First Vero Trip

[hockeydad21]

My wife and I (and kids) were getting a little stir crazy a few weeks back, so we decided to take last minute DVC trip. We were torn between going to one of the few available WDW resorts or to try something new like Vero Beach. Our 2 bedroom villa options were limited to Vero, OKW, and Saratoga. We've done Saratoga before and loved it, so we knew we'd have a good time there. Flights to Orlando and Palm Beach were virtually the same price, but the flight times to Palm Beach were significantly better, so Vero it was! My wife had been itching to get to Vero anyway so it sort of worked out perfect especially since we have a week long WDW trip booked for February with 3-4 days dedicated to the parks.

My thoughts...

Resort: Loved the resort itself! Main building was beautiful, and all of the villas were just a short walk away. Everything was very clean and well maintained. 9/10
Pool: The pool was fantastic. Lifeguards amazing. Slide incredible. The only downside was no zero entry for my 1.5 year old. He was honestly fine with the steps though, so it all worked out. 8/10
Staff: Everyone was incredibly friendly from the moment we got there to the moment we left. The lifeguard, Tyler, was so kind to both of my young kids, and even gave them each a gift on their last night swim. 10/10 on the staff and 11/10 for Tyler.
Room: We were in a 2 bedroom villa in building 14. The room itself was perfect for our needs. Both of my young kids have slightly different nap times and bedtimes, so having the youngest in the "studio" portion of the villa worked out great, while the other one went in the Murphy bed in the living room. This layout itself really worked well, as it provided plenty of space in each room. I will say the maze of doors will never cease to amaze me, but it does make sense when you think about it providing privacy if multiple people are using the main bathroom. Also, we absolutely love the in-room laundry! We did a load every day, and it just made staying on top of the kids clothes so easy. The one negative thing I will say is the shower head in the master bathroom is pretty bad. It's at a weird angle and it's just nothing special. Overall 9/10.
Food and Drinks: This is where I'd say me and my wife were a bit let down.

• Wind and Waves Market (quick service): Overall it was average at best. Breakfast was probably better than lunch/dinner. The one meal that was really a letdown was the fish tacos. We're at a beach resort in Florida, and the fish tacos were pretty bad. The fried fish was actually good but it was on a bed of dry cabbage. No salsa, no pineapple, nothing. The rest of our food was good, but nothing amazing. I'd say the best thing we ate there for breakfast was the burrito and the best thing for lunch/dinner was the Mediterranean chicken pita wrap. I really wish there was some sort of grilled or blackened mahi mahi sandwich. Just seems like a no brainer with the hotel being on the beach. There were some other head scratching menu items as well, but I'll refrain. 5/10
• Wind and Waves Grill (sit down): Overall it was a mixed bag. The first night I had the shrimp and grits, and I thought it was delicious. The wife had a chicken dish with gravy, cornbread stuffing, and green beans which was pretty good. The second night we ate here I had monkfish Oscar style, which was overcooked, and the wife had a filet, which was good not great. As far as breakfast is concerned, we ate here twice. Day one I had the key lime mickey waffles which were delicious. The wife had banana walnut chocolate chip pancakes, which were somehow not that great. Day 2 was better as we had the biscuit sandwich duo and an omelet. Both great. 6/10
• The Ocean Grill in Vero: good food, but not great. The entire restaurant was decorated for halloween though, so the kids loved it. 6/10
• Squid Lips in Sebastian: very good casual seafood! This was the Florida seafood joint we had been hoping to find for the entire trip. We had a grouper sandwich, a mahi sandwich, and a tuna tartar appetizer. Everything was great including the drinks! Beautiful views right on the water. 9/10
• The Green Cabin Room: Had a couple drinks here. Nothing special, but nothing bad either. Service was very good at night and slightly slow in the morning with people ordering speciality iced coffees. 8/10
• The Pool Bar: Good drinks, but really missed having poolside servers coming around to your chairs. Having servers just makes it so convenient especially when your 2 kids under the age of 4 literally never get out of the pool. 7/10

Service: This is an odd one. Everyone we came in contact with was SO NICE and helpful, but there were some moments that left me scratching my head, and all of them revolved around the Wind and Waves Grill staff. Day 1 we go to breakfast around 9:45am and are told it'll be a 10 minute wait. No big deal. About 10 minutes goes by, and they seat us. My wife and I are looking at each other so confused because we are 1 of 4 families in the entire restaurant having breakfast. All the other tables are empty. Ok no big deal. Next time we go there the same thing happens, but now a 15 minute wait! I just don't understand it. You see me with my 1 year old and 3 year old, and yet you make me wait for....what? On top of this, the family of 7 in front of us were told they couldn't be accommodated that day because they didn't have a reservation. THERE WAS LITERALLY NEXT TO NO ONE IN THE ENTIRE RESTAURANT! Does Disney suddenly not like money that they're turning paying customers away?!?!?! I don't get it. And it's not like these servers are running around crazy busy. I've worked in the service industry, and 2-3 tables per server is not busy. At one point no one saw our waitress for like 20 minutes. I don't know, but we'll chalk this one up to the laid back beach vibe they're going for I guess? 5/10
The beach itself: we were a little disappointed to be honest. The beach erosion was prevalent, and so the surf was really rough every day and not good for little kids (or anyone really) to be swimming in. I guess that's just Mother Nature though and we can't control it. Seeing turtle nests and the possible turtle is definitely a plus though. 6/10
Sebastian Inlet State Park: Highly recommend taking the 15 minute car ride north to here. It's right over the inlet bridge on your left. You park under the bridge, and then there's this protected cove right on the inlet where all sorts of fish and manatees roam in the calm water. It was so cool to just be standing in the water and a giant manatee swims by within 3-5 feet of you. 9/10
NoSeeUms: Jerks! We were religious about our bug spray (Off Family Care Insect Repellent) every night, which worked great, but the last night we decided to let the kids do a night swim, so we didn't wear bug spray. Those little jerks got us pretty good in the 1-2 minute walk from our building to the pool. 0/10

Overall: I think it's a beautiful resort, but I'm not so sure I'll be back anytime soon. If the beach is always like that, then it's not really conducive for young kids to be in the water, which sort of defeats the entire purpose of bringing our northeast family down to a beach resort when the waves in Jersey are far calmer and closer. And if I'm just going to be tied to a pool, then I'd much rather relax at a WDW DVC resort with better restaurants and some nightlife over at Disney Springs. Just my 2 cents. While not our best DVC trip, I'm certainly glad we did it because we still had a great time and made some great family memories! 7/10

Holding out hope: I would really love for DVC to open a timeshare in the Bahamas or the Caribbean!

 

[Cfabar1]

Seems very accurate of a description to me. Glad to hear you got to try it!

We enjoy Vero quite a bit, but think your plusses and minuses are pretty close to perfectly accurate.

We really enjoy Wind & Waves, but have found the food and service can vary wildly based on your service.

 

[mikeuno]

We have our first Vero Beach visit second week of November. Hopefully the resort and surrounding area weathered the storm!

 

[hockeydad21]

We have our first Vero Beach visit second week of November. Hopefully the resort and surrounding area weathered the storm!

It sounds like the resort itself is fine, but there will likely be a ton of beach erosion.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Food options don't sound very good. Are there alternatives nearby that one could walk to? How close is a grocery store?

 

[hockeydad21]

Food options don't sound very good. Are there alternatives nearby that one could walk to? How close is a grocery store?

there's nothing. If you need to go anywhere to get something, you'll need to take a car roughly 10 minutes to the nearest store.

 

[Stargazer65]

Food options don't sound very good.

There's a lot of great restaurant options if you're willing to drive 10-30 minutes to Sebastian, Fellsmere, and the town of Vero Beach. But there is nothing really walking distance.

We typically cook one meal a day at the resort, and eat out one meal. I could do a week, or two vacation at HHI without a car, but I don't think I personally could do more than 2 or 3 days at VBR without a car. I like both those beach resorts equally, but they are very different.

 

[Eeyore daily]

Was this before or after Hurricane Milton? I only ask because I'm surprised you thought the waves were rough. After our visit last year, we still think it's better than Clearwater Beach.

 

[hockeydad21]

Was this before or after Hurricane Milton? I only ask because I'm surprised you thought the waves were rough. After our visit last year, we still think it's better than Clearwater Beach.

This was 5 days before Milton, so the hurricane had zero impact on the beach erosion and strong waves we encountered.

 

[DVCjj]

Totally agree with your Vero assessment. Only went once and no real plans to go back. Lovely resort, lovely staff...no doubt about it.
First thing was I didn't like that there was 'nowhere to go' unless you drove. We always stay in the Disney Bubble and are so darn spoiled with all there is to do and easily go to. Also didn't care for their food or food selections particularly and agree about lack of seafood. Dumb that it sounds, I wrongly presumed the Vero Outlet Mall was very close. Nope. 25 minutes away. It didn't help that Siri was totally confused on the route so we chose not to go.

Agree about the beach itself and lack thereof. Even though in March we got tons and tons and tons of shells (which we needed like a hole in our head as we stay on Cocoa Beach and shell each day) but the water being so close at Vero to where we picked up the shells, was fun.

And we got beat up bad with no-seeums when we dumbly sat on a blanket for a few minutes to people watch. My ankles will never be the same.