Vistana Villages

[Janet Hill]

I just got via II trades 2 2 BR units here for Memorial day weekend. There were a lot of larger units available. I've got 24 hours to cancel so tell me.... what's the resort like? Recently refurished or old and tired? Since these were last minute trades I only had to trade low season studios to get them. However, I will be cancelling my Bonnet Creek reservation to stay here. Is it worth it?

 

[FlFairygirl32405]

We toured this resort in Feb. while staying at the Vistana Resort. It is a beautiful resort. I think it's new enough that you won't have to worry about getting stuck with a "bad unit." Is it worth giving up your reservation at B.C.?
I'm not sure. It depends on whether you are travelling with kids. If it were just me and my husband, I would say the resorts are about the same. If we were bringing the kids, I would choose B.C, because of the pools and activities at B.C.

 

[alice99]

We stayed in Vistana Villages last year it was very clean, but dated.

They could use a refurbishment, but I wouldn't cancel.
I liked the quietness of that section, parking right in front of my unit.

We enjoyed it.

If you only like shiny and new this may not be the best place for you.

 

[FlFairygirl32405]

The units we toured were either newly built or newly refurbished. They had all the latest ammenities, including Bose sound systems which impressed my husband. They also had a swimming pool that was under construction that was supposed to have a pirate ship for the kids but I can't remember when that's supposed to be completed. If you go through the previous posts, some of the reviews of the resort include pics. If units requests are allowed, maybe you could request a new unit. The sister resort, Sheraton Vistana, honored our unit request for a refurbished unit.

 

[littlestar]

Sheraton Vistana Villages is new and beautiful. The regular Sheraton Vistana is the older property and it has mixed refurbished/newer units and older units built in the 70's/early 80's.

Sheraton Vistana Villages just keeps improving every time we've seen it. In the late fall they are supposed to add a pirate ship slide, interactive water features, etc., at one of the new pools.

 

[mlenmoore]

Sheraton Vistana Villages is new and beautiful. The regular Sheraton Vistana is the older property and it has mixed refurbished/newer units and older units built in the 70's.

Sheraton Vistana Villages just keeps improving every time we've seen it. In the late fall they are supposed to add a pirate ship slide, interactive water features, etc., at one of the new pools.

Hi Littlestar:

sounds like you are quite familiar with this property. I have a reserv for 04/13 - 04/18. It is for a 1 bdrm villa (DW, I and 2 small kids). Any suggestion on what section to request if we want new/refurb'd unit that is quiet? Would a top floor unit in Key West units or Amelia units fit this description?

thanks
Mike

 

[calgarygary]

We stayed in Vistana Villages last year it was very clean, but dated.

They could use a refurbishment, but I wouldn't cancel.
I liked the quietness of that section, parking right in front of my unit.

We enjoyed it.

If you only like shiny and new this may not be the best place for you.

Key West is only a couple of years old, Amelia is brand new and Bella is less than 10 years old. Not sure what you mean by dated. All of the furnishings exceed the standards at DVC except maybe AK.

 

[alice99]

I'll have to look back and find out exactly which section we were in. It was older, and definitely not refurbished.

my mistake - sorry

 

[littlestar]

Hi Littlestar:

sounds like you are quite familiar with this property. I have a reserv for 04/13 - 04/18. It is for a 1 bdrm villa (DW, I and 2 small kids). Any suggestion on what section to request if we want new/refurb'd unit that is quiet? Would a top floor unit in Key West units or Amelia units fit this description?

thanks
Mike

Yes. Key West was pretty quiet. We had a 3 bedroom in Key West last fall and it was beautiful - granite countertops and we loved how the units were set up.

Two weeks ago the unit my sister had was in the Amelia section and it was wonderful, too. It was a 2 bedroom and the lock-off side was like a mini one bedroom instead of a studio - so it must have been a deluxe two bedroom.

I do know that they have different sized 1 bedrooms at this resort. Some are small mini one bedrooms and some are full sized one bedrooms.

Whenever I look at Trip Advisor for reviews on Sheraton Vistana Villages, people are always getting it mixed up with the original Sheraton Vistana resort. I have also stayed at the original Sheraton Vistana in a small one bedroom that was very nice. The newer Vistana Villages is on International Drive and the older Vistana resort is off of 535 close to Downtown Disney.

To the original poster - I'd definitely go for it. Since you traded studios for 2 bedrooms, I don't think you can go wrong with Sheraton Vistana Villages. It's on par with DVC and Marriott Vacation Club. I can't wait to see the new themed pool area this fall - I'm glad some of the other resorts in Orlando are starting to offer fun slides/themed pools like the Disney resorts do.

 

[Janet Hill]

Thanks for the responses, it looks like this will be our spot for Memorial Day week. My kids do enjoy checking out different resorts. With all of the availability of larger units here there must have been a bulk bank from the developer into II. With my exchange fees and MF on the units traded my outlay for these two units is about $490.

Littlestar- it appears that even on tug the reviews for the the Resort vs the Villages are being co-mingled.

 

[MiaSRN62]

The Vistana resort on SR 535 and the Vistana Villages are "sister" resorts. Just wish they would have named the Villages something different because people do get mixed up alot in reviews.

The Villages has several sections as does the main Vistana.
I believe the oldest is Bella which opened around the year 2000 ?
then Key West, followed by Amelia, and I believe the new St Augustine section will open soon ?

I also heard another phase is planned at the Villages to be called South Beach.

I can't imagine even Bella is that dated----I know Vistana is very good with keeping up with minor updates and repairs.


The older Vistana is in full swing with major rehabs (granite counter tops, new carpet, appliances, furniture, drapery, flat screen TV/Bose sound systems etc). There is one section at Vistana that was preexisting in the year 1980 when Vistana purchased the land.

Vistana then went on to build many more sections built from mid 80's to late 90's. By 2010/2011 all sections will have seen a major refurb.

Anyway....I do wish the names were not so similar.


Maria

 

[darrius1st]

Sheraton has a great set up

 

[redrosesix]

Just saw a listing on eBay for a 2bdrm at Vistana, with the starting price of $1 -- could this be true?

 

[Janet Hill]

From what I've been reading, it's probably true if this is in the older section as there is a rather large special assessment to be paid. Folks maybe wanting to just get rid of the unit before they have to pay the assessment.

 

[redrosesix]

From what I've been reading, it's probably true if this is in the older section as there is a rather large special assessment to be paid. Folks maybe wanting to just get rid of the unit before they have to pay the assessment.

Or get the new owner to pay it -- when I read the fine print there was an additional 1600 in "renovation fees" to be paid.

but I'm thinking a lot of people would still think this was a good deal for a 2 bedroom unit, but then I've just started looking at the prices of what's out there.

 

[calgarygary]

Just saw a listing on eBay for a 2bdrm at Vistana, with the starting price of $1 -- could this be true?

Not as uncommon as you might think. There are also listings at TUG from people wanting to dispose of their timeshares before the special assesments are paid with a final cost of $1. In some cases, the owner will also pay closing costs as they try to avoid the $2500 in special assesments. However, $2500 is still a great deal if you are going to vacation regularly in Orlando. If you are thinking about making the jump into timeshares, do yourself a huge favour and get an education at TUG.

 

[Lisa P.]

Mike/mlenmoore, you've got an email.

 

[redrosesix]

Not as uncommon as you might think. There are also listings at TUG from people wanting to dispose of their timeshares before the special assesments are paid with a final cost of $1. In some cases, the owner will also pay closing costs as they try to avoid the $2500 in special assesments. However, $2500 is still a great deal if you are going to vacation regularly in Orlando. If you are thinking about making the jump into timeshares, do yourself a huge favour and get an education at TUG.

Thanks. Doing it now.