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

[dioxide45]

First time renting in SVR, wanted to know what kind of kitchen appliances and flatware/dishes are available in the rooms with the kitchens? Should I plan to get my own if I plan on cooking some simple meals?

As long as you have a 2BR or large 1BR, the unit will have a fridge, oven/range and dishwasher. For small appliances it has a coffee maker, toaster and blender. Don't expect the most high quality stuff. Plates, bowls, cups, glasses and wine glasses are also provided. They are very heavy, but they work. Silverware is also in the unit. Where they do lack is in cooking utensils and knives. There are only a few knifes and they are very poor quality. I always bring our own. There is no spatula and the other cooking utensils are poor quality and usually in bad shape. There is also a set of pots and pans and a non stick pan. Again though, expect the non stick pan to look like it has seen better days. Usually very worn out and scratched relentlessly. Asking for a new one usually won't help because they just dig another one up from somewhere that looks just as bad.

Do a YouTube search for Sheraton Vistana Resort and watch some of the many villa tour videos and you can get an idea of what they have in the kitchens.

 

[erinch]

We go on the auto train so I bring a sharp knife, a skillet, salt pepper and other rudimentary spices. And paper towels, paper napkins, dish soap, a sponge and dishwasher pods. Everything else is fine for us. We only cook a couple of meals.

 

[kathy884]

Just over 3 weeks left on our countdown. Can't wait to be back. I am glad you had such a great trip. Did you notice if all the hot tubs were open? What time were the pools staying open till? How about the poolside bars/food were they closing early?

We were there March 18-25 (Lakes/Fountains). Hot tubs were open at both those pools and much appreciated by our group. Poolside bars and food were open late. This was great for our adult group of six (just one car) and some doing shorter days at the parks than others (not everyone was up for rope drop till closing). This gave easy food options for those who came back early with uber to relax and didn't want to cook or go out for food. Poolside food was reasonable for a resort and pretty decent tasting too. I really appreciated it that the resort that this option readily available. Food was available at the deli at the Marketplace too, giving some easy non-cooking non going out options.

 

[bankr63]

I agree with @dioxide45 about the quality of the kitchen stock, although to be fair it hasn't been much different at the many other timeshares we have stayed at. And we bring most of the same stuff as noted by @erinch except for the paper towels (they'll bring more if the roll provided doesn't last - we use these for napkins too). We also pack a BBQ tool (spatula/tong combo) because we barbeque a LOT of our evenings there. The gas grills are quite nice. We also bring a cutting board - there is one in the unit but it is glass, and I HATE cutting on glass (fingernails on the chalkboard).
For @hopkinsmn27 I would add that the Cascades pool might be closed while you are there. It is scheduled for resurfacing for 4 weeks in April/May. We actually liked that Zimmie's had switched to bar service only. Service moves much quicker now. We grabbed lunch a couple of days and brought it back to our loungers. Everything is packed in biodegradable packaging and the food was very good. I would note that Outpost (between Courts and Falls Pool) was not open, but we have NEVER seen this open during March on any of our trips.

 

[hopkinsmn27]

We were there March 18-25 (Lakes/Fountains). Hot tubs were open at both those pools and much appreciated by our group. Poolside bars and food were open late. This was great for our adult group of six (just one car) and some doing shorter days at the parks than others (not everyone was up for rope drop till closing). This gave easy food options for those who came back early with uber to relax and didn't want to cook or go out for food. Poolside food was reasonable for a resort and pretty decent tasting too. I really appreciated it that the resort that this option readily available. Food was available at the deli at the Marketplace too, giving some easy non-cooking non going out options.

Do you know how late the pools were open till? Last year we were bummed that they were closing at 9/10pm. I know it used to be that some of the smaller pools closed earlier but the Super ,Cascades and Fountains Pools stayed open till 1am. Hoping it is later this year as I enjoy going to the pool when back from parks, dinner, etc.

 

[hopkinsmn27]

I agree with @dioxide45 about the quality of the kitchen stock, although to be fair it hasn't been much different at the many other timeshares we have stayed at. And we bring most of the same stuff as noted by @erinch except for the paper towels (they'll bring more if the roll provided doesn't last - we use these for napkins too). We also pack a BBQ tool (spatula/tong combo) because we barbeque a LOT of our evenings there. The gas grills are quite nice. We also bring a cutting board - there is one in the unit but it is glass, and I HATE cutting on glass (fingernails on the chalkboard).
For @hopkinsmn27 I would add that the Cascades pool might be closed while you are there. It is scheduled for resurfacing for 4 weeks in April/May. We actually liked that Zimmie's had switched to bar service only. Service moves much quicker now. We grabbed lunch a couple of days and brought it back to our loungers. Everything is packed in biodegradable packaging and the food was very good. I would note that Outpost (between Courts and Falls Pool) was not open, but we have NEVER seen this open during March on any of our trips.

Again? Do they resurface every year? When we were there last year (this week exactly last year) they closed that pool our last weekend for resurfacing. Thanks for the heads up I requested the Lakes section anyways but now I will push a little harder.

 

[dioxide45]

I agree with @dioxide45 about the quality of the kitchen stock, although to be fair it hasn't been much different at the many other timeshares we have stayed at. And we bring most of the same stuff as noted by @erinch except for the paper towels (they'll bring more if the roll provided doesn't last - we use these for napkins too). We also pack a BBQ tool (spatula/tong combo) because we barbeque a LOT of our evenings there. The gas grills are quite nice. We also bring a cutting board - there is one in the unit but it is glass, and I HATE cutting on glass (fingernails on the chalkboard).
For @hopkinsmn27 I would add that the Cascades pool might be closed while you are there. It is scheduled for resurfacing for 4 weeks in April/May. We actually liked that Zimmie's had switched to bar service only. Service moves much quicker now. We grabbed lunch a couple of days and brought it back to our loungers. Everything is packed in biodegradable packaging and the food was very good. I would note that Outpost (between Courts and Falls Pool) was not open, but we have NEVER seen this open during March on any of our trips.

I forgot about the glass cutting board. That thing is awful. I should also mention reusable containers. There is nothing at all provided in the form of rubbermaid or other type containers to store leftovers or anything else in.

 

[dioxide45]

Again? Do they resurface every year? When we were there last year (this week exactly last year) they closed that pool our last weekend for resurfacing. Thanks for the heads up I requested the Lakes section anyways but now I will push a little harder.

I was wondering the same thing. They had the Cascades pool closed last year for resurfacing and Fountains not long after. What could they be doing at Cascades again this year? I tried finding an announcement on the Vistana website about it, but didn't find anything after a quick search.

 

[SwanVT2]

Are there any slides at the hotel pool?

 

[dioxide45]

Are there any slides at the hotel pool?

Not sure what you mean by the hotel pool. The resort is a timeshare and not necessarily considered a "hotel". There is no hotel colocated either. That said, there are seven pools and the Falls Pool does have a small waterslide. There are no other water slides at any of the other pools.

 

[erinch]

The website says the pools currently close at 10? Is that the current experience? I also remember when 2 of the pools were open till 1. But we were there September 2020, pool closed at 7 and no hot tubs. We won’t complain.

 

[bankr63]

The website says the pools currently close at 10? Is that the current experience? I also remember when 2 of the pools were open till 1. But we were there September 2020, pool closed at 7 and no hot tubs. We won’t complain.

I agree, the status page is here: https://hub.vacationclub.com/properties/sheraton-vistana-resort/ and indicates it is still 10:00 for pools. Sorry, old fogies here; we were generally winding down in our villa by 10 and didn't notice if the pools were open later.

And I should have read closer (or perhaps Vistana should update their website). I missed 2021 in the header of the maintenance bulletin here, but this also the current conditions page:
https://www.vistana.com/destinations/sheraton-vistana-resort/terms-conditions.

So if Marriott is as bad about updating the first page as they are about the second, then really, IDK. I also noted that my latest Owners Association Quarterly Newsletter on the site is dated from 2020.

Marriott really doesn't have the same attention to detail that I was used to from Sheraton.

ETA: and even more indicative. I thought I would mention something, so I hit the feedback button at the bottom of the page. "This content is blocked. Contact the site owner to fix the issue." How? Marriott just don't care!

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Just got back from a wonderful week at the Sheraton Vistana Resort with my 85 year old dad and other family members. Thanks so much for Joshua Marsh's number, Gina, (so helpful to have it posted here). He was so kind and helpful and put some special requests on our reservation for my dad, and I was absolutely thrilled with the unit they gave us. We had a first floor Lakes Unit with a beautiful Lake/Fountain patio view (so great for sitting out) and a side view of the Lake's pool. It was a super short walk from car parking to unit for my dad who has limited mobility and walks with a cane, and a super close walk to both the Lakes pool and the Fountains pool. I don't think we could have gotten a better location than what we got for my dad. It was so perfect for someone who likes a nice view, needs to be able to do an easy short walk from the car, and needs to be able to do an easy walk to the pool to visit with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

My dad who usually thinks he doesn't want to travel anymore, said he'd be thrilled to do another trip to Orlando.

Something else really nice is that the Vistana with an advanced call was willing to put my son on the reservation, so that he could check in before us and have the unit and resort available. This was wonderful given that his flight came in six hours before ours.

The resort had great customer service and amenities.

nevermind, got the answer.

 

[SwanVT2]

Not sure what you mean by the hotel pool. The resort is a timeshare and not necessarily considered a "hotel". There is no hotel colocated either. That said, there are seven pools and the Falls Pool does have a small waterslide. There are no other water slides at any of the other pools.

Yes, I meant timeshare. Sorry. Thank you for the information.

 

[dioxide45]

I just received this notice from Sheraton Vistana Resort related to our upcoming stay;

Please be aware that the Resort is currently experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi outages. At this time the Team is working diligently to try and rectify the
outage but we currently have no ETA as to when it will be fully operational. There may be a significant chance that Wi-Fi will not be available to you
during your stay and we ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate our way to a solution. We kindly suggest that if Wi-Fi is paramount to
your stay, it may be best to find alternative accommodation until our service is restored.

Let's just say, I am not very pleased.

 

[erinch]

Wow on the WiFi. We are there June 4-18. Hope it is fixed by then.

 

[bankr63]

I just received this notice from Sheraton Vistana Resort related to our upcoming stay;

Please be aware that the Resort is currently experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi outages. At this time the Team is working diligently to try and rectify the
outage but we currently have no ETA as to when it will be fully operational. There may be a significant chance that Wi-Fi will not be available to you
during your stay and we ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate our way to a solution. We kindly suggest that if Wi-Fi is paramount to
your stay, it may be best to find alternative accommodation until our service is restored.

Let's just say, I am not very pleased.

That was going on when we were there in March. Intermittent meant we lost service for about an hour one morning. I did reset the router in living room a couple of times too when connections seemed to get unstable (unplug, count to 10, replug). It wasn't that inconvenient at the time, unless it has gotten worse since then. I have been in hotels with much worse wifi service. FWIW, I did find that the service (when working) much improved for speed since the last visit. The routers in the units appear to be fairly new, and the old broadcast wifi antennas on the outsides of the building have been removed.

 

[dioxide45]

I just received this notice from Sheraton Vistana Resort related to our upcoming stay;

Please be aware that the Resort is currently experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi outages. At this time the Team is working diligently to try and rectify the
outage but we currently have no ETA as to when it will be fully operational. There may be a significant chance that Wi-Fi will not be available to you
during your stay and we ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate our way to a solution. We kindly suggest that if Wi-Fi is paramount to
your stay, it may be best to find alternative accommodation until our service is restored.

Let's just say, I am not very pleased.

We ended up asking in one of the many Facebook Groups about recent guest experiences with the WiFi and most of the comments were that it was very bad. very limited connectivity. Sometimes only for a few minutes if at all for hours and days. We had two weeks booked and reliable Wifi is vital to us. We decided to cancel and will be going to Grande Vista and Harbour Lake instead.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

That was going on when we were there in March. Intermittent meant we lost service for about an hour one morning. I did reset the router in living room a couple of times too when connections seemed to get unstable (unplug, count to 10, replug). It wasn't that inconvenient at the time, unless it has gotten worse since then. I have been in hotels with much worse wifi service. FWIW, I did find that the service (when working) much improved for speed since the last visit. The routers in the units appear to be fairly new, and the old broadcast wifi antennas on the outsides of the building have been removed.

What phase were you in?

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

We ended up asking in one of the many Facebook Groups about recent guest experiences with the WiFi and most of the comments were that it was very bad. very limited connectivity. Sometimes only for a few minutes if at all for hours and days. We had two weeks booked and reliable Wifi is vital to us. We decided to cancel and will be going to Grande Vista and Harbour Lake instead.

I was there April 20-25th, can confirm that it was terrible. It wasn’t just the wifi, the cellular data service for both verizon & AT&T would crash at the same time the resort wifi would go down so that you had no connectivity whatsoever. I had to drive offsite just to get a cell phone signal in order to cancel dining reservations, make genie+ selections, etc. I made a thread to warn others about it here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...-internet-cell-service.3881173/#post-63987683

It’s such a shame too, because other than the internet issues, the resort was spectacular, the accommodations were spectacular, and we had a great trip. However not having internet is just impossible with a Disney trip.