) DH and DS tried quiet pool one afternoon but the water was freezing so they hopped right out and ran back to room for hot showers!
Just back this afternoon from our first stay at CSR. Many thanks to all on this board who have answered my questions these past months and to those who have posted their experiences. We have always stayed at deluxes so knew there would be a few things I'd miss at CSR but went into it with an open mind and..... we had a really nice stay there and it is a very nice resort all in all.
rooms: requested connecting rooms in Casitas 4 or 5, away from elevators, paid for a standard view. We got rooms 4144 and 43 which were connecting in Casita 4, faced a courtyard and just beyond that was parking lot and bus stop 2. Never heard any car or bus noise. I had sent in a fax, no idea if that made a difference or not. Can see how some say the rooms are more "motel-ish" than the deluxes but they were just fine. Loved having a fridge (had made a grocery stop for water and breakfast food), loved the flat screen tv for our olympics fix, beds were comfy and housekeeping was good all week.
transportation: buses worked just fine for us, longest wait was 15 min mid-day for bus to Epcot. Even the drive to MK wasn't bad. Had to stand on bus only after Illuminations. Did take a cab twice to BW to save time and once to AKL for our brunch, again to save time. Cost of both cab rides between $8-$10 plus tip, there were 4 of us.
dining: ate at Pepper Market once for dinner, yes it is a bit over priced and a bit odd in terms of set up but the food we had was ok (ham sand, chicken ceasar salad, fruit plate and pasta) . We ate dinner there before heading to MK for eve. emh so it was very convenient. Also ate breakfast there, it was busy but again the food was decent. Did not try Mayan Grille. Got some desserts in the take out place, muffins and cookies, selection always seemed a bit picked over in the evening.
pools: our weather was not exactly conducive to hanging out at the pool much. We did a couple of hours at Dig Site the first day, it was a rocking place. Water was warm, DS (14) not impressed with jaguar slide (SAB and BWI Keister coaster hard acts to follow
cm's: almost all were really friendly and helpful. Only crabby one was in the PM at breakfast. many were very chatty, including the hostess whose name tag showed her home town to be Port-au-prince Haiti. She seemed pleased with the support and concern guests had been showing her, and also the very nice cashier in Panchitos who was from our hometown!
conventions: one arrived mid-week. Yes they were in abundance in El Centro and walking around but it did not bother us. They seemed pretty busy and we never saw them in the parks or on the buses. That didn't bother me. We saw plenty of conventioneers on the BW both nights we ate dinner there!
grounds: wow, really pretty. The landscaping is so nice and the theme is nicely done. The lake is pretty. The walk to the pool was a bit longish but not overly so and the walk to El Centro was only a few minutes.
Be happy to answer any questions.
Just back this afternoon from our first stay at CSR. Many thanks to all on this board who have answered my questions these past months and to those who have posted their experiences. We have always stayed at deluxes so knew there would be a few things I'd miss at CSR but went into it with an open mind and..... we had a really nice stay there and it is a very nice resort all in all.
rooms: requested connecting rooms in Casitas 4 or 5, away from elevators, paid for a standard view. We got rooms 4144 and 43 which were connecting in Casita 4, faced a courtyard and just beyond that was parking lot and bus stop 2. Never heard any car or bus noise. I had sent in a fax, no idea if that made a difference or not. Can see how some say the rooms are more "motel-ish" than the deluxes but they were just fine. Loved having a fridge (had made a grocery stop for water and breakfast food), loved the flat screen tv for our olympics fix, beds were comfy and housekeeping was good all week.
transportation: buses worked just fine for us, longest wait was 15 min mid-day for bus to Epcot. Even the drive to MK wasn't bad. Had to stand on bus only after Illuminations. Did take a cab twice to BW to save time and once to AKL for our brunch, again to save time. Cost of both cab rides between $8-$10 plus tip, there were 4 of us.
dining: ate at Pepper Market once for dinner, yes it is a bit over priced and a bit odd in terms of set up but the food we had was ok (ham sand, chicken ceasar salad, fruit plate and pasta) . We ate dinner there before heading to MK for eve. emh so it was very convenient. Also ate breakfast there, it was busy but again the food was decent. Did not try Mayan Grille. Got some desserts in the take out place, muffins and cookies, selection always seemed a bit picked over in the evening.
pools: our weather was not exactly conducive to hanging out at the pool much. We did a couple of hours at Dig Site the first day, it was a rocking place. Water was warm, DS (14) not impressed with jaguar slide (SAB and BWI Keister coaster hard acts to follow
cm's: almost all were really friendly and helpful. Only crabby one was in the PM at breakfast. many were very chatty, including the hostess whose name tag showed her home town to be Port-au-prince Haiti. She seemed pleased with the support and concern guests had been showing her, and also the very nice cashier in Panchitos who was from our hometown!
conventions: one arrived mid-week. Yes they were in abundance in El Centro and walking around but it did not bother us. They seemed pretty busy and we never saw them in the parks or on the buses. That didn't bother me. We saw plenty of conventioneers on the BW both nights we ate dinner there!
grounds: wow, really pretty. The landscaping is so nice and the theme is nicely done. The lake is pretty. The walk to the pool was a bit longish but not overly so and the walk to El Centro was only a few minutes.
Be happy to answer any questions.
Some many of my questions have been answered here, thank you. Our first day we arrive at MCO @ 2:30. Will we be in our room by 4pm? Debating DTD that 1st night or EPCOT. Does it really take 45 min by bus from CSR to DTD? How late is the pool and pool bar open until? Can we bring food from Pepper Market (a little scared based on some things Ive read but hoping for the best) to the pool area to eat? Any recommendations for the best items at Pepper Market? What about Mara Grill? I am thinking of skipping it! Also what would be the best way to Poly from CSR, in the event we decide to watch Wishes from the beach that 1st night intead - thanks!!!!
Thanks in part to this thread - we picked CSR and can't wait!
We even let him go to the arcade by himself. 
Not cool. 
We just returned from a stay at CSR and I thought I would give a mini review.
I decided not to request a location as there seems to be good and bad with every location. We ended up in Ranchos 7B which turned out to be perfect for us. We were across the parking lot from stop 4 which was super convenient. The quiet pool was just on the other side of our building and the Dig Site was was right behind it. Very very convenient for a 12 year old that HAD to swim even though it was cold and HAD to go to the arcade a few times.
It was about a 5-7 minute walk over to El Centro but we didn't mind it at all.
If I had small kids I would probably have preferred to stay in Cabanas as that is closer to El Centro.
We ate at Pepper Market for breakfast 3 times. The first time was great and service was wonderful. Second and third time not so good. DH did not get a refill of coffee both those times and the waitress was no where to be found to ask for it. My son was told to go to a different station then told to got back to the first one before someone would give him scrambled eggs when both of them had it right in front of them.
Mostly every one was friendly and we did see lots of management around in the mornings.
The CM's at the front desk, concierge, and Peppito's were very friendly and talkative.
Housekeeping was good we only had to ask for more coffee the 2nd day and then it was refilled after that. Rooms were clean. In fact the shower was sparkling clean every day.
We did get to go to the Dig Site one afternoon and enjoyed it very much. We had nachos, hot dogs, and fruit at the pool bar and the nachos were very good. Better than I expected to get.
Bus service was excellent. We were on 1/2 empty busses most of the time and rarely waited more than 10 minutes coming or going from the parks.
I would stay there again but I have other resorts to try out first.
I'm very glad to hear about your brother! We'll have a drink in yours and his honors in 5 days when we get to WDW
