TKDizneyluver
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2004
- Messages
- 562
Hi Everyone!
Gosh, I can't believe how quick our trip went by! But we had a wonderful time, beautiful weather, and we were at Disney World! What more could we ask for!?
Cast of Characters: Me (40) Disneyaholic/vacation planner
DH (39) Closet Disneylover
To start off, this resort is BEAUTIFUL! If you love the tropics like I do, you too will enjoy the beauty of this resort. Sandy beaches with hammocks, palm trees swaying in the breeze & the overall colorful buildings and background Calypso music were very nice!
We had never stayed at this resort so it was nice to try someplace new. We arrived late on Saturday evening(10/23), around 8:30 p.m. They had 4 cast members on staff checking people in, we waited approximately 20-25 minutes before we were on our way to our room. Our room was very nice, we requested a corner king room in Aruba and that is what we were given. It was a first floor room(5412) right around the corner from the quiet pool, the walkway along the lake & the bus stop(very nice!). Before we left I was concerned about bugs as that was one of the big topics on this board at that time. Well I am happy to say that we had NO BUGS in our room! Mousekeeping was very good, our room was cleaned well each day. They left new soaps every other day, they had changed the blankets and sheets on our 3rd day(we stayed a total of 6) and we received a towel bunny on our 4th day. We left $3 each day in a "Mousekeeping envelope" on the sink for the 2 of us. Our only complaint was that the bed was too hard for our backs, but other people may not have a problem with that. FYI...included in the room was a wall attached hairdryer(very powerful, had three settings), an iron & ironing board(very nice), a 4-cup coffee maker with 2 pre-packaged coffee packets, and a refrigerator-no freezer.
We did not have the opportunity to eat at Shutter's Restaurant, but we did enjoy the foods available at the Market Street Food Court. I do recall when we stayed at the All-Stars & PO that they had more food stations to choose from than CBR did. And it is true that it is cheaper to buy beer, wine, soda, milk, etc. from the Calypso Trading Post(clothing & souveniers) rather than from the food court area. From what I've read on these boards that appears to be true at all resorts. We bought CBR mugs right away and felt they were worth the money with the amount of coffee, tea & soda that we drank during our stay. We did see people using mugs from other resorts as has also been reported on these boards previously.
Overall we would stay at this resort again, however I agree with people who feel that this resort is too spread out. It would have been nice having the food court closer, maybe they could have 2 food courts? IMO it was not so bad walking to Old Port Royale in the morning when our stamina was up, but when we returned from a day at the parks and our feet & legs were tired it felt like a trek. If anyone has any questions for me feel free to ask. In the meantime I think we'll start researching the Polynesian and the Contemporary(DH mentioned wanting to stay here several times during our trip!). Have a magical day!
Gosh, I can't believe how quick our trip went by! But we had a wonderful time, beautiful weather, and we were at Disney World! What more could we ask for!?
Cast of Characters: Me (40) Disneyaholic/vacation planner
DH (39) Closet Disneylover
To start off, this resort is BEAUTIFUL! If you love the tropics like I do, you too will enjoy the beauty of this resort. Sandy beaches with hammocks, palm trees swaying in the breeze & the overall colorful buildings and background Calypso music were very nice!
We had never stayed at this resort so it was nice to try someplace new. We arrived late on Saturday evening(10/23), around 8:30 p.m. They had 4 cast members on staff checking people in, we waited approximately 20-25 minutes before we were on our way to our room. Our room was very nice, we requested a corner king room in Aruba and that is what we were given. It was a first floor room(5412) right around the corner from the quiet pool, the walkway along the lake & the bus stop(very nice!). Before we left I was concerned about bugs as that was one of the big topics on this board at that time. Well I am happy to say that we had NO BUGS in our room! Mousekeeping was very good, our room was cleaned well each day. They left new soaps every other day, they had changed the blankets and sheets on our 3rd day(we stayed a total of 6) and we received a towel bunny on our 4th day. We left $3 each day in a "Mousekeeping envelope" on the sink for the 2 of us. Our only complaint was that the bed was too hard for our backs, but other people may not have a problem with that. FYI...included in the room was a wall attached hairdryer(very powerful, had three settings), an iron & ironing board(very nice), a 4-cup coffee maker with 2 pre-packaged coffee packets, and a refrigerator-no freezer.
We did not have the opportunity to eat at Shutter's Restaurant, but we did enjoy the foods available at the Market Street Food Court. I do recall when we stayed at the All-Stars & PO that they had more food stations to choose from than CBR did. And it is true that it is cheaper to buy beer, wine, soda, milk, etc. from the Calypso Trading Post(clothing & souveniers) rather than from the food court area. From what I've read on these boards that appears to be true at all resorts. We bought CBR mugs right away and felt they were worth the money with the amount of coffee, tea & soda that we drank during our stay. We did see people using mugs from other resorts as has also been reported on these boards previously.
Overall we would stay at this resort again, however I agree with people who feel that this resort is too spread out. It would have been nice having the food court closer, maybe they could have 2 food courts? IMO it was not so bad walking to Old Port Royale in the morning when our stamina was up, but when we returned from a day at the parks and our feet & legs were tired it felt like a trek. If anyone has any questions for me feel free to ask. In the meantime I think we'll start researching the Polynesian and the Contemporary(DH mentioned wanting to stay here several times during our trip!). Have a magical day!
