I posted these elsewhere, but Buzz2001 asked me to post them here, so here they are:
The Review
Just arrived home from a week at Coronado Springs last night. Here are some thoughts
It is a beautiful, beautiful resort. You truly feel like you are at an expensive tropical location. We've stayed at POFQ, and loved it there, too, but for that "resort-y" feeling, CSR can't be beat. The landscaping is simply spectacular, lush, and gorgeous. It does not feel like a moderate at all, and I really mean that. Walking around there at night is just breathtaking. The various resort lights reflecting off the lake are sooo beautiful. You just keep stopping and going "Oooh. Ahhh." You can't help yourself because it is so pretty. It also feels really safe at night because there are a lot of folks walking around and the golf cart transportation vehicles run around the lake circle until 3 a.m. shuttling people from the main building if they want it.
Location is kind of important here. We were in Cabanas 9B (I think that's what it was; it was the second closest building to Pepper Market, room 9250 -- oops, turns out it was 9A per Buzz2001). This was a 2nd floor room, but the elevator was nearby and never took longer than 5 seconds to arrive. The elevators don't seem to get much use as the Cabanas are only 2 stories, so when you do want to use it it's very convenient. Even in these "close" buildings, it's a good 10-minute walk to the main building, but as I said, it is sooo beautiful. After POFQ I thought we'd hate the walk, but we didn't mind it at all. Now, the Ranchos units are quite far away. They, too, are gorgeous, but a long walk. If you picture a large circle around a lake, the main building and the ranchos are directly across the lake from each other, while the other two areas (Casitas and Cabanas) are on the left and right sides of the lake. We were initially put in the Ranchos, but because I faithfully read the DisBoards, I asked for something closer in. We ended up with a water view Cabanas room right next to the quiet pool (Pixie Dust!). Our room also was a corner room with the 2 windows, and what a difference that makes in making the room feel bigger. That second window really takes away the "tomb" feeling of a hotel room and gives you some breathing space. It was just a lovely, lovely room. The man who checked us in was so sweet and accommodating. In fact, all of the staff at CSR were amazingly helpful, kind, and pleasant. We had a friend staying at the resort who got a Casitas room, also close to the main building, and that Casitas section is just beautiful. I felt privileged being in the Cabanas and getting to look out at the Casitas day and night. They provide just a spectacular view.
The CSR pool has got to be the best one at all of Disney World. First of all, it has a large deeper area (5', 1" I think), so it doesn't have that yucky warm bathtub feel (this was our biggest disappointment at Wilderness Lodge a few years ago). The slide is really long and fast. My kids both teenagers loved the pool and wanted to go every night even when they were exhausted. There is a large baby pool and a large hot tub. We also spent a lot of time at the Cabanas quiet pool as it was just outside of our room. It was so relaxing and peaceful. I had to do a load of laundry while we were there, and the laundry room is right next to the quiet pool. Honestly, we had the best possible location. I don't know how we were so lucky.
The resort was full, but mostly with Conventionears, so you wouldn't know it. They don't really go to the parks, so the buses were awesome. We never had to stand one time! There are 4 bus stops at the resort, and the one in front of the main building is the most crowded. We always got on at stop #4, behind the Cabanas, and there were tons of seats. Coming home from the parks was amazing all the other moderate resorts had these incredible lines of people, but not ours. After Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom, there were 5 people in our line! We could not believe it.
Pepper Market I know a lot of people don't like the set up of this counter service because they seat you and give each member of your party a card. You go around to the various food stations, get what you want, and the person at the food station stamps your card with what you ate. You take it back to your table, eat, and then give the card to the cashier and pay on the way out. I was concerned about how it would work, but we LOVED it. It felt very civilized and peaceful, without the typical jostling to get in a food line, and standing around with trays looking for an empty table. It was so much less hectic. The food I will review later on the dining board, but like most of Disney (in my humble opinion) it was just OK. Not horrible, but not out of this world either. The highlight for me was the soup counter. I love soup and they have two soups a day; you get a HUGE, and I mean huge, bowl along with a nice piece of french bread to dunk in it. Very nice. We also appreciated that there are so many placed to fill your refillable mugs: inside Pepper Market, at the coffee counter just outside Pepper Market, in the Rix Cafe snack shop, and of course at the pool. Very convenient. And speaking of Rix Cafe. This place has an amazing assortment of pretty tasty breakfast and snack foods. My daughter has a breakfast quiche from here one morning and she loved it, said it was delicious. There are also sandwiches, fruit, etc. A large selection definitely not available at other moderates.
We also ate the breakfast buffet at the Maya Grill. This TS restaurant is like the rest of the resort very peaceful and lovely. It wasn't crowded at all, it was quiet, and the food was good. It's a much smaller buffet than, say, Chef Mickey's, as it is definitely more "adult." That was the only meal we had there, but we would have no problem going for another meal. We never made it to the Rix Lounge bar in the main building.
We had a rental car, and for anyone bringing a car, CSR can't be beat. The parking lots behind each building are never crowded. We parked literally right outside of our building each day and night, no problem. It was so handy when it came to loading and unloading luggage, though they will transport you and your luggage via the golf carts if you take Disney transportation. When we got home after 10+ hours at the parks, it was so nice to park and be 50 feet from our building.
OK, so I think that's about it. I highly, highly recommend this moderate resort. It is ABSOLUTELY a cut above other moderates in so many ways. If you stay here, you will say, as we did frequently, "I can't believe this is a moderate. It sooo feels like a deluxe resort."
The Photos
, what do you think? Thanks in advance.
