Sheraton Vistana Resort Orlando

[nemo7673]

Hello DIS

We will be staying at the Sheraton Vistana Resort (the one closest to Disney) beginning on May 25, 2012. We are so excited, we can hardly contain ourselves It will be myself, my husband & my 2 1/2 year-old-daughter (& possibly my step sons 15 & 13). We are torn between the Lakes & the Cascades section of the resort and only these two b/c they have elevators. We will be in a 2 bedroom. We would like to be on the top floor near a pool. Does anyone have any suggestions if one section is better than the other? Mostly speaking of the rooms themselves and the pool. We prefer close access to the pools since we will be walking with a 2-year-old little lady Is there any particular condo buliding & room number you know you would personally recommend? I understand the Lakes condo is slightly bigger than the Cascades, but I am not sure if there is that much difference to notice. I've also heard the kitchens are quite tiny in the Lakes, not sure if this is the case with the Cascades. Any information and/or pictures would be much appreciated. We traded through RCI and are owners @ Summer Bay Orlando...Thanks!!

 

[Detailor]

Hello DIS

We will be staying at the Sheraton Vistana Resort (the one closest to Disney) beginning on May 25, 2012. We are so excited, we can hardly contain ourselves It will be myself, my husband & my 2 1/2 year-old-daughter (& possibly my step sons 15 & 13). We are torn between the Lakes & the Cascades section of the resort and only these two b/c they have elevators. We will be in a 2 bedroom. We would like to be on the top floor near a pool. Does anyone have any suggestions if one section is better than the other? Mostly speaking of the rooms themselves and the pool. We prefer close access to the pools since we will be walking with a 2-year-old little lady Is there any particular condo buliding & room number you know you would personally recommend? I understand the Lakes condo is slightly bigger than the Cascades, but I am not sure if there is that much difference to notice. I've also heard the kitchens are quite tiny in the Lakes, not sure if this is the case with the Cascades. Any information and/or pictures would be much appreciated. We traded through RCI and are owners @ Summer Bay Orlando...Thanks!!

The villas in Lakes are indeed a little bit bigger than the villas in Cascades - it's about a 150 square foot difference but I don't know where the space is added or cut. I think that the Cascades section has more buildings, and villas, than any other section of the resort. And Cascades is more spread out than others sections, too. So you could be more or less at the center of resort, in Cascades buildings that are near the Cascades pool area, or you could be in one of the buildings at the front of the resort, on the other side of the wall that separates the resort from SR 535. Lakes is a smaller, more compact section that does not have its own pool but is fairly close to the Fountains pool. Lakes is at the back of the resort and is separated from I-4 by a berm. We've stayed in a Lakes villa but not a Cascades. As I recall, the kitchen area in our Lakes villa was pretty much standard for a timeshare unit.

Just a note that timeshare exchanges tend to be at the bottom of the list for satisfying requests (owners and guests renting through the Starwood reservation system are generally close to the top of the list). That doesn't mean that you won't get what you ask for but if you are relatively flexible with your request you'll be more likely to get something that resembles at least part of your request. For instance, you might ask for a high floor with a preference for the top floor of a building near the Cascades pool and that might be enough for them to come close to giving you what you've requested.

Loads of good information at this thread in the review section of the forum - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2088957.

Good luck!

Dick Taylor

 

[soxfan11901]

Lakes is a smaller, more compact section that does not have its own pool but is fairly close to the Fountains pool.

The Lakes does have its own pool. It is smaller than the Fountains pool, but offers zero entry which may be good for the 2.5yr old. The pools for both sections are close together (basically separated by a basketball court).

 

[Detailor]

The Lakes does have its own pool. It is smaller than the Fountains pool, but offers zero entry which may be good for the 2.5yr old. The pools for both sections are close together (basically separated by a basketball court).

Thanks for the clarification.

It's been a number of years since we were there so I guess that it either didn't register or I thought that the Lakes pool was just part of the Fountains complex.

Dick Taylor

 

[nemo7673]

Thank you very much Detailor for all this info. This is very helpful for us

 

[nemo7673]

Thank you Soxfan11901...I will be requesting the Lakes section based on this info in these replies to my post. Much obliged!