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

[bankr63]

Hello! I'm about to book a ten day stay in a two-bedroom in January, woohoo! I had a look on the map at the check-in days for different sections of the resort to get an idea of what section we might get - but we are arriving on a Thursday, which I didn't see. Any veterans know where they put the Thursday arrivals, by chance? Thanks!

I think, but can't confirm, that it will be based on your Check Out day. That is actually most important as that is when the housekeeping team is in that building. If it is Thursday to Thursday, then it will probably be run of the resort, but more likely to be in one of the sections with more flexible ownership (Cascades, Fountains, Lakes). It is harder to split weeks in sections with deeded ownership because there is the likelihood that the next week's owner will be using their unit.

And @FrankieDplus3, your placement isn't that hard to understand. Springs has checkin on all 3 days. The only dedicated sections are Spas (Friday) Courts (Saturday) and Falls (Sunday).

 

[bankr63]

Hello

Just wondering if anyone has any info on the pullout couch
Will it be comfortable to aleep on for 12 nights for two children?

Read back a couple of pages, there was a recent post on this topic. To some extent it would depend on the age/weight of the children. I think it would be pretty marginal at best for nearly two weeks, they aren't the most comfortable sleeping. It also really hampers the villa lifestyle when the kids are sleeping in the living room. If this is to keep it in a 1BR for a family, I would strongly suggest upping to a 2BR villa. The cost is not much more for the extra bedroom and it is well worth it for the comfort and space. If you already have a crew and you are in a 2BR, think carefully about which kids get the living room; better with kids who stay up later, and who won't be bothered by the fridge cycling on and off overnight. The living room is not nearly as peaceful as a bedroom.

 

[Aaron Seeger]

Hello There,
We stayed at SVR back in December of 2015 and loved it so much were going back! We actually thought we were booking at SVV, (had stayed there previously) and were disappointed when we were turned away at the front gate cause we had the wrong place! Call it a blonde moment or an act of providence whatever the case we were thrilled when we got to the resort, a quick search on Google and I found some info that led us to ask for a room in the Springs which we loved. This time we are meeting with both sides of the family for a week each and hoping to have a good time. I had no complaints with the Springs, I loved it, we were in room 910 looking right over the end of the pool, our group of condos wasn't over crowded, most days we had the pool to ourselves, which was great! I liked the proximity to the cascades area, a short walk, but far enough away to avoid all the business. I also liked the distance to the Marketplace, it was a nice morning stroll over there to fetch coffee for my wife and I. Lastly I really liked being in a building that was right on the pool. I also definitely want the outside access from the screened porch, its very nice getting to and from the pool with kids.

My question is this, is there another section /phase that would be just as nice or nicer? We'll need a combination of 1 and 2 bedroom condos for the weeks we're there to accommodate our needs for all the different parties in our group. Don't necessarily care about lock offs (was under the understanding they are only available to owners) but would like to get rooms that at least were close to each other. My wife spoke to a really nice gal at the resort who gave her all the buildings that over look pools. That lady suggested the Lakes, as another possible section to look at.

Any advice and maybe some pictures would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bankr63]

Hello Aaron, and to DIS!

The person at Guest Services is steering you in the right direction. If you have 1BR units in your group, then that will restrict you to Lakes and Cascades only for those units. All the other sections are 2BR units only. Lakes and Cascades are very similar, and are the two newest built sections of the resort. They are on opposite sides of the resort, so if access to the Marketplace is important to you, then you'll want Cascades over Lakes.

Neither of these sections will have outside access from the screened porch. That is only available in the 3 storey villa sections (half of Spas, Springs, Palms, and Fountains I/II). The back stairs are actually a fire code requirement in this type of villa. Taller buildings in Cascades and Lakes have multiple fire stairways in the common areas, and the 2-storey villas in the other sections don't require a back stairway.

You can also mix it up a bit if they can't get you all together. We had a lovely stay where my DSIL was in a 1BR in Cascades and we were in a 2BR in Springs directly across the parking pad from each other. You could do the same, or similar in Lakes/Fountains.

As for pictures, if you scan quickly through from the front of this thread, you find various posts with pics covering many of the sections peppered throughout. I think what you will find is that there isn't a whole lot of difference in decor between any of the sections; the resort got a 3-year long full refurbishment. Also note the link to the resort map on the second post, it is a great resource for getting your bearings.

 

[Davekwood]

Hey there (bankr63) and everyone else, first time posting. Looking for some advice. We have Booked in March 2018 for a 2 bedroom (sleeps 8) via RCI. 2 kids aged 4 and 8. Can you please tell me which is the best location, are the 2 stories with a loft the nicest? Something ground floor, close to the pool, but not too busy area, maybe looking out over the pond/fountain.

 

[bankr63]

Hey there (bankr63) and everyone else, first time posting. Looking for some advice. We have Booked in March 2018 for a 2 bedroom (sleeps 8) via RCI. 2 kids aged 4 and 8. Can you please tell me which is the best location, are the 2 stories with a loft the nicest? Something ground floor, close to the pool, but not too busy area, maybe looking out over the pond/fountain.

Hi @Davekwood and to the DIS!

You will probably be pleased with most any unit, as your wish list describes most of the resort. Considering the age of your youngest, you will probably want to frequent the Cascades or Lakes pools as they are the most friendly for the little tots. Zero entry, shallower shallows, but still lots of room if youngest is a strong swimmer already. You can request either of these sections if that sounds like what you want, ground floor is not as important here as these two sections have elevators. Fountains also has good access to the Lakes/Fountains pool complex.

I probably wouldn't recommend the loft townhomes in Courts for really young children. The kids are upstairs and the adults are downstairs with a fair separation between; it is a really good unit with tweens-teens who refuse to sleep in the same room as these are really almost a 3BR unit. These are also only upper units in Courts - the lower ground level villas are all one level (sleep 6), so missing the ground level.

Outside of Courts, almost all units have some sort of water view, be it a pool or a pond. You might prefer the pond if light sleepers. Two of the pools stay open quite late, and noise can be an issue if you are overlooking one. Other sections you may find yourself in are Spas (Friday checkin only), Springs, or Palms. Palms is the most isolated; Springs is a bit of a walk to the bigger pool complex on the North side, but has a very nice mid-sized pool in the section.

 

[Davekwood]

Hi @Davekwood and to the DIS!

You will probably be pleased with most any unit, as your wish list describes most of the resort. Considering the age of your youngest, you will probably want to frequent the Cascades or Lakes pools as they are the most friendly for the little tots. Zero entry, shallower shallows, but still lots of room if youngest is a strong swimmer already. You can request either of these sections if that sounds like what you want, ground floor is not as important here as these two sections have elevators. Fountains also has good access to the Lakes/Fountains pool complex.

I probably wouldn't recommend the loft townhomes in Courts for really young children. The kids are upstairs and the adults are downstairs with a fair separation between; it is a really good unit with tweens-teens who refuse to sleep in the same room as these are really almost a 3BR unit. These are also only upper units in Courts - the lower ground level villas are all one level (sleep 6), so missing the ground level.

Outside of Courts, almost all units have some sort of water view, be it a pool or a pond. You might prefer the pond if light sleepers. Two of the pools stay open quite late, and noise can be an issue if you are overlooking one. Other sections you may find yourself in are Spas (Friday checkin only), Springs, or Palms. Palms is the most isolated; Springs is a bit of a walk to the bigger pool complex on the North side, but has a very nice mid-sized pool in the section.

Thank you so much for this valuable information. I will now comb through all that you have provided and compare it to the map and wonderful pictures you included in this thread. Thank you for your time put towards this community, much appreciated!!

 

[Noreen411]

Hi.

I have an odd request...

My husband and I stayed at Vistana Resort (my home resort) in October in the Cascades section.

He loved the pillows on the bed. We looked inside the pillowcase and wrote down the pillow brand from the pillow itself, but now I can’t find it. I was going to order some online when we got home.

Of course some time passed and now that I wanted to order them, I can’t find my scrap of paper. Note to self - next time just take a picture with the cell phone.

If anyone is going to be at Cascades would you take a peek and post it?

I was poking around on google and think it could be Sheraton bedding selection, but that doesn’t sound like what I wrote down. And they had various different fillings. So I figured I have a better chance of getting it right by asking here.

Thank you in advance

 

[bankr63]

I won't be down again until March, others may be going sooner. Be happy to check when we are there if you can wait that long.

The bedding is supposed to be the Sheraton bedding, available exclusively from the Sheraton store https://www.sheratonstore.com/index.aspx. The pillows appear to be on sale right now, but are pretty pricey!

 

[traveljunkie]

I stumbled on this thread and have been reading and reading. Thank you for answering the millions of questions!
I am wondering about Vistana Resort vs. Vistana Villas at the Fountains differences specifically through RCI.
Regular Vistana lists in all their room configuration descriptions- a 2 BR 8/8 and 2 BR 8/6. However, when I look for availability for 8/8 ANY time it only shows 2 BR 8/6. Is there such a thing as 2 BR 8/8 there?

We would be traveling with DD 22 + friend and DD 18 + friend, (one DD will graduate college and the other high school ). This looks like a place we would enjoy for our group. We are only going to UO/IOA parks 3 days (yeah right, somehow it always increases...) so probably staying at the resort more than usual. Any other suggestions on buildings? More than likely would be a Saturday checking but flexible. Townhouse style look good but that would mean 2 having to sleep on pullout.
Any recommendations?

Also, sadly I can't see ANY pictures that Gina posts. Any ideas why?

Thank you!

 

[bankr63]

I stumbled on this thread and have been reading and reading. Thank you for answering the millions of questions! I am wondering about Vistana Resort vs. Vistana Villas at the Fountains differences specifically through RCI. Regular Vistana lists in all their room configuration descriptions- a 2 BR 8/8 and 2 BR 8/6. However, when I look for availability for 8/8 ANY time it only shows 2 BR 8/6. Is there such a thing as 2 BR 8/8 there? We would be traveling with DD 22 + friend and DD 18 + friend, (one DD will graduate college and the other high school ). This looks like a place we would enjoy for our group. We are only going to UO/IOA parks 3 days (yeah right, somehow it always increases...) so probably staying at the resort more than usual. Any other suggestions on buildings? More than likely would be a Saturday checking but flexible. Townhouse style look good but that would mean 2 having to sleep on pullout. Any recommendations? Also, sadly I can't see ANY pictures that Gina posts. Any ideas why? Thank you!

In RCI, there are two entries for Vistana Resort (0450), a second one being Vistana Resort, Fountains Villas (V450). If I have my resort history correct, the V450 entry was added when the Fountains section first opened because it had a different ownership model than the previous sections of the resort. But, Sheraton has tinkered often with ownership models since then, so booking V450 in no way ensures you will be in the Fountains section anymore, and booking 0450 does not keep you out of Fountains. The only thing you can't book in V450 are 1BR units; they only show up in 0450.

As to the room configuration, almost all 2BR villas in the resort are actually 8/6 configurations. There are 6/6 configurations in Courts (lower) and Falls sections only because of the single beds in the 2nd bedroom. Note that distinction is "max sleeps/sleeps in privacy" There are no 8/8's because the living room pullout is not considered a private bed. Although RCI does show a description for an 8/8 in room details (they also show a studio) I have never seen one listed, and I have never seem a villa floor-plan configuration that would be considered an 8/8.

I can attest that it is a great resort for kids of that age. Ours are 21 and 19 and enjoy Vistana immensely. With all those pools, there are some that are more popular with the teens+twenties, and others that are more popular with the younger set. The Spas Super Pool is a great one for older kids as there is no shallow end and regular pick up games of pool volleyball. There is often a DJ there spinning decent tunes as well.

In most 2BR configurations, your kids+friends are going to be bed sharing and probably room sharing as the 2nd bedroom is 2 queen beds (Vistana lists them as "full-size", but they are larger than doubles, maybe a bit narrower than standard queens). So that is 4 to a room. Yes, an upper townhome villa in Courts would provide more space to spread out, and will be close to the Spas pool, but 2 will be on the sofa sleeper(s); actually with 5 of you, everyone could have their own bed since there are 2 sofa beds.

As to Gina's photos, I think that is because she is/was a Photobucket user. You will see lots of broken photo links throughout these boards as PB shutdown web photo sharing a while back unless users pay an exorbitant membership fee. This has hit many here on DIS. It's a good reminder for me as I had a higher level paid subscription at PB, but alas, they are blackmailing me too starting in January unless I increase my fee by about 5X. Time to find a new home for all my photos, and then update all the posts where they are found.

 

[mrsap]

Hey guys! I am checking into the Vistana on Wednesday! I am so excited to be going back!! I was just wondering what kind of coffee pots they have there. I remember it was just a regular pot the last time I was there about three years ago, didn’t know if they changed to a singleserve machine. Thank you!!!!

 

[bankr63]

I don't think they have changed. @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina has been there quite recently, hopefully she'll see this.

 

[mrsap]

I don't think they have changed. @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina has been there quite recently, hopefully she'll see this.

Thank you!!

 

[traveljunkie]

In RCI, there are two entries for Vistana Resort (0450), a second one being Vistana Resort, Fountains Villas (V450). If I have my resort history correct, the V450 entry was added when the Fountains section first opened because it had a different ownership model than the previous sections of the resort. But, Sheraton has tinkered often with ownership models since then, so booking V450 in no way ensures you will be in the Fountains section anymore, and booking 0450 does not keep you out of Fountains. The only thing you can't book in V450 are 1BR units; they only show up in 0450.

As to the room configuration, almost all 2BR villas in the resort are actually 8/6 configurations. There are 6/6 configurations in Courts (lower) and Falls sections only because of the single beds in the 2nd bedroom. Note that distinction is "max sleeps/sleeps in privacy" There are no 8/8's because the living room pullout is not considered a private bed. Although RCI does show a description for an 8/8 in room details (they also show a studio) I have never seen one listed, and I have never seem a villa floor-plan configuration that would be considered an 8/8.

I can attest that it is a great resort for kids of that age. Ours are 21 and 19 and enjoy Vistana immensely. With all those pools, there are some that are more popular with the teens+twenties, and others that are more popular with the younger set. The Spas Super Pool is a great one for older kids as there is no shallow end and regular pick up games of pool volleyball. There is often a DJ there spinning decent tunes as well.

In most 2BR configurations, your kids+friends are going to be bed sharing and probably room sharing as the 2nd bedroom is 2 queen beds (Vistana lists them as "full-size", but they are larger than doubles, maybe a bit narrower than standard queens). So that is 4 to a room. Yes, an upper townhome villa in Courts would provide more space to spread out, and will be close to the Spas pool, but 2 will be on the sofa sleeper(s); actually with 5 of you, everyone could have their own bed since there are 2 sofa beds.

As to Gina's photos, I think that is because she is/was a Photobucket user. You will see lots of broken photo links throughout these boards as PB shutdown web photo sharing a while back unless users pay an exorbitant membership fee. This has hit many here on DIS. It's a good reminder for me as I had a higher level paid subscription at PB, but alas, they are blackmailing me too starting in January unless I increase my fee by about 5X. Time to find a new home for all my photos, and then update all the posts where they are found.

Thank you for your very detailed response. Good to know about the V450 vs 0450 since the TPU are slightly different for the same week. Now, I just need to figure out when to go and what configuration. There will actually be 6 of of going and maybe 8 (but not likely) so I would have to figure out 2 weeks before (?) what to request as far as regular vs the townhouse set up. Either way, it looks very nice for us. Thanks again for responding!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hey guys! I am checking into the Vistana on Wednesday! I am so excited to be going back!! I was just wondering what kind of coffee pots they have there. I remember it was just a regular pot the last time I was there about three years ago, didn’t know if they changed to a singleserve machine. Thank you!!!!

Still just a regular pot as of mid October. I keep hoping they will upgrade to keurig coffee makers, but nope!! Not yet!

 

[mrsap]

Hello from the Tacky Tiki bar!!!!

 

[bankr63]

Hello from the Tacky Tiki bar!!!!

Mmmm, so jealous!

Surprised to see what looks like lots of empty chairs in the background the day before Turkey day. Hope you are having a great time!

 

[JKraft]

Hello! Thank you for all the information on this thread! My family is heading to the Sheraton Vistana Resort on Sunday from Canada - can’t wait !!

I submitted a Diamond Lane request on Sunday, Nov 19th. I was hoping they would send me an email so that I could make some additional requests, but I haven’t gotten anything. Any suggestions?

Thanks again!

 

[bankr63]

Hello! Thank you for all the information on this thread! My family is heading to the Sheraton Vistana Resort on Sunday from Canada - can’t wait !!

I submitted a Diamond Lane request on Sunday, Nov 19th. I was hoping they would send me an email so that I could make some additional requests, but I haven’t gotten anything. Any suggestions?

Thanks again!

I haven't used this yet, but Vistana recently started publishing the concierge phone number on the website. Can't hurt to give them a call:
1-888-716-8667