What's the town of Vero Beach like?

[invalid_char]

My parents are in their late fifties. They are interested in renting points to stay at the VB resort. Although they would like to relax on the beach and want to take advantage of what the resort has to offer, they are also very much interested in what the surrounding town is like.

In particular, they want to know if there are any good restaurants outside the resort and also if there are any nice places for window shopping. Eating and shopping are two of their favorite pastimes while on vacation!

Also, because of my father's work schedule, he may not be able to make arrangements more than 3 weeks in advance. Is this feasible? If so, would it be better to rent points or book directly through Disney?

Thanks!

 

[PamOKW]

I think your parents would enjoy Vero. Vero Beach is very popular as a winter home for folks who are fairly well off (some are extremely well-off). The condos and home developments that surround the Disney resort are all quite expensive....with many well over a million dollars. There are also full-time residents and new businesses are developing all the time, so the town isn't completely dead in the off-season.

The "downtown" beachside area of the real Vero Beach has some very nice shops made for poking around. There's a similar small shopping center between the resort and the downtown area. If they drive out State Road 60 they will find lots of shopping centers, a large mall and a large outlet shopping center. There's also a live theater in Vero.

A restaurant I enjoy is the Ocean Grill which is right on the water in the center of Vero Beach. The Black Pearl has also been mentioned as a nice "adult" restaurant. Other places that are casual but get good reviews here are Capt. Hiram's and The Patio.

I enjoy eating, shopping, and the beach and I love Vero!

 

[invalid_char]

Thanks PamOKW. That's great information.

BTW, could you recommend an approach for booking the reservation, especially given that they may not be able to plan more than 3 weeks ahead?

Thanks again!

 

[PamOKW]

If they have a time in mind, they might want to just book direct with a discount. That way they could cancel without a penalty (I'm not sure how soon they'd have to cancel -- maybe 5 days?) There seem to be discounts available for Vero through Birnbaum's, Disney Club, I think even AAA has a discount. Sometimes they have discounts listed on the www.disneyvacationclub.com web page. They could try looking for a point rental, but it might be tricky for someone to get what they want on short notice.

Availability also depends on when they want to go Feb-April may be tough but May-June might have avails before kids really start getting out of school.

 

[Beth]

We just got back from Vero a few hours ago!

We went over this weekend for a short, two-night stay, with my Parents and two cousins joining us yesterday.

We spent most of the weekend driving around exploring. Today, we drove around checking out antique shops!

The two restaurants we chose (other than pancakes at Shutters each morning! ) - were "Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty" and "Mr. Manatee's." Both are located at the end of Royal Palm Blvd, on which they can also enjoy some pretty good window shopping. Mr. Manatee's is very casual - seafood, sandwiches, etc - while the Lobster Shanty was a little more pricey - though I thought pretty good!

If you can think of any questions - feel free to ask - while it's still fresh in my mind! But hurry - I'm back to work tomorrow, and it will fade away quickly....

 

[PamOKW]

That's funny that you tried Jack Baker's. I posted on an AOL Florida board asking for restaurant suggestions and someone who said they were local offered that as an idea. Did it seem like it was a local restaurant or part of a chain?

 

[CaptainMidnight]

There are menus of the local restaraunts in binders in the Vero Beach lobby, so you can check out a restaraunt offering before driving there....

 

[Beth]

Actually, Pam - I took the time to read the back of the menu - and I can answer your question!

Jack Baker's restaurant was started by a Father and son in an addition on the side of their house - a four-table restaurant that they would open when they finished work for the day. It became so popular - they opened a "real restaurant." This was in New Jersey. I think the menu said there are now 8 "Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty's," all in NJ and FL.

My husband described as "geriatric" due to the majority of the clientele - but, of course, we were there the first of February - what does he expect?!?

That all being said - I still thought the food was really good.

 

[PamOKW]

My husband described as "geriatric"

LOL!! So, I guess they have an "early bird special". Gotta love those snowbirds! We once left my dad waiting outside the Ocean Grill in Vero and a group of "mature" women were on him in a minute....they were okay when I approached but scattered when my mom came out and they realized he was "unavailable".