Sheraton's Vistana Villages Hotel on International Drive

My Fiance' and I just got back from the Vistana Villages last night (09/17/03) We stayed 9/12/03 - 9/17/03. We are both in our mid-thirties. I'll cover the basics right away: The Grounds: The grounds are beautiful. Check in took a while (we came in late in the evening) but the people were very friendly and pleasant. The feature pool is lovely, but was actually too cold for me to swim in. (They should heat it.) The "quiet/Adult" pool rules are not enforced (annoying), but the water was warmer so we usually swam there. Lots of little Anole lizzards around, which I love...we tried to spot as many as possible on our way to the pool, and usually had one or two visit us on the outside of the screen on our porch (which had a fan in the ceiling! Very cool!) Very nice lagoon with waterfall and local water fowl, bridges, palm trees and very green grass. The Room: We had rented a Deluxe one bedroom villa, 882 sq ft w/Jaccuzzi in Master Bdrm ($79.00 a night on Starwoods website), and were given the wrong room upon check-in. I was a bit stressed after having hauled all our luggage up to what felt like a tastefully decorated closet to us (a small 400-some sq ft villa w/OUT JACCUZZI) and worried they wouldn't give us the correct room. I had printed out my confirmation paper which had room dimensions and ammenities of the room I had rented on it, so after some wait, we were given the correct villa. The 882 sq ft villa is Gorgeous and HUGE. Really, Really lovely. A sink in the master bdrm, one in the shower/commode room, and one in the second section of the bathroom. (a seperate room w/ just the sink and it's own doors.) We used the jaccuzzi every single day we were there, and even took pictures of ourselves in it (appropriately covered in foam of course!) There was a broken cap on the cold water faucet, and lots of dark matter came out of the jets the first time we used in, but it was fine after that. All the appliances worked fine, the microwave was just like ours at home! I couldn't get any hot water out of the sink faucet in the Master bedroom, and the kitchen faucet had it's water temp instructions reversed. Minor problems, I think. The hot water in the jaccuzzi worked just fine! The Area: You are centrally located amidst all the parks, WDW, Universal, Sea World, Pleasure Island. Not too far from any of them which is terrific. Publix is definitely the place to shop, we ate most of our meals from our facilities in the full kitchen. Saved a ton of money, and could choose somewhat more healthy meals. Our Overall Experience: We had a wonderful, relaxing, terrific stay there and would absolutely do it again, as long as we got the 882 sq ft room w/jaccuzzi! (We were afraid we'd never get out of it to do anything else..). The smaller one bedrooms seemed too small for us, and we probably would not be happy in one. There were only a few minor hitches, here and there, and sometimes other guests were annoying, but that you will find anywhere. (We tend to be very quiet, somewhat boring type people, and we had a young, noisy group in the building next door, but we only heard them when they, and we, were outside.) We did get the "Welcome package" phone call (Timeshare sales hook), but politely declined. When my fiance' decided to go pick up the Welcome package to get it out of the way, (lest we get calls everyday), he mentioned we had both been laid off, and the guy said he wouldn't be able to let us do the presentaion in that case anyway, so we were not bothered after that at all. Overall, we really, truly loved it, and probably will indeed go back when we can.

We stayed at this resort in May of 2002. It is absolutely a beautiful resort. We loved the pools, renting a 4 seater bike was fun and of course shopping at the general store was pure entertainment for our two girls and all the attractions are just minutes away. We will be back!

Coming from the New York area ....there isn't much I haven't seen or been....i have traveled to many beautiful, expensive, posh places in my lifetime and Vistana Villages is RIGHT UP THERE. Having children this facility is ideal and I am RECOMMENDING anyone travelling with children to Disney to check it OUT! ...it was truly one of the most relaxing vacations i have taken in my LIFE (mind you we did 4 parks in 6 days) it is minutes and i mean minutes to all the DISNEY Parks.....the accommodations are to say the least the best you'll get in Orlando we had a 2 bedroom villa fully equipped with 2 baths, jacuzzi in master bdrm (oh, you can watch tv while jacuzzing) kingsize bed, lr, drm, kitchen w/laundry facilities....YEAH, did wash every nite ...screened in patio....central air, that you control!!! cd player, ice machine....you name it its there......it accommodates probably around 8 although 5-6 is ideal (because i think the couch pulls out - not sure). It's IMMMMMMMMACULATE, check in and out is FAST!!!!! yes, they do bother you about picking up your welcome package (and attending a 90 - 120 minute presentation) but hey, don't answer the phone -- you have voice mail system - and they will leave you a message (so don't fret - they understand) The pools are awesome - they have schedule activites daily (for the kids/teens but sometime get cancelled because ess because of the unavailability of children (mostly due to the fact their in the parks) but they try their best to accommodate them as far as my kids (we spend 2 days by the pool) they played basketball, arcade, ping-pong pool, volleyball and of course - jacuzzied!!! so they were fine...there is a market on site serving Starbucks Coffee...(my advice - try the Publix across the street - it's unbelievable) ... outback restaurant, subway, chinese, wendys are all right there! ...we only went to dinner 1 nite...Boston Lobster Feast also pretty good ...we basically ordered out or cooked there ....there is a pool/bar restaurant on site which was very, very good...burgers, fries, ckn fingers including salads of all sorts...just as good as a bbq at home.....all in all......Had a great time in Orlando.... we're goin' back.....and we're staying at the VISTANA VILLAGES.

You will not be disappointed! This is a very nice resort, clean, and well maintained. The 2 bedroom was perfect for our family of 5, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the pool area. The kitchen was well supplied. It is also just a short drive to either Disney or Univeral, and Sea World is just around the corner. We would recommend this resort to others and would definitely stay there again.

I vacationed with my two teenagers, ages 13 and 15 in Orlando and we stayed at the Sheraton Vistana Villas on International Drive. We were there from August 11-15. The hotel was very attractive. Our room was ready upon arrival and we were impressed with everything. Unfortunately, the next morning we were awakened by our neighbors above walking around and making other noises. Also, at about 8:00 am I received a call from the sales desk telling me there was a welcome packet waiting for me. This actually meant that they wanted me to sit through a 90 minute sales pitch on buying a piece of the property. I told them I wanted to get back to sleep. They apologized for disturbing me and called back at 11:00 am. I then told them we had plans and I would not be stopping by. They pursued me the entire time I was there which was close to harrasement. Otherwise, the customer service was good. My air conditioning stopped working and service was sent immediately. I asked for a change in rooms and that was done promptly. Overall, it was a decent place but a bit noisy with loud slamming doors, lots of lizards about etc. I would not go back.

My family and I visited this location around Memorial Day this year(2003). I orginally wanted to stay at the Grande Vista but they were booked. So, I found myself at the Sheraton. My oh My -was I impressed when we arrived. Check -In was prompt and the front desk associates were so nice. We had a 2 bedroom villa. Upon entrace in the front door, I was impressed. The place was spacious, clean and well-equipped. The hot tub in the master was awesome. It was just what the doctor ordered after a long day in the Disney parks. My family and I have traveled to Orlando several times but we have been there the every year for the past 5 years. Each time we stayed somewhere different and I have to admit that the Sheraton Vistana Villages was the best.

Hi! I must tell you about my stay at Sheraton Vistana Villages. This was the best stay that I have ever had. The rooms are very spacious and for a family of seven that is very important.This was not the conventinal suite it was like a small home away from home without the cleaning which I loved. Anyway the staff was nice and the security was great. I would recommend this place to any one who plans a trip to orlando. This Sheraton gets a five star rating in my book. A.Matthews

i had one of the best times at the sheraton vistana villages. the rooms were spacious and comfortable for an affordable price. The location was also great, with all the famous parks near by. it was probaly the best vacation of my life

Our family have just returned from a week's stay at the Vistana (17-24/7/2003) and I just have to rave about the facilities at this place. We had already stayed once before in 2001 so I was expecting to see some deterioration, but I am delighted to report that everything in both the villa and the grounds was as brand spanking new as it was then. We have stayed in many places in Orlando, but nothing compares to this. The staff were really helpful. The atmosphere is really buzzy. Timeshare people only contacted us via a message on voicemail so we were not really bothered at all. Incidently, we did attend a very swish meeting, no pressure and got paid $90 for 1 hour of our time!!!! Anyway the place was wonderful and we did not want to leave - we would definitely go back.

This hotel is amazing! The best place I could ever stay away from home! The pool, the room itself and the staff were great! I would definately reccommed this hotel to anyone who is looking for a nice place to stay while visiting Orlando!