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

[pigletto]

Well I must say ...this resort is absolutely beautiful. The check in was quick and easy and my requests were met except I am next to the road but the noise is not bad at all. We received a top floor in springs for two weeks; simply amazing. Lots of room and everything we need is here..even a blender for our smoothies. There is a pool. hot tub, and sauna right in our back yard. We only used it twice because of the weather..hopefully the weather will get warmer in the next few days: I have absolutely no complaints about this place..they called me when my package came in that I was expecting and not once did anyone ever even mention timeshare to me. This is our new vacation spot when we come to Florida.

We are definitely coming back as well. We would love to be here when we could spend hours and hours trying out the pools. As it stands, my husband and son did go to the Cascades pool for about an hour tonight. I sat poolside in my jeans, and sweater and coat with my hot coffee.
My daughter tried to talk me into going in the hot tub tonight as well. No thank you.. because at some point I would have to get out

We've had a nice week, but the weather has been a tad disappointing. I'm looking forward to October already. At least we know we'll get some pool time in

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Gina - FYI - Spas does not float at all. It is a fixed week. Even if it says float, most likely it is part of the Starwood Vacation Network (SVN), which does NOT transfer on resale sale at the Sheraton Vistana Resort.

If you are looking for float, Lakes, Cascades and Fountains are the true float true week if you purchase resale.

Have you thought about joining Interval International or RCI to access the getaways? Orlando (Sheraton Vistana) shows up quite a bit for less than your maintenance fees on Interval International.

For example if you do not go during prime summer, holiday weeks or spring break, I have seen two bedrooms at the Sheraton Vistana for as low as $477 per week.

You could be right.....I haven't asked for verification on the unit because (much as I would like to buy) I think we'll take a pass. We already have two floating Fountains weeks. That will do us for now .

We had an II membership but let it expire in October. We just didn't use it. Maybe we will renew it sometime in the future. Thanks for the tip, though .

 

[pigletto]

Well we are home. I can't believe we only left yesterday morning. I miss it already.
I would highly recommend the Vistana to anyone, and will absolutely be returning in the future. We took things slow this trip and even happily skipped a park day and everyone was much happier about not being on the go every minute of the day. I will schedule our next trip for a time we can be sure to use the pools.. it was just too cold this time. We did make it over to the hot tub on our last afternoon though .

Our flight home last night was forced to land in Baltimore instead of Buffalo because of a problem with the de-icing equipment. They gave us another plane pretty quickly but with having to divert, then get everyone and their luggage off and then go through boarding all over again on a new plane we got home three hours later than expected.
It wasn't a big deal and was handled as well as could be expected. Imagine my surprise when Southwest issued each a $100 credit for our troubles this afternoon!!! If I catch a good sale, that's most of one leg of a flight (usually get them for about $120). So I am one step closer to our next trip to Vistana!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Well we are home. I can't believe we only left yesterday morning. I miss it already.
I would highly recommend the Vistana to anyone, and will absolutely be returning in the future. We took things slow this trip and even happily skipped a park day and everyone was much happier about not being on the go every minute of the day. I will schedule our next trip for a time we can be sure to use the pools.. it was just too cold this time. We did make it over to the hot tub on our last afternoon though .

Our flight home last night was forced to land in Baltimore instead of Buffalo because of a problem with the de-icing equipment. They gave us another plane pretty quickly but with having to divert, then get everyone and their luggage off and then go through boarding all over again on a new plane we got home three hours later than expected.
It wasn't a big deal and was handled as well as could be expected. Imagine my surprise when Southwest issued each a $100 credit for our troubles this afternoon!!! If I catch a good sale, that's most of one leg of a flight (usually get them for about $120). So I am one step closer to our next trip to Vistana!

Welcome home! So glad to hear you enjoyed your first stay at the Vistana!

Sorry to hear about the issues with your flight home, though...that's rather unnerving (especially when flying brings you a little bit of stress to begin with). That's a sweet credit for your next flight, though . October will be here before you know it. Time to start planning your next trip .

 

[pigletto]

Welcome home! So glad to hear you enjoyed your first stay at the Vistana!

Sorry to hear about the issues with your flight home, though...that's rather unnerving (especially when flying brings you a little bit of stress to begin with). That's a sweet credit for your next flight, though . October will be here before you know it. Time to start planning your next trip .

Thank you Gina! It's already time to start planning the next trip apparently. Dh and I have been texting back and forth about dates etc tonight. And that's saying something. Normally after a Disney trip he wouldn't even entertain the idea of the next one for a few months. We would just be burnt out on Disney. This time he enjoyed the space and the new restaurants and the freedom so much. He's already mentioning beach days and waterparks (didn't get to go to Aquatica).
He was really really pleased with Vistana. We'll be going in October for sure

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

I am confused about the cancellation policy. I am looking to book the end of March. It says if you cancel that 100% of the cost is owed. We are 3 months out! I don't understand, i choose the preferred rate, not the prepaid rate.

 

[bankr63]

I am confused about the cancellation policy. I am looking to book the end of March. It says if you cancel that 100% of the cost is owed. We are 3 months out! I don't understand, i choose the preferred rate, not the prepaid rate.

A lot depends on where you are booking. Is this directly on the Starwood Hotels site, or through a different TA or aggregator who may have their own policies?

Starwood often has two rates, a discounted, pay-up front, non-refundable rate and a regular rate that is fully refundable if cancelled by the day of arrival (or a couple of days in busy periods). Nothing wrong with the NR rate if you have trip cancellation insurance too, but better to have the cancellable rate if you don't have insurance.

Here is the Starwood cancellation policy for a booking for the 21st of March using DIS Sponsor Dreams Unlimited's discount code. Maximum loss is one night stay if not cancelled 3 days prior.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel between 12/21/2014 and 6:00 PM hotel time on 03/18/2015, there will be no forfeiture amount. If you cancel after 6:00 PM hotel time on 03/18/2015, the forfeiture amount will be a 1 night stay. There may be additional applicable charges and taxes.

If you book through a hotel discount site online, their policy will apply, not Starwood's, so read it carefully.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

A lot depends on where you are booking. Is this directly on the Starwood Hotels site, or through a different TA or aggregator who may have their own policies?

Starwood often has two rates, a discounted, pay-up front, non-refundable rate and a regular rate that is fully refundable if cancelled by the day of arrival (or a couple of days in busy periods). Nothing wrong with the NR rate if you have trip cancellation insurance too, but better to have the cancellable rate if you don't have insurance.

Here is the Starwood cancellation policy for a booking for the 21st of March using DIS Sponsor Dreams Unlimited's discount code. Maximum loss is one night stay if not cancelled 3 days prior.



If you book through a hotel discount site online, their policy will apply, not Starwood's, so read it carefully.

Thanks. I was booking through Starwood, i am an SPG member and i am familiar with their different rates and policies which is why this is so confusing. There was no rate with a normal cancellation policy. I was wondering if this was the case because it is a timeshare resort? Has anyone ever booked through SPG and had a reasonable cancellation policy at this resort?

I ended up booking on points, 5 nights week before Easter. I am wondering if the resort "feels crowded" on busy weeks?

 

[bankr63]

Thanks. I was booking through Starwood, i am an SPG member and i am familiar with their different rates and policies which is why this is so confusing. There was no rate with a normal cancellation policy. I was wondering if this was the case because it is a timeshare resort? Has anyone ever booked through SPG and had a reasonable cancellation policy at this resort?

I ended up booking on points, 5 nights week before Easter. I am wondering if the resort "feels crowded" on busy weeks?

We often book our extra hotel nights that we tack onto our week directly through Starwood, and have always had short cancellation. So nothing to do with being a resort. We are also SPG, but I have never actually booked using points; if you used points that could be changing the cancellation policy, but you would be out points not dollars.

The cancellation in my pp was direct from Starwood for a late March week.

We travel March break always when the resort is fairly full. The resort itself does not feel busy, except that loungers at the pool can be hard to get mid-day. Gina has been there in the peak summer season, and the pool actually looks less busy in her pictures than what we see in March. It is a very large space so there are lots of quiet spots if you wander around a bit.

 

[jlp879]

Admittedly, I didn't read through the whole 32 pages, but I am looking for some photos of the bi-level Courts townhouses. Starwood has the floor plan on their site, but does anyone have interior photos?

Thanks,
Janice

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

We often book our extra hotel nights that we tack onto our week directly through Starwood, and have always had short cancellation. So nothing to do with being a resort. We are also SPG, but I have never actually booked using points; if you used points that could be changing the cancellation policy, but you would be out points not dollars.

The cancellation in my pp was direct from Starwood for a late March week.

We travel March break always when the resort is fairly full. The resort itself does not feel busy, except that loungers at the pool can be hard to get mid-day. Gina has been there in the peak summer season, and the pool actually looks less busy in her pictures than what we see in March. It is a very large space so there are lots of quiet spots if you wander around a bit.

Nope the weird cancellation policy ( as in pay now and get no refund if you cancel) was for paying (not points). The cancellation policy is great when using points....no penalty if you cancel a few days prior and if you don't cancel in time they charge you about 180 and you keep your points.

I am still confused about the non existent cancellation option when paying....maybe the website was just being wacky.

 

[bankr63]

Admittedly, I didn't read through the whole 32 pages, but I am looking for some photos of the bi-level Courts townhouses. Starwood has the floor plan on their site, but does anyone have interior photos?

Thanks,
Janice

Well yes, but none that I am willing to share. That model villa is our home unit, but I only have photos from pre-renovation and I would prefer to keep the information on this thread fresh. We are actually staying in our own unit this March for the first time since the renovation was completed on it 3 years ago. I will be sure to be getting some good shots to post when we return (if you can wait that long); we are really excited to finally be seeing our own unit. We've stayed in other sections of the resort on our last 2 visits, so it will be nice to finally see the transformation.

Sheraton did post some promotional photos around the time that they were starting the section, but I've spend a bit of time surfing and googling with no success in locating them.

 

[jlp879]

Thanks, bankr63, for the info. I'll look forward to seeing your updated photos in March 2015.

So I'm curious how you already know that you are staying in the Courts section?

On your other visits did you request to stay in other sections of the resort or just end up there?

We own Marriott timeshares and have no specific section that we're tied to, just use times. Although it looks like one can't go wrong in any of the sections at Vistana, I wouldn't want a two bedroom unit that only had twin beds in it. That's why the Courts townhouses are appealing to me.

 

[micheypl]

We just returned home from a wonderful two weeks at the Vistanas. We stayed in the springs section on the top floor.. The second bedroom had double beds.. It was a beautiful unit close to three pools... One of the pools was directly in our backyard. There was also a Hot Tub and Sauna

 

[bankr63]

Thanks, bankr63, for the info. I'll look forward to seeing your updated photos in March 2015.

So I'm curious how you already know that you are staying in the Courts section?

On your other visits did you request to stay in other sections of the resort or just end up there?

We own Marriott timeshares and have no specific section that we're tied to, just use times. Although it looks like one can't go wrong in any of the sections at Vistana, I wouldn't want a two bedroom unit that only had twin beds in it. That's why the Courts townhouses are appealing to me.

Courts is actually the oldest section in Vistana resort, and it was built in the earlier days of timeshare. The units in Courts and Falls (and possibly Spas) were sold as deeded weeks; you own a specific week in a specific unit. All other sections were sold as float weeks as that greatly increases the developer's profitability.

With a deeded week if we use our week, we know not only the section but the exact unit we will be in. We bought our week 11 specifically because it mostly lines up with our March break (DW is a teacher), but for the past couple of visits they drifted a week so we had to trade back in. Also, 3 years ago we were there on our week, but our unit was being renovated, so we were placed in Springs. Last trip we requested Spas as we were doing a nine day Friday to Sunday stay and I had always wanted to stay in Spas (we were not disappointed!).

Now for the disappointing news. Courts was also built more like a regular townhouse; developers hadn't quite honed the recipe for timeshare accommodation. Actually Courts was originally envisioned to be a tennis retreat; not really a timeshare at all. As a result the unit is huge, but the 2nd bedroom is small and only hosts twin beds. If that is a deal breaker, stay away from Courts and Falls; all other sections have larger 2nd bedrooms. The twin beds have never bothered me, but then I don't have to sleep in them (sorry kids).

Actually the kids never seemed to mind as they had twin beds at home too, although that has changed for both of them in the past couple of years, so we'll see how they feel this trip. I suspect they will be so exhausted from the parks that the bed size won't matter.

 

[jlp879]

Thank you for all the helpful information. As an owner of only floating weeks within a season, I kind of forgot that's how a deeded week would work.

All of the units would probably work for us, but with three kids, I'd rather have them all in the second bedroom rather than having to rely on the living room sofa bed. But with the larger Courts town home, I guess the loft functions almost like a third bedroom.

Looking forward to photos!

 

[FrankieDplus3]

Quick update from the Sheraton Vistana Resort Facebook page about the pool slide at the Falls pool (as per a response to one of my friends' question):

-->
Good Morning,

The pool slide has been removed and is currently undergoing renovation for your enjoyment. We thank you for your patience throughout this process and we hope that you will be back in the near future to enjoy it!

Thank you for contacting Sheraton Vistana Resort.
<--

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Well, it appears we will be really getting our Vistana fix in 2015 . As of today, we officially have three different weeks booked for this year.... the first in May (in a one bedroom villa booked via Skyauction), and the others in October (our Canadian Thanksgiving week) and December (we'll be there for Christmas ). The latter two will be in two bedroom villas via our ownership weeks.

We are curious about how it will "feel" in a the one bedroom villa, and whether we'll get the standard or the premium (hoping for that balcony....fingers crossed!). Its just the two of us for that trip so a two bedroom wasn't necessary, and we got the one bedroom for a great price (with three trips on deck, we have to be a little more budget conscious ).

I can't wait to see the newly redesigned Welcome Center!!

 

[opharbour]

We just got back from 8 nights at the Sheraton Vistana. Before I comment further, I am a huge fan of SVR and we have had GREAT vacations there in the past. My father is an owner of a 2 BR unit in the Fountains section. We stayed in a 1 BR Unit in the Lakes section this trip. We did have a balcony.

I found the 1BR Unit to be too cramped for my family 4 (two teenage daughters). The bathroom was especially tiny. There wasn't enough drawer space for clothes, so the kids spent the whole trip living out of their suitcases which were shoved underneath the pulled out sofa bed when we weren't tripping on them on the floor. Additionally, the wear and tear on the unit was very evident (sliding door in the Master BR closet did not slide well, the toilet paper holder in the bathroom had obviously been run into several times). The unit was also not well maintained IMO - very evident black mildew/mold in the calking between the toilet and bath tub, low water pressure in the toilet meant that the tank took forever to fill between flushes and never really seemed to flush well. I could feel the springs/coils as I slept on the Master Bedroom mattress - it obviously needed to be replaced (versus last June when we stayed in the Cascades we loved, loved, loved the mattress!).

We've had GREAT vacations at SVR in the past, but the experience we had in the 1BR Lakes unit made me realize why SVR gets such mixed reviews on sites like TripAdvisor. If this stay had been my only experience with SVR, I would have reviewed it only as adequate at best.

I don't mean to scare you, Gina, but if it were me, I would be calling SVR looking to upgrade the 1BR unit you won on Sky Auction to a 2BR unit.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We just got back from 8 nights at the Sheraton Vistana. Before I comment further, I am a huge fan of SVR and we have had GREAT vacations there in the past. My father is an owner of a 2 BR unit in the Fountains section. We stayed in a 1 BR Unit in the Lakes section this trip. We did have a balcony.

I found the 1BR Unit to be too cramped for my family 4 (two teenage daughters). The bathroom was especially tiny. There wasn't enough drawer space for clothes, so the kids spent the whole trip living out of their suitcases which were shoved underneath the pulled out sofa bed when we weren't tripping on them on the floor. Additionally, the wear and tear on the unit was very evident (sliding door in the Master BR closet did not slide well, the toilet paper holder in the bathroom had obviously been run into several times). The unit was also not well maintained IMO - very evident black mildew/mold in the calking between the toilet and bath tub, low water pressure in the toilet meant that the tank took forever to fill between flushes and never really seemed to flush well. I could feel the springs/coils as I slept on the Master Bedroom mattress - it obviously needed to be replaced (versus last June when we stayed in the Cascades we loved, loved, loved the mattress!).

We've had GREAT vacations at SVR in the past, but the experience we had in the 1BR Lakes unit made me realize why SVR gets such mixed reviews on sites like TripAdvisor. If this stay had been my only experience with SVR, I would have reviewed it only as adequate at best.

I don't mean to scare you, Gina, but if it were me, I would be calling SVR looking to upgrade the 1BR unit you won on Sky Auction to a 2BR unit.

Hey there, thanks for your post! I am not worried at all about the size of the one bedroom villas. Its just the two of us in May (DH and I) so certainly a one bedroom will be plenty large enough for a couple (sure beats a standard hotel room any way you slice it). The other option that we considered was a standard room at Cabana Bay, which was significantly smaller than even the smallest one bedroom configurations at SVR and had no washer/dryer and virtually no kitchen amenities.

That really, really stinks about the condition of your unit. If we were issued a similarly-problematic unit, I would not hesitate to call and ask to be moved to something more suitable. We are travelling the first week of May, so I am sure the resort won't be anywhere near full, which is good in those circumstances. We also arrive very early in Orlando (before 9:30 am) which means we can be at the resort to check in before most other folks do (giving lots of time for a room switcheroo if needed).

I hope you contacted the front desk and outlined all the issues within your villa so they could correct them before another guest arrives. As owners, I hate to hear negative reports of lack of maintenance within the resort.