holiday inn family suites or vistana villages

[sunfun]

still can't decide which to stay at hifs or the villages. going the day after thanksgiving. please give me the pros and cons of each. there are two kids at ages 5 and 2 and two adults. i think we need the space. otherwise would stay at the movies. going for 8 days could split trip between two. just do not want to move from a large space to a smaller one. thanks

 

[jtryan]

sunfun,

I don't know what kind of rate you are getting for HIFS but we opted for Vistana Villages. I know the HIFS offers a complimentary breakfast every morning but having a complete condo and not just an oversized suite is the big draw for us. I like knowing we will have a completely furnished kitchen as well as a washer and dryer. Some people may rather die than wash on vacation but I am not one of them. I have never stayed at the HIFS but have read many glowing reports from those who have. To us, the amenities at V.V. outweigh those at HIFS. Have fun whatever you decide. We will be there the first week of December so if you decide to try V.V., please post your impressions.

 

[jdm]

If you don't want to go from a large place to a small one.... then do not go from V V to HIFS. I found their accomodations extremely cramped. The pluses of this property is that the kids will probably enjoy the kid suite and they have a great pool area for kids. Also, they include the breakfast. If you like roomy and spacious, do not choose HIFS. I would not call it an oversized suite (as maybe comparable to the Embassy, or Residence Inn). I would compare it more to a very tiny apt. You have an area that has a small fridge, and a microwave but it's by no means a kitchen. We recently bought into a timeshare program and started staying in condos. Fantastic! And, I'm with the above poster (could you expound on your stay at V V?), give me a washer and dryer! I can pack less, and do the laundry on the last day and not have it waiting for me at home! A lot of people rave about HIFS but aside from the pool and the breakfast... Well, it wasn't for us. Good luck in whatever you choose!
Jenn

 

[sandyneck]

We stayed at Vistana Villages last March and will be returning in April. The place is gorgeous. We had a two bedroom with everything you could imagine, w/d, full oven and fridge, dishwasher, wet bar with fancy wine rack, huge jacuzzi tub in master bedroom and beautiful screened in balcony. You can not go wrong with this property. Make sure you check out their rates thru hotelkingdom.com. We are staying for $129.00/night. The one bedroom is less expensive, but if you can swing the extra $30.00 a night get the two bedroom if there are four of you. My sister and her 2year old had one bedroom and it was nice, but the two bedroom is much larger and more spacious. We had been looking at HIFS but my husband and Dad(who came along) are into luxury when they go away and HIFS did not look like it would fit the bill. The pool at VV is huge and has a zero depth entry area for toddlers. Also a great little playground, a deli with Starbucks coffee and BoarsHead meat, a poolside bar, and activity room where they have arts and crafts for the kids and they also have scheduled activities during the day. There is no full service restaurant and the game room will not keep your kids begging for quarters, but that is a good thing as far as I am concerned. Do expect a phone message asking if you would like to take their time share tour. Politely decline and they will not bother you again, accept and you may make $100.00 for your 2 hour breakfast and tour. Besides that, you will never guess you are at a time share property. There is a back entrance to Disney that is about 5 minutes from the hotel, ask at the front desk. We never hit any traffic which was great and we were close enough to go back and take breaks during the day. My sister did have some trouble with her phone being broken and getting someone up to fix it took a couple of hours, but besides that no problems. The housekeeping service is EXCELLENT. We could not check in until 3,which I have always been able to get in early wherever I went, but they explained it took the maids 2 hours to clean each room. I didn't believe them until they cleaned mine. They even make your paper towels look fancy. As you can see, I love this place. I am a fanatic about finding the perfect place to stay wherever we go, and this was my best find ever. If you have any more questions I would be happy to answer them. HAVE FUN <><

 

[juliebelle]

Dont know if this will help you out or not, but Valuetrips.com is running their $98 special again for HIFS during certain dates.