Buzz let me know if you want my comments off your excellent FAQ thread.
We were at CSR 9-5 thru 9-11. I will post a short report on the Resorts board later and I have a "
Free Dining" report on the Dining Plan board you can check out. We had Cabanas 9B which was good. We had reserved a standard view, but the room faced a little pond but the view was all blocked by vegetation. I am not sure if this was an upgrade or not. We did get the building we requested but most locations would have been fine.
I thought the resort was as nice as last year. Staff were friendly and very efficient. Pepper Market wes mostly good. Everything was nice and clean.
My only real complaint was with the Sterling jewelry group which arrived Sunday afternoon. The group was huge and caused long lines at Pepper Market but worse they were heavy drinkers and drank all over El Centro including in the gift shop! Not a family friendly atmosphere at all. They also trashed some of the shared areas (and bathrooms, yech). CSR staff had the place all cleaned by Monday morning but again by lunchtime Pepper Market was overwhelmed. I don't mind conventioneers but the Sterling people were pretty trashy, unlike the American Gypsum Association which preceeded them. Luckily no drunken noisy jewelry shills were staying near our room and Sunday night was quiet.
We did have next door guests who would not control their kids one night (they were banging on our outside door and window late one night). I went out to yell at them and never had another problem.
My wife's one complaint: we never got a towel bunny. Last year we got a bunch and I tipped the same this year--$5-6 a night. Room imperfections: not enough outlets, mold/mildew inside the shower curtain hooks, shower curtain falling apart, and door to thermostat unit broken. But these are all tiny issues.
Pepper Market food--huge portions, enough for 3-4 people sometimes, and good service. I thought the "counter service" prime rib was pretty good and I ate the whole thing--it was huge. They sort of need more breakfast options, most of their combos are a combination of scrambled eggs/omelette with fried potatos. The bakery stuff was great though, including muffins which feed two.
Portie