The Sheraton Vistana Resort Thread (key links on p.1)

Does anyone have pictures of what the units look like in the Springs section. Inside the unit is mainly what I am looking for. For example is the Jacuzzi tub in the bedroom (as it is in some of the sections) or is it in the bathroom? Pics of the unit would be wonderful.
 
Does anyone have pictures of what the units look like in the Springs section. Inside the unit is mainly what I am looking for. For example is the Jacuzzi tub in the bedroom (as it is in some of the sections) or is it in the bathroom? Pics of the unit would be wonderful.

The jacuzzi tub is in the bathroom in the Springs villas. This link will give you a general idea of the floor plan:

https://www.starwoodvacationnetwork...istana-resort/villas#two-bedroom-villasprings
 


I can’t recall reading it and don’t want to look through all the pages, so does anyone know if free Wi-Fi is in the rooms?
 
I can’t recall reading it and don’t want to look through all the pages, so does anyone know if free Wi-Fi is in the rooms?

Yes, there is free wifi throughout the resort. You can pay for the premium service that gives you more bandwidth and more devices, but we find the free level is fine for checking emails and park schedules, looking for restaurants, etc. We also generally have no problems with 4-5 devices on the free service (laptops, tablets, cell phones). If you want to stream anything, I would pay for the upgrade.
 
Does anyone have pictures of what the units look like in the Springs section. Inside the unit is mainly what I am looking for. For example is the Jacuzzi tub in the bedroom (as it is in some of the sections) or is it in the bathroom? Pics of the unit would be wonderful.
We stayed in Springs in '11, but looking back over my pics I never took any inside. Great section though, and looks very similar to any of the interiors shown here. 2 doubles in 2nd bedroom, skylights on 3rd floor units. Fantastic landscaping behind the second "block"; almost a jungle back there.

Was one of our favorite units, except when BBQing out back - I kept forgetting things, and those stairs got awfully long after a while. Second trip down, I went up the back stairs, propped door had closed, no one heard me knock, had to go back down, walk round to the front, back up two flights and knock again. :sad2:
 


Just submitted my Diamond Lane request :banana:. Two weeks from right now, we should be relaxing in the Fountains hot tubs! :woohoo:
 
I'm excited for you Gina!!:cool1:

I have a quick question.. I am thinking of reserving a week through Skyauction for our trip in May. However, I need 8 nights. The skyaucrtion reservation would only cover 7. Does anyone have recommendations for what would be the best/most economical way to add the final night. Would there be any way we wouldn't have to move rooms?
Hopefully one of you kind folks has done this before and can advise me on the best way to go about this.:cool2:
 
Hi Pigletto, nice to see you back, and heading back to Vistana.

We have added a day at the beginning of our trip in the past by booking directly through Sheraton; but you should be able to use any TA. Maybe try DISBoards sponsor Dreams Unlimited to see if the have a better rate. Obviously it will be a bit more for the single night than 1/7 of a week, but not substantially.

Once you have both reservations confirmed, send the confirmation numbers for both reservations to Vistana (via Diamond Lane) as your date approaches and they should be able to link the two up for you. Vistana is pretty motivated to do this; they save one whole full cleaning by doing so, and they are all about saving money. One thing to be certain of is that your units are of the same type (1BR or 2BR) so they can match them.
 
pigletto, I am looking for add-on nights for April as well (our timeshare stay is from the 24th to the 1st of May, but we don't fly home until the 3rd). I will keep you posted if I'm able to find a decent rate somewhere. As bankr63 mentioned, I am hoping that DU might offer something for the first half of 2016 once the dust settles in the New Year.

Plan B, in the event that we can't find a good SVR rate for those 2 days, is to stay at a SeaWorld official hotel for the included benefits (free quick queue in particular). If at all possible, though, we'd rather have our villa!
 
Thank you both! I appreciate the advice. What you said makes perfect sense bankr. I imagine keeping us in the same unit is win/win for them and us.

Gina I will keep my eyes peeled as well and let you know if I see anything. I did see that Dreams has some pretty good rates for Vistana right now. Fingers crossed that they extend them.
 
I think you should call Vistana first before you book anything, I just tried to add on a night for our trip in January and they said "they can not guarantee that we will be in the same room". That didn't work for us....the whole purpose was to stay in the same room as we had an early evening flight...and we didn't want to have to pack up and be out of the room by 10am. So for our party...we agreed to go halfers as it was worth it to us pay the fee and not feel rushed. I didn't end up booking the extra night...and decided to book it when we are there. Maybe once there...they can guarantee that we can stay in the same room??!!
 
I think you should call Vistana first before you book anything, I just tried to add on a night for our trip in January and they said "they can not guarantee that we will be in the same room". That didn't work for us....the whole purpose was to stay in the same room as we had an early evening flight...and we didn't want to have to pack up and be out of the room by 10am. So for our party...we agreed to go halfers as it was worth it to us pay the fee and not feel rushed. I didn't end up booking the extra night...and decided to book it when we are there. Maybe once there...they can guarantee that we can stay in the same room??!!

You actually will probably have better luck booking the extra day in advance. What you need to understand with TS Resorts is that there are generally other people who own the units you are staying in. The developer and resort manager (Vistana) does own some units, but most are owned by folks like us. So the resort always maintains that they "cannot guarantee" linking two units together because they do sometimes get stuck where the actual unit owner is using that next week; these things are out of their control. They do shuffle around reservations as much as they can when assigning units to prevent this happening, and I have only once read of renters who had to unit swap; many times of renters who did not. But I think your chances of keeping the same unit are much better if the management company knows that you are extending your stay ahead of time. Since they assign units a couple of weeks in advance, there is a very good chance that another party will already be assigned your unit for the following week when you arrive.
 
Well, we arrived yesterday to some glorious Florida sunshine :sunny: . We are in a sparkling clean top floor villa in Fountains building 10. Our villa was ready for us when we checked in early (around 2:30 pm) and everything has been great so far. Its so nice to be "home"! :santa:
 
Hi, total noob, looking for advice...

We were gifted a week at the vistana in a 2 bedroom, but I'm told it's not a "villa" but more a "hotel type" room. I'm looking on the website and can't figure out what room I should be expecting. I'm told the room we got sleeps up to 8, if that helps.

I'm specifically wanting to know if I should make any type of room request or if there's a section that's better than others. I'm also looking or any general resort tips or tricks. We will have a car with us and are planning to do 5 or 6 days at DW and one day at Universal (IoA) to see the HP expansion. I've got two adults and three kids traveling (10, 8, 2). TIA!
 
Hi, total noob, looking for advice...

We were gifted a week at the vistana in a 2 bedroom, but I'm told it's not a "villa" but more a "hotel type" room. I'm looking on the website and can't figure out what room I should be expecting. I'm told the room we got sleeps up to 8, if that helps.

I'm specifically wanting to know if I should make any type of room request or if there's a section that's better than others. I'm also looking or any general resort tips or tricks. We will have a car with us and are planning to do 5 or 6 days at DW and one day at Universal (IoA) to see the HP expansion. I've got two adults and three kids traveling (10, 8, 2). TIA!

There is nothing at Vistana that is anything like a hotel room. The smallest units there are the smaller half of the 1BR lockoff, and they are still probably double the size of standard hotel room. All of the 2BR units would resemble a fairly standard to luxury apartment with ensuite laundry and two full baths. Hardly a hotel room. Scan back in this thread for many pictures of the units and judge for yourself. The only units that are multi-floor are the uppers in Courts (they call these townhomes instead of villas), but all the 2BR units are very large and comfortable.

The entire resort got a refresh just a few years ago now, and the resort has kept up with maintenance well since then, so there are really no bad areas. A few buildings are a bit closer to some of the busier roads in the area; again read back a bit for tips on avoiding these buildings. Most of the regulars here have favorite sections, but they are generally different, so it is really difficult to recommend one over another. I always suggest making your first trip to the resort to get the feel, walk around a bit, and figure which section you might like to try next. I've stayed in 4 of the 7 sections, and liked them all for different reasons. My least favorite sections are the newest ones which are higher density than the older sections, I like a bit of space and some peace and quiet; but these high density sections are generally more popular with most visitors.
 
I'm looking at potentially staying at a 2 bedroom at SVR 2/26 - 3/4 (Friday - Friday). It's a rather last minute trip and I have no idea if there is anything even open, but I contacted a few ebay sellers today. We've stayed at Wyndham bonnet creek and Windsor Hills in the past.
 
Just traded our week for a 2 bedroom on March 20-27. Looking forward to learning more about the resort. We originally were booked for Westgate Resort but traded that in for Sheraton this weekend. How are the restaurants onsite? Can you get the menu and prices online? What pool now has the slide? Do you know the height requirements to use the slide? Our stay is from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. How bad is the traffic to Disney World from the resort during this time? Thanks in advance!!
 
Just traded our week for a 2 bedroom on March 20-27. Looking forward to learning more about the resort. We originally were booked for Westgate Resort but traded that in for Sheraton this weekend. How are the restaurants onsite? Can you get the menu and prices online? What pool now has the slide? Do you know the height requirements to use the slide? Our stay is from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. How bad is the traffic to Disney World from the resort during this time? Thanks in advance!!

The dining options onsite are fairly basic, with Zimmies, The Cascades Pool Bar, and Tacky Tiki Bar as options. Zimmies does a breakfast, and all have lighter pub type fare - good for a poolside snack or light meal. We were impressed that Zimmies had some more interesting choices last visit after revamping the menu a bit. I have never seen the menus posted online.

In general there are tons of great restaurants within a short drive of the resort, so I think that the on-resort options don't try to compete. The Bo-Bina clan eat out a lot more than my crew, check out a couple of her recent trip reports for lists of the great options nearby.

The Falls pool has a slide, and it is pretty tame. Since there are no lifeguards at the pools, enforcement is pretty much up to the parents. I don't recall any listed minimum height, but there may be one. My kids have more fun with the waterfalls, and the young ones seem to really like the fountain area in the Cascades pool (about 2-3" of water in that part of the pool).

You're there a week after us. We are often there for Ontario March Break, and traffic is very easy from Vistana to the parks. It is a right out of the resort, and the next right at World Centre Drive for most parks. Just a couple of traffic lights and you are at the famous Disney sign. Easter will add a bit of volume, but that route is generally very quick. Note that I recommend going to Disney Springs following the same path to LBV Blvd. even though you will be tempted to take the shorter route via The Crossroads (535 and Hotel Drive). That direction is most often a traffic headache.
 

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