Just got back today. We were in the Casitas 4, 4th floor.
Ok. First of all, I'll start with my very own "review disclaimer". All opinions are purely subjective. As the old saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. This is strictly mine and my family's opinion only. I'm sure there will be folks who agree and disagree with my comments. That's OK, because, it's only my opinion.
I'll make it easy and break it down into some basic categories. I'll rate these categories on a scale from 1 to 10.
Overall beauty and theming-7. I would have happily given this a 10 except for the construction going on next door to the Casitas. The building design and landscaping rival any "deluxe" property. I just love the El Centro area. The lobby, gift shop, ect. are breathtaking
Room decor & size- Decor-9, size-7. The southwestern theme carries over into the rooms, tastefully & beautifully. Disney hotels are not known for gigantic rooms, so this is no surprise. I really did miss not having a second sink.
Location-6 -This is a tough one since this is the 1st time we stayed here and I can't compare to another location. I couldn't help but feel that we were far away from everything. It was at least a 5-7 min. walk to El Centro. Judging the distance to the pyramid, that appeared to be about 10 mins.
Mousekeeping-8. We had the same mousekeeper every day except 1. She was very, very good and personally I would give her a perfect "10". She always left extra coffee and towels, and more important, her timing throughout the week was very consistent. The overall score is 8 because, the 1st day we walked in, there were crushed chips on the floor that could have easily been vacuumed. Also, the day she was off, the room just wasn't the same.
Check-in-5. Was much slower than it should have been. This is not entirely the fault of CS, the CM's, or WDW. Large groups are very difficult to check in. The "5" score basically is because the CM insisted I requested a building that I did not request and didn't really seem willing to listen (see day 1 trip report for complete story). All worked out fine in the end.
Pools-10-This really isn't a fair score because we only got to our "quiet Pool". Unfortunately, we didn't get to the big pool or slide because of time. "Our" pool was very clean, not crowded, always had chaises & shade available. Perfect.
Bus service-9- We were closest to Bus Stop 2. The longest we had to wait was 20 mins. in the mid-day for a DD bus. The schedules were consistent and in the mornings the norm was 5-10 mins. for park buses. Bus Stop 2 is the 1st stop in the CS complex for getting on and off the buses.
Noise/groups/rowdies/addressing the convention issue-9. This is a case of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. I have read reports about rowdy teens/stuffy business people, etc. I know of at least 4 groups (adult convention & teen gatherings) that were there the same time we were. Not once, did I hear anything out of the ordinary, or get the "out of place" convention feeling. The teens were very well behaved (usual horse-play around the pool area), some were even extremely polite (thank you to the young lady who offered her recommendations at the Pepper Market); the conventions were kept totally separate and we had no idea that it was anything other than a family resort. I guess since we were on the 4th floor, there was NO noise at all! Very pleased with this.
Pepper Market (the food court)-6- convenient, average tasting food, although a bit pricey for a food court. I don't like the service charge. The 1st night there we had dinner and didn't see another server once we were seated. I don't care to have 10% added to my bill without a good reason. Enough said about that. The refillable mug is a fair deal.
Final scores from all of us-
Me-7 1/2
DH-8-he loved the fact that CS is a computer hook-up resort.
DD-6 (she said she would have liked it better if it wasn't quite so spread out and if she could have gotten to the big pool)
Well folks, I think I covered everything. I will happily answer questions and take both praise and heat for my (and our)observations.
Next stop-BEACH CLUB summer '05!!
Ok. First of all, I'll start with my very own "review disclaimer". All opinions are purely subjective. As the old saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. This is strictly mine and my family's opinion only. I'm sure there will be folks who agree and disagree with my comments. That's OK, because, it's only my opinion.
I'll make it easy and break it down into some basic categories. I'll rate these categories on a scale from 1 to 10.
Overall beauty and theming-7. I would have happily given this a 10 except for the construction going on next door to the Casitas. The building design and landscaping rival any "deluxe" property. I just love the El Centro area. The lobby, gift shop, ect. are breathtaking
Room decor & size- Decor-9, size-7. The southwestern theme carries over into the rooms, tastefully & beautifully. Disney hotels are not known for gigantic rooms, so this is no surprise. I really did miss not having a second sink.
Location-6 -This is a tough one since this is the 1st time we stayed here and I can't compare to another location. I couldn't help but feel that we were far away from everything. It was at least a 5-7 min. walk to El Centro. Judging the distance to the pyramid, that appeared to be about 10 mins.
Mousekeeping-8. We had the same mousekeeper every day except 1. She was very, very good and personally I would give her a perfect "10". She always left extra coffee and towels, and more important, her timing throughout the week was very consistent. The overall score is 8 because, the 1st day we walked in, there were crushed chips on the floor that could have easily been vacuumed. Also, the day she was off, the room just wasn't the same.
Check-in-5. Was much slower than it should have been. This is not entirely the fault of CS, the CM's, or WDW. Large groups are very difficult to check in. The "5" score basically is because the CM insisted I requested a building that I did not request and didn't really seem willing to listen (see day 1 trip report for complete story). All worked out fine in the end.
Pools-10-This really isn't a fair score because we only got to our "quiet Pool". Unfortunately, we didn't get to the big pool or slide because of time. "Our" pool was very clean, not crowded, always had chaises & shade available. Perfect.
Bus service-9- We were closest to Bus Stop 2. The longest we had to wait was 20 mins. in the mid-day for a DD bus. The schedules were consistent and in the mornings the norm was 5-10 mins. for park buses. Bus Stop 2 is the 1st stop in the CS complex for getting on and off the buses.
Noise/groups/rowdies/addressing the convention issue-9. This is a case of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. I have read reports about rowdy teens/stuffy business people, etc. I know of at least 4 groups (adult convention & teen gatherings) that were there the same time we were. Not once, did I hear anything out of the ordinary, or get the "out of place" convention feeling. The teens were very well behaved (usual horse-play around the pool area), some were even extremely polite (thank you to the young lady who offered her recommendations at the Pepper Market); the conventions were kept totally separate and we had no idea that it was anything other than a family resort. I guess since we were on the 4th floor, there was NO noise at all! Very pleased with this.
Pepper Market (the food court)-6- convenient, average tasting food, although a bit pricey for a food court. I don't like the service charge. The 1st night there we had dinner and didn't see another server once we were seated. I don't care to have 10% added to my bill without a good reason. Enough said about that. The refillable mug is a fair deal.
Final scores from all of us-
Me-7 1/2
DH-8-he loved the fact that CS is a computer hook-up resort.
DD-6 (she said she would have liked it better if it wasn't quite so spread out and if she could have gotten to the big pool)
Well folks, I think I covered everything. I will happily answer questions and take both praise and heat for my (and our)observations.
Next stop-BEACH CLUB summer '05!!
