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

[sweetnjmom]

We are here. In Cascades 7. Arrived last night... sadly none of my Diamond Lane requests were honored as I asked for a quiet room NOT near a roadway and the road is right behind us and I also asked for it to be within walking distance of a pool and I'm not sure it is.

Though the room is pretty nice. It's spacious and located conveniently to the WDW property. We spent a lovely day in the MK celebrating my husband's birthday.

My only other complaint is the bed is SO hard and uncomfortable. I'm not sure how well I'll sleep this week. Such is life.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We are here. In Cascades 7. Arrived last night... sadly none of my Diamond Lane requests were honored as I asked for a quiet room NOT near a roadway and the road is right behind us and I also asked for it to be within walking distance of a pool and I'm not sure it is.

Though the room is pretty nice. It's spacious and located conveniently to the WDW property. We spent a lovely day in the MK celebrating my husband's birthday.

My only other complaint is the bed is SO hard and uncomfortable. I'm not sure how well I'll sleep this week. Such is life.

I am so sorry they weren't able to get you in the area of the resort that you were hoping for. That stinks!

 

[sweetnjmom]

I am so sorry they weren't able to get you in the area of the resort that you were hoping for. That stinks!

It's OK... the road noise hasn't bothered us (it isn't the interstate). And we really like the room set up, decor and amenities. The bed is the main issue... we'll drive to the pool in about an hour, as this is our quiet morning.

 

[tpsh007]

Just wanted to thank the contributors to this thread. Just got back from Sheraton Vistana Resort (checked out May 3). This place exceeded my expectations.
Everything was awesome. For some context, our previous 4 stays were at Boardwalk Villas, AKL-Kidani, Marriott's Harbour Lake and OKW and now I like this place the best.

We usually book a 1-bedroom for for 2 adults 2 kids. Got the 2BR here and glad we did. My diamond lane request was "In Cascades Section, High Floor". We got 3rd floor in Cascades 9 with a beautiful view of the water. Was able to walk to the Cascades pool, though some other buildings were closer.

The room was great and the balcony view was great. The bed was excellent. We like firm beds, and this was reasonably firm. I guess this is why beds differ from people to people, because looks like the previous poster hated the bed. The pillows were bad though. I called, and they supplied us with some feather pillows (all us of us like thinner, softer pillows). Every time I called for something, it was taken care of right away.

Of course, there are some cash grabs, especially in the children's activities, but this is to be expected. we like to spend more time at the resort than at the parks and there is lots to do at this resort.

 

[bankr63]

A couple of comments on recent posts.

The beds at SVR are the Starwood (Westin/Sheraton) Heavenly Beds. They are at least consistent throughout the Starwood properties. If the bed is a deal breaker, you might want to avoid all Starwood branded properties. Personally, we find the mattresses to our liking, but they are very personal things; I wouldn't characterize them as particularly hard. We have a full foam (non-spring) mattress at home (that cost a pretty penny!) that I would say is a comparable support to the HB and ours is a medium support.

I agree about the pillows though, they are pretty bad. We bring our own if we are driving (we love our own memory foam pillows), but suffer through with the provided pillows at the resort when we fly. They always seem to be overstuffed to me. That is something that I think IHG chain does better - there your pillows are marked for firmness and there is a selection so you can mix and match. But as tpsh07 found, you can always ask for substitutions.

NJMom - don't miss the walking shortcut over to the Cascades pool. From building 7, cut down between 8/9 and take the foot bridge over the pond, then cross behind 17 and cross over the driveway to the pool. The pathways around the ponds are really nicely landscaped and there are lots of birds around to look at. That shortcut would cut the distance from 2 blocks driving, to about 1 block walking. Hope the rest of your stay is uneventful.

The paid activities and shuttles are always difficult at timeshare resorts in general. The reason they charge is that the resort is run by Sheraton, but paid for by the villa owners. And as an owner, I don't want to pay for amenities that I won't use (I don't want to subsidize some else's stay). That is the reason why timeshare stays at SVR have to pay for the shuttles (because almost all owners have/rent a car); but Sheraton does cover the shuttle for the (more expensive) hotel stays. Compared to many resorts in Orlando, SVR has (so far) resisted any resort fees at all and even still offers decent free internet, only charging for those activities that are not to benefit of the majority of owners.

 

[tots05]

Hello, we have stayed at Sheraton Vistana 2 years ago and stayed at Cascades 6. It was quiet and nice (we didn't get to explore the resort as we stayed at the theme parks most days) but this time around we would have a couple of "resort days" to explore sheraton vistana and what it has to offer, we wanted to be facing the pool or a little bit closer to the pool. We are arriving sunday and when looking at the map, am I right to assume that buildings marked green are the ones for sunday arrival? We will be staying on a 2 bedroom sleeps 6/8 max unit. From what the map looks like, the best bets are Lakes (we want to try Lakes at this point) 10, 6 and 7. We would prefer away from highway, top floor with elevator as I have a 4 yr old with us. Any suggestions or ideas will be appreciated.

Also, we stayed at Cascades before as we wanted to have a building with elevator as we have a toddler with us. I understand there is only Cascades and Lakes for this one. If I wanted Fountains, then it would have to be a ground floor unit. My question is, how is the noise from the upper units if this happens? Is it noticeable? The only reason I like top floors is so that we don't hear the running/footsteps from upper units if we are staying on the ground floor units.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hello, we have stayed at Sheraton Vistana 2 years ago and stayed at Cascades 6. It was quiet and nice (we didn't get to explore the resort as we stayed at the theme parks most days) but this time around we would have a couple of "resort days" to explore sheraton vistana and what it has to offer, we wanted to be facing the pool or a little bit closer to the pool. We are arriving sunday and when looking at the map, am I right to assume that buildings marked green are the ones for sunday arrival? We will be staying on a 2 bedroom sleeps 6/8 max unit. From what the map looks like, the best bets are Lakes (we want to try Lakes at this point) 10, 6 and 7. We would prefer away from highway, top floor with elevator as I have a 4 yr old with us. Any suggestions or ideas will be appreciated.

Also, we stayed at Cascades before as we wanted to have a building with elevator as we have a toddler with us. I understand there is only Cascades and Lakes for this one. If I wanted Fountains, then it would have to be a ground floor unit. My question is, how is the noise from the upper units if this happens? Is it noticeable? The only reason I like top floors is so that we don't hear the running/footsteps from upper units if we are staying on the ground floor units.

Just a quick note for anyone with upcoming stays.....don't stake the farm on being placed in a specific building based on check-in day and the colour-coded map. We are here currently, checking in last Friday and out this coming Friday, and we're in Lakes 1 .... which is supposed to be a Saturday check-in building. Not that I'm complaining, as its a superb location for us , but its not even a building we would have hoped for based on the information on the map.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Oh! And for anyone wanting an update on the replacement of the Falls pool slide, its partly done.....but not fully completed yet. Here's a pic to show how far they have come with the re-installation:

 

[tots05]

Just a quick note for anyone with upcoming stays.....don't stake the farm on being placed in a specific building based on check-in day and the colour-coded map. We are here currently, checking in last Friday and out this coming Friday, and we're in Lakes 1 .... which is supposed to be a Saturday check-in building. Not that I'm complaining, as its a superb location for us , but its not even a building we would have hoped for based on the information on the map.

how is Lakes? do you like the units? Any reviews will be truly appreciated. Im hoping for Lakes 10 as in the map, it looks in front of the pool (opposite from where you are)

 

[FrankieDplus3]

Question to those that have booked through Skyauction.

Is your stay considered a "hotel" stay or an "owner's" stay? Is housekeeping included?

FrankieD

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

how is Lakes? do you like the units? Any reviews will be truly appreciated. Im hoping for Lakes 10 as in the map, it looks in front of the pool (opposite from where you are)

Our one bedroom premium unit is lovely. LOTS of space for the two of us. Huge jet tub in the master bedroom, full kitchen with tons of counter space. I have a lot of pics that I will post as soon as we're home and settled back in. I don't think I would have enjoyed the smaller 1 bedroom configuration, though. I can't imagine not having a balcony, especially.

Location-wise, buildings 1 and 10 are fabulous. So close to both the Fountains pool and Lakes pool.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Question to those that have booked through Skyauction.

Is your stay considered a "hotel" stay or an "owner's" stay? Is housekeeping included?

FrankieD

Same as an owners stay. One mid-week tidy.

 

[laurabelle]

Just a quick note for anyone with upcoming stays...
..don't stake the farm on being placed in a specific building based on check-in day and the colour-coded map. We are here currently, checking in last Friday and out this coming Friday, and we're in Lakes 1 .... which is supposed to be a Saturday check-in building. Not that I'm complaining, as its a superb location for us , but its not even a building we would have hoped for based on the information on the map.

Interesting. I just emailed the pre-arrival co-ordinator regarding combining my two reservations (won through skyauction). I added that I would like to stay in the Lakes section, upper floor, away from traffic. I hope I get it, your building sounds ideal. Enjoy the rest of your stay!

 

[bankr63]

Oh! And for anyone wanting an update on the replacement of the Falls pool slide, its partly done.....but not fully completed yet.

Cool, I'm sure many kids will be glad to see it returned. It does look just like the old one, wondering if they just sent it out to be recoated in that new vibrant blue? Maybe that's why it took so long to get it replaced.

ETA - nope. It's new. Just went back to old photos, and the old one was blue too (for some reason I remember it being sand color). But the old one looked narrower and didn't have the ribs on the outside. This one is marginally longer I'd say as it arcs out farther. So an all new slide!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Interesting. I just emailed the pre-arrival co-ordinator regarding combining my two reservations (won through skyauction). I added that I would like to stay in the Lakes section, upper floor, away from traffic. I hope I get it, your building sounds ideal. Enjoy the rest of your stay!

Thank you. We fly home tomorrow night . Consoling myself this evening with the fact that we will be back again in October and December.

 

[laurabelle]

Thank you. We fly home tomorrow night . Consoling myself this evening with the fact that we will be back again in October and December.

Sounds like us this past year. This is my third and final trip on these APs. Probably not going back for at least a year.
The coordinator got back to me within 2 hours and said she got my 2 reservations combined for the same unit. I'm all set!

 

[tots05]

Has anyone stayed on ground floor units? How is the noise from the units above? Im wondering if getting a ground floor unit will be still okay.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Has anyone stayed on ground floor units? How is the noise from the units above? Im wondering if getting a ground floor unit will be still okay.

My boss is there right now in a ground floor unit (Fountains village). He says he can hear the people above him playing the guitar. He's okay with it though, because apparently he/she is quite good .

They paid a visit to us in our Lakes villa yesterday (we passed along all of our leftover groceries as they don't check out until Sunday) and they much preferred our upper unit for quietness and the vaulted ceiling with the skylight. They remarked multiple times on how bright and quiet it was.

 

[tots05]

My boss is there right now in a ground floor unit (Fountains village). He says he can hear the people above him playing the guitar. He's okay with it though, because apparently he/she is quite good .

They paid a visit to us in our Lakes villa yesterday (we passed along all of our leftover groceries as they don't check out until Sunday) and they much preferred our upper unit for quietness and the vaulted ceiling with the skylight. They remarked multiple times on how bright and quiet it was.

thank you! I really appreciate that... its so hard to make decisions if I can't see or in this case hear what the situation is. My kids are very light sleepers so I'm not sure if the ground floor will be a good choice for us... Last question if you do not mind, are Lakes 6 and 7 also good locations? (away from the highway and close to the pools), Im looking at the map and it looks like it. We would be arriving on a Sunday so the choices for Lakes are 10, 6 and 7. You are so lucky to end up at Lakes 10, it looks like a really good spot. Would it be okay to mention on our diamond lane request that we would prefer Lakes? Thanks so much Gina, our vacation will be in a month and its starting to feel real now instead of just jumbled plans

 

[kokomos]

We stayed in Lakes 7 last year. It was very quiet but it was further away from the pools that I wanted to be. Think we were on 4th floor and we didn't hear any neighbors.