Question for those who have recently stayed at Carribean Beach

[jenk1013]

I was reading the FAQ page for Carribean Beach Resort and the biggest complaint that I kept seeing over and over was that the resort was too big and that the bus service is not very good.

I was wondering for those of you who have stayed there recently--Has the bus service to the parks gotten any quicker? If you wanted to get to the parks for the 9:00 opening--what time should you be at the busstop?

Also what building do you recommend staying in? I just want to pay the standard rate (not preferred). I've seen Jamaica and Aruba mentioned a few times on the FAQ, but wasn't sure which one to request. Let me know what you think.

Any other suggestions about this resort would be greatly appreciated.

Jen

 

[kbkids]

We stayed in October and loved it. We had a room in Jamaica, and it was perfect. We were right by the bus stop, and it's really not a far walk at all to the main building and pool - just over the bridge - and it's very pretty. We saw little bunnies every morning right outside our door. I really liked it.

Only once during the week we were there was the bus service aggravating. The rest of time it ran fine. We tried to get to the bus stop about an hour before we wanted to be somewhere - usually only waited about 15-20 minutes though and would always end up at our destination a little early. But at least I didn't worry about being late. The one time that it was aggravating was one afternoon we were heading back to MGM. We waited for almost 45 minutes, finally the bus came, and then the driver turned back into the resort to take this couple to the main building. Apparently, they had complained that they had waited almost 30 minutes with no internal bus service. Well, talk about an angry mob!! Some people at our stop had waited an hour and were now having to make an extra loop through the resort. Needless to say, they were heckled pretty bad - like I said - it's a 5 minute walk to the main building - but they sat and waited for 30 minutes for a bus. And before anyone starts, they were a young 20 something couple - no kids, no bags - perfectly able to walk.

Anyway, other than that incident, we were very pleased with the resort and the staff. If I remember correctly, Jamaica is the last bus stop before heading out of the resort - can't remember if we were first to be let off or not.

I would stay again though. It's very pretty!

Oh, wasn't crazy about the food court - and I don't mind food courts. We love POFQ's - but this one just always seemed messy, the food wasn't that great - but we really had not planned on eating there that much so it wasn't a big deal.

 

[gingermommy94]

We just got back from a 10 night stay at CBR about 2 weeks ago.

I've never felt that the resort was "too big". We enjoy walking to the food court because the grounds are so beautiful. I guess it's all in how you choose to look at it. Also, we don't use the food court on a daily basis so it's not really a concern for us anyway.

We've only ever stayed in Aruba and we love it, so I really can't offer suggestions on that.

When we were there, the bus service seemed fine to us. We never waited very long for any bus and they appeared to be on a pretty regular schedule.

My only suggestion would be to take the time to truly enjoy this resort. It is beautful! Lay in the hammocks on the beach, enjoy the tropical flowers, etc. If you like that "island" feel, you won't be disappointed with the CBR

 

[mckay15]

My daughter stayed there last August and loved the resort. Two weeks after her arrival home, she received a package from the resort........Seems she forgot to pack one of the drawers full of her clothes. She didn't even realize she left them and they sent them back to her at no charge!

 

[jenk1013]

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions--I appreciate your feedback!

Jen

 

[catbertdave99]

We were there 4/2-4/8 -- we stayed in Martinique and while it was well worth it for us, Jamaica wouldn't be a bad location at all. The entire resort is beautiful, and I agree with previous posters -- I never felt it was too big at all, and I walked the whole resort several mornings.

Bus service was great, actually. We waited a long time once, but we still made it to the park when we wanted. To play it safe, I'd get to the bus stop an hour before you want to enter the park. Gives you time to wait for a bus, ride it, walk to the entrance -- and then if you have a long wait for some reason, you'll still get there by the time you wanted.

You'll love CBR -- and do what the others have said -- take time to enjoy the beautiful resort!

 

[jaysmom4285]

We stayed at CBR in December in Jamaica 45, and I would just echo what others have said about the positive aspects of the resort. One thing I noted was how quiet the resort seemed to be - when we were in our rooms, we barely even knew anyone else was on the premises. I think this an added benefit of exterior entrances. I know that some feel that an interior corridor is the mark of a more upscale facility, and we have stayed at the Poly and CR before, which were great. But I find that interior corridors just amplify and echo every noise and conversation, even if people aren't being especially loud. Because of CBR's exterior walkways, we practically never heard anyone else's comings and goings, unless they happened to be talking just as they walked by our door. We would stay there again in a heartbeat, even over the deluxes.

 

[jmichael1]

We were staying in building 11 in Barbados being one of the farthest away was really quiet. We really enjoyed the walks up to the center town and we never thought that it was too big. Bus service was fine even on the 4th of July. Would go back except we are going to WL this year thanks to currency rate changes in our favour. Sometimes it's good to be a Brit!

 

[catbertdave99]

We stayed at CBR in December in Jamaica 45, and I would just echo what others have said about the positive aspects of the resort. One thing I noted was how quiet the resort seemed to be - when we were in our rooms, we barely even knew anyone else was on the premises. I think this an added benefit of exterior entrances. I know that some feel that an interior corridor is the mark of a more upscale facility, and we have stayed at the Poly and CR before, which were great. But I find that interior corridors just amplify and echo every noise and conversation, even if people aren't being especially loud. Because of CBR's exterior walkways, we practically never heard anyone else's comings and goings, unless they happened to be talking just as they walked by our door. We would stay there again in a heartbeat, even over the deluxes.

Great point!