Review Sheraton Vistana Resort Questions

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

For a Sunday check-in, what do you recommend? What are all the units with Sunday check-ins.

If my records are correct..........

Sunday check-ins are in the following sections: Falls (Sunday only), Cascades (Fri./Sat./Sun.), Lakes (Fri./Sat./Sun.), Fountains I(Fri./Sat./Sun.), Fountains II (Fri./Sat./Sun.), Springs (Fri./Sat./Sun.), and Palms (Fri./Sat./Sun.).

The remaining sections have the following check-in days:

Spas: Friday
Courts: Saturday

bankr63 can correct me if I have goofed somewhere .

Cascades and Lakes will have buildings with elevators. They might be good places for your friend with mobility issues so you never have to worry about stairs.

 

[bankr63]

The only thing I'll add to the above is that the elusive map is now available on the Starwood Vacation website. Go to https://www.starwoodvacationnetwork.com/sheraton-vistana-resort/map/ to download the map. Friday buildings are in Red, Saturday in Blue, Sunday in Green.

If you liked Courts, a lower unit in Falls might be good too. You can generally park right at the door, and the lowers have no stairs. This is usually a very quiet section of the resort.

 

[Tinky624]

Does anyone know if the Zimmies bar and Resturant is finished with the remodel?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Does anyone know if the Zimmies bar and Resturant is finished with the remodel?

This link:

https://www.starwoodvacationnetwork.com/sheraton-vistana-resort/announcements/

indicates that it will be closed August to December 2014.

 

[DisneyLadybug]

Planning a trip in April 2014. I've read a lot and decided to book at this resort. Feeling very excited & throwing myself into the planning process. I used the map of the resort and Google Earth to check out the different pools and areas. I was wondering if anyone had experience with the Courts area. I hear a lot about the Cascades and am thinking to request that area too, but the Courts seem to be central to the Falls, Spa & Cascades pool areas. Thoughts?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Planning a trip in April 2014. I've read a lot and decided to book at this resort. Feeling very excited & throwing myself into the planning process. I used the map of the resort and Google Earth to check out the different pools and areas. I was wondering if anyone had experience with the Courts area. I hear a lot about the Cascades and am thinking to request that area too, but the Courts seem to be central to the Falls, Spa & Cascades pool areas. Thoughts?

Hi DisneyLadybug,

to the Dis!

What is your check-in day? SVR generally has dedicated check-in days for each section. Courts is Saturday, so if you are checking in another day of the week, it might not be possible to get that section.

Also, just in case you are not aware, Courts is one of only two sections that have 2 twin beds in the second bedroom vs. 2 doubles (the other section that this applies to is Falls). This means that Courts sleep a max 6 vs. the occupancy of 8 for the remaining developments. Depending on how many people you are travelling with, that may or may not be a factor....but its worth pointing out nonetheless!

We were in Spas in August 2013 and had a very easy walk to the Super Pool (which is in the Spas area), the Courts pool, the Cascades pool and even the Falls pool. The resort is spread out, yes, but the walk is very manageable and the grounds are gorgeous .

 

[Laura]

I'm not sure about the whole check-in day thing--maybe it depends on how you booked? We checked in on a Saturday and stayed in Cascades. We didn't book a week or rent from an owner. We booked it from the Sheraton's website directly.

And Zimmie's is closing again? I thought it was closed last fall. (Or maybe it didn't close and they delayed the renovation?) It was open last month when we were there. Weird.

 

[bankr63]

I'm not sure about the whole check-in day thing--maybe it depends on how you booked? We checked in on a Saturday and stayed in Cascades. We didn't book a week or rent from an owner. We booked it from the Sheraton's website directly.

And Zimmie's is closing again? I thought it was closed last fall. (Or maybe it didn't close and they delayed the renovation?) It was open last month when we were there. Weird.

Six of the nine sections at Vistana have some buildings with check-in any one of the 3 days. The 3 oldest sections (Courts, Falls, Spas) have the entire section dedicated to a single checkin day. So for any given Friday, Saturday, Sunday you can be checking into one of seven sections, but there are always two sections you can't get. If you are checking in on a "hotel" stay for any of the other 4 days of the week, all bets are off!

If you book with Sheraton directly, you are probably more likely to get into Cascades, Fountains (I or II) or Lakes; Sheraton owns more units outright in those sections, and there is a larger percentage of SVO membership program there over the straight timeshare ownship, so there is a alot more flexibility for Sheraton. Now Sheraton has been buying back delinquent ownerships from the HOA's in the older sections, so they are getting a bit more flexibility in those sections as well.

It sounds complex, but it's not something to get overly concerned about. All the sections are really quite nice.

The first closure at Zimmies was to redo the outside terrace area, and that was completed. I'm assuming the latest closure is for the indoor dining room; hoepfully the poolside bar will remain open. This was alluded to in an owner newsletter but wasn't really stated.

 

[bankr63]

Also, just in case you are not aware, Courts is one of only two sections that have 2 twin beds in the second bedroom vs. 2 doubles (the other section that this applies to is Falls). This means that Courts sleep a max 6 vs. the occupancy of 8 for the remaining developments. Depending on how many people you are travelling with, that may or may not be a factor....but its worth pointing out nonetheless!

One quick correction here. Half the units in Courts sleep 6 the other half sleep 8 but all do have only single beds in the 2nd bedroom. The difference is that the upper units in Courts have a sleeping loft area as well with an additional sofabed. That's one of the things we love about our Courts upper is that it is really close to a 3BR unit (actually we kind of hoped they would convert our unit to 3BR in the refresh). The only problem is that one of those bedrooms in open on one side to the living room below, so only suitable for the teenagers who now stay up later than the parents anyway... (but don't make too much noise with the coffee in the morning...)

What we love about our Courts unit is that it really feels like a home. With an upstairs and downstairs area there is plenty of room to spread out. And the 2 storey glass wall in the living room lets in SOOO much light...

 

[bankr63]

Planning a trip in April 2014. I've read a lot and decided to book at this resort. Feeling very excited & throwing myself into the planning process. I used the map of the resort and Google Earth to check out the different pools and areas. I was wondering if anyone had experience with the Courts area. I hear a lot about the Cascades and am thinking to request that area too, but the Courts seem to be central to the Falls, Spa & Cascades pool areas. Thoughts?

You've got it

Courts is very central to the action, but well away from the busiest roads. And since the unit density is much lower than Cascades, it is usually much quieter!

 

[DisneyLadybug]

Does anyone know is there still a Starbucks at/near the Vistana Resort?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Does anyone know is there still a Starbucks at/near the Vistana Resort?

Starbucks coffee is served at the Marketplace .

 

[DisneyLadybug]

Thanks! What about grills - any outdoor grills available at the resort? Charcoal or Propane?

TIA

 

[bankr63]

Thanks! What about grills - any outdoor grills available at the resort? Charcoal or Propane?

TIA

There are grills located throughout the property. They are charcoal with very large cast iron grates; like you sometimes see is State Park picnic areas. BBQ utensils can be borrowed at the Marketplace. We usually pickup a small bag of match-light charcoal at Publix. Note: there was talk changing over to propane, and on our last trip (10 months ago) it looked like they might be building a pad for a propane BBQ in the Cascades area, so this information may not be totally current.

Also, the Starbucks at the Marketplace has limited drinks menu. If you want full Starbucks, there is a location directly across the street from the resort as well. (And by street I mean 6-lane highway...)

 

[my3kids143]

We've only stayed at Bonnet Creek during the two times we've been to Disney and are planning another trip this year in October. After reading this thread I am thinking we would really like the Sheraton Vistana. Does anyone have recommendations as to who and where to rent from? I'd really appreciate it!

 

[FrankieDplus3]

Duplicate

 

[FrankieDplus3]

We've only stayed at Bonnet Creek during the two times we've been to Disney and are planning another trip this year in October. After reading this thread I am thinking we would really like the Sheraton Vistana. Does anyone have recommendations as to who and where to rent from? I'd really appreciate it!

I've used the Dreams Unlimited promo code three times, booking directly through Sheraton. I've been very happy with the promo price and service that Sheraton has provided.

Others on this board have found cheaper rates, but, I haven't.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[haPevraftr]

We have rented SVR and WBC for about the same price during the first week of April as an Extra Vacation through MIL's RCI.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I've used the Dreams Unlimited promo code three times, booking directly through Sheraton. I've been very happy with the promo price and service that Sheraton has provided.

Others on this board have found cheaper rates, but, I haven't.

I agree...Dreams Unlimited offers a very good rate. And the security of dealing with a travel agency.

We were able to get a better rate than the DU offer by booking our SVR accommodations with our airfare through a JetBlue Getaways package. Our nightly rate for a two bedroom was only $120...an absolute steal, particularly considering that it came with daily housekeeping service too.

If someone is comfortable renting directly from an owner, it may be possible to secure an ever better weekly rate than the Dreams Unlimited offer. Listings can be found on Redweek, My Resort Network, Timeshare Users Group, and sometimes even Ebay.

 

[huggiebear23]

My mom is a time share owner for this resort. We just never stay there.