What do you like or Dislike about Sheraton Vistana?

[PhotobearSam]

We are thinking we might stay there on our next visit but I don't know abything about it first hand...Not even the location as we have never stayed even close to there...


So what did you like?

What did you dislike?

Thanks for any advice or information.

 

[MiaSRN62]

What I like :
1) proximity to WDW. It's only about 3 traffic lights from DD/Marketplace and it usually takes us about 8-15 min to get to the parks (depending on which one and the traffic).
2)has restaurants on property as well as a Pizza Hut and all offer villa delivery.
3)spacious villas/beautiful grounds/7 pools
4)water views are my favorite. We've spotted otters, large turtles, ducks, swan in the ponds around the resort
5)on-site activities (karioke, tennis, basketball, poolside bbq's etc)

What I don't like:
1)we prefer our onsite DVC accomodations for the extra on-site perks
2)"commercialized". By this, I mean, I feel since Sheraton took over the resort has become less cozy ---for lack of a better term. We've been timeshare owners at Vistana since 1994 and preferred when it was just "Vistana", not "Sheraton Vistana". I've read reports of jello shots being served up in the lobby during check-in, people selling popcorn etc. I just liked it better when it was a little more quiet and low-key if this makes sense.
3)pushy sales people that will call your villa or try to get you to attend a "breakfast" in the lobby. Our stay there this past August was interupted by no less than 3 phone calls to our villa (plus the guy at check-in who REALLY tried to direct us over to the "sales" desk which is disguised as a "welcome" desk). This would probably be my biggest pet peeve.
4)Lastly, it the vast differences in the villa accomodations. Two different people can pay $120/night. One will get the newest/fancy Cascades section, while the other may get the older, more tired-looking Spas. I really wish Sheraton Vistana would guarantee a section (or at least narrow it down to 2 sections you could be placed in). I just don't think it's fair to pay the same amount of money for a villa that is 25 years old (and in need of a facelift) and a villa that is maybe only 3-5 years old and very modern looking.

All in all, I think this is a very nice resort and we have enjoyed vacationing there almost every year since '94. And a sidenote : I highly recommend a car there because the resort is very large and spread out. They do offer a shuttle service but the schedule is very limited and it's around $7/person/day.

 

[isla bonita]

What I liked.
1. More space in the rooms.
2. Close to Disney
3. full kitchen to use
4. hair wrapping in resort
5. food in resort
What I dislike
1. to many stairs
2. to many people at the pool
3. very expensive for pool toy rental
4. not enough chairs for peoplallowed in the rooms
5. pools not heated enough
6. had to drive to the pools
7. calls every day to attend there time share speech

It was clean and we had a great time on our vacation there.

 

[luvdisney14]

We stayed at vistana for the first time last month. Loved it, we were one on the lucky ones to pay 100.00 per night and get cascades. I don't know if I would stay there again if I had to stay in an older section. The location is perfect to stores and restaurants. The front desk was wonderful. It is a little hard to get things sent to your room, but I does get there eventually. There was alot of maintenance things going on in our villa at the time, that was the only draw back, noise and more noise. I would suggest staying here to anyone.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Hi PhotobearSam.............

and hello Maria, our resident Vistana expert........

We are staying there this Nov. for the second time. We are guaranteed a sleep 8 villa, and we are checking in on a Sat., so that rules out some of the older sections, but not all. It will be interesting to see what we get this time. Last time (also with Skyauction) we got Lakes and it was beyond perfect.

What we like:

1. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the location. close to DTD. We didn't have any traffic maybe because it was Sept. Short ride to the parks.

2. We parked 15 feet to our villa. I must say, as much as I like on-site, this part was awesome. No walking 1/2 mile to your car or waiting for a valet to get your car. In and out, very fast.

3. The space............WOW. We had almost 1200 sq. feet. (The newer Cascades section has 1025 sq. ft.)The kids had their own room and their own BATHROOM. Yeeehaaaaaa!!

4. Liked the security around the place.

5. We only tried the Lakes pool and Fountains pool but loved them both.

6. Loved having the washer/dryer units right in the villa. I don't know if I can vacation at WDW without this again, that's how much I liked it.

7. Loved Diamond Lane check in. We got there to check in at 4:00pm and there was a line of about 20 families deep. Over at DL, there were 2 families. We were checked in in 15 minutes.

8. The lakes and ponds, the fountains, the landscaping..........very beautiful.

What I didn't like:

This was hard..........we had a near perfect vacation.

We went up to the "welcome" desk after we checked in. I knew to say no to the timeshare shpeal. I think they might have left a message on our answering machine about it but I don't think so. We were never bothered. I don't know why.

there was a tree that was blocking the sidewalk the whole time we were there (from the last hurricane). I couldn't believe that wasn't taken care of the whole week. It wasn't like there were a lot of them, in fact, it was the only I saw. I kept commenting that if this were Disney, they would have taken care of it immediately.

We had our van so transportation wasn't an issue.

I must ask.........I'm not a drinker but I think it has something to do with alcohol.........What is a jello shot??? I don't think we saw any.

We did see popcorn, balloons for the kids, the kids got a welcome packet, snowcones........it was all very, very nice. I didn't see anything wrong, in fact, it gave us a very "welcoming" feeling.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Hi again Pamela, Photobear Sam and everyone ~
A jello shot is a shot of alcohol in a small square of (bite-size) jello. In other words, they make the jello mix with the alcohol mixed in, refrig it, then when it's hardened, cut it into squares. So it's like eating a shot vs drinking one ? I will admit that though we're not big drinkers, I have had jello shots before.

Isla bonita says : 5. pools not heated enough

I'm guessing they must be pretty inconsistant in this department. Because we were swimming in the Fountains pool (about 9 pm) in Nov '01 and there was actually steam coming from the water ! It was like bath water. I don't doubt isla bonita comment on the pools not being heated enough, just thinking it's probably hit or miss ?

Mom of Sleepy........says : We did see popcorn, balloons for the kids, the kids got a welcome packet, snowcones........it was all very, very nice. I didn't see anything wrong, in fact, it gave us a very "welcoming" feeling.

I guess if I hadn't experienced Vistana before Sheraton took over I might not have minded it ? As an owner, I sort of feel a little more like a number now. I should add in the "dislike" column, that I find the staff a little less friendly in more recent years. I found the sales tactics to be more hard-sell once Sharaton stepped-in. I'm sure alot of people do find the above a nice touch.

 

[PhotobearSam]

Is there a washer/dryer in every unit?

If we check into a sleeps 8 would it be best to go for Friday to friday or Saturday to Saturday? And why?

 

[disneymom3]

.

We went up to the "welcome" desk after we checked in. I knew to say no to the timeshare shpeal. I think they might have left a message on our answering machine about it but I don't think so. We were never bothered. I don't know why.

We did see popcorn, balloons for the kids, the kids got a welcome packet, snowcones........it was all very, very nice. I didn't see anything wrong, in fact, it gave us a very "welcoming" feeling.

We have never been bothered by the timeshare sales people either though I have heard they are not too hardsell here and would consider going if they offerred me something really good.

Regarding this stuff in the lobby--is this for free or is it being sold and if so, how much cash do I need to have onhand to buy popcorn etc for my little people?

Yes, there is a washer and dryer in each unit. I agree with all of the favorites above and am having a hard time coming up with negatives. I guess fear of being placed in one of the older sections and being disappointed would be the top of the list, but we always go at fairly slow times and I think we would be able to change as the resort has never seemed very full before.

Honestly, I would have to say leaving at the end of our stay is the biggest bummer!

Oh yeah, and I love that DH can go over to the pool bar and get some margaritas or daquiris and bring them to our villa. Can't do take out alcohol drinks most places!! I really have liked to onsite dining we have tried as well.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Yep....a washer/dryer in every unit.

As for the check-in day....that's a toughie.
If you go for Fri-Fri you will avoid getting the oldest Courts & Falls section but pretty much have a chance of getting every other section. But you'll have a slightly less chance of getting the Cascades because there's only 4 buildings slated for Fri check-in.


If you go for a Sat-Sat check-in, you will take a chance of getting the oldest Courts section but have a slight edge over getting Cascades as well because there are 6 buildings slated for check-in that day. Saturday is the only check-in day for the Courts. You still can be placed in a newer section though.

The two oldest sections are the Courts and Falls. They are slated for Sat (Courts) and Sun (Falls) check-ins.

I think the best chance of getting a newer building is to :
1) fill out your requests on Vistana's Diamond Lane form (at least a week or two prior to arrival) https://www.svosecure.com/starwoodvo/diamond.jsp?resortID=5
2) check-in as early as possible. We checked-in at 1 pm this year and not only did we luck out and have our villa ready, but we had a choice of 3 different villas.

 

[MiaSRN62]

PhotbearSam,
You can check out my online pics of Vistana here : http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=4287948459

I believe they require that you register first, but it's free.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

disneymom3
"Regarding this stuff in the lobby--is this for free or is it being sold and if so, how much cash do I need to have onhand to buy popcorn etc for my little people?"


It was free.

 

[disneymom3]

It was free.

Well, how cool is that?

 

[ttfn3]

We've stayed at the VR several times and here's my list:

Likes:
1. Nice, large 2 BR units. I love being able to spread out and have the kids in a separate bedroom/bathroom.
2. Nice, wellstocked (in terms of pans, plates, etc) kitchen.
3. Location very near Disney, near outlet shopping centers, lots of restaurants nearby and grocery stores. Also location is easy access to airport.
4. Great pools.
5. The activities and the staff (great people). A great place to just hang out and enjoy the resort. In fact, this is the main reason we keep coming back.
6. Love the screend lanai that overlooks a pond. Very relaxing.
7. Very comfortable beds and pillows.
8. Security into resort entrances.
9. The housekeeping staff - they are very good.
10. Jacuzzi tub in the master.
11. Love the chair and ottoman in the mater bedroom. Nice place to read.
12. Washer/dryer in the room.

Dislikes
1. Checkin. The worst part of the whole trip. Lines - even at Diamond Lane. And I think the VR must have the worst system for their people to use for them to know what units are available.
2. The water pressure in the shower can be a bit iffy at times.
3. Rude people that smoke at the pool. I hate smoke. It seems that a LOT of people smoke in Florida and they do not hesitate to light up while sitting at the pool.
4. Prices for drinks and ice cream. We have learned to take our own beverages and snacks to the pool.

 

[justplaingoofy]

We are going with another couple to stay at the Vistana Resort later this month(sept.) I did register for the Diamond Lane check in and requested a "newer" room and 2 double beds. (Since we are all adults). We did not book it through a time share, but a deal through allears.($109/n) We booked a 2 bed unit and are due to arrive from Sun-Sat. Our flight gets in around 10:40a. Any ideas where they would put us or what we should specifically request. The only thing that I really care about is a newer unit. We were there with my inlaws who have a time share and we were put in a 2 bed. in the fountains.
It was pretty nice, just wouldn't want something older....

Any suggestions anyone??? I'm starting to have a little anxiety over this

 

[MiaSRN62]

A Sunday check-in could get you just about any section except the Courts and Spas. All newer sections have double beds, but by mentioning this, hopefully you won't get the older Falls which only has twin beds in the second bedroom. I'd request Cascades or Lakes and hopefully you'll get one of the these 2 newest sections.
You're arriving during a slower time of the year and pretty early in the day so I think you have a pretty decent chance. Good luck ! Have a nice trip.

 

[ttfn3]

I think your requests are fine. I would suggest that you also see if they have a unit in the Fountains area. Everyone requests Cascades or Lakes, so your chances might be better for a Fountains unit. We actually had a unit once in the Falls (Sunday checkin) and enjoyed the location. However, it did have 2 twin beds in the 2nd bedroom (fine for us). Just be very pleasant and patient with the checkin person and tell them you are willing to wait for a nice unit. I would think that Sept is a slower time, so your chances are good to get a nicer unit. If you have anyone with allergies, let them know that you need a newly renovated unit.

 

[MiaSRN62]

If you have anyone with allergies, let them know that you need a newly renovated unit.

Except this is just about all units. Villas are rehabbed on a revolving basis. I get the owners newsletters that list everything being done. Even the older units have been completely rehauled.

 

[justplaingoofy]

Thanks so much for your help guys

When you say they send up info on updates are they a coat of paint? Or new rugs/furniture, etc?

Also, when I put in my requests I had requested a non smoking room (allergies) and they told me they would give me some sort of filter thing to use.

Anymore advise/suggestions/ info on the resort??
Keep em' comin.. I love it
Thanks again

 

[SammieG]

I found the staff unhelpful, rude and unwilling to move us from the most unsuitable apartment on property for us.
I would never go back...even if it were free!

 

[MiaSRN62]

justplaingoofy says : When you say they send up info on updates are they a coat of paint? Or new rugs/furniture, etc?

They update paint, wallpaper, carpet, furniture, appliances........there always seems to be something ongoing.

Also, when I put in my requests I had requested a non smoking room (allergies) and they told me they would give me some sort of filter thing to use.

Yep....all the villas are "smoking optional". So you'll probably get some sort of air purifier.