Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort: Caribbean Blecch Resort?
Written: Sep 27 '00 (Updated Feb 26 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Theming, Room Size
Cons: Maintenance, Training of Cast Members, Food Court
The Bottom Line: The other moderate resorts on Disney property offer a much better value for your money.
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| jdhauer's Full Review: Disneys Caribbean Beach |
My husband and I stayed overnight at the Caribbean Beach Resort with my brother, my sister-in-law and their two boys before the main chunk of our Disney vacation at the BoardWalk Villas. We only needed a place for one evening and we were originally going to try the All-Star Resorts. The Cast Member with Central Reservations (CRO) told me about a good Magic Kingdom Club discount for the Caribbean Beach Resort which was only a few dollars more than the All-Stars would have been. As a trade off, we'd get a much larger room and supposedly nicer surroundings and more amenities.
When I originally made the reservations, it was for both my brother and his family and for the two of us. We needed two rooms, one in each family's name. I was assured by CRO that the proper way to do this was to put both rooms under the same reservation number. My husband and I requested a room with a king bed and my brother needed two doubles since he has a wife, a toddler and an infant. My brother checked in around noon while my husband and I went to the Kennedy Space Center. When my brother checked in, they originally gave him our room with the king bed and he had to go back and change it. We showed up and they gave us additional keys to his new room with two beds instead of our room with one bed. We had to call to get that fixed. We were expecting phone calls because we were selling our townhouse in Virginia but none came through to us because of the room snafu - my dad did manage to reach my brother by calling and asking for me.
Our room was okay after we got into it and the only problem was a slight tear in the carpet next to the door but my brother's room had a horrible smell of mold and of must. When I looked in the bathroom, the tiles around the tub were coated in mildew. It was quite disgusting. Upon closer inspection, we also noticed stains in the carpeting, a rip in the wallpaper, cigarette burns in one of the bedspreads (despite our request for a non-smoking room) and a non-operational television remote control. We didn't complain at the time since his kids were exhausted and were sleeping. We figured we were only there for one night. We never received an itemized bill from the front desk as we should have upon checkout.
Both rooms were quite spacious. There was plenty of floor space. The other furniture included a table with chairs, and an armoire. The sink area was not in the bathroom proper which made it easier to get ready to go in the morning. The decor was pleasant with a flowered bedspread and pineapple accents.
Another problem we had was that our resort identification cards were marked as "not valid for charging purposes" because my brother decided not to be able to charge on his room. We would have liked to do that but were told we couldn't. Again, it was only one night but it would have been nice not to have to carry cash to the food court.
Speaking of which, it was horrible but I already said that. We chose the "Kingston Pasta Shop" where I had the linguine with meatballs (hold the meatballs) and my husband chose the meat lasagna. He said his lasagna was okay but nothing great. For mine, there was a gigantic mound of sticky pasta with perhaps three tablespoons of sauce. It just wasn't very good food. The cast member who took our order was extremely pleasant but the other employees we observed cleaning the food court were scowling and obviously unhappy. Granted, the place was a mess and it must have seemed daunting to have to clean it up.
We were in the Jamaica section which was nice in terms of location. The landscaping was beautiful with a tropical feel. I never felt as if I was truly in the Caribbean but the theme was carried out well. We had a short walk over the bridge to Parrot Cay island and then to Center Towne. If you ever do this, the bridge is wooden and gets very slippery when wet. The theme pool was quite crowded and very loud. There was a calypso band playing near the beach bar and there were kids running everywhere at 9 pm. We weren't tempted to try the theme pool because it was so crowded.
We tried the quiet pool in our island village of Jamaica that evening. There were some pool toys (noodles) in the water for anyone to use and we enjoyed having the place to ourselves. We were going to try the hammocks but they appeared to be wet and full of sand so we skipped it.
In the morning when we awoke, we took a long walk on the Promenade around the lake, through many of the other villages. We enjoyed this part of the resort very much and we liked not only seeing the various wildlife out and about but greeting other guests as they traversed the walkway for some morning exercise.
Other reviewers have remarked upon the bus system at this very large resort. As we had a car, we did not use these buses. Our location in Jamaica put us a short walk from Center Towne/Old Port Royale.
In the future, I think I would feel comfortable trying a moderate resort (or even a value resort) on Disney property, but I doubt I would stay at this particular resort again. While the theming is well thought out and executed, it's obvious that more attention needs to be paid to maintenance and also to the training of employees (particularly in reservations and at the front desk).
Supposedly, Disney has just completely renovated this resort from top to bottom, including the food court and main pool area. I still have issues with management letting it get run down to such a terrible condition in the first place. I somehow doubt that this new renovation will last very long, and I have heard reports from others who have stayed here more recently who have unfortunately told me that this is the case.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
jdhauer
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 in Kids & Family |
 - Top 200 |
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Location: Virginia
Reviews written: 701
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