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

[dioxide45]

Hi—I’ve read a good deal of this thread but hoping to get the latest thoughts on which section to request. We will have my mother with us who has limited mobility, and we’re planning on using Uber to get around so looking for the best option close to an Uber pickup point and without stairs. We also have little kids so would be great to be close to a kid-friendly pool, though that’s secondary to ease of access to pickup and having a nice unit (recently renovated would be great too haha). Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

How did you make your reservation?

 

[ajs317]

How did you make your reservation?

Via Costco Travel.

 

[bankr63]

Hi—I’ve read a good deal of this thread but hoping to get the latest thoughts on which section to request. We will have my mother with us who has limited mobility, and we’re planning on using Uber to get around so looking for the best option close to an Uber pickup point and without stairs. We also have little kids so would be great to be close to a kid-friendly pool, though that’s secondary to ease of access to pickup and having a nice unit (recently renovated would be great too haha). Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

You don't say unit size either, but probably a 2BR if mom is along. If it is a 1BR, you will be in Lakes or Cascades, for a 2BR it would be run of resort as it is a hotel type stay. Your best bet is to contact the resort with your requests about 2 weeks prior, they will want your reservation number. The contact information link is on page one.
Most important is mobility, so let them know that. That can still put you in any section though. All sections have ground floor units that are easily accessible. Lakes and Cascades have elevators, so all units are accessible. For Uber pick up, it would be easier to be near one of the gates or the main reception center - for drop off you can let them in with your card. Unfortunately, those buildings are generally away from the pools, so you'll probably need to think about which of the last two are more important to you. A nice compromise would probably be the northwest part of Cascades - easy access to the reception center and close(ish) to the Cascades Pool which has a fun shallow area for really small kids and a waterfall for bigger kids.
Note that some have reported here that security will allow identified Uber/Lift drivers in to pick you up at your villa, but I don't have firsthand experience.

 

[ajs317]

Thanks, very helpful! Yes, it would be a 2BR.

 

[erinch]

In April and November, we had no problems with Uber getting in. The most precise way is to drop a pin, so they have the exact location.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ube...iCL0&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

Lakes and Cascades have elevators so you would not be stuck on the ground floor.

 

[Hemlock]

I have a 3 week stay booked at Vistana for Spring 2025 - renting points from 2 different owners. I am hoping to be able to stay in the same unit for the entire stay. When should I contact Vistana to make this request? Also is there a phone number and/or email address to make this type of request? Thanks

 

[bankr63]

I have a 3 week stay booked at Vistana for Spring 2025 - renting points from 2 different owners. I am hoping to be able to stay in the same unit for the entire stay. When should I contact Vistana to make this request? Also is there a phone number and/or email address to make this type of request? Thanks

There is a very good chance that you will be able to stay in the same unit. If they are making the reservations on your behalf, you would need both reservation numbers. About 2-weeks prior seems to be the best time to make the request to link the reservations; they often won't have the reservations transferred to the resort until then. Check the links on page 1 for information on the email and phone number. I keep those links updated whenever someone lets me know of a change.

 

[bettertheangel]

Just wanted to report on the internet - we're here now in the Courts area and the wifi has not been a problem. We are able to stream video and browse the internet on separate devices at the same time.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I have a 3 week stay booked at Vistana for Spring 2025 - renting points from 2 different owners. I am hoping to be able to stay in the same unit for the entire stay. When should I contact Vistana to make this request? Also is there a phone number and/or email address to make this type of request? Thanks

We have our one-week ownership stay plus one additional night (booked with airline points) that we wanted to link for our upcoming March vacation. We reached out to the resort's prearrival team via their dedicated email (which bankr63 has linked to on the first page of this thread), and they responded within 48 hours

 

[Dino99]

Any feedback on Falls vs Courts? We were told we had to be in one of them (2br-6). Family of 4 with tweens. Kids will want to be near action and husband will want quiet area (at least in evenings).

 

[bankr63]

Any feedback on Falls vs Courts? We were told we had to be in one of them (2br-6). Family of 4 with tweens. Kids will want to be near action and husband will want quiet area (at least in evenings).

These are the 2 oldest sections in the resort (we are Courts owners) which has a couple of benefits. Don't worry about the 'old' comment - they are kept just as updated as the rest of the resort. As far as a quiet spot in the evening, you've got that in spades. The earlier sections have much lower density of villas - room to breathe and parking right at your door. They are also both 2 unit stacks, later sections get much taller. These are generally the quietest sections because not as many people.

Courts is a bit closer to most of the action than Falls. It was the first section of the resort (named Courts because it started as a Tennis Club on the 70's before going timeshare) so it is very central; the rest built out around it. Courts is a short walk to most of the pools on the South side and the Marketplace.

If you want an upper unit, ask for Falls. In Courts the uppers are MUCH larger (really a 3BR with the sleeping loft) and are a sleeps 8 configuration. If they are sticking you to sleeps 6 you will be in the lower in Courts. Note that these sections have long-singles in the second bedroom. Very comfortable and just as long as a queen, but only sleeps one.

Note that you might be in other sections as well. Most reservations are placed run of resort, and Marriot seems to often post the lowest common denominator so they don't have to worry about overselling the smaller but sleeps more configurations.

 

[Dino99]

How did you make your reservation?

Marriott website

 

[hopkinsmn27]

To anyone who has stayed since December and had a car. Were you charged a $25 per day per car fee? I have never been charged before including during our visit in December but I just noticed that at the bottom of our reservations for May it is listed. Thanks!

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

To anyone who has stayed since December and had a car. Were you charged a $25 per day per car fee? I have never been charged before including during our visit in December but I just noticed that at the bottom of our reservations for May it is listed. Thanks!

This has been discussed at length on the Timeshare User Group forums. Marriott Vacation Club (which owns Vistana/Westin now) has been rolling out these parking fees at all of their properties. Timeshare owners, and people staying on a timeshare exchange are not charge the fee. Everyone else (including those who pay cash through the Marriott website) are charged the fee. If you booked through Marriott.com you’re going to be charged.

 

[hopkinsmn27]

This has been discussed at length on the Timeshare User Group forums. Marriott Vacation Club (which owns Vistana/Westin now) has been rolling out these parking fees at all of their properties. Timeshare owners, and people staying on a timeshare exchange are not charge the fee. Everyone else (including those who pay cash through the Marriott website) are charged the fee. If you booked through Marriott.com you’re going to be charged.

Thank you so much for the information. I booked through my Vistana Owners page so I should be good. I was debating on purchasing a day or 2 extra for our stay next year. If I book it through my owners page am I good or will I pay the fee for those days? Thanks again!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thank you so much for the information. I booked through my Vistana Owners page so I should be good. I was debating on purchasing a day or 2 extra for our stay next year. If I book it through my owners page am I good or will I pay the fee for those days? Thanks again!

You will be charged parking for any days outside of your ownership stay.

We added on an extra day to our March ownership trip, and were charged the parking on the additional night.

What really burned my britches is that they charged us for the extra night parking, but didn't service the room after that single night. If they were entitled to the parking fee for that extra night because it wasnt part of our ownerhsip stay, I felt we were entitled to housekeeping (which isn't part of an ownership stay, but IS part of a "hotel reservation" stay).

 

[skyskyskyskysky]

To anyone who has stayed since December and had a car. Were you charged a $25 per day per car fee? I have never been charged before including during our visit in December but I just noticed that at the bottom of our reservations for May it is listed. Thanks!

O no. We are going in May. But when I booked in July last year it was clearly free parking. That's one of the reason why I chose here over other resorts. Do you guys think Sheraton will honour free parking for my case? 9 nights...that's $225 for parking

 

[dioxide45]

Thank you so much for the information. I booked through my Vistana Owners page so I should be good. I was debating on purchasing a day or 2 extra for our stay next year. If I book it through my owners page am I good or will I pay the fee for those days? Thanks again!

If you are booking the extra days using StarOptions or HomeOptions, then the parking fee doesn't apply.

 

[can'tgetenufofwdw]

O no. We are going in May. But when I booked in July last year it was clearly free parking. That's one of the reason why I chose here over other resorts. Do you guys think Sheraton will honour free parking for my case? 9 nights...that's $225 for parking

We stayed in early March, booked through Expedia for 9 nights and we had to pay for parking. It's a nice resort, great location for access to Disney property. Only complaint we had were the "big" pools never had empty chairs. It says pools open at 8am, no chair holding with towels or items. Three mornings in a row at 8am we walked to the pool with the zero entry splash pad area and EVERY chair had something it with approximately 12-15 people in the pool/pool area. It was ridiculous. We tried the other big pool area that is very close to the one with the slide, same thing. Our only luck at getting a chair on any day was to go to the small rectangle pool in between the two. It's a nice enough pool but we like to people watch and enjoy activities and the small pool was mostly much older people. I can appreciate that it was a nice resort but based on the overall size of the property and our experience, we wouldn't go back we'd look for something else. Also, our room for some reason always felt "damp", we played with the heat and air conditioning and regardless of the setting it always felt damp , very weird.

 

[skyskyskyskysky]

We stayed in early March, booked through Expedia for 9 nights and we had to pay for parking. It's a nice resort, great location for access to Disney property. Only complaint we had were the "big" pools never had empty chairs. It says pools open at 8am, no chair holding with towels or items. Three mornings in a row at 8am we walked to the pool with the zero entry splash pad area and EVERY chair had something it with approximately 12-15 people in the pool/pool area. It was ridiculous. We tried the other big pool area that is very close to the one with the slide, same thing. Our only luck at getting a chair on any day was to go to the small rectangle pool in between the two. It's a nice enough pool but we like to people watch and enjoy activities and the small pool was mostly much older people. I can appreciate that it was a nice resort but based on the overall size of the property and our experience, we wouldn't go back we'd look for something else. Also, our room for some reason always felt "damp", we played with the heat and air conditioning and regardless of the setting it always felt damp , very weird.

When did you do the booking? Was it before Dec? I communicated with Expedia, I got confirmation from them I don't need to pay for parking fee or resort fee for my upcoming trip! I hope you can get a reimbursement for the parking you paid if you happen to book your trip early!

Thanks for your headsup regarding on the pool chairs! Which section did you stay in? If you don't mind can you share which room it is so that I can avoid that weird room?