bankr63
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2010
Okay, so I know a couple of you are (im?)patiently waiting for an update and some pictures of the Courts villas. Thank you for your patience! It takes a bit of time to get life back on track after a couple of weeks away. Especially when those weeks end a few days before the office fiscal year ends. What was I thinking!?!? Oh yeah – I work to live, not live to work, and I have kids who deserve life’s rich experiences. The office will always be there, and business will go on if I’m there or not.
So a bit of background. DS16, aka CJ, and I had driven a quick 1500 miles on the 10th and 11th of March to get a head start on our vacation. We checked into the Silver Lake Resort, another timeshare that we own at, for the first three nights. Saturday the 14th was changeover day, and the day that DW, aka A+, joined us. Unfortunately our local board of education for some reason frowns upon teachers skiving off the few days before March break, so she was in it until the bitter end, and was flying down to join us. Actually, I am not sure if she would have seen it as unfortunate, as the smells emanating from Sully (yes we named our SUV) when we arrived in Florida were a bit ripe. Two boys, and a banana peel that fell beneath the seat, along with Florida heat and a broken climate control system that would only throw full heat on the passenger side (it was in the 80’s in FL) led to some unpleasant aromas…
At 10:30 we picked up a very frazzled A+ at the airport – turns out she had overslept and had a very frenzied start to the day. Great stories here, but this is about the Sheraton, and isn’t a trip report. Since we already had her baggage with us in the car, she only had a small carryon. We headed from the airport straight to Vistana Resort in hopes of an early check-in.
A quick note here on SunPass. This is the first year I bought a transponder, and I must say it was worth it. If you are driving to Disney from the North, taking the 417 toll route around Orlando is a great timesaver. And on this Saturday there was zero traffic taking 417 to and from the airport. It also makes airport parking a breeze as your parking fee is charged straight to your account just like the road tolls – you just drive out the SunPass lane exiting the parking garage.
Minutes later we arrived at the Vistana reception centre just ahead of the throngs of other Ontario March breakers hot on our heels. Now I did not take any pictures of the reception centre, but it does look just like the Sheraton images. We were only second back in line, but hit one of those occasional stalls where everyone in front of you seems to have to tell their life story while checking in.
The space may be lovely (although I have a feeling this look will be dated quickly), but the mechanics of the new space are a bit rough still. There are a bunch of separate desks, and some have signs for reception, others for concierge, they seem very random which leads to some confusion about who is doing what where. The activities desk is now back where Diamond Lane used to be. And Diamond Lane? Nowhere to be found. I asked the concierge while waiting for a reception counter, and he said they were still working out the kinks and DL was not (yet) available. To be honest, I am not certain that I will miss a separate lane; it was getting popular enough that the DL line could be longer than the regular line at times. I would suggest maybe putting Concierge on one side and reception on the other.
After maybe a 15 minute wait we got to an available reception counter. And lo and behold, our villa was ready for us. Drop a quick deposit on the credit card, get our signing privilege card, a half-dozen towel cards (two each), and no, they don’t need to tell us how to get to our unit, we could get there blindfolded. A quick stop at the tour desk for them to beseech us to come to the owner update (because it is completely different now), a polite “no thanks” get our parking pass and a big bundle of discount coupons, and we are on our way. The line was quite long when we got away, but we were no more than 30 minutes checking in.
High-tailing it over to our home away from home, the excitement was growing. We have not been in our own unit for several years now, and had not had the opportunity to see the renovations yet, but we had stayed in other sections so our expectations were high. We surprised housekeeping as we pulled up. I guess she wasn’t quite as ready as reception thought, but only needed about 2 minutes to finish up. She seemed quite amused by our ooohs and aaahs as we walked in.
So let’s take you on a walkthrough of the unit – after all that’s the first thing we did! These photos are taken just a short time after arriving, so there are a few bags strewn about. This first image is from the front door and is what you see as step across the threshold. Kitchen to the left, dining area beyond, and living room dead ahead.
The living room is a bright open space with a 2 storey feature window. The chairs and sofa are quite comfortable. Those drapes have motorized closers for the sheers and blackout panels.
The second view is from about halfway up the stairs to the upper floor. The entertainment centre has a nice flat screen TV (probably a modest 40”) and a Bose sound system with DVD player. You can just see the loft in the upper left.
Next up, the dining room has seating for six, a comfortable spot to enjoy a family meal, with the balcony just behind.
Next, looking back towards the entry is the breakfast bar area. This kitchen area is probably the most reworked part of the villa, as it used to be more of a galley layout, with the entry where this lovely piece of granite now sits.
A couple of more views of the well equipped kitchen. There is a dishwasher, ceramic topped stove, microwave and full size fridge with ice-maker. The space was very functional for a week and had pretty much everything you could think of. Except for a dish drying rack that is apparently no longer provided. I guess we are the only ones left who occasionally hand wash a dish or two.
Let’s move on to the master bedroom, just down a short hallway from the kitchen. This shot makes it look darker than it really is – I had the flash off and none of the room lights were on. But that bed is just as comfortable as it looks. For some reason, I forgot to turn and take a picture in the other direction, but the room has a nice large dresser, flat screen TV, and lounge chair. There is also a standard closet with in room safe.
To the left is the entry to the Master Bath, which has a second door back into the main hallway. Lots of good light, nice heavy towels, double vanity with granite top, and the Vistana feature jetted toilets; always close lid while flushing – these things flush with enough power to project waste all the way to the space coast. Honestly they are surely designed by a NASA rocket scientist!
There is a standard tub/shower – sorry no jets here. But the water pressure is good, and there is an adjustable shower head. I’m a shower guy anyway, so no love lost here for me.
Heading back out to the living room, we head up the stairs to the second bedroom and loft. Really nice dark brown wood and wrought iron railings lead the way up.
The sleeping loft is a good sized area with a second pull out sofa. The room has a closet as well if using as a sleeping area.
Next door is the separate second bedroom, with single beds. These are the extended length singles and are just as comfortable as the master bed. As for moving the beds, we didn’t try it but if it is possible it’s tougher than moving your home bed. Like most hotel beds these have solid platforms beneath that would be hard to move, and the headboards are attached to the walls.
There is also a dresser and third TV set in the room.
Just outside is the second bath with single vanity,
And tub and shower.
And this odd shot is just intended to give an indication of the ceiling volume over the living room area. That is one tall ceiling, probably about 25 feet total height to the peak. Taken from the lounge chair in front of the window.
The screened in balcony is a small but comfortable space, great for a quiet morning coffee as the rest of the park weary sleep in. Only enough room for 2 chairs here.
There is also a stacked washer dryer off the main hallway that came in very handy throughout our visit.
And one last handy area, a very large storage room under the stairs. This was great for stowing luggage out of the way for the week and for collecting all the purchases from the shopping therapy days.
And that wraps up the tour of the unit.
We were all very impressed with the transformation of the unit. The quality of the materials throughout is top notch. I still wish they would wall in the sleeping loft to make this a true 3BR unit, and a jetted tub would make it more desirable to some I am sure.
I’ve got a couple of other update photos and comments for a second post to come. Stay tuned.
So a bit of background. DS16, aka CJ, and I had driven a quick 1500 miles on the 10th and 11th of March to get a head start on our vacation. We checked into the Silver Lake Resort, another timeshare that we own at, for the first three nights. Saturday the 14th was changeover day, and the day that DW, aka A+, joined us. Unfortunately our local board of education for some reason frowns upon teachers skiving off the few days before March break, so she was in it until the bitter end, and was flying down to join us. Actually, I am not sure if she would have seen it as unfortunate, as the smells emanating from Sully (yes we named our SUV) when we arrived in Florida were a bit ripe. Two boys, and a banana peel that fell beneath the seat, along with Florida heat and a broken climate control system that would only throw full heat on the passenger side (it was in the 80’s in FL) led to some unpleasant aromas…
At 10:30 we picked up a very frazzled A+ at the airport – turns out she had overslept and had a very frenzied start to the day. Great stories here, but this is about the Sheraton, and isn’t a trip report. Since we already had her baggage with us in the car, she only had a small carryon. We headed from the airport straight to Vistana Resort in hopes of an early check-in.
A quick note here on SunPass. This is the first year I bought a transponder, and I must say it was worth it. If you are driving to Disney from the North, taking the 417 toll route around Orlando is a great timesaver. And on this Saturday there was zero traffic taking 417 to and from the airport. It also makes airport parking a breeze as your parking fee is charged straight to your account just like the road tolls – you just drive out the SunPass lane exiting the parking garage.
Minutes later we arrived at the Vistana reception centre just ahead of the throngs of other Ontario March breakers hot on our heels. Now I did not take any pictures of the reception centre, but it does look just like the Sheraton images. We were only second back in line, but hit one of those occasional stalls where everyone in front of you seems to have to tell their life story while checking in.
The space may be lovely (although I have a feeling this look will be dated quickly), but the mechanics of the new space are a bit rough still. There are a bunch of separate desks, and some have signs for reception, others for concierge, they seem very random which leads to some confusion about who is doing what where. The activities desk is now back where Diamond Lane used to be. And Diamond Lane? Nowhere to be found. I asked the concierge while waiting for a reception counter, and he said they were still working out the kinks and DL was not (yet) available. To be honest, I am not certain that I will miss a separate lane; it was getting popular enough that the DL line could be longer than the regular line at times. I would suggest maybe putting Concierge on one side and reception on the other.
After maybe a 15 minute wait we got to an available reception counter. And lo and behold, our villa was ready for us. Drop a quick deposit on the credit card, get our signing privilege card, a half-dozen towel cards (two each), and no, they don’t need to tell us how to get to our unit, we could get there blindfolded. A quick stop at the tour desk for them to beseech us to come to the owner update (because it is completely different now), a polite “no thanks” get our parking pass and a big bundle of discount coupons, and we are on our way. The line was quite long when we got away, but we were no more than 30 minutes checking in.
High-tailing it over to our home away from home, the excitement was growing. We have not been in our own unit for several years now, and had not had the opportunity to see the renovations yet, but we had stayed in other sections so our expectations were high. We surprised housekeeping as we pulled up. I guess she wasn’t quite as ready as reception thought, but only needed about 2 minutes to finish up. She seemed quite amused by our ooohs and aaahs as we walked in.
So let’s take you on a walkthrough of the unit – after all that’s the first thing we did! These photos are taken just a short time after arriving, so there are a few bags strewn about. This first image is from the front door and is what you see as step across the threshold. Kitchen to the left, dining area beyond, and living room dead ahead.
The living room is a bright open space with a 2 storey feature window. The chairs and sofa are quite comfortable. Those drapes have motorized closers for the sheers and blackout panels.
The second view is from about halfway up the stairs to the upper floor. The entertainment centre has a nice flat screen TV (probably a modest 40”) and a Bose sound system with DVD player. You can just see the loft in the upper left.
Next up, the dining room has seating for six, a comfortable spot to enjoy a family meal, with the balcony just behind.
Next, looking back towards the entry is the breakfast bar area. This kitchen area is probably the most reworked part of the villa, as it used to be more of a galley layout, with the entry where this lovely piece of granite now sits.
A couple of more views of the well equipped kitchen. There is a dishwasher, ceramic topped stove, microwave and full size fridge with ice-maker. The space was very functional for a week and had pretty much everything you could think of. Except for a dish drying rack that is apparently no longer provided. I guess we are the only ones left who occasionally hand wash a dish or two.
Let’s move on to the master bedroom, just down a short hallway from the kitchen. This shot makes it look darker than it really is – I had the flash off and none of the room lights were on. But that bed is just as comfortable as it looks. For some reason, I forgot to turn and take a picture in the other direction, but the room has a nice large dresser, flat screen TV, and lounge chair. There is also a standard closet with in room safe.
To the left is the entry to the Master Bath, which has a second door back into the main hallway. Lots of good light, nice heavy towels, double vanity with granite top, and the Vistana feature jetted toilets; always close lid while flushing – these things flush with enough power to project waste all the way to the space coast. Honestly they are surely designed by a NASA rocket scientist!
There is a standard tub/shower – sorry no jets here. But the water pressure is good, and there is an adjustable shower head. I’m a shower guy anyway, so no love lost here for me.
Heading back out to the living room, we head up the stairs to the second bedroom and loft. Really nice dark brown wood and wrought iron railings lead the way up.
The sleeping loft is a good sized area with a second pull out sofa. The room has a closet as well if using as a sleeping area.
Next door is the separate second bedroom, with single beds. These are the extended length singles and are just as comfortable as the master bed. As for moving the beds, we didn’t try it but if it is possible it’s tougher than moving your home bed. Like most hotel beds these have solid platforms beneath that would be hard to move, and the headboards are attached to the walls.
There is also a dresser and third TV set in the room.
Just outside is the second bath with single vanity,
And tub and shower.
And this odd shot is just intended to give an indication of the ceiling volume over the living room area. That is one tall ceiling, probably about 25 feet total height to the peak. Taken from the lounge chair in front of the window.
The screened in balcony is a small but comfortable space, great for a quiet morning coffee as the rest of the park weary sleep in. Only enough room for 2 chairs here.
There is also a stacked washer dryer off the main hallway that came in very handy throughout our visit.
And one last handy area, a very large storage room under the stairs. This was great for stowing luggage out of the way for the week and for collecting all the purchases from the shopping therapy days.
And that wraps up the tour of the unit.
We were all very impressed with the transformation of the unit. The quality of the materials throughout is top notch. I still wish they would wall in the sleeping loft to make this a true 3BR unit, and a jetted tub would make it more desirable to some I am sure.
I’ve got a couple of other update photos and comments for a second post to come. Stay tuned.
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. Here is their email:
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), the dive-in movies, and the way they have integrated the hot tubs (up behind the waterfall, two different tubs separated by a small set of stairs, secluded from the noise of the pool and surrounded by greenery). We also like that there seems to be less "coming and going" over by Fountains.....with the Marketplace and Zimmies on the other side of the resort, there just felt like there was considerably more traffic there when we stayed in Spas.
