Yeah! We've off to Vistana Resort

[cmcvean]

Okay........ I just won an auction on SkyAuction for Sheraton Vistana Resorts! We weren't going to go to Disney this year, but at the last minute we decided to try SkyAuction, and viola, now were are going!!

We usually stay at the Polynesian - so this is going to be a change, but in my opinion, it is better than not going at all!!

Does anyone have any information they can share with me on the Vistana resort? We usually go in January and it is always so cold, but it looks like this year we are in luck!!

I'm so excited!!! I usually think and plan this vacation for a year in advance, now I only have about 10 days to obsess about it!!!

Christine

 

[disneymom3]

Wow! Have a great time. I think you will be very happy with Vistana. We stayed at the Poly our last trip and actually with the foliage, fun pool etc, Vistana has a similar feel to it. Both resorts also give you that away from the hustle and bustle feel too, but fun can be had in a short walk. The biggest difference of course is that you have to drive to the parks which is actually a very short drive. (Better than waiting for the bus IMO) Oh no, the biggest difference is actually the PRICE!!

There have been a LOT of reviews on here, so just do a search and you will learn a lot.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I've stayed at the Vistana 3 times. If you have any specific questions I'll try my best to answer them. We've had great stays each time we've been there.

 

[Del]

We just got back 2 weeks ago. We had a lovely 2 bed, 2 bath suite new in the Lakes Section. We would go back in a minute. Easy access to the parks from I-4. ENjoy!

Del

 

[cmcvean]

Thank you for your replies! I'm so glad to hear such good things! I read as much as I could here about the Vistana before bidding on the stay. I trust everyone's advice here! I'm still in shock that we are actually going this year! Yes, the price is unbeatable! We are paying for the week, less than we paid per night at the Polynesian!! We have 4 small girls, so we actually don't mind driving to the parks, especially this time of year. Less stressful than having four screaming kids on a bus!!

Any tips and tricks on checking in, etc. would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks again!!

 

[dcmbshafe]

You'll love the Vistana!!! We have stayed there twice and we liked it so much we purchased a timeshare week there!

Do you know what section your staying in? If you have a choice, it is helpful to know a few things - Cascades is the newest section and is convenient to the general store. Lakes & Fountains (I & II) are the next newest and are quite nice, but are on the other side of the resort - not a big deal, just a different area. If you can, I would suggest trying to stay in one of these three sections.

If you can, request that you be signed up for the Diamond Lane check-in. Depending upon the time & day you arrive, this could save you time.

If you want to go on a timeshare presentation, you can get some rewards. Just be prepared to be asked about this at check-in. The reward is usually a $50-75 credit toward purchasing park/dinner tickets + plus a "free" stay at some other timeshare resort. We've been on a lot of timeshare presentations and I must say that the folks at the Vistana were quite good about only taking up the 90 minutes they said they would take. Either way, I'd recommend you decide with your family in advance whether or not you want to do this.

We've found that the "discounted" tickets they offer there are decent deals. For instance, the WDW adult 7-day PHPs are only about $20 more expensive than the cheapest we've been able to find. Note that you have access to purchasing their discount tickets regardless of whether you attend a timeshare presentation or not.

The activities are pretty good and they have something going on practically all day every day - one night we were there they had "movie night by the pool", which our kids really loved. They also offer a couple of different "kid's club" nights, which is kinda like babysitting so the adults can go out to dinner or something. We've never done this (min. age is 5), but it sounds pretty neat.

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to send me a PM

In case you haven't checked out their website, here is the link:

http://www.starwoodvo.com/resorts/welcome.jsp?resortID=5

 

[Taratink]

I checked out this skyauction site. I have looked into the Vistana Resort in the past and it looks nice. I saw an auction ending for it and it was only up to $127.00 and I believe that the price was for the week. How is that possible? .
Tara

 

[cmcvean]

Yes, we got it for $311 for the entire week! Although, I just got an email saying that they do not have any availability until MAY! Even though the auction I bid on was for January 7 -14. Unbelievable! We were going down so my husband could run in the marathon, so now, I guess he will just go down himself. Really sad!!! But I have seen the auctions go for as low as $70/plus fees ($195 resort fee and $15 processing fee). Not bad huh! If you can get the week you want!!!

 

[spiceycat]

sorry you didn't get what you bidded on. generally in these situations Skyauction will refund your money.

did skyauction (RCI) offer you another timeshare?

 

[disneymom3]

Tara--there is also a charge of $195 SkyAuction fee and usually a $15 processing fee, but yeah it is still a phenomonel price. What they are doing is selling off unused weeks in the timeshare units. If they are going to have low occupancy rates, they may as well make something off of them and they also hope that you will spend more money actually at the resort. (Which is not hard to do! Their gift shop is cute cute cute and the ice cream place is a lot of fun!!)

So cmcvean--how does that work then? If the auction was for that specific week and then they say it is not available, do you have to book for another week? What a huge disappointment for you!! I saw that auction too and had teased DH that we should just pick up and go. (Back when he was self employed we would have done it in a heartbeat!!)

 

[spiceycat]

here is what II has then

http://www.condodirect.com/iw/cs?a=1001&r=0.00008863523745034074

I won't even consider the Celebrity resorts - too many complaints -

in your situation I might try the Vacation Villas - this is the newer section????

the resort seems to be an older one - but is well kept.

 

[cmcvean]

Well, I'm assuming they will offer me something in May, but they didn't mention any other timeshares. It must be really busy down there that week. I also noticed some auctions that were out there to expire today and yesterday were yanked.

The interesting part in the whole thing is that we had planned to skip January this year and go in May so my husband could do the half Ironman race, so I'm just sorta taking this as a sign, that maybe we really should wait until May.

I'll let you know what they end up doing with us!

 

[Taratink]

I have heard that the Vistana resort is nice. I have been told to choose cascade, lake or fountain section. Theses are the newest. some of the other sections are run down. Good luck with your trip!
Tara

 

[spiceycat]

Tara I had heard the same - but Springs was great for us - mother (who is 82) only had to walk 6 ft to get in the room. yes ft not yards.

that was GREAT!!!!

 

[ttfn3]

If you really want a place to stay for that week in January, I would suggest that you call Skyauction and ask them what other 2 BR timeshares they have available for that week. We won a skyauction last spring for the HGVC and our week was no longer available by the time the auction was over. I asked what other places they had and we were offered the Vistana Resort for the same price for the week we wanted. We were thrilled and quickly said yes. We have stayed at the Vistana Resort twice and really enjoy the resort. The last stay was this summer and we spent a lot of time at the resort taking advantage of all they have to offer. One consideration for you will be the weather. It may not be the best swimming weather. Anywho, don't hesitate to call Skyauction directly and ask them for availability at other places.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

I also won a 1 week stay at the Vistana through Sky auction. It was supposed to be for Sept 17th through the 24th. The auction was during the hurricanes and I won it for $8. $195 base price, $15 fee for a total of $218 for the week! Sky Auction then told me the dates were no longer available. After many emails and asking for a couple other dates, I was told that there were no more dates available for my vacation. In each email they offered to refund my money. I pointed out that they had 50 dates listed for 2005. It took much persistance but we will be there in two weeks. I'm very excited. :jumping4: