The 2009 Vero Beach Adoration and INFO thread

[Anal Annie]

I can't believe I actually took a vacation from the DIS too!! We were at BCV for 7 nights then spent Sun-Wed at VB. It was a great way to unwind from our endless days & nights at the World!! I'd say 3 nights was just about the perfect amount of time for us - maybe 4. DH & DS are not ready to give up any days of park time tho!!

We had an OVIR on the 4th floor, overlooking the croquet lawn or whatever that's called. Perfect spot. HOOOGE room - I was S-O-O-O impressed with the size of this villa!! WOW!! Everything was in perfect order!! It was a little short on drawer space (they really have room to put a regular size dresser in there). It did not have a regular alarm clock which I missed. It had one of those IHome things and the time was not right on it & we couldn't figure out how to reset it. We were not in a hurry at all while we were there so I didn't attempt to use the alarm...well, we ALMOST did in order to try to catch the shuttle launch but then it got cancelled. It also didn't illuminate at night which I missed. The one thing we HATED were the beds... WAY too firm for us. Neither of us slept much. I ended up sleeping propped up on pillows the last night. That helped a little. But the beds killed my back.

We got there the day after Hurricane Bill passed by so there seemed to be a lot of seaweed washing in while we were there which was pretty gross. LOL...one day I came out of the water with little itty bitty bits of shells & seawead hanging off of me! It was gross. I was covered! The waves were breaking right on the shore so you had to be a little careful on the beach. On Monday there were a TON of seashells but NONE on Tuesday. Kinda weird.

We did not try Shutters at all. I originally had a ressie for the Pirate dinner thing on Monday but decided to cancel it since I'd heard mixed reviews about the Pirate dinner. I looked over the regular dinner menu but it seemed limited so we decided to just eat at some of the other local restaurants.

OK, so we ate at Bella Napoli down in Vero on Sunday evening and it was FANTASTIC! DS ordered the stuffed shells and DH and I both ordered their special of day which was Veal & Shrimp Marsala over pasta. The portions were good sizes so between their awesome homemade Italian dressing on the house salad & hot rolls we had plenty leftover to bring back for lunch on Monday! It was reasonably priced too (mid-teens for the pasta dishes and $21-23ish for the veal dishes).

Monday evening we tried Squid Lips. That was interesting. It was good enough - not RAVE ABOUT good but OK good. (Any place would have a hard time following up on that great meal we had at Bella Napoli tho!) I had the crab & lobster cake, DS had grilled chicken & DH had a saute thing.

Tuesday evening we tried another place down in Vero called Bobby's. It had been recommened by 2 diff. CM's as a place where the locals like to go. I felt like I was stepping back into the late 70's or early 80's when we walked in. It just seemed untouched or something. Very laid back & casual. They had deli style sandwiches, several diff. salads, a french dip (which DH tried) and some BIG Delmonico steaks to choose from. I had a Taco Salad & DS had a ham & cheese hoagie and we shared the Potato Skins. It was good. Quaint sorta. Still can't rave enough tho about Bella Napoli!

OH, finally, we really enjoyed getting in on the chair swap! That was really nice to have those chairs & the umbrella available for the beach. We DID go back & forth between the beach & the pool quite a bit. It was nice to have the pool there for some fresh water...but the breeze was so nice down on the beach when it was hot!! It is a real shame that the DIS has outlawed such swaps in the future. Maria - thanks again for organizing it!!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Hi Annie, I am one who did not care for Squid lips at all. We really found the beds great! I guess just a personal thing. I think Bill probably stirred those waters up. Last August the water was like glass. Glad you had a good time.

I can't believe I actually took a vacation from the DIS too!! We were at BCV for 7 nights then spent Sun-Wed at VB. It was a great way to unwind from our endless days & nights at the World!! I'd say 3 nights was just about the perfect amount of time for us - maybe 4. DH & DS are not ready to give up any days of park time tho!!

We had an OVIR on the 4th floor, overlooking the croquet lawn or whatever that's called. Perfect spot. HOOOGE room - I was S-O-O-O impressed with the size of this villa!! WOW!! Everything was in perfect order!! It was a little short on drawer space (they really have room to put a regular size dresser in there). It did not have a regular alarm clock which I missed. It had one of those IHome things and the time was not right on it & we couldn't figure out how to reset it. We were not in a hurry at all while we were there so I didn't attempt to use the alarm...well, we ALMOST did in order to try to catch the shuttle launch but then it got cancelled. It also didn't illuminate at night which I missed. The one thing we HATED were the beds... WAY too firm for us. Neither of us slept much. I ended up sleeping propped up on pillows the last night. That helped a little. But the beds killed my back.

We got there the day after Hurricane Bill passed by so there seemed to be a lot of seaweed washing in while we were there which was pretty gross. LOL...one day I came out of the water with little itty bitty bits of shells & seawead hanging off of me! It was gross. I was covered! The waves were breaking right on the shore so you had to be a little careful on the beach. On Monday there were a TON of seashells but NONE on Tuesday. Kinda weird.

We did not try Shutters at all. I originally had a ressie for the Pirate dinner thing on Monday but decided to cancel it since I'd heard mixed reviews about the Pirate dinner. I looked over the regular dinner menu but it seemed limited so we decided to just eat at some of the other local restaurants.

OK, so we ate at Bella Napoli down in Vero on Sunday evening and it was FANTASTIC! DS ordered the stuffed shells and DH and I both ordered their special of day which was Veal & Shrimp Marsala over pasta. The portions were good sizes so between their awesome homemade Italian dressing on the house salad & hot rolls we had plenty leftover to bring back for lunch on Monday! It was reasonably priced too (mid-teens for the pasta dishes and $21-23ish for the veal dishes).

Monday evening we tried Squid Lips. That was interesting. It was good enough - not RAVE ABOUT good but OK good. (Any place would have a hard time following up on that great meal we had at Bella Napoli tho!) I had the crab & lobster cake, DS had grilled chicken & DH had a saute thing.

Tuesday evening we tried another place down in Vero called Bobby's. It had been recommened by 2 diff. CM's as a place where the locals like to go. I felt like I was stepping back into the late 70's or early 80's when we walked in. It just seemed untouched or something. Very laid back & casual. They had deli style sandwiches, several diff. salads, a french dip (which DH tried) and some BIG Delmonico steaks to choose from. I had a Taco Salad & DS had a ham & cheese hoagie and we shared the Potato Skins. It was good. Quaint sorta. Still can't rave enough tho about Bella Napoli!

OH, finally, we really enjoyed getting in on the chair swap! That was really nice to have those chairs & the umbrella available for the beach. We DID go back & forth between the beach & the pool quite a bit. It was nice to have the pool there for some fresh water...but the breeze was so nice down on the beach when it was hot!! It is a real shame that the DIS has outlawed such swaps in the future. Maria - thanks again for organizing it!!

 

[photobob]

Hi Annie, I am one who did not care for Squid lips at all. We really found the beds great! I guess just a personal thing. I think Bill probably stirred those waters up. Last August the water was like glass. Glad you had a good time.

The first time I ate at Squid Lips it was ok, I had an oyster po-boy. We ate there this June and I had the special which was all you can eat fried shrimp which was excellent. I guess it must just be in what you order.

 

[DVCconvert]

I understand that The Fresh Market has recently openned at new store in Vero. It's at 526 21st Street. Anyone been there yet? Or anyone here who has shopped in one before care to offer any insights/opinions?
TIA!

 

[rockydek]

We were also in building 14 in a dedicated 2BR. Room 1432 on the 2nd floor. I had asked for a pool view. Our room faced the pool, however there are so many trees that you could not see much. We had a glimpse of the mini golf course and beyond that a bit of blue from the pool. You should probably ask for the third floor to get a better view. Also, its my understanding that the dedicated 2 BRs do not have ocean views. You'd have to have a lockoff for a chance at an ocean view. I could be wrong about this, I just remember it from a prior question.

Thank You for the info....I will request the 3rd floor overlooking the pool.
I can't wait....Our first time.

 

[Windjammer]

Rockydek:

I was in building 14. I agree with Mom2BCCC, in building 14 the pool view for the dedicated two bedroom is better than the other side of the building (with a view towards the south). Our view in 1423 was of the parking lot and a tree.

If you are not set on a dedicated two bedroom you can request a room on the ocean side of the building, which has one bedrooms connected to studios. It is unlikely you will have a good view of the ocean but that side of the building generally has an acceptable view. Also, the one bedroom portion of the two bedroom does have a sleeper chair in the living room.

Steve

 

[Mom2BCCC]

Here is our Pool view from 1432: It was actually nice and very private feeling.

However if you looked to the left this is the view (its a corner room):

A few more photos from around the resort.

The waves were crazy one of the days. I had to hang on to the kids. We got battered around a little.

 

[circhead]

I have never been to Vero. We are heading down next week

Can anyone tell me if the waves are similar to Jones Beach on Long Island or is the surf rougher?

Thanks.

 

[Anal Annie]

I have never been to Vero. We are heading down next week

Can anyone tell me if the waves are similar to Jones Beach on Long Island or is the surf rougher?

Thanks.

Don't know anything about Jones Beach but I can tell you that early last week they were shore breaking...had to be really quick to get out past them. We are used to Ocean City or Bethany, DE beaches which have a more gradual slope. We were there a day or two after Bill went by...one day there were a TON of shells...the next day none but LOTS of seaweed. Don't know what is "normal" there. DH rented a boogie board our first day there & had a hard time finding anything to ride since they were breaking so far in. Seemed to depend on whether or not the tide was coming in or going out.

 

[rockydek]

Thanks for the info

Awesome pictures of the views from room 1432.

I will request 3rd floor or higher, pool view.... in building 14!

 

[circhead]

Don't know anything about Jones Beach but I can tell you that early last week they were shore breaking...had to be really quick to get out past them. We are used to Ocean City or Bethany, DE beaches which have a more gradual slope. We were there a day or two after Bill went by...one day there were a TON of shells...the next day none but LOTS of seaweed. Don't know what is "normal" there. DH rented a boogie board our first day there & had a hard time finding anything to ride since they were breaking so far in. Seemed to depend on whether or not the tide was coming in or going out.

Thanks Annie - I think this answered my question. Jones sounds more like the Ocean City Beaches - you can get some great waves but the slope is gradual.

 

[DznyDreamz]

Hi everyone!

I have some points that I need to use by the end of my UY of February so DH are going to take an adults only trip.

We are thinking of trying VB out for something different and still use up the points (they had been borrowed so can't be banked).

I'm going to read back on this thread and see what I can find out!

 

[backyardponder]

Bumping so folks who are planning Spring trips to VB are aware of this thread.

 

[islandtimect]

We have a 1br the first 3 days of next VB trip and studio the last 2 cause on waitlist for 1br. Just saw the studio photo on DVC's website and there's a regular size door to a balcony? Last time we stayed in ocean front inn rm with large sliding glass door and pretty view. I like having lots of light come into rm. Anyone have studio rm photos??

 

[DisDaydreamer]

I have never been to Vero. We are heading down next week

Can anyone tell me if the waves are similar to Jones Beach on Long Island or is the surf rougher?

Thanks.

I've never been to Jones Beach either, but I have found east coast wave action to be generally similar from Florida to Massachusetts. Vero Beach has a pretty pronounced drop off that startles a lot of people who become concerned and scurry back up to safer sands. Many don't realize if they had taken a few mores steps they would have gotten to higher sands out in the water.

As with anywhere the real determining factor is the weather and wind direction. I've been at VB when there were NO waves for days. And then in the same week exhaust myself trying to get past relentless breakers to where I can catch a ride in.

Have a great time.

 

[kddlm]

So, what are my chances???? Just got waitlisted for the first time.......please send some pixie dust. We will be going over spring break, checking into OKW on 3/30-4/3, then moving over to Vero Beach on 4/3-4/6. BUT.....Mon. night, 4/5 is waitlisted for Garden view Inn room. Being it is the day after Easter, not sure how good my chances are........Anyone?? We experienced VB for the 1st time last year (same type of split stay) and LOVED IT!! I'm a fan!

 

[podsnel]

Hi! I just got off the phone with the concierge at VB, I was booking tee times (at Sandridge- Dunes course one day and Lakes course the other) and asked about Indian River- which alot of you have recommended on here. Just to update you, it is supposed to FINALLY reopen in mid-October. Too late for us, but hopefully in time for some of you.

We are only there for the weekend, so are staying at the resort for the most part since we are looking to relax..... We're eating at Shutters one night and Sonya's the other, as well as going to the character breakfast on Sat morning. Only 10 days to go!!!

 

[vbarry]

So, what are my chances???? Just got waitlisted for the first time.......please send some pixie dust. We will be going over spring break, checking into OKW on 3/30-4/3, then moving over to Vero Beach on 4/3-4/6. BUT.....Mon. night, 4/5 is waitlisted for Garden view Inn room. Being it is the day after Easter, not sure how good my chances are........Anyone?? We experienced VB for the 1st time last year (same type of split stay) and LOVED IT!! I'm a fan!

Good luck~ I am sure you will get it. I am waitlisting the entire week before Easter (I have a backup ressie at HHI) so hoping we both get our dates but I am sure you will get yours way before mine will come through.

 

[zalansky]

I just booked our first stay at Vero which will be in April for 2 nights after we get off a 4 night cruise. Booked an Ocean View Inn room and am very excited. This is a great thread. I've spent a ton of time reading through it today and getting ideas for dining.

Should we request a room on a high floor? I saw something about an open balcony? We'd love that! What floor should I ask for?

 

[circhead]

We just returned on Monday - loved it. Vero has a new fan. This was the most relaxing vacation I've been on - even beat the cruises we've done.

We are already talking about trying to get a beach cottage and bringing some friends in a year ot two. We also talked about adding a few days at Vero after WDW to unwind from the parks. Putting our feet up and listening to the ocean what could be better.

I'm in love.

I would also like to thank everyone on this thread for all the information that was posted it made the planning so easy.