Just got a deal from Starwood for Caribe Royale, anyone else get it?

[jmpellet]

I wanted the villages for the separate bedroom, full kitchen, and washer/dryer in the unit. We are actually do 2 timeshares offers (also Marriott Horizons) plus staying at Nick Hotel (free with points -- I know the reviews can be bad but I know my kids will have a blast), and the Royal Pacific Resort for FOTL passes at Universal. So in all we will be staying 4 places for 13 nights and I want to minimize bring too many clothes so the W/D in unit will be great. I think the Caribe recently remodeled all of their rooms and made them more like suites but I'm not sure how big they are. I really enjoyed my stay in 1999 but that was before kids. I have no problems staying in a single room as we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter for 10 nights 2 years in a row, but given the opportunity I would like the space.

 

[nisiemouse]

So. do you think the Vistana is better with 2 small kids? Just wondering if I should try to book there instead when I decide on my dates.




I'm a bit nervous about staying off site to, especially with the kids. But it's a cheap trip, so i guess I'll make it work!!

It wouldn't hurt to ask for Vistana especially if your dates aren't available at Caribe like the other poster. I never thought of asking for a 2 bedroom. That is one of the main reasons we joined DVC so we could have some space when we visited (as well as a washer and a dryer). I still think it's a good offer though. I know I will miss staying at Disney but this is an extra trip to see my brother who will be in the area so the savings will really help.

 

[nisiemouse]

I wanted the villages for the separate bedroom, full kitchen, and washer/dryer in the unit. We are actually do 2 timeshares offers (also Marriott Horizons) plus staying at Nick Hotel (free with points -- I know the reviews can be bad but I know my kids will have a blast), and the Royal Pacific Resort for FOTL passes at Universal. So in all we will be staying 4 places for 13 nights and I want to minimize bring too many clothes so the W/D in unit will be great. I think the Caribe recently remodeled all of their rooms and made them more like suites but I'm not sure how big they are. I really enjoyed my stay in 1999 but that was before kids. I have no problems staying in a single room as we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter for 10 nights 2 years in a row, but given the opportunity I would like the space.

Sounds like a great trip.

 

[mookie]

I got this last year and we are doing it in June. I called and showed a bit of interest then waited. They kept calling and offered me the Vistana Villages - which I took. I couldn't book that far out so I kept calling and got my dates about a month ago. I have stayed at the Carible before and it's very nice but I think I'll enjoy the space at the Villages. And yes, there is no tour required to get the $100 cash back. I asked a number of times and its noted on the ressie "NTR" or no tour required.

Hey there,

Just looking through my old thread on this and noticed you had probably taken your trip. Can you post your thoughts? We put the 1/2 down, but haven't firmed up a date. (Actually, I kind of forgot about it, until they called). Just curious to see if there was any hidden agenda. Thanks!

 

[webray]

Caribe is great...take the offer and enjoy!

 

[jmpellet]

Regarding the Vistana Villages, our stay was wonderful. I checked in like a normal hotel. I had to go see someone for the $100 and she claimed I had to come back in the morning to get the voucher for the $100 and they had to "print" them (I figured I would never see it). She said I could get $200 to attend the presentation but I declined. I think she told me to come back in the morning so she could get another shot at me. Returned the next day, got the $ within 5 minutes and was on my way. They never called my room to bug me. The villas are nice and I think they were better than the ones we stayed at later in the trip at Marriott Horizons (where we did have to do the presentation). The grounds are really well-kept and the pool was nice -- no slide though.

Onto Horizons -- They are pretty low-pressure but you have to be firm. These are seasoned salespeople! We were out in one hour as he knew from the start he didn't have a sale.

We have stayed at the Caribe (back in 1999) and its really nice. Having the extra space was really nice though. Even the Nick Hotel felt really small after staying at Vistana Villages.

I'm pretty frugal and this was a low budget trip although it was long!
Vistana Villages $210 ($269 - $100 cash + $50 in FL taxes)
Horizons $199 - 4 nights
Fairfield Inn in Tampa $0 - 2 nights free as we have the cc (for the Boston/Tampa game and clearwater beach)
Nick Hotel $0 - 3 nights free from priority club points from ages ago
Car rental $240 including taxes - got a full size on priceline
Flights $0 - achieved companion pass status through cc offers! Had to pay annual fees of about $200 but this will yield us a total of 5 trips to Orlando in the coming year!
Biggest expense - tickets $2750. We decided to buy platinum tickets to Busch Gardens Williamsburg ($250 for 2 years) as we will use them many times this and next year with so many trips planned. We also bought premier passes to Universal (pricey $279 for 1 year) but we got fotl after 4 pm, free valet, and will get to go to Halloween Horror Nights free. Had we not had the free flights we wouldn't have bought these passes.