A Caribbean Beach room tour of one of their standard rooms:
Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort has always had a special place in my heart because it was where I stayed on my very first Disney trip back when I was 10 years old. I remember thinking how colorful and fun it was, and how tropical everything felt with palm trees everywhere! And while the rooms have certainly changed a lot since then, there’s still something about Caribbean Beach that makes it special to me. It had been awhile since I’d stayed there so when I got the chance recently I went for it!
We were assigned room 5565, which is in the Aruba section. This turned out to be a pretty great location. We were super close to the Skyliner station – the one at the Riviera resort, not the one at Caribbean Beach! It was only about a 3 minute walk right over to the Skyliner. Even though Caribbean Beach is pretty large, I didn’t feel it was too far from the main area with the pool and restaurants and everything. There is an island and some bridges to connect everything and it was less than half a mile walk, which I have no problem with.
The room basics
As a moderate resort, the rooms at Caribbean Beach are a bit bigger than the value resorts. They’re 314 square feet, which is a much more comfortable size when you’re sharing a room with family or friends. You have the main room area with 2 queen beds, as well as a table and chair plus the TV and drawers. Under the TV is actually a 5th pull-down bed so the rooms can sleep up to 5 people.
On the other side of the TV (where the 5th sleeper is) you also have a refrigerator and coffee maker for your basics. From there you head to the bathroom area, which has the sinks separate from the toilet/shower. So there’s a decently sized place with the sinks and a small bathroom with a door.
We were on the second floor of the resort – each building only has two floors, and there actually aren’t any elevators so if you’re on the second floor it means you’re taking the stairs. Our window looked out into a little patio/courtyard area.
Beds
The standard rooms at Caribbean Beach have 2 queen beds, which in my opinion makes it the better option of the pirate rooms. In this case I was staying with one other friend so we had our own beds anyway, so two doubles would have been fine. But if I’m sharing a bed with someone it’s a bit tight. Otherwise I love the themeing of the pirate rooms. The beds are comfy and I have no complaints, but I’m pretty good at sleeping wherever.
The nice thing for families with these rooms is that below the television where it looks like there’s more drawers you’ll actually find a 5th pull-down bed. It’s very easy to use (you literally just pull the handle and you have a bed!) and totally out of the way. If you don’t need it, you wouldn’t even know it was there. It is “child sized,” though one small adult could sleep on it too if you really wanted.
Bathroom
One of the nice things about the bathroom set-up is that you have the sink area separated from the toilet/shower, so people can get ready while someone else is showering. In addition, the sink area has a door that slides shut so that you can have additional privacy if there are other people in the bedroom area.
There are two sinks here, as opposed to the one sink you’ll find at Pop Century and the value resorts. The countertop has a lot of space and a nice big mirror. There’s an open storage area under the sinks where you’ll find some towels, but you could also easily store your stuff down there too. Off to the side you have hangers and a pretty large area for any clothing you might want to hang instead of putting into drawers (or leaving in your suitcase as some of us sometimes end up doing).
The bathroom itself is quite small but has your basics – the toilet and a bathtub/shower combo. Nothing too remarkable here, but it gets the job done. There’s a full length mirror on the door to the bathroom so that if it’s closed someone in the sink area can use that too.
Decor
This might be the biggest downside of the Caribbean Beach standard rooms, because the decor is really lacking here. You could do so much with color and the vibrant island-feel, but they’ve very much muted things down. The best piece of artwork in the room is actually on the pull-down bed, so if you don’t use the 5th sleeper you won’t even see it.
The only real bit of vibrancy is in the bathroom on the shower curtain, which actually has some color and fun. There were two small paintings in our room that added a splash of color, but not much. You can see one of them pictured here above the coffee maker. I feel like the decor is the one area here that’s seriously lacking. The outside of the resort is colorful and stunning, but inside is a bit boring.
Video tour of Caribbean Beach room
Overall thoughts on the Caribbean Beach standard room
Overall I really enjoyed my stay at Caribbean Beach in a standard room. I absolutely noticed and appreciated the extra space you get here compared to a value resort. The 5th sleeper can make a big difference for a family of five as well. I loved that the area we stayed in Aruba, felt peaceful and beautiful with a nice view and very close to the Riviera Skyliner. It was a nice space for 2 adults, and if we were a group of 3 adults or even potentially 4 I think we could be comfortable. If you’re a family with kids who won’t spend a ton of time in the room it’s a good space too.
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Of course, if you’re comparing it to a deluxe resort it’s no real contest. I love the additional space of the deluxes and especially the balcony you get there.
I do think Caribbean Beach could make some improvements to their standard rooms. There are a few little things that resorts which have been refurbished more recently have upgraded, like more nightstands, outlets, and other minor amenities and conveniences. And sprucing up the decor to make it more fun would make a big difference, at least to me. After all, it’s Disney – it’s supposed to be fun!
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Have you stayed in a Caribbean Beach room recently? How do you like it there?
We haven’t stayed there since we were kids but the last time we were at Riviera we took a walk over there and just loved the grounds. We decided too book a room there this summer. I too am not crazy about the rooms but I do like the overall theme and location of the resort! Thanks for the review!