Is CSR really that bad?

[GreatLakes]

From my understanding, Pepper Market is a regular food court now where you seat yourself and no table service.

That is true. They no longer have that card that gets punched or the awkward sort of wait staff scenario they used to have. I think the food was a little better before but when I was there this past June we both found something we liked every day we ate there.

 

[clapton]

Guess I'm in the minority here, but we stayed there last Nov for only one night( thank goodness) and the room reminded me of a old outdated motel room. We would never stay there again!

 

[IndyRnRfan]

I can tell you that while we stayed there for 12 days and visited the lobby and dining area on 10 of those days, we never saw one person in a suit. This is the biggest complaint because it's a convention center as well. It's a beautiful resort and even more at night. I'd say it's the most beautiful nighttime resort with all the lights and the lake. Great bus service and awesome pool area. Some complain about the size too but that is usually from out of shape people IMO. I've said this before, we stayed in the farthest building from the lobby and it was a 7 min. 30 sec walk at a casual pace. You'll love it. Oh, and there isn't a long bus ride anywhere. You are very centrally located.

 

[HopperFan]

I can tell you that while we stayed there for 12 days and visited the lobby and dining area on 10 of those days, we never saw one person in a suit. This is the biggest complaint because it's a convention center as well. It's a beautiful resort and even more at night. I'd say it's the most beautiful nighttime resort with all the lights and the lake. Great bus service and awesome pool area. Some complain about the size too but that is usually from out of shape people IMO. I've said this before, we stayed in the farthest building from the lobby and it was a 7 min. 30 sec walk at a casual pace. You'll love it. Oh, and there isn't a long bus ride anywhere. You are very centrally located.

Agree. I always find it funny that one of the biggest complaints or reasons to not stay at CSR is that it is a convention resort. Boardwalk Inn, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Yacht and Beach Club and Swan & Dolphin are all convention hotels.

The plus of CSR conventions is during the day convention folks are not at the pools or on the buses. I love not hunting for a lounge or table/chairs at the pool!

 

[DizDaD7]

Absolutely...CSR is a definite hidden gem for sure.....

Pet Peeve of mine as well...Convention resort....pffft. Who cares? Like both of you just stated, this is what makes your transportation to n from the parks, as enjoyable as it is....Never once did I ever have to give up my seat, or stand going to or coming from any park... EVER.....Also as stated, pools ( whether quiet or main pool ) were never even 1/2 way filled either.

 

[saskdw]

Guess I'm in the minority here, but we stayed there last Nov for only one night( thank goodness) and the room reminded me of a old outdated motel room. We would never stay there again!

Yes, you are definitely in a very small minority.

 

[RedOne3781]

I have stayed there twice. The first time was in 1998 when it was still pretty new.
I stayed there again in 2012.

In '98, I loved it. It was beautiful and clean. I was in my late teens at the time, and loved the pool and the lay out of the resort.

Before staying there in 2012, my mom and I went there for a few meals during trips where we stayed at other properties. They were nice visits: good food, nice atmosphere, clean, etc.

2012 was the opposite. The room was clean, but the rest of the resort was filthy. There was garbage in the stairwells that sat there for days! Even after we told several cast members about it. And then there were the rats. Oh my god, the rats. By the lobby, by the small pool near our room, in the stairwell mentioned above munching on some melted ice cream and other garbage tucked into the corner. One ran across my foot while I was sitting on a bench outside. Another ran in front of my mom when she walked to go get a cup of coffee. We went to the front desk, told them about the rats and all of the garbage and were basically told there was nothing they could do about it. We asked for nothing more than getting the garbage cleaned up in hopes that maybe it would help the infestation a little. Finally (halfway through our stay) my mom found a cast member walking near our room, asked him to follow her, showed him the garbage and he got someone to clean it.

I don't know. A lot of people seem to love it. But every time I think about CSR, I picture the rat in the stairwell eating days old melted ice cream and think nope. Nope nope nope.

So, yes. To me it is as bad as the reviews claim it to be.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

i've stayed there twice now. Both times I enjoyed staying there. The grounds are lovely. The pools never seem crowded. I didn't see conventioneer one during either stay.

The only issue I had there was with the front desk. They didn't seem to be happy to be checking us into the resort on either visit. Having said that, the desk staff has probably changed by now.

The food selections there were fine, but we did the bulk of our eating in the parks or Downtown Disney. That's nothing against the hotel's restaurants. We just didn't eat there.

I thought the bus service was prompt and almost always right on time, every 15 minutes. The only time we really had to wait was on a day when we'd just missed the bus we wanted. It did seem like the next one took longer to reach us, but waiting can do that to you.

I'd gladly stay there again.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

I like CSR and feel like it has a lot of extras to offer, compared to the other mods: business class, fitness center, pool with lap markers, better bus service, arrangement of the Dig Site area with food and drinks available...

The rooms were looking kind of shabby when we were there, but sometimes that happens between rehabs. It wouldn't stop me from returning (although I could see why it might get a bad rap from conventioneers on a site like TripAdvisor).

 

[HopperFan]

I like CSR and feel like it has a lot of extras to offer, compared to the other mods: business class, fitness center, pool with lap markers, better bus service, arrangement of the Dig Site area with food and drinks available...

The rooms were looking kind of shabby when we were there, but sometimes that happens between rehabs. It wouldn't stop me from returning (although I could see why it might get a bad rap from conventioneers on a site like TripAdvisor).

The are getting ready to start rehabbing. Permits recently filed.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

@HopperFan - I know and I am happy! I'm about 98% sure we're going to return to CSR for our trip next summer...I keep looking at CBR (zero entry pool) and POR (better food court) and then discounting them because of everything extra that CSR has to offer. I'll probably keep swaying until I make the official reservation!

 

[Guittech]

I don't know. A lot of people seem to love it. But every time I think about CSR, I picture the rat in the stairwell eating days old melted ice cream and think nope. Nope nope nope.

So, yes. To me it is as bad as the reviews claim it to be.

You got a PERSONAL VISIT from Remy? Maybe he was gathering an ingredient for his fine french cuisine!

Read lots of reviews, haven't heard much about Rats as of yet....

 

[IndyRnRfan]

We didn't see one rat while there for 12 days. Even with all the kids there from softball and soccer tournaments the grounds were still pretty clean and we thought they did a great job of picking up after those groups since they couldn't do it themselves.

 

[lauritagoddess]

I know a lot of people love CSR, but it's by far the least favorite of the resorts we've stayed at. It was beautiful and well-maintained but it didn't feel very Disney to us. But more than that, it was so huge. We were in a preferred room but it still seemed like it took forever to walk to El Centro. And we only made it to the Dig Site twice in an 8 day stay because it was such a long walk. Maybe if we had stayed there in a cooler time of year, but in the heat of August by the time we walked back to the hotel room from the Dig Site we were drenched in sweat and felt like we'd never been in the pool. My son is also an arcade junkie and even he didn't want to do the walk to the Dig Site for it so that tells you something. I know that this is not an issue for a lot of people, but for us it was.

 

[nilla]

Ok, any doubts I've had about TripAdvisor are now confirmed

Coronado Springs is AWESOME. We haven't stayed at any of the "deluxe deluxes", but we did like it better than Wilderness Lodge, and it's our favorite moderate.

 

[purplelover88]

I just returned from my first stay at Coronado Springs and was very pleasently surprised. I didn't expect to love it but it is now in the running for my favorite moderate. The only problems we had was it was very noisy. We were on the top floor in cabanas 8A and there were people running and talking down the coridor and one morning they decided the tree in front of our room needed to be cut down. However, still a great experience and I will be back.

which makes the buses relatively less crowded than at other resorts.

This was by far my favorite thing about CSR. One night after leaving frozen fireworks, we walked out to the bus stop expecting a huge line and there were 5 people in front of us! The stop was next to POR and it was packed, needed 4-5 buses to get everyone on. That alone would make me choose CSR.

 

[TNS_Tinkerbell]

WE stayed at CSR on our first trip and was pleasantly surprised. The grounds are beautiful and the rooms were very comfortable and clean. The main pool was amazing with great thumbing and they have a great play area for the kids. It is the only moderate resort with a gym and a spa/hair salon. The food court was very good. The only cave heat is the the sheer size of the resort. I had paid for a preferred room and we still had to walk 5 minutes to get to the bus stop and 15 min to get to the main pool. We were placed in the Casita section. If I went back, I would ask to be close to the main pool and to a bus stop. You can check out my review of the resort on my blog: http://disneyplaning101.blogspot.ca/2011/02/coronado-springs.html

I checked out your blog. Thank you for sharing.

 

[TNS_Tinkerbell]

I have to say thank you for all of you responses.

I went ahead and booked our trip.

Of Course, the refurb list was posted for 2016. Yes, I know tentative, and I see the CSR is on the list. BUT OF COURSE.

So for now, I think we will stick with it.

I see the price is only $25/ night to upgrade to this Business class, so I'll wait until discounts come out to see if I switch to that room with a king, or jump to another resort, depending on the details of the refurb.

Thank you again.

I have never spurred so many comments before here on disboards.

 

[Guittech]

Fitness Center, Salon and one of the leisure pools will be closed. I walk for fitness (and to be able to see AS MUCH DISNEY AS POSSIBLE!!!!) I am bald, so no hair appointment for me... (The wife isn't one for Salon trips) One of the pools closed kinda sucks, might lead to a little more crowding, but I don't think it will be too bad post labour day.

 

[luvdisdogs]

We stayed there 11 days in November and loved it!