Anyone stay at Vistana

[blitzkrieg048]

Hey all,
My family and I are DVC members taking advantage of my mo in laws timeshare she's letting us have for nada. We're staying at the Vistan on 535 right down the road from Disney. Has anyone stayed there recently and can give a qucik review, and also if had stayed there is it smoke free like Disney. Thanx for your help.

 

[spiceycat]

Sheraton Vistana Resort.

smoke free - just the opposite you can smoke anywhere near.

some of the units are older. try not to get courts - no whirlpool tubs and it is two stories inside.

there is only - Lakes & Cascades with elevators -maybe fountains.

stayed in Springs (big unit - but old), Lakes - smaller but definitely newer.

will be staying in Fountains II in May, 2008.

do you know what section you will be in?

here is its website
http://www.starwoodvacationownership.com/sheraton_vistana_resort/welcome.jsp

did the diamond lane about 2 weeks before hand.

 

[blitzkrieg048]

No I don't, wish I did.

 

[blitzkrieg048]

Sheraton Vistana Resort.

smoke free - just the opposite you can smoke anywhere near.

some of the units are older. try not to get courts - no whirlpool tubs and it is two stories inside.

there is only - Lakes & Cascades with elevators -maybe fountains.

stayed in Springs (big unit - but old), Lakes - smaller but definitely newer.

will be staying in Fountains II in May, 2008.

do you know what section you will be in?

here is its website
http://www.starwoodvacationownership.com/sheraton_vistana_resort/welcome.jsp

did the diamond lane about 2 weeks before hand.

Which buildong is the oldest?

 

[In Luv with Disney]

On your reservation, definitely note you would prefer to be in the Lakes or Cascades sections. Those are the newest and have elevators. I have never been in any units in other sections, but have heard that some of them have ben updated nicely, while others are still old. The resort itself is REALLY nice. I own timeshare there and love it. It is unbelievably close to WDW property...DH and I stumbled home from DTD in our younger days. Long walk? Yes. Even longer when you have consumed one too many adult beverages.

 

[WDW4ever]

Hey all,
My family and I are DVC members taking advantage of my mo in laws timeshare she's letting us have for nada. We're staying at the Vistan on 535 right down the road from Disney. Has anyone stayed there recently and can give a qucik review, and also if had stayed there is it smoke free like Disney. Thanx for your help.

My parents just stayed there last week and enjoyed it. We've stayed there numerous times in the past. I'm not sure what to tell you on the smoking thing. She's very allergic so if they got a unit people had been smoking in she would have asked to be moved. She didn't tell me that happened so I think it was OK. Maybe you can request a non smoking building if they have them.

 

[disneymom3]

I too vote for the Diamond Lane check in. The staff at this resort has never been anything less than fabulous to us. So helpful and nice. Love it there. We have stayed in Spas, Cascades and Fountains I and II. Spas was a little older looking but tons of space and great location. Our favorite is actually in Fountains, either phase.

While it is not smoke free we have never had a problem in I think 6 stays total. I am really sensitive to cigarette smoke and DH hates smells of any other kind. One stay we had a problem with the kids from upstairs being really loud on the stairway. It was irritating but after we called security on them once they seemed to get the message. (There were never any parents around.) Other than that we have never even heard our neighbors at all.

Every one we have stayed in has been furnished and equipped very nicely. They give you starting housekeeping supplies as far as dishwasher and liquid detergent, soap and paper towels. Bring ziploc bags and your own laundry detergent.

The pools and grounds are wonderful. Some of the things we have the best memories of are just strolling around on the walking paths checking out the ducks and birds. Lots of ponds and fountains as well as a couple of playgrounds for the kids.

 

[sweet maxine]

I have stayed at Vistana in the Cascades section, in a nice 2 BR that had a screened balcony looking over a water view with fountains--little ducks walking by in the mornings--a peaceful place to have a morning coffee.

We loved Vistana, and the pool area by the clubhouse is very nice with those fountains for the kids to play in. We had a non-smoking unit, but don't know if they all were, we just made sure to request that way. IIRC, there were 3 tvs in the unit with either a DVD or VCR player, a gorgeous, fully equipped kitchen, and very nice large bathrooms with one jacuzzi tub. That's great at the end of a long day park hopping!!

There are activities for kids each day, and a little restaurant on premises. We didn't eat there, because there's so many places nearby to eat. I thought this was a beautiful resort, though some of the older buildings didn't seem as appealing to me. For free though, how could you go wrong?

 

[spiceycat]

Courts is the oldest.

 

[macdoodle]

This was our second year staying at the Vistana. We requested a villa in the Fountains again (requested 2nd floor poolside) due to the fact we love the location of walking 2 steps outside the back door to the pool and got just that. The villa was very clean. We did have a few minor problems, which were handled immediately by staff. We cannot say enough great things about the Vistana. We love it there!!!

Feel free to ask any questions. I will do my best to answer for you.

Back to reality...left 85 degrees last night to come home to 20 degrees and 4 inches of snow.....UGGH

 

[iluvflorida]

Have stayed several times. My personal favorite resort. Many activities for young and old. Variety of pools. Extremely friendly and helpful staff. Some units are a little older but always clean and large. Cascades is favorite but hard to get. Lakes or Fountains 2nd choice but have never been disappointed. Grounds are mature and lovely to walk. Hope to get it this year again.

 

[deebs]

I'm staying there in January, How long does it take to get to the parks?

 

[macdoodle]

Downtown Disney is less than 5 minutes....Universal and Disney about 10 minutes...It is a great location, close to everything.

 

[MiaSRN62]

No I don't, wish I did.

Hi Vistana owner here.....been in wdw for a week and came home with bad, bad cold. Just getting to this thread.

If your mil owns at Vistana she should be able to tell you which section you are staying in. Owners must stay in the section they own---cannot request anything else. Or is your mil doing an RCI or II exchange ? If that is the case, you can request a section. From oldest to newest :
Courts
Falls
Spas
Palms
Springs
Fountains I
Fountains II
Lakes
Cascades

Only Cascades and Lakes have elevators. Any other questions, please feel free to ask. I've owned there since '94 and we're also DVC Members.

 

[MRussell]

We just got back yesterday from Vistana. We traded through RCI and I requested Cascades, Lakes or Fountains. I was very happy when she told us we would be in Cascades. We had a first floor unit across from the recreation center near the pool.

We had a very nice 2 Br, 2 bath villa with whirlpool in the master suite with a King size bed. The other bedroom had 2 full size beds and there was a sleep sofa in the living room. We had excellent service checking in and out.

We did attend the breakfast after waiting 4 days and they offered us $75 cash. It was a 2 hour presentation and even though they said they don't do high pressure they had 3 different people "talk" to us. We knew what to expect so we were fine with this. We actually purchased our timeshare from a resale company on the internet in 2000. It is unbelievable what they are asking for a timeshare week.

If you don't have 2 hours to spare or don't like high pressure just say no and don't go. We had a very nice dinner at the Grand Floridian Cafe for the $75 dollars!!

I would recommend Vistana. They have lots of activities for all ages and several pools in different areas. It is close to Disney, Universal and Seaworld. There are several restaurants within 10-15 minutes drive.

I hope you enjoy your visit. Let us know.

 

[DCLLVR]

Thanks everyone!! We will be staying here in January .... are the pools heated?

Anybody have pics? would love to see some pics!!!!

 

[blitzkrieg048]

Hi Vistana owner here.....been in wdw for a week and came home with bad, bad cold. Just getting to this thread.

If your mil owns at Vistana she should be able to tell you which section you are staying in. Owners must stay in the section they own---cannot request anything else. Or is your mil doing an RCI or II exchange ? If that is the case, you can request a section. From oldest to newest :
Courts
Falls
Spas
Palms
Springs
Fountains I
Fountains II
Lakes
Cascades

Only Cascades and Lakes have elevators. Any other questions, please feel free to ask. I've owned there since '94 and we're also DVC Members.

They told her it was the last unit available. Can she call and find out? She owns in Newport ,RI so it is an exchange thru RCI.

 

[MiaSRN62]

They told her it was the last unit available. Can she call and find out? She owns in Newport ,RI so it is an exchange thru RCI.

They should be able to tell her where they have her planned to stay. RCI exchangers, unfortunately, get last dibs on requests. But they should be able to give her a unit number.

I do have photos.....you can check out my photos here :
http://www.shutterfly.com/view/pictures.jsp

If they don't work, just let me know......I just switched to Shutterfly because my regular online storage site shutdown. Not sure if you can directly link to Shutterfly.

 

[blitzkrieg048]

They should be able to tell her where they have her planned to stay. RCI exchangers, unfortunately, get last dibs on requests. But they should be able to give her a unit number.

I do have photos.....you can check out my photos here :
http://www.shutterfly.com/view/pictures.jsp

If they don't work, just let me know......I just switched to Shutterfly because my regular online storage site shutdown. Not sure if you can directly link to Shutterfly.

I couldn't access them.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I am sorry you couldn't see them. I am new to Shutterfly and will try another way to share my album. I used to use another site called Sony Imagestation and it was so easy.

Let's try this link :
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AZtXLNi0bOKA&emid=sharshar&linkid=link4

If this doesn't work, I can email you the album link. Just let me know.