Just back, hated CSR!

[jennymouse]

Buzz2001, I was considering switching to CBR or POFQ, but now that I know you and your family will be there same time as us, we just might have to stay! Still hoping for that great code rate at AKL though!

 

[christianweecare]

DH and I had a similar experience last December 2001. We had stayed at POR for the first part of our trip then moved to CS for the last night before returning home. The resort is lovely and the room was fine, but the resort is too spread out! We also were not pleased with the Pepper Market set up! The only thing done for us was we were seated and brought one soft drink! Please! We'll take PO or CBR any day!

 

[Disney-Kim]

I just want anyone who is thinking of staying at the CSR that it was a nice resort. It just wasn't for us.
We all have different tastes and the CSR was too much like being at home....all of nicer Phoenix and Scottsdale looks like the CSR.

So it was bad decision on our part.....but it was fun to stay somewhere new.

and.....we really did not like the foodcourt setup or food.

 

[CanBeGrumpy]

I hated the CSR too! I was afraid to post, because I knew some people on this board had reservations there!! We were in Cabanas, I think 8A, and the room was GROSS!!! The carpet was disgustingly dirty and all bunched up at the edges--needed stretching in the worst way!! The first room we were assigned had hair in the tub and toothpaste in the sink! We switched to another room a few doors down--FOOD CRUMBS on the table!!! (this can be a big deal to us because our son has a serious allergy to peanuts!) This room also had the disgusting, lumpy carpet! We were not impressed at all by the pool--actually quite boring to us. The kiddie pool did not have the cool fish that we saw in a brochure--it was just fountains shooting out of the ground! We tried the Pepper Market, and had a really nice guy give our kids their pizza--we only ordered one to split between two kids, but the guy gave us two cookies and two pieces of fruit (only supposed to have one). The only problem was--the pizza was SOGGY!! Also, I asked repeatedly at the bakery if any of the cookies were peanut butter, and they said "NO". So I got one for my Dh and I to share--it was PEANUT BUTTER!!! Like I said, peanuts can be deadly to our son, so I was MIFFED!!! The little store at the resort was selling ice cream sandwiches (NOT Mickey shaped--just your run-of-the mill, rectangle) for $2.50!!!!! I almost fainted!! Had to shell out the bucks since we promised our kids an IC Sandwich, and boy was I mad! I wouldn't have minded if it was Mickey-shaped! (still a rip-off, but at least it is something special!) I cannot even put into words how disappointed I was in this resort. I will absolutely never stay there again (well, unless it is free!) I am relieved that someone else had a bad experience there--after reading the rave reviews on this board, I was beginning to think I must have been at a totally different place! LOL!

 

[CM Tinkerbell]

We loved CSR when we stayed there. We thought the resort was beautiful. Our room was nice and clean. We love the theme and......believe it or not............loved the food court. I thought they had a very nice selection of food compared to many of the other food courts. Lots of different things to choose from. And everything we had at the time was nice and fresh. I also think I'm one of the only people who didn't mind the 10% gratuity. When ever we eat at a type of restuarant where you get your own food, but you have a server who gets your drinks, we always leave a 10% gratuity anyway, so it really doesn't bother us.

We are staying there a couple nights on our next trip before moving over the BWV and myself and my family are looking forward to it.

The one thing to remember is that if you think you will like a particular resort, but someone else doesn't, you really can't base your decision to stay there on someone elses report. Everyone's taste is different. Not everyone dislikes the CSR as we know becasue it has a lot of repeast visitors, as do the other resorts. You have to stay where you think you will like to, and if you don't like it, then you try something else the next time. It's fun to try all the different resorts.

 

[Buzz2001]

Well said CM Tinkerbell. We too love the food court. They will do what ever you ask of them. We have never had a bad stay at CSR but you have to remember what you getting before you choose to stay there.

1. A Convention Resort
2. Themed after Mexico / SW America (not much shade in the desert)
3. The Pepper Market is not a food court as you know it and yes, they charge you 10% for seating you and bringing drinks and condiments to the table.
4. Is very large

 

[kimmar067]

I would give CSR a "thumbs up"!!! However, we stayed at CSR during Christmas week (it was SO BEAUTIFULLY decorated for Christmas!!!) and the "heat" problem was not a factor for us. We stayed in the Ranchos section, which has an arid, desert feel to it (it even has a dried up river bed!!) We have never been to the southwest part of the U.S. so I imagine this seems to be pretty close to the "real deal"! As for the food court - well, with 2 DS's who are finicky eaters, this place satisfied even their picky tastes, so I would have to give it two stars!!

That's what is so great about all the theming of the different resorts - you have so much to choose from....!!

 

[donzac27]

I'm sorry you didn't like CSR. I stayed there last summer for 2 weeks and loved it so we are staying for 23 nights this summer. I didn't have any problems with noise at all and we loved the food court. I like the idea of the food court being more of a sit down meal rather than the cafeteria style at POR and I didn't have any problems finding meals for kids. The PM also has a bigger selection of food, I thought. Don't get me wrong though, I do like POR alot but I also like CSR. And believe it or not, POR is bigger than CSR.

 

[seashoreCM]

I haven't stayed at CSR (stayed at All Star instead for the lesser rate).

One night while returning to All Star I saw traffic backed up at least five long light cycles worth, trying to enter CSR. That would certainly hinder bus travel to the parks.

Soggy pizza, toothpaste and hair in sink, merits a replacement or a steep discount, maybe comping may be the thing to ask for.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Buzz2001]

Not really seashoreCM because the buses use a different entrance to CSR other than the main one. They usually stop at bus stop 2 first making the rounds to bus stop 1. So if the traffic, for whatever reason, was backed up entering the main entrance, that would not effect the buses.

While we are on the transportation topic, CSR has great bus service not sharing with any other resort. Rarely have I ever had to more than 10 minutes for a bus. Usually emptier because the convention folks don't go to the parks.

 

[rreynolds]

I stayed in both POR and CSR in Feb of this year. I would NEVER stay in POR again because it was FILTHY. The grounds, the room, the pool,and the food court. We were stuck there because we had five people. As soon as one left I paid an additional $30.00 a night to switch to CSR where we salvaged the remainder of our vacation. It was clean. The pools were cleaner, the food was better. I have vowed never to stay at another moderate again. Its CSR or better.

 

[TDC Nala]

I'm a big fan of CSR but I don't eat there. I use the food court as a place to refill my mug. That's generally how I treat most resort food courts because I usually eat in the parks.

If I had children, I might go with Port Orleans or CBR.

I've seen more conventioners at the Boardwalk and the Swolphin. They don't bother me at all as long as they don't clog up the buses to the parks.


CSR July 4-8

 

[emsamom]

Just wondering if there are coffee makers at CSR? Stayed there a couple of years ago but I can't remember. We enjoyed the resort and my DH really liked the health club!!

 

[Buzz2001]

Coffee makers, irons and ironing boards are standard in the rooms. They also leave packets of coffee each day.

Check out my CSR website below

 

[pattyT]

I am so....

To hear that you loved PO
I have never been to Disney (my husband has never stayed onsite) I had NO idea what to pick and I have been second quessing my choice of PO FQ ever since I reserved for October!

 

[pReTtYpRiNcEsS]

i just hope some ppl take reveiws (good and bad) w/ a grain of salt! Some of these situations concern cast members and dirty rooms. This has nothing to do with the resort itself. For all we know these housekeepers and other cast members could have been moved to POFQ or any resort for that matter... b/c don't they get moved around? Also, some of these could.. not saying do but could pertain to other resorts as well. Such as the ice cream sandwiches that one poster thought were over priced. I do, as well, think $2.50 is outrageous for an ice cream sandwhich, however; i don't believe this belongs in a critique of a specific hotel b/c don't many of the hotels serve the exact food? I am not trying to be snotty or seemly omnicesent (obviously.. since i prob. didn't even spell the word right!) just suggesting that ppl read reveiws (good and bad) w/ a open mind, and not necassarily let them change their mind or make them uneasy about previous decisions.

 

[pattyT]

Pretty princess -
I am not ignorant or closed minded
I do understand what you are saying!
But I have planned many vacas without knowing anything about the hotel and I have benn VERY disapppointed and misled so I was just stating that it is good to hear that I am not staying at the worst hotel!
Looking at a map of the resort and trying to pick a hotel based on its name is difficult! In our area most people stayed at cb and loved it - I was worried that I picked a hotel noone liked!

 

[TwinMom7]

I had to make this choice a few months ago. Part of me really wanted to try Coronado Springs - something new and different. Another part of me knew how awesome Port Orleans Riverside was, after 3 visits there. After a great deal of deliberation...we decided to go "home" to the bayou. After reading this post, I think I made the right decision!! I absolutely love the trees, the landscaping, the winding Sassagoula River and the food court. The desert of Mexico doesn't really appeal to me in the August heat!

 

[donzac27]

TwinMom7.........I felt the same way last summer. I had stayed at POR many, many times because it was my favorite but last summer we decided to try something new and go to CS. I was so unsure and the first 2 days of my trip I was homesick for POR but as the days passed I began to really love CS. There is still a warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart for POR but I grew a new feeling for CS as well. I am staying at CS again this summer for 23 nights which I am looking forward to. So, the moral of the story is.........try something new, you won't loose the feeling for POR at all but you might get some new wonderful feelings for something else.

 

[Buzz2001]

donzac27 - 23 nights at CSR. I would be in heaven. When I first read that on your previous post, I thought it was a typo. That sounds like an awesome trip. Have a great time!