Sheraton Vistana Resort Questions

[chalee94]

here are some pics of my 2BR villa in the lakes section in may 2013:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/97459835@N04/sets/72157634112517132/

 

[mrsap]

Great pics! Never saw the Lakes section! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

here are some pics of my 2BR villa in the lakes section in may 2013:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/97459835@N04/sets/72157634112517132/

Beautiful photos! The one of the pool at night time is absolutely gorgeous!!!

 

[chalee94]

thanks. i've been in the lakes section in may 2012 and 2013 - i think it's my favorite off-site resort. great location near wdw and beautiful rooms.

while the pictured pool is the closest, i've actually used the fountains pool more often, as it's larger and just a little farther to walk.

 

[jaspereira]

Hi, friends!

Searching on TripAdvisor, I see some mixed reviews lately... Mostly "average" to "good/very good", and a few "excellent" comments.

I searched some other resorts, and finally came up to two: SVR and Floridays. But I chose SVR, and booked it for our Oct./Nov. trip...

Was it a good deal? How do both resorts compare?

We are 4 here (me, wife, two little girls - 2 year old, 6 year old).

Thanks!

 

[mrsap]

Hi, friends!

Searching on TripAdvisor, I see some mixed reviews lately... Mostly "average" to "good/very good", and a few "excellent" comments.

I searched some other resorts, and finally came up to two: SVR and Floridays. But I chose SVR, and booked it for our Oct./Nov. trip...

Was it a good deal? How do both resorts compare?

We are 4 here (me, wife, two little girls - 2 year old, 6 year old).

Thanks!

I am actually shocked to see anyone rating SVR anything less than 4 or 5 stars! Some of the complaints seemed silly on Trip advisor, but to each their own. I was there before and after renos were done and its just a beautiful place. I do not think you will be disappointed. We are not owners, just renters who just really love the place. Looking forward to going back for our 4th stay in November! Enjoy!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi, friends!

Searching on TripAdvisor, I see some mixed reviews lately... Mostly "average" to "good/very good", and a few "excellent" comments.

I searched some other resorts, and finally came up to two: SVR and Floridays. But I chose SVR, and booked it for our Oct./Nov. trip...

Was it a good deal? How do both resorts compare?

We are 4 here (me, wife, two little girls - 2 year old, 6 year old).

Thanks!

While I am a big advocate of (and also a regular contributor to) TripAdvisor, you also have to take many of their reviews with a grain of salt. Some people could not be pleased if a property rolled out their red carpet and gave them VIP treatment.....they would say it was overkill. Others are pleased by almost nothing because staying at a hotel is such a treat and a rarety that they don't have much else to compare it to.

I always disregard the one-post reviewers.....they are just to suspect in my opinion. I mostly read through them to find consistent themes.....are complaints about dirty rooms or unpleasant staff prevalent? Then that might be a concern. Are most people raving about the decor of the rooms? Then probably I'm about to be very impressed. Does the disgruntled reviewer write about being spoken to by management because their kids were disturbing the neighbours? Or did they ask for an upgrade (over and above what they paid) and get refused, even for a valid reason? That often colours a person's opinion of their stay.

Our favourite local "staycation" property is Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls. We love it there and always have a great time. Yet the reviews are mixed at best, with only a 75% recommendation rate. So I think the mixed reviews will be an issue for properties everywhere, and not just in Orlando.

 

[jamuth]

SVR is not the Sheraton Vistana Villages on I-drive right? I just booked at the villages and was trying to find information on the resort. Sorry if I am in the wrong area.

 

[mrsap]

SVR is not the Sheraton Vistana Villages on I-drive right? I just booked at the villages and was trying to find information on the resort. Sorry if I am in the wrong area.

No it's not. They are two different places - Sheraton Vistana Resort and Sheraton Vistana Villages

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

SVR is not the Sheraton Vistana Villages on I-drive right? I just booked at the villages and was trying to find information on the resort. Sorry if I am in the wrong area.

jamuth, here's the link to the thread on the Villages:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2854036

 

[GAGirlInVA]

Where is the best place to book this?

I found some listings on Redweek but I've never used them before.

(PM me if you don't want to post openly! )

 

[bankr63]

Where is the best place to book this?

I found some listings on Redweek but I've never used them before.

You've got a few options.

• Dreams Unlimited Travel is a DISboards sponsor and almost always has an active link for Sheraton Vistana Resort at the top of this thread
• Direct from Sheraton.com
• Any trusted TA
• Redweek.com
• tug2.net (timeshare users group)
• eBay

The first three options allow you to book more like a hotel with variable checkin days, variable length of stay, cancellation options. The last 3 options allow you to book from resort owners, but you will need to pay up front, non-refundable, and usually only full weeks with Fri/Sat/Sun checkin. I'd be very careful if buying a week's stay on eBay.

Timeshare owners can book Vistana resort through either RCI or II as well.

 

[GAGirlInVA]

You've got a few options.

• 
  [*]Dreams Unlimited Travel is a DISboards sponsor and almost always has an active link for Sheraton Vistana Resort at the top of this thread
• Direct from Sheraton.com
• Any trusted TA
• Redweek.com
• tug2.net (timeshare users group)
• eBay

The first three options allow you to book more like a hotel with variable checkin days, variable length of stay, cancellation options. The last 3 options allow you to book from resort owners, but you will need to pay up front, non-refundable, and usually only full weeks with Fri/Sat/Sun checkin. I'd be very careful if buying a week's stay on eBay.

Timeshare owners can book Vistana resort through either RCI or II as well.

Oh geesh. You know how you look at something so much eventually you just don't "see" things.

I've overlooked those links for quite sometime.

Thanks!

 

[HFC1969]

Thanks for the info in the thread...

We just purchased a week over NYE from a charity auction. Never have stayed off of WDW property. So please excuse my silly questions.

Are there shuttles from the airport? shuttles to the parks?

Is there maid service available?

 

[bankr63]

Thanks for the info in the thread...

We just purchased a week over NYE from a charity auction. Never have stayed off of WDW property. So please excuse my silly questions.

Are there shuttles from the airport? shuttles to the parks?

Is there maid service available?

Airport shuttles? Not that I am aware of.

Shuttles to the parks? Yes - but read back a bit on this thread. They are not very convenient and fairly expensive unless you are booked as a hotel stay. I suspect that an auction was probably an owner's week, so you probably won't have free shuttle.

Housekeeping always includes a mid-week tidy/towel change. If you want daily housekeeping it is available for an extra charge.

A word of advice for any first time offsiter. Orlando is pretty much a "car required" city when staying offsite. Luckily it has one of the most competitive rental car markets at MCO so great deals on rental cars abound. Orlando may very well be the only city in America where you can usually get a car cheaper at the airport than anywhere else in the city. See the transportaton board for more information on getting the best rental rates.

Orlando also has some of the most confusing street alignments as they snake around the thousands of little lakes. It's pretty rare to find a truly straight stretch of road. So I would also rate Orlando as a GPS mandatory city. Bring your own or borrow one from a friend rather than taking the overpriced rental car extra add-on.

 

[HFC1969]

Airport shuttles? Not that I am aware of.

Gotcha.. we are actually coming from PC, we are doing the Christmas Cruise on the Fantasy...

Shuttles to the parks? Yes - but read back a bit on this thread. They are not very convenient and fairly expensive unless you are booked as a hotel stay. I suspect that an auction was probably an owner's week, so you probably won't have free shuttle.

Gotcha.... Yes we bought it at an auction, donated by an owner. Worked out perfect for us with getting off the ship on the day the reservation started.

Housekeeping always includes a mid-week tidy/towel change. If you want daily housekeeping it is available for an extra charge.

Don't by chance know the price for daily housekeeping do you? Just curious.. We have a teenager..

A word of advice for any first time offsiter.

Love that term... We thought it was worth a try; and believe it or not, no one else was even going to bid on it... We were like its WDW at NYE...

 

[bankr63]

Don't by chance know the price for daily housekeeping do you? Just curious.. We have a teenager..

I think it is about $20/day. That is the cost difference on Dreams Unlimited between housekeeping and no housekeeping rates, and I think that is about what was quoted first time we stayed.

I've got two teens, but we still prefer no housekeeping. It's not a cost thing, it's because it feels more like OUR home away from home without strangers tramping through each day. We also don't have to worry about "tidying up" for housekeeping as we're running out to the park in the mornings.

Love that term... We thought it was worth a try; and believe it or not, no one else was even going to bid on it... We were like its WDW at NYE...

Well there are two pretty solid camps between onsite and offsite - although lots of people enjoy both camps. Keep an open mind about being offsite, and you may find yourself really liking it. Especially if you got a bargain at the auction - timeshares are abundant in Orlando, and even the good ones like Vistana can be rented for a song if you look hard enough!

 

[HFC1969]

I think it is about $20/day.

Sounds reasonable..

Well there are two pretty solid camps between onsite and offsite - although lots of people enjoy both camps. Keep an open mind about being offsite, and you may find yourself really liking it. Especially if you got a bargain at the auction - timeshares are abundant in Orlando, and even the good ones like Vistana can be rented for a song if you look hard enough!

I think we saved about $550 over what the website showed the other day for the week of stay. We were very happy we could help out the charity and that it worked out for us after the cruise.

We are very much keeping an open mind... We are the type of "WDW junkie" families that Disney loves... we never leave the property except to go to the airport home. This trip we will have a rental car, and are going to hit SeaWorld, Universal & WDW...

 

[WaltsMartini]

Hi All -

Hope all of you experts can give me some assistance. We are taking an adults-only vacation in October and will be staying at the resort. I have no idea which unit to request, but here is our "wish list:"

• We don't want to be right next to a pool; rather, would like a nice view of one of the waterways.
• We would also like a top floor unit with the skylights.
• When we do go to the pool, we'd like a quieter pool

With that in mind, what unit should we request? Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[bankr63]

Hi All -

Hope all of you experts can give me some assistance. We are taking an adults-only vacation in October and will be staying at the resort. I have no idea which unit to request, but here is our "wish list:"

• We don't want to be right next to a pool; rather, would like a nice view of one of the waterways.
• We would also like a top floor unit with the skylights.
• When we do go to the pool, we'd like a quieter pool

With that in mind, what unit should we request? Thanks for any help you can provide!

I don't usually give specific recommendations, but based on some pretty specific requirements, I'll go out on a limb. IF you have a Saturday checkin, AND you are booked for a 2BR, I would try for Springs buildings 1-5. These back onto the most luscious jungle around a pond. Upper units have high vaulted ceilings but can't remember if there are actual skylights (last stay in Springs upper was 2.5 years ago). The nearby Springs pool is usually pretty quiet but nice as it is a bit smaller than the other pools in the complex.

Springs garden - there is a large pond beside all that vegetation:


Springs pool area:


Springs front view, no apparent skylights, but they would be on the back roof most likely...


Edit:

Yes there are skylights. Another back view clearly showing a large skylight over the living room area of the upper unit. Funny, don't remember those!