Resort Thread Disney's CARIBBEAN BEACH Resort

[Kevin355]

The walking distances are greatly exaggerated in our opinion.

We have been in 9 different rooms at CBR and have never noticed a mildew smell. And I too am alergic to mold and mildew.

What he said.

 

[danalea10]

Can I ask why?? I've never stayed at CBR and I'm curious which one we would like better?

We requested Martinique because preferred is closer to the food court and should be the first bus stop depending on the route!

 

[dansdad]

Martinique is one of the "preferred" buildings being closest to OPR, where the pool, food court, restaurant, shopping and pool bar is...

We requested Martinique because preferred is closer to the food court and should be the first bus stop depending on the route!

Martinique 24, 25, and 26 have Preferred, Water View, and King rooms in them. Martinique 21, 22 and 23 have Standard, Water View and King rooms in them.

 

[veachjt]

Martinique 24, 25, and 26 have Preferred, Water View, and King rooms in them. Martinique 21, 22 and 23 have Standard, Water View and King rooms in them.

I've seen where Trinidad is preferred too?? Just curious which is better?

 

[dansdad]

I've seen where Trinidad is preferred too?? Just curious which is better?

Buildings/Villages are not classified as Preferred, only Rooms are.

Yes, Trinidad North has Preferred, Water View and King rooms.

To me, other than the exterior color, there's no difference in the 2 Villages.

 

[ksantilli]

There are Water View rooms in every building. You can request any building with a Water View.

thanks so much!

 

[buckeev]

This thread is awesome! I'm excited to be staying at CBR in October with free dining (checking in 9/30), I stalked the website for 5 days to get it and it finally paid off). The first couple pages are amazing with info about the resort! Better than any other site I could find googling. Thanks so much for putting all of that info together.

WTG! So glad y'all got a FD Deal!!!

 

[firstwdw]

The mildew smell does have me concerned. Has it been figured if it's just a scent in the air or actual mildew in or around rooms? I have an allergy to molds and mildews and can have pretty severe attacks if they are close. Is this in a specific building or area that I should avoid requesting?

Hi, We were in Martinique bldg 25 a week ago and had to move due to the mildew odor. The odor was STRONG and we were taken aback entering the room! I literally smelled everything in the room-the AC vent, carpet, curtains, bedspread and it was definitely in the air and not really coming from anything in particular. We had friends in the same bldg who noticed an odor as well but not nearly as strong and they chose to stay. I wasn't sure if it was smoke, mildew/mold or perhaps chemicals from the renovation or cleaning supplies-I just knew my sinuses were not happy after an hour. The head of housekeeping came to our room and told us, "We assure you this odor is NOT smoke, it is mildew/mold." Apparently they have had issues since the renovation-that is what housekeeping told us.

I also have read reports on Trip Advisor of the same issues at this resort. It really set the tone for a bad first impression. Thankfully we were moved and the new room was fine and we had a great week after that! So.....if you get to your room and it does have a mildew/mold or funky odor go to the front desk and ask for a new room immediately. The desk at the food court was not helpful by the way-you have to go to the check-in desk where Magical Express picks up and drops off.

Also, we did notice smoking areas VERY close to the buildings-I am wondering if perhaps it was a smoke odor that was pulled into the room by the AC OR if perhaps many many years ago that building was a smoking building and smoking was allowed in the rooms?

 

[Barnabas T Bullion]

Love this thread thanks! I am booked for a standard room at the end of August for my family of 5. Our 3rd Disney trip, first time out of Values.

I am wondering (not worrying) about the walk\layout. Is similar to AOA? We stayed there on our last trip and all the complaints about walking distance had me really worried, yet once we checked in and I toured the resort I couldn't understand it. Will I find the same concept at CBR? Everyone has a different idea of what is a lot of walking?

Stayed at CBR in April 2015 and we had seen so/so reviews prior to arriving but we were blown away by it. We had stayed at POFQ and AKL before and I think we liked CBR most out of the 3. The pool was great!

As dansdad mentioned, the walking distance complaints are overdone (though it IS a large resort) but of course you can use the resort bus to go around the resort in addition to requesting a desired room or going with a preferred room (we did a pref room and had Trinidad North and loved it).

 

[mommymanda]

The mildew smell does have me concerned. Has it been figured if it's just a scent in the air or actual mildew in or around rooms? I have an allergy to molds and mildews and can have pretty severe attacks if they are close. Is this in a specific building or area that I should avoid requesting?

Hi, We were in Martinique bldg 25 a week ago and had to move due to the mildew odor. The odor was STRONG and we were taken aback entering the room! I literally smelled everything in the room-the AC vent, carpet, curtains, bedspread and it was definitely in the air and not really coming from anything in particular. We had friends in the same bldg who noticed an odor as well but not nearly as strong and they chose to stay. I wasn't sure if it was smoke, mildew/mold or perhaps chemicals from the renovation or cleaning supplies-I just knew my sinuses were not happy after an hour. The head of housekeeping came to our room and told us, "We assure you this odor is NOT smoke, it is mildew/mold." Apparently they have had issues since the renovation-that is what housekeeping told us.

I also have read reports on Trip Advisor of the same issues at this resort. It really set the tone for a bad first impression. Thankfully we were moved and the new room was fine and we had a great week after that! So.....if you get to your room and it does have a mildew/mold or funky odor go to the front desk and ask for a new room immediately. The desk at the food court was not helpful by the way-you have to go to the check-in desk where Magical Express picks up and drops off.

Also, we did notice smoking areas VERY close to the buildings-I am wondering if perhaps it was a smoke odor that was pulled into the room by the AC OR if perhaps many many years ago that building was a smoking building and smoking was allowed in the rooms?

Thank you, if it's just a scent my allergies should survive, but if it is actual spores I'm in trouble.
I am already planning to request a parking lot view and 2nd floor to avoid smoke.

 

[anniemae]

The mildew smell does have me concerned. Has it been figured if it's just a scent in the air or actual mildew in or around rooms? I have an allergy to molds and mildews and can have pretty severe attacks if they are close. Is this in a specific building or area that I should avoid requesting?

Hi, We were in Martinique bldg 25 a week ago and had to move due to the mildew odor. The odor was STRONG and we were taken aback entering the room! I literally smelled everything in the room-the AC vent, carpet, curtains, bedspread and it was definitely in the air and not really coming from anything in particular. We had friends in the same bldg who noticed an odor as well but not nearly as strong and they chose to stay. I wasn't sure if it was smoke, mildew/mold or perhaps chemicals from the renovation or cleaning supplies-I just knew my sinuses were not happy after an hour. The head of housekeeping came to our room and told us, "We assure you this odor is NOT smoke, it is mildew/mold." Apparently they have had issues since the renovation-that is what housekeeping told us.

I also have read reports on Trip Advisor of the same issues at this resort. It really set the tone for a bad first impression. Thankfully we were moved and the new room was fine and we had a great week after that! So.....if you get to your room and it does have a mildew/mold or funky odor go to the front desk and ask for a new room immediately. The desk at the food court was not helpful by the way-you have to go to the check-in desk where Magical Express picks up and drops off.

Also, we did notice smoking areas VERY close to the buildings-I am wondering if perhaps it was a smoke odor that was pulled into the room by the AC OR if perhaps many many years ago that building was a smoking building and smoking was allowed in the rooms?

You know there was a very strange musty/burning smell in our room at CBR last summer. We were in Martinique, can't remember the building, but the smell was very noticeable. DH took apart the AC vent and it was totally overflowing with dust and dirt and needed to be cleaned. He cleaned it and the smell was gone. and the AC worked better.

 

[sahm2two]

After reading mixed reviews about the bus service I thought I would just ask... We are going in October with free dining (checking in 9/30 before it ends). Im assuming crowds will be fairly high bc off fall breaks, mnsshp and FD.

Should we just skip the buses all together and drive to the parks? What is the downside to driving? We will have our car bc we're driving down from GA.

 

[blackpearl77]

Anyone there right now or going soon? Wondering if the refurb of the quiet pool in Trinidad North is done yet???

 

[mickeystoontown]

After reading mixed reviews about the bus service I thought I would just ask... We are going in October with free dining (checking in 9/30 before it ends). Im assuming crowds will be fairly high bc off fall breaks, mnsshp and FD.

Should we just skip the buses all together and drive to the parks? What is the downside to driving? We will have our car bc we're driving down from GA.

We drive to WDW too but once we park our car in the CBR parking lot, that's where it stays. It is much easier to let Disney do the driving for us, especially when it comes to traveling to the Magic Kingdom. If you drive, you must park at the TTC and then transfer to either the monorail or the ferry boat to get to the park entrance. When taking the buses, it will take you directly to the park entrance, bypassing the TTC all together.

 

[sahm2two]

We drive to WDW too but once we park our car in the CBR parking lot, that's where it stays. It is much easier to let Disney do the driving for us, especially when it comes to traveling to the Magic Kingdom. If you drive, you must park at the TTC and then transfer to either the monorail or the ferry boat to get to the park entrance. When taking the buses, it will take you directly to the park entrance, bypassing the TTC all together.

Gotcha. When we went last time we had 2 toddlers and all their crap and when they were ready to go we really didn't want to have to wait on a bus so we just drove everywhere. I was thinking it'd be nice to take Disney transport this time though. Still have kids to deal with but no stroller and only one regular size backpack

 

[Kevin355]

After reading mixed reviews about the bus service I thought I would just ask... We are going in October with free dining (checking in 9/30 before it ends). Im assuming crowds will be fairly high bc off fall breaks, mnsshp and FD.

Should we just skip the buses all together and drive to the parks? What is the downside to driving? We will have our car bc we're driving down from GA.

October is not a bad time to go. Most kids are in school and not getting a break until the Thanksgiving break. EPCOT may be busy because of Food and Wine Festival that runs from mid-September to mid-November, but after the first 3 weeks, it should die down.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Gotcha. When we went last time we had 2 toddlers and all their crap and when they were ready to go we really didn't want to have to wait on a bus so we just drove everywhere. I was thinking it'd be nice to take Disney transport this time though. Still have kids to deal with but no stroller and only one regular size backpack

Honestly, I'd much rather have Disney drive us everywhere. Even with kids, it should be easier. I'd allot a little extra time to get to the parks. The rides to Epcot and HS will be about 11 minutes, Animal Kingdom takes a little longer and Magic Kingdom is about 20 if that.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Good afternoon! I've updated post #2 to help with questions regarding room categories. As dansdad has pointed out, it is not the buildings themselves that are preferred, it is the rooms. I've edited post #2 to include additional information. If you still have questions regarding the various categories, please feel free to post your questions. We are always glad to help out.

 

[Story Girl]

So excited about my upcoming stay at CBR...our first time!

 

[MissErikaRae]

Love this thread thanks! I am booked for a standard room at the end of August for my family of 5. Our 3rd Disney trip, first time out of Values.

I am wondering (not worrying) about the walk\layout. Is similar to AOA? We stayed there on our last trip and all the complaints about walking distance had me really worried, yet once we checked in and I toured the resort I couldn't understand it. Will I find the same concept at CBR? Everyone has a different idea of what is a lot of walking?

The mildew smell does have me concerned. Has it been figured if it's just a scent in the air or actual mildew in or around rooms? I have an allergy to molds and mildews and can have pretty severe attacks if they are close. Is this in a specific building or area that I should avoid requesting?

We stayed at CBR for our first trip to WDW and stayed in the Jamaica building. There was a bus stop just across the parking lot which was nice a convenient however when we wanted something to eat or drink we considered it a longer walk than we preferred. Coming back from the parks after walking around for hours we really didn't want to walk all the way to the store/food court area. I highly recommend bringing snacks and water for the room if you don't want to walk far. The layout is really simple once you get to a main path and the landscape is beautiful which makes for nice strolls.

As far as mildew went- I heard that some of the rooms smelled like that prior to our trip so I brought a plug in scented oil and plugged it in the bathroom. We ended up not really needed it as the room didn't really smell but that's always an option or even fabreeze spray.

We really liked it there and would stay again but request a room closer to the main area.