Sheraton Vistana Resort

The resort is very large and clean. the pools and grounds are all well-kept, and staff is super friendly. I can't wait to go back to this resort. The resort is in a great location, and all the buildings are spread out to give you a feeling that you are in mini town with all the amenities you need. there's no reason to leave the resort since the pool restaurants are within walking distance of each other. Read less

As an owner since 1997, I am disappointed. Up until 2020 I've only visited my home resort through the exchange network we were talked into getting into, RCI, and had a great experience everytime we were at Vistana. We would have a huge beautiful one bedroom with a balcony and great view. A year and a half ago, we decided we would get out of the RCI program and just go to the home resort as owners. That was a mistake. Apparently in 1997, which I don't remember, we bought the smallest one bedroom available. 2020, checking in, we were given a small one bedroom with a nice balcony, we thought, now that it's just the two of us, it will work. 2021, checking in was another disappointment. Apparently last year, we only got a balcony because there was one available in the small one bedroom. The small dark one bedroom I apparently purchased in 1997, doesn't include a balcony. After the 2021 visit, I will be looking back into RCI, and will come back to my home resort getting a normal room that people get when they walk in off the street. Talked to a gal that got a reservation at Vistana in a big 2 bdrm for $400 for a week. Crazy to be an owner for so long and feel so unimportant because I won't pay another $20,000 to upgrade to a normal 1 bdrm. The kicker, you cannot get out of a timeshare contract, you are stuck paying the maintenance fees. Read less

This was our 5th visit to Sheraton Vistana with my teenage daughter, and our first since February 2020. While we were so excited to return, however we definitely saw and felt the differences due to the pandemic. Customer Service: I had previously sent 3 emails and phoned the resort 2X to request a specific building block, and had inquired about where to get PCR tests for our return home to Canada and to link my BONVOY points. Not only were my emails not replied to, my requests were not even noted on file. This was surprising to me, as previously the Customer Service reps were very accommodating and responsive. Accommodations: Our 2-bedroom room was decent with a nice view, but definitely showing signs of wear and tear. The fabric on the couch was all shredded, and I will echo someone else's comments about no TV guide, or movie channels (but who goes to Florida to watch TV!). While we had originally been offered a room in Lakes we declined in favour of Cascades, as we know that area and Lakes appeared to be quite far. Next time I will check out Lakes as apparently its been renovated. Unfortunately, on the 3rd day, things went sideways. My jacuzzi tub apparently leaked into the unit below us, so I returned home from the pool to discover our water turned off and a note. I wasn't' able to use it at all for the remainder of our trip. The kitchen was dirty when we arrived, and I had to clean the stovetop. There was food stuck in between the stove and counter. Our kitchen lights blew one day, and on our second last day, we couldn't get into the room. There was a issue with our battery sensor - I was able to find a security guard who spent 30 minutes trying to reach someone by phone at the front desk, while we wanted standing in the hallway with our lunch. Later, engineering had to return to fix it. Small problems but these add up when you just want to relax on vacation. The resort kindly offered to move us to another room, but we had to wait a few hours to move - and when I visited the room, I was greeted by a bunch of screaming kids outside, next door to us, which was NOT how I wanted to spend my vacation. We were also pretty settled by day 3, so to to have to wait, pack up my daughter and move rooms with all of our food seemed like a real pain so I made the decision to stay put, even though the jacuzzi tub was the real draw for me. Staff: Most of the staff was friendly and helpful. But sadly, as I previously stated, customer service has declined since our past visits. I had to call multiple times just to get someone by telephone and often had to go to the Welcome Centre to get problems addressed. To compensate us for the issues we had, the resort offered me a $25 and $50 credit which was not applied to my account and I had to follow up multiple times to have it assigned to my account. Other Guests: Since many folks were unable to travel during the pandemic, "owners' were allowed to bank their vacation days. Well, it turned out that they just handed them out to friends/family who had literally no sense of manners, resort etiquette or parenting skills. Large group of adults were hanging out in the kid's pool area with coolers and glass bottles of alcohol, and apparently when the "parents' are on vacation, they take a vacation from parenting. Badly behaved kids running wild and SCREAMING all over the place - including inside the Marketplace. Kids were chasing the wildlife and parents said nothing. No disciplining (as the parents were day drinking and had checked out). It was very disconcerting and disappointing. And parents need to take accountability for their kids. Luckily we were able to find a more suitable pool, but still - there really needs to be an "adults only" pool/section. Our neighbours also seemed to miss the memo about resort etiquette. We had to call security 2X due to the loud music, screaming and partying on the balcony in the middle of the night. When we were indoors, we wore face masks which is BAU for us at home. I was surprised to see how many people did not not wear masks in the Welcome Centre and Marketplace. Marketplace: The selection and quality of food in the marketplace has significantly declined in the past 1.5 years. All of the ready-made salads were brought in from a supplier, and were brown and spoiled (at $11 per salad). The selection of food was non-existent. Previously we were able to order fresh made sandwiches, but now all of the "fresh" food was made off-site. We placed an Instacart order our first night, as there was literally no fruits and vegetables at the marketplace - just over-priced alcohol, frozen food, some clothing that has been there since 2020 and Starbucks. Again very disappointing. Grounds: Aside from the pools, the resort is lovely and QUIET! The grounds were still as lovely as ever, and didn't disappoint. We enjoyed sitting on the balcony sipping wine, reading and the view of the ponds. Pools: Aside from the parents day drinking with glass bottles in the pool, there is nothing negative to say about the pools. They were clean. I didn't see any lifeguards or staff, other than first thing in the morning. There were signs about keeping loungers 6-ft apart, however the staff would jam as many loungers in an area as possible. It was almost comical. I'm an early riser, so was always able to get a cabana. Pros: Beautiful grounds, great location, large, spacious suites and screened-in patios, Castaways staff (it was great to see that Steve & Katie were back), Castaways lunchtime food and drinks; front desk staff for the most part were friendly and helpful. The resort is quiet and beautiful (aside from the occasional group of people partying late at night). Responsive staff. Cons: Inconsiderate guests with unruly children, and late night partying on balconies were the main source of our grief. We missed the program where you could buy a (plastic) glass from the bar and buy drinks for a reduced rate for the rest of the week). All things considered, we will be returning for our 6th visit in December. Read less

The property was well maintained and the employees were very kind and helpful. The food was expensive and could have been better. We did not see any pool side employees working to pick up towels that were left behind and no bar girls taking food or drink orders. The was a line of 15 customers at the pool bar where there was only one employee working. We saw no security officers working. Read less

I have stayed at 20 different timeshare resorts over the past few years, 10 of which are here in Orlando and I’m sorry to say that I was very disappointed with Vistana. I guess I had my expectations set too high after reading a lot of the reviews. Walking up the stairs to the third-floor, I noticed that they were not very clean, and walking into the unit, I was overwhelmed with the smell of either a smoker, or maybe it was the lagoon out back. The odor was throughout the whole unit and never left the entire time we were here. I really did not like the huge skylight in the living room, it created a problem for my son who had to sleep on the pull out sofa. I was also surprised that they were not smart TVs, instead regular TVs, no movie channels and no TV guide on the television. and so you have to manually go channel to channel to see what’s on. It wasn’t the worst place, but it certainly wasn’t the best, the furniture was OK, beds OK, check in process was easy. Probably would not come back Read less