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

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

Very nice, thanks for posting these. Can't wait for our trip in Nov.

 

[CarolynFH]

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Are the secondary beds queens or doubles?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Are the secondary beds queens or doubles?

They are queens.

 

[CarolynFH]

They are queens.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind when looking for an offsite resort and want to invite our kids! Our DD & DSiL refuse to sleep in anything smaller than a queen!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind when looking for an offsite resort and want to invite our kids! Our DD & DSiL refuse to sleep in anything smaller than a queen!

Actually I think I may have misspoken. I believe they ARE doubles....my bad! That's what I get for responding too quickly!

 

[CarolynFH]

Actually I think I may have misspoken. I believe they ARE doubles....my bad! That's what I get for responding too quickly!

Oh well, no problem!

 

[dioxide45]

Are the secondary beds queens or doubles?

Keep in mind that some phases (Courts and Falls) only have twin beds in the second bedroom.

 

[CarolynFH]

Keep in mind that some phases (Courts and Falls) only have twin beds in the second bedroom.

Ooo, thanks! That definitely wouldn’t work for DD and DSiL! I always check the room descriptions in RCI before I book, but it’s good to be forewarned.

 

[crystal2485]

Thank you for this thread! I printed a resort map & am taking notes to try & keep all the info straight. Are the vaulted skylight rooms only in buildings without elevators? And if we need the 2nd bedroom to have bigger than twin beds we need to avoid falls & courts correct? O read that the fountains and lakes area are quieter does that mean typically not as full/less busy because further from main area? Are the lakes and fountains still the only renovated phases? How have the covid precautions been? I know it's just dependent on the individuals there at the time but has it been crowded? are they enforcing precautions? We won't be doing any parks just need a somewhat staycation(we are a couple hours away) to get out of our house but trying to do so as safely as possible with an infant. It's between here and vistana villages but I havent found as much info as you have here on the villages so I'm already leaning towards here more. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[bankr63]

Hi @crystal2485

Skylights are in the newer sections of the resort, so the elevator buildings (Lakes and Cascades) will have them on the top floors. But since these are a few stories higher, there will be proportionately less of them. Falls, Courts and Spas are the sections without skylights. And yes, the first 2 sections built, Courts and Falls, are the 2 with long single beds.

I wouldn't agree that Fountains and Lakes (North Side) are quieter; if anything I think they are generally more full than the older sections (in normal times) because of the types of ownerships sold there. They are quieter in the sense that there are not quite as many amenities on that side of the resort, so there can seem like there is more going on on the South side of the resort. Last year specifically the North side has been quiet because they were concentrating guests on the South side due to COVID. I think that may have changed a bit now as things open up; hopefully @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina will comment on the activity level and precautions as they are there now; probably heading home tomorrow.

AFAIK all of the sections have been keeping up with their maintenance. The resort got a full restoration to all sections at the same time a few years back, and it has been reported that Lakes and Fountains have been recently refreshed from recent stays, but I know our Courts section had a full 'soft surface' (draperies, furniture, carpeting, etc) refresh this past year as well and I suspect all section HOAs have been doing the same.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We are on the plane and headed home from our week as we speak. Another great stay.

To answer the questions about Covid protocols, things like toilet paper, kleenex and paper towel are all brand new and unopened when you check in to your villa, so you're not using any paper goods that were handled by another guest. They are also still not doing any mid week villa servicing so there are no staff in your villa from check in until check out. There are floor markers in the check in line to encourage social distancing, most staff are masked, and there are signs on the entrances of all buildings indicating that unvaxxed owners and guests should wear face masks while inside public areas. There was also social distancing signage and hand sanitizer at the Fountains pool. Beyond that, like 99% of places in Florida, it's largely back to the old normal.

We find the north side to have far less traffic than the south side, as there are always people coming and going to Zimmies, the Marketplace, mini golf, etc. And the south side pools (specifically Cascades and Falls) seem to attract many of the families with smaller kids, as one has the splash fountains and the other has a slide.

Once Labor Day was over, Fountains was SUPER quiet all week! Many times we had the whole pool area to ourselves.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Home 2 days, and missing SVR already. Time to start thinking about another trip!

Here's a few more pics from last week. We were blessed with beautiful weather for the most part.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

 

[erinch]

Gina, thank you! Looking forward to our trip next June! Did you eat at Tacky Tiki? How was it? And has Zimmies gotten any better? It was lackluster last time we were in there.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Gina, thank you! Looking forward to our trip next June! Did you eat at Tacky Tiki? How was it? And has Zimmies gotten any better? It was lackluster last time we were in there.

We didn't make it to the Tiki Bar this time. Their hours were "12 noon and onward", and we were told at check in that they would only remain open as business dictated. Between their flex schedule and our evening commitments (Boo Bash at MK and Howl-O-Scream at SW) the opportunity just didn't present itself.

We have only ever tried Zimmies once (for their breakfast buffet) and came away with the same opinion as you. It was just meh. Never bothered to try it since.....there are so many other good restaurants in the area. But to he fair, I suppose we do need to give them another kick at the cat on a future trip. Perhaps they've upped their game since then.

 

[bankr63]

We generally have a lunch from Zimmie's on most trips on our scheduled poolside day. We sit out at the poolside area so have never eaten inside. In general we have found that the food service is a bit slow, but that can be a sign that they are preparing to order rather than reheating par-cooked or pulling from steam tables. Their takes on pub foods are pretty good IMO, but it is not haute cuisine by any stretch. For us it's a great option for a lazy pool day where speed doesn't matter, but we've never bothered to try it for a full meal experience.

 

[erinch]

Are they still following the color-coded check in days? We are going for 2 weeks in June 2022. We want fountains 1, pond view, preferably buildings 1-18. We’d like to check in Friday, but it looks like those are Sat or Sun if they still follow the color codes?