I need the good, the bad and the ugly...about Vero Beach??

[edk35]

Okay hopefully there is NO UGLY.....

Alright....who has been, for how long, what time of year and what did you like or dislike about your stay?? I think what scared me off last summer about trying Vero for a few nights was.........the bugs, the strong currents, sudden drop offs in the water. So if that is the negative..what are the good things about staying there?? Our kids are 18, 15 and 10. My oldest son 15 really wants to go on a beach vacation and so here I am again..........getting advice about possibly staying there for 3 nights in late July. Right now we are scheduled for 7 nights at BCV followed by 2 nights at AKV. I was thinking if we did try Vero.....dropping AKV this trip and trying Vero for 3 nights. Thanks again.

 

[DVCconvert]

VB is wonderfull in my opinion!
July would be a great time to visit! Good water temps, turtles, and a great star gazing activity. I usually go there in the late fall, or winter. I can't image but what you'd enjoy yourselves!!

 

[kiingor]

VB is wonderfull in my opinion!
July would be a great time to visit! Good water temps, turtles, and a great star gazing activity. I usually go there in the late fall, or winter. I can't image but what you'd enjoy yourselves!!

how's the water temp in may. Heading there for a few days in May and wondering what it's like then.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Just letting you know I have seen this thread and... I need some time to craft a level headed and objective response... I only want to be objective...

Okay enough time... (just looking up at the clock to make sure I have time to do this).

I think a lot of you Denise, so I want to take the time to work through this. Ok, I'm done thinking it through...

Vero Beach is like a touch of Disney, but that is all. A bit of theme. A bit of the Disney name, Incredible Cast Members. I have seen pretty much the same CMs for 10 years... From the pool life guards to the activities... they all are the same CMs. I have never witnessed a place where life guards are also activity CMs (except HHI). What is really special is that in every capacity they are professional, caring, loving and.. professional.

For me VB is a wonderful place that has pretty much everything on-site... Ocean, pool, water slide, mini-golf, croquette, basketball, soccer, tennis, biking, massage, training room, restaurants, poolside grille, campfire, jetski's, sailboats, museums, botanical gardens, jungle trail, lake, lakeside grilles, room service, live music in the Green Cabin Room, incredible landscape, incredible ocean views, incredible daily activities for kids, Ping Pong, bike rentals, great poolside adult beverages, super craft making rooms, and a secret movie theatre that they use when weather is bad.. along with a bunch of free popcorn....

These are all great things, but for me the fact that EVERYTHING is just within a two minute walk is the best. We go from our room down to the beach and if nature calls... two minutes from our room... really nice with toddlers and infants... or even just young kids.

VB is also a Mecca for nesting sea turtles... Most of the year you are either seeing new nests or seeing the evidence (turtle hatching tracks) going to the ocean. It is so cool..

Though VB is kind-of remote (from VB actual) it still seems like a mecca of things to do. We're geeks... so seeing whales, and dolphins, and all kinds of land wildlife excites us...

The "bugs" I think refers to the infamous "no-see-ums". They are there, but they are just like any other pest... drawn to fire and seem to be most worst at sundown. Soo... wear long pants, socks, and shoes at the campfire.

VB is just a wonderful place to be. A bit of Disney, and a lot of Old Disney atmosphere..

Lastly, I think your son (15) will have a blast riding the waves at VB.

Obviously, I love VB... but for very good reason.

There are other things to do around VB, but I think VB alone will take care of you and you're family.

Hope I didn't go overboard with the explanations... Just love VB....

Don't say you didn't ask

 

[DisDaydreamer]

how's the water temp in may. Heading there for a few days in May and wondering what it's like then.

It is great! In my opinion anything over 74 is bath temps...

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

Disdaydreamer...a perfect response. Couldn't say it better.

We love Vero Usually stay 3 - 4 days. i love that you are at the beach yet have all the conveniences of a hotel stay...the pool and hot tub are close by...the washrooms....food....

We have stayed there only in April. Temperatures are wonderful. Hot but not sweltering. The ocean is always pretty wavy. You can walk for miles on the beach. It can get quite windy. I know there was one day we didn't venture to the beach because the wind was kicking up the sand too much, but no matter, the pool was great.

 

[mdurette]

how's the water temp in may. Heading there for a few days in May and wondering what it's like then.

We are heading there mid May. I found something somewhere that had the average water temp of 77 for the month. It was warmer than I expected - but the site noted it is in an area that gets warmer currents. Who knows if accurate - but that is what I found.

EDIT: Guess I should have read the entire thread - Rob did a much better job with his cut and paste chart!

 

[kiingor]

It is great! In my opinion anything over 74 is bath temps...

i'm so silly, i forgot that i asked the same question on another thread and you responded already. Silly me.. sorry dddreamer and thanks for the info.

 

[DVCconvert]

Rob - I'm glad you're no longer "wispering"

 

[PinkTink63]

We got to try VB last summer and we all loved it! We only had two nights there and we went to KSC one of those days, so we felt that was not nearly long enough! I just recently booked five nights there in the middle of our trip this year.

First of all, everyone was very friendly! The resort is really charming! We had an OV Inn room and our view was beautiful! The water is gorgeous and it is sooo warm! Coming from the Northwest with our coastline and freezing water temps made VB such a wonderful change of scenery for us.

We were there right as Faye was coming in. I believe we checked out on 8/16. I was told the water was a bit rougher due to this, but we were out there anyway! I found some great shells! If you are tender-footed, you might want to wear some water socks. We ended up getting our son, who is 14 yrs. old some, because it gave him peace of mind from stepping on something he couldn't see.

We went to the Dive-in one night and had pizza by the pool. That was really fun and I met some nice people. We didn't get to do any of the campfires, but we will definitely try that out this year. We were not bothered by any bugs, but we really weren't out on the beach at night, because we had such a great view and we were trying to watch some of the Olympics. I will definitely take OP advice on wearing pants, because I never even take pants to Florida, so that will be a must bring item this time!

I have read that the actual town is very quaint also, so we will be going there too. This is the part of our trip for winding down, because no matter what we tell ourselves about relaxing at WDW, my 48 yr. old husband just can't help himself! He just doesn't sit still for very long!

We are sooo looking forward to going back this year. We wondered why we waited so long to try it!

I think your family will really like it!

 

[SnowWitch]

Our group loves VB. We have been going evert summer for 10 yrs now. Our sons were 8 and 6 when we discovered VB now at 18 and 16 they still love it. A common question is, "Can we stay longer than 5 nights?" VB offers activities for every age, last summer my teens played sports, attened teen night, teen campfire, etc. My toddler daughetr enjoyed cooking class, scavenger hunts, craft classes, etc. They have something for everyone. As another poster mentioned the same staff is there every trip, my boys actually talk about some like they are old friends. Of all the DVC resorts we have found the VB staff to be the most consistant in service.

 

[rigsby25]

We went in October and fell in love. We are going this Sunday. I booked the only thing available at the inn - a garden view, and then waitlisted for an ocean view. My waitlist came through, but I didn't tell my husband. I want him to be surprised Sunday. In October the temperature was warm - low 80s and the waves seemed warm also. Maybe not warm, but once you got past the initial wave, it was fine. I did not see any bugs when we were there, but I don't think we were out late. We would get up early, watch the sun rise, go down to the beach for the morning, then come up and go in the pool/hot tub and have a few poolside lemonades and then go up and relax in our room, watching the ocean. Its like watching a campfire. One night I got up to go to the bathroom, and the moon was out over the ocean so I had to go out and look at the beauty before going back to sleep. Oh - and a nice touch. The pool was kind of decorated for halloween. The only bad thing was that the internet connection was hit or miss. You could get it in the lobby, but I like to read my e-mail in my jammies with my coffee.

 

[edk35]

Just letting you know I have seen this thread and... I need some time to craft a level headed and objective response... I only want to be objective...

Okay enough time... (just looking up at the clock to make sure I have time to do this).

I think a lot of you Denise, so I want to take the time to work through this. Ok, I'm done thinking it through...

Vero Beach is like a touch of Disney, but that is all. A bit of theme. A bit of the Disney name, Incredible Cast Members. I have seen pretty much the same CMs for 10 years... From the pool life guards to the activities... they all are the same CMs. I have never witnessed a place where life guards are also activity CMs (except HHI). What is really special is that in every capacity they are professional, caring, loving and.. professional.

For me VB is a wonderful place that has pretty much everything on-site... Ocean, pool, water slide, mini-golf, croquette, basketball, soccer, tennis, biking, message, training room, restaurants, poolside grille, campfire, jetski's, sailboats, museums, botanical gardens, jungle trail, lake, lakeside grilles, room service, live music in the Green Cabin Room, incredible landscape, incredible ocean views, incredible daily activities for kids, Ping Pong, bike rentals, great poolside adult beverages, super craft making rooms, and a secret movie theatre that they use when weather is bad.. along with a bunch of free popcorn....

These are all great things, but for me the fact that EVERYTHING is just within a two minute walk is the best. We go from our room down to the beach and if nature calls... two minutes from our room... really nice with toddlers and infants... or even just young kids.

VB is also a Mecca for nesting sea turtles... Most of the year you are either seeing new nests or seeing the evidence (turtle hatching tracks) going to the ocean. It is so cool..

Though VB is kind-of remote (from VB actual) it still seems like a mecca of things to do. We're geeks... so seeing whales, and dolphins, and all kinds of land wildlife excites us...

The "bugs" I think refers to the infamous "no-see-ums". They are there, but they are just like any other pest... drawn to fire and seem to be most worst at sundown. Soo... wear long pants, socks, and shoes at the campfire.

VB is just a wonderful place to be. A bit of Disney, and a lot of Old Disney atmosphere..

Lastly, I think your son (15) will have a blast riding the waves at VB.

Obviously, I love VB... but for very good reason.

There are other things to do around VB, but I think VB alone will take care of you and you're family.

Hope I didn't go overboard with the explanations... Just love VB....

Don't say you didn't ask

Rob I would expect nothing less than this from you. WOW ROB.....you really did a great job. I do appreciate it. Just reading this response makes me want to try and get a few nights there. I think I will call MS today and see what is available.

 

[edk35]

Thanks to everyone that replied. Hey do all the 2 bedrooms face the ocean....so do you get an ocean view??

 

[SnowWitch]

Studio, 1 and 2 bedroom views are luck of the draw. The Inn rooms are the only rooms that you book a view. We have had great views from our 2 bedrooms and we have had views of vegatation from our 2 bedrooms.

 

[edk35]

Studio, 1 and 2 bedroom views are luck of the draw. The Inn rooms are the only rooms that you book a view. We have had great views from our 2 bedrooms and we have had views of vegatation from our 2 bedrooms.

Can you request a 2 br. ocean view?

 

[edk35]

Can you get adjoining rooms if you get an Inn room???

 

[kiingor]

Studio, 1 and 2 bedroom views are luck of the draw. The Inn rooms are the only rooms that you book a view. We have had great views from our 2 bedrooms and we have had views of vegatation from our 2 bedrooms.

wow.. didn't know that.... I got the ocean inn, but was gonna put my self on waitlist for the 1br- I think i'll stick with the ocean inn view.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Denise...I sent you a PM.

 

[Anal Annie]

Yay Denise! Goin' to VB! You DO crack me up girl!! Changing your plans already! (Welcome back...how was your trip last week?)

We added 3 nights in an OVIR at VB to the end of our BCV week in August! I can't WAIT and will be SO-O bummed if there are any storms floating around out there to ruin it! That is my biggest worry about vacationing in late August. But that could happen up here too. Anyway, I think it will be SO-O much better than OC, Bethany Beach or Rehobeth. WARM water! Waves! Nice beach...pool closeby... We have no-seeums at home so we can deal with that. I am like a personal bug magnet for all things biting. Last time we went to Bethany we had rip currents for some reason and FLYS 'cuz the wind direction was offshore rather than onshore. Plus the water is never WARM up here! Oh, and jellyfish here too. I think VB sounds like a dream come true!! I am liking the water temps chart a lot. Up here I never get in past my waist (on purpose)!! I have not been to a FL beach in many, many years and this will be a test for us to see if we want to try it out for a whole week sometime. I'm betting the odds are good for us to at least do a repeat of a combo WDW / VB trip more often than not. I fully expect to be a total VB groupie by the time our 3 nights are over.