We arrived at Vistana last Saturday 2/23. It was raining cats and dogs. I had requested early check in but by the time we got there eventually it was about 4.15 and everyone was checking in. It was like a zoo, the lines were unbelievable. I used the Diamond Express check-in service and I'm so glad I did because that line wasn't half as long as the others. I requested the Cascades section but didn't get it. We were put in the Springs. It was obviously older but it was clean and very spacious and apart from the 80s style decor it was very nice. We had a 2 bedroom but could probably have managed quite well in a 1 bedroom. I really didn't expect it to be so big. The only complaint I had was how long we had to wait for the crib and highchair we requested. I had put the request in when I made the reservation and mentioned it again at check-in when I was assured by the clerk that they would be waiting in the room. They were not. We had to call 4 times between 5.30 and 8pm and it was only when my husband said he was sure Vistana wouldn't want to get a reputation for bad service that the items promptly arrived. We were told at check-in that there was a welcome package for us but, again, in the zoo-like atmosphere we opted not to line up again to get it. After having the front desk call us twice about said package my husband finally got it a couple of days later. There was some useful info in it but basically it's geared towards getting you to go to a timeshare presentation which we didn't want.
We had a very pleasant stay but there seems to be a lack of communication between departments there. We were supposed to leave on 2/28 but our ds got a nasty tummy bug and we couldn't leave so we made arrangements to say an extra day and we specifically asked for housekeeping not to service the room because we didn't want ds to be disturbed. About 2 hours later a maid came into the room to service it and seemed confused when I explained that we didn't want it done. Later in the day someone else from housekeeping just walked into the room and seemed startled to see us there. Then she asked if the room had been serviced to our satisfaction. On another day we came back to find a business card belong to a staff member telling us he had fixed our toilet (which wasn't broken).
It's a very nice place but I would need to stay there for a month to find my way around. It's huge. We didn't avail of any of the activities and only used the Cascades pool which was about 2 minutes walk from our villa. It is gorgeous there and our children loved it. There was a lovely bar and the whole atmosphere was so relaxed. The convenience store was handy but very expensive. They had individual "Little Swimmer" diapers there for $3 EACH!
The food from the restaurants was nice and there's a Pizza Hut also.
We really enjoyed it but I don't know how I'll ever settle for a standard hotel room again after all the space there.
We had a very pleasant stay but there seems to be a lack of communication between departments there. We were supposed to leave on 2/28 but our ds got a nasty tummy bug and we couldn't leave so we made arrangements to say an extra day and we specifically asked for housekeeping not to service the room because we didn't want ds to be disturbed. About 2 hours later a maid came into the room to service it and seemed confused when I explained that we didn't want it done. Later in the day someone else from housekeeping just walked into the room and seemed startled to see us there. Then she asked if the room had been serviced to our satisfaction. On another day we came back to find a business card belong to a staff member telling us he had fixed our toilet (which wasn't broken).
It's a very nice place but I would need to stay there for a month to find my way around. It's huge. We didn't avail of any of the activities and only used the Cascades pool which was about 2 minutes walk from our villa. It is gorgeous there and our children loved it. There was a lovely bar and the whole atmosphere was so relaxed. The convenience store was handy but very expensive. They had individual "Little Swimmer" diapers there for $3 EACH!
The food from the restaurants was nice and there's a Pizza Hut also.
We really enjoyed it but I don't know how I'll ever settle for a standard hotel room again after all the space there.
