Review Sheraton Vistana Villages - Your reviews, tips & ratings

[chalee94]

-"no housekeeping" means exactly that. Didn't expect any but everything I read said there's be a midweek garbage pick up. Never happened.

DVC/disney timeshares do a midweek trash pickup/towel replacement but the Sheratons and Marriotts (and others, to my knowledge) are very "home-away-from-home" in terms of expecting you to take the trash out to the garbage room (usually there's a chute to drop it down or something).

it's just a learning process in staying in a timeshare vs. a hotel.

your detailed review was very helpful in explaining some of those differences.

-not enough toiletpaper! Didn't really expect to have to supply that but with 6 people in the room 3 rolls just didn't do it. So add that to your list!

it's not THAT "home-away-from-home". housekeeping will replace TP, paper towels and garbage bags if needed.

-pool towels are supplied with turning in a towel card but that window was never open past 10 so hitting the pool after the parks closed meant using shower towels

yeah, some people pick them up before they need them and keep them in their rooms and return them before they leave to add some flexibility.

if you loved the space, don't give up on timesharing. but you are smart to avoid the sales presentations - if you start to consider buying in, be sure to spend several months over on TUG doing your homework before making a commitment.

http://tugbbs.com/forums/

 

[Meech Loves Mickey]

Hi, do we need to bring extra paper towels & paper napkins?

What about dish soap & dishwasher detergent?

Will housekeeping supply extras if requested?

Thanks!

 

[Meech Loves Mickey]

Hi, one more question.....

What kind of coffee maker is available? Do they supply any coffee? If yes, what kind?

Is there a coffee shop onsite or close by? I am the only coffee drinker in my family and I am wondering if it is worth it for me to bring my own coffee or just buy it there.

Thanks!

 

[canadakath]

Just back from a great 12 day trip to Orlando and cruising. 4 nights spent at Sheraton Vistana Villages thanks to a great offer from Starwood last year.

We checked in after 5 p.m. after a day at Discovery Cove, and were upgraded to a 1-bedroom premium villa. We were on the 5th floor of Building 25 at St. Augustine - beautiful room, pull out couch was decent for the kids, full kitchen, and in room washer and dryer (small but useful!). Bathroom was massive, with a toilet room, whirlpool tub and sink room and shower and sink room. We had a view of the pool and pond and were very happy!

5 minute drive to Sea World and Aquatica, less than that to the Premium Outlets and a Publix and Walgreen's. Lots of restaurants nearby, plus we used their BBQ's one night to grill up some steaks.

Boys enjoyed the pool area for a while, and I can say the loungers are very comfortable

Staff were very friendly. We declined housekeeping other than switching towels and garbage pickup halfway through our stay. Declined the offer at check in to attend the timeshare presentation as our vacation time was precious, and had no follow up phone calls. Overall a great stay and I would do it again. This was our 7th trip to Orlando and our first time outside of the "Disney bubble"! Feel free to ask questions.

 

[canadakath]

Hi, do we need to bring extra paper towels & paper napkins?

What about dish soap & dishwasher detergent?

Will housekeeping supply extras if requested?

Thanks!

Paper towels were supplied, no napkins (we just used the paper towels). There was an extra roll of paper towels but we never made it through the first.

We had a small bottle of dish soap which was more than sufficient, and 4 packages of dishwasher detergent.

I'm sure housekeeping would supply extras if needed.

 

[canadakath]

Hi, one more question.....

What kind of coffee maker is available? Do they supply any coffee? If yes, what kind?

Is there a coffee shop onsite or close by? I am the only coffee drinker in my family and I am wondering if it is worth it for me to bring my own coffee or just buy it there.

Thanks!

Regular basket filter coffee maker supplied. Starbucks coffee "pods" (with the ground coffee wrapped up in a filter) supplied - my DH was happy they had Pike Place (his fave) and said it came out good. He is the only one and didn't need to get any more coffee. In St. Augustine Bldg. 25 there is a "Marketplace" which includes a Starbucks.

 

[Meech Loves Mickey]

Just back from a great 12 day trip to Orlando and cruising. 4 nights spent at Sheraton Vistana Villages thanks to a great offer from Starwood last year.

We checked in after 5 p.m. after a day at Discovery Cove, and were upgraded to a 1-bedroom premium villa. We were on the 5th floor of Building 25 at St. Augustine - beautiful room, pull out couch was decent for the kids, full kitchen, and in room washer and dryer (small but useful!). Bathroom was massive, with a toilet room, whirlpool tub and sink room and shower and sink room. We had a view of the pool and pond and were very happy!

5 minute drive to Sea World and Aquatica, less than that to the Premium Outlets and a Publix and Walgreen's. Lots of restaurants nearby, plus we used their BBQ's one night to grill up some steaks.

Boys enjoyed the pool area for a while, and I can say the loungers are very comfortable

Staff were very friendly. We declined housekeeping other than switching towels and garbage pickup halfway through our stay. Declined the offer at check in to attend the timeshare presentation as our vacation time was precious, and had no follow up phone calls. Overall a great stay and I would do it again. This was our 7th trip to Orlando and our first time outside of the "Disney bubble"! Feel free to ask questions.

Glad you had a great stay! Thanks for the info. We are leaving next week for our drive to FL. After two nights at the Legoland Hotel, we will be checking into SVV. It's good to know that a Publix is nearby as we will be buying groceries when we arrive. This is also our first time outside the "Disney Bubble" and we are looking forward to it!

 

[psuaka]

I am will be at the resort in September and trying to decide which area to request. We will not have any children with us but plan to use facilities like the gym and bar. I would like a newer room with a pond view. I'm trying to decide between Amelia, Key West and St Augustine. Any advice? Thanks!

 

[vistana101]

I am will be at the resort in September and trying to decide which area to request. We will not have any children with us but plan to use facilities like the gym and bar. I would like a newer room with a pond view. I'm trying to decide between Amelia, Key West and St Augustine. Any advice? Thanks!

Hello! I would probably suggest Key West or St. Augustine over Amelia, just because those phases have their own designated pool and amenities. (But Amelia is still close to St. augustine!) Both Key West and St. Augustine have pools and gyms, but St. Augustine also has a pool bar and a marketplace. Key West has no food or beverage outlet at the pool, but it is much quieter than St. Augustine, with less children and people in general. All of those phases have modern units and will have views of either the pool and pond or just a pond.

 

[Cuddlemama]

Hello folks! We switched two of our vacation days to Vistana Villages during the big Mousesavers special a couple months ago. Now I'm trying to figure out what requests I need to make and when to make them.

Our dates are November 6-8. DH and I, our 3 children (11, 13, 15) and his sister (30+) will be staying in a 2 bedroom. DH and I won't be around much, except for resting, because we're both running the F&W Half on the night of the 7th. We'll be at Expo for a good portion of the 6th and then doing pre-race things and racing on the 7th. Aunt will be hanging with the kids. Is there a location you'd recommend that would make hanging out the most enjoyable and take best advantage of what the resort offers? Also, the least walking when I get home from the race on Saturday night (NO STAIRS!!!!) would be awesome.

Thanks,

Leigh

 

[katallo]

Hello! I would probably suggest Key West or St. Augustine over Amelia, just because those phases have their own designated pool and amenities. (But Amelia is still close to St. augustine!) Both Key West and St. Augustine have pools and gyms, but St. Augustine also has a pool bar and a marketplace. Key West has no food or beverage outlet at the pool, but it is much quieter than St. Augustine, with less children and people in general. All of those phases have modern units and will have views of either the pool and pond or just a pond.

We returned from our first trip to SVV. Overall, it was nice. We were offered a Sheraton Members stay without the need for a timeshare presentation. That being said, they called every day. We were in St Augustine overlooking the pool in a one bedroom. Overall, it was clean however it was very noisy. There were only two of us this trip and got very little sleep. The music at the pool went on until 11:00 most nights (even though pool closed at 10). The pool bar was closed quite a bit. Marketplace was open at 8am for coffee. The "one bedroom unit" was much smaller than Marriott or Wyndham timeshares. I think I would say it was more of a large studio. No separate kitchen. Kitchenette was outside of the bathroom.

 

[Noreen411]

Hi.

I am an owner at Vistana Resort where I stay just about every time I go to Disney (sometimes we'll also stay on Disney property).

If it's just my husband and I, we usually book the premium 1 bedroom. When I called to book this year's trip, Vistana Resort did not have any premium 1 bedrooms available. However, Vistana Villages did. Vistana resort had the smaller one bedroom available, but we really like the larger 1 bedroom villa.

After reading through this thread, posting a question on another thread, we will give it a try and stay at Vistana Villages

I requested top floor in the St Augustine section. I know it's just a request.

I'll come back after our trip to let everyone know what we thought and how it compares to our normal stay at Vistana Resort.

Thank you
Noreen

 

[danjoan14]

Hi.

I am an owner at Vistana Resort where I stay just about every time I go to Disney (sometimes we'll also stay on Disney property).

If it's just my husband and I, we usually book the premium 1 bedroom. When I called to book this year's trip, Vistana Resort did not have any premium 1 bedrooms available. However, Vistana Villages did. Vistana resort had the smaller one bedroom available, but we really like the larger 1 bedroom villa.

After reading through this thread, posting a question on another thread, we will give it a try and stay at Vistana Villages

I requested top floor in the St Augustine section. I know it's just a request.

I'll come back after our trip to let everyone know what we thought and how it compares to our normal stay at Vistana Resort.

Thank you
Noreen

We're owners at the Vistana Village. We own a two bedroom in the St. Augustine section. We love it. You made a good request. We have stayed at the Vistana Resort as well, but really like the Village much better. I'm sure you'll love it. Have a great trip.

 

[Noreen411]

Thank you for the feedback - I'm looking forward to it.
It could be fun to try somewhere different for us too

Thank you

 

[Noreen411]

Hi

We are back from our trip and we really liked Vistana Villages. We were worried about how it would compare to Vistana Resort where we own.

We stayed in a larger one bedroom in the St Augustine section. Building 24 - on the 3rd floor.
When we arrived (around 11am) they told us we were booked in St Augustine, Building 25, on the top floor. Building 25 is right in the center of the action; but that room wasn't ready yet. However, if we were willing to be in building 24 on the 3rd floor, we could have the room right away. We went with the ready now room.

I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I liked Vistana Villages. The room itself was very nice. We could have used a little more drawer space to put clothes but we tend to overpack. The room layout was great.

I really liked the fitness center in the St Augustine section. It is much larger than the one at Vistana. It is also open 24 hours which is great. The first morning we were in the gym by 5:30am and it was nice not having to wait until a later opening time. One morning Scott (my husband) had trouble sleeping and went to the gym at 4am. I looked at the fitness center in one of the other sections and it was much smaller.

I liked the green water slide at the pool. There was the pirate ship kiddie slide, but behind that a fun water slide that adults can also use.

It was convenient having both a Publix (supermarkets) and Walgreens (drugstore) just down the street.

The only downside is the exit onto the road from Vistana Villages making the left to head to Disney World. It would be great if they put a traffic light in to make it easier. We saw so many near collisions with people trying to make turns either way and ending up stuck in the middle and blocking the view for others trying to enter the road. I know this sounds nitpicky and like we're nervous drivers which we aren't. We live in Northern NJ and I drive into downtown NYC for work and have done so for years. I drive through rush hour gridlock in NYC which is like nothing most people imagine.

I'm going to be very torn when booking the next trip whether we should stay at Vistana Resort or Vistana Villages if both are available.

Thank you again for your advice/assistance when I was planning this trip. If I can answer any questions for anyone I would be happy to

Noreen

 

[Mexico279]

Hi Noreen , thank you for posting this, we are owners at vistana villages and returning for a three week visit on the 9/9 , our last few trips we have stayed at your home resort which is lovely also but we do prefer the villages! I am considering requesting the st Augustine phase and building 25 high floor , I know you took the other room but was wondering if you found it noisy, as we are an all adult party , I usually like the key west section but like the idea of all the facilities being in the building 25 , any info you can give me would be very much appreciated
Thank you
Pauline xxx

 

[vistana101]

Hi Noreen , thank you for posting this, we are owners at vistana villages and returning for a three week visit on the 9/9 , our last few trips we have stayed at your home resort which is lovely also but we do prefer the villages! I am considering requesting the st Augustine phase and building 25 high floor , I know you took the other room but was wondering if you found it noisy, as we are an all adult party , I usually like the key west section but like the idea of all the facilities being in the building 25 , any info you can give me would be very much appreciated
Thank you
Pauline xxx

Hi! Just wanted to give some input as I've stayed in both phases. I would still prefer Key West...it is MUCH quieter and the pool is less crowded as well. We stayed in B25 on the 6th floor so it wasn't too noisy, but you could still hear the pool noise a little bit. And we also heard heels clicking/furniture moving from the sales center above on the 7th floor. If you are placed on a lower floor in St. Augustine, the noise is pretty loud. It is nice to have the facilities right there, but it is only about a 5 min walk from Key West, so not too bad!

 

[Mexico279]

Hi! Just wanted to give some input as I've stayed in both phases. I would still prefer Key West...it is MUCH quieter and the pool is less crowded as well. We stayed in B25 on the 6th floor so it wasn't too noisy, but you could still hear the pool noise a little bit. And we also heard heels clicking/furniture moving from the sales center above on the 7th floor. If you are placed on a lower floor in St. Augustine, the noise is pretty loud. It is nice to have the facilities right there, but it is only about a 5 min walk from Key West, so not too bad!

Thank you, think I might have messed up then! , I've just submitted diamond lane and requested high floor building 25 but did give alternatives in both key west and bella, it's a certainty now that I will get building 25 ! Lol!! xxx

 

[vistana101]

Thank you, think I might have messed up then! , I've just submitted diamond lane and requested high floor building 25 but did give alternatives in both key west and bella, it's a certainty now that I will get building 25 ! Lol!! xxx

Ha, don't worry! Both are great locations and I'm sure you will have a wonderful vacation no matter which phase you are in!

 

[Noreen411]

Hi Pauline

Sorry for the delay responding.

We didn't hear any noise in the villa, but our patio/balcony didn't face the pool. It faced towards a lake so it was very quiet.

Have a great trip

Noreen