Sheraton Vistana Villages - Your reviews, tips & ratings

Here now and anticipating having extra supplies like coffee filters, coffee, laundry soap, dish liquid, lysol wipes..staying on a non housekeeping rate and of course hate buying little tiny bottles of anything! :lmao:

We leave on Nov 26th. Any takers?
 
Just back so thought I'd post a short review, mostly pros and cons...

Pros -
- great central location, really only about 15 mins from any Disney Park, and 5 mins to SeaWorld (can't comment on how far from Universal)
- big Publix and a walgreens just down the road with other shops (didn't explore though)
-nice, spacious rooms
-loved having the kitchen to offset cost of meals in the park
- having the living area was lovely for allowing night owls to stay up and exhausted moms to go to bed
- wow factor driving in; lovely grounds and lots of picture opportunities. Almost every day someone was standing in the middle of the road taking pictures of the front fountain...pro; it was pretty...con; nearly everyday someone was standing in the road! lol
- main pool open until 1 am...lovely to relax in the hot tub after a long day

Cons-
-"no housekeeping" means exactly that. Didn't expect any but everything I read said there's be a midweek garbage pick up. Never happened.
-not enough toiletpaper! Didn't really expect to have to supply that but with 6 people in the room 3 rolls just didn't do it. So add that to your list!
-pool towels are supplied with turning in a towel card but that window was never open past 10 so hitting the pool after the parks closed meant using shower towels
-closing bedroom doors meant sleeping in the heat. Unfortunately the whole unit only works off one unit so there's no way to cool an individual room off.
-wandered over to the Pirate Ship one night with the kids but was less then impressed. Pictures make it look so much bigger then it is. Was traveling with older kids so they weren't interested in playing on the ship but were disappointed in the water slide only because each section didn't fit together seamlessly so it was a little rough going down. Also looked to me that it would be a much more crowded area if there was any amount of families wanting to use that pool
-while staff were never rude everyone of them were basically just blahh...front desk staff seemed bored to death
-actually had a tornado spotted in out area while we were in room and didn't know it until we got to publix where they had taken shelter (did I mention they are just down the street?!)!! Wonder if there shouldn't be some kind of warning system or directions to where best take shelter; calling the rooms won't work when you're avoiding the timeshare call! We were on 5th floor and as far as I could see there was nowhere ground level for us to take shelter unless we wanted to run to lobby.

Overall, while it was a lovely stay, I do recommend it and I wouldn't hesitate to use it again if I was traveling with a group, I kept thinking of this in terms of "this is a timeshare they are trying to sell me" and I was never wowed enough to even consider. Not that I would consider but if they are trying to sell it I would think there'd be more then just a sales pitch to tempt you.

It was my first time off property and while I did enjoy it, the one deciding factor that would keep me on property was the weather. Tornado aside, that storm on Tuesday showed me the benefits of not having to drive yourself. It was a scary ride home in near zero visibility making me thankful of the option of having Disney do the driving on my next trip.
 
-not enough toiletpaper! Didn't really expect to have to supply that but with 6 people in the room 3 rolls just didn't do it. So add that to your list!

Just wanted to point out to others that if you run low on any of the supplies that are standard in the unit (toilet paper, paper towel, dishwasher powder, etc) a quick call to housekeeping will have extra supplies dropped by.
 
We are currently here now...1st time staying off property and I am VERY impressed! Only been here a couple days but everything is beautiful and staff has been very nice. The 2bedroom until is wonderful and super clean. No complaints!
 


I booked a one bedroom villa (not premium) for 2 weeks in June (Vistana Villages Resort Villas). I spoke to the front desk today and they said that the fridge is mini-sized. Has anyone stayed in one of the rooms there, how big is the fridge really? One of the reasons we picked this location was so we could cook instead of eat out, but if the fridge is only big enough for a couple bottles of water, I'm not sure it was worth it any more.
 
I booked a one bedroom villa (not premium) for 2 weeks in June (Vistana Villages Resort Villas). I spoke to the front desk today and they said that the fridge is mini-sized. Has anyone stayed in one of the rooms there, how big is the fridge really? One of the reasons we picked this location was so we could cook instead of eat out, but if the fridge is only big enough for a couple bottles of water, I'm not sure it was worth it any more.

2 bedroom was def a very large full size fridge including ice maker built in. But sorry I haven't been inside a 1 bedroom villa
 
I booked a one bedroom villa (not premium) for 2 weeks in June (Vistana Villages Resort Villas). I spoke to the front desk today and they said that the fridge is mini-sized. Has anyone stayed in one of the rooms there, how big is the fridge really? One of the reasons we picked this location was so we could cook instead of eat out, but if the fridge is only big enough for a couple bottles of water, I'm not sure it was worth it any more.

Check out this link:

https://www.starwoodvacationnetwork.../sheraton-vistana-villages/villas#floorplan-7

and scroll through the various villa configurations on the side of the screen.

Each of the one bedrooms (non-premiums) note a "refrigerator with ice maker" so it has to be larger than a standard hotel mini-fridge. Counter space, though, is going to be VERY minimal in these units (the Bella one bedroom photo shows very, very little space in the kitchenette). Be prepared to use the dining table as a prep area.
 


Check out this link:

https://www.starwoodvacationnetwork.../sheraton-vistana-villages/villas#floorplan-7

and scroll through the various villa configurations on the side of the screen.

Each of the one bedrooms (non-premiums) note a "refrigerator with ice maker" so it has to be larger than a standard hotel mini-fridge. Counter space, though, is going to be VERY minimal in these units (the Bella one bedroom photo shows very, very little space in the kitchenette). Be prepared to use the dining table as a prep area.

Thanks for the info, hopefully the info online is accurate, and the front desk staff was just new or didn't know the right answer. Hopefully I can upgrade though, I think I would rather have a premium, but it wasn't offered through the company we booked with.
 
I booked a one bedroom villa (not premium) for 2 weeks in June (Vistana Villages Resort Villas). I spoke to the front desk today and they said that the fridge is mini-sized. Has anyone stayed in one of the rooms there, how big is the fridge really? One of the reasons we picked this location was so we could cook instead of eat out, but if the fridge is only big enough for a couple bottles of water, I'm not sure it was worth it any more.

Hello! The front desk is partially correct, to my knowledge. Most small one bedroom villas DO have full-sized fridges. If you are in the bella, amelia, or st. augustine phase, there will definitely be a full-sized fridge. However, when the key west phase was built, smaller fridges were put in because many owners complained about a lack of counterspace in the small bella units. This solution did not work out very well so when key west was refurbished, they replaced the small fridges with larger fridges. That being said, I have been told that there may be some villas that did not have the fridge replaced, so you MAY end up with a smaller fridge in the key west phase. So I would try to get into one of the other phases if you definitely want a full-sized fridge!
 
Hello! The front desk is partially correct, to my knowledge. Most small one bedroom villas DO have full-sized fridges. If you are in the bella, amelia, or st. augustine phase, there will definitely be a full-sized fridge. However, when the key west phase was built, smaller fridges were put in because many owners complained about a lack of counterspace in the small bella units. This solution did not work out very well so when key west was refurbished, they replaced the small fridges with larger fridges. That being said, I have been told that there may be some villas that did not have the fridge replaced, so you MAY end up with a smaller fridge in the key west phase. So I would try to get into one of the other phases if you definitely want a full-sized fridge!

Thats good news. We were avoiding Key West anyway due to the fact that it is the only one that has a queen size bed instead of a king.
 
Hello, This is a great thread about the Vistana Villages. We are visiting for a couple of weeks at the beginning of May booked into a 2br villa. We are me. my DH, my ds (8) my DM and my DF. We booked a package with Thomas Cook. I just have a couple of questions:
Do the apartments have clothes irons and hair dryers?
Do each apartment blocks have lifts?
Can we use an inflatable dolphin in the main pool? (Sorry - that question was from DS)
Do all 2 bedroom apartments come with a balcony?

My son is 8 years old. I wondered if we should request an apartment at St Augustine or the Bella areas. I was actually thinking Bella - what are your thoughts?

Many thanks in advance for you help

E
xx
 
Hello, This is a great thread about the Vistana Villages. We are visiting for a couple of weeks at the beginning of May booked into a 2br villa. We are me. my DH, my ds (8) my DM and my DF. We booked a package with Thomas Cook. I just have a couple of questions:
Do the apartments have clothes irons and hair dryers?
Do each apartment blocks have lifts?
Can we use an inflatable dolphin in the main pool? (Sorry - that question was from DS)
Do all 2 bedroom apartments come with a balcony?

My son is 8 years old. I wondered if we should request an apartment at St Augustine or the Bella areas. I was actually thinking Bella - what are your thoughts?

Many thanks in advance for you help

E
xx

Hello! The answer to all of your first questions is yes!

And Bella is nice because you are near the main pool and the quiet pool along with the bar and restaurant, but the villas are a bit older and not as modern in terms of decor. The St. Augustine section is much newer and has better villas. There is also a bar at that pool, and the pool has an interactive pirate ship and a water slide which are fun for kids. The main pool near bella has an interactive fountain but that is about it for kids. But both sections are nice so you can't really go wrong either way! :)
 
Hello! The answer to all of your first questions is yes!

And Bella is nice because you are near the main pool and the quiet pool along with the bar and restaurant, but the villas are a bit older and not as modern in terms of decor. The St. Augustine section is much newer and has better villas. There is also a bar at that pool, and the pool has an interactive pirate ship and a water slide which are fun for kids. The main pool near bella has an interactive fountain but that is about it for kids. But both sections are nice so you can't really go wrong either way! :)

Hello, thank you so much for the quick reply. That's great. I will give the accommodation a call today, sounds like we would be happy with either area but may just see about the St Augustine area for the pool for my son xxx
 
We own a 2BR in the St. Augustine. Beautiful area and resort. We love it at the SVV!!!
 
Has anyone used the shuttles to the parks? I'm wondering how often they run etc.

the general rule for offsite is that you are better off renting a car.

i wouldn't rely on any shuttle, but others can chime in if they disagree...
 
Quick question how do you all book your trip, direct?

i own a non-FL timeshare so i trade into the Orlando Sheraton and Marriott timeshares through Interval International.

but if you get the mousesavers or allears email newsletters, i think they have cash deals from time to time.
 

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