We spent a week at Buena Vista Suites last March and would definitely stay there again. I had heard that some rooms were in need of refurbishing, but we stayed on the 7th floor and our suite was very clean and had new carpet. We saw carpet rolls in the dumpsters downstairs so I guess remodeling was in -progress.
We paid $102/nt with the DIS discount. Housekeeping, staff, etc. was great. The breakfast buffet was adequate -- not terrific, but okay. The buffet had scrambled eggs, cooked-to-order fried eggs, ham/bacon/sausage (different each day), breakfast potatoes, biscuits & gravy, grits, fruit, pastries, & cereal, various juices, choc. & white milk. I think they had pancakes and/or french toast too.
The pool was warm enough to swim in, not large or fancy. There was a hot tub.
The shuttle bus was free and ran several times a day. We did not use the shuttle so I can't tell you much there.
Our suite had a bedroom with 2 queen beds, full split bath, living room area with queen sofabed, small table & 2 chairs, countertop with sink, microwave, and mini-frig. From the window at the end of our hallway you could watch fireworks at night (they were not real close though).
We only encountered 2 small problems: The laundry room -- dryers took 2+ cycles to dry.
The refrigerator -- if your drinks/items were cold when you put them in, they stayed cold. If they were warm, they didn't chill very quickly or thoroughly. Cold enough for coke or juice, but I'm not sure I would trust it for milk.
We had 4 adults & 1 child staying in the suite. We drove to Fla from Arkansas, all night, about 17.5 hours + stops. We arrived at BVS around 9am, and even though checkin wasn't until 3:00, they rushed around and had our room ready by 10am.
I hope this helps!
Oh yeah. I have heard you can use the Caribe's pool. It was right next door, but we never had a chance to check.
