atrium rooms???

[cltmomof2]

ok... so we've FINALLY decided to take our FIRST vacation in FOUR years to CSA... (yeah!!!)... and my travel agent suggested the atrium rooms... any thoughts? Can you see the ocean from any of the atrium rooms? I thought I read that they are open air? does this mean that they are not air-conditioned? can you hear what's going on in the other rooms? thanks!

[Sea Ya Soon]

A few do have slight ocean views from a distance but most do not, most views are a tropical setting. If oceanview is really important beachfront suites and breachfront verandas all have awesome ocean views.

We really like the atriums, they are air-conditioned and they are open air but you can close the shutters to keep the air-conditioning inside.

The only issues we have had with these rooms..you can hear early risers having coffee with friends on their balcony at 6:30am. You will hear room service carts rolling on the concrete making their early morning deliveries. Depending on your location, you might hear horns blowing from early morning traffic (Can you tell I am not a morning person - ha). The tree frogs are really loud at night (which is kinda nice). If your neighbor smokes and your room is downwind, you will smell it. I pack a small noise maker which drowns out all the intermittent sounds and then I have no problems.

You will love CSA, whichever room you choose.

[LK/JK]

We just booked them. From what I read, they are air conditioned, there might be 1 or 2 that have a partial view of the ocean and they are about 50 to 100 feet from the beach. Windows between units have glass and outside facing windows are heavy wooden slats with screens. You get a hammock and the bathroom walls don't reach the room. People on these boards and T/A seem to swear by them.

[sunnydnrum]

There is a thread a couple of pages back on this topic. Check it out. Have fun!

[jmckenzie21]

Some rooms have better views than others. Altho, we do not mind being secluded. it gives us more time together. The rooms are open air, but you can close the shutter type windows and crank the A/C or ceiling fan. It was nice to open them a tad at night. You could hear the tree frogs. We had no Problem with noise. I knew there were people next to us, simply because I would see them in passing. But never did I hear a peep out of them throughout our stay. We booked our next trip and again choose the atrium.

[Richli2]

The Atrium rooms are not open air. They have screen windows with wooden louvers. If your louvers are open and so are your neighbors, you can hear noise from their rooms. The Atrium rooms are air conditioned, but have no televisions.
Also it depends are your actual room room location if you have even a partial ocean view.

[Sonofthebeach]

Here we go again..I love the Atrium rooms, but they are not for everyone. I will sum it up like this.."If you can hear someone walking & talking outside, and you will, then thay can hear your every little noises as well". Noise from other rooms will all depend on who's in those rooms, that can go either way. You'll hear different opinions on this, but I 'm speaking from years & years of experience, 18 to be exact, so take it for what its worth.

[cltmomof2]

thanks everyone... the atrium rooms sounds so nice!... cannot wait to go... a little nervous though... first time we'll be away from our two beautiful children (thus first vacation in four years)! =)

[B&LfromNC]

This is the best part of the Atrium suites!

By starwars123 at 2011-02-27

[Amoricksen]

We just went to CSA in February and booked a Garden room but got the Atrium instead. I thought I would be disappointed with no tv and I am a bit of a wimp with bugs etc but I couldn't have been more happy with the room and if we ever go back to CSA this is the room we will ask for. We loved it.

AC is fine but half the time we used the fan and it was colder than the AC. Never had a problem with room noise, yes we could hear some people walking past but it was never a problem.

Only had one bad night when some rowdy guests decided to have a gathering on their balcony at 11pm. I resisted the urge to complain but by 12pm with one of the group laughing at the top of her voice every 3 minutes I could resist no more. I called out the window and asked them to please keep the noise down. I have no idea if they heard me or not but the noise stopped almost immediately afterwards. C'mon guys, this is meant to be a nice romantic place to go on holiday with your partner, please be considerate of other guests and keep the noise down, especially late in the evening. Thanks.

All I would say is that you could be unlucky and have some rowdy neighbours but hopefully it would just take a polite request from you or the staff to sort this out.

All in all that one experience didn't put us off the Atrium at all. We loved it and wouldn't have swapped it for the world. Hope that helps.

PS, we could see the ocean from our room, at a distance. It was perfect for us, 50 paces and we were on the beach.

[twilson73]

I am so glad to hear this, will be booking atrium room in the morning!

[Stillmn]

We are heading home for the 8th year in a row (7 days and counting)and our first year we booked a garden room and we were lucky to be upgraded to an Atrium room. We loved it and have booked the Atrium room every year since. The hammock on the porch is sooooo relaxing after a "hard" day at the beach. While your significant other is in the shower, you can crank up the I-Pod station as you get ready for dinner and now each room has a mini bar. It's heaven....the best rooms got better

P.S. One year we had an upgrade to a Beachfront suite (old section) and decided that the Atrium rooms are the best for the money.

[Stacie&Scott]

How exciting to read up on the Atrium rooms! We are going to be married in Nov on the beach and have decided this is the room of us!!!! Thank you for all your posts!

[dean5150]

Thanks for all the information. I booked a Atrium Suite for my stay in May. I am worried with the whole "no TV" idea. I am used to watching TV before I go to bed.

[cypresspeeps]

Thanks for all the information. I booked a Atrium Suite for my stay in May. I am worried with the whole "no TV" idea. I am used to watching TV before I go to bed.

Same here. We have styed in the BVFS in the past and figured we'd give the atriums a try. I fall asleep to the tv every night...

[twilson73]

Our last stay at Couples, we never even watched the TV at all. There were always so many things to do. I don't think it's going to be a problem at all. These rooms are so popular there must be a good reason! I can't wait!

[warmweatherfriend]

Just returned on March 6th from CSA. We had an Atrium Suite and absolutely loved it! It was everything and more as I expected. There are mainly wooden shutters from floor to ceiling that either had a screen behind them or glass. There are 4 rooms to a building and the top floor rooms have a cathedral wooden ceiling. Keep in mind that the bathroom walls on the top floor rooms to do NOT reach to the ceiling so if one needs a little bit of privacy, ask your s.o. to step out onto the patio/balcony. Yes, the rooms are air conditioned, include a docking station for IPOD, have a mini bar and NO TV(which I was glad). At night, we would open the top part of the shutters to listen to the frogs and the ocean. We were close enough to hear the sea. I would choose this room above all others.

[dean5150]

Our last stay at Couples, we never even watched the TV at all. There were always so many things to do. I don't think it's going to be a problem at all. These rooms are so popular there must be a good reason! I can't wait!

I am hoping so. LOL.

Same here. We have styed in the BVFS in the past and figured we'd give the atriums a try. I fall asleep to the tv every night...

Yeah, I never watch TV on vacation but I do fall asleep with it on at home and on vacation every night. I am worried I wont sleep now. LOL. My travel agent did not tell me there was no TV. Oh well, we will see how it works.


@Warmweatherfriend... THANK YOU SO MUCH for the pictures and details. Greatly appreciated!

[shaw22]

I am so happy they have this message board. My husband and I are staying in the atrium rooms too when we go in JUNE 2011! They looked a little more secluded then the other options and NO TV! I don't go on vacation to watch TV! It will be our 20th yr. anniversary. Thanks for the pics you posted, I know we made a good room choice. FUN FUN to COME.

[dean5150]

Yeah... I am excited to try something new. I just hope I like the room with no TV. LOL.

[dirtleg]

TV, smee-vee.

We are staying in an Atrium this summer after having stayed in an Ocean verandah for the last four trips to CSA. While we used the TV before, it was not something we felt we had to have. It was there, so we flipped it on now and then. The program choices are not very extensive anyway, so if you are used to American cable or satellite programming you will not be very impressed. So we figured we would like a change of pace, TV or not, so an Atrium is booked for this trip. We will probably take a lap top with a few dvd's for rainy afternoons or late night movies. I figure we will get more sleep this trip anyway.

[Vee]

TV, smee-vee.

Well said.
We have stayed in the BFS's 4x but our last trip did Atrium, and won't go back. We love the hammock, the privacy and the verandah. It's Great!! And for the $$ we stay an extra day.

Trust me. You do NOT need the TV. There are better things to do in your room. And no, we are not honeymooners. LOL. Although at CSA, we like to pretend that we are.

[redinthehead]

I miss that hammock so much.... 83 day feels like a life time.

[breccad]

Amoricksen - Were you still surrounded by the tropical vibe even though you had a partial ocean view from your room or did that take away some of your privacy? We're going back for our 5 year anniversary in about a month and have requested the second floor atrium rooms. We had a BFVS on our honeymoon, but read about how delightful the Atrium rooms are. We do want the partial ocean view though, but without losing the atrium vibe. Does that make sense?

"PS, we could see the ocean from our room, at a distance. It was perfect for us, 50 paces and we were on the beach.[/QUOTE]

[breccad]

If you are in any of the rooms on the second floor with a partial ocean view, do you still have the privacy of the others and some of the tropical plants around you?