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

What is travel time back and forth from the Disney parks compared to Wyndham Bonnet Creek, please?
Right now (including traffic at rush hour), google maps lists SVR to MK at 15 minutes and WBC to MK at 12 minutes (MK parking entrance kiosk). 3 extra minutes to SVR sounds about right to me.
 
Right now (including traffic at rush hour), google maps lists SVR to MK at 15 minutes and WBC to MK at 12 minutes (MK parking entrance kiosk). 3 extra minutes to SVR sounds about right to me.
Thank you. :)

I'm trying to figure out if the money I saved is worth any traffic issues.
 
Thank you. :)

I'm trying to figure out if the money I saved is worth any traffic issues.
Shouldn't be a problem, there is generally very light traffic between SVR and WDW (all parks). Access via World Center Drive (becomes Epcot Center Drive). There are only two traffic lights on that route.

Is this your June trip (see WBC listed in your signature)? Report back when you return, the two resorts are quite different in design and feel (you could probably fit 4 WBCs onto the SVR property, but they probably have similar number of villas); it would be nice to see them contrasted.
 
Shouldn't be a problem, there is generally very light traffic between SVR and WDW (all parks). Access via World Center Drive (becomes Epcot Center Drive). There are only two traffic lights on that route.

Is this your June trip (see WBC listed in your signature)? Report back when you return, the two resorts are quite different in design and feel (you could probably fit 4 WBCs onto the SVR property, but they probably have similar number of villas); it would be nice to see them contrasted.
No, I'm giving up the Shades of Green for the fall. Husband wants BEDROOMS. Although SoG would give us a great rate, with 3 generations going on trips, he likes his privacy and space.
 


No, I'm giving up the Shades of Green for the fall. Husband wants BEDROOMS. Although SoG would give us a great rate, with 3 generations going on trips, he likes his privacy and space.
Space is one thing he can get at SVR. I was curious so did a quick check online. WBC has 1150 villas, SVR has 1330 (rounded numbers). But SVR, at 135 acres, is a bigger physical space, so there is more room to move around. That's what I love about the resort. In the real world, we have a nice home on a wooded lot, so the high rise hotel just doesn't do it for me. Put me in a townhome villa instead of a tower please. I know I am probably in the minority for that, but that's what I like. Hope your DH likes it too (and the rest of the crew of course)! Enjoy your visit!
 
I apologize if this has already been asked, but what is the difference between the Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas and the Sheraton Vistana Villages Resort?
 
I apologize if this has already been asked, but what is the difference between the Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas and the Sheraton Vistana Villages Resort?
They are sister resorts located about 3 miles apart, both are part of the Vistana timeshare properties and are managed by Sheraton.

Sheraton Vistana Resort (SVR) is the first of the two, encompassing 9 sections on a large 35 acres property located at I-4 and 535. As that property neared completion, Sheraton looked to develop a second property nearby and started development of the Sheraton Vistana Villages (SVV) located on International Drive. There was some overlap in development timelines, so the oldest parts of SVV are older than some newer parts of SVR. The last two sections of SVR (Lakes and Cascades) are very similar in design and feel to SVV as Sheraton began to put assert its design standard. SVV is not as large and does not offer quite as many amenities as SVR, but is still a full service top tier resort. Travel times to the Disney parks from SVV are a few minutes longer, but it is better situated for SeaWorld and Universal.

Take a quick look on google maps to orient the two properties in the area. There is another thread in this sub-forum dedicated to SVV.
 


Three more weeks until our first stay at SVR and we're getting excited for it! We usually stay at the Marriott Sabal and I was a little wary of changing to the Sheraton because of how much the Sabal "fits" us, but after calling the resort directly yesterday I'm feeling good about it.

I called to ask about parking passes for multiple vehicles and some other small questions and they were very helpful in answering questions and even took down a room section request, which I was not expecting. They only put a $50 hold on your credit card which is much, much less than the Marriott holds so that was good too. They said we can check in whenever we get there and they will hold our luggage and and store any food items, including cold products, until our unit is ready.

I did forget to ask a few questions and maybe someone can help me here. First, are there hairdryers in all the bathrooms in the units? We reserved a two bedroom, two bath max occupancy of 8 through Interval.

And do they provide pool towels at the pools themselves?

And if they noted my request at the resort on my reservation, do we still have to go through Diamond Lane for a request also?

Thanks!
 
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Three more weeks until our first stay at SVR and we're getting excited for it! We usually stay at the Marriott Sabal and I was a little weary of changing to the Sheraton because of how much the Sabal "fits" us, but after calling the resort directly yesterday I'm feeling good about it.

I called to ask about parking passes for multiple vehicles and some other small questions and they were very helpful in answering questions and even took down a room section request, which I was not expecting. They only put a $50 hold on your credit card which is much, much less than the Marriott holds so that was good too. They said we can check in whenever we get there and they will hold our luggage and and store any food items, including cold products, until our unit is ready.

I did forget to ask a few questions and maybe someone can help me here. First, are there hairdryers in all the bathrooms in the units? We reserved a two bedroom, two bath max occupancy of 8 through Interval.

And do they provide pool towels at the pools themselves?

And if they noted my request at the resort on my reservation, do we still have to go through Diamond Lane for a request also?

Thanks!
Yes, there are hairdryers in both bathrooms. The one stay of ours where one was missing, we called housekeeping and they came right over with a replacement. We eventually found the missing one in a drawer in the 2nd bedroom.

Yes, towels are available at most (all?) pools. There is a room card tap reader that opens the door for fresh towels, but returns are just dumped in a bin, so they aren't really metered. I say "most" pools because I don't remember one at the Courts pool, but it is just a few steps away from the Falls pool towel station.

I would not bother with Diamond Lane if they have your request. DL needs a bit of a rework as you can no longer add a request to the email form, you have to wait for them to call you. If they have taken your request, they will do their best to accommodate you.

Have a great trip; enjoy your stay!
 
Yes, there are hairdryers in both bathrooms. The one stay of ours where one was missing, we called housekeeping and they came right over with a replacement. We eventually found the missing one in a drawer in the 2nd bedroom.

Yes, towels are available at most (all?) pools. There is a room card tap reader that opens the door for fresh towels, but returns are just dumped in a bin, so they aren't really metered. I say "most" pools because I don't remember one at the Courts pool, but it is just a few steps away from the Falls pool towel station.

I would not bother with Diamond Lane if they have your request. DL needs a bit of a rework as you can no longer add a request to the email form, you have to wait for them to call you. If they have taken your request, they will do their best to accommodate you.

Have a great trip; enjoy your stay!

Thanks for the info! I'll have to request key cards for everyone, as my kids (all young adults) will be roaming around on their own. They were happy to hear the Fountains pool was open until 1am! I requested a unit in that section.
We're really looking forward to our stay!
 
Hi! Im so grateful for this thread! I have learned so much about the resort and I am really looking forward to staying there next week. Question. When i called the customer service line they said that I have a Type D 2-room villa reserved for me. I know different sections are filled on different days. Any of your experts have an idea what area I may be placed
 
Hi! Im so grateful for this thread! I have learned so much about the resort and I am really looking forward to staying there next week. Question. When i called the customer service line they said that I have a Type D 2-room villa reserved for me. I know different sections are filled on different days. Any of your experts have an idea what area I may be placed
"Type D" has me stumped. I have never heard them referred to with an alpha type naming. From a "sleeps" viewpoint, I am only aware of 3 configurations for the 2BR; 6/6 8/6 and 8/8 (A, B, and C?). I suppose if this was multiplied by the number of sections, it would get quite high on on an Alpha scale.

If you manage to figure Type D out, or even find a clue, post back. Let us know what section a Type D gets you placed in. I always love unwinding the mysteries of Sheraton/Vistana.

It would be easier to guide you on possibilities if we knew which day of the week you are checking in and the "sleeps" configuration on your booking. If you look at the resort map (link on the 2nd post of this thread), you will see that the buildings are color coded Red, Blue and Green for Friday, Saturday and Sunday check arrivals.
 
"Type D" has me stumped. I have never heard them referred to with an alpha type naming. From a "sleeps" viewpoint, I am only aware of 3 configurations for the 2BR; 6/6 8/6 and 8/8 (A, B, and C?). I suppose if this was multiplied by the number of sections, it would get quite high on on an Alpha scale.

If you manage to figure Type D out, or even find a clue, post back. Let us know what section a Type D gets you placed in. I always love unwinding the mysteries of Sheraton/Vistana.

It would be easier to guide you on possibilities if we knew which day of the week you are checking in and the "sleeps" configuration on your booking. If you look at the resort map (link on the 2nd post of this thread), you will see that the buildings are color coded Red, Blue and Green for Friday, Saturday and Sunday check arrivals.

Hi! Im sorry, I thought i put that i was arriving on Thursday. Also, i requested a room that had a double beds in the second room instead of twins, and the CS person confirmed that was in the reservation. Does that help narrow down?

thanks!
 
Hi! Im sorry, I thought i put that i was arriving on Thursday. Also, i requested a room that had a double beds in the second room instead of twins, and the CS person confirmed that was in the reservation. Does that help narrow down?

thanks!
Hmmm, not really.

Most (probably 95%) of the stays at SVR are weekly timeshare stays that always start on a Fri, Sat, or Sun. A Thursday start means that you are probably booking this direct with Sheraton more as a hotel type stay. In that case, you could be just about anywhere, although I theorize that they try to place you in a building that is departing on the same day as you (after all, the whole thing about assigning buildings to certain days is about the efficiency of housekeeping staff in a large resort). So if you are departing on one of those three days of the week, that could be a clue.

If they have confirmed you have double beds in the 2nd BR, then the only thing that rules out are the Falls and Courts sections. Those are the only two sections without doubles in the 2nd room.
 
Hi all!
Just reporting back about our Sunday-Sunday stay, April 1-8. I sent in a Diamond Lane request but got no response so I phoned about a week or so before we left to follow up. On the phone, the woman said that she could see that I had requested Fountains 1. Apparently, when I had called previously to inquire about my RCI booking (being specifically for Fountains), the gentleman noted that I wanted to be in Fountains, but in all actuality I was just curious to see whether they would confirm that the Fountains booking did in fact guarantee a Fountains location. Anyway, I told the woman that we were bringing our bikes so I was open to any section of the resort, but I wanted to request ground floor (b/c of our bikes), lake view not pool view, and away from traffic noise. We arrived on Easter Sunday at about 6 pm. The checkin lobby was empty considering the resort was packed. The gentleman checking us in said that the resort was full so he thought I would enjoy our location in Palms because it would be quiet.

We were assigned a ground floor unit in Palms 18. It was nestled in the back of the resort, but because of the corner that we were on, we had a minimal landscape view from the porch. We rode our bikes most everywhere, but we did walk to the marketplace once or twice and it was not a far walk.

We visited the Cascades pool and the Fountains pool. We enjoyed them both, but we prefer the Fountains pool. I can't explain why exactly. We just felt like it was more spread out and people weren't so close together. Having our bikes made it possible to easily ride over to Fountains without any problems.

We participated in the Escape Room there in the Fountains Rec Building. We had a blast. It was very well done and a lot of fun for myself, DH, DS 11, and DD 14. I highly recommend it.

On a totally different note, I previously asked the question about prestocking groceries. I did not do the service, but in hindsight, it would have been nice. We found ourselves at Walmart on Easter Sunday night at 8 pm (when all of the Publix grocery stores were closed) and it was a nightmare. So busy! Each checkout line was stacked 13 deep and the whole store was shoulder to shoulder people. It was insane and had us regretting not doing the prestock. So on holidays, it might be something to consider for anyone not wanting to deal with a very crowded Walmart.

This was our third stay at SVR. We were in Falls (right across from the pool) when my kids were young and that was a good fit b/c it was so close to the pool and the playground. We were in Fountains just around the corner from the pool when we traveled with my toddler niece and nephew (and brother/sister in law) and we were put in side by side units. That was great b/c we were so close to the Fountains pool and activities for my kiddos and the Lakes pool for the littles. This time being in Palms with bicycles allowed us to be free to wander the resort as we chose which worked great with our kids being older.

We really do love this resort and find that it has something for everyone and you can have quite different experiences every time you go.
 
Can anyone give me an hints as to what section our reservation might be for? We arrive on Sunday, and our reservation is for a 1025 sq ft room, 2 bedroom villa, one king +2 dbl beds +sofa sleeper. I figure it's not Courts or Spas from the Sunday arrival, but was wondering if 2 dbl beds would narrow it down a bit more.

This is our first stay at Vistana, we've stayed at the Villages a couple of times and enjoy it there. Actually we are DVC members that only stay off property when we're out of points and there are no AP rates available. We tend to choose convenience of being on property to the comfort of off property vacation clubs. But there are worse things than HAVING to stay at these beautiful resorts!
 
Duh, looks like my question may have been answered a few posts back! Should have read closer. Sounds like our reservation could be anything other than Courts and Spas?

Is there a certain room type that has jetted tubs? I don't think I see anything on the reservation about a jetted tub. This used to be a deal breaker for DH, but the last time we had one it was so gross he wouldn't get in it (not here!) Just curious tho.
 
Duh, looks like my question may have been answered a few posts back! Should have read closer. Sounds like our reservation could be anything other than Courts and Spas?

Is there a certain room type that has jetted tubs? I don't think I see anything on the reservation about a jetted tub. This used to be a deal breaker for DH, but the last time we had one it was so gross he wouldn't get in it (not here!) Just curious tho.
It would also rule out Falls as that section has all 2BR with occupancy of 6 (singles in 2nd BR).
Most sections have jetted tubs, but they have changed since the resort renovations. Many (not sure if all) are now what I would call a spa tub rather than the older style Jacuzzi type. These are more of a gentle bubbling type of jet that is like a pinhole in the tub side. Note that several sections have these tubs in the master bedroom area, something I'm not fond of, but was certainly "the thing" in timeshare design for a long time.

Here's my best recollection of the tub situation, with a lot of help from the Vistana site villa layouts (E&OE):
Cascades: 2BR, 2BRLO, Large 1BR, large jetted tub in Master Bedroom plus walkin shower in master bath; Small 1BR and 2nd bath in 2BR, standard tub/shower in bath
Courts: Standard tub/shower in both baths
Falls: jetted tub/shower in master bath, standard tub/shower 2nd bath.
Fountains I: jetted tub and walkin shower (wis) in master bath, 2nd bath is wis only.
Fountains II: jetted tub in master bedroom, wis in master bath, wis in 2nd bath.
Lakes 2BR: jetted tub in master bedroom, wis in master bath, standard tub/shower 2nd bath.
2BRLO: jetted tub in master bedroom, standard tub/shower in master bath, standard tub/shower 2nd bath.
1BR Premium: jetted tub in master bedroom, standard tub/shower in bath.
1BR: standard tub/shower in bath.
Spas/Springs/Palms: jetted tub and wis in master bath, 2nd bath is wis only.
 
Thanks for the rundown..and for making me realize that I should go to the Vistana website and look for the floor plans. Now I can study the phases and have a clue where we're at when we check in.
 

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