Suzanne74
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 28, 2004
- Messages
- 2,933
We had a wonderful family gathering vacation at CSR. It is truly the best bang for your buck we have ever felt while vacationing at Disney. My mom is a travel agent and has pretty muched stayed at every Disney hotel, my sis who was also w/ us has stayed at Cont, CBR, POFQ and Poly. I have a few under my sig as well. We all LOVED LOVED LOVED this resort. It is so beautiful and landscaped very well. We checked in on Friday night around 9pm and were greeted warmly - walked right up to the counter and had room keys in hand within 10min. We had continuing reservations with first night being on my passholder rate and the next 8 being on the free dining package. No problems keeping the same rooms, we were all together, 3 in a row with 2 connecting and were in our 1 choice location 2 choice building request - Cabanas 8A. Wonderful location and after we were there a few days, I realized this would be my 1st choice from now on. We are steps away from bus stop 4 and steps from the Dig Site. We were about a 10min slow walk to El Centro but we were barely there and there was ALWAYS transportation shuttles going around. 3 running in the AM, 2 running in the afternoon and 4 running at nighttime - VERY nice!! If it was raining, they had towels for your at every shuttle too. They also handed out Mickey stickers to any kids as they drove around all day. There was one lady in particular who was so magical I wish I had her name.
The rooms are very mexican/southwest feel with lots of colors and shapes/textures. Not my personal taste but the rooms were the cleanest we found of all Dinsey resorts and we all had towel animals We had a duck, parents had a clown and sis's room had a bird. Very cute. Housekeeping was excellent the entire trip. I tried to leave a tip the first 3 days (right on a washcloth in front of the sink) and they would not take it. I finally left a note and still only one day it was taken. Oh well. We requested towels a few days and they were brought within 10min both times. An ethernet request was also quick. The internet service was awesome for my DH to keep up with his business while dd napped. we found for 3 of us the room worked great. Sis room had 4, 1 in a pack n play which she set up next to the fridge. No problems. We never had any problem with noise - above or next to and my sis would always apologize for my loud 2yr old neice. Well we never heard her!! We were on the first floor and I would highly recommend it as it was so easy to just get in your room and not worry about stairs, elevators, hallways etc...
The Dig Site is AWESOME and probably my personal fav right next to Storm Along Bay. I would have to say though that Storm Along is always packed, just like the Poly. Well the Dig Site always had people there but never too many so you could actually swim and always have a chair, lounger etc... It was so nice. The pool is HUGE so there is a ton of room. We have a 4yr old dd who met some nice friends there along with her 3yr old nephew and 2 yr old niece but it wasn't overwhelmed with kids which we LOVED. The kids all loved the playground, the sandbox, the kids pool with water fountain and the slide was awesome. Definately more for daredevils and older kids because it is FAST. 3yr old nephew did twice. My dd was chicken!! Siestas was great and we loved nachos and margaritas in the middle of the day and some orange dreamsicles before heading out for dinner. The hot tub was huge and AWESOME at night - it was great after a long day at the parks.
The Pepper Market is the best bang for your buck, esp on the meal plan. The meals were huge and it was nice to relax and have someone help you but still only be charged a CS. The wok sampler, chicken caesar, corn chowder, and breakfast skillets were deamed excellent by various people in our crew. No one ever finished their meals. Refills were free.
Maya Grill - we ate there one night and deemed it second best next to Le Cellier. The service started strong but was then slacking a little after appetizers - we waited about 15min to receive our meals and DH and I ordered a baked potato only to find mashed. When we asked, the waiter told us they were out of baked potatoes although my Mom had one on her plate. We didn't argue. DH also ordered his steak medium rare and there was no red or pink in it. They took it back and promptly bought him another steak with a baked potato
Hey what about me 
It didn't matter - I was stuffed. I had the mixed grill and the grouper was SO SO good. Staff seeemed a little stuffy, esp the old man working as a host but overall it was VERY enjoyable. The desserts were excellent as well.
Bus Service - EXCELLENT!!!! There was always a bus coming, we never waited more then 5-10min except for our very first day to MK - waited 25min and I think that was a fluke. Same with returning - there always seemed to be a bus coming or going, even to DTD which was great as we have always had problems elsewhere trying to get to and from DTD. The bus stop is the closest at MK and very close at Epcot. Pretty close at AK, in the middle at DTD and VERY far away at MGM. The worst bus service we saw was leaving at midnight at MK's EMH and leaving MK at closing this past Sat. ALL the bus lines were HORRIBLE with the All Star section looking like a zoo of people! Port Orleans also jumped out at us with REALLY REALLY long lines, esp at MK and esp. Epcot. It was a shame, their line went past our bus stop. On Sat we bypassed the lines as we saw 4 ECV's in our line (we had issues with ECV's being abused and getting to go in the front of the line but that is another post for another day) and opted to take the monorail over to CR and hop on a taxi. DD was able to sit up front in the monorail and we were back in CSR in 20min - It was well worth the $11 taxi fare as I don't think many people in the bus service line was getting very far quickly. We also took a taxi home from Boardwalk one night for $5.50.
The landscaping and lighting was beautiful. Each section had its own pool but we were always at the Dig Site. Used the laundry (which also has one at every section) and that worked out well too.
Sorry I rambled but I know how DIS people LOVE reviews. Ask any questions - I will be happy to answer!!!
The rooms are very mexican/southwest feel with lots of colors and shapes/textures. Not my personal taste but the rooms were the cleanest we found of all Dinsey resorts and we all had towel animals We had a duck, parents had a clown and sis's room had a bird. Very cute. Housekeeping was excellent the entire trip. I tried to leave a tip the first 3 days (right on a washcloth in front of the sink) and they would not take it. I finally left a note and still only one day it was taken. Oh well. We requested towels a few days and they were brought within 10min both times. An ethernet request was also quick. The internet service was awesome for my DH to keep up with his business while dd napped. we found for 3 of us the room worked great. Sis room had 4, 1 in a pack n play which she set up next to the fridge. No problems. We never had any problem with noise - above or next to and my sis would always apologize for my loud 2yr old neice. Well we never heard her!! We were on the first floor and I would highly recommend it as it was so easy to just get in your room and not worry about stairs, elevators, hallways etc...
The Dig Site is AWESOME and probably my personal fav right next to Storm Along Bay. I would have to say though that Storm Along is always packed, just like the Poly. Well the Dig Site always had people there but never too many so you could actually swim and always have a chair, lounger etc... It was so nice. The pool is HUGE so there is a ton of room. We have a 4yr old dd who met some nice friends there along with her 3yr old nephew and 2 yr old niece but it wasn't overwhelmed with kids which we LOVED. The kids all loved the playground, the sandbox, the kids pool with water fountain and the slide was awesome. Definately more for daredevils and older kids because it is FAST. 3yr old nephew did twice. My dd was chicken!! Siestas was great and we loved nachos and margaritas in the middle of the day and some orange dreamsicles before heading out for dinner. The hot tub was huge and AWESOME at night - it was great after a long day at the parks.
The Pepper Market is the best bang for your buck, esp on the meal plan. The meals were huge and it was nice to relax and have someone help you but still only be charged a CS. The wok sampler, chicken caesar, corn chowder, and breakfast skillets were deamed excellent by various people in our crew. No one ever finished their meals. Refills were free.
Maya Grill - we ate there one night and deemed it second best next to Le Cellier. The service started strong but was then slacking a little after appetizers - we waited about 15min to receive our meals and DH and I ordered a baked potato only to find mashed. When we asked, the waiter told us they were out of baked potatoes although my Mom had one on her plate. We didn't argue. DH also ordered his steak medium rare and there was no red or pink in it. They took it back and promptly bought him another steak with a baked potato
Hey what about me It didn't matter - I was stuffed. I had the mixed grill and the grouper was SO SO good. Staff seeemed a little stuffy, esp the old man working as a host but overall it was VERY enjoyable. The desserts were excellent as well.Bus Service - EXCELLENT!!!! There was always a bus coming, we never waited more then 5-10min except for our very first day to MK - waited 25min and I think that was a fluke. Same with returning - there always seemed to be a bus coming or going, even to DTD which was great as we have always had problems elsewhere trying to get to and from DTD. The bus stop is the closest at MK and very close at Epcot. Pretty close at AK, in the middle at DTD and VERY far away at MGM. The worst bus service we saw was leaving at midnight at MK's EMH and leaving MK at closing this past Sat. ALL the bus lines were HORRIBLE with the All Star section looking like a zoo of people! Port Orleans also jumped out at us with REALLY REALLY long lines, esp at MK and esp. Epcot. It was a shame, their line went past our bus stop. On Sat we bypassed the lines as we saw 4 ECV's in our line (we had issues with ECV's being abused and getting to go in the front of the line but that is another post for another day) and opted to take the monorail over to CR and hop on a taxi. DD was able to sit up front in the monorail and we were back in CSR in 20min - It was well worth the $11 taxi fare as I don't think many people in the bus service line was getting very far quickly. We also took a taxi home from Boardwalk one night for $5.50.
The landscaping and lighting was beautiful. Each section had its own pool but we were always at the Dig Site. Used the laundry (which also has one at every section) and that worked out well too.
Sorry I rambled but I know how DIS people LOVE reviews. Ask any questions - I will be happy to answer!!!
. We loved it 
! We were in 8A, too. We really loved PM and loved having such easy access to our van. We prefer to load/unload our own luggage. It is a great hotel 
I'll be staying at CSR for the first time in early Dec. and also requested Cabanas 8A. I'm glad you liked the location. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for warm weather so we can use the pool! 
