Review The Sheraton Vistana Resort Thread (key links on p.1)

[katherine52478]

We need to a bit cautious about advice here as it sounds like your stay has been booked as a hotel type stay rather than a timeshare stay. There are some small but significant differences. Note the Vistana is a timeshare property where the vast majority of villa weeks are owned by private individuals. Vistana (owned by Marriott) is the Management Company. Vistana/Marriott also retains some percentage of the villas that they make available through their hotel booking system.

The $50 hold mentioned above is possibly specific to the timeshare stays; as a hotel type guest they may charge you a different fee more commensurate with standard Marriott/Sheraton rates. Timeshares are fully paid in advance by the owner before they can be made available for rental or exchange, so there is little risk to Vistana as the management company. For hotel units, the stay is generally not paid until the end of the booking, so there is more risk to Vistana itself and the hold may be higher for that type of stay as a result.

I stayed at the Vistana on I-Drive last week for one night. I booked via the Marriott site. They authorized my credit card for $50 for incidentals. We only stayed one night so I can’t say whether it was per day or per stay.

We didn’t have a car since we were coming off a Disney stay and heading to the airport the next morning. They put us in the newly renovated area which was pretty far from the main building but they drove us to our room in the golf cart and offered to get us anytime if we wanted to head to another area of the resort.

We ordered room service (food and a margarita) and it was fast and delicious!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi everyone! We are less than 48 hours until our next arrival.....cant wait to leave the cool and chilly north behind for a week in the Florida sunshine. Well, hopefully its sunny ...I put in a special request to Mother Nature for pleasant weather, fingers crossed she decides to smile on us .

We just received an email this evening from Kayla, the new pre-arrival coordinator, and apparently we have been selected as their Family of the Week. Not sure exactly what this entails.....honestly, I wasnt even aware they had such a thing .....but I am curious to find out. All these visits later I obviously still have things to learn about the resort.

Tomorrow is going to be a loooooong work day!!

 

[Turksmom]

We just received an email this evening from Kayla, the new pre-arrival coordinator, and apparently we have been selected as their Family of the Week. Not sure exactly what this entails.....honestly, I wasnt even aware they had such a thing

I don't know either, but I'm really excited for you! Hoping you have a wonderful trip and lovely weather!

 

[bankr63]

Hi everyone! We are less than 48 hours until our next arrival.....cant wait to leave the cool and chilly north behind for a week in the Florida sunshine. Well, hopefully its sunny ...I put in a special request to Mother Nature for pleasant weather, fingers crossed she decides to smile on us .

We just received an email this evening from Kayla, the new pre-arrival coordinator, and apparently we have been selected as their Family of the Week. Not sure exactly what this entails.....honestly, I wasnt even aware they had such a thing .....but I am curious to find out. All these visits later I obviously still have things to learn about the resort.

Tomorrow is going to be a loooooong work day!!

Have a wonderful trip! Enjoy your special "Welcome Home" and let us know what it is about.

 

[likesdisney]

My trip is coming up very soon and am very excited. I was wondering if anyone knew about when the times were for the shuttle to Disney.

 

[bankr63]

My trip is coming up very soon and am very excited. I was wondering if anyone knew about when the times were for the shuttle to Disney.

There's a link on page one (second post) to an older schedule. If anyone (hint @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina) grabs a new one a posts the hours, I'll update the link.

 

[mckennarose]

Sorry guys and gals....I checked at the Market and they didn't have a schedule and I didn't go back to the main building/welcome center for anything so I didn't check there.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

There's a link on page one (second post) to an older schedule. If anyone (hint @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina) grabs a new one a posts the hours, I'll update the link.

I will see what I can find out when I check in tomorrow!

 

[likesdisney]

Thanks so much. I don't know how I missed seeing the link on page 1 (I looked, must be so excited bout vacation that I missed it)

 

[Turksmom]

Where are the doors for the bathrooms in a 2 bedroom villa? Are they only accessed through the bedrooms, or can they be entered through the common rooms? I'm trying to figure out where everyone is sleeping.

 

[bankr63]

Where are the doors for the bathrooms in a 2 bedroom villa? Are they only accessed through the bedrooms, or can they be entered through the common rooms? I'm trying to figure out where everyone is sleeping.

In most villas there is a master bath directly accessible from the master bedroom and a second full bath accessible from the hallway and sometimes a second entrance from the bedroom. Check the link to the villa floorplans on post #2 of this thread and you can see the floorplans of all the various villa types.

 

[Turksmom]

In most villas there is a master bath directly accessible from the master bedroom and a second full bath accessible from the hallway and sometimes a second entrance from the bedroom. Check the link to the villa floorplans on post #2 of this thread and you can see the floorplans of all the various villa types.

Thank you! I don't know how I missed that link!

 

[mckennarose]

Where are the doors for the bathrooms in a 2 bedroom villa? Are they only accessed through the bedrooms, or can they be entered through the common rooms? I'm trying to figure out where everyone is sleeping.

We've stayed in Lakes 4 times and Fountains 1 time and those units had two doors to the bathrooms, one in the second bedroom and one from the hallway. I'm not sure about other areas.
What we liked about Lakes was that in the second bathroom there's a seperate sink area that can be accessed while the actual toilet and shower area are in a second part of the bathroom with another door for privacy. It was good for us with multiple people getting ready for the day at one time.

 

[likesdisney]

I've never used Uber or Lyft and will likely be trying it this time to get around where the shuttle doesn't go. There's no problems with it getting through security/front gate to pick me up? I wouldn't have thought so, but since I've never used either service I just want to know what to expect before I have to use it.

 

[bankr63]

I've never used Uber or Lyft and will likely be trying it this time to get around where the shuttle doesn't go. There's no problems with it getting through security/front gate to pick me up? I wouldn't have thought so, but since I've never used either service I just want to know what to expect before I have to use it.

My understanding (based on previous posts) is that you will need to meet your Uber/Lyft at the reception center for pick up. Access to the resort is controlled by room key cards, and the drivers do not have these cards. On your return trip, you will have your own room key card and can let the driver in the security gate if you choose.

 

[mckennarose]

I've never used Uber or Lyft and will likely be trying it this time to get around where the shuttle doesn't go. There's no problems with it getting through security/front gate to pick me up? I wouldn't have thought so, but since I've never used either service I just want to know what to expect before I have to use it.

We've used both Uber and Lyft from the Vistana and from my conversations with the Sheraton people I gather they recommend Uber over Lyft. For what reasons, I don't know, but I was told at check in that Uber has permission to pick up directly at villas and you need to be very specific on pick up locations when requesting a ride. Meaning noting which section and building number. We didn't do that and opted to be picked up at the welcome center for both Uber and Lyft the times we used them over our past two trips. Some drivers are not familiar with the Sheraton and we had a few who mentioned to us that it was their first time there.

That said, both Uber and Lyft use GPS location for pick up and will come to get you wherever you are. I'm not sure how they get past the gates.... however the times we've been dropped off on Disney property the driver simply tells the gate they are picking up or dropping off and they are let through. It could be the same at the Vistana. I've also seen people picked up directly outside the guard shack for the Fountains/Lakes section on Meadow Creek Drive.

Either way, it's super easy and convenient. Any questions that I can help you with, let me know! I highly recommend using ride share in Disney.

There is an Uber and Lyft thread on the Dis that I suggest you check out for basics on how it works, tipping, how /what to request, drop off locations, etc.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/everthing-you-wanted-to-know-about-uber-lyft-at-wdw.3443634/

 

[Turksmom]

I called to ask about the shuttle schedule yesterday. The current schedule to the parks is 8:50, 10:05, and 12:30. Unfortunately, I didn't think to write down return times because we don't plan to use return shuttles- I recall that one was around 6:40, one sometime after 9, and another after 10.

Has anyone used Marriott gift cards to pay for the stay or at any of the restaurants on property? I didn't think to ask if they are accepted when I called.

 

[likesdisney]

Thanks everyone for your help & advice. I'm glad I was able to find out on here so I'm not scrambling around at the last minute finding out.

 

[Jan Bee]

Love this thread! We just booked a last minute vacation for Nov 16 for a week. Would love to stay at Vistana but looked at sky auction and eBay and I see nothing for our dates. Any other ideas in where I can book thru? Or even where else to stay, It's just 3 of us (2 adults and a child) so a 1 bedroom would prob be enough but a 2 bedroom would be fab if it's for a good price. TIA.

 

[Turksmom]

Love this thread! We just booked a last minute vacation for Nov 16 for a week. Would love to stay at Vistana but looked at sky auction and eBay and I see nothing for our dates. Any other ideas in where I can book thru? Or even where else to stay, It's just 3 of us (2 adults and a child) so a 1 bedroom would prob be enough but a 2 bedroom would be fab if it's for a good price. TIA.

Have you tried booking directly through Marriott?