No see-ums?

[JANBERRY]

We're off to Vero Beach on Nov 26th. How bad should we expect the no see-ums to be?
Also, we're going for a much needed rest (and no children for the first time), but would you recommend any shouldn't miss places for maybe a couple of days out?
Thanks in advance.
Janet

 

[spiceycat]

not sure about no see um in Nov - April thru Oct yes - but it might be too cold in Nov.

VB has some programs (for a price) you can do.

biking riding here is fun - they have some trails thru the woods.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

We are here now and there are no bugs...

No beach to speak of either, so if you like walking on the beach, prepare to be disappointed.

No a/c control either from what we are experiencing. Turn it "on" and it blows you out of the villa. Turn it "up" and you are too hot.

Poolside snack bar closing down before 5... people who purchased mugs complaining bitterly...

Not too sure what's up here at Vero, but it's not exactly fun, or relaxing.

 

[jwfla422]

We are here now and there are no bugs...

No beach to speak of either, so if you like walking on the beach, prepare to be disappointed.

No a/c control either from what we are experiencing. Turn it "on" and it blows you out of the villa. Turn it "up" and you are too hot.

Poolside snack bar closing down before 5... people who purchased mugs complaining bitterly...

Not too sure what's up here at Vero, but it's not exactly fun, or relaxing.

It's a nice resort however I agree with this poster, there are a lot of drawbacks to it. We are also here now as well and haven't dealt with no see ums but have had a few mosquitoes pop in our room. We're in the main bldg with a wonderful ocean view.

My biggest pet peeves here: HORRIBLE internet and poor phone reception. They even charge you for the internet which is horrendous. I've already complained and they're supposed to take the charge off. They went wireless before working out the glitches and they are major glitches, should not have ditched the hard wire before working out the glitches.

The food situation is another issue. As already mentioned they have a quick service OUTSIDE by the pool that is only open from 11-5. They only serve lunch items. There's nowhere on property you can get any breakfast items other than Shutters which is a sit down.

This morning it would have been nice to just get a bagel or muffin and coffee that I didn't have to make, but no options there. You have to have a refillable mug to get coffee or make it in your room.

The only other option than Shutters or Sonya's which is VERY expensive is the Green Cabin which has about 5 menu items which most are already available at Shutters. It's just very limited and the only option close by is Orchid Pizza which is actually pretty good (we had it for dinner tonight) but if you don't want that you're out of luck, you have to drive a good distance and at night it's very dark driving here, whether you venture to Vero south on A1A or cross the bridge right near here and head to Sebastian. The main area of Vero Beach is a good 20 minutes away.

If you have a villa I'd suggest doing some good food shopping and planning lots of meals in there if you don't want to venture out. We did go to some restaurants in Sebastian and Vero. They were good, but nothing that was great.

It is a nice place but not a lot to do in the immediate area. The beach was real rough this weekend because of high winds and its full of sea weed. Pool was good yesterday. But I'd get bored with just that everyday.

Did have some issues with the A/C the first night but found a comfortable temp however the ceiling fan is useless. It has one speed even though there is a wall dial for it...SUPER HIGH!

Wish I could say great things but with all of these issues I would reconsider coming back again anytime soon. Thought we'd get that Disney itch taken care of by coming here for a few days because Disney was not in our budget. We even did the character breakfast yesterday which was just ok. The food left a lot to be desired. It was luke warm and just mediocre. I expected a buffet with more options, but it was a "family style" meal with just a few items.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Sounds like we are sharing the same experience! LOL.

Actually, the wifi isn't too bad in our villa. We aren't paying for it as we are members, so that is a good thing.

We learned early (we've been coming here for years) to always bring our own food. We plan fun, or special meals and enjoy ourselves that way. (We like to cook).

Not a huge fan of Shutter's or Sonya's. We try them from time to time, but always end up wishing we'd dined in our villa.

We love the view from the Green Room.

Still haven't gotten the room a/c regulated... not sure what's up with that. We'll opt for more covers. LOL.

 

[Bigscout79]

We've only gone once, and haven't been back. It's a shame because I love everything about the place in design. However, the noseeums were horrible when we went, as in packed up early and left... probably never going back.

On the flipside:
Many resort/park/areas I've been to with Disney have some surreal moment that sticks in my brain. One of these was at Vero, one the upstairs balcony bar/restaurant was just perfect one night - crashing waves, perfect breeze, good drinks, etc. I would almost brave the bugs to have another 2 hours like that.

Hope you have a great time and make memories.... and that they're the good kind.

 

[Kidultimate]

Interestingly, we just got back from Vero DVC, and were looking for information on noseeums when I stumbled on this thread.

There were definitely noseeums on the beach this past week, the marks of which showed up two days ago, and we were still finding new bites on the flight home last night, which has us worried that we may still have them on our bag, clothes, or something else. We used a beach blanket and beach bag, and it's possible they're attached somehow. If anyone knows whether these can be brought home, please let us know. Our luggage is still sitting out in our car. It got down to 37 degress last night, but not sure if that's enough to kill anything we may have brought back.

The problem with this past week, which may be a constant, is the amount of seaweed on the beach that has been seemingly rotting for about a week. As this was our first visit, we don't know if this is normal, or simply due to some rough weather Thursday to Saturday previous (17th to 19th). The seaweed does consume most of the beach at high tide, leaving no room to walk, but the main lounger area is basically clear.

Can't say we had any unit issues staying in the villas, a/c or otherwise. Everything there was pretty good. Didn't find out about the mugs until the last day, so can't comment there, but didn't hear any grumbling either.

As for activities, we also went without children, spent a lot of time at the beach, but also did a great kayak tour of the Indian River - leaving from Round Island. Being Thanksgiving week, the normally scheduled Thursday activity was cancelled by the resort, but we booked separately on our own for Wednesday, through Kayak Adventures, and absolutely loved it - with special highlights on seeing manatess right beside and under our boat,

This is getting a little long, so if you want other info, just post back. We had two meals at the Beachland area (south on A1A) and would recommend Ocean Grill highly, and well above Mulligans.

 

[bakerworld]

Thanks for the advance notice! This was on my To Do List. I had heard it was very quiet but didn't realize the limitations of the eateries. I guess all the places I was reading about were in town.

Is there a better time of year to go? (What are noseeums? Chiggers !?!)

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

After we returned home and the itching began, obviously we did run into a few "no-see-ums." We'll survive, but they do itch!

They aren't something that you need to worry about "bringing home."

They are stinging gnats, so not something that is "invasive" like bed bugs!

 

[JANBERRY]

We are here now. Thanks for all the replies it has been very interesting reading as now I have experienced what you have been saying.
We have so far not experienced the bugs, but it has been very windy and I believe they don't fly in those conditions. We have had a few lovely walks along the beach and I think been very lucky with the tide times. Always in the morning and walked right by the waters edge, getting wet legs from time to time. There is a lot of seaweed about full of flies, but we haven't been bitten.
I can't believe how quiet it is though and feel very sorry for the cast members trying their best to create a party atmosphere by the pool with only a handful of children - so well done to them!!
We have bought the re-fillable mugs as we are going for 2 nights to Wilderness Lodge on Thursday so it will be worth our while. I don't think we would have if only staying here as the coffee is only on until 11am in the morning and the only soda fountain by the pool.
We have had a nice meal in Shutters and ventured out to TGI's and Italian Orchard in Vero Beach. The sat nav found a short cut and it only took 15 mins which isn't too bad.
The internet has been great and we have skyped back home a lot without any problems. The room is spotless and the staff have been great.
To be totally honest, I don't think we would come back again, but we had points to use (and reasonably cheap flights)so it actually worked out well for us. I will get my proper Disney fix for a couple of days although it will feel strange without my DD & DS. I have missed them being here.
We are planning a big family holiday for DD21st in Summer 2013.