks around the promenade and checking out the landscaping and the other buildings. There's an abundance of gorgeous flowers and bushes and, yes, you'll see all kinds of birds, bunnies, squirrels and lizards.
There are several different views at the CBR. There are standard view rooms which means you could be overlooking either the parking lot or a courtyard and then there are the water view rooms. The water view rooms mean you will either be overlooking the lake or the pool. In my honest opinion, I wouldn't pay the extra money for a water view room. I would book a standard view room and ask for a courtyard view. The courtyards are really pretty with umbrella tables and benches. Even the parking lot views aren't all that bad since the landscaping is lush and dense. Your parking lot view will most likely be obstructed by trees anyway.
You can also pay an extra fee for a preferred location. The preferred locations are situated near Old Port Royale (main pool/food court/store, etc.) We don't mind walking so we never pay for a preferred location. You might want to consider it if you think the sister-in-law might fuss about walking.
Now, the walk around the promenade is 1.4 miles and Old Port Royale is located almost smack in the middle of the promenade. This means no matter where your village is located, you are never more than half that far to Old Port Royale. We actually like the walks to and from our villages (Jamiaca once and Martinque once) to Old Port Royale.
It's quite easy to get turned around a bit in the different villages. The paths weave in and out and you can take a wrong path and end up at the wrong building. I'm not saying you'll wander around and around forever. You'll just need to pay attention the first few times you leave your room so you'll get familiar with the pathways. You might want to distract your sister in law so that she can't get a feel for the "lay of the land". This way, when you want to ditch her later on, she might not remember how to get back to the room.
Each of the villages has their own laundry facility, quiet pool and beach. The laundry facilities are right next to the quiet pools so it's easy to swim and wash your clothes at the same time. The white sandy beaches are beautiful. The beaches have hammocks and beach chairs and some even have small playgrounds and volleyball nets. You can see higher Epcot fireworks from some of the beaches and you can definitely see them from Old Port Royale.
While I am on the subject of the buildings, I will go ahead and give you information on the rooms. The rooms are 340 square feet and will have either a king size bed or two full size beds. We have four in our group so we have always had the rooms with two beds. The beds are raised off the floor so you can store your luggage underneath and get them out of the way. I know that the mattresses were replaced in May/June, 2006 because they were in the process of changing them out when we were there.
The bedroom section of the room also has a nightstand in between the beds and a table with two or three chairs. Above the table is a large mirror. The armoire that holds the television has three large drawers and two small drawers.
The refrigerator is enclosed in a small wooden cabinet. Don't be surprised if your refrigerator doesn't feel like it is cooling. If this happens to you, just simply open the door of the cabinet and give the refrigerator some breathing room. This happened to us during both of our stays. The first time, we called maintenance and they told us to do this but they also gave us another refrigerator. They never took out refrigerator number one so we ended up with two refrigerators which was a plus for us. (the other one started cooling great when we opened the door). So, every morning when we left, we just left the door of the refrigerator cabinet open when we left. Sometimes, mousekeeping would close the door back, sometimes they wouldn't. I think they know why we left it open.
Also in the bedroom section of the room, will be a large padded bench. Underneath the bench is a large drawer which is great for storing all your large bags of souveniers. (your shopaholic sister in law should like the fact that she'll have a place to put her stuff) Above the bench is a peg shelf where you can hang your backpacks, hats, etc.
In the sink/closet area, there is a semi-large closet rod which will probably have about a dozen wooden hangers on it. We brought along some extra wire hangers and just left them there when we checked out. There was more than enough room to hang our clothes. There is a long shelf above the rod too. Also in this section is a iron and ironing board. A small safe is in the wall just behind the privacy curtain. It's small and thin and won't hold much but it's okay for storing your extra money, wallets, small games, etc.
The two sinks are enclosed in a wooden cabinet which has two storage areas. Two sinks are a real plus in our book. Comes in real handy when everybody is trying to get ready at once.
The toilet and bathtub/shower are in a separate room from the sink/closet. There were no loose tiles or mold in our bathroom 'cause I checked. The size is about the same as a typical motel/hotel bathroom.
You will find that a hairdryer, coffeepot and alarm clock are all standard in the CBR rooms. I, personally, don't use the hairdryers because I need more power to dry my hair but my husband and son don't mind them.
Mousekeeping always did a fine job cleaning the room. They would replinish the toiletries and the towels/washclothes daily. Disney will not change your linens every day. If you want your sheets changed, you will need to leave a note for them or simply take the sheets off the bed and put them in a pile near the door.
If you want to sleep in one day, just leave your Do Not Disturb sign on the door and mousekeeping will leave you a big bag containing towels, washclothes and toiletries.
The air conditioners worked very well. There were not the old loud clunkers you'll find elsewhere. They were actually pretty quiet and sometimes it got downright cold in our room.
Bus service at the CBR was efficient during both of our stays. The longest wait we ever had was about 20 minutes and that was because we just missed the Epcot bus. I mean we, literally, saw it driving away while we were walking across the parking lot. It also wasn't during peak travel time, it was mid-morning.
Oh yeah, each village has their own covered bus stop too. This means that the buses will make a complete round around the resort before leaving the resort. I never found this to be a problem but some people don't like it. The villages of Jamaica and Martinique are the starting points for the bus pickup/drop off. Since there are two bus entrances to the resort, the first stop depends on which entrance the bus used.
As I said before, there is an internal shuttle bus that will take you around the resort if you don't want to walk. Just go to the nearest bus stop and wait for one to come around and pick you up.
In the middle of the lake is an island complete with picnic tables, hammocks and benches. It was a nice place for us to go and sit and listen to the Caribbean themed music.
The main pool is under rehab right now and Safetymom has kept everybody posted with pictures and updates. Disney originally said it would be done on September 15th (I think that's the date) but Safetymom and others have said it could be completed earlier.
From what I understand, Banana Cabana, the pool bar, is still open. There are lots of umbrella tables so you could purchase a nice frozen drink and sip it while relaxing.
Old Port Royale is home to the arcade, store, package pickup, Shutters and the food court. Let me start with the arcade. It's not really big but it's not small either. There were enough games to handle the June crowds. You simply purchase a refillable game card and play to your heart's content. The refillable card was a cute souvenier for our scrapbook too.
The store is divided in two with one side selling tropical and pirate themed items and the other selling the more traditional Disney merchandise. One of the unique souveniers that can be found at the CBR are the coconut postcards. They are actual coconuts with mailing labels on them. You can either mail it to your friends and family or you can take one or two home with you.
Package pickup is located near the very back of the right hand side of the store. You will also find magazines, sundries, snacks, drinks, etc. near the package pickup desk.
We were pleasantly surprised by the food court selections. The food court is divided into different stations. You simply line up, order your food and then go to a central cashier to check out. The grab n go section was our favorite. There, you will find lots of fresh bakery items (muffins, breads, cakes, cookies, etc.), fresh fruit, yogurt, jellos, sandwiches, salads, drinks and snacks. Another section has fresh tossed salads, pizza, pasta and breadsticks. You'll find a variety of deli sandwiches at another station. Of course, Disney has to have a burger and hot dog station as that is their main staple. At dinner, the last station serves rotissiere meats and vegetables.
During the morning hours, the menus include bakery items, Mickey waffles (with or without fruit), pancakes, omelets, eggs, biscuits and breakfast meats. At the grab n go section, there are assorted cereals and bakery items.
The seating area of the food court was fairly large. We never had a problem finding a table. The drink station has a variety of drinks to choose from. We didn't purchase the refillable mugs because we drive and are able to bring along extra water, drinks, milk, etc.
There are two microwaves and toasters in the food court and are available for guests to use. The condiment counter had lots of jams, jellies, sauces, etc.
If you guys have time, you might want to consider rentng the surrey bikes from the marina. They are a fun way to see the resort. They are built for four people and are so cute. If you don't want your sister in law to ride along with you, then rent her a bicycle and let her ride off by herself (and give you guys a break from her nagging). The marina also rents small watermice and pontoon boats. The lifejackets are available in assorted sizes and are free to use.
Lets see, did I forget anything? I don't think I have but if you think of something that I didn't answer, just post it and I'll try to provide a response. If I don't know the answer, I know that some of the other avid CBR fans will be able too.
Hope this helps!
However, the only moderate left was CBR. We have not styed here before, so I have no idea what to expect. We will be there right after the pool reopens, so the kids will LOVE that!
I am a little nervous since it does not seem to be the most popular choice among many here. My main concern is my rather *ahem* PICKY sister in law. If she had her way, we would be at the GF, but since my family was just at WDW in March, the budget cannot handle that!!! Do you think she will enjoy her stay at CBR or should I brace myself now for her complaints? Thanks in advance for your input!
So she makes a last minute appointment for a $100 massage and her nephew gets $4.29 worth of playdoh. 
