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

[MarBee]

Hello all! I know this is a Sheraton Vistana specific board, but I figured there’d be many MVC owners in the group who could give me some feedback. I’m looking at a possible stay at Marriott Grande Vista in November in a studio. Have any of you ever stayed there? How does it rank compared to Sheraton Vistana? Any feedback is welcome. Thank you in advance!

 

[WalloghbyWay]

Hello all! I know this is a Sheraton Vistana specific board, but I figured there’d be many MVC owners in the group who could give me some feedback. I’m looking at a possible stay at Marriott Grande Vista in November in a studio. Have any of you ever stayed there? How does it rank compared to Sheraton Vistana? Any feedback is welcome. Thank you in advance!

Don’t…. GV is great but the studios are lacking! Try and get a Vistana one or two bedroom. I’m currently staying in Vistana resort and I’ve stayed in almost every MVC in Orlando. I like the proximity to things and the room at SVR. The pools are nothing as nice as GV I will say that. If you’re looking for a resort stay, look into lakeshore. If you’re only traveling with adults, then the quiet pool at SVV is also great!

 

[bankr63]

Hello all! I know this is a Sheraton Vistana specific board, but I figured there’d be many MVC owners in the group who could give me some feedback. I’m looking at a possible stay at Marriott Grande Vista in November in a studio. Have any of you ever stayed there? How does it rank compared to Sheraton Vistana? Any feedback is welcome. Thank you in advance!

Hi @MarBee,

I would start a new thread on the main Hotels and Attractions board. Yes, there are a couple of MVC owners here, but there are many more who chime in on the main board topics. I think you might get a much better response over there, or post a question on TUG BBS in the Marriott forum and you'll get more opinions than you'll be able to handle.

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

I may have missed this earlier in the thread, but can someone provide the email for the pre-arrival coordinator (Joshua?). Or is there a way to submit a request online?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I may have missed this earlier in the thread, but can someone provide the email for the pre-arrival coordinator (Joshua?). Or is there a way to submit a request online?

Joshua.Marsh@vacationclub.com

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

Thanks. I emailed him our preference request yesterday. He replied to the email within about an hour, then called me about 10 minutes after that. Very nice gentleman, confirmed what my requests were and let me know he would do his best to accommodate them. Obviously nothing is guaranteed until we check in, but he felt pretty certain he would be able to meet them. Starting to get really excited about this trip.

 

[disneyjr77]

I love this thread, there's so much info

We are renting a 2 bdrm next year through my friend's mom, June 24-July 2. We're going to pay cash for the night of the 24th, and do a saturday-saturday stay for the rest of it. What are the chances that we will be able to stay in the same villa the whole time. My friend said she'll ask when she books it, but doesn't know if they can do it.

Also, if we want to be close to the pool with the slide and have one of the big soaking tubs...what building should we request. I know the tub part sounds dumb, but we have a normal tub at home and i am so looking forward to just enjoying a relaxing bath while we're there. Thanks!

 

[bankr63]

I love this thread, there's so much info

We are renting a 2 bdrm next year through my friend's mom, June 24-July 2. We're going to pay cash for the night of the 24th, and do a saturday-saturday stay for the rest of it. What are the chances that we will be able to stay in the same villa the whole time. My friend said she'll ask when she books it, but doesn't know if they can do it.

Also, if we want to be close to the pool with the slide and have one of the big soaking tubs...what building should we request. I know the tub part sounds dumb, but we have a normal tub at home and i am so looking forward to just enjoying a relaxing bath while we're there. Thanks!

So yes, the resort is generally very good at trying to allow you to stay in the same unit, but it is not guaranteed. I would contact the resort by phone (or via the pre-arrivals email, see a couple of posts up from here), about two weeks prior to arrival and make sure you have the confirmation information for both reservations so they can link them together. When we have done this in the past, our building assignment was by the day of arrival, not departure, so you will probably be in a Friday building in the resort (red buildings on the resort map, see link on page 1).

It depends a bit on how your friend's mom is booking as to your ability to select a section. If she is an owner there, the ownership may dictate the section you are placed in (owners are placed in the section(s) they own). If she is trading into the resort via RCI or II (owns at a different resort) then there is more flexibility. Spas would be a good section for a Friday arrival, and units have a big soaker tub in the bathroom (I prefer that over units where the tub is in the bedroom area). Buildings 1-8 in the Spas section are a relatively short walk to the Falls pool where the slide is, and are central to most other amenities as well. The upper units (one or two flights up, no elevators) have skylights in the living room for a nice bright feeling.

 

[disneyjr77]

So yes, the resort is generally very good at trying to allow you to stay in the same unit, but it is not guaranteed. I would contact the resort by phone (or via the pre-arrivals email, see a couple of posts up from here), about two weeks prior to arrival and make sure you have the confirmation information for both reservations so they can link them together. When we have done this in the past, our building assignment was by the day of arrival, not departure, so you will probably be in a Friday building in the resort (red buildings on the resort map, see link on page 1).

It depends a bit on how your friend's mom is booking as to your ability to select a section. If she is an owner there, the ownership may dictate the section you are placed in (owners are placed in the section(s) they own). If she is trading into the resort via RCI or II (owns at a different resort) then there is more flexibility. Spas would be a good section for a Friday arrival, and units have a big soaker tub in the bathroom (I prefer that over units where the tub is in the bedroom area). Buildings 1-8 in the Spas section are a relatively short walk to the Falls pool where the slide is, and are central to most other amenities as well. The upper units (one or two flights up, no elevators) have skylights in the living room for a nice bright feeling.

Great, thanks! She has II

As I was typing, i thought of something else. She's doing a transfer certificate, does that mean i get to do the requests myself and get the emails directly?

 

[dioxide45]

Great, thanks! She has II

As I was typing, i thought of something else. She's doing a transfer certificate, does that mean i get to do the requests myself and get the emails directly?

When she completes the Guest Certificate online, she should provide your email address. I don't know if the resort really sends out any emails, but it will allow you to contact them directly. HOWEVER, don't mention anything about renting it. II exchanges and getaways really can't be rented as this is against II's terms and conditions.

 

[erinch]

We stayed last October for 2 weeks as the “guest” of an owner (via TUG). We needed to add 3 days due to the auto train schedule. They weren’t doing nightly rentals through the resort then (Covid reopening). They told me when the resumed they were going to do nightly rentals in separate buildings so as not to disrupt the housekeeping routines with entire building s checking out and in on certain days of the week. It was a safety thing at the time. I assume that will not be an issue next summer. We ended up needing to rent some dvc points and going over to OKW for the 3 extra nights.

 

[disneyjr77]

When she completes the Guest Certificate online, she should provide your email address. I don't know if the resort really sends out any emails, but it will allow you to contact them directly. HOWEVER, don't mention anything about renting it. II exchanges and getaways really can't be rented as this is against II's terms and conditions.

Oh ok, that's good to know. We rented (3rd party) an already booked, super inexpensive, dvc last year for our honeymoon and we had to act like we were the guest or friend of the person we rented from. I guess it will be like that. We did it before back in 2014, but my friend was with us so I didn't have to worry about anything.

We stayed last October for 2 weeks as the “guest” of an owner (via TUG). We needed to add 3 days due to the auto train schedule. They weren’t doing nightly rentals through the resort then (Covid reopening). They told me when the resumed they were going to do nightly rentals in separate buildings so as not to disrupt the housekeeping routines with entire building s checking out and in on certain days of the week. It was a safety thing at the time. I assume that will not be an issue next summer. We ended up needing to rent some dvc points and going over to OKW for the 3 extra nights.

Thanks! I wouldn't have thought about that, fingers crossed it's not an issue

 

[Mjmdiva]

Does anyone know if you can mobile check in at the Vistana? Or do you have to go to the desk?

 

[ksawano]

I have a reservation for a 1 bedroom villa and I'm wondering which phase I should request. I know that there were earlier posts on this same question but I haven't seen any ones with recent changes so..

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Does anyone know if you can mobile check in at the Vistana? Or do you have to go to the desk?

There is no mobile check in. You must go to the desk to obtain your villa assignment, keys and parking pass.

 

[dioxide45]

I have a reservation for a 1 bedroom villa and I'm wondering which phase I should request. I know that there were earlier posts on this same question but I haven't seen any ones with recent changes so..

With a one bedroom, you really only have two options. Those are Lakes and Cascades. Lakes had recently been renovated and Cascades units look pretty dated by comparison. Lakes will be close to the Lakes and Fountains pools and Cascades has a pretty big pool of its own. You really can't go wrong with either one and all of the Lakes and Cascades buildings have elevators. So no worry about steps if that was a concern.

 

[ksawano]

With a one bedroom, you really only have two options. Those are Lakes and Cascades. Lakes had recently been renovated and Cascades units look pretty dated by comparison. Lakes will be close to the Lakes and Fountains pools and Cascades has a pretty big pool of its own. You really can't go wrong with either one and all of the Lakes and Cascades buildings have elevators. So no worry about steps if that was a concern.

Thank you! I think Lakes will be the one we want to go with!

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

We are checking in on Saturday. Just received an email from Joshua indicating he is in "good shape" to meet our preference requests, without being able to guarantee them of course. We requested Lakes, top floor. Can't wait, very excited to see the resort, plus the weather looks to be very nice next week! Thanks again to everyone here for the information and advice. I'll take some pictures and try to post them, might even do a video tour, we'll see...

 

[kathy884]

We'll be staying in a two bedroom at the Sheraton Vistana Resort thru an RCI Exchange (inherited timeshare) that's in my name. My son who is 26 will be arriving to the Orlando airport around 3:30 p.m. and will be ubering over to the resort. Our flight doesn't get in till 7:30 p.m., four hours later and we'll be getting a rental car. I was hoping my son could have access to the condo. I wrote a letter requesting this addressed to the Vistana that I'll give to DS to give to them and will give DS a copy of the RCI reservation. Should I email Joshua about this too? Any other recommendations? Thanks so much.

If DS can't check in or access the condo, I'd at least want them to hold his luggage and give him access to resort facilities so he could hang at the pool or hot tub.

 

[bankr63]

We'll be staying in a two bedroom at the Sheraton Vistana Resort thru an RCI Exchange (inherited timeshare) that's in my name. My son who is 26 will be arriving to the Orlando airport around 3:30 p.m. and will be ubering over to the resort. Our flight doesn't get in till 7:30 p.m., four hours later and we'll be getting a rental car. I was hoping my son could have access to the condo. I wrote a letter requesting this addressed to the Vistana that I'll give to DS to give to them and will give DS a copy of the RCI reservation. Should I email Joshua about this too? Any other recommendations? Thanks so much.

If DS can't check in or access the condo, I'd at least want them to hold his luggage and give him access to resort facilities so he could hang at the pool or hot tub.

If it is booked through an RCI exchange, then it is the name on the RCI account that matters. Our account is joint in both my and my wife's name so either can check in on RCI reservations. The correct protocol when someone other than the RCI account holder will check in is to get an RCI guest certificate (extra cost of course; RCI makes a buck off everything it can). That will always be honored by registration as your son becomes the registered holder of the reservation. In the past I have had some difficulty checking in without DW at my elbow as our ownership (not an exchange) there is in her name (she kept her maiden name so it's not a match), and although I have permission to access the account on file they don't seem to see it at registration.

IDK know how they will react to the letter, haven't heard that mentioned here before. I suspect it may depend a bit upon who is at registration and how they feel about it. Even if someone here says it has worked in the past, that is no guarantee that it will work in the future as I am sure that they resort policy is that the registrant must match the reservation. It can't hurt to call the resort in advance and ask, but I expect that they will advise you to follow the above protocol. Vistana is pretty good about guest relations, but there is a limit to how far they will bend some rules.

Regardless of guest cert or not, your son would need to have a valid credit card to check in as they take the number and authorize for incidentals.