neilmactor

Thanks in advance for all the great FTers advice.

Planning a late April getaway to Florida with Mrs. Neilmactor and our 3 yr old girl. Just wondering if there is much difference between the two Sheraton Vistana Resort and Sheraton Vistana Villages especially when considering onsite activities for the little one. Like the fact that both have larger suites.

A couple of other questions:

1) Booking through a travel agent from Toronto and getting a nice package (flight, hotel, car) at the same price for both properties. As SPG Gold would I earn points on the stay and expect any upgrade?

2) Any other suggestions for a spg properties? We don't have to be close to Orlando but figure a day at a theme park is in order with day trip to the beach and enjoying onsite facilities for a relaxing week.

Thanks for all your wise advice.

Neilmactor

stylo4444

Hi Neilmactor,

If you're going to be at Disney, you could take a look at the Swan & Dolphin. They are the closest hotels to the theme park but also a little higher priced than the Sheraton Vistana Resort. I've stayed at both even though I live in Orlando, the Vistana Resort does have large "villas" which are similar to apartments, but the Swan & Dolphin are more upscale if you want to call it that. I do not believe there is much of a difference between the Vistana Resort vs. Villages but I've only stayed at one of those.

As Gold, you can't really expect much of an upgrade but it never hurts to ask. If there are rooms available, you might just have some luck. Golds get an upgrade to "enhanced" rooms, but I think most people will agree that might just mean the same type of room on a higher floor but I've had the experience of being upgraded to the next category as well. Again, it never hurts to ask.

If you book outside of SPG, I believe you do not earn points. I always go through SPG anyways however.

The Four Points on International Drive is also an option, I've seen some low rates there and the rooms are clean. If you're going to be out of the hotel for most of the day at Disney, go with either the Four Points or Sheraton Vistana Resort...if you'll be on the property and want to make use of facilities, then the Swan & Dolphin are probably better although higher priced.

Let us know what you decide.

CNWO4LIFE

And now spg has another resort ob Buena Vista as well. I think thay bought another property and rebranded it.

djohannw

Bringing this thread back up again...we will be traveling to Orlando with two other families and look for some (larger) suites to get everyone (per family of course) into one room. So far we have made reservations (2x 1BR, 1x 2BR) for both the Vistana Villages (I-Drive) and the Vistana Resort Villas (LBV) with the former being about $5 per night cheaper than the other. However I have no idea which one is the nicer for our setup - we will spend much time at SeaWorld and Aquatica, and there is a small chance we will be heading to Disney on one day.

Other than that (location probably would be in favour of the I-Drive location) we look for the nicer pool-area and a nicer room - pool should be suitable for kids between five and twelve, an if any has nice slides that could be a factor. Added features like a on-site minitaure golf course or the like would also be a plus (we had that at Marriott's Harbour Lake last year and the kids had lots of fun there). Also I noticed that the 1BR-suites we booked at the I-Drive location only show "Kitchenette" instead of "full kitchen" with the two-bedroom suites - can anyone tell the actual difference between these? Being there for a week we certainly want to make use of the kitchen-facilities in the rooms...

So anyone has a suggestion which one of these to choose? Any other property in Orlando is not in our scope as we did not like the Sheraton Suites near the airport (which is also far to much off from where we want to be) and none of the other hotels would guarantee a suite for three rooms with one Plat only... Thanks in advance for your advice!

Greetings - Dirk

cletuspapa

My family and I have stayed here twice in two years - while I have never stayed at the vistana village not on I-Drive, I can attest that if you are going to seaworld and aquatica, you'll want to stay at the one on I-Drive.

It's a great resort, much to do for the kids, nice pool, great staff, etc....
They will try to give you SPG points to sit down to talk about a timeshare, but you can just say no-thanks and you're all good. We did it this year, but it was Easter Sunday and they gave me 8200 SPG points for an hour of my day so I took it.

Have fun! Seaworld is my favorite Orlando attraction!

Peter

Gaucho100K

Looking for an update on recent stays at these two resorts... I stayed at the Vistana Villages and had a good stay, looking to maybe go back again in Jan or Feb 2014. Back in 2012 the Villages resort got an extensive refurbishment, are the 2 bedroom villas still looking in good shape...?

Thanks for any updates that folks may have.

Cheers,
Alex / Gaucho100K

Recreation

I'd select the Amelia phase, as their remodel should be complete by then. Bella section is undergoing renovations now, but won't be complete by JFM '14.

Resort Advisory
Sheraton Vistana Villages has various resort maintenance and enhancement projects planned throughout 2013 and into 2014. From July through October 2013, the Amelia phase villas will undergo an interior refreshment. The Bella Florida phase will undergo a full interior renovation from September 2013 to April 2014. While there will be some exterior painting, the majority of activity from these projects will be contained to the interior of the villas. We do not anticipate it affecting your stay. We appreciate your patience during these homeowner association-sponsored projects.

Gaucho100K

Thanks for the great information..... ^

djohannw

See my thread in the housekeeping issue - I think the place itself is very nice as are our suites (buliding 24), however you are alone when you need anything Special. Also note that the renovations going on currently are a lot more intrusive than disclosed...the noise starts early (was woken up at 6:30 am by construction-trucks backing up and heard workers discarding stuff all day), and construction also makes driving around the resort problematic at times due to the narrower than normal roads...

Greetings - Dirk

Recreation

Here's an overview of the resort if it helps. The Key West phase is pretty removed from both Amelia and Bella sections, if you're afraid of construction noise.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...llages6-09.jpg

boboqui

I don't know about the Village but the Resort was pretty nice (ask for a unit by the pool). You can buy the 2br unit here for $799 ( but beware of the surchage on certain dates).

Gaucho100K

Thanks... whats the schedule for the work going on...? I assume it will still be going on Jan and Feb 2014...?

Gaucho100K

Thanks... but has the Key West phase been redone lately or is it still up for refurbishment...?

Gaucho100K

Any current promotion I need to sign up for considering I may book this 15ish night stay at this resort in early 2014...?

Thanks...
Gaucho100K

djohannw

Rebovation is schedules until April 2014...

Greetings - Dirk