Stayed at Carribean Resort.. Not Impressed..

[soccerdad4]

Ok.. I checked out today from CBR this morning and headed toward the aiport. Here is my thoughts of CBR.

Very nice atmosphere.
Too much walking
Not worth the price.

Here is some detail.

I checked in late on Sunday night (aproximately 9:30pm). Only a couple of people manning the windows. No problem, I kinda expected that. Upon checkin, I asked that I be on the first floor since there are no elevators, and I also asked to be close to the conference bus stop. I was attending an IBM conference, and they provided a shuttle to the Swan and Dolpin. I had a medical reason for the requests. Well, the shuttle picked us up at the building that contained the food court. Guess where they put me.. Jamacia, building 41, room 4132, the very furthest corner in that building away from the food court. And they refused to move me!! I am on Dialysis, and after my session(s), I have some issues with walking due to weakness, and it just makes you tired. I told them about it, but they did not seem to care. The "internal shuttle" was not very convienient, not real reliable of when it was going to pickup. I actually only saw one of them. So, I ended up walking to make sure I was ontime for the conference shuttle. It typically took me 20 to 30 minutes to walk from the room to the food court after a morning of dialysis.

The food court was pitiful. Not much of a real choice, as compared to Pop Century. At lunch, when I ate there, you had the choice of some type of sandwich (burger, chicken etc..) and pizza. There were 4 sections, 2 of which were closed at lunch. Not real impressed. And the resturant there, just too expensive!!

The room was average. A little larger than a value resort, and it did have 2 sinks and a refridgerator.

Overall, I would choose any of the value resorts over this one.

Just my opinion..

 

[CleveRocks]

I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties, but here are a few thoughts ....

I checked in late on Sunday night (aproximately 9:30pm). Only a couple of people manning the windows. No problem, I kinda expected that. Upon checkin, I asked that I be on the first floor since there are no elevators, and I also asked to be close to the conference bus stop. I was attending an IBM conference, and they provided a shuttle to the Swan and Dolpin. I had a medical reason for the requests. Well, the shuttle picked us up at the building that contained the food court. Guess where they put me.. Jamacia, building 41, room 4132, the very furthest corner in that building away from the food court. And they refused to move me!!

No matter where you are staying, if you have special needs (especially special medical needs) and/or special requests it is just smart and self-protective to arrange for those needs ahead of time, and not wait until you check-in. Disney prides itself on customer service, but they're not magicians. It would have been helpful for you to take some initiative before the moment you walked up to the front desk. This isn't special Disney advice, this is just common sense hotel advice.

It's also commonly known throughout the hospitality industry that room requests are easier met early in the day than late in the day. By arriving as late as you did, you lowered your chances of getting a room more to your liking.

If you had done a little bit of homework about where you were staying, you'd have known that CBR has a separate class of rooms called "preferred location," meaning the 6 buildings closest to Old Port Royale (Martinique 24-25-26 and Trinidad North 31-32-33). These rooms cost more per night than other rooms, but they assure you of having what you wanted, which was a room close to Old Port Royale. Basically, you were asking for a free upgrade.

The "internal shuttle" was not very convienient, not real reliable of when it was going to pickup. I actually only saw one of them. So, I ended up walking to make sure I was ontime for the conference shuttle.

Again, if you had done some homework prior to your stay, or asked some questions of the CMs rather than just felt badly about your situation, you would have known the following:

Buses headed for everywhere EXCEPT Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney start at Jamaica. That means you could have jumped on a bus for Epcot or a bus for Disney's Hollywood Studios or a bus for Animal Kingdom or an internal shuttle to transport you to the bus stop at Old Port Royale.

The room was average. A little larger than a value resort, and it did have 2 sinks and a refridgerator.

Value rooms are 260 square feet. CBR's rooms are 340 square feet. [The other 3 moderate resorts are 314 square feet.] Standard rooms at 2 deluxe resorts, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, are 340 sq. ft. and 344 sq. ft.

 

[rangermom]

Sorry you did not like CBR. We loved it and were happy that we chose it over a value resort I agree with the PP, you should have done your homework adn requested a closer room prior to your arrival. WDW has a high occupancy rate, so there were probably no rooms avaliable near Old Prot Royale.

Hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay.

 

[LoraJ]

A co-workers wife was just down there for a conference. She tried to book CBR but couldn't because it was booked solid. They ended up at BC. That's probably why it was difficult to honor your requests.

Sorry you had a difficult time at the resort.

 

[lauraf]

We were going to stay at CBR this sept. My mom has bad knees so when I made the reservation I asked for the first floor due to medical reasons. I know how the resorts can get full so if I had waited until we got there are luck would have it that we would be on the second floor without the chance of changing floors ( I like to be prepared). As it so happens we had to change our reservation date to an earlier date in sept and the pool would still be closed so we switched resorts. We are going again next year and will stay at CBR I can hardly wait. I have heard good and bad about all the resorts and I am the type of person who has to try it for myself. I am sorry the op had a bad experience, and I hope your next experience is much better wherever that may be.

 

[magicmouse2]

Actually CBR has the largest rooms of all moderate resorts!

sorry you disliked it. Its my favorite moderate resort. I personally love the tropical theming and scenic walks.

 

[adell557]

I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties, but here are a few thoughts ....

No matter where you are staying, if you have special needs (especially special medical needs) and/or special requests it is just smart and self-protective to arrange for those needs ahead of time, and not wait until you check-in. Disney prides itself on customer service, but they're not magicians. It would have been helpful for you to take some initiative before the moment you walked up to the front desk. This isn't special Disney advice, this is just common sense hotel advice.

It's also commonly known throughout the hospitality industry that room requests are easier met early in the day than late in the day. By arriving as late as you did, you lowered your chances of getting a room more to your liking.

If you had done a little bit of homework about where you were staying, you'd have known that CBR has a separate class of rooms called "preferred location," meaning the 6 buildings closest to Old Port Royale (Martinique 24-25-26 and Trinidad North 31-32-33). These rooms cost more per night than other rooms, but they assure you of having what you wanted, which was a room close to Old Port Royale. Basically, you were asking for a free upgrade.

Again, if you had done some homework prior to your stay, or asked some questions of the CMs rather than just felt badly about your situation, you would have known the following:

Buses headed for everywhere EXCEPT Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney start at Jamaica. That means you could have jumped on a bus for Epcot or a bus for Disney's Hollywood Studios or a bus for Animal Kingdom or an internal shuttle to transport you to the bus stop at Old Port Royale.

Value rooms are 260 square feet. CBR's rooms are 340 square feet. [The other 3 moderate resorts are 314 square feet.] Standard rooms at 2 deluxe resorts, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, are 340 sq. ft. and 344 sq. ft.

I didn't realize the OP was looking for a lesson on the proper way to schedule a hotel, I thought he was giving his opinion and experience about a hotel he stayed at.
My family stayed at CBR last time we went August of 07 and I have to agree with the OP, it was terrible. The food court was awful and monotonous. We did "do our homework" as you refer to it and scheduled a preferred room, but I agree the bus system is confusing and lengthy in wait time. We drove every where so as to not have the hassle of it all. I love Disney and we will be back in August at the POP again, which we love. CBR was NOT worth the extra cash.
Sorry two sinks and a fridge, who cares, we are a family of four and one sink is fine it isn't worth the extra bucks. We are signed up for a fridge swap at the POP, which is free, so we are set.
And as for the extra room, that is negated by the gigantic entertainment unit they put in there. I did not feel the room was that much more spacious IMO

 

[#1_Grumpy_Fan]

I agree with Adell. We stayed there last August and did not care for it. We planned well in advance for the trip. We requested Aruba and something else. We got Trinidad South. By the time the buses got to us, they were already full. Long walk to food court. The "extra" room and double sink is not worth the money. We'll stick to the Value Resorts.

 

[safetymom]

I agree with CleveRocks. Everyone has different requirements for their resort stay. The great thing about WDW is there are many resorts for different tastes.

 

[dacky041208]

I didn't realize the OP was looking for a lesson on the proper way to schedule a hotel, I thought she was giving her opinion and experience about a hotel she stayed at.

and while their opinion is very valid, CBR seems to take a lot of heat on these boards for whatever reasons. In this case, they are reasons that could have been solved by the traveler doing some research before their trip. I'm sorry the OP didn't enjoy their stay, but even with medical reasons, if you are checking in that late without requests ahead of time, you are going to be stuck with what is left, and that is not disney's fault at all.

 

[lilyv]

Was there a reason your conference selected accommodation for you at CBR, rather than at the Swan or Dolphin where your conference meeting and events were taking place?

I'm sorry you didn't have a nice stay. It sounds like you have medical issues that Disney wasn't aware of well ahead of time.

Hopefully there were some parts of your visit that were fun and memorable.

 

[eliza61]

I agree with CleveRocks. Everyone has different requirements for their resort stay. The great thing about WDW is there are many resorts for different tastes.

That's what I love about the world. I can try out different resorts, some really float my boat others not so much.

OP, I will suggest that any time you have medical need request make them well ahead of check in. I've had brillant success getting refrigerators and other medical needs tended too whenever I book. Generally, they've gone well above and beyond what I request.

Hope the rest of your stay was enjoyable.

 

[frdeb1999]

Sorry you had a less then magical stay. I honestly like reading others observations on the different resorts. Makes selecting one easier.

 

[G's mommy]

We stayed at CBR last September for 4 nights, preferred room. I have to say CBR is our last choice in the mod category and I would probably stay value before staying there again. To the OP, next time stay at Swan or Dolphin if at all possible. We have stayed there with the education discount and it was not much more than a moderate resort. Sorry your stay was not good. We prefer CSR to all the other mods mainly due to the newer facilities, central location of the resort itself, and the great bus transportation.

 

[adell557]

and while their opinion is very valid, CBR seems to take a lot of heat on these boards for whatever reasons. In this case, they are reasons that could have been solved by the traveler doing some research before their trip. I'm sorry the OP didn't enjoy their stay, but even with medical reasons, if you are checking in that late without requests ahead of time, you are going to be stuck with what is left, and that is not disney's fault at all.

It's not whatever reasons, It takes alot of heat b/c it is not a good resort in alot of people's opinion. I did my research thank you very much and I still did not like it! CBR is one I won't go to again, and not b/c of my room assignment, we got preferred like we payed for, but b/c the bus system is difficult to manuver and wastes time. The food court is very limited compared to POP (a value).
I think it is unnecessary for someone to correct an adult man who is giving an opinion, he didn't ask what could I have done differently to make my stay better, he simply said what happened.

 

[soccerdad4]

Ok...

For those of you who jumped on me for not "done some homework prior to your stay" and " asked some questions of the CMs rather than just felt badly about your situation ", I DID!!! I have stayed at a disney resort many times in the past. When I made the reservations, I asked for a room close to the food court area. I guess I should have said that in the first post.. but it was late (late for me anyway) when I wrote it..

All I am saying is that they made no attempt to honor that request. When I checked in, I told them and the person did not seem to believe me, and basically did not seem to care. Her supervisor was no help either, basically the same attitude.

adell557 - I am a he... at least the last time I check I was .

Yes the conference I went to was at the Swan and Dolphin.. That was even more walking!!!! The shuttle would drop us off at the Dolphin, at the far end of course, then I had to walk to the other end of the Swan for all of my sessions (but that was not a disney problem), then walk back over to the Dolphin for Lunch, then back to the Swan for afternoon sessions, then back to the Dolphin to catch the shuttle back to the resort. ARGH.....

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the walking, except for the days I go to Dialysis. I would get up at 4:00am on those days, so by 2:00 or 3:00 I was really beat.. Walking around Swan and Dolphin all day, then going back to CBR, and having to walk that far to the room was not fun. It would typically take me 30 minutes for the walk back to my room.

 

[mickeymyfavorite]

There is a reason why value resorts have more of a choice at the FOOD COURTS, it's because they don't offer a sit down service. so values need to have more options.

most of us want a PERFERED room without paying for it. If you want or need a preferred room it unfortunate but we all have to pay for it and I believe that is the way it is at any DISNEY resort.

When I travel to WDW with my mom, she uses a wheelchair I always pay for a preferred room because its either me or my dad that push her, when we go in July its hot. I would never count on being upgraded.

Everyone has there own opinion the good, the bad and the ugly. When I read others people posts and opinion on the dis boards I have learned to see if those opinions would really matter to me and then I make a judgment call……..if that makes any sense

 

[KAPTink]

Obviously everyone has different tastes, and different expectations for a trip to the World. That being said, if you have a medical accomodation it needs to be met. That's beyond even a basic customer service need. It's just a plain need. To the op, I'm sorry your stay at CBR was less than expected. We stayed there one night in 10/07 for MNSSHP after a cruise. Our room was dirty, we had to wait until after 7 pm to check in, the bathroom wasn't the cleanest, and there were cigarette burns in the linens. I've never seen anything like that at Disney, and CM's didn't seem to care when we tried to address the issue. Needless to say, we prob. won't choose that resort again, even though I loved the atmosphere and the extra space/sinks in the room. (And, for anyone wondering, yes, I did tons of homework prior to selecting a resort.) DH was appalled that the care/upkeep of the rooms and concern of CM"S was less than the value resorts but more expensive. Hopefully others will have more positive experiences when they go.

 

[CleveRocks]

I didn't realize the OP was looking for a lesson on the proper way to schedule a hotel, I thought she was giving her opinion and experience about a hotel she stayed at.

Thank you for the sarcasm ... I will endeavor to NOT respond in kind.

I was explaining that many of the OP's complaints could have been prevented with some knowledge and preparation.

For example, I'm taking the kids to a non-Disney destination in a couple of days. Never been there before. No great message boards such as this exist for this place, so I've combed through their website and I've called numerous times to ask questions. I learned that the several on-site restaurants are very pricey and somewhat limited in scope. Therefore, I've looked into food options outside of this resort. By doing my homework, I'm greatly increasing the odds that we'll have enjoyable and affordable meals. If I didn't do my homework, I'd probably look back on the trip and be annoyed at how deficient the food choices were and how darned expensive it was. I would not have had a really good time. But by some simple prep work, I'm making sure we'll have a great time.

So in that same mindset, I was trying to help the OP understand that preparations can make traveling anywhere a lot better.

 

[CleveRocks]

I think it is unnecessary for someone to correct an adult woman who is giving an opinion, she didn't ask what could I have done differently to make my stay better, she simply said what happened.

So in other words, you believe it was NOT helpful for me to point out to the OP how to avoid the same pitfalls in the future???

I don't call that "correction," I call it providing friendly advice that the OP can benefit from in the future. And also, that anyone reading the thread can benefit from, as well. I can see how you might see it as criticism, but it was truly meant to be helpful for future trips.

ANd for the record, you never saw me write that CBR is great and how dare anyone not like it. I believe I didn't even give my opinion about CBR, whether I think it's a good or bad place to stay. I wasn't trying to convince the OP or you or anyone else that the OP "should have" liked CBR. I was trying to help the OP and anyone else not encounter the same types of problems again in the future.

If that makes me a bad guy, then I'm guilty of being a bad guy.

[Right now, however, the only thing I THINK could make me a bad guy is that I live at the beach and it's Memorial Day weekend and not only didn't I invite anyone to stay, but we're leaving and going to a non-beach vacation!]