Just returned from 11 nights at CBR. My first stay there.
For reference, we're a family of four, with two boys, 9 and 5. We've previously stayed at POR, Wilderness Lodge and Coronado Springs (my fam without me last year). We are generally at the parks all day and evening, leaving in the morning and returning after 9pm. That means that we don't spend much time at the resort itself.
This is a list of things as they come to mind...
Pirate Room - We stayed one night in a PR, which was really well themed but the double beds were too small for us and the mattresses were horrible. I'm glad we opted to move over to Jamaica for the following 10 nights.
Absolutely no signs of construction on the property while we were there beyond the gondola stations and Riviera. The grounds were immaculate.
CBR is a nice property but I prefer the look and feel of POR. However, with Skyliner, I would stay at CBR over POR unless there was a big price difference.
Standard Room - Nice, clean and spacious. We were in building 46 and faced the parking lot. I did not hear any vehicles and wouldn't hesitate to stay in a standard room again. We could also see the bus stop from our room, which meant proximity was nice.
We had a Freestyle soft drink machine just around the corner from our room. That was really nice and convenient, especially after a long day in the parks.
Mouse Keeping - It was either excellent or poor each day. Some days they seem to really go above and beyond and others they seemed to miss the most basic things.
Pool - On our arrival day, my boys played in at the big pool. They really enjoyed it there and they've never really liked the POR pool. But, we only went once, as we went to the parks each of the other days. The pool seems more suitable for kids, with multiple slides and lots of places to play. A nice surprise.
Centertown Market - I was not impressed with the selection there. I was disappointed that I couldn't get a parfait and oats as I had done in 2017 at POR. If it's still available, you could get them made to order. The oats at Spyglass were very disappointing. My wife and I ended up just eating protein bars for breakfast. I'm glad I ordered a bunch from
Amazon.
Buses - they came to the Jamaica and Aruba side regularly. I don't think we waited more than 20 minutes at any time. Also, in the morning, they split the resort so we were never on a full bus and always had a seat. Jamaica and Aruba had their own buses.
Going home was a different matter. The buses were packed, as they always are at the end of the night. The bus would stop at Martinique, on the far side of the resort first, which meant that we were the fifth stop. If you had the energy, getting off at Old Port Royale and trekking over to Jamaica was faster. No complaints, just food for thought.
Skyliner - what a great looking system. I look forward to using it on our next trip. I hope they paint the poles as they standout out in an unappealing way.