Vacation off to Bad Start at Caribbean Beach

[MammaMoe48]

There is absolutely no excuse for a room that smells like smoke. Smoking is prohibited and they even say on the website that if you smoke in the room, you will be charged for the cleaning of that room. A smoke smelling room should be removed from inventory until it is thoroughly cleaned. Even when I smoked I could not stand being in a smoke filled room. I would go outside to the smoking area or if it was allowed I'd smoke on the balcony.

 

[MammaMoe48]

No there are no smoking rooms at WDW. If the room reeks then report it otherwise they can hold you liable for the extra cleaning. Two weeks ago at SSR the people above us were smoking on their deck and we reported it to the front desk for fear the odor would drift into our room. CM said there is no smoking allowed on decks. Then we moved over to the AKL and saw a guy two doors down from us smoking and discarding his ashes over the railing onto the thatched roof. They got kicked out of the property. The man was very mad about getting escorted off the property.

Yeah, let's flick hot ashes onto dry straw. That's smart. I'm sure that there is some kind of fire proofing on it but still.

 

[Tink]

We h


We got a smokey room last year at POR we insisted they move us not just clean it, as we could see it was the people in the connecting room smoking and the problem would be persistent. It took an hour to find us a new room, almost missed my dinner reservation and had multiple problems with the magic bands after. Good luck!

This happened to us at POFQ years ago. We made them move us. The people next door were smoking and the manager said we couldn't prove it despite the obvious stink. We have to catch them in the Act, and this was when my oldest was like 4 and she's 17 now. Camera phones weren't a big hting. And how could we prove it if they were smoking in the room?

 

[maxiesmom]

It sounds as if the resort was booked, and due to not accepting the first room they were offered, the OP was put in one not intended to be handed out. Having said that, the OP should have demanded an acceptable room, and that doesn't mean making the room smell like flowerly smoke. I understand not wanting to waste even more time on the issue, but seriously. Plant yourself at the desk and demand they find you a clean room.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Thanks for all the support you guys!

Update: I realized that the room was putting a serious damper on my enjoyment of the vacation so I called on our second night and politely asked if we could be moved. The CM at front desk was wonderful. She said that since we were having a difficult time with our room she would move us to a preferred location. We moved this morning to Trinidad North.

Honestly, the bad smell could have been mold as well as smoke. My four year developed a stuffy head and a sore throat the first night. I got a headache. Could be unrelated, but could be related to the must and mold. The room definitely seemed very stuffy and poorly ventilated.

My nine year old was mad at me when I asked for a new room because she fell in love with the little pull down bed. Luckily the new room has one, too. She was thrilled.

Vacation is going much better after a rocky start. Had a wonderful day at HS yesterday and a fabulous water park day at BB today.

My faith has been restored in Disney and we are having a great time. Thanks, everyone!

 

[tee11]

We had a similar start to our stay at CBR in April. We were also assigned to a room with a very strong odor which I thought to be smoke in Martinique. Housekeeping assured us it was NOT smoke, it was mildew and mold..

Sorry I just spit my coffee all over the computer.
Oh, it's just mildew and mold, NOT smoke! What a relief! Now that's reassurance, if there ever was any!!

 

[tee11]

I know there are people making lists about all sorts of things: Like which rooms have murphy beds, etc... But I really think we should make a list of "uninhabitable rooms" and pin it to the top of DIS Resorts.
I think the only way to cause lasting change is to refuse rooms such as described here.

CBR: Room 2550.
CBR: Room 2503
Adding:
CBR Room 2117

 

[Minnesota!]

OP - hope the rest of your trip is problem free!

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

I know there are people making lists about all sorts of things: Like which rooms have murphy beds, etc... But I really think we should make a list of "uninhabitable rooms" and pin it to the top of DIS Resorts.
I think the only way to cause lasting change is to refuse rooms such as described here.

CBR: Room 2550.
CBR: Room 2503

I would think Disney should have their own list of such rooms. I wonder if they have the list and whether our first room was on it- but they just had nothing else available.

Our original room was Martinique 2117. Complete with Murphy bed, smoke, and mildew.

 

[mCaudio]

I am getting nervous reading these. Was going to book CBR for early 2017. Now thinking twice.

 

[AliceIn]

I am getting nervous reading these. Was going to book CBR for early 2017. Now thinking twice.

We wanted to try it out, but all the reviews complaining about being near smoking areas and rooms smelling like cigarettes turned us off.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

I am getting nervous reading these. Was going to book CBR for early 2017. Now thinking twice.

The grounds are beautiful. The pool is fun. Resort is in a great location and very convenient to HS, Epcot, mini golf, and water parks. You get a beautiful view of the HS fireworks, also. Food court is nice and has good food. Shutters is great as well.

If you are prepared to ask for a new room if your first one smells, it can really be a great resort. The room we have now is fine. There are a lot of things to like about CBR.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

Well if check in isn't guaranteed at 3pm, then I believe check out shouldn't be guaranteed at 11am. If they can lollygag getting me a room, then I can lollygag leaving it.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Well if check in isn't guaranteed at 3pm, then I believe check out shouldn't be guaranteed at 11am. If they can lollygag getting me a room, then I can lollygag leaving it.

Part of the 3 o'clock assumption is that not everyone checking out will be doing it at 10:59, which means they'll have closer to 6 hours to turn some of the rooms, rather than 4. On high-churn dates, it can be harder to turn all the rooms depending on check out times.

 

[MinnieMSue]

The letter I got confirming my reservation and room rates had information on the back. It said checkin is between 3-4 (obviously depending on resort). It says that check in may be delayed during busy times of the year.

 

[firstwdw]

Sorry I just spit my coffee all over the computer.
Oh, it's just mildew and mold, NOT smoke! What a relief! Now that's reassurance, if there ever was any!!

I know, huh?? We were appalled. Head of housekeeping said, "I can assure you it is NOT smoke. It's mildew and mold." They wanted to spray room freshener and I said "No Way!" I marched back over to the main desk for the second time and demanded a new room! I had been up since 3am, traveling, in winter clothes in the heat because we had traveled from the Northeast. It was truly a big mess! Then our luggage got delivered to the old moldy room instead of the new room. We spent hours dealing with this mess. We really liked a lot about the resort but I can't stay there again after this experience.

I am so glad the original poster moved rooms and I hope the sniffles clear soon now that you are out of that awful room.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well if check in isn't guaranteed at 3pm, then I believe check out shouldn't be guaranteed at 11am. If they can lollygag getting me a room, then I can lollygag leaving it.

Guests who expect every.single.room. to be ready at precisely 3 PM would need to comply with the absolute requirement that every.single.guest. be present at the front desk at precisely 3 PM.

The hotel isn't lollygagging. It's working as fast as it can to have every necessary from available for every arriving guest. Lollygagging guests on checkout day make this just that much harder.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I respectfully disagree. Guests are the ones footing the bill in exchange for a service. If Disney specifies that check-in begins at 3:00 pm, then it is reasonable for a guest to assume they will be allowed to check in at or after 3:00 pm.

Yes, at or after. When you have a resort with 2,880 rooms, on average 411 rooms will be turning over every day. Even if all 411 rooms were available for occupancy at precisely 3 PM, you would need 400+ CMs and stations - and all those guests could only reasonably be expected to be present.

 

[SharonZ]

You can check-in at 3:00, but your room may not be ready.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Are you by the parking lot? Our friends room in Martinique reeked so badly of smoke this year I could have sworn they were smoking it the room. Apparently they were near a smoking area. I could not have stranded that. I think they were in 26 on the corner closest to the bus stop. It lasted the whole trip so I would definitely switch rooms now.

We were in 2637&8 and in that same location, and at first I thought it was smoke, but then realized it was something else. Weird smell though. Clothing still stunk when we got home.