Question for seasoned CTI repeaters

[karinjim]

I am hoping that some of you that have gone to CTI can tell me more about the resort. Even better would be those that have gone to both CN and CTI. I really miss CN and long to go back, but it seems like the price has gone up so much there that I may not get there. The price for CTI right now though may be the resort to try. I have some concerns and things that make me "afraid" to try it though because CN is my favorite right now. We did try CSS last spring and although it is the most beautiful of all, I missed CN due to many reasons, so here are my questions:

1. I see they have a free upgrade right now for premier Ocean view room. Where is that located? Is it close to where the nightly entertainment is because that was one of the problems we had at CSS. We could not go to bed early because the nightly entertainment was too close, loud and kept us awake.

2. Do they have drawers to put your clothes in. They did not have that at CSS and I hate living out of a suitcase all week.

3. I hear the staff at CTI is awesome. Although I have not met them, I do love and miss the staff at CN.

4. Of course I do know the beach is smaller, but private. The beach is another thing we love at CN. Is the beach at least sandy and not too many stones/rocks? Is the ocean rough? It was very rough at CSS and so I did not take the glass bottom boat ride because I get sea sick easy.

5. I'm not sure I'm one for AN. Never tried it, so the "island" does not really matter, but you never know it may be the first time.

6. The other thing that kind of has me not wanting to go there is that per the pictures it seems to be the one resort that does not have much of the "island feel" because it seems to not have much on palm trees and tropical vegetation as CN. Nothing of course compares with the beauty and tropical vegetation of CSS.

Thanks for any honest information you could give us.
Karin and Jim

PS if we go it will be 3/20-3/27 next year.

[Vee]

Hi Guys. We are CSA fans, and took our first trip to CTI a week ago. (Been back for a week, boohoo). We have also been to CSS once.

here are my answers:
1. We were in a Deluxe Ocean room. We were supposed to be upgraded to Premier, but they didn't have the info when we arrived and when we got to our room, we decided we liked it so much, we didn't want to move. I don't think the nightly entertainment would really be an issue.
2. Yup. They have a full dresser of drawers and a nice sized closet.
3. The staff was spectacular. By far the best staff of any of the resorts we have been to. (with the exception of the entertainment staff, who were lousy.)
4. Honestly, the beach was lovely. I'm a huge fan of the CSA beach, and was just fine with the CTI beach. I liked it a lot more than the beach at CSS. It seemed much bigger and more open. My only complaint was that since the sun set behind the resort, you only got sun on the beach until about 4pm. After that you would have to go to the pier or the island.
5. We visited the island 1x early in the trip, and really didn't find it to be 'all that'. IMHO, it wasn't worth the effort to go over there. We found ourselves on the main beach or the pier for the remainder of the trip.
6. CTI DOES have a lovely tropical feel, but (again, IMHO) it's more of a Miami/South Beach tropical as opposed to CSA rustic tropical or CSS romantic tropical. The resort itself really resonated with me and I know that we will be back someday. (hopefully soon!!) We'll be back at CSA in May.

HTH. Feel free to PM me with more questions: veronica at leadershipsimplified dot com.

[sunnync]

We have been to both CTI and CN and love them both. We have a tough time deciding which one to go to.

1. We stayed in a Premier Ocean room in August and it was in the new building close to the main pool. The entertainment did not bother us at night but I would say it is close enough you can hear it.
2. Yes they have drawers.
3. CTI's staff is the best!
4. The ocean was rougher than normal when we were there in August I guess it depends on the time of the year we had normally been in May and it was fine.
5. You should try the island it is great!
6. It is actually very beautiful and tropical feeling to me. I think once you get there you will love it. We did a day pass to CSS and didn't like it as good as CTI but everyone has their favorites and ours are CTI and CN.

[dandj]

You will like CTI better then CSS if you love CN. We have been to all three and CTI anf CN are the most alike. the rooms you are lookin at are around the old pool and in the main building. just request the main building, high floor. There are drawers (we also had drawers in our room atCSS)for your clothes. The staff are the best anywhere, this really makes the vacation. the water depends on the weather. It can be really calm or a little choppy if the wind picks up or there is a storm. I have to say the roughest water we've had was last year at CN. We were body surfing. The new spa area at CTI is great. I would give it a try. you will never know until you try it. It's our favorite and we'll be back next year and the year after that. I hope this helps.

[karinjim]

Thank you for your responses. I may have to try this resort out.
Do they have drink menus like they do at CN and a "special drink of the day"? Can anyone give me an idea where the premier ocean rooms would be located? In the write up it tells which "block" they are in, but I don't know how the buildings are numbered. Can't tell by the picture which one is the "main building" or the south wing, east wing,etc.
What kind of entertainment do they have? I see someone wrote they were not impressed with the entertainment staff. I wonder why? I think the ones at CSS were a little to "pushy".
Thanks again
Karin

[Bkhiattky]

I am hoping that some of you that have gone to CTI can tell me more about the resort. Even better would be those that have gone to both CN and CTI. I really miss CN and long to go back, but it seems like the price has gone up so much there that I may not get there. The price for CTI right now though may be the resort to try. I have some concerns and things that make me "afraid" to try it though because CN is my favorite right now. We did try CSS last spring and although it is the most beautiful of all, I missed CN due to many reasons, so here are my questions:

1. I see they have a free upgrade right now for premier Ocean view room. Where is that located? Is it close to where the nightly entertainment is because that was one of the problems we had at CSS. We could not go to bed early because the nightly entertainment was too close, loud and kept us awake.All rooms with the word ocean in it have a wonderful view of the water and the island

2. Do they have drawers to put your clothes in. They did not have that at CSS and I hate living out of a suitcase all week.Yes, they have a full dresser, plus the closet, I would suggest bringing extra hangers though

3. I hear the staff at CTI is awesome. Although I have not met them, I do love and miss the staff at CN.The staff at CTI will blow your socks off!! They are amazing, and cater to your every whim

4. Of course I do know the beach is smaller, but private. The beach is another thing we love at CN. Is the beach at least sandy and not too many stones/rocks? Is the ocean rough? It was very rough at CSS and so I did not take the glass bottom boat ride because I get sea sick easy.We go in January and the water has always been wonderful!! The beach is beautiful and clean

5. I'm not sure I'm one for AN. Never tried it, so the "island" does not really matter, but you never know it may be the first time.We have been there 4 times, #5 coming up, and have never been to the island. It isn't our thing. We don't feel like we missed anything by not going

6. The other thing that kind of has me not wanting to go there is that per the pictures it seems to be the one resort that does not have much of the "island feel" because it seems to not have much on palm trees and tropical vegetation as CN. Nothing of course compares with the beauty and tropical vegetation of CSS.I think it has a wonderful island feel!! Even before the renovation

Thanks for any honest information you could give us.
Karin and Jim

PS if we go it will be 3/20-3/27 next year.

Don't worry, you will LOVE CTI....I promise!!!

[gravysgal]

Hi Guys. We are CSA fans, and took our first trip to CTI a week ago. (Been back for a week, boohoo). We have also been to CSS once.

here are my answers:
1. We were in a Deluxe Ocean room. We were supposed to be upgraded to Premier, but they didn't have the info when we arrived and when we got to our room, we decided we liked it so much, we didn't want to move. I don't think the nightly entertainment would really be an issue.
2. Yup. They have a full dresser of drawers and a nice sized closet.
3. The staff was spectacular. By far the best staff of any of the resorts we have been to. (with the exception of the entertainment staff, who were lousy.)
4. Honestly, the beach was lovely. I'm a huge fan of the CSA beach, and was just fine with the CTI beach. I liked it a lot more than the beach at CSS. It seemed much bigger and more open. My only complaint was that since the sun set behind the resort, you only got sun on the beach until about 4pm. After that you would have to go to the pier or the island.
5. We visited the island 1x early in the trip, and really didn't find it to be 'all that'. IMHO, it wasn't worth the effort to go over there. We found ourselves on the main beach or the pier for the remainder of the trip.
6. CTI DOES have a lovely tropical feel, but (again, IMHO) it's more of a Miami/South Beach tropical as opposed to CSA rustic tropical or CSS romantic tropical. The resort itself really resonated with me and I know that we will be back someday. (hopefully soon!!) We'll be back at CSA in May.

HTH. Feel free to PM me with more questions: veronica at leadershipsimplified dot com.

Vee, when you say the entertainment staff was lousy were you referring to the staff at CTI who do performances or the people brought in to entertain guests (live bands, etc.). Just curious because as you know the entertainment at CSA is fabulous.

[sunnync]

If you look on the panoramic view of CTI the premier ocean room they are showing is in the main building. The pool grill is in the new building which is where we were at and we had a premier ocean room.

[Bkhiattky]

[COLOR="Lime"]Hey Sharon,

Granted we haven't been back since the renovation, but we always found the entertainment to be outstanding, both the staff and the brought in entertainment. The staff made you feel welcome to join in on any fun they were having, whether it be dancing or singing, volleyball or pool games, such as trivia and bingo. The entertainment was great in our opinion, lots of singing and dancing with guests and staff joining in. We go back in 63 days....and I CAN NOT WAIT!!![/COLOR][/B]

[karinjim]

I'm still confused as to where the Premier Ocean Rooms are located because per the pictures of course the buildings are not numbered. I can't get to the panoramic views or the pictures of the different rooms because my computer will not let me. I think I have to download some new "flash" thing which I have not done because I have an old computer and so not much speed or "space" on it. I'm hoping that they will have a good Wed. special this week and maybe that will be the deciding factor. The specials have been lately for booking after April 4th so I would miss out if that cont. I'm looking at coming down a little sooner because that is when I have been approved for vacation from work.
Thanks for all your responses.
Has anyone done the horseback riding offered by CTI? Are the horses gentle? I'm a fraidy cat. I don't want to fall off a horse down there and worry about getting hurt while in a different place.
Karin

[karinjim]

Well I took the plunge. Thank you all for the responses. We are booked for CTI next March.
Would love to hear more about the horseback riding. Are the horses gentle??
It sounds like a fun trip, but I'm a little afraid of riding if the horses are not real gentle
Karin

[Vee]

Sharon -
Sorry for the delay on this one. I just re-read this post. When I speak of the entertainment staff, I am NOT referring to the nightly entertainment. We actually enjoyed the shows a lot.

I am referring to the "entertainment co-ordinators" who at all the other resorts went out of their way to meet and greet the couples. We actually had breakfast once with a member of the entertainment staff at least once each time at CSA and CSS. At CTI, I found them to be aloof and unfriendly. When we asked if they were going to have a Halloween party, (duh, it was Halloween) I was told (in a VERY condescending voice) that "it's not THAT KIND of resort.) I didn't ask if there was going to be a toga party or if I could dance nekkid on the dancefloor with a mask.... just if there was were going to be any festivities for Halloween. (there weren't by the way.)

One of the entertainment guys also invited himself onto the v-ball court during a VERY competitive, hi-skill game (in the middle of the game -- duh.) and then proceeded to keep saying "I just do this for fun...." The guys playing had to ask him to leave the court, since they were playing a "serious" game.

All in all, I thought the entertainment staff there was an extremely low point in comparison to the rest of the staff at CTI who were absolutely totally and in all other ways FANTASTIC.

[Amy]

I have the room list if that would help you (amy.welch@Hotmail.com). I'd also be happy to share any of our pics. The Premier Oceans are in the New Building (#2) or the Main Building (#3). We honeymooned at CTI in 2002 and got hooked - we've been back every year since (and been to them all)! Our next trip is April 2010 but have already booked a CTI/CSA split for 2011 - so you know it must be good

[Vee]

@KarinJim -

The horses are INCREDIBLY gentle. As a matter of fact, they were great and the guides are wonderful as well.

This was the first horseback riding experience that we have ever had where my husband didn't have some kind of "incident". LOL. Go and enjoy.

PS: Sign up for the 11am trip. There are less people on that one, and it's a LOT nicer when there aren't as many people.