Vistana Villages--Need Help

[Simba0319]

I just booked a great deal through HotelKingdom.com for a 2 bedroom villa at the Vistana Villages. I originally booked 1 room at the HIFS but because there are 8 of us I realized we needed 2 bathrooms. Also the 2 Bed room at VV is double the square footage than HIFS.

Questions-- Has anyone stayed there?? How was it? Neat? Clean??

Would love to hear your opinion!!

Thanks

 

[Londoner]

Vistana Villages is a wonderful resort. We (6 of us) stayed at HIFS for two weeks and VV for one week. Wish it was the other way around!
HIFS was very cramped for 6 and a bit manky. VV is neat, clean and luxurious. Lots of space. Wonderful kitchen, wonderful bathrooms, woderful bedrooms, wonderful living area..........

 

[calgarygary]

When are you going to V V? We are there from Nov. 9th to 23rd and if it is before you arrive, I will be reporting on the Trip Reports board. Frankly, we briefly considered staying at HIFS but our travel agent came in with a price that was only marginally higher and with the luxury of V V. Do a search of Vistana Villages and you will come across a great thread where someone wanted support for convincing his wife to stay at the villages rather than HIFS. After reading the thread, I'm sure you will no longer consider HIFS.

Gary

 

[klynn]

We stayed there in April. It is a great resort! I would definately go back!

 

[Simba0319]

Thanks for all the input. I am glad Lonedoner said it was cramped with 6..I am with a party of 8! I guess VV will definitely be the choice. I will cancel my ressie at HIFS.

Calgarygary--I will be there in December. If you can remember send me an email with info... Simba0319@aol.com! I will definitely do the search!!

Kylnn- Thanks for the reassurance!

All advice is really appreciated!!

Thanks again Emily

 

[ttfn3]

We stayed in a 2 BR unit at the Vistana Villages in May 2002. The resort is absolutely beautiful. It opened the Fall of 2000, so it's quite new. The 2 BR unit is spacious. We slept 6 very comfortably there for a couple of nights out of the 7 nights we stayed there. I love having a washer/dryer so I don't have to pack so many clothes AND I don't have to do much laundry when I get back from vacation. The unit is pretty well equipped. Our toaster didn't work, but housekeeping quickly brought a new one. We liked being able to freeze water bottles and juice boxes at night for our trip to the parks the next day. I LOVED the jacuzzi tub in the master BR. Our DS also enjoyed taking a bubbly bath in it. The second Bath had a shower/bath also. The pool area is very nice. Our DS loved jumping in the pool through the waterfall. There's also a ping pong table near the main pool area.

I clocked the drive from the V V parking lot to the TTC/MK parking lot and it was 10 minutes. A very easy drive.

My only "complaint" is the pillows. Much too soft for me. Also, the frogs were pretty noisy at night in the ponds near the units. We travel with "wave"/noise machines, so it wasn't a problem for us. Also, beware of the timeshare presentation. It can get pretty high pressured.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. I kept quite a bit of material from our trip.

 

[calgarygary]

Emily, will do but it seems all you are going to get is reinforcement for your decision. I have heard about the frogs before but many people say that if windows and doors are closed, frogs can barely be heard. I'm quite sure my family will have to deal with my snoring more than the frogs. By the way, the best selection of photos of the villages that I have seen are linked to the www.dollar website. Just click on hotel, then Orlando with your check in dates and the V V should be one of the choices that come up. Click on their link and then photos and enjoy. I have tried saving a link for all of this but it won't work.

Gary

 

[Simba0319]

Thanks everyone!! Can't wait to get there!!!

EMily

 

[Russell]

We just got back from VV. What a fantastic place! It was so roomy, so nice. The bedrooms were great. Has a waterfall outside our window. The screened in porch was very nice. The place really is beautiful. I don't think I can stay at a regular hotel at Disney again! I'm already thinking about going back! I was concerned but a week before I left for Disney I changed grom HIFS to VV and I'm so glad I did. We could not have been more pleased!

 

[sillyminny]

We loved this hotel for our family of five.
You will have a great stay. If we got a good price again we'd stay there!

 

[Scottish-Helen]

I got back from a weeks stay at VV this morning. It is a wonderful resort and I couldn't fault it, we walked into our 2 bedroom villa and were like WOW!!!!! (and I've stayed in some nice hotels, I'm a travel agent)

It was very clean and spacious and the location was good for getting to all the parks.

There was only 2 in our party but I thought it would be good for bigger parties and probably not much dearer than more cramped properties.

I will certainly be recommending Vistana Villages in the future

 

[calgarygary]

Simba0319, I am posting a reply here rather than email as a virus attacked our server while on vacation and I do not want to take any risks with people before I am assured that it has been removed. Vistana Villages was fantastic!

First, lets talk location. I know you have been doing your homework and know that this site is best done with a car. The Villages are located about 2 miles down International Drive from SeaWorld and within 10 minutes you are at WDW. The longest drive is to Universal either by I4 or following the signs, there is a road running parallel to International that will get you there in about 20 minutes. Apx. 2 minutes outside the resort is a new Publix grocery store that is reasonably priced. Just past the Publix is a Premium Outlets Mall for some great shopping.

Within the resort is the main pool, which I'm sure by now you have seen pics of. The temp of this pool is a bit cooler but still comfortable during the evening. The smaller quiet pool (no toys or floaties) is quite warm and the hot tub is quite hot. The grounds are very pleasant and landscaping occurred throughout our stay of 2 weeks. There was a pool table, ping pong table, basketball court and volleyball net as well as 2 games rooms. As well there was a small fitness centre. We only used the deli for coffee as no matter what coffee you brew in your room, if you do not use bottled water you will get a bad cup of coffee.

I personally found that as the resort is first and foremost a timeshare, that the staff were not at the same level in attending to needs as a resort hotel. That being said, I still feel that we made the best choice in picking the V.V.

Our room, and every room that you can see into, looked exactly like the photos you see posted for the Villages.

We stayed in building 9 which in my opinion is likely the least desireable. Many people have said to avoid 10 because it is along International Drive but I do not believe traffic noise impacts on 10. The noise can be heard in 9 if you are on your patio. You do not hear traffic if the doors and windows are closed. Buildings 9 and 10 are the furthest from the pools but it was always a pleasant walk so I don't see that as a negative.

A bit of advice for those planning on using the washer and dryer, do not use tablets. I found that the machines were so small, that tablets did not totally disolve and would stain clothes. The soap stain would come out in the next wash though.

Any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Gary

 

[Simba0319]

Gary,

Thanks for all the info. We are driving so we do have a car. I hope the weather will be warm enough to enjoy the pool. Thanks for the info on the tablets. I was planning on bringing them but I will bring the liquid.

Thanks all!!

 

[calgarygary]

You are welcome. Don't forget, if you find the pool cool, say something. Many resorts use guests comments to determine the temp. they keep their pools at. A pool the size of the Villages requires big bucks to keep warm so every degree is a saving to the resort.

Don't know if you are planning on attending their sales seminar but we didn't. They started at $100 for attending and raised it to $125 when we showed no interest. I'm sure that if we wanted to attend that there is more money than that available.

By the way, one of the highlights for my kids (all girls, 8, 10, 14, & 18) was seeing the Grinch and the Christmas celebration in Suess's Landing at IOA. The wait to see the Grinch was the only serious line we were in and because of the way it is set up, one I strongly advise avoiding.

Gary

 

[Simba0319]

Gary,

Again, thanks for the info. We are not sure if we are going to IOA now. How was the rest of IOA? Was Whoville great? I have only been to IOA once and I can't remember if it is worth going with smaller kids. Did you see the float parade? If so how was it?

Thanks, EMily

 

[calgarygary]

Emily, IOA is probably not the best park if the children are really young. Suess's Landing has rides that appeal to the under 10 set but most of the park is for older children or kids that are adventurous. We were there to see the first day of Grinchmas and it was fantastic. The Macy parade doesn't start until mid December so we missed out on that. In my opinion, the show they put on was the equal of any show at Disney except for the venue. The stage is set up in the middle of Suess's Landing and really the show deserves a theatre and we deserved seats - I hate standing during a show. My children are 8, 10, 14 and 18. My wife, my 14 and 18 kids and myself all picked IOA as our favourite park. The two younger ones picked the Magic Kingdom as their favourite. Hope this helps you decide.

Gary

 

[Simba0319]

Thanks for your opinion. We have annual passes so Disney parks are "free" this trip. I think we will stick to Disney. If the crowds get too tough we might venture over to Universal.

Again....Thanks!!!