Why do so many not like the Caribbean Beach resort ?

[maryj11]

I have read so many say they do not like CBR and it is their least favorite moderate. This is the resort they we have choosen for our next trip. I think it looks really nice in the photos. I know it is a large resort but we plan on booking a preferred room. Is it really that bad ? For those of you that have stayed there, what is it that you did not like ?

 

[penchris]

I usually stay at one of the Port Orleans resorts, but decided to try something different this resort. I booked a preferred room as well, due to all the negative comments about getting stuck unreasonably far from the main pool and food court. Other than the big size, is this resort really so bad for a moderate? Please give me some warm fuzzies that I did not make a big mistake, as we are going to be spending several non-park days hanging out at CBR.

 

[donnaf516]

It's not bad at all. We were there in August and had a great time. Our room was in Aruba 51 so it was a short walk over the bridge to the main pool and food court.

I think it just needs and update and some better up keeping. Mousekeeping wasn't the best I've seen, but rooms were clean and it was fine. My kids ds9 and dd4 LOVED the pool. The even asked to leave the parks a couple times to go back to the pool.

Have a great trip and go in with an open mind. If you don't expect it to be good it won't be.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We are staying there the first time in January and I was a little weary about booking it because after looking at the resort map, the size overwhelmed me, however DH wanted to try it out. Then I started looking at pictures of the resort and rooms and I started to like it. Our favorite mod resort is POFQ due to it's smaller size (love the fact that it has only one bus stop for the whole resort). With that, I think it is mainly because of the size and not because of the resort itself.

 

[3boys4me]

We stayed at CBR last year. The grounds were nice. Our room was in BArbados. I think. We could not have been farther from the food court. We are not lazy, but that was one heck of a walk to go get a cup of coffee. It was also far from the main pool, but we do not swim while we are there, so that didn't matter. The room was a real disappointment. I thought is was in great need of a refurb. Some people love it. Love it or hate it you are at Disney .

 

[Colleen27]

There were only two things I didn't like about CBR and both relate to the size of the resort. The first was the walk to the pool & food court. We changed resorts at the last minute to cope with some unexpected expenses here at home and all we could get was a pirate room, which I thought the kids would love, but we were in the absolute furthest building from the pool.

The second downside was the number of bus stops (7). Sometimes buses would get to our stop already standing-room-only, and sometimes we'd be the first stop which meant circling the resort for what felt like forever before heading off to the park.

A third potential downside that we didn't personally experience but that my mother did is the lack of elevators. If you have mobility issues or are traveling with a stroller a second floor room can be seriously inconvenient.

We very much enjoyed the pool area, thought the food court was the best we've experienced, and had very good, very Disney service from the resort cast members. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again but if we ever go back we'll be booking a preferred room. There's no way I'll ever pay extra for the worst location again, no matter how cool the pirate decor is!

 

[mcd2745]

We love CBR. I've always felt the complaints about the size are way overblown. The property is large...but there is no circumstance that will require you to walk around the entire place. It has a great main pool and quiet pools that are truly quiet (and usually empty), outstanding food court, gorgeous landscaping, and wonderful CMs. It's also centrally located within WDW, so no bus ride takes too long. Yes, you have to loop around the resort, but it doesn't take long at all (unless you encounter an ECV - but that's no different than any other resort).

 

[Belle83]

I really like it. I think the theme is great for a Florida vacation. The pool and food court are nice, and the landscaping/scenery is pretty and relaxing. I stayed there for my first WDW trip when I was 14 (in 1998) and liked it so much that I chose to return when I was 20 (in 2004) for my first 'adult' WDW trip rather than trying a new resort (CSR or POR).

My last trip there was in 2004 and before the Nemo bedspreads, which I do not like at all (too cartoony). CBR still has double-sized beds instead of queen-sized beds, which to me is another downfall. It's a large resort, but not really that much larger than other Disney mods (except POFQ). I stayed in the Jamaica area both times, so I wasn't that far from the main food court and pool.

I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again, though I do want to try the other mods.

 

[DisneyLindsay]

We absolutely love CBR, and are quite saddened that we are unable to stay there again for our next trip. We are considered a large family now and other than POR mods are out. So this past visit was bitter sweet for us. CBR is a great resort and I would highly recommend it to anyone. I would prefer that they had queen beds, but we dealt just fine. That does not make or break a stay for us.

The grounds are beautiful and the bus looping around them gives you a few moments to see just how beautiful they really are.

We do not truck down to the food court for coffee first thing. We did that our first year and Disney coffee is terrible, so we bring our Tassimo with us and use it in the room, and no trek unless we want to.

Really it isn't far from any of the rooms, and the people who complain about how far it is, Umm Hello, it's Disney, you walk all day and then some, the trek up to the food court is far less than the walk from the Bus drop off to the security check at most parks. It is also a beautiful walk and you can see the pond and wildlife.

We were in barbados this past time in sept-oct, we had to check in really late due to car troubles. I was a little leary of being in Barbados, thinking it was so far away, we also got a second floor room which worried me with our double stroller. But we found leaving our double stroller in our van each time was the way to go and we did not have to lug it upstairs and it didn't take up any of our precious room.
All of my fears were gone and we had a wonderful 2 weeks in Barbados. Go, enjoy, you will love it.

 

[ShelliRenee]

When we stayed last year, we had a terrible problem with mosquitoes. Just opening the door to come into the room, would let numerous ones in. We did not have a water view room, but we did have a preferred room.

I think the resort is just okay. I didn't get the personalized feeling from the staff as I did in POFQ. My son loved the pools at both places. (But I found it a nice change up to be able to go to POR pool.) But I would have to say that every resort is what you make it. If you go hating it, you will hate it. If you go in saying that nothing is going to get you down, you will have a great time.

 

[mickeynut1]

Our first stay onsite was at CBR and we loved everything about it . We loved the caribbean atmosphere, the pool was great, the food court had a lot of variety, and the bus transportation was excellent . We have become accustomed to the deluxe resorts since our stay there, but if we were to stay at mod again, we wouldn't hesitate to go back to CBR .

 

[Linda T.]

CBR is our favorite resort. We love everything about it. We usually stay in Jamaica 44 or 45. It is just a short walk across the bridge to the main pool and food court. Jamaica is also right by a bus stop and close to the quiet pools. The grounds are beautiful and very tropical. The hammocks are great to lay on and watch the Epcot fireworks at night. The Nemo themed rooms are quite large with two double sinks which really helps with an all girls room. The food court is very good and the gift shop is really nice. We have always had very good luck with the bus service too. My daughters never want to stay anywhere else. Have a great trip and enjoy CBR!

 

[notaclue]

CBR was our first WDW resort and we absolutely loved it. Loved the tropical atmosphere, the morning parade of CM's singing and dancing to calypso music, the great food court and the whole theme. We've stayed at the Poly twice and we much prefer CBR to the Poly. I wouldn't hesitate to return to CBR.

 

[I Love Pluto]

We love everything about CBR. It's one of the nicest places to stay on Disney property.

Reviews are simply someone's opinion. More often than not - the review was written by someone who had a bad experience. How often do people who are satisfied call Customer Service in any business?

CBR is tops with us - the beach theming, the food court, the personnel who always have a smile and a good word for you, the cleanliness of the rooms, the cleanliness of the grounds, and the overall "happy" feeling of the resort are some of the reasons.

Try it - you might like it. We do!

 

[Lewisc]

The moderate resorts have more things in common then differences. Guests who have a preference, other then just themeing, either prefer POFQ due do its smaller size or CSR due to slightly better amenities.

 

[friend2Figment]

We have stayed CBR 3 times now and love it. Love how spread out it is, the theme, pool, and the the food court.

Things you need to 'figure out' best spot for what you expect. Do you like to be close to the bus stop, food court, or pool? Do you not mind overlooking the parking lot( usually means shorter walk to the bus stop)?

There is an internal bus so if you are close to a stop you could always take the internal bus where you need to go.

My mom did not like the resort nearly as much as my sister & my family. She has a hard time with a lot of walking and after trying the walk from one side of the bridge over to the food court I drove over there to bring her back to the room. We ended up renting her a ECV for the trip and it made so she could go anywhere with out us.

 

[nkereina]

CBR is last on our list right now because it's the only moderate not renovated and it's the only mod that still has double beds. I would assume CBR refurbishments aren't far off so I'd be willing to try it once it happens. The largeness of the resort doesn't scare me as we usually stay at POR, although I'm inclined to believe CBR is even bigger than POR since CBR has an internal bus and POR doesn't.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We stayed at CBR last year. The grounds were nice. Our room was in BArbados. I think. We could not have been farther from the food court. We are not lazy, but that was one heck of a walk to go get a cup of coffee. It was also far from the main pool, but we do not swim while we are there, so that didn't matter. The room was a real disappointment. I thought is was in great need of a refurb. Some people love it. Love it or hate it you are at Disney .

We were in Barbados as well...and it was a haul to the food court. We too, are very active people, but after a day in the parks with two little ones, and having to walk so far to the food court to fill a mug was kind of too much...to the point where we said "just forget it...". Our room was decent...I am very picky though, and I did notice some "mold/mildew like" substance on the back of our bathroom door. It was a small amount, but I was still a bit grossed out by it. Overall, it was a pretty resort though, we just have no desire to stay there again.

 

[Shelly888]

I loved our stay at CBR January 2011 for 12 nights! We had a lovely trip and the resort, IMO, was beautiful! We had a preferred room and ended up lake side in Trinidad north the middle of the 3 buildings(maybe 32, I can't remember the #), and I loved it! I might have preferred at building in Martinique even more, but don't get me wrong there wasn't anything "wrong" with where we stayed. The staff was very courteous, the food court was very good, my 6 year old loved the arcade(and actually on our check out day, about half of the games were FREE because they had a problem with the points machine!!!) We both played for at least an hour, free, all the cool games too, of course that was a fluke, but added to the magic. The bar was great and we watched illuminations on several nights(not perfectly, but still very nice). The pool and splash area cannot be beat. I actually liked the size of the resort, at least while staying in a pref room. It made the resort seem less crowded, we even had a cheerleading group during part of our stay, and they didn't bother us at all. Enjoy your trip, it is a great resort

 

[FireDancer]

It is the theming for me and noting more. I prefer the theming of POR or CSR to CBR and CSR has a health club which is something I take advantage of.

Much like restaurants you will find it is really all preference and I would stay there and judge for yourself. If you don't like it you know to try somewhere else next time.