What are your overall priorities outside of holiday decor? And really holiday vibe is very subjective. I love all the resort decor at Christmas time as they all have a unique take on the holidays but both are mods so I'd presume decor will be similar levels. However, the CSR lobby is very nice and with the add of GDT, has a much more deluxe feel than CBR. I have stayed at both and would likely not stay at CBR again. Stayed there a few times and have always had issues. Clearly it's a very popular resort and even more so being on the skyliner line. The rooms are old and drab and the resort goes on forever and ever and I'm not a fan of the bus situation there. We've gone with CBR in the past for the skyliner and the rooms with the 5th sleeper. And that's been the only reasons.
Both are close comps but imo, if you take the skyliner away, CSR is much nicer.
- The rooms have all been upgraded much more recently,
- there are some nicer dining options with the add of three bridges
- CSR has a gym and a spa
- the tower is all indoors so no motel 6 exterior door lodging (downside, no balcony, only a large window) but rooms are larger than the non-tower rooms
- the bathrooms in the tower rooms are so so much nicer with glass doors and nicer fixtures and slightly more space.
- There are 4 bus stops at CSR vs 7 or 8 (seems like 25) at CBR which gets old really fast
- The pools are similar imo
Now if you'll plan to be at Epcot and DHS a lot, CBR may be your best option. If you will be at MK and AK more, then it's really no benefit to stay at CBR unless you just prefer that resort. If you decide to go CBR, Jamaica is a good location for proximity to the skyliner station and not too far from the bridge to the lobby/main pool. Also, depending on where you're heading on the bus, the Jamaica stop is usually the first bus stop when they return from parks and first stop when they drop. If you go CSR, I'm always a vote for the tower but the rooms will be more $$. If you go with a non-tower room at CSR, you can go preferred in the casitas to be near the tower/el centro/buses or not preferred and request the cabanas.
For me, I look at where I will stay based on my budget, time of year and which parks we'll be at the most. I would take that into account and what theming appeals to you/your family the most.
ETA- if we do have a more epcot/DHS trip planned and prices are not far off, we usually stay at swan/dolphin to get walking/boat proximity to the parks and better lodging accommodations for not much more. Just for comparison, the last few stays we've done Swan/Dolphin since even with the tacked on resort fee, we saved several hundred dollars over CBR and POR.