VERO BEACH 2016 Information & Adoration Thread

[tbbolts]

Hey all....

Looking to book for easter week in 2017. Does anyone know if the renovations are expected to be completed by then, Also, what are the current plans for the restaurants - I heard both Sonya's and Shutters are currently closed....and its unclear what will be taking their place. Any intel is greatly appreciated!

New restaurant will be open late this fall. Sonya's is gone for good, though some of their most popular dishes will make it onto the new menu. The name will change to Sea and Land, as it currently stands. Right now Shutters is operating in the banquet room.
There will be a quick serve, grab and go new area (where the pool bar is currently) and this will include family meals and sides to take to room.
Bar will move closer to pool gate entrance, and include more seating, including bar seating, tv's and updated food.

Hope this helps.

 

[tbbolts]

So we're planning another stay at Vero for next summer. We're hoping to be pregnant with our next child soon (working on it now lol) so that means by next summer we'll have an infant and a 4 year old. We want to hit up WDW first for 4-5 nights and then vero for 4 nights. We usually stay in a studio at all DVC resorts to save points but we're thinking about upgrading to a 1-bedroom while on the Vero leg of our trip. At wdw we'll have the DDP so we don't really make use of a kitchen but at Vero it'll probably be the best for us with such a small baby. Is it worth it or should I just stick with studios? Any suggestions/opinions are welcome.

Also, is the 4th of July holiday difficult to get at Vero at the 7 month mark?

If the new baby (congratulations) is still waking up thru the night, you might want the 1BD, so as to not wake up your 4yr old.
We go each year the week of the 4th, and have not had trouble booking. This year, seemed to be very light on crowds - though it could be not as many rooms were available due to the rehab. Just know, it was hot - mid 90s each day and pool was equally as hot - not refreshing at all.

 

[mhochman]

Hey all....

Looking to book for easter week in 2017. Does anyone know if the renovations are expected to be completed by then, Also, what are the current plans for the restaurants - I heard both Sonya's and Shutters are currently closed....and its unclear what will be taking their place. Any intel is greatly appreciated!

Shutters is currently open, but in an alternate location. The renovation for shutters is taking place now (I can hear them working). Can't speak to the timeline or future plans, but it is obvious that a restaurant will re-open in the Shutters location.

 

[jsinohio]

New restaurant will be open late this fall. Sonya's is gone for good, though some of their most popular dishes will make it onto the new menu. The name will change to Sea and Land, as it currently stands. Right now Shutters is operating in the banquet room.
There will be a quick serve, grab and go new area (where the pool bar is currently) and this will include family meals and sides to take to room.
Bar will move closer to pool gate entrance, and include more seating, including bar seating, tv's and updated food.

Hope this helps.

tbbolts, that is by far the most comprehensive update I've seen thus far on the VBR refurb (and I know castmembers that know far less lol). Thank you!!

 

[julieb5]

Hi All! We will be heading home to Vero next month and can hardly wait. It's been 8 years since we have been there and I am trying to start packing. I wanted to throw it out there to fellow Vero lovers and see if there is something that you bring to Vero each time or something that you wish you had brought. Its been so long since we have been to the beach and we are land locked Nebraskans. Thanks for your input

 

[ngl]

Just returned from Vero. A wedding was being held at the resort and my guess is most of their guests got Villa 15 as we requested it but did not get it. They REALLY need to pick up the process on this refurb. We have been going there each summer for past 7 years and even 7 years ago they needed to be updated so this was way past due and the fact that it has taken so long to complete this leaves me scratching my head. (I do not see how they could have this completed by Nov - there was no work going on while we were there in the other villas and did not see anything going on in the boarded up restaurants either). It is a lovely place but as we experienced with Beach Club when they were about to be refurbed it is almost as if they "give up" on the older units - fridge barely got cold, microwave had big crack in it, etc. I think they need to time their upgrades more expediently.

 

[jenhelgren]

Did Disney give a reason why the refurbishment of the units was put on hold? I was told by a CM on the phone that the other two buildings will not even be started on until sometime next year but they were confident that the restaurants would be done by fall so I am surprised that there was not any work being done there either.

 

[La2kw]

Hi All! We will be heading home to Vero next month and can hardly wait. It's been 8 years since we have been there and I am trying to start packing. I wanted to throw it out there to fellow Vero lovers and see if there is something that you bring to Vero each time or something that you wish you had brought. Its been so long since we have been to the beach and we are land locked Nebraskans. Thanks for your input

We are always sure to bring lots of sunblock, our own beach chairs, umbrellas, and boogie boards.

 

[RSHEALAND]

Did Disney give a reason why the refurbishment of the units was put on hold? I was told by a CM on the phone that the other two buildings will not even be started on until sometime next year but they were confident that the restaurants would be done by fall so I am surprised that there was not any work being done there either.

There was some talk that the furnishings were lost at sea but I don't know if that's true or not

 

[RSHEALAND]

Just returned from Vero. A wedding was being held at the resort and my guess is most of their guests got Villa 15 as we requested it but did not get it. They REALLY need to pick up the process on this refurb. We have been going there each summer for past 7 years and even 7 years ago they needed to be updated so this was way past due and the fact that it has taken so long to complete this leaves me scratching my head. (I do not see how they could have this completed by Nov - there was no work going on while we were there in the other villas and did not see anything going on in the boarded up restaurants either). It is a lovely place but as we experienced with Beach Club when they were about to be refurbed it is almost as if they "give up" on the older units - fridge barely got cold, microwave had big crack in it, etc. I think they need to time their upgrades more expediently.

I believe that DVC wide that major renovations that were originally on a 20 year refurbishment schedule will now be done on a 7 - 10 year schedule

 

[aggiemullins]

We're staying here now in a Refurbished one bedroom in Villa 15. I have to say the refurb is amazing! I sent some photos to Tim at DVCnews and he recently posted them.

http://dvcnews.com/index.php/resort...4-detailed-photos-of-lovely-vero-beach-refurb

I'm not sure if people still do the chair giveaway thing on here but if anyone is coming Tuesday August 16th, we'll have 3 chairs and 3 boogie boards to giveaway if anyone is interested.

 

[jerseygal]

We're staying here now in a one bedroom in Villa 15. We arrived on Tuesday and had a little trouble the first night. (They placed us in a handicapped accessible room) After that they moved us to a regular room in 15 and it's been great. I have to say the refurb is amazing. I sent some photos to Tim at dvcnews and he recently posted them.

http://dvcnews.com/index.php/resort...4-detailed-photos-of-lovely-vero-beach-refurb

I'm not sure if people still do the chair giveaway thing on here but if anyone is coming Tuesday the 16th, we'll have 3 chairs and 3 boogie boards to giveaway if anyone is interested.

THANKS for link, lovely photos! Hoping to get back next May, looking forward to seeing the renovation!

 

[ngl]

Did Disney give a reason why the refurbishment of the units was put on hold? I was told by a CM on the phone that the other two buildings will not even be started on until sometime next year but they were confident that the restaurants would be done by fall so I am surprised that there was not any work being done there either.

While they had the restaurant area sectioned off and tarps up, the other villas that have not be refurbished were completely in use - no construction anywhere. Not sure if they are waiting until summer is officially over to begin when the crowds die down (kids are already back in school here in FL) or what but what the CM told you is probably right - I would hope they are done by next summer!!!

 

[jenhelgren]

I asked about additional character dining options when I called in to change my character breakfast time today and was told "not right now-until the construction is done" so does anyone know what the new character dining options will be? We are visiting the end of October and today the CM told me the restaurant is slated to be done by October but everything seems to be running a month behind so not to get my hopes up!

 

[tb1972]

We just returned from our third stay at VB. We had re furbed Inn Room # 2344 and it was really nice. The changes were tasteful while keeping with the beachy theme. I had requested a corner room due to the larger balcony but did not receive one. We arrived from WDW at 4:30 PM Sunday to check in and the room still was not ready. We went to Publix and did some grocery shopping and returned around 6:00. The room was ready but they didn't text me as they committed to do. Due to the late check in, they applied a $40.00 credit to our room. I didn't complain, but they offered the credit since they were having delays with housekeeping.

We discovered Patisserie bakery off site which was really yummy! We went there for breakfast two days.

 

[jenhelgren]

I am looking for some recommendations on Boogie/Body Boards. We will be driving and can bring one with us. It will mainly be used by my teenage son who is around 140 lbs. I don't want to get one so cheap that it breaks in half and we end up renting one anyways but living in land locked Illinois we wont get much use after the trip.

 

[starstruck93]

We just returned from our third stay at VB. We had re furbed Inn Room # 2344 and it was really nice. The changes were tasteful while keeping with the beachy theme. I had requested a corner room due to the larger balcony but did not receive one. We arrived from WDW at 4:30 PM Sunday to check in and the room still was not ready. We went to Publix and did some grocery shopping and returned around 6:00. The room was ready but they didn't text me as they committed to do. Due to the late check in, they applied a $40.00 credit to our room. I didn't complain, but they offered the credit since they were having delays with housekeeping.

We discovered Patisserie bakery off site which was really yummy! We went there for breakfast two days.

Thanks so much for the review; glad they compensated you for the delay. Could you tell me how far Publix is from the hotel? Thanks! April

 

[BentheRed]

Hi All! We will be heading home to Vero next month and can hardly wait. It's been 8 years since we have been there and I am trying to start packing. I wanted to throw it out there to fellow Vero lovers and see if there is something that you bring to Vero each time or something that you wish you had brought. Its been so long since we have been to the beach and we are land locked Nebraskans. Thanks for your input

Hi, we were there in June and I was surprised how much stuff the local CVS had (seemed to be the nearest shop), plus how cheap things were. I think we got 2 beach chairs for about $20 or $25. I donated them to a family on the beach when we left, but it would be nice if there was a more formal 'borrow/donate' repository at Vero! I did appreciate the advice on bug spray (Cactus juice) since I had to get that from Amazon before our trip.
Have fun!

 

[BentheRed]

Following my first visit in June I can't wait to come back! I am looking to fit in some days either Thanksgiving week or Christmas week. Can anyone advise what the weather is usually like during these periods? I've been to WDW over Christmas and can remember swimming in the pool, but how is the ocean at Vero those times? Also, does the resort doing anything special for Thanksgiving or Christmas?
Thanks!

 

[jenhelgren]

If we already have Magic Bands from our stay at Disney the week before-can they be activated as our room keys for Vero?