Staying at CBR---is this a mistake??

[beaglegirl1]

We have reservations at CBR for next week, and I've gotten really bummed about it after reading a lot of comments on this board about the resort.

We have a preferred room, so hopefully the fact that it is spread out won't be quite the issue for us. So tell me, am I going to be disappointed??? I have previously stayed at WL and CS, so I'm afraid CBR is going to be a letdown.

 

[Minky]

Oh you will LOVE IT!!!!!

This place is gorgeous!! I love it there! I was SO nervous before we stayed there becuase I too read a lot of negative things...and I looked really hard to find something wrong while there and nothing! Everything was spotless, grounds beautifully maintained, room and housekeeping were terrific and I swear people go overboard about the walking and it being too spread out IMHO. I actually walked around the whole resort on a few nights becuase it was so beautiful. One of my favorite things was the walk over to the foodcourt in the morning and the evening to refill our mugs. If you like tropical theming you will love this place!

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

We've stayed at the GF, WL, OKW and CBR. Our favorite is a tie between the GF and CBR. We really loved it there. Beautiful place to walk, loved the "away from it all" atmosphere, and the island between the pool/food court area and our room in Jamaica was just great. There are kind of hidden gliders on the island that my husband loved to sit in every morning, while I preferred to swing in a hammock on the beach. It was very restful and we can't wait to go back. So don't worry. My guess is you'll love it.

 

[safetymom]

You will have a wonderful time at CBR. There was a thread on the DIS recently about how many people loved it at CBR. You might want to read the CBR FAQ thread listed below.

 

[canucktyke]

No, you will not be dissapointed. Most of the negative reports talk about size of resort, size of main pool or bus service. Size of resort is not a problem, people walk miles and miles in the parks, but seem upset at a few minutes in the resort. The main pool is a little small, but the quiet pool in each island is great. Buses are no better or worse than other resorts. Recently I have seen postings about cleanliness at POR, noise at POP and bus problems at WL - it seems that some people always find something to complain about. You will have a blast, you are staying at a Disney resort!

 

[Kim&Chris]

You will not be disappointed .

If I had my choice, I'd be staying at CBR for my upcoming trip, but they do not have any king rooms available , so we're staying at OKW instead.

Do yourself a favor and grab a spot in front of OPR prior to Illuminations, and enjoy the view!!

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by Minky
Everything was spotless, grounds beautifully maintained, room and housekeeping were terrific and I swear people go overboard about the walking and it being too spread out IMHO. I actually walked around the whole resort on a few nights becuase it was so beautiful. One of my favorite things was the walk over to the foodcourt in the morning and the evening to refill our mugs. If you like tropical theming you will love this place!

I have to agree...if you have problems walking around the parks each day, then yes, you will have some slight issues with the size of this resort...but if you are able bodied...it's a beautiful resort to stroll around!

DH and I have stayed there twice...we were in the second to last building our first stay there (so a good walk), but we still enjoyed it. After getting back from the parks, we would get off at the "food court" bus stop, eat dinner, get coffee, then stroll back to the room. We would stop and feed the ducks/fish along the way too.

The second time we stayed there, we faced a BEAUTIFUL courtyard..very lush and private feeling.

I also found mousekeeping to be outstanding there. When we checked in I noticed there was no hairdryer in the room, I called mousekeeping - not 10 minutes later they were knocking on the door with a hairdryer for me.

You will enjoy it...do NOT fret!

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

I love CBR! It's so pretty - I love the big lake in the middle, the lush landscaping, the little picnic area on the "island", and the colorful buildings. I also think it's cool that you can see the fireworks from Epcot from certain spots there. Don't worry - you'll like it!

 

[hulabird]

I am another fan of CBR, I would live there if I could!

If you paid for a preferred room your walk will be pretty short to the pool and OPR.

We always choose Jamaica because we like walking to OPR and it is only about a 5 min. or less walk.

Rest assured you made the right choice.

 

[dischick4778]

I agree with all. This resort is one of our favorites. The atmosphere was perfect. The walk was filled with great music and fun scenery. I would definitely say you'll love it. Have a great time.

 

[DNBois]

Another fan of CBR - we were supposed to go down this past March and had to cancel due to an illness and then canceled this month but rebooked for 12 nights in January. This time we booked 6 at CBR and 6 at CSR because we thought it was about time to try other resorts (reluctantly) but I also agree - you will not be disppointed

 

[bigbabyblues]

We loved CBR! I'm trying not to be disappointed that we're staying at ASMo this time, but it's because of our 3-yo that we chose ASMo.

CBR was so beautiful. We were in South Trinidad, worst building of them all distance wise, and we didn't mind the walk. We thought it was great! I've read some of the complaints to DH about CBR that I find on the board, he couldn't believe people didn't like it.........

Enjoy your stay!

 

[KevinFSU]

I was less than impressed with CBR. Stayed there only because CSR was full. Maybe I would have liked it more if it were someplace I wanted to stay, and not because I decided to stay there because its been so long and one of my favorites was full. It seemed as if all of the doors to the rooms were in terrible need of a paint job.

 

[mickey0216]

I just don't get it (CBR)... We, family of 4, stayed at CBR in June 2002. While I have nothing major to grumble about, we were not impressed and will not stay there again.

- The food court is inferior to the All-Star's.
- The CM's were blah.
- The guets in general were unfriendly.
- The people staying near us were rude, they pounded on our door in the middle of the night... twice.

We were so disgruntled by the end of the trip, that came home early.

 

[Nolcrest]

If you really like the Carribean theme you probably won't be disappointed. Don't expect it to equal WL if that's what you like. Personally I wouldn't spend a dime extra on a "preferred" room. Just one more way to tweak more money from us. Don't worry about negative reports we all like something different. Personally CBR was my least favorite but I would never tell someone not to stay there - they may love it. If you've done your research and you like that theme you'll probably enjoy your stay.

 

[excitedmom]

i had a few minor complaints about CBR but i would stay there again in a heartbeat ( my complaints were things that could not be helped due to hurricanes ) the size is nothing. we sat at a bus stop for 20min waiting for an epcot bus (longest we waited) and in that time 4 internal buses came by. the main pool is small if there is a huge crowd but it was empty when we were there this week, we were the only people in it before breakfast (9amish) and there were no more than 20 people in it any other time of the day. and if the main pool is full, the quiet pools are bigger, quieter and closer to your hotel room. I have heard complaints about every single room in disney. you can't please all of the people all of the time. We were happy with our all star room, we were happy with this room and we would be happy with a deluxe room. but we would also stay at ANY of them again just to be in disney lol.

 

[beaglegirl1]

Thanks for all your comments. I'm very excited about our trip and I'm sure CBR will be fine. Unlike most people, I was not totally bowled over by WL when we stayed there. I did love the boat to MK, but didn't like the fact that it would go over to Ft. Wilderness to pick up guests also. I thought the rooms at WL were sort of drab and dark. Overall, the "lodge" theme just wasn't as much my style as I think CBR will be. I also thought WL was a little on the small side. And that geyser at WL was the silliest thing I'd ever seen. I was expecting something huge, but when it went off, I was like, "that's it?!?!".

When we stayed at CS, I actually enjoyed that the resort was so big. It was such a nice stroll around the lake, and I thought the large size of it added to the feeling that you were really in Mexico. So, I'm feeling optimistic about CBR. I think the negatives perceived by some people, may actually be positives for me. We'll see!! At any rate, we will be at WDW, so I'm sure it will be great!!

On a side note, last year we gave up on the buses and started driving ourselves to the parks. That ended up so much better. It was much, much easier with strollers, and we just liked feeling more in control of our transportation.

 

[stemikger]

I stayed here 2 years ago and I loved it. It is a beautiful resort. It is my second favoriate. It was my first until I stayed at Pop Century this year. That is my new fave. However, you will not be disappointed with CBR.

The bottom line your in Disney. Have a great trip.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

We've stayed at CBR 3 out of the last 4 trips (the other was for a convention DH was attending and we didn't have much choice!) and we love it. Hope to go again in the spring.
We always requested Trinidad North (before it became a "preferred" area) and it was a short walk to the food court and we could see the bus stop when we stepped outside our room.
We didn't make use of the main pool, although our two DS's did when they accompanied us a couple years ago. The quiet pools are quite nice.
We didn't find anything too far to walk and really enjoyed walking to breakfast, feeding the ducks at the small beach afterward, etc.
We only ate breakfast in the food court and had no negative things to say about the food!
Occasionally when we would return from the parks early, we'd stop by the food court to take a snack back to the room, etc.
One night when we were just too tired to go back to Epcot for Illuminations (we usually tried to do that every evening!), we got a drink and sat in a hammock on the beach to watch the aerial parts of Illuminations. Sweet.
We had a ground floor corner room the last 2 times and never had a problem with the "neighbors".
The refurbishments that were done not long ago only added to the atmosphere. I think you'll have a great time......wish I were going too!!
Sandy