Last Minute Travel--when should I book?

[Beccabunny]

I'm probably going to book Vistana Villages through lastminutetravel.com. Do their prices tend to come down as you get closer to your dates? For the dates, first week of May, I was considering, they had Vistana Resort and Villages both at the same price, but then recently the price dropped by a few dollars at Vistana Resort. Not a big difference, and I would still rather stay at Villages. Just wondering if I should book now or wait a little longer.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I would also like to hear some opinions on this. I'm considering Vistana Resort and the price was $95 and now it's up to $125. We are traveling the first 2 weeks of July.....I know it'll be busy then but it's for a convention so the dates are out of my hands.

 

[BrerMama]

Just my opinion, but I think when the price is where you can live with it, book. You can cancel through LMT up until 3 days before check-in, so should you find a cheaper price, you can always cancel and rebook. I booked Vistana through LMT. We're going the last two weeks of June and by calling, I got it for $123/night (it was more on the website, so it's worth a call). It's up to $145 on the website for the same dates, so I'm happy I booked six months early. If it goes down, I'll call and have them adjust I guess. I'm guessing price is based on availability, so the more full the resort, the higher the price. I know I had an offer to rent through an owner and they were worried about availability in June/July, so I'd book while I could.

 

[Beccabunny]

Thanks! It's good to know I can call and possibly get a better rate. What is your experience with booking through Last Minute Travel? Do you think they still give you a nice unit? I'd hate to get an old unit in need of refurbishment just because I'm booking at a discount.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I stayed at the Vistana Resort (not the villages) a year ago with my mom. I booked through hotwire for something like $80/night. There were only two of us so it didn't matter much but we had a studio instead of a one bedroom unit - so I think they did give us a "discount room" so to speak in that it was a studio rather than a one bedroom. It was very nice and had a full kitchen - newly renovated. I think all units at the Resort have been renovated now. We really loved the resort and would book that way again.

I have also used last minute travel to book other resorts and have very good experiences booking through them. Since my hotwire room was a studio I think there might be a possibility you could get a studio unless it specifies on the site one bedroom or two bedroom.

Enjoy the Vistana - whichever you decide - and enjoy paying less for it - I don't think I'll ever go back to paying rack rate for hotels - lastminutetravel and hotwire have spoiled me!!

 

[BrerMama]

I stayed at the Vistana Resort (not the villages) a year ago with my mom. I booked through hotwire for something like $80/night. There were only two of us so it didn't matter much but we had a studio instead of a one bedroom unit - so I think they did give us a "discount room" so to speak in that it was a studio rather than a one bedroom.

Vistana doesn't have studios... just one and two bedrooms. You can see the layouts here: Starwood Vacations Room Layouts. I guess it's possible you got one of the smaller sides of the lockoff units, but they're definitely all 1 or 2 bedrooms. Do you know what section you were in?

Interesting note... LMT only shows two bedrooms or two bedroom villas. I asked the reservationist what the difference was (because they're all 2 bedroom villas according to Vistana) and she gave me some made up answer. I did go ahead and reserve a 2 bedroom because it was cheaper. Then I called Vistana direct to confirm that they had my reservation. They did, within 24 hours of me making the reservation.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Vistana doesn't have studios... just one and two bedrooms. You can see the layouts here: Starwood Vacations Room Layouts. I guess it's possible you got one of the smaller sides of the lockoff units, but they're definitely all 1 or 2 bedrooms. Do you know what section you were in?

Interesting note... LMT only shows two bedrooms or two bedroom villas. I asked the reservationist what the difference was (because they're all 2 bedroom villas according to Vistana) and she gave me some made up answer. I did go ahead and reserve a 2 bedroom because it was cheaper. Then I called Vistana direct to confirm that they had my reservation. They did, within 24 hours of me making the reservation.

We were in the Lakes section near the pool right where the Fountains and the Lakes meet - I think building 1- I know I was surprised too about the room!! As far as I knew Vistana had only one or two bedroom units - I had looked at the website a lot. I was expecting a one bedroom- the room had a queen bed, sofa bed, full kitchen and bath - but no separate bedroom. So people who book the Vistana Resort on hotwire should be aware they might be put in such a room- technically a lockoff I suppose. It was fine for us but if I had really needed a one bedroom I would have been sad.

I think if a website like lastminutetravel indicates the room is a two bedroom then your pretty safe it will be a two bedroom - so no worries there. Hotwire wasn't so clear when I booked. Vistana is a great resort though and we would stay again in a heart beat - loved the pools - both Fountains and Lakes pools plus the work out room was great. We also loved the Marketplace for sandwiches and groceries.