What do you like or Dislike about Sheraton Vistana?

[In Luv with Disney]

Hi! I am another Vistana owner here. I have owned since 1997, before it was Sheraton, too. I honestly LOVE the perks so much more now that it is a Starwood Vacation Ownership property. I have definitely made back my investment and thensome!!

This resort is so wonderful...here are some of the reasons why:

1 - Location, Location, Location! It is LITERALLY less than a mile to DTD. When DH and I were dating and we first purchased, we never rented a car. A few nights of fun at DTD and we were stumbling home to the resort...yes, we walked! Being intoxicated, the walk seemed to go on FOREVER...but it can be done!!! Also note that Vistana Resort is closer to some of the WDW parks than some of the Disney Resorts are!!! (as per the Unofficial Guide to WDW)

2 - Activities...There is ALWAYS something to do all over Vistana Property! At the beginning of the week when you check in, you will get a magazine that will give you a list of everything they have going on, every hour of the day at the resort. You NEVER have to leave!

3 - Restaurants...there are a few onsite that are REALLY good! Plus, there are poolside bars where you can order food to go and take it to your villa. There is a Pizza Hut onsite, as well as a Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Parlor, too! And don't forget the General Store, for all of your forgotten items...although we go to Super Walmart for all of our groceries in the beginning of the trip!

4 - POOLS...there are 7 pools and they are all gorgeous!!!! The kids will LOVE THEM!!!

5 - Villa Sizes...the villas are HUGE and very nicely appointed!!! It is stocked with everything you need! I absolutely cannot go back to sleeping in a regular hotel room after owning my Vistana timeshare..I am sooo spoiled!

6 - Check in...my check in experiences have always been GREAT! We don't ALWAYS get our villa right when we check in before 4pm, but most of the time we get it early! I have always gotten the areas of the resort I requested!

7 - Owners Update...now, this is where most of you will say DON'T DO IT!!! Well, I go to get the FREE GIFT, get some continental breakfast and find out what's going on in the Starwood Vacation Network. I like to know EVERYTHING I can about my timeshare and the resorts in SVN!

8 - The grounds in general...they are BEAUTIFULLY landscaped! Everything is so clean and spread out. You WILL need a car if you want to experience the whole resort. But if you want to stay in your area, you will NOT be disappointed, either!!!!!

9 - Balconies/Patios...I think EVERY room has one!!! They are screened in (I think they are called Lanais?) and it is a GREAT place to unwind, read a book and sip a margarita!

10 - WASHER AND DRYER...yes, STANDARD in EVERY unit!!!!! I NEVER EVER go home with dirty laundry!!!!!!!!

The list goes ON AND ON AND ON!!!!!

On your reservation, as for LAKES or CASCADES. These are the two newest sections of the resort, and I am pretty sure these are the ONLY sections of the resort where the buildings have elevators.

If you guys are getting a 2 br villa, be advised that there is a KING size bed in the master bedroom and two full size beds in the 2nd bedroom. There is also a Queen size sleeper sofa bed in the living room.

You won't be disappointed with the resort!!!

 

[MiaSRN62]

I have owned since 1997, before it was Sheraton, too. I honestly LOVE the perks so much more now that it is a Starwood Vacation Ownership property. I have definitely made back my investment and thensome!!

Kim,
What section of the resort do you own in ? Because if you own anything other than the Cascades or the Lakes, Starwood Vacation ownership is not all that. The starpoints that the other section convert to (and the money required to convert) aren't worth much imho. I think the starpoint conversions work best for Lakes/Cascades owners.
I would much prefer Sheraton stepped out of the scene. It seems like it's become too "big business" there. I was never hassled by sales people prior to Sheraton coming in like I am now. I liked it better when it was just little 'ol low key Vistana Resort.

 

[mulanrouge]

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.

MiaSRN62.

I love your album and have it in my "Favorites" file now. I would like to ask you what YOUR favorite section of Vistana is and why? Can you also tell me what pool section is your favorite and why? We have stayed there twice before, and absolutely love it. We are going at the end of Oct. to mid Nov. The first week we have a 2/bedroom unit that sleeps 8 and the second week I could only find a 2/bedroom unit that sleeps 6. I looked at your photos and think the falls section doesn't look to bad. In fact I think it looks quite nice. I am not sure if I should try and request (for the second week) a unit that sleeps 8 - and hopefully not have to change units 1/2 way through the vacation. We would be willing to pay for this option. Anyone know if this would be possible? Thanks

 

[MiaSRN62]

Hi Mulan ~
Thanks about the pics. Glad you enjoyed them. I specifically walked around and took pics of the Falls because this is one of the sections people really seem to get nervous about. I was looking to see if I could find a housekeeper who was cleaning a vacated villa but could not----otherwise I would have snapped some inside pics. But from the outside, we thought the Falls looked so pretty and peaceful. The grounds outside were immaculate.

As far as requesting not to move.... They will do their best not to move you. We only had 2 weeks reservations there once. This was in '94 (the year we bought). We had rented through a Travel Agent who told us we might have to move but we were given the option to pay an extra price to stay put. We did. I'm not sure they do this anymore ? If not moving is really important to you, you could request to be placed in a section where they could avoid doing that and take your chances as to what section you'd be placed in. If this is your primary concern, I'd make this your #1 request on the Diamond Lane form as well as over the phone with reservations. I wish I could give you a better answer about this but Vistana, as far as I know, reserves the right to move people around. In '99 (after we had been owners for several years), we booked 1 lone extra night onto our 7 nights (owned time). We had to pay an owner's discounted rate for that one night which fell on the end of our week's reservation. Would you believe Vistana made us pack up and move for that last night ? We were ticked. So, my thinking is, if they can't extend that courtesy to an owner, I feel they're just gonna do what works best for them. Good luck and make sure you call your reservation # to request not to move as well as fill out the DL form.

The Lakes section, to date, is my favorite section. I like it because the units are newer (though not as new as the Cascades) and there is an elevator in all buildings. This is a much more quiet area of the resort as opposed to where the majority of the Cascades buildings are located and this is another big plus in my book. I find the Lakes section (vs the Cascade section) to have much more lush, mature trees and vegetation, thus making it a prettier area to me. On the flip side, you would need a car to get to the General Store and Zimmies.

The pool at the Lakes has zero depth entry which is nice and for this reason, the Lakes and Cascades pools get points from me. The Lakes pool is slightly smaller though compared to the Fountains, Cascades and Super pool so I think sometimes this is a plus. More people seem to flock to the newer, bigger Cascades pool. For ease of getting food and drink (poolside), the Fountains pool gets my vote. The Flamingo Cafe is right next to the pool. When our kids were younger, dh and I could sip on pina coladas while the kids swam. Very convenient.
Now the Cascades pool also has zero depth and poolside food and drinks, but it always seems more crowded to me there unless you get there very early or later in the evening. But during the day there seems to be so many kids.

Hope this helps.

 

[mulanrouge]

Thank you very much, that was very helpful. I'll talk to DH and see what he thinks we should do.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Glad to help Mulan and good luck ! Hopefully you'll return and post a TR for us all here.

 

[momofmikey]

Do you definitely need a car if you're in the Lakes section and want to get to the general store? I was hoping to take a nice leisurely walk there. How long a walk is it, or is it too far?

Thanks!

 

[MiaSRN62]

I've never actually taken the walk, but my guess would be maybe 15-20 min walk. So you could be talking about 30-40 roundtrip walk depending on where your Lakes villa is and how fast you walk ? With groceries in the FL heat, it could be a pain---but I did see some people walking from the Fountains area. You'll have to exit out of the Fountains/Lakes area past the security booth....then cross a street (not a very busy one), then reenter through the Cascades area past that security booth and walk about half-way into that area of the resort.

 

[ttfn3]

We stayed in the Falls unit last year. Yes, it was an older unit but our unit was actually really nice and very clean. The unit was only 2 stories and had a great screened lanai that looked out over a very peaceful pond. We were directly across from the Falls pool, so it was very easy to get around the resort. Our neighbors stayed in the Falls section this past March and they were happy with their unit. The 2nd bedroom has twin beds, so it's more suited for children.

We've also stayed in the Springs (many years ago - and almost again this March). We got a yucky unit in March and luckily they reassigned us to another unit. Of course, some of the units may be renovated. We have stayed in Fountains twice in newly renovated units and I really like these units.

We like to pool hop so we try all the pools at the Vistana. Each pool is a bit different. My least favorite pool is the Super pool. Way too big. However, we got there when they have poolside BINGO.

We often walk around the resort. It depends on how far you like to walk. IMHO the Lakes section isn't that far of a walk to the general store - but it is a hike so you have to like to walk. I don't think I would like to make the walk if I was carrying food items. Don't forget about shopping at the Walgren's store on 535. The walk there from the Lakes may be as far as it is from the Lakes to the general store. The prices are much more reasonable at Walgren's. We always have a car.

 

[pamlet]

We stayed there in May and had a wonderful time. Everyone's mentioned all the "likes" we have!

We were on the top floor of a unit in the Lakes and it was VERY quiet! It was wonderful having the room to spread out - and each of the boys had their own bed. The master bedroom was HUGE with the jacuzzi type tub in the room, and in the bathroom a big walk in double shower if I remember right.

We didn't really spend a lot of time in the resort, mostly going to the parks - it was so easy driving back and forth!

The ONLY thing I found "difficult" was that we did our grocery shopping late the night we checked in and could only go to SuperWalmart and it was sort of far away ... BUT since we were there I've heard the new one is open and it is very close.. just go out of the resort, turn right and go down a couple miles... it would have been nice if it was open when we were there!

Other than that we had no other complaints - we expected the "invites" and there were 3 or 4, but we just said we're not interested and that was really it! No bugging really .. just answering the phone and saying no.. laugh.

My husband and son went to the pool a couple evenings - and they enjoyed it immensely... they did try out the super pool and didn't like it as much as the one at the Fountains - from our unit you just walked down next to the pond - through the Lakes pools, through a building and into the Fountains pool. It was very convenient!

 

[disneymom3]

1 - Location, Location, Location! It is LITERALLY less than a mile to DTD. When DH and I were dating and we first purchased, we never rented a car. A few nights of fun at DTD and we were stumbling home to the resort...yes, we walked! Being intoxicated, the walk seemed to go on FOREVER...but it can be done!!! Also note that Vistana Resort is closer to some of the WDW parks than some of the Disney Resorts are!!! (as per the Unofficial Guide to WDW)

Okay, seriously. I LOVE Vistana. I would live there if I could figure out a way to do it. But, you actually walked from DTD???? Unless there is some major shortcut I don't know about, there is no way that is only a mile away. It's at least a mile to Hotel Plaza Blvd and at least a mile down that to DTD. I totally agree that it is quite close to the parks. Heck we stayed at the Poly and regularly commented that we could have been back to Vistana quicker than the whole bus ride thing but it isn't only a mile away.

Not trying to be difficult, but I don't want people to be misled either.

 

[MiaSRN62]

But, you actually walked from DTD???? Unless there is some major shortcut I don't know about, there is no way that is only a mile away. It's at least a mile to Hotel Plaza Blvd and at least a mile down that to DTD.

Julie ~
I Mapquested the drive from the Grosvenor Hotel in DD (which is practically right across the street from the Marketplace) and that was 1.58 miles, believe it or not. Mapquest calculates the miles it takes to get there using the same roads one would walk.
Then I did the distance from the Hilton which is also probably the closest or next closest (i.e. across the street from the entrance to DD) to the Marketplace and got 1.7 miles. So it's less than a 1 1/2 to just under 2 mile walk which is not bad. It's walking along that horrendously busy SR 535 that would scare me off from doing this though

 

[disneymom3]

Maria,
After I posted last night, I decided to mapquest it too. I used the address I found for DTD itself and came up with 2 point something or other. Not quite as far as I had in my head, but I still would get a taxi in the middle of the night.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Maria,
After I posted last night, I decided to mapquest it too. I used the address I found for DTD itself and came up with 2 point something or other. Not quite as far as I had in my head, but I still would get a taxi in the middle of the night.

I agree about the taxi totally ! Kudos to someone who likes to walk there. The very congested busy SR 535 takes the fun out of that for me.
But may I ask when you mapquested, what points of origination did you use ? I used the address of Vistana (8800 Vistana Centre Drive) to the Grosvenor and Hilton hotels. Did you use one of the DD hotels ? Wondering how you got over 2 miles ? It was only 1.5 to and from the Grosvenor and that hotel is very near the entrance to the Marketplace.

 

[kitty69]

Hi all

Does anyone have any pics of the Springs section?

Cheers

Kitty69

 

[MiaSRN62]

I wish I could help you Kitty. That is the one section I never got to tour because there were no vacancies that day. Hoping someone else here might have some pics for you.

 

[disneymom3]

I agree about the taxi totally ! Kudos to someone who likes to walk there. The very congested busy SR 535 takes the fun out of that for me.
But may I ask when you mapquested, what points of origination did you use ? I used the address of Vistana (8800 Vistana Centre Drive) to the Grosvenor and Hilton hotels. Did you use one of the DD hotels ? Wondering how you got over 2 miles ? It was only 1.5 to and from the Grosvenor and that hotel is very near the entrance to the Marketplace.

I got just over 2.3 miles by using the address of 1780 N Buena Vista Dr which is what shows as the address on the Disney website. However, I looked it up again and it does include driving down the road to make a U turn since you can't turn left out of Vistana Center drive. Obviously you wouldn't have to do that on foot, so that estimate is off if you are counting from the entrance to the resort. Since there aren't any units out there, I think it would come out in the wash. At any rate, I know we all agree that Vistana is a fabulous resort and is darn close to all the places you want to be in that area!

 

[disneymom3]

Kitty, I have stayed in the Springs and we were really pleased with it. Unfortunately, the only pictures we have were taken with DDs disposable camera and I don't have a scanner. Anything specific you want to know?

We were on the top floor in a 2BR unit which had skylights that really were enjoyable. Let me know what you are wondering about and I will be happy to help if I can.

 

[kitty69]

Maria & Julie

Thanks for your replys, I have been allocated a 2br room it is also on the top floor . I wasn´t looking for anything in particular..just that most of the pics are of other sections,

Julie how long agao were u there???


Thanks

 

[disneymom3]

We were there in Feb of 02. The one semi-negative I remember was that it seemed a bit darker there than in Fountains which was the only segment we had been in before that. DH is really picky and is not one of those people who just looks on the bright side of things if they are not very positive if you know what I mean. Anyway, my point is, I asked him and he said he liked it, it was really big, the kitchen was just as nice as the other units we have stayed in and he liked that it he figured it would be loudish since we were on the side where the road goes past and it wasn't.