Trip report: Vistana Villages "perfect"

[JeanneBab]

Just returned from 5 nights at Sheraton's Vistana Villages. Before we went, I was confused about the Resort vs. the Villages. This is the one on International Drive, apparently brand new. Only one section has been built: The Gardens.

It could not have been more perfect! We had the 2BR/ 2BA unit with screen porch, jacuzzi and laundry room. Charcoal grill was available right next to the building. Rooms were large, beds were comfy, and the unit was well stocked. We had an end unit, so there was very little noise...just a little from the unit above. They provided maid service even though we weren't staying a full week (we tipped the maids well since we didn't pay for the service).

The pool is fabulous. Kids loved the waterfall and baby-fountain areas. We had two problems: safe didn't work and the dryer stopped heating. Workers arrived literally within 10 minutes in both cases. The dryer was fixed immediately, never did get the safe working.

As for Disney World, one ride got big Kudos from everyone: Soarin'. Wow! You'll want to do this one more than once!

I will be glad to answer any questions you may have if you've been invited to preview the Villages.

 

[disney 4me2]

Glad to hear you had a great time at Vistana Villages- we own there and we love it! The pool is so nice, we also love the fountains. The resort is 6 years old, and they are adding on to it now, the new part is going to resemble a Key West theme.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

So glad to hear you had a great time. I've only stayed at the Vistana Resort and we loved that so I can imagine how nice VV is. I would love to stay there someday.

Always good to hear about another great off site trip!

 

[rowmac2000]

Just returned from 5 nights at Sheraton's Vistana Villages. Before we went, I was confused about the Resort vs. the Villages. This is the one on International Drive, apparently brand new. Only one section has been built: The Gardens.

It could not have been more perfect! We had the 2BR/ 2BA unit with screen porch, jacuzzi and laundry room. Charcoal grill was available right next to the building. Rooms were large, beds were comfy, and the unit was well stocked. We had an end unit, so there was very little noise...just a little from the unit above. They provided maid service even though we weren't staying a full week (we tipped the maids well since we didn't pay for the service).

The pool is fabulous. Kids loved the waterfall and baby-fountain areas. We had two problems: safe didn't work and the dryer stopped heating. Workers arrived literally within 10 minutes in both cases. The dryer was fixed immediately, never did get the safe working.

As for Disney World, one ride got big Kudos from everyone: Soarin'. Wow! You'll want to do this one more than once!

I will be glad to answer any questions you may have if you've been invited to preview the Villages.

Hello, I will be staying the Villages as well first week of June. I want to call them and guarantee a great room, just like the pictures on the web - any reccomendations? I am so looking forward to this place - it looks gorgeous on the web. Are they still doing construction?

Your help is greatly appreciated....

 

[kaylarachelpooh]

I just received an invitation from Sheraton Vistana Villages regarding a promotion. For $169 we can have a 1-bedroom villa for 4 ngihts/5 days. I've just read a few threads on this regarding a promotional "you have to listen to a timeshare" thing. My question is.......do you have to pay for any resort fees? How did you get out of paying for housekeeping as my invitation says it is not included. I also read from the brochure that there are not any non-smoking rooms. Do you smoke? Was it bad if you don't smoke? Thanks!

 

[disney 4me2]

I can answer a few questions.... First we do not smoke, but I did not smell smoke anywhere in our room. It would have bothered me if there were any odor of smoke. Next, you are really not guaranteed any room number until check-in, unless you are an owner. This was a concern of mine, as we were not owners until after we stayed there. We did not get the building or the room type(2 bedroom lock-off) that we wanted. We did get a 2 bedroom standard, and it was plenty big enough for all 7 of us. I had asked to be in building 1,2 or 3 and we got building 9. Construction is going on next to building 10, but we heard no noise from the construction. I really do not think we would have heard any noise even if we were in building 10, but I wanted to be closer to the pools. I did see a snake while I was there, walking back to my room from the pool. I hate snakes, but I was told that in Florida they are common. the area that I saw the snake in was near the small "lake". It was not even a very big snake, but I just have a phobia! From that point on, I drove my car to the pool, (not far at all)which was not a big deal. Except that my husband and kids thought I was foolish not to walk to the pool!the grounds are lovely, all the rooms are very ,very nice, and I do not think there is a bad area of the resort to be in. Probably some people would rather not be by the pool. the pool is the biggest and nicest that I have ever seen. The whole place reminded me of a Club Med.They have a ton of beach towels out by the pool, so do not bother to even bring any towels from home. Let me know if I can answer any more questions!

 

[Daynab]

What supermarket is closest to the resort? And what restaurants are in the area?

Dayna

 

[lawgs]

publix is just down the street about a mile or less

not sure about the restaurants but dolly parton show is close by ( and other restaurants down on the road leading to it from 535

the premium outlet malls are just across the street from the walgreen/publix retail area

there is also a super walmart that should be opening soon on 535 at polynesian isle blvd just down from the buena vista outlet mall on 535

 

[JeanneBab]

What supermarket is closest to the resort? And what restaurants are in the area?

Dayna

We didn't eat out except at the parks, but I noted an Outback right around the corner. It's a busy area, so I'm sure there are many restaurants within a short drive.

We shopped at SuperTarget a few miles away, but it was an easy drive.

 

[Daynab]

Thanks for the info. This is our first timeshare experience. My BIL bought at Vistana Villages and invited us to go with them. I am very excited to try something different. I think it will be nice to have a place to call home after a day at the parks.

Any other advice for a newbie would be appreciated.
We have never done Universal, only Disney. Is Universal a must or is Disney the only way to go?

Thanks in advance,
Dayna

 

[JeanneBab]

We didn't do Universal because we had small children (3 and 6). We loved Epcot...plan your visit to be there for the fireworks show over the lake at 9pm. Best we've ever seen.

Epcot also has Soarin'...not to be missed (there's a height restriction, but we managed to sneak the 3-yr-old girl in). Mission Space is fun (she was too young for that one) and the kids really liked the dinosaur ride (energy exhibit).

Also at Epcot there's a terrific face-painter right outside the Indy Jones ride.

 

[Fodderlm]

I just received an invitation from Sheraton Vistana Villages regarding a promotion. For $169 we can have a 1-bedroom villa for 4 ngihts/5 days. I've just read a few threads on this regarding a promotional "you have to listen to a timeshare" thing. My question is.......do you have to pay for any resort fees? How did you get out of paying for housekeeping as my invitation says it is not included. I also read from the brochure that there are not any non-smoking rooms. Do you smoke? Was it bad if you don't smoke? Thanks!

I had a similar offer from Vistana Villages. They made it clear that this involved a 90 minute or so presentation but what wasn't as obvious was that you didn't stay at the Vistana! The picture on the front was Vistana, but the fineprint on the back of the offer mentioned that you would be put up in a local resort (I think it was Crowne Plaza in my case..)
I have friends with time shares that have been to the Vistana Villages and really liked the resort. I eventually declined when I realized that I wasn't going to be staying in the resort they were trying to sell. (They did lower the price and offer a cash bonus if I went after I told them I wasn't going to do it. You may want to play hard sell if you call to see if they do the same)
You may have a different offer but I would just encourage you to verify where your offer is to stay at.
Have Fun!
Ed

 

[CuriousMinnie]

I like what i see on their website (part of Sheraton), and am tempted to book as a hotel guest for 5 nights. Will i be hassled for timeshare presentations?

Can someone also inform me how easy it is to use a rental car to get from VV to Disney parks - how much is parking?

Appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[holdem]

i didn't realize the villages are seperate from vistana resort. what do they have besides a pool? do you know there website? thanks.

 

[2minnies]

We stayed here in November 2002 not long after it opened and we loved it. I was lucky enough to book thru Hotel Kingdom at a great price. Going back in April 2006 - I'm wondering - do they still have the small market with sandwiches/coffee on site near the pool bar?

Here's the website I use for Vistana Village

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=5607

 

[rowmac2000]

I like what i see on their website (part of Sheraton), and am tempted to book as a hotel guest for 5 nights. Will i be hassled for timeshare presentations?

Can someone also inform me how easy it is to use a rental car to get from VV to Disney parks - how much is parking?

Appreciate it. Thanks!

Hello CuriousMinnie,
I absolutely loved Sheraton Vistana Villages (different from Vistana Resort)! We stayed there for 5 nights in early June and did not have one problem at all. We stayed at Bldg. 1 Room 304 (I think). I heard about them calling at all hours regarding the timeshare or a "gift" at the front desk but did not do any - all I did was unplugged the phone lines on all the phones and that was that. I did re-connect at one point to check the messages and sure enough was the timeshare people. Again, I did not respond to any of the messages and did not hear from them again. Just unplug the telephones from the wall.

VV is a timeshare but can also be a hotel. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the room - beautifully decorated and clean - housekeeper came in everyday to clean and restock the towels. The Kitchen was FULLY stocked with all utensils and dishes and pots and pans. Publix was right around the corner practically and did grocery there the first night to stock up for breakfast and snacks. TIP: freeze water bottles and juice boxes at night to bring with you to the parks - saves you tons of money. Also, I called them earlier to let them know if I can have a room close to the office - hence Bldg. 1 because of 2 elderly people - and they did give it to me eventhough they couldn't promise me I would get it.

We rented from Dollar Rental and did the upgrade from the regular van to a Town & Country - worth every penny because the regular van was the really boxy not really good looking van and the Chrysler Town & Country was just great. They also gave me a great deal of just an extra $7 extra a day for the upgrade as opposed to $10/day. You just need to talk to the rep. and say that they said that they would give you the upgrade for that amount extra a day - it won't hurt. Rental was a definite for us - we can come and go as we pleased - we had our 4 year old and both our moms. Parking was not bad at all - I'm pretty sure that parking was either $8 or $10/day. We also had a handicapped placard which was very convenient. PLUS, you can go on your own schedule as oppose to the bus or trolley schedule. Definitely a great idea to rent.

Check out these pics of VV:

http://starwoodvo.com/resorts/villafeatures.jsp?resortID=1

http://starwoodvo.com/resorts/welcome.jsp?resortID=1


Hope this helps! If you have any more ???? my email is rowmac2000@yahoo.com

 

[belsam]

Glad to hear all these positive reports about VV. We are spending our last day there in November as the cash price through allearsnet.com was $175 for a 2 BR and there wasn't any availability at OKW for a cash night. Looking forward to seeing other than a Disney timeshare!

 

[swilshire]

How did you get out of paying for housekeeping as my invitation says it is not included.

You should check with them, but it probably just means you don't get daily housekeeping unless you pay extra for it. At Vistana Resort, they only come in once at the middle of the week. Some resorts, they don't come at all while you're there.

We clean up after ourselves at home, so that doesn't really bother me. In fact, it's sort of nice not to worry about putting things away the day the maids will come.

Sheila

 

[luvdisney14]

I agree about not having maid service. We justed returned from vistana resorts and didn't have maid service it was fine. I was so worried about not having it and it worked out nice not having anyone in our room.

Now I have a new question about VV, I heard that they are building a new pool, does anyone know what kind of pool and when it will be completed? We are seriously thinking about staying at VV next year. The location isn't the best but the units are newer.