Vistana Village on I-Drive

[edcopp]

Just booked for the week of June 11th - 18th in a 2 bedroom villa. Looking forward to it immensely. Looks real nice, kids will love the pool (they're 9 and 8).

Anybody have any first-hand experience here? Any recommendations on requests for a particular part of the resort? It looks like they had some construction going on there last year. Is it ongoing?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

[vhoffman]

Hi and welcome to the boards!

I assume you mean the Sheraton Vistana Villages? Do a search on this board, there's several threads that discuss this resort. We're going in April, however, we can only stay for 4 nights

I understand the Cascades is considered the nicest section. Also, try to get a StarWoods Preferred Guest membership (free just go to www.spg.com). It might help with check-in, room preferences, etc. With a family of four, we wouldn't consider staying in a single hotel room anymore, unless its just for one night. We had a recent trip to San Antonio, stayed in a 2bdr, 2 bath condo with kitchen and washer/dryer, such a difference! Really eases the stress of a vacation with kids, everyone has their space, you don't have to pack a ton of clothes, just wash them out, don't have to depend on restaurants for every bit of food, its the only way to go! Gone are the days of washing out clothes in the hotel sink and trying to concoct some sort of meal using a coffee pot and whatever I can stash in a cooler. We're thinking seriously of buying a timeshare in the near future, one that we can trade for various locations. Have a great trip!

 

[edcopp]

I assume you mean the Sheraton Vistana Villages? Do a search on this board, there's several threads that discuss this resort. We're going in April, however, we can only stay for 4 nights

I understand the Cascades is considered the nicest section. Also, try to get a StarWoods Preferred Guest membership . It might help with check-in, room preferences, etc.

I believe that the Cascades is a part of the Vistana Resort, not the Vistana Villages. No? Thanks for the SW membership idea, though.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Becoming an SPG member is always a good idea, but, unfortunately, Vistana Villages does not operate the same way as the Resort, so there is no "Diamond Lane." There is no need for it as the Villages are considerably smaller. We will be in VV in November and I am also curious to know if the construction has been completed. I have a funny feeling that calling directly is the only way to find out. And, yes, you are correct, Cascades is at the Resort not the Villages The Villages have numbered buildings, not names.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I believe that the Cascades is a part of the Vistana Resort, not the Vistana Villages. No?

edcopp, you're correct.....the Cascades is at the main Vistana resort on SR 535 not the Villages on I-Drive.
Pretty much all the bldgs at the Villages are new or fairly new.
Here's a map that shows their location in the resort :
http://www.starwoodvo.com/flash/maps/1/map.html

Also, construction does appear to be ongoing according to the website :
<<<New construction is underway at Sheraton Vistana Villages. All new phases are scheduled for completion in 2007. View the latest construction photos. >>>>>>

 

[vhoffman]

Ooops! I stand corrected. Guess I just got the Villages and Resorts mixed up!

Actually we are staying at the Sheraton Vistana Villages this April. I can't climb stairs--does anyone know if there is elevator access? Just to be sure, I'll request a handicapped accessible room--that way it will either be on the first floor or with elevator access. Thanks!

 

[MiaSRN62]

Actually we are staying at the Sheraton Vistana Villages this April. I can't climb stairs--does anyone know if there is elevator access? Just to be sure, I'll request a handicapped accessible room--that way it will either be on the first floor or with elevator access. Thanks!

vhoffman,
I've never stayed there but they do have elevators. I believe the bdlgs are around 4-5 stories high ? Someone may correct me on that one. But regardless, there's no need to request a handicapped/ground floor unless you actually need the H/A layout.
Have a nice visit at the Villages.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Have stayed at V.V. 5 times and the buildings are 4 stories I think. I lOVE it. Last year we stayed at Vistana Resort a few minutes away and while it was wonderful (we are staying there again this year thanks to Skyauction) my first love will always be V.V. One minus, when we first stayed they were open a week and the pool was huge. As the years hve gone by more and more buildings have been added and now the last time I sayed (2 yr ago) it was very crowded. That is one of the reasons we like the Vistana they have a varitey of pools most of which are not crowded. The buildings and areas at V.V. do not have names like Vistana Resort but the lower the number the closer you are to the pool.

 

[pcgmom]

We stayed at VV in 2003, and it was our first time-share exchange experience, and boy, were we spoiled. It definitely exceeded our expectations. My 2 year old walked through the door and said, "Cool house!" It was very clean, and the pool area was great. It was in October, so it was not very crowded. Of course, we were asked to go through the time-share experience, and they weren't too pushy. We really liked the convenient location, too. Happy vacationing!