Mediocre accommodations meet fun atmosphere
Written: Mar 11 '07 (Updated Mar 12 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: All inclusive, lots to do for kids, easy access to all things Disney, fun atmosphere
Cons: Adults may get bored with the food, but Downtown Disney's close by.
The Bottom Line: Families on a budget with small to middle aged children will enjoy this. Parents with older teens may want more.
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| swatson99's Full Review: Disneys Caribbean Beach |
We went to this resort last spring when my husband had a business trip there. We chose this resort because it said it had a lot to do and see right there at the resort.
It boasted that it had gift shops, restaurants, six heated pools and one of which had water slides, water cannons, waterfalls, also a white sand beach, games arcade, a huge playground called Parrot Cay. In addition you could rent pontoon boats, canopy boats, sailboats or Sea Raycers. Also it had jogging or walking trails, a volleyball net and bikes or surreys to rent, (which are cars powered by pedals with a canopy and room for passengers in the back.)
This all appealed to us as a family because we knew my husband would be gone all day during the week to his business training seminars and we wanted plenty for my daughter and I (then 14) to keep us busy. We were arriving on a Saturday night late in the evening so we would at least have Sunday to spend together as a family having fun before dear hubby had to go off to work (or so we thought).
To start from the beginning, we arrived late Saturday evening and as we pulled in to get a parking pass at the booth we were greeted with a "Welcome to the Islands" from a nice lady with a heavy Jamaican accent. We were told where to go to check in at the front desk, the Old Port Royale building. We walked in the front door and were instantly charmed by the surroundings. Caribbean island music plays 24/7 in all of the buildings at the resort so we were greeted by it and got in a festive mood.
The lobby check in area looks like a train station complete with a Lamp post clock. We got checked in and assigned a room to go to. The rooms were outside accessible and grouped into individual buildings. Each one had a name after the islands like "Martinique, Barbados, Trinidad" and such.
We went to our room and from the minute we walked in we smelled a certain odor kind of like pizza or parmesan cheese. I didn't think much of it but went and started unpacking our goods. We were excessively tired after driving 12 hours to get there in heavy Spring Break traffic, so we settled in quickly. Suddenly I stepped in something wet while walking across the floor. The carpet was wet and soggy. Immediately I realized what that odor was especially as it got stronger and stronger. Someone, (likely a spring breaker) had obviously vomited on the carpet and it was not cleaned up very well. It made me nauseous and my husband and daughter were disgusted by it as well.
Since we were utterly exhausted and already unpacked we decided to wait until the morning and do something about it then. We did call the front desk to notify them of the problem and tell them that the next day we wanted to get a new room right away. I went to take a bath and was shocked by what greeted me in the bathroom. There was dust bunnies literally rolling on the tiled bathroom floor, hair was all over in the bathtub. It was really disgusting. I had to clean it before I even felt safe getting in. The cute little Mickey Mouse soap bar and little bottle of Mickey shampoo almost seemed out of place in such a disgusting ugly scene.
We settled in for the night and endured it until morning. Early in the morning we got up, dressed and packed up and called the front desk immediately as they suggested. They told us they would have to find another room and it might take some time and when they did they'd call us on our room phone. So we waited and waited and waited. We didn't get another room until dinnertime and we had to sit in that stinky puke smelling room for all that time. We were not happy about that but what really upset us was that the one day we had to spend as a family was ruined. The day was gone. All we could do was manage to go eat dinner and check out the shops before they closed. It was a bitter disappointment.
Our new room however was a total turnaround, no dust bunnies, no foul smells and everything was tidy. The carpet was a little worn out, but the tropical theme was uplifting with a bright patterned comforter and bright decorations around the room. We were too happy to settle in there after our last bad experience.
Dinner was good. They have at the Port Royale several little eateries reminiscent of the food strip at the shopping malls back home. They had a hamburger place, a pizza place, a sub sandwich shop and a little store with goodies open 24/7 for snacks, donuts, sandwiches, drinks and things anytime.
In the center of the eating area there is a huge round drink bar complete with all the soft drinks imaginable, apple and orange juice, coffee, tea, hot cocoa and things like that. We purchased a thermal plastic cup with a lid that you keep as a souvenir but also use for your entire stay. You pay $14.50 for each cup, but then your drinks are free unlimited for your whole stay. I thought that was a good deal and we did use our money's worth. My only complaint with that was the cups were too small. It was really hot, so my daughter and I would walk to the Old Port Royale which was a LONG walk from our room. We would get a drink and by the time we walked back to our room our drinks were empty and we wanted more, but were too tired to walk all the way back again. My recommendation would be for them to charge a buck or two more and give bigger cups!
The quality of the food was good. It was about like a fast food restaurant which is what most people like these days. They also have a restaurant that has a little more upscale dinner items. I was however very disappointed with the lack of choices. We viewed the menu sign outside the restaurant and they only had about 8-10 entrees and that was it. My husband is a picky eater, but loves things like steaks or popcorn shrimp, which they didn't have on the menu, so we had to forgo and drive somewhere to eat some nights.
The gift shops contained tons of Disney items that you would find at Disney World so it was a treat to shop for all of those little things. They also had other necessities like drug store needs, household items, cameras and things like that. Aside from that you could buy T-shirts, flip flops, swim goggles, jewelry, just about anything you can think of. My daughter and I enjoyed that part of it.
The pools were nice; they had one pool in front of each "island" building. If your pool was crowded, you could walk over to the next one which might be empty so that was pretty cool. They had a lion's head on the wall by the pool and you turn a knob nearby and water comes out the lion�€™s mouth to wash the sand off your feet. There were also showers. We found a little laundromat behind one of the pools which came in handy to wash a load or two. I did lose money from the machine but the front desk was quick to reimburse us.
The beach was just that - a sandy beach, but the disappointing part was that you could not get in the water on the beach. The lake was just for boating, nothing more. They had a lot of hammocks hanging between palm trees on the beach and lots of chaise lounge chairs, so that was nice.
One day my husband got done early at his seminar so we got to enjoy some family time together then and on our last day there. We rented some Sea Raycers which have seats for 2 people per boat. My teen daughter was thrilled that she could drive a boat. The smallish lake leads off and under a bridge and then onto the other side of the islands. You can zig zag around as you please until they wave a flag telling you time is up and time to come in. We ended up doing this twice during our stay because my daughter enjoyed it so much. The boats didn't go extremely fast so they are not too much for older children too handle, but fun enough to entertain them.
Another day my daughter and I went on the walking trails around the island. They were very beautiful with bridges to walk over and lots of flowers and lush tropical greenery. We enjoyed that quite a bit. One evening we all went to the arcade. That was a huge disappointment. It was an extremely small and narrow room with very few games. They definitely need to enlarge and expand that if they expect to entertain their guests.
One nice feature was that you could order pizza and have it delivered from the Port Royale if you were too tired to go out. We did this one night and were pleasantly surprised with the pizza and service.
Another nice feature was the souvenir cards you are given when you check in. Each person is given a plastic card with a Mickey Mouse on front and their name printed on it. It has a magnetic strip on the back and you are given two choices, it can either just be your keycard and I.D. pass or you can make it your Disney credit card in addition to a passcard, meaning you can go anywhere in any of the Disney resorts, theme parks or shopping areas and simply use that to pay and the charges will be charged to your room, which you pay upon check out. We opted not to do this. I did keep the cards as a souvenir however for my daughter's scrapbook.
We also loved the connection between all things Disney in the resort. We used their free bus service several times to go out to Downtown Disney and other areas around Disney. They had little bus stops with shelter at areas all around the islands. One night we used this to go to Downtown Disney and went to Planet Hollywood. Another night we went to the Rainforest Cafe there.
We also enjoyed shopping the ample shops at Downtown Disney and loved the fantastic idea they have. You can purchase items in any Disney shop in any of the parks or malls there and you don't have to carry it with you. They will send it back to your hotel for you and you can have it sent to your room. How cool is that? This could be a major win-win situation for those times like when you buy one of those jumbo stuffed Mickey Mouse but don't want to lug him around all day.
So, in summary we enjoyed our stay for most of the time there with a few exceptions. It got off to a bad start but we were happy and left on a good note. I will say that by the end of our stay I was really tired of the same Caribbean music repeating over and over and it didn't seem quite as fun as it did to start with. As for our room, it would have made me happier if they had offered to give us a free night there to make up for our lost day together but oh well. I can recommend this as a decent place for families on a budget to go. It is all inclusive and has a lot to do. I would like to see them perhaps add some evening entertainment at the resort. That's one thing that was sorely lacking, but other than that and the few problems mentioned above it was a great stay and a memorable moment of a vacation. An added note: Make sure to see the Lego Land store at Downtown Disney. Awesome store with life-sized items built of legos like a full sized shark, an alligator and a family of humans made of legos!
I forgot to add that there is a little tiki bar of sorts outside with tables all around on the promenade. They serve mixed drinks, so it's nice knowing you don't have to drive and can just walk back to your room. Not that I would ever overindulge but even one drink makes me sleepy.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
swatson99
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Member: Shannon WATSON
Location: Notasulga, AL USA
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Work at home, Homeschooling wife, mother, domestic engineer
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