2br Vistana Villages vs Bonnet Creek

[PolynesianAlex]

Which one is better a 2br at Vistana villages or Bonnet Creek?

Which is
Newer
Cleaner
Nicer

 

[Upatnoon]

Which one is better a 2br at Vistana villages or Bonnet Creek?

Which is
Newer
Cleaner
Nicer

We just stayed in the Fountains II section of Vistana and have stayed at BC more than a dozen times.

Both resorts are excellent. Not problems checking in or with service at all.

Here is how I would compare them:

I liked the room layout and decor of Vistana a bit more. The Vistana room was nicely updated. I liked the screened-in porch and table. Nice granite in the kitchen. They are about equal to the updated rooms at BC or in tower 6.

I liked that you park right next to your room at Vistana. No elevator in our area, though.

I liked that right outside the gates of Vistana is a Walgreens, Chick-Fil-A and Wendys.

The grounds at Vistana are more lush.

The food prices at Vistana seemed a bit more affordable, although we never ate on the property.

The pools at Vistana are well-kept, but a bit dated. Bonnet Creek has 2 lazy rivers and has more theming at the pools. You can also walk to more pools at Bonnet Creek.

Bonnet Creek is much more compact. You can easily walk everywhere. At Vistana, you have to drive to mini golf and some of the restaurants.

Bonnet Creek is within the gates of Disney and a breeze to get to the parks. Vistana is in a much more congested area. We had to sit in traffic a few times.

Bonnet Creek has free shuttles to the parks. Not free for us at Vistana.

Mini golf is free at Bonnet Creek, and not free at Vistana.

The bottom line for me is if the bulk of my vacation is spent going to Disney theme parks, I will pick BC first. If I was going to Sea World/Universal, or just doing a resort trip, I might pick Vistana. I would not be unhappy at either place.

Have fun!

 

[kiki02]

Oh bonnet without even a blink of any eye.

we just stayed in the fountains ii section of vistana and have stayed at bc more than a dozen times.

Both resorts are excellent. Not problems checking in or with service at all.

Here is how i would compare them:

I liked the room layout and decor of vistana a bit more. The vistana room was nicely updated. I liked the screened-in porch and table. Nice granite in the kitchen. They are about equal to the updated rooms at bc or in tower 6.

I liked that you park right next to your room at vistana. No elevator in our area, though.

I liked that right outside the gates of vistana is a walgreens, chick-fil-a and wendys.

The grounds at vistana are more lush.

The food prices at vistana seemed a bit more affordable, although we never ate on the property.

The pools at vistana are well-kept, but a bit dated. Bonnet creek has 2 lazy rivers and has more theming at the pools. You can also walk to more pools at bonnet creek.

Bonnet creek is much more compact. You can easily walk everywhere. At vistana, you have to drive to mini golf and some of the restaurants.

Bonnet creek is within the gates of disney and a breeze to get to the parks. Vistana is in a much more congested area. We had to sit in traffic a few times.

Bonnet creek has free shuttles to the parks. Not free for us at vistana.

Mini golf is free at bonnet creek, and not free at vistana.

The bottom line for me is if the bulk of my vacation is spent going to disney theme parks, i will pick bc first. If i was going to sea world/universal, or just doing a resort trip, i might pick vistana. I would not be unhappy at either place.

Have fun!

 

[Detailor]

We just stayed in the Fountains II section of Vistana and have stayed at BC more than a dozen times.

Both resorts are excellent. Not problems checking in or with service at all.

Here is how I would compare them:

I liked the room layout and decor of Vistana a bit more. The Vistana room was nicely updated. I liked the screened-in porch and table. Nice granite in the kitchen. They are about equal to the updated rooms at BC or in tower 6.

I liked that you park right next to your room at Vistana. No elevator in our area, though.

I liked that right outside the gates of Vistana is a Walgreens, Chick-Fil-A and Wendys.

The grounds at Vistana are more lush.

The food prices at Vistana seemed a bit more affordable, although we never ate on the property.

The pools at Vistana are well-kept, but a bit dated. Bonnet Creek has 2 lazy rivers and has more theming at the pools. You can also walk to more pools at Bonnet Creek.

Bonnet Creek is much more compact. You can easily walk everywhere. At Vistana, you have to drive to mini golf and some of the restaurants.

Bonnet Creek is within the gates of Disney and a breeze to get to the parks. Vistana is in a much more congested area. We had to sit in traffic a few times.

Bonnet Creek has free shuttles to the parks. Not free for us at Vistana.

Mini golf is free at Bonnet Creek, and not free at Vistana.

The bottom line for me is if the bulk of my vacation is spent going to Disney theme parks, I will pick BC first. If I was going to Sea World/Universal, or just doing a resort trip, I might pick Vistana. I would not be unhappy at either place.

Have fun!

This is a really good description but I hope you'll pardon me if I point out that this post speaks to a comparison between Sheraton Vistana Resort and WBC rather than Sheraton Vistana Villages, the newer Vistana sister resort on International Drive, that the OP inquired on.

I can't compare either Vistana with WBC because I've not stayed at WBC, other than to say that most of the buildings at Vistana Villages are five levels high while the WBC buildings are real high rises. However, Vistana Villages is a very nice resort. It's much smaller than the Vistana Resort on SR 535 but features a lot of the same resort amenities - two feature pools plus one area pool back in the Key West Village, the feature pool in the St. Augustine Village has a very popular ship with slides and such, hot tubs, a restaurant, spa, bar and grille, resort store, tennis and basketball courts, shuffleboard. The St. Augustine Village was built in 2010/2011 so that one is pretty new and the Key West Village (the village with the largest villas) was undergoing full refurbishment in November/December 2011 and was in brand-new condition during our early December visit. I'm not sure what the refurbishment schedule is for the Amelia Village and the Bella Florida Village but assume that they'll be updated, too.

Now, I'm a timeshare owner who has stayed in Orlando many, many times in various timeshare resorts and I'd suggest that not all timeshare resorts are created, or maintained, equally. Generally, but with some exceptions, the hotel chain-named timeshare resorts are the nicer resorts. But even within that grouping of timeshare resorts some are nicer than others - in Orlando I think that the Marriotts and the Hiltons are the nicest, then the Sheratons followed by the Wyndhams (WBC is supposed to be one of the nicer Wyndhams in Orlando but some of the Orlando Wyndhams that I've seen aren't quite up to that standard).

But for those who have stayed nowhere other than one timeshare resort then they're usually pretty happy with "their" resort. And I suspect that you'll be happy at either WBC or SVV for your Disney vacation.

Dick Taylor

 

[Upatnoon]

This is a really good description but I hope you'll pardon me if I point out that this post speaks to a comparison between Sheraton Vistana Resort and WBC rather than Sheraton Vistana Villages, the newer Vistana sister resort on International Drive, that the OP inquired on.

I can't compare either Vistana with WBC because I've not stayed at WBC, other than to say that most of the buildings at Vistana Villages are five levels high while the WBC buildings are real high rises. However, Vistana Villages is a very nice resort. It's much smaller than the Vistana Resort on SR 535 but features a lot of the same resort amenities - two feature pools plus one area pool back in the Key West Village, the feature pool in the St. Augustine Village has a very popular ship with slides and such, hot tubs, a restaurant, spa, bar and grille, resort store, tennis and basketball courts, shuffleboard. The St. Augustine Village was built in 2010/2011 so that one is pretty new and the Key West Village (the village with the largest villas) was undergoing full refurbishment in November/December 2011 and was in brand-new condition during our early December visit. I'm not sure what the refurbishment schedule is for the Amelia Village and the Bella Florida Village but assume that they'll be updated, too.

Now, I'm a timeshare owner who has stayed in Orlando many, many times in various timeshare resorts and I'd suggest that not all timeshare resorts are created, or maintained, equally. Generally, but with some exceptions, the hotel chain-named timeshare resorts are the nicer resorts. But even within that grouping of timeshare resorts some are nicer than others - in Orlando I think that the Marriotts and the Hiltons are the nicest, then the Sheratons followed by the Wyndhams (WBC is supposed to be one of the nicer Wyndhams in Orlando but some of the Orlando Wyndhams that I've seen aren't quite up to that standard).

But for those who have stayed nowhere other than one timeshare resort then they're usually pretty happy with "their" resort. And I suspect that you'll be happy at either WBC or SVV for your Disney vacation.

Dick Taylor

You are correct, I was comparing to the resort and not the villages. I have not stayed at the villages, which is closer to Sea World.

 

[mieuxmew]

We have not stayed at The Vistana Resort, but stayed at Bonnet Creek, which is a favorite of many on this board. Although Bonnet Creek was nice, in our opinion it had some flaws. We have stayed at other timeshare resorts we liked better.

Bonnet Creek

Check-in - No early check-in. The line at check-in wraps around the lobby and outside the building!! They have a clown to entertain your kids and they serve small inch sized pizza squares. Took an hour to stand in line to check-in. Have never experienced this other places. No where to park to check-in, either.

Room was nice, but had to call maintenence many times. Window ledge fell off numerous times, DVD player missing, no batteries on TV remote, etc.

Parking is a problem. Need to hunt for spaces for awhile, especially at night.

Pools are nice, although not enough chairs to accomodate the number of guests. Pirate slide has a height requirement and my kids were too short. There is a very complicated gate and fencing set up around pools near buildings 4, 5 and 6. I felt like a rat in a maze trying to find the gates to get to the inner circle.

Pizza service was very slow.

Kids activities were good. Resort has a good location. Only used shuttle to parks once. Hours are limited and return busses were difficult to find. Rental car was easier and worth paying $14 a day for Disney parking.

Just my 2 cents. Have a great trip!

 

[klfrech]

I know BC is a favorite, but what other timeshare places close to Disney get rave reviews?

 

[BrerMama]

I know BC is a favorite, but what other timeshare places close to Disney get rave reviews?

Sheraton Vistana and Vistana Villages are both popular. There are separate threads on both on the review sub-board. The Vistana thread is many pages long.

 

[mieuxmew]

Marriott Cypress Harbour and Marriott Grande Vista are very highly regarded, although about a 15 minute drive to WDW (both near Sea World). Another favorite is Marriott Harbour Lake, as it has a great water play area for kids.

I have heard Hiltons are nice. Perhaps others can comment.

 

[Detailor]

I know BC is a favorite, but what other timeshare places close to Disney get rave reviews?

I don't know about the rave reviews and understanding that "close" is a relative term, I think that there are several very nice resorts that are near Disney.

I agree with the PP who mentioned the Marriotts. Within 10 miles to the theme parks are the Marriott Grande Vista, Marriott Cypress Harbour, Marriott Sabal Palms, Marriott Imperial Palm Villas and Marriott Royal Palm resorts (many, many people like the Marriott Harbour Lake. It has some terrific resort amenities but I find the villa interiors a bit lacking compared with the other Orlando Marriotts.). Marriott's newest and nicest resort, Marriott Lakeshore Reserve, is within 15 miles of the parks.
The Hilton Grand Vacation Club resorts are all pretty nice, too. All within 10 miles of the parks are HGVC Parc Soleil (the newest resort and reportedly most upscale), HGVC International Drive and HGVC SeaWorld International.
I'd include both of the Sheraton Vistanas - Sheraton Vistana Resort and Sheraton Vistana Villages.
I'd also include Cypress Pointe Resort, which is just outside of the Hotel Plaza Boulevard Disney entrance, near Downtown Disney, in Lake Buena Vista. It sounds like the Grande Villas Resort that's across a side street from Cypress Pointe is undergoing some significant refurbishment work and will be a very good choice when that work is completed.
I'd be happy with a stay at any of those resorts.

Please note, though, that there are other nice resorts in the area that tend to get hot and cold comments. One that we like is Orange Lake Country Club Resort (it's now branded under the Holiday Inn timeshare name, I think) but I've heard comments from other people who absolutely hate it. So, I think it's important to research a location, weigh people's comments and go with a place that you think will work for your family.

And remember that condition of a resort can change pretty quickly as different resorts update and refurbish over different timeframes.

Dick Taylor

 

[PrepandLanding]

For location to Disney & a more Disney feel, for us Bonnet Creek is a clear winner. I noticed your tag line refers to Polynesian quite a few times so this may be important to you. We found Bonnet Creek very clean, pools & lazy river were awesome, unit was very well equipped with little wear & tear. We also split stay at Blue Green's The Fountains which is across the street from Vistana Villages. The drive to & from Disney is quite long, although if you stay on the interstates traffic is not a problem.
Our family recently rented three separate units at Vistana Villages & they all said it was fine. Not overly impressive, but clean, good pools, close to restaurants & outlets, but the units could use some updating.
It depends what your family is looking for in your vacation. Both are pretty decent options to have to choose from. Good luck!

 

[JimMIA]

We checked in at WBC at 12:30 PM and had no wait + our room was ready.

No problem at all with parking (we were in Bldg 4).

Agree that the fence gates were a little confusing, but we never got lost and somehow survived.

Never had a problem with pool lounges -- in fact, we thought there were plenty, unlike many of the DVC resorts.

No maintenance problems at all, but I thought the A/C unit was a little loud.

The only problem we had was getting a luggage cart when we were ready to leave. Some people seem to sleep with (or in) them.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

Anyone od you stay at Windsor Hills? Will you please comment? we are now looking to stay offsite.

Thank you!

 

[Brian Noble]

The bottom line for me is if the bulk of my vacation is spent going to Disney theme parks, I will pick BC first. If I was going to Sea World/Universal, or just doing a resort trip, I might pick Vistana. I would not be unhappy at either place.

I know the poster who wrote this was talking about Vistana Resort, not Vistana Villages, but I think this is probably the right advice even so. Both resorts have a lot going for them. For a Disney-centric trip, Bonnet's location "inside the gates" gives it a big advantage. For an "Orlando" vacation, Vistana Villages will be more centrally-located and less isolated.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Marriott Cypress Harbour and Marriott Grande Vista are very highly regarded, although about a 15 minute drive to WDW (both near Sea World). Another favorite is Marriott Harbour Lake, as it has a great water play area for kids.

I have heard Hiltons are nice. Perhaps others can comment.

Yes! We love Harbour Lakes and will be trying out Gran Vista this trip.

We stayed at Vistana Resort last trip. It was ok, the pools were nothing spectacular and the bed was not comfortable.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Anyone od you stay at Windsor Hills? Will you please comment? we are now looking to stay offsite.

Thank you!

We enjoyed Windsor Hills. It's very close to Disney and was very comfortable. They nay have the one pool though so it can get crowded.

 

[KBecks]

Excellent thread, thanks so much everyone for your input! We are looking at our 2nd trip to Disney and it sounds like Bonnet Creek may be the best location for us.... being close to Disney, fun resort feeling, and family-friendly are most important to us.