We returned yesterday from a weekend stay at Coronado Springs.
We were in connecting rooms, ground floor, in Ranchos, right around the corner from the quiet pool. We were in 7B and although I was dreading the walk with my physical struggles lately, it ended up being no problem. I just packed what I needed for the day in a beach bag and made the Dig Site my home base. Walked to El Centro for meals and then spent the rest of the days at the Dig Site before heading back to the room at night.
As far as the rooms themselves, we were not impressed. When we first walked in they smelled like cheap hotel rooms - musty & dirty - and they were rather dark and gloomy... not at all what I've come to expect from Disney resorts. We had a roll in shower with a shower seat that had mildew spots all over it, a door frame near that was rusted in several places near the floor, and a light switch/vent control that was falling apart.
The linens and towels seemed to be bright & fresh... appeared that maybe they added a bit of newness rather than rehabbing the entire room? The outside of the buildings looked like they needed some attention too... we saw many places where paint was peeling.
We were on the QSDP and had one dinner, one lunch, and two breakfasts at Pepper Market. We were not at all impressed with dinner - DS & I had the ribs which were dry and lacked flavor, DD has the quesadillas which were extremely bland - pretty much shredded chicken and cheese with no seasoning, and DH had the nachos which were cold - the buffet lunch was a bit better - we all loved the panini and the mexican dishes at lunch were actually seasoned - and we all loved everything on the breakfast buffet.
We had one meal at Siestas Cantina - buffalo wings, which were great, but they don't come with fries or chips, the only bottled beverage choices were apple or orange juice, and the only things they were offering for dessert were a fruit cup or chips (?!) - no ice cream or even cookies.
And we had one meal at Cafe Rix which we were all impressed with - DH had a club sandwich, DS had a Cuban, DD had pizza and I had a meatball sandwich - all were great and we had so many dessert choices we all got something different so we could share & try all! We were allowed to choose from many different bottled beverages to go in addition to filling our mug.
While the staff at Cafe Rix were great and we only had one issue with the staff at Siestas (forgot to put in my order so I waited a good 15 minutes) we found the majority of the PM wait staff to be rude and less than helpful. At dinner, on the dining plan, we were told that our mugs could be refilled as much as we liked but the only beverage we could take with us was bottled water. (Cafe Rix is right next door with many bottled beverages... why couldn't we be given the same choices as there?)
One morning I was standing beside the "Order" sign at the left side of the grill waiting to order while the cook finished up omelets for two other folks standing in front of her. Another man walked up to the right of the folks getting their omelets and the cook asked him what he'd like as she handed the first guests their omelets! I said "Excuse me, I've been standing here waiting" to which she rudely replied "The line forms here" pointing to the man standing in front of her. I then pointed to the sign and said "This sign says 'Order' and you saw me here and didn't say anything?" She turned back to the man and again asked what he'd like and he refused to order, telling her I was there first. I was shocked and I think he was as well!
Also, they all seem to like to circle and draw an arrow pointing to the line on the receipt saying tips are not included. We found this to be extremely rude, especially when it was done by wait staff who brought us drinks once and never returned!
We loved the Dig Site and were happy to spend two full days there. We found a solution to the no umbrellas issue - we pulled two loungers over to a table and used the shade from the table umbrella to shade our loungers. Throughout the day we had to adjust them... first both on one side, then one on each, then both on the other... but it worked and gave us shady loungers all day.
All in all, although we had an overall relaxing stay, the end vote is that we will not go back. We've stayed at Values, Moderates, and Deluxes and been happy with all of them except this one - it just didn't live up to the Disney standards we are all used to.
