We bought a crib for our first baby, due this Sept., from Burlington Coat Factory after much careful consideration and product/price comparison. It is the Suite Bebe Dakota Convertible Crib in Espresso. The parent company is Munire, which also makes the Baby Cache line sold at Babies R Us. (More on that later.) We recommend using a 20% one-item coupon to get the crib for less than $300. The crib was in-stock on the day we were there, so we took it home right away.
While researching for reviews and info about the crib/Suite Bebe company online, I was disappointed to find only a couple of old posts. and now I know why. The crib is not sold via BCF's website, and the actual BCF store is the only place to buy it. Suite Bebe has limited information on their website about their products. and none about the Dakota Crib (only the Hamilton Crib, also sold at BCF, which is slightly more expensive than the Dakota).
It only comes in the Espresso color, which is perfect for us. The crib was super easy to assemble - it took me about an hour to do it by myself (at 25 weeks pregnant). There were no flaws or imperfections - the crib is super sturdy and looks very high-end (even though we paid just under $300 for it). The mattress we purchased on sale at BRU.com fits snugly, but perfectly (Naturepedic Organic Cotton Classic 252).
We also ordered the toddler rail ($70) and the full-size conversion kit ($140) from BCF - FYI: they quote a 20-week turnaround! Ours arrived in about 5 weeks, though. If you have the extra 200 bucks to spend and want to convert the crib in the end, I recommend getting the extra pieces right away. And if your BCF store is anything like ours, you'll need to bring along extra patience and grace for the store employees!
The Dakota crib and matching dresser were set up in-store, but we thought the dresser seemed of poorer quality (drawers were wobbly and such), so we sought out other options. Because of the difference in finish from one company to another (all Espressos are not created equally), we were worried that the rest of the furniture wouldn't match the crib. But, as I mentioned before, the Baby Cache line sold at Babies R Us is made by Munire, and the collection that matches Suite Bebe is called "Bliss" or "Essentials" (why does everything go by so many different names?!) Our BRU store didn't have this specific furniture on display - we found it in their furniture catalog and took a gamble. It payed off bigtime! We bought the 4-drawer dresser and the 6-drawer combo unit when they were on sale for 20% off (total for both was less than $800) and they arrived for pick-up within a few weeks. The Espresso color, detailing, and overall design is a spot-on match with the crib. We could not be happier! Everything looks beautiful together in the nursery and we plan on using this furniture with our soon-to-be-baby for many many many years!
I hope this info helps anyone out there who is looking at these products and wondering what to do. Bottom line: do your research and shop smart - you won't be disappointed.