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

What time should we leave the resort to get to each of the WDW parks at rope drop? It's my family's first time so we are not familiar with what to expect. There is so much research left to do!

From what I've read (and pls correct me if I'm wrong), for MK we need to go park the car at TTC, ride monorail/ferry, then walk to the gate (probably 60-75 mins travel time from vistana?) and for the other parks, go to parking lot, ride tram, walk to the gate (probably 45-60 minutes from vistana?)
The farthest park from the resort is Magic Kingdom (a bit less than 9 miles), with drive time to the parking lot at 15 minutes. Other parks are shorter distances/times. From there, allow time to pay and park (15 min), shuttle (15 min), and Monorail (MK only, 20-25 min). So 45-60 minutes per park to reach the gate. Allow additional time for security and any delays and you are probably in the right ballpark.
 
The farthest park from the resort is Magic Kingdom (a bit less than 9 miles), with drive time to the parking lot at 15 minutes. Other parks are shorter distances/times. From there, allow time to pay and park (15 min), shuttle (15 min), and Monorail (MK only, 20-25 min). So 45-60 minutes per park to reach the gate. Allow additional time for security and any delays and you are probably in the right ballpark.

Thank you, this definitely helps me out!
 
I can report back that the resort was beautiful. The room was spacious, clean and quiet. We absolutely loved the place. The screened-in balcony was a hit and my daughter could be found there in the early mornings overlooking the pond. We also had dinner out there once or twice.

You all were correct, it was simple and quick to get to all the parks. We didn't even bother with the shuttle as recommended.

Definitely would recommend this resort and would go back in a heart beat.
 
I haven't gotten a change to read this whole thread, but I have a question. We are traveling with 7 and really need to book a 1 and a 2 bedroom. Are there 1/2 lockoffs at SVR, or just the 1/1s? If not, do you think they would be able to place us in the same building with a 1 and a 2?
 


I haven't gotten a change to read this whole thread, but I have a question. We are traveling with 7 and really need to book a 1 and a 2 bedroom. Are there 1/2 lockoffs at SVR, or just the 1/1s? If not, do you think they would be able to place us in the same building with a 1 and a 2?
Hi @Brttnys and :welcome:to DIS!

No, Vistana does not have any 3BR lockoff configurations (1+2) but the buildings in Lakes and Cascades all have both one and two bedrooms in the same buildings, so that is not an unreasonable request. Just make sure that they link your two reservations together. We have traveled as a family in two units (1 and 2) and although they didn't get us in the same building, we were across the roadway from each other (1BR in Cascades, 2BR in Springs) and could see each other's front doors. That worked pretty well for us too.
 
Just booked our first svr stay - nov 12-19! We're so excited. Anyone else have a little one (3 yr old) that will be there that week?
 
Good morning. I am new to DIS so bare with me lol. I am surprising my family with a vacation for Christmas. I have booked the Sheraton cause the reviews looked really great. My question would be where should I request to stay? This resort is very large. I would love to have a view of the lake but I also want to be near the pools for my kids. Any information you could give me I would be very grateful. We are going from Jan 27- Feb 3. Thank you so much for your time :)
 


Good morning. I am new to DIS so bare with me lol. I am surprising my family with a vacation for Christmas. I have booked the Sheraton cause the reviews looked really great. My question would be where should I request to stay? This resort is very large. I would love to have a view of the lake but I also want to be near the pools for my kids. Any information you could give me I would be very grateful. We are going from Jan 27- Feb 3. Thank you so much for your time :)

Hi @Jillian0221 and :welcome: to The DIS! Tons of great information here.

Sounds like a lot of fun - our first trip down all those years ago was a Christmas gift too, but we actually travelled on Spring break. The kids were excited for weeks.

I have answered the "where do I request to stay" question a bunch of different ways here, but that is because it is a very difficult question to answer. I know what I like is not what others like, so it is so hard to say for certain what will work for you. Our other regular poster @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina's family and my family both love the resort, but we have very different ideas about where we prefer to stay and why. My general answer to this question is to just go, explore, and on your second trip you will know what you like.

But everyone wants to request a certain area, so here are a couple of pointers that might guide your choice:
  • Unit type and size. If you have a 1BR booked, you will only be in Lakes or Cascades; all other sections are 2BR units only. It used to be that you could soft of guess your section by the type of unit on your reservation, but Sheraton seems to have changed its listings so it only lists the lowest common denominator for 2BR units.
  • Proximity to pools. Vistana Resort is a big resort, but most of the pools are centrally located on either the North or South section. Looking at the map, no units are further than about 3 city blocks from a pool, so it is totally walkable (furthest units would be the outer units in Palms). A couple of the pools are open late, so be careful about asking to be right at the pool if you have light sleepers or young kids.
  • Landscaping. Almost all units have a "water" view of some sort, either a pool or a pond. Courts is the one section without any ponds, they have large grassy lawns out back which can be nice for throwing a ball or Frisbee.
  • Noise. Due to the size of the resort, there are always some sound issues somewhere. Most trips there will be a rowdy group somewhere in the resort; security does their best to keep this controlled, but they have to be reactive to an existing problem. No advice here except to say that if behaviour is truly bothering you, report it. One reason I like the older sections is the lower density of units; they tend to be quieter sections because everyone is more spread out (much less likely that rowdies are near you). Note: I am not in any way saying this is a rowdy resort, it is not and Sheraton has some pretty good policies to control it (like minimum age 25 to reserve a unit). But with hundreds of villas, one or two always slip in.
    There are units that front onto the busy 535 or back onto I-4. There are sound buffers, but some people are still bothered by the noise. There are a few posts here where I point out specific buildings to avoid for potential road noise. Note that fronting is not as bad as backing as the living room and master in most units is at the back. I have also noted in point 2 above that being right on a pool area can be noisy.
  • Other amenities. Don't forget to look at the resort map (link on page 1) for other amenities your kids may be interested in. There are basketball hoops on both sides, and some years they are very busy with pickup games. I swear some kids spend their entire vacation on those courts; if this sounds like yours, shoot for something nearer the bball. South side has a little more in the way of dining and has the marketplace as well for deli, Starbucks, and basic groceries. Don't forget about the adults either - you may want to be neared to one of the exercise centres, or the hot tubs.
Again, having stayed in 4 of the 7 sections over the past several years, and having enjoyed them all, I am most comfortable in saying just leave it to chance. The one time I do recommend making a request is if there are special needs in your party (limited mobility, etc).
 
Hi! We're new to svr and timeshares in general. I used my mil's timeshare to trade into a week at svr. We got a 1 bdrm because she didn't have enough points for 2, but I'm wondering if there is any way to pay cash at check in to upgrade to a 2 bedroom? Has anyone done this?
 
Hi! We're new to svr and timeshares in general. I used my mil's timeshare to trade into a week at svr. We got a 1 bdrm because she didn't have enough points for 2, but I'm wondering if there is any way to pay cash at check in to upgrade to a 2 bedroom? Has anyone done this?
I don't have any personal experience with this, but my general advice is that this is probably best handled through the exchange company in advance. I know RCI has some programs that allow for unit upgrades where available, I don't exchange in II, but they often mirror RCI in capability. If the reservation was through Vistana ownership, there are ways to borrow points from the following year to top up a reservation. Discuss this with an advisor at whichever exchange company the reservation was made through.

One thing to remember is that Sheraton/Vistana manages the resort on behalf of the owners; it is not quite like a hotel where they have full reign to run room assignments as they see fit. They don't actually know what their availability looks like until the exchange companies forward all the reservations a couple of weeks before the occupancy date. The exchange companies have a better idea of what is available at any given time.

I have never heard of anyone purchasing an upgrade at front desk; but I also haven't seen any rules that ban it. They do not generally upgrade room classes for free like a hotel might. If this is your only remaining option, you might try calling the resort directly and ask before you arrive; call the resort, not the reservation centre. Post back here if you do follow through and let us know how it goes.
 
Pffff, read through all the pages and learned a lot. We are in Orlando from tuesday 12 sep till friday 15 sep and found a great deal via Mousesavers on the Sheraton Vistana Resort, a 2 bedroom villa.
What I seen in the posts is that they can put us anywhere they like but I am planning to do a diamond request for a certain part of the area.

What I look for is bit of quietness but the most important thing is for my wife. She is not a big smoker, but loves a smoke after dinner and before sleeping. What I saw at the map is that the Courts area towards the tennis court and the Spa area has the most places for smokers.

Any opinions about a certain area?
 
Not a smoker myself, but I will say that the DSA's in the central Courts/Spas area are in busier traffic areas - not sure how comfortable, but I have never really scoped them out. Personally, I would probably enjoy a smoke out in the gazebos on the ponds like behind Cascades 14/15 or in Lakes. Lakes probably has the most DSA's at 3, and they all look to be in fairly quiet areas. Perhaps just a general request to be near a DSA would suffice.
 
We will be staying at the Sheraton Vistana resort in a week. I have requested the north end of the Courts in the 2 story townhouse.

A few questions that came up as we are packing.

Does the resort provide pool towels? I know they had a card system that was discontinued awhile back.
How comfortable are the sofa beds?
 
In about 2 1/2 weeks, we'll be checking in for our first visit to SVR. I booked through SkyAuction, and I received a unit assignment at that time (Cascades section). However, after reading this thread, it sounds like I may be assigned to a different unit (which is fine). I went to make a Diamond Lane request, but I could not find any place on the form to indicate any requests (other than crib, highchair, and rollaway bed). Am I missing something, or has the form changed?

Being our first time, I'm really not too concerned about getting a specific section of the resort. But first floor or a building with an elevator would be preferred.
 
In about 2 1/2 weeks, we'll be checking in for our first visit to SVR. I booked through SkyAuction, and I received a unit assignment at that time (Cascades section). However, after reading this thread, it sounds like I may be assigned to a different unit (which is fine). I went to make a Diamond Lane request, but I could not find any place on the form to indicate any requests (other than crib, highchair, and rollaway bed). Am I missing something, or has the form changed?

Being our first time, I'm really not too concerned about getting a specific section of the resort. But first floor or a building with an elevator would be preferred.

Good question!

I'm checking-in to Vistana in 4 weeks and I booked my stay the same as you (Skyauction). My confirmation states that I will be placed in Fountains Villas, but, we have friends that are owners staying in Springs and we want to be close to them. I was hoping to add that information to my Diamond Lane request too.
 
I remember previous Diamond Lane request forms having a section that was free form and you can type special requests or comments. I looked at the newest version of this past week and there doesn't appear to be an opportunity to do that. Anyone know how to add those extra special requests with that form? Or do we need to call the resort directly?

Thanks!
 
I filled it out and got an email from Sheraton and responded back with my requests. Checked in Saturday and got exactly what I asked for.

I remember previous Diamond Lane request forms having a section that was free form and you can type special requests or comments. I looked at the newest version of this past week and there doesn't appear to be an opportunity to do that. Anyone know how to add those extra special requests with that form? Or do we need to call the resort directly?

Thanks!
 
I am planning a stay at SVR and have had some issues already, so am hoping for any recommendations on how to proceed. For starters, I know I am complicated :)

I am going with my family of 4 (me, DH, DD, DS) for 2 weeks, so we have booked a package through a third party vacation site for a 2-bdrm villa and airfare, so all included, Friday to Friday, basically as a hotel, not timeshare. No issue. My parents are going to join us for the second week, driving, and are thinking of staying Thursday to the Friday (8 nights total), so we called Sheraton directly to book room only, again, would think no issue. The woman at Sheraton main reservations was very confused on the phone, had no idea about the resort layout, room configurations, etc. My mom booked a 2-bdrm villa, and asked as to the bed configurations in the second room (i.e., single or double), the woman kept saying it was 2 king beds, one in each room. I thought this sounded odd, but after asking several times and her insisting, left it at that. We asked for a request to be put on the file that our rooms be near each other, not adjoining necessarily, but at least in the same general vicinity. Were told request would be on the file.

Few days later, no confirmation email received for my parents' booking, so I call the resort directly. They confirm they have my reservation no issue, but my parents had actually been booked into 2 x 2-bdrm villas (total of 4 bedrooms), and there was no way we would be in the same building as they were coming on a Thursday and we were checking in on the Friday. I said we could be flexible on start day if that would be a big issue, or could move rooms, but definitely want one of those bookings cancelled and would like to know if it would be possible to be near each other. Basically, no movement on this, my parents will need to call and cancel the room (makes sense, so no issue there), but we will find out when we get there if we will be near each other.

Thoughts on any of this? It will be a pretty big issue if we are entirely across the resort from each other, so want to know what will help improve chances of this working: they would be okay with either staying somewhere else the Thursday night and doing Fri to Fri if this is problematic, we are okay with moving rooms midway if that makes a difference, we aren't picky on where we are on the resort as long as we are close to each other (since we are traveling with toddlers things like proximity to playground would be nice, but near each other is way more important). What would you do? Is there anything we can do to improve our odds of being close? Should I stress for the next 6 months on this or be confident they will resolve it when we check in? I have noted on all reservations that we want to be near each other, but so far, am getting the distinct impression that no one cares...
 
Hi @DizzyDis,

Sorry for the delay in responding, I was off camping for the last couple of weeks with no access to the internet.

When you call Sheraton you are getting a central booking agent who knows little about the hundreds of properties they are booking. This will probably get worse now that Vistana has splintered off from Sheraton; it is now owned by the same parent as Wyndham, but continues to license the Sheraton name, points program, and booking. Two king beds in a 2BR IS a possible configuration but is very rare - that would be a 2BR lockoff unit, and there aren't many of them that don't get used as 2X1BR units as that generates more revenue.

I agree that you would not be in the same building due to the date differences, but that doesn't mean that you can't be close together. Most sections have buildings with different check in days, so you can be placed in close proximity to each other in most sections. In my specific case when doing this, they placed our party and my SIL's party in different sections but across the parking strip - we could see each others' front doors.

It is unusual for Vistana Resort staff to "not care", and I would vote more for "don't know". The resort does not get the vast majority of bookings until a couple of weeks before occupancy. That is because the lion's share of bookings come from the two big exchange companies, and they send the information along to the resort about 2 weeks prior. So the resort doesn't start assigning rooms until that time. There are a lot of factors that come into play in unit assignment, but as most people report here, they are very good at taking guest requests into consideration. As long as they have the two reservations linked (provide them with the two reservation numbers), there is a high probability that they will come through. Also, you mention 6 months as a timeframe - if it is February you are looking at, then there is an even higher likelihood that you will get your wish. The resort is generally less busy in February.
 
Thanks @bankr63, that is very helpful! And I hope you had some great time away. Good to know about the changes behind the scenes, that certainly fits with what we saw. And good to know that odds are good for close, that is really what we are hoping for more than anything else. And yes, it is February and good to know we won't be fighting huge crowds there, we are looking for some downtime, so this will hopefully all work out great. Thanks again for your thoughts!
 

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