Sheraton Vistana Resort Reviews & Ratings

We loved this resort. (More like a home than a time share). We had many of our meals in the unit, saving lots of time and money. The full kitchen, dining room and living room made it so comfortable for our family of 7. It was truly a great place and the kids had so much fun. We stayed in a 2 bd/ 2 bath villa. (nice and roomy). The property and the villas are beautiful and so well maintained. The "heavenly" beds are more comfortable than at home! The pools are awesome and there are so many of them to choose from. Even the giant waterslide was great. The exercise room is quite nice, well equipped and always open. Fresh towels and cold water from the bubbler are always available.

The entire staff was wonderful and unbelievably accommodating..... including the front desk, housekeeping, concierge and bell services.

Very close to Disney and easy access to all of the Orlando attractions. Hundreds of great restaurants nearby for both adults and children.

"Can't wait to go back to this beautiful Sheraton property. 2 thumbs up to a fun-filled week.

The Courts are newly renovated!!!!!!! (Edited 2015)

Our group of 14 stayed in two units in the courts. The layout is so spacious and this section was quiet yet close to everything you could want. It is an easy walking distance to the grocery store, Zimmie's Restaurant, the Karaoke pool, Putt Putt, Rec. Center.

We were looking for a particular item at the grocery store and they didn't have exactly what we needed but we told them that if we just had a cheese grater we could work it out with what they had. The guest service person was standing at our door with a cheese grater when we got back to our unit. GREAT SERVICE !!!

The staff was wonderful everywhere we went in the resort. You could have a great vacation without leaving the resort. This is one of the older units (the Courts) which means it is much more spacious than the newer ones. Units are in great shape.

This place is fantastic! All other resorts we visited are compared to the Vistana in accommodations, facilities, Activities and cleanliness! We walk to downtown Disney every morning for our coffee and exercise. So much to do, we go every year, and sometimes don't even visit the parks! The Vistana is a destination in itself! Highly recommend making it a family tradition. Our extended family has been going every year for over thirty years!

We loved this resort. We stayed in the Cascades section overlooking the pool in a 2 bd/ 2 bath villa. It was very new looking and quite high end. We were so pleasantly surprised! With all the different pools, we had a different choice almost every day. The giant water slide was a great favorite of my kids. All the staff EXCEPT the timeshare selling staff were courteuous and quick to respond as needed. The timeshare staff was pushy, snobbish and would not take No for an answer.

Beautiful place. We had an amazing suite for 6-8. Great pools, very near Disney and H. Studios, and many other attractions. Make sure you have a GPS to get around. This place had such friendly workers. Make sure to tip the cleaning staff, they work their buts off, and deserve a very good tip. Enjoy, its such a beautiful and well kept resort. My then 3 yr old loved swimming past 10pm. It was his dream come true. The smile on children's faces from around the world was heartwarming. I would love to visit again, however only on the renovated side, so make sure that's where you'll be at.

This is a fabulous resort! We had a 2 bedroom unit, it was beautifully furnished and maintained. The kitchen was well stocked and the beds were comfortable. The grounds are beautiful and the pool was great. The market store on the resort was well stocked and the prices were reasonable. The resort restaurant was good. However, I suggest skipping the sales pitch, they are very aggressive and do not take no for an answer. I simply wanted printed information about prices etc to take home and they would not give it. Just received a very unprofessional, high pressure sale.

They had originally put us in palms which was not renovated and still looked like a late 70's unit. Broken thermostat, many bugs, dirty & smelled like mold. We complained and the Manager we spoke to was extremely pleasant and changed our room. However, we lost about a day and a half waiting to move to another room, so we felt displaced for a bit. The new reno room was in the Falls and made up big time for the palms. Overall, loved it otherwise.

be careful not to get the older part...they shouldn't even rent this out to anyone. bugs everywhere and dirty

the newer part is nice but lost a whole day and a half trying to switch rooms

be careful!

My wife and I went over to spend some time at one of our unit weeks in the Courts. Unit K-88 is one of the units with a 2nd bedroom and loft upstairs. It was still in beautiful shape for its age. No spell and nothing broken. This unit will be undergoing rennovation in the last phase early next year. 3 of my other four units have now been refrubished and they are as the ratings describe. I can't wait for the work on my courts units to be complete. I often rent out my units now that I live in Florida. However, I still love to go over to enjoy the amenities and to play volleyball with the grandkids. We enjoyed some exceptional games in the sand and the water. The food we had at Zimmis was excellent but I still miss the discount coupons. Loved the sauna and the not tubs. Just walking the grounds every day relaxed me in a way no other resort does. I love to travel but haven't found another resort that compares to Vistan for FAMILY FUN. Try the Saturday night sing along at Zimmies and you will be surprised at the talent!

We had a refurbished unit in the Fountains section and it was wonderful. The only drawbacks were: 1) they charged us for a rollaway bed, which we didn't have (hopefully we'll get a credit back to our card), 2) I would have liked a better cutting board and some place mats and potholders, and 3) the pool was too cold for me. In all other respects it was fantastic. We didn't attend a sales presentation.

We stayed in the Cascades section from March 22 - 28, 2009. We had a great time. We stayed in a 2 bedroom - 2 bath unit on the 2nd floor, used the stairs mostly. I believe all the renovations in this building are now complete as of Nov. 2009. The view from our balcony was very relaxing. You could watch the fountain spraying water 30 feet in the air in the middle of the lake or watch the ducks and ducklings move about on the water. Having breakfast on the balcony and watching the sun rise was very peaceful. We did a tour of recently renovated units in various sections and they look terrific!

Pools were great, workout areas were fine, usually not crowded in the evening. The main restaurant was OK. Happy hour prices at the main large pool were the BEST! The take out restaurants were excellent when we wanted something quick. It could be delivered or picked up which we did as it was no effort at all. The people we dealt with at the resort were very friendly (we bought discount Disney tickets) and we thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Once all the renovations are done to all the sections of this resort it will be even more outstanding.

We've owned in the Lake Section for many years now but mostly exchange it for other locations we'd like to visit. This year we let our daughters and their friends use our unit. I saw the pictures they brought home and it was beautiful. They felt the pools were well maintained, the place was clean, and the staff was nice and helpful. A month later my husband and I went, using banked time, and it was a pleasant experience, not having seen the resort in many years. My advice would be to try to avoid the lure of free stuff to listen to their sales pitch. We went to the Villages for our presentation. The woman we got was extremely rude and pushy. Where do they find these people? We used the place not as a vacation, but to look for a vacation home to buy. We put an offer on a home while we were there, making buying another unit out of the question. But we still had to attend the presentation. When I made it clear I wasn't buying anything due to our changed finances, she made us stay the longest she could just for spite. I actually cried out of frustration.

Our recent vacation at the Sheraton Vistana was September 27-October 4. We had purchased an even and odd year week at the Cascades section earlier this year, and were very anxious to see what we had bought. Unlike the previous poster, we were aware that the every unit at the Sheraton Vistana was being completely refurbished. Knowing this, we asked for a unit that had already been refurbished. Although we could not use our unit at the Cascades section due to the remodeling, we were given a completely updated one in the Falls section. The refurbishment of these units was not just a minor upgrade....the units were completely gutted (everything inside down to the studs). You would have to see the results for yourself to truly appreciate the finished product. Every unit has a full kitchen with new appliances. Granite counter tops can be found in the kitchen and both bathrooms. All furniture is brand new and the beds are very comfortable. The refurbishment for all units is to be completed in mid 2010. The finished units are beautiful, and truly worthy of a 5 star rating.

The landscaping is a work of art. Many large ponds are on the property and add to beauty of this resort. Seven huge pools are available for use throughout the property. Planned activities are also available. My wife took part in an astronomy session and loved viewing the moon and nearest planets on two high powered telescopes. The grand daughter was also thrilled with a dance class she attended. The staff at the Sheraton Vistana should be commended for their friendly manner and willingness to help. We had two minor problems at our unit while we were there, and cheerful service people responded within 5 minutes on both occasions.

My wife and I thought so much of this property, that upon our return home, we purchased an annual unit in the Springs section. This was not purchased through Sheraton Vistana's Starwood network, but through another internet site. Although we do not get to enjoy the Starwood's inter network property trades, the price was much, much cheaper. A word of caution here...make sure the unit you are buying has no refurbishment fees, which could run as high as $5000! And if you are trading for a week at the Sheraton Vistana, INSIST on a refurbished unit. I would also pass up the $50 for the sales pitch breakfast. Not particularly high pressure, but not worth the time. If you take this advice, I am sure you will fall in love with this property just as fast as the wife and I did.

My family and I stayed here from July 3, 2009 to July 10, 2009! We will not stay here again. The rooms were very outdated and several things were stained badly or broken. The faucet was broken, the fold out sofas were worn out. The bed stood about a foot off of the ground which needless to say, the mattresses were worn out and thin. The television buttons were broken. Housekeeping came by once and she gave us fresh towells and made our bed.. once in seven days. The dishwasher was missing some buttons. The whole resort was just dirty. The sales rep that we met with about purchasing a timeshare on the second day of our visit was forceful and pushy as well as rude. He told us we had only two hours to make up our minds about purchasing a timeshare with them or the rates would double. I told him as a christian family we needed to pray about it and sleep over night and he short of mocked us and held out his hands and said pray now! And when we told him that we wouldn't consider making that kind of purchase without deep prayer and a night's rest he threw his hands up in the air and began to shove his paper work in his desk saying oh well then there is nothing I can do for you. What a Jerk! Needless to say we spent as little time as possible there... We went to their (7) very chlorinated and hazy pools just twice hoping for a different outcome the second time. I will say however the people who checked us in could speak English, and also the man who sold us our Disney Tickets however you might have a difficult time understanding some of the others.

Just stayed at this property week before Easter '09. Traded in through RCI. They always put you in the outdated rooms near the main road which tend to be very noisy! Tried to get into a newer unit but was impossible. In addition to my recent RCI stay a few months earlier I bought a resale here. I looked at the units which have been updated which will be the case for the whole property by the end of 2010. The new units are absolutely stunning. Staying in an old outdated unit though was very depressing. This is a question to ask when renting or buying here. You also have to pay $650 for reno charges for two years if you buy in now which is for the updates/reno of the units. I am happy to buy at this property with the updates in mind down the road for my future visits. I have stayed at a few resorts now in the Orlando area and find the facilities on this property very nice. You hardly have time to use many of the different facilities when combining all the theme park visits. It has an outstanding kids pool with water spraying up all over the pool which keeps toddlers quite amused. This part of the pool in only about a foot deep but you do have to watch the little ones since one side leads to about two to three feet of depth. Still the littles ones spend hours here since it is such a large pool area for toddlers. One of the best I have seen. I would compare this to the best I have seen. Great price for drinks at the bar at happy hour. You do pay for everything on this property eg $9 per person to shuttle to disney and the other parks. Also quite a walk to get from most units to the pools in most cases since there are two thousand units here. Property is beautiful and well maintained. Can take ten minutes to get a person on the phone when you need to ask a question or if you leave a message no calls are returned. BEWARE when they say two hours for the timeshare presentation these are real pros when it comes to selling. NOTHING IS FREE! you will spend more time there and it is hard saying no to them since they are real selllers/sharks to get you to buy or upgrade or beware of the EXPLORER PROGRAM. TOTAL RIPOFF. $1600 or so for 30000 spg points plus four nights at another resort in North Carolina. 30000 spg points only gets you three nights at a category 4 eg Westin. They also give you a 50% off rack rate at any spg hotel ....that works out to similar prices of the spg promotional prices on their website or other sites like expedia. So beware of the "Explorer" angle. I went in to the presentation having just bought a resale and they said it is only an hour to update on what the resort has. $50 for this "update"...right, it actually turned into three hours of vacation time. The Explorer adds an hour since they tell you they are not selling you the timeshare at that point. What a dis- service to the SPG brand. I feel like switching everything over to another hotel chain when I travel on business now after this ordeal. They are good so be warned that $50 or another bonus for free is really not worth your time. I have to admit staying in the palms unit by the road really upset me so make sure you understand where your unit is. This will be updated in 2010 sometime from what they told me. The outdated units were fine considering it was an exchange that didnt cost me much at all but it was still not the level you would expect from Sheraton! Quite depressing colors and decor but huge rooms and clean enough. Read the reviews thats all I can recommend and you will get a better idea of what many people think. I am sure once this resort is all updated it will be a great place to stay!

Wow, I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Disney this time. We went during food and wine festival in November and decided to stay at this resort instead of onsite despite the fact that I'm a DVC member. I was able to pick up a week on an RCI last call. Well when we first checked in like most people who got stuck with the older units we weren't particularly impressed but not that unhappy either. The only problem was that after the first night it seemed that the unit had bed bugs so the staff was gracious enough to move us to a brand new unit. So here is the wow factor. Granite counter tops, tumbled marble in the baths, a nice jacuzzi in the master, 3 plasma giant screen TV's and even a BOSE stereo system. Everything was bolted down understandably but it was so nice to stay in this modern "New York" loft style condo that we were sad when the week was over. The kitchen is amazing, real wooden cabinets and granite counter tops all new appliances, we actually made omlettes and pancakes it was so inviting. Our unit had a nice balcony overlooking a tranquil lake with a fountain. I have no complaints about our improved unit and the staff was very friendly. The timeshare pitch was a bit of a scam because we were told we could get $25 off all our tickets to the parks but it was only off certain tickets like the 7 day passes not the one day passes so we ended up buying 3 day passes for Florida residents cheaper. Stay here you will like it. It's real close to Lake Buena Vista.

We just returned from 2 weeks at the Sheraton Vistana - and WOW. We went with RCI and requested a 'stayover' in the same room for our 2 week stay and were put in a renovated unit in the Fountains and it was amazing. We had a ground floor unit that opened up to a playground and the beautiful pool area - perfect for our kids. The only concern was that the washer/dryer are small and therefore had to do a load of laundry each night and they were noisy and located between the 2 bedrooms.

I was concerned about staying here after reading many reviews, but once all units are renovated, this will be an amazing vacation spot for anyone to enjoy!

We do recommend a car rental, even though the resort is within 5 minutes of Disney, you have to see other attractions in the area such as Universal, Gatorland, Fun Spot and of course Kennedy Space Centre.

Many great restaurants in the area, but especially recommend Bahama Breeze and Landry's Seafood - excellent.

We just returned from our week long stay at Sheraton Vistana. We have owned since 1998. We usually try to go back to Vistana every year. We love the atmosphere at Vistana. We have found our favorite unit that overlooks a beautiful pool scene. We ask for that unit each time and have been successful at getting the unit requested. The only thing about requesting a certain unit is that you may have to wait to check-in. We prefer an early check-in. We own 3 timeshares and this one is our favorite. I would recommend it to anyone. All the units are getting updated either this year or next year. By the end of 2009, they all should be in top condition.

I have just returned home from this resort and I do have to say our room in the Lakes section was gorgeous. They have just been completely redone and they make the Cascades sections of this resort look totally run down. I am also a Cascades owner and have just been informed that they are going to be refurbishing them once the other areas of the resort have been done (Fountains I &II, Springs and Falls. The Courts section is also going to be done in 2010 by then this resort will be a gold star resort and every part of it except (Palms) will be brand new and no one will have a reason to complain about the villas. In previous readings it has been said that some amenities you have to pay for well many resorts that offer what this one does you will have a $$ expensive to pay for your fun. If you don't like the golfing-minu putt then don't golf! If you have ever been to Orange Lake you have to pay for everything there its all in the "holiday fun package of family travel". This resort is so central to everything, restaurants, Prime outlet mall, Disney , grocery store, pharmace and liquor store right next door. It has several restaurants some with pool side service and some without if you want drinks or food at one of the pools then go to the one that offers it. Personally we love the Fountains pool its quiet and not hardly any kids especially when our children are teenagers and they don't want to be around alot of noise. The Cascades pool is FULL of children so if you want kids then thats the pool to go to. I am an owner of 5 Timeshares and have stayed at many in Orlando and for what you get and location you WILL not find a better resort, The pools are open until 1:00 am all Hiltons close at 11:00 so that doesn't work for our family also it does not offer more than a few simple activities and its really no fun for teenagers as nothing to do there. We love the Sheraton Resort and go there 4 times per year and now our oldest goes on her own . So do your homework before you travel and check out the websites as its unfair to complain about anything when you have the option of knowing about it before you go. Its funny people will spend hundreds of dollars on Disney parks and food there but when it comes to a $5 golf mini putt game it's like its a million dollars to golf.. so enjoy this resort to the fullest and forget about the small extras that go with it. Its all in the memory of a great vacation.So if you want to pick the nicest areas now it goes like this- Lakes-gorgeous-Fountains I- beautiful (no M/B Whirlpool)-Fountains II- Gorgeous (whirlpool in M/B)- Springs and Falls are next by the end of 2009 then Cascades and Courts 2010. So instead of asking for Cascades try the others you will be happy with 3 Digital tv's while eating breakfast at the marble top counter sitting on bar stools listening to the Bose Stereo sytem! You will truly love it . I guarantee you won't stay in Cascades again once you have been in these new units.

Just stayed at the Vistana. I rented a week from an owner. Asked for the Cascades a month in advance (as the paperwrk suggested). It was an OK stay. The unit was outdated but clean. Was first assigned to a really old unit in the Courts but the cleaning solution smell was so strong, we had to leave. The staff at the desk was very accomodating, and asked us to look at another unit. That unit was ok, but was a total mess (hadn't been cleaned yet). Finally settled into the third unit that was in the Fountains II section. The outside stairs up to the unit could use a simple powerwashing. The unit itself was clean, just outdated. Freshly painted and wallpapered. Large in size. Shaded location, relatively quiet. Convenient parking. Got maid service mid-week, plus a supervisor follow up to make sure we were happy.

The service was friendly, just a call every day to invite us to a "free" breakfast (where they try to sell you a unit). The heater in the Fountains pool was broken. Got a nice voice mail saying it would be fixed (after we left). Used other pools which where nice but only certain pools have towels available. No poolside drink service.

The small mini golf course was not worth the $5 charge per person---it should be free since it was completely boring.

Overall, I would have preferred the Cascades newer models and pools. I recommend being assertive and not taking a really old unit.