Back from Vero Beach....The good, the bad, and the ugly.

[garrett79]

The Good
We went to Vero Beach for the first time over the weekend and absolutely loved it. The resort is a very beautiful place and maintained magnificently. Rooms were very nice and it was overall, very relaxing. Cant wait to go back over the 4th of July.

The Bad
Bleachers is not very good. Big price + low quality food = disappointment.
Chair rental policy on the beach. A little extreme. I dont see BW or others renting their chairs out. Maybe I am missing something but why the need to rent them?

The Ugly

While the resort itself is absolutely beautiful, the surrounding area leaves much to be desired. I had heard this before but wow. We drove over from WDW on Sunday and it was not a bad drive, right at two hours but it feels like you are driving through the land that time forgot. As soon as you cross over the bridge you start to feel a little better but............. We came home across State Road 60 through the middle of the state. I thought Alligator Alley was boring!

Conclusion:
As much as I loved VB and cannot wait to go there again, I am glad that I changed my mind and bought at Wilderness Lodge. VB is a wonderful destination spot but I miss the hustle bustle/civilization that is WDW.:smooth:

[danicaw]

Thanks Garrett.

Hubby and I are considering spending a weekend at VB on our big trip next year.

I am really looking forward to it... now just to decide when to go?

[garrett79]

Danica,

If you guys like the beach, this is the place. Especially the green cabing room which looks out over the bluff and mangroves and the ocean. I live in Florida and have very rarely seen such a beatiful sight. It isnt a typical beach like Daytona etc. Hope you have fun!

[KCritter]

I agree with Garrett that the scenery on the way to VB is nothing to write home about. BUT, the resort itself is so lovely that we rarely felt the need to leave it. I love the peace and quiet and the idea that I don't have to DO anything while I'm there. I'm so glad to call VB "home".

As far as the rental on beach chairs goes, it must just be a case of supply and demand. I have heard there is a problem with locals coming to use the facilities, so maybe this is a way of controlling the chairs and cabanas?

Speaking of charges that don't make sense, we stayed a night at AKL and they charged you $15 a day if you wanted to use the excercise facilities. :eek: First time I ever saw that at a resort.

[CorbsVWL]

Thanks for the review.

We are planning a trip to VB next April with my 2 children (ages 3 & 2) and their grandparents.
Any recommendations based on your stay for parents w/young children?

We too bought at VWL but figure that as the kids get older, they'll most likely want to be at WDW more so we thought we'd try VB while they're little.

Any recommendations on 2BRs?

Thanks!

[babylisa4]

We went last year over the 4th and will go back this year. The atmosphere around the pool was so fun- the dinner at the restaurant was all American and very good. They had lots of games for the kids. My boys are teens and they love Vero over WDW. They like to just hang out. It seems like the younger kids like all of the games- its kind of like old fashioned fun- the kind kids don't get to have much of nowadays. My boys also took the sailboat out with a guide. They said it was the best - they got out to some really clear water and swam off of the boat and saw sea turtles swimming. They said it was better than on the beach. We also took Grandma who is in a wheelchair and she also had the best time you can ever imagine. WDW is too fast paced for her but we love to give her the chance to take a vacation so this is perfect. Garrett if you see a Grandma at the pool in a wheelchair- I'm probably near by!

[AZKathy]

What is the rental cost for the chairs at the beach?

[garrett79]

Chair rentals were $5 a day.

I think if you can just stay at the resort and can be content you will absolutely love it. Corbs, my daughters (4 & 1) loved the Tiger Lilly ship and played there for several hours. Your kids will probably love it as well. The miniature golf course is a nice option as well. When we go back next month we will just stay at the resort and not stray too much.

I didnt go into any two bedrooms but the beach cottages were absolutely phenomenal.Babylisa, the water was incredibly nice with colors usually seen only in the Caribbean. I couldnt believe how nice it was. See you on the 4th.

[mattsdad]

Though taking a trip through the land that time forgot can be sort of interesting....... However, one of the charms of the beautiful resort at VB is the fact that you feel that you are "out of the way". Like garrett says, you want hustle and bustle, you can get plenty of that at WDW. VB RULES!!

[Lisa D]

The 2 and 3 year olds will do great! Many young children at Vero. We were there the beginning of May - our 6 year old loved it - our 9 year old came down with a bad cold and didn't want to do anything but play video games. Unfortunately some rough tide and storms made the ocean out of the question and the beach practically non-existant (but I am used to NJ which has very wide beaches) but the pool is beautiful. We on the other had liked Bleachers - the kids meals were great and now the boys insist on triple decker PB&J's and we liked Shutters too.

Lisa

[CaptainMidnight]

One of our trips we picked up two of those clamshell style chairs for the beach and used them all week. They were less than $10. At the end of the week, I gave them to an incoming DVC member for thier vacation. No rental hassles, use them when and how you want.....

Rentals of the cabannas is nice. I believe it is a contracted service and that beach rentals are not actually DVC employees......

[A1A1]

We returned two weeks ago from a wonderful stay at VB. We rented one of the cabanas, and had to exchange to a regular umbrella. It was sweltering in the cabana. The ocean breeze that cools you off was unable to get into the cabana, because it was closed on three sides. I would recommend standing in one before you rent it to see if you can stand the heat that develops. I think the cabana rental was twelve dollars and the umbrella was ten.

[gleddo]

We just got back from a week at Vero. It was our sixth trip there. As for the lack of scenery on HWY 60, try taking A1A down from Cocoa Beach. It is a little bit out of the way, but it is definitely the scenic route. We did this because our kids wanted to go to Ron Jon Surf Shop and it turned to be a most enjoyable drive.

Gary

[nickglover]

I like the A1A route. From Orlando, you just take the Beeline to Cocoa Beach and then head south on A1A. You can stop at Ron Jon's or at some of the little beach parks along the way - you pass a large Air Force base - you can stop at the park at Sebastian Inlet, and then just about a mile south, you can tour the McClarty Museum for $1 - they have an ongoing movie on the 1715 hurricane and Spanish shipwrecks, and they have some interesting exhibits and a beach observation deck out back.

[mrsdon]

Also, by taking the secenic route tyou go past the terminal the Disney ship is parked in. If you time it right you get to see it.

[janiejo]

We have stayed at several beach resorts, including Ft. Lauderdale. All the resorts we have stayed at, they offer "free" chairs poolside but the chairs on the beach are available for rent only, as with umbrellas and cabanas. We actually thought Disney's Vero Beach price was a couple of $$ cheaper than the Ft. Lauderdale resorts we have stayed at. I think that is just the way it is done. In Ft. Lauderdale, the resort told us the chair rentals on the beach are run by a separate company. I don't think it is a Disney policy! We enjoyed Bleacher's while we were there in March - maybe because we like fast food!

[BobH]

My wife and I rented the umbrellas and chairs from the Seabreeze Cabana Co. This is the company Disney has on site. If you don't pay close attention to the logos on their shirts you will think they are regular castmembers.
They are set up on the boardwalk to the beach just before you go down the stairs. The chairs were $5 per day and the umbrellas were $9 per day. They also appreciate a gratuity for doing this for you so a one day rental of 2 chairs and 1 umbrella can cost $20-$25.
They set up 15 umbrellas the week when we were there (June 2-9)and seemed to do cabanas only on request. I am guessing that Disney didn't want to stockpile enough equipment to be able to provide umbrellas to everyone that might want them so they brought in this outside company. I also saw a lot of people bringing their own chairs and umbellas that you can get at Walmart on Rt 1 in Sebastian (a 15 minute ride North of the Resort). I thought about going and getting my own umbrella and chairs and then I quickly downshifted into the vacation mode and collapsed under the Seabreeze Company's rental equipment. It is an issue budget conscious families should be aware before they go to Vero in the Summer months. It gets very hot and if sunburn is a concern you'll need an umbrella.

Addition: The umbrella and chair prices above were for members. If you send a guest to Vero it is slightly higher.

[Paul in CT]

Can anyone tell me how long the trip is to VB from Orlando airport using the A1A route described above?

[BobH]

The official time given by Disney is "less than two hours."
I left Friday morining from the DVC Resort at Vero taking this route: A1AN to Rt 510W to 512E to Rt 95 N to 528E (the Beeline) to the Airport. It took me 1 1/2 hours but I was going slightly above the speed limit (70 mph). A realistic time is 1 hour 45 minutes if you make no stops.
90% of the trip is on Interstate Highways. The A1A, 510 and 512 sections are on two lane roads but they take up only about 10 miles of the whole distance which is about 120 miles. Rt 95 and 528 are major highways. Hope this helps.

[Paul in CT]

BobH,

Thanks for the quick reply and great detail! I think that we'll try it for our August trip.

[BobH]

I made a typo in my directions. You take 528E from Orlando Airport going toward Vero. You take 528W when returning. I stated it ws 528 E. Your reservations will have directions on them anyway. Good luck!

[Disney Doll]

As I am not a big beach person, I can't picture myself staying at VB for a week, but I have often thought it might be nice to go for a three day jaunt...maybe after a week at WDW;)

[Paul in CT]

Disney Doll,

This will be our fourth visit to VB. We usually stay for two nights and follow up with WDW. Either way it's a great place to relax!

[Deb & Bill]

We just got back from two nights at VB. It was very relaxing and the beach was beautiful. We rented an umbrella and chairs two days. It was worth the price. the chairs were comfortable and adjustable and the umbrella was large. This rental thing seems to be fairly normal on the Florida beaches. We had the same thing last year when we stopped at Pensacola Beach last year. The Atlantic Ocean was very nice and the beach was very clean. At high tide there was very little beach.

The company that rents the chairs also rents boogie boards, Wave Runners, catamarans, etc.

We stayed in an Inn room and found it spacious and very comfortable.

There is a lack of dining facilities right at the resort with Bleachers (pool side dining and not open most evenings for dinner), Shutters (open for all meals) and Sonya's (more expensive dinner dining). The menus were not that varied, but the Eggs Benedict at Shutters were divine. Tracey was a great server at dinner. Friendly and fun. There are other restaurants and dining facilities outside of the resort, but you will need a car to get to them.

We found ants in our room the second day, so they recleaned our room, change the bedding and sprayed for ants. With the AC on high, we had no problem with odor that night. Leona and her crew had the room fixed up for us in no time.

We drove by Port Canaveral on our way down from WDW and got to see the Magic in port. It is gigantic and beautiful.

After two night at VB, we headed back to WDW for four nights. VB was just what I needed to get my job out of my head before hitting the parks. We'll do it again in two years.

[mom2boys]

The 2 & 3 year old will love the "kiddie pool". Actually, it is a replica of Peter Pan's ship with water cannons, slides, even a steering wheel.