DW and I got back Friday night (stayed 5/25-5/30). For those of you wonderful DVCer's who live near Detroit who haven't tried flying out of FNT, it was a wonderful experience. Granted, our family (myself, DW, and DS's 5 and 2.5) had to change planes in CVG, but we were fortunate that the DS's slept on the planes. Also, we flew into PBI (West Palm Beach) as opposed to MCO, figuring 1) the cost was about the same....2) we would get more frequent flyer miles.....3) it would be less crowded. Also, since my DS's haven't yet been to WDW (doin' that over this coming New Year's!), I want them to equate MCO with WDW.
We rented a car from Alamo. The line seemed to take forever, even though they had 4 or 5 agents assisting customers. I got the "luck of the draw" when I got behind a line of customers who either were not 25, didn't have enough room on their credit card, wanted to upgrade to an unavailable vehicle (you get the idea!). Once I got to the counter, the whole process took about 2 minutes. Family got put on a bus to take us to the Alamo/National lot (about 1/2 mile away from the terminal), and dropped off in the section of "intermediate" cars available. Told to choose one and get in. We chose the Mitsubishi Galant over the Toyota Corolla simply because we hadn't driven one yet (Corolla seems to have more trunk space).
1 1/2hrs later, we were at DVC VB.
We loved Vero. We were assigned room 1231 (1BR). It had a wonderful view of palm trees. Don't take that the wrong way! I wasn't expecting to see the ocean from a 1BR. It was nice.
We ate at Shutters on Sunday night. For those of you with small children, ask if Beth can be your server. She was absolutely, positively wonderful with both DS's. I will never, ever forget her, or the smile she brought to my children.
I don't want to go on and on (and on) about every detail of the trip. Vero was more beautiful than I imagined, and will be back. However, for those of you who have been to HHI, here are my opinions comparing the two (having stayed in a 1BR at HHI last year)......
Rooms... The bedroom seemed to be larger at HHI. The bathroom seemed to be larger at Vero (DW says the shower stall is larger at Vero). The dining area of the room was much more comfortable at VB with "real" chairs all around the table (as opposed to a "bench" half way around). Don't get me wrong, HHI was fine, it's just that the bench is not suitable for my oversized proportions to sit on.
Balconey... Larger at HHI with more seating, but my DS's and those picnic tables just didn't fare too well. For the ambiance, the HHI balconey definitely serves its purpose.
Resort pool.... 2 thumbs up to VB. The slide was (I thought)higher and longer than the one at HHI, though not as crowded. The children's area was nice too (the water cannons were a blast, no pun intended!). Granted, HHI has a beautiful pool at the beach, which was why I only compared the resort pool.
Beach area..... since my DS's didn't have an interest either week, I don't have an opinion.
Snack area on the resort.... I felt it was in a better location at VB and the service was quicker but then, HHI does have the HUGE snack/beverage area at the beach.
Entertainment for the children ..... There seemed to be more to do at HHI.
As far as anything else I may have missed, here's the bottom line.... Vero is a better self-contained resort, BUT HHI has a ton of very close (less than 3 miles) dining and shopping options.
Neither resort is better, they just have their nuances.
Hope I didn't put you to sleep.
We rented a car from Alamo. The line seemed to take forever, even though they had 4 or 5 agents assisting customers. I got the "luck of the draw" when I got behind a line of customers who either were not 25, didn't have enough room on their credit card, wanted to upgrade to an unavailable vehicle (you get the idea!). Once I got to the counter, the whole process took about 2 minutes. Family got put on a bus to take us to the Alamo/National lot (about 1/2 mile away from the terminal), and dropped off in the section of "intermediate" cars available. Told to choose one and get in. We chose the Mitsubishi Galant over the Toyota Corolla simply because we hadn't driven one yet (Corolla seems to have more trunk space).
1 1/2hrs later, we were at DVC VB.
We loved Vero. We were assigned room 1231 (1BR). It had a wonderful view of palm trees. Don't take that the wrong way! I wasn't expecting to see the ocean from a 1BR. It was nice.
We ate at Shutters on Sunday night. For those of you with small children, ask if Beth can be your server. She was absolutely, positively wonderful with both DS's. I will never, ever forget her, or the smile she brought to my children.
I don't want to go on and on (and on) about every detail of the trip. Vero was more beautiful than I imagined, and will be back. However, for those of you who have been to HHI, here are my opinions comparing the two (having stayed in a 1BR at HHI last year)......
Rooms... The bedroom seemed to be larger at HHI. The bathroom seemed to be larger at Vero (DW says the shower stall is larger at Vero). The dining area of the room was much more comfortable at VB with "real" chairs all around the table (as opposed to a "bench" half way around). Don't get me wrong, HHI was fine, it's just that the bench is not suitable for my oversized proportions to sit on.
Balconey... Larger at HHI with more seating, but my DS's and those picnic tables just didn't fare too well. For the ambiance, the HHI balconey definitely serves its purpose.
Resort pool.... 2 thumbs up to VB. The slide was (I thought)higher and longer than the one at HHI, though not as crowded. The children's area was nice too (the water cannons were a blast, no pun intended!). Granted, HHI has a beautiful pool at the beach, which was why I only compared the resort pool.
Beach area..... since my DS's didn't have an interest either week, I don't have an opinion.
Snack area on the resort.... I felt it was in a better location at VB and the service was quicker but then, HHI does have the HUGE snack/beverage area at the beach.
Entertainment for the children ..... There seemed to be more to do at HHI.
As far as anything else I may have missed, here's the bottom line.... Vero is a better self-contained resort, BUT HHI has a ton of very close (less than 3 miles) dining and shopping options.
Neither resort is better, they just have their nuances.
Hope I didn't put you to sleep.
Here is the hammock to the left of the Inn headed towards Building 12.
