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

[bankr63]

Most of the rental companies have a desk at one of the nearby hotels. The easiest way to find them is by looking at Vistana Resort on Google Maps, click the "Nearby" button and type Car Rental into the box. It will show you many nearby pins. The closest appears to be Hertz at the Marriott World Centre next door. Remember that most rental companies will bring the car to you, so location isn't that important, I'd let price and discounts drive first.

Also note that Orlando is one of the few areas where car rentals at the airport are cheaper than in the urban locations. Apparently this is because the airport locations are ultra competitive in that market. Your best bet may very well be renting from the airport which takes care of your transportation problem. A couple of extra days of rental may very well be cheaper than taking a taxi or limo service to and from the airport. There is no charge for parking at SVR. Check the transportation board here on DIS; there will be a thread with December rental discounts.

Uber tends to be pretty economical as well. Mears is the big provider of airport transportation in the area and lists prices for several options on their website.

Yes, RCI can use Diamond Lane, and it still has some value for expedited checkin as @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina recently posted. But as @mckennarose indicates, there is no longer a reliable way to make specific requests. I blame the stuffed shirts at Marriott for this as their takeover of Vistana and the reduction in service seem to coincide...

 

[RCKC2018]

Most of the rental companies have a desk at one of the nearby hotels. The easiest way to find them is by looking at Vistana Resort on Google Maps, click the "Nearby" button and type Car Rental into the box. It will show you many nearby pins. The closest appears to be Hertz at the Marriott World Centre next door. Remember that most rental companies will bring the car to you, so location isn't that important, I'd let price and discounts drive first.

Also note that Orlando is one of the few areas where car rentals at the airport are cheaper than in the urban locations. Apparently this is because the airport locations are ultra competitive in that market. Your best bet may very well be renting from the airport which takes care of your transportation problem. A couple of extra days of rental may very well be cheaper than taking a taxi or limo service to and from the airport. There is no charge for parking at SVR. Check the transportation board here on DIS; there will be a thread with December rental discounts.

Uber tends to be pretty economical as well. Mears is the big provider of airport transportation in the area and lists prices for several options on their website.

Yes, RCI can use Diamond Lane, and it still has some value for expedited checkin as @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina recently posted. But as @mckennarose indicates, there is no longer a reliable way to make specific requests. I blame the stuffed shirts at Marriott for this as their takeover of Vistana and the reduction in service seem to coincide...

Sorry, last minute planning/packing. We are checking in tomorrow. (Cascades 2 bedroom)

Do you know if there are hair dryers in the bathrooms?

Thanks

 

[mckennarose]

Sorry, last minute planning/packing. We are checking in tomorrow. (Cascades 2 bedroom)

Do you know if there are hair dryers in the bathrooms?

Thanks

Yes, there are hairdryers. Have a great trip!

.....

Yes, RCI can use Diamond Lane, and it still has some value for expedited checkin as @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina recently posted. But as @mckennarose indicates, there is no longer a reliable way to make specific requests. I blame the stuffed shirts at Marriott for this as their takeover of Vistana and the reduction in service seem to coincide...

Hopefully it's just a hiccup with the two companies merging. We've had nothing but wonderful experiences with Marriott vacation club so it's not a matter of Marriott being sub par.

 

[choppee]

Hey! Interested in learning more about SVR, so I hopped over to this thread. However, when I tried to look at Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina's pix, they were not viewable....have they been removed??

 

[bankr63]

Hey! Interested in learning more about SVR, so I hopped over to this thread. However, when I tried to look at Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina's pix, they were not viewable....have they been removed??

Many older pics in DisBoards are no longer available because they were hosted by a site called Photobucket. They used to be free but then decided to extort their users who wanted to post to BBS. Most of their users quit before their management wised up and realized they had pretty much cut their own throats. My pictures still come through because I had a paid subscription that grandfathered me in long enough for them to come to their senses and drop membership fees back to a reasonable level.

The good news is that most of her more recent photos are hosted elsewhere and still come through. Check some of her more recent (last year or two) posts and the pictures will be there.

EDIT: I see what you mean, NOT the PBucket problem. The new photos are all broken! @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina problems with the new service?

 

[bobbie68]

Hi everyone... I am new to this thread so very excited to find it. I have been following Gina's trip reports and speaking with her on Vistana. We are trying a condo this time and Vistana looked like it fit what we wanted. Gina has been awesome with her help on some guidance. Thank you Gina. I read a lot of the pages and learned a lot about the resort. bankr63 you are also a great wealth of information for here. Thank you too.

Anyway I looked on some of the time share sites for an auction but our time of year is expensive (June 23-30) that there was not a big difference in there verses booking through Vistana. I decided to play it safe and I booked through them. I ended up getting 25% off if I booked 4 or more nights. I did book 7 and saved some money. We usually stay on site and spend a lot for a resort so this is like almost half for us, I am very happy. I came on here to find out the different sections and where we could be placed. I saw the map on page 1 that showed the colors according to days of check in. I narrowed it down a little. I ended up renting a 2 BR villa with the 2 double beds. I reserved the one with 1,025 feet (this measurement would be very helpful for location). I tried to use some of the old links but had trouble, However I was relocated to the Vistana site to join for information. I figured what is the worse they will do send me emails. I did and when I got in there was a lot of stuff to help me. I looked at the villa rooms page and I was so excited. They have every building with every type of room. I started looking through and noticed a few of the 2 BR were 1,260 and in different buildings. There was one with 1,326. There were a few other sizes too. If you have one of those sizes it could be a little harder to narrow it down. However, my room size is only listed in the Cascades building. I double checked the room size and it is only located there. The pictures and layout matched my reservation email. I was so excited to figure it out. I know things can change but I read earlier with one poster that they booked directly through Vistana and used their email confirmation to make sure they got the room they booked. This location really looks great for us. I will have the email to use if necessary.

I then proceeded to look at the buildings according to my color day of check in (Sunday) and saw the green buildings. I was happy even more to know about the location. I did not put any requests in my reservation but I did call Vistana last night to find out about a request. The gentleman said to call back about 30 days out and they will add them. I will call about a week before to check on it. I have a daughter with special needs and room location is always important for us. I am only going to request two things : most important is a top level. She feels more secure on the highest floor. I will also request closer to the pool. I will hope for the best if not I will talk to them at check in. I have found that most resorts understand and do their best to accommodate us.

Now we are so excited to stay here. It looks really nice and what we want this time. We will be doing Discovery Cove and parks plus looking for a new area to move down to next year.

I look forward to reading more here and learning as much as I can...

 

[bankr63]

Thanks @bobbie68 here's hoping all your wishes are granted.

You have answered one of my questions! I was wondering if it was possible to sign up on the Vistana site without being an owner. Apparently that is a yes, good to know! I would caution you to look out for the emails. They will probably pepper you with offers for heavily discounted vacations at various properties; understand that they will ALWAYS require attendance at a timeshare presentation (they are good at hiding it in the fine print, but, oh, it's there...), and the discount is almost never worth the aggravation. Would be interested in hearing back in a few months (if you stay with us) about how much spam you get.

I would not put too much faith in the villa dimensions as they are generally listed as "approximate", and indeed villa layouts and sizes do vary a bit from floor to floor and building to building within a section. The double bed is a great qualifier as it does knock out a couple of older sections. When booking with Vistana/Sheraton directly there is always a better chance of being placed in Cascades, Lakes, or Fountains. That is simply because the resort manager (Sheraton) has more control over stock in those sections due to their floating system, and holds more units of their own. In the older sections like ours where the units were deeded, the resort manager cannot rent out our unit even if we don't use it. We own a prime week, but our section often feels half-empty because many owners don't actually use or trade their ownership and all those villas sit empty for the week.

There I go blathering on about timeshare ownership again.

The short of it is, just ask for what you want. The resort generally does their level best to comply with requests because a happy customer is often a repeat customer.

 

[Janiceduncan]

It could change, yes. But you also are quite likely to receive a unit in Fountains. I'd suspect that you have a much greater chance of getting a Fountains unit than not, but depending on resort occupancy levels and other factors, they won't guarantee a specific section until check in.

If your preference IS for Fountains, then I would do Diamond Lane check in 2 weeks before your scheduled arrival date (or email Jennifer Bravo, the pre-arrival coordinator, with that specific request). Fountains is a large section of the resort that generally works with all check-in days, so I'm sure they would have no problem accommodating you .

As you know, Fountains is my favorite area in the whole resort. I love, love, love the pool there!

Sigh. Wish I was there right now .

Hi Gina
Can you tell me which building in Fountains or Cascades would have bright morning sun with unobstructed views.

 

[bankr63]

Hi Gina
Can you tell me which building in Fountains or Cascades would have bright morning sun with unobstructed views.

Hi @Janiceduncan and to DIS. I noticed that is your first ever post here! Hopefully you'll learn lots and become a contributor too!

Interesting question.

For morning sun, I will assume you want the BACK of your unit to have the morning sun? This is the side with the living room window, master bedroom and balcony. Your kitchen and 2nd bedroom windows are generally on the FRONT side of the villa. I am also guessing that by "unobstructed view" you mean an open view of the sun, not likely to be blocked by other buildings. Note that it is hard to estimate how trees might affect the sun as the height of the tree has a lot to do with that. The following buildings have West exposure to the back of the unit, with limited interference from other buildings.

Fountains:
Friday - 38, 39 (but directly on pool), 8
Saturday - 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 56, 57
Sunday - 9, 10

Cascades:
Saturday - 5, 16
Sunday - 15, maybe 17 (partially obstructed by 8, 9)

Just remember that the landscaping at SVR is pretty lush. You may find that the sun is still obstructed by foliage.

Note: You can see this for yourself by pulling up the resort on Google Earth; there is a compass in the view that will show you North. If you are looking at the pdf of the resort map, North is to the right, West is down.

 

[Janiceduncan]

Hi @Janiceduncan and to DIS. I noticed that is your first ever post here! Hopefully you'll learn lots and become a contributor too!

Interesting question.

For morning sun, I will assume you want the BACK of your unit to have the morning sun? This is the side with the living room window, master bedroom and balcony. Your kitchen and 2nd bedroom windows are generally on the FRONT side of the villa. I am also guessing that by "unobstructed view" you mean an open view of the sun, not likely to be blocked by other buildings. Note that it is hard to estimate how trees might affect the sun as the height of the tree has a lot to do with that. The following buildings have West exposure to the back of the unit, with limited interference from other buildings.

Fountains:
Friday - 38, 39 (but directly on pool), 8
Saturday - 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 56, 57
Sunday - 9, 10

Cascades:
Saturday - 5, 16
Sunday - 15, maybe 17 (partially obstructed by 8, 9)

Just remember that the landscaping at SVR is pretty lush. You may find that the sun is still obstructed by foliage.

Note: You can see this for yourself by pulling up the resort on Google Earth; there is a compass in the view that will show you North. If you are looking at the pdf of the resort map, North is to the right, West is down.

Hi Gina
Thank you for your suggestions, and google earth is very helpful. I requested building 15, even though we arrive on a Friday. 16 second choice. We want to play tennis, so it is close to the courts as well.
I hope they are flexible on arrival dates/ buildings. I will see.
We are really looking forward to our stay, and have one week here, them move over to Marriott Cypress Resort for another week. We will be visiting Disney and buying the Canadian ticket special, and I will tap into your Disney reviews in the next couple weeks.....
Talk soon !

 

[dreajoy]

We officially booked the SVR through Costco for our trip. I would like to email the resort and see if I can add a couple of requests to our reservation - we arrive on February 26 until March 9. We have rented a 2 bedroom villa a

 

[fac]

I will be checking in SVR on Saturday. It was an RCI exchange for a one-bedroom. I will be going with DH and 2 college-aged girls.

I am wondering which section should I request.
Here is my situation
Saturday check-in.
I have hurt both of my knees and am doing physical therapy, hence going up and down the stairs is difficult.
I would like the building has an elevator, and if not, I will need to request a ground floor.
If possible, I also would like it to be near the fitness center, but in the worse case, DH can drive and drop me off.

Also does anyone know how to send in the diamond lane request? I checked the link on the first page https://owner.vistana.com/services/diamond.jsp?propertyId=01
and it does not have an option for the building request.

Thank you.

 

[mckennarose]

I'm not much help with the differences in the sections, but I wanted to comment that you should call the resort directly with room requests. It worked for us twice this year and we got exactly what we wanted. The number is: 407-239-3100.

Also, we had a one bedroom unit in September and I made sure to request a regular unit, not a one bedroom lock-off. The lock offs where we stayed (Lakes) did not have a balcony and were more like an efficiency unit, not a true one-bedroom. There was a family of 4 staying in the lock-off next to our one bedroom and they looked very cramped from the times we saw them when their door was open. I'm guessing they had the door open often, since they didn't have a balcony to sit on.

Have a great vacation!

 

[bankr63]

I will be checking in SVR on Saturday. It was an RCI exchange for a one-bedroom. I will be going with DH and 2 college-aged girls.

I am wondering which section should I request.
Here is my situation
Saturday check-in.
I have hurt both of my knees and am doing physical therapy, hence going up and down the stairs is difficult.
I would like the building has an elevator, and if not, I will need to request a ground floor.
If possible, I also would like it to be near the fitness center, but in the worse case, DH can drive and drop me off.

Also does anyone know how to send in the diamond lane request? I checked the link on the first page https://owner.vistana.com/services/diamond.jsp?propertyId=01
and it does not have an option for the building request.

Thank you.

No need to request an elevator; one-bedroom villas are all in Lakes or Cascades which have elevators in all buildings.
If being near the fitness center is important, I would look at Cascades 2, 1, 5, 13, 16 in that order. For Lakes, the fitness center is in the Fountains common area, building 1 is the only one reasonably close, but it sits right over the pool as well, and that can be a noise factor.

All 1BR are part of a 2BR lockoff, the trick is getting the bigger or premium villa. With 4 sharing, a the larger side will be much more comfortable than the smaller side.

 

[fac]

thank you both.

I went through some of the old posts and noticed pictures with 2 beds in a room. Each bed has pillows side by side, are they queen size bed or full size bed?
What kind of BR are those? I am assuming it is not 1BR premium.
thanks

 

[mckennarose]

The Vistana website has floor plans for each type of villa:
https://www.vistana.com/destinations/sheraton-vistana-resort/villas/100#two-bedroom-villacascades

I used this when trying to figure out which type of villa setup would work best for us. From what I've seen on the site, the one bedroom units do not have two full/queen beds. They have a private bedroom with one bed and a pull-out sofa bed in the living room.

I've also noticed that some of the two bedroom villas have twin beds in the second bedroom. We had a two bedroom with two full beds in the second bedroom back in May. We were in Fountains 1 that time. In September we (just hubby and I) had a one bedroom premium villa in Lakes.

 

[fac]

mckennarose, thank you.
from the website you posted, I noticed the two bedroom (not the lockoff) in Lakes has two full size beds in one of the bedrooms. I am debating it now as my younger kid complained that she slept on sofa bed when we got the 1BR. When I reserved on RCI, I was surprised to see it was listed as "4(4) privacy". Now I suspect that I may get Lakes.
I have sufficient points to book 2BR, but none was available.

 

[bankr63]

thank you both.

I went through some of the old posts and noticed pictures with 2 beds in a room. Each bed has pillows side by side, are they queen size bed or full size bed?
What kind of BR are those? I am assuming it is not 1BR premium.
thanks

Depends on the unit. Some are queen, some are full, but all beds at the resort (including the singles) are long, so it is only the width that varies. Our townhome villa in Courts has the singles, but they are plenty long enough for my 6+ footer son.

 

[bankr63]

mckennarose, thank you.
from the website you posted, I noticed the two bedroom (not the lockoff) in Lakes has two full size beds in one of the bedrooms. I am debating it now as my younger kid complained that she slept on sofa bed when we got the 1BR. When I reserved on RCI, I was surprised to see it was listed as "4(4) privacy". Now I suspect that I may get Lakes.
I have sufficient points to book 2BR, but none was available.

It will definitely be a king master and pull out. All 1BR, regardless of large or small are 4/4 in that combo.

If something comes available, and you can get RCI to upgrade your reservation, it might be worth the cost to upgrade. The girls would be much more comfortable with their own room IMO.

 

[fac]

bankr63, thank you. I definitely would like to upgrade if I can as I have points unused and will go wasted.