New things at Vistana resort

[MiaSRN62]

I'm at Vistana now.

The new eatery containing KFC/A&W and Pizza Hut is not finished construction yet. But the Pizza Hut is operating out of a truck outside the Fountains Rec Center. I'm not thrilled with losing the Flamingo Cafe restaurant and having it replaced with KFC/Pizza Hut. Not at all.

Secondly, I do have a newly remodeled Fountains I villa----very nice---but not all Fountains I section is complete. Construction is going on at the next bldg by me.

A new security policy which I personally do NOT feel is working.
After 8 pm, ALL cars entering the security gates to either the Fountains/Lakes side or the Cascades/Springs/Spas/Falls/Palms/Courts side MUST stop and show a photo ID to the guard. I think it's bull. At times, it is causing a MAJOR traffic jam of cars trying to get to their villas. A bad experience just happened tonight (8/9). I went over to Zimmies (had a 4-5 min wait to get through gate). Ordered food.....picked it up and proceeded to drive out of one guard gate and go through the Fountains gate to my room. It was BAD. I'd say 10-12 cars backed up getting through guard. We sat for about 8 min just to go about 30 feet. Cars cutting in front of others.......cars asking LOTS of questions of guard which held up guests just wanting to get to their rooms.........
I had 3 cars cut in front of me from adjoining road to the gate. I refused to let this 3rd car cut in front of me. So I inched forward. He started shouting rude remarks to me and my dd. He at one point said he would "smash into me" to get through. I was about 4-5 cars from the guard at this point. My dd was shaking. I finally passed through and ran upstairs to call management. I am awaiting a call from the director of security. Since I'm leaving tommorrow, I doubt he/she will call me in time. But I will follow up at home. It's an awful policy that is not working. They need to have a key entry like wdw does for it's guest. To expect owners and guests to wait in long lines just to get to their room is ridiculous. We all have hang tags showing we are staying at the resort ? So be prepared to show photo ID after 8 pm. The front desk did not inform us of this.......there is not sign at guard gate.....so many people are not prepared and searching for ID while others sit in lines. Worst times seem to be 8:30--10 pm (around times people are returning from parks).

Also, it appears that the newly remodeled villas are now "smoke free" except for on the balcony. I believe the notice is only listed on the remodeled villas and they even mention that guests will be charged a fee if the room needs to be deodorized for smoke smell. So keep in mind....smoking only on balcony (which is fine with us ).

 

[mtmbyck]

Sorry you are ending your vacation with these bad experiences. I hope you din't let it ruin all of the great memories I am sue you have had.

I would love to hear everything about this resort as we are in the final stages of deciding whether to rent from an owner for a week in March 2009. We normally rent homes in the area but this year we are a smaller family and I thought this looked like a great spot. I am nervous becuase there are a lot of bad reviews posted about it but all I can see is a gorgeous resort at an amazing price!

will you post some pictures of the resort when you get back?

 

[MiaSRN62]

Hi...overall, we had a nice vacation and stay here. The security guard gate policy is just a big nuisance after 8 pm. Some nights we've flown through, but other times there were big lines of cars to get through. I just feel they need to come up with a better policy. I foresee it causing more "road rage" incidents in the future. Even the Vistana staff on their little golf cart seemed annoyed as they tried to maneuver through the line of cars.

I have taken a good deal of photos which I will post when I return. Mostly in and around the Fountains section where we tended to hang.

Overall, it's a nice resort. Last night it was an "all you can eat" family bbq at Zimmies restaurant with poolside kareoke. Kids were making tie dye t-shirts by the Fountains pool yesterday afternoon. So nice activities planned during the week.