Sheridan Vistana - anyone disappointed?

[dixielander]

Hi,

We're planning a trip to DW is April, and I have already booked a standard view room at the Yacht Club resort.

We have stayed at the Vistana resort in the past, but the last time we stayed there (2007?), it seemed to have gotten a little "run-down", and I had heard from several owners that once it began renting on Expedia, the place went "down-hill". There seemed to be a change in the atmosphere there too, (example, large groups of loud, obnoxious people at the pool). We had not seen that before.

My husband would love to have a condo, vs. staying onsite in one room, but I'm just afraid that Vistana may have gotten worse!

My kids want to stay "in the world", and I don't care either way. Vistana would save us about $400 or so.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has stayed there recently, and if your experience was good.

 

[Meteora]

Hello! We are owners at Vistana, and our last trip was last January. We did not have any problems at all in terms of feeling it was run-down. First of all, since your last stay, many of the rooms have been renovated and are really very beautiful now. We stayed in the Lakes section, and it was lovely. The grocery store has also been renovated and is very nice now. We haven't had any problems with obnoxious groups, but I think that can happen anywhere. Mostly we have seen happy families. Obviously I can't predict how your experience will be, but Vistana has been significantly renovated since your last visit--you would likely want to stay in one of the "newer" sections which I know includes Lakes and Cascades and I think Fountains also.

 

[hannymom]

we loved our stay there last september. we had the pool almost to ourselves every day. rooms were up to date and clean. that was my first 'off-site' stay and we are already planning on staying there again next year. it makes no sense for us to stay in a small resort room when we can have a 2 bedroom condo just minutes away from disney for less than half the price.

 

[LeafsFanNL]

We stayed here in the spring of 2008.


Our party of five, 3 adults, and 2 six year olds had no problem with our room which was in Cascades, on the second floor in the 2100's. We had a one bedroom suite, and they were very happy to give us a roll away for the third adult. The room was clean, large, well maintained, and the boys loved the jacuzzi tub.


Check in was fast and efficient, and the porters were very efficient with the baggage, and in giving us a lift to the room when we were tired.


The pools were very nice, and food and beverage service was available at pool side. However, the poolside service seemed to end at about 4:00 pm, and there was only one person serving our very large pool area.


We had one problem, and it was in our minds a major one. The transportation to and from the parks was in one word,inadequate. You could get a bus at around 8, 9:20, 11, and 12 noon to the parks, and returning at about 1 pm, 6, 8 ,10. Many days we wanted to return to the resort at 3 or 4, and ended up using Disney transportation to get to Downtown disney to catch a cab to the Vistana. It ended up costing about $10, and more importantly costing about 1 - 1 1/2 hours of precious time to do so.


One day the 9:20 am bus did not show at all. We ended up complaining to the staff, who eventually arranged transportation for the day. We never got to the Magic Kingdom, until almost noon, which resulted in large lines, much frustration, and an early return. It was pretty much a wasted day.


Another day, the bus dropped off the people going to the Magic Kingdom at Epcot to avoid a Department of Transportation inspection!!!, yes the bus driver told us this.

We purchased this package pretty much at the last minute from Air Canada Vacations (I guess they own some of the time shares), as there was no availability on site. We didn't rent a car as we handn't needed one the year before at POFQ. I would not recommend this resort to anyone relying on the provided transportation to access the parks. I can't say that enough.

HB

 

[LeafsFanNL]

we loved our stay there last september. we had the pool almost to ourselves every day. rooms were up to date and clean. that was my first 'off-site' stay and we are already planning on staying there again next year. it makes no sense for us to stay in a small resort room when we can have a 2 bedroom condo just minutes away from disney for less than half the price.

It's funny how peoples experiences are different. We payed just as much for the Vistana in 08 as we paid for the WL this April. For anything like the same price, I'll stay onsite.

HB

 

[LeafsFanNL]

Hi,

We're planning a trip to DW is April, and I have already booked a standard view room at the Yacht Club resort.

We have stayed at the Vistana resort in the past, but the last time we stayed there (2007?), it seemed to have gotten a little "run-down", and I had heard from several owners that once it began renting on Expedia, the place went "down-hill". There seemed to be a change in the atmosphere there too, (example, large groups of loud, obnoxious people at the pool). We had not seen that before.

My husband would love to have a condo, vs. staying onsite in one room, but I'm just afraid that Vistana may have gotten worse!

My kids want to stay "in the world", and I don't care either way. Vistana would save us about $400 or so.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has stayed there recently, and if your experience was good.

I am the recognized Disney geek in the neighbourhood, and get asked the off-site vs. on-site question a lot. There are many factors, near the top is your touring style. We are pretty casual tourers. We hit the parks early, leave for long afternoon breaks, and return to a park or other resort for dinner. Having quick and easy access to the resort is important for us, on-site works best for us. If you are the commando from dawn to dusk and beyond type, offsite makes a lot of sense.

We have always preferred not to have a car. Without a car, onsite is IMO clearly better.

HB

 

[dixielander]

Thanks,

We do like to go back to the hotel in the early afternoon for a break, so staying onsite works good, although we will have a car with us, so "scooting" back to Vistana was really not a problem.

I think I'll keep my plans to stay onsite. We are only staying 5 days, and primarily doing the parks. (no other site-seeing this time).

Thanks!

 

[kathy884]

I've stayed at the Vistana four different times. The newly remodeled condo are beautiful (some of the nicest in the area)! Not all sections are remodeled yet though, so you are not guaranteed to get one. The grounds, etc. are always really nice and well maintained. If you're really going for a Disney immersion experience and mostly doing Disney parks, you'd probably prefer onsite. For us, though, we only do a park every other day, so love the pools, hot tubs, great tennis courts, and other activities the Vistana offers. Our favorite park is Sea World too. On a typical week long trip, we'll do three resort days, two Sea World days (second day is free, so we can't pass this up), and one Disney Park day. On those resort days, we might throw in a few hours at Gatorland, a trip to the Titanic museum, or a little shopping.

 

[spiceycat]

you can stay in a condo and onsite.
disney vacation club

you can rent from a DVC member and save you money.

if you want near Epcot - then BWV or BCV

that say sounds like you want further away - then SSR, OKW or AKV would be a good choice.

 

[mtmbyck]

If you can afford it - the DVC rental and staying at a condo onsite is amazing - we stayed at SSR last year in a 2 bedroom for 10 days. Our kids are 10 and 13 and I will not vacation in a hotel room with them. We like our space, and unlike many who argue "you only sleep in your room" we do like a little downtime - whether it be cooling down with your feet up watching the television, catching up on the internet, or having a late afternoon shower and primping to go out that evening - I hate all being crammed in one room!! We are staying at Sheraton Vistana Villages this year (we decided to skip Disney and do SeaWorld/Universal for a change) and will enjoy having the extra space - and a kitchen to make breakfast instead of paying for it every day!

 

[webprinter]

We stayed at Sheraton Vistana Dec 08. We had a very very run down room with no balcony. Instead it was some stairs with a small landing. I will not stay there again. We have stayed off site many times and this was the worst place we have stayed.

 

[thumbalyna]

we stayed at vistana in sept 07 and we were very disappointed with it - we had to have our room switched in the middle of the night because of room was infested with fleas - the next room we were placed in was a recently remolded room and it was nice but after a long day of travel and then the fleas it put a bad taste in my mouth and i now avoid this place like the plague - i am an RCI and II member so we used an exchange

 

[IndyClown]

We are staying at the SV via RCI exchange (praying for no fleas ).

I understand they offer free transportation to the parks (albeit limited) but do you get to park for free at the parks as well like those staying on property? We will most likely have a car.

Thanks!

 

[laura428]

We stayed six nights just last September and loved it. We had a newly updated room and couldn't have been happier. Actually, the one thing we didn't like was the daily phone calls luring us into various presentations. Think we'll firmly ask for them to not call after the first day next time.

Incidentally, we just returned from a seven night trip at the Coronado Springs Resort on Saturday, and were really disappointed. We'll be returning to the Vistana next trip for sure.

 

[danjoan14]

If you can afford it - the DVC rental and staying at a condo onsite is amazing - we stayed at SSR last year in a 2 bedroom for 10 days. Our kids are 10 and 13 and I will not vacation in a hotel room with them. We like our space, and unlike many who argue "you only sleep in your room" we do like a little downtime - whether it be cooling down with your feet up watching the television, catching up on the internet, or having a late afternoon shower and primping to go out that evening - I hate all being crammed in one room!! We are staying at Sheraton Vistana Villages this year (we decided to skip Disney and do SeaWorld/Universal for a change) and will enjoy having the extra space - and a kitchen to make breakfast instead of paying for it every day!

We own at the Vistana Villages! We love it! Our next trip in mid August will include a stay at the Silver Lake Resort, followed by some nice R & R at the Villages the following week.

 

[Meteora]

We are staying at the SV via RCI exchange (praying for no fleas ).

I understand they offer free transportation to the parks (albeit limited) but do you get to park for free at the parks as well like those staying on property? We will most likely have a car.

Thanks!

We have stayed at Vistana around eight times and have never had a problem with any kind of fleas or bugs. But the fact is, you can have problems with bed bugs at ANY resort, including Disney resorts--there have been many reports of bed bug problems in even deluxe Disney hotels. It's more a matter of who is in the room prior to you than the cleanliness of the hotel, as once bugs live there it requires a lot more than an extremely thorough cleaning to remove them--and, of course, if the hotel doesn't realize they're there, they won't exterminate the room.

Some of the units are definitely better than others. It helps to know a bit about the resort before placing a room request. In our opinion, Cascades and Lakes are the best. It always makes me sad to see people condemning the resort based on a bad room--if you know what to ask for, you can have an absolutely amazing stay, with much more room and the ability to both cook your own food and to store and reheat leftovers.

You WILL need to pay for parking at the parks. The shuttle is complimentary to non-owners.

 

[Brian Noble]

The shuttle is complimentary to non-owners.

My understanding is that the shuttle is complementary for cash guests. Exchange guests are treated as if they were owners, and would have to pay. I could be wrong about that, though---I *always* have a car offsite, and only once went without onsite.

 

[dixielander]

Well, my husband booked a two bedroom unit at Vistana last night for our vacation in April. I will cancel our reservation at the Yacht Club today.

I cannot afford a "villa" onsite, and I can't pass up all the amenities that Vistana has to offer. I really enjoy having a variety of pools to pick from, we usually hop around to different pools each day we're there. I love the screened in balconies, love my morning coffee in Florida! And of course the full kitchen, really works well for us.

The money we saved by staying in Vistana will pay for one 5 day Disney pass, AND we're even staying one additional day!

The only thing I have to worry about with Vistana is getting a condo that is not updated, or in a unit that backs up the Interstate. (I've had that before at Vistana, not great!) But I will request a nice quiet, updated unit. We'll see! Thanks for the replies!

 

[I'd rather be diving]

How is the mini golf course? Does it cost?

 

[Meteora]

I believe mini gold is free (but could be wrong), but it's not very exciting. There's a mini-golf place right across the street, though, which looks to be a lot of fun, and Vistana usually has coupons to go play there.

My understanding is that the shuttle is complementary for cash guests.

That might be the case...I'm not sure. My sister and I have used our parents' week twice, and both times were given free shuttle passes because we were not technically the owners and were therefore guests.