Sheraton Vistana Villages - Your reviews, tips & ratings

[MrInfinity]

Great thread! Even tho it's been inactive for 8 mo, thank you to all who have contributed the great photos. We're staying at the Villages in May so if anyone else is, feel free to post! I'm much more excited now after having read all this...

 

[rcarman213]

We are looing to stay at one of the Sheraton Vista resorts through Costco... Has anyone done this? How was travel with Costco?

 

[Rgonzalez79]

We're actually going in May as well (14-28), just booked a one bedroom with a kitchenette. Would have preferred the full kitchen (comes with a huge counter where we love to just dump everything) but it wasn't available for our budgeted price.

Does anyone know if they've renovated any other sections besides St. Augustine?

 

[melissas77]

I'm also interested in any updated info anyone may have. I think we would prefer to be near the main pool but I'm not sure how old those units are. Though I thought I read in a review somewhere that all the older units have now been renovated. Can anyone confirm this? We are going to be in Orlando April 26 to May 5th and I'm deciding between Floridays and Vistana Villages.

 

[Rgonzalez79]

We last went in May 2012 and Saint Augustine was the only renovated section from what we were told. Can't seem to find anything on the renovations after that though.

Saint Augustine villas were the smallest by square footage, though my wife, little princess and I were quite comfortable in the 1 bedroom.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We last went in May 2012 and Saint Augustine was the only renovated section from what we were told. Can't seem to find anything on the renovations after that though.

This link may offer a little more of an update on the renovations:

https://www.starwoodvacationnetwork.com/sheraton-vistana-villages/announcements/

 

[melissas77]

This link may offer a little more of an update on the renovations:

Thanks so much for this link! Great info!
It says the renovation is due to be complete in April. We are going on April 26th. I wonder what the chances are that it will be complete by then. I don't want to stay in a construction zone. Hmm...

 

[Lorrained]

Fab I found the right hotel.

Looks lovely. Very interested to hear any updates, we go August 2015, so I am assuming the renovations should be completed by then.

For whoever asked about booking, we are in UK and booked ours through Virgin.

Something I will have to remember looking at this information on that link it says shuttles for a nominal fee, well our booking through Virgin it says FREE disney transportation so will have to check that out, we had that once before and the hotel was charging us when actually as Virgin guests it's included.

 

[melissas77]

Vistana Villages booked for April 26-May 5th!
BTW- I inquired before booking and was told that only 1 of the 11 buildings in the Bella Florida section would still be under renovation at that time.
Can't wait!

 

[luvsvacations]

I am a little confused about the pools - the first set up pictures shows a waterfall type feature and the second set has a pirate ship. Less interested in the pirate ship. Are there 2 pools ?? Thanks

 

[MrInfinity]

I am a little confused about the pools - the first set up pictures shows a waterfall type feature and the second set has a pirate ship. Less interested in the pirate ship. Are there 2 pools ?? Thanks

Yes there are 2 pools. The bigger adult pool w waterfall and the smaller kid pool with pirate ship. One is toward the middle of the campus, the other toward one edge. You'll want to be near the middle one.

 

[luvsvacations]

Thanks for clearing that up. Looks really nice.

 

[bankr63]

Something I will have to remember looking at this information on that link it says shuttles for a nominal fee, well our booking through Virgin it says FREE disney transportation so will have to check that out, we had that once before and the hotel was charging us when actually as Virgin guests it's included.

Both are correct. For timeshare stays there is a fee to use the shuttles. That's because most owners don't use the shuttles and don't want it included in their maintenance fees. For those who book "hotel" stays through Sheraton or a Travel Agent, the shuttles are included in the cost of accommodation.

 

[jennyincolo]

Is the SVV close enough for a mid-day break from the parks? Planning to visit in October 2014, with 3 small kiddos along with the DH and my parents. I think the pirate ship in the pool may have just made our decision for us (I was also looking at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek). I see from Google maps that it is a 15 minute drive back to the hotel, but I'm sure that's wishful thinking.

Anyone done the mid-day return successfully? We are renting a car, so the shuttle is not a concern for us. Thanks!

 

[bankr63]

Is the SVV close enough for a mid-day break from the parks? Planning to visit in October 2014, with 3 small kiddos along with the DH and my parents. I think the pirate ship in the pool may have just made our decision for us (I was also looking at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek). I see from Google maps that it is a 15 minute drive back to the hotel, but I'm sure that's wishful thinking.

Anyone done the mid-day return successfully? We are renting a car, so the shuttle is not a concern for us. Thanks!

That's quite do-able. There really is no traffic on the roads you travel back from most of the parks, so you wouldn't encounter any delays. There are some real traffic snarl ups around DTD that should be avoided, but the shortest route doesn't go that way. Fifteen minutes from the parking lot sounds about right.

 

[jennyincolo]

Thanks! I have been debating back and forth between this and the WBC - the SVV definitely feels more like what I'm looking for (even though it's a bit more expensive). Like I said, that pirate ship looks awesome, and the renovations should all be done before we get there at the end of October. Totally psyched - thanks!!

That's quite do-able. There really is no traffic on the roads you travel back from most of the parks, so you wouldn't encounter any delays. There are some real traffic snarl ups around DTD that should be avoided, but the shortest route doesn't go that way. Fifteen minutes from the parking lot sounds about right.

 

[jennyincolo]

Just booked for October 2014 - hooray for the pirate ship! Thanks for all the feedback. Now to wait for airline deals, LOL.

 

[Detailor]

I am a little confused about the pools - the first set up pictures shows a waterfall type feature and the second set has a pirate ship. Less interested in the pirate ship. Are there 2 pools ?? Thanks

The large pool with the waterfall is located in the Bella Florida section right behind the registration/check-in building while the pool area with the Galleon ship is located in the St Augustine section.

Dick Taylor

 

[Detailor]

We're actually going in May as well (14-28), just booked a one bedroom with a kitchenette. Would have preferred the full kitchen (comes with a huge counter where we love to just dump everything) but it wasn't available for our budgeted price.

Does anyone know if they've renovated any other sections besides St. Augustine?

The Key West section was refurbished in late 2011/early 2012. St. Augustine was actually new in the 2009-2011 timeframe so that's not been refurbished to my knowledge (seems too soon since the build out). And, as others note, Bella Florida - the resort's largest section - is undergoing refurbishment now. I'm not sure about the Amelia section, which I think was built after the Key West section - maybe sometime around 2007 or 2008.

Dick Taylor

 

[NavyDad]

Just booked for October 2014 - hooray for the pirate ship! Thanks for all the feedback. Now to wait for airline deals, LOL.

We stayed at Villages late last June for 3 days. We had a 2 bedroom in the St. Augistine section. It was Me, DW, DS15, DD11 and DD8.

We had just finished 8 days at Beach Club and wanted a place to stay for a few days while we visited Universal. The extra room was very nice after having 5 people crammed into 1 room with 1 bathroom over at Beach Club for over a week.

We recieved a phone call about 2 days before check-in asking us what time we expected to arrive. I told the very freindly woman who called we would like to check in about 3:00 if possible. She said she would personally make sure our room was ready to go and we could meet her at the gallery building and she would have our keys and would check us in. We arrived about 3:20 PM and the room was not ready yet. She was very friendly and asked if we wanted a tour if we wanted. Our kids were asleep in the car so we decided to just wait in the car until the room was ready. She told us she would check on it and call us when it was ready. At about 5:30 we still had not recieved a phone call. I went back into the gallery and the same friendly woman told us the room was ready. We drove to our building and went inside the condo. The cleaning people were actually still inside finishing up but were out in about 5-10 minutes.

The condo was fantastic. Our Master Suite was clean, nice and very roomy. The girls had their own room with two double beds and DS 15 liked having the pull-out couch where he could have his own space and TV. We had a very nice screened in balcony with a small table and 4 chairs. This worked great because it had a great view of the pool. My wife and I spent a couple nights on the balcony relaxing with a cool drink while the kids enjoyed the pool. We had a clear view and could see them the whole time.

I would say the Pirate pool is for all ages - not just young kids. There was a nice size water slide all three kids enjoyed and next to the water play area there was a nice full sized pool that the bigger kids enjoyed a lot and it was never crowded. One of the nights we were there they had a pool party with Pirate MC's, fun music and games. We all had a great time. The main pool was a short walk from our building but we ended up never feeling the need to walk over there. There was a nice pool bar with food at the pool and a little store with a mini Starbucks. This was a hit with my wife

The condo had a full kitchen and an apartment sized washer and dryer. We cooked our meals at the condo which saved us some money and kept the washer and dryer going so after three days at Universal and 8 days at Disney we were able to go home with all clean clothes.

Overall we loved this resort and would not hesitate to stay here again.