Vero Beach Review

[Maistre Gracey]

We arrived in Vero on 9/9, and stayed in a Beach Cottage until 9/12. We loved our stay, and overall I would give our stay a 9.5 out of a possible 10.

The Resort:
The lobby is not quite as "grand" as some of the other resorts, but we found the design, architecture, layout, landscaping, and upkeep to be absolutely gorgeous, and well within the expected Disney standard (except the mini-golf).

The View:
We stayed in Cottage #1575, which is to the far right as approaching from the lobby area. This cottage location is extremely private, as you could virtually sit on the balcony naked and nobody would know. The other Cottages appeared to be more visible to people passing by.

The view from the top oceanside balcony was beautiful. The ocean was visible over the dune, yet the tropical wild landscaping was also very nice. The other three balconies/porches were all very nice in their own way. The entrance side top balcony on cottage #1575 had a very lush and tropical view, as the other cottages appeared to have an open view from the same balcony.

There is a small pathway next to cottage #1575 that leads to a beach access. This access does not appear to be part of the Disney resort (thank God), as there is a locker area on the access that is in shambles. This locker area is in view from the oceanside balcony, and this is the only bad part of the view.

Condition and Cleanliness:
The condition and cleanliness of the cottage was outstanding, with just a couple of small issues. The water pressure in the second sink in the master bathroom was very low, basically rendering the sink useless. The door to the top ocean balcony was in dire need of adjusting, and scraped when opening or closing making closing the door very difficult. All of the balcony/porch furniture looked as though it had seen better days. Outside of these three small items, the cottage was immaculate, and in very good condition. Of course, all of this was reported on check out, and staff appeared eager to correct these issues.

To Improve Upon:
Okay, now a couple of friendly gripes:
1) ENOUGH WITH THE BEACH BOYS MUSIC AT THE POOL!!! It sounds like the same six Beach Boys songs over and over, day in and day out. I like a good beach theme, but isn’t there another band that plays surfer music?
2) The mini-golf course was almost in shambles. It was definitely not up to Disney standards. Broken parts and putting areas that were in very poor condition. This area needs attention, and quick.
3) S’mores- please, please, please give us longer roasting sticks. Virtually everyone was burning their hands trying to roast marshmallows.

The Feel:
The Beach Cottages are not what I would consider “warm & cozy”, as they are very open and there can even be an echo in the kitchen/living area. We toured a 2br, and that was much more “warm & cozy”. I actually like the 1 or 2br better when there is only four people staying.

The resort was very relaxing, and we enjoyed our stay very much. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a "relaxing", low stress trip.

Restaurants:
Sonya's- Very good food, but it felt a tad too formal
Shutters- LOVED IT!
Black Pearl (Riverside)- weird place, marginal dining.

Summary:
WE LOVED IT, AND CAN'T WAIT TO RETURN!!! (except for the Beach Boys music thing).

I would be happy to answer any questions...

EDIT: PS- The only "Welcome Home" we got here, was printed on the floor mat at our cottage.

 

[Cap]

Maistre Gracey,

Thanks for your review of my "home". I'm glad you enjoyed it. We certainly do!

I hope you let the resort manager know about the sink, door, and mini-golf problems. It's the only way they find out about many "in room" issues. My experience is that, if told, they are very prompt to get those things fixed, although not as fast on the on-site DVC resorts, because the repair crews need to travel down from Orlando.

 

[ncligs]

Maistre Gracey,

Thanks for the thumbs up on VB!!

 

[Doctor P]

Thanks for your review. Hope we get to stay there some time.