# VV Parkway vs Sheraton Vistana



## Bib (Feb 3, 2011)

Hi there,

Anyone have info to share on the differences in the outdoor/ pool areas between Vacation Village at Parkway and Sheraton Vistana Resort in Orlando/Kissimee? We've stayed at Vistana twice and loved the combined large pool with children's area and loved being able to walk to this larger pool from anywhere on the resort.

Are now considering a stay at Parkway to save a few dollars, but only if the pools (especially with children's area/pool) can compare to Vistana. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Bib & family


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## timeos2 (Feb 3, 2011)

Bib said:


> Hi there,
> 
> Anyone have info to share on the differences in the outdoor/ pool areas between Vacation Village at Parkway and Sheraton Vistana Resort in Orlando/Kissimee? We've stayed at Vistana twice and loved the combined large pool with children's area and loved being able to walk to this larger pool from anywhere on the resort.
> 
> ...



The Parkway ha very nice units - better than most Vistana's even with the recent upgrades IMO - but it is NOT a "resort" in outside amenities. It is spread out over a big area with a few areas with pools/hot tubs but precious little else as common amenities.  

Vistana features the shared areas and lush landscaping. Combined with the recent unit upgrades (be thankful you don't own there & had to pay for a very overpriced special assessment for upgrades that shold have been far better planned for & funded over time) the end result is a far better overall experience especially for "things to do" for kids at Vistana.  Both are good but for what you want I'd go Vistana.


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## lawgs (Feb 3, 2011)

Bib said:


> Hi there,
> 
> Anyone have info to share on the differences in the outdoor/ pool areas between Vacation Village at Parkway and Sheraton Vistana Resort in Orlando/Kissimee? We've stayed at Vistana twice and loved the combined large pool with children's area and loved being able to walk to this larger pool from anywhere on the resort.
> 
> ...



if internet is important to you, the berskshire group aka VV etc charge for internet, most timeshares include that now adays


not sure of cxost bu in las vegas grandview wanted something like 50$ for the week plus tax

in addition, to go along with the nickel and diming this group does, they charge you if you want to use the in room safe....guess they are not charging enough MF to cover these "co$t$"


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## STEVIE (Feb 3, 2011)

Interesting you mentioned the safe. Vacation Village in ther Berkshires is the only resort I have stayed that requires a weekly fee to use the in room safe. Just ridiculous in my opinion. Sue


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## timeos2 (Feb 3, 2011)

*Far from free*



susgar said:


> Interesting you mentioned the safe. Vacation Village in ther Berkshires is the only resort I have stayed that requires a weekly fee to use the in room safe. Just ridiculous in my opinion. Sue



In this thread are two "facts" that just aren't. 

1st is the "majority of resorts offer Internet for free". Huh? Maybe if you strictly look at a single open access point somewhere around the office/front desk as "free" then it may be true. But if you mean Internet service in your unit or over a wide area of the resort then no way. According to ARDA only 42% of resorts have in unit Internet service and of those over 80% charge an average of $33/week. It is no where close to a universal service and even less likely to be free. 

2nd is this post questioning a charge for the use of the safe. Again the vast majority of resorts DO have safes and over 60% charge for the use. Why? Because that charge pays for insurance to cover any loss.  Without it a safe has little value. A good thief can easily get into most safes so the real value to using one is having the value of anything stolen is the insurance coverage.  That costs money thus most resorts charge a fee for those that use the service. 

These types of statements, when not true, bother me as they set up unrealistic expectations for owners/guests as they travel.  DVC for example charges a $95 penalty fee for exchange guests and offers neither Internet or in room safe for free.  And they are one of the highest ranked resorts here on TUG. And their fee for Internet is higher than the average $33 besides. Marriott, Wyndham (except for some resorts with IP phones), Diamond and most others all charge for Internet in the unit.  It is uncommon to find it for no charge not with a charge for use.  Low to mid-range motels tend to offer free Internet while the top brands - Marriott, Embassy Suites, Hilton, and more all charge $10 or more a day for Internet - many charge for the safe if it's in room.  There seems to be a correlation between the quality brand names and a charge for that service.  Expecting no charge Internet in your unit is unrealistic right now at most timeshares.


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## STEVIE (Feb 4, 2011)

There have been plenty of hotels/ timeshares I have stayed that have not provided in room safes. But in my experience Vacation Village is the only place I have stayed that charged a fee for use. I did not know anything about them having to pay for insurance in case something is stolen. Sue


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## Robert D (Feb 4, 2011)

timeos2 said:


> In this thread are two "facts" that just aren't.
> 
> 1st is the "majority of resorts offer Internet for free". Huh? Maybe if you strictly look at a single open access point somewhere around the office/front desk as "free" then it may be true. But if you mean Internet service in your unit or over a wide area of the resort then no way. According to ARDA only 42% of resorts have in unit Internet service and of those over 80% charge an average of $33/week. It is no where close to a universal service and even less likely to be free.
> 
> ...



John, this is different from my experience in the TS's we own or have stayed in. The Starwood (VV, SDO, VR, LT, SMV), Marriott (Grande Vista and Timber Lodge), Worldmark, and independent TS's we own or have stayed in have Internet service in the condos and don't charge for it. The ones that have safes don't charge for that either.  The upscale hotel chains do charge for Internet but I think this is the exception for TS's vs. the rule at this point.


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## timeos2 (Feb 5, 2011)

susgar said:


> There have been plenty of hotels/ timeshares I have stayed that have not provided in room safes. But in my experience Vacation Village is the only place I have stayed that charged a fee for use. I did not know anything about them having to pay for insurance in case something is stolen. Sue



The strange type of unexpected information that is discovered when you serve on a BOD or otherwise become deeply involved with resort operations. People tend to think of a private home/condo as the model for how a timeshare operates but in man ways they are closer to hotels than homes yet they have the size, functions and equipment of a home that a hotel does not.  A true hybrid with a very unique cost / operational model.


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## timeos2 (Feb 5, 2011)

Robert D said:


> John, this is different from my experience in the TS's we own or have stayed in. The Starwood (VV, SDO, VR, LT, SMV), Marriott (Grande Vista and Timber Lodge), Worldmark, and independent TS's we own or have stayed in have Internet service in the condos and don't charge for it. The ones that have safes don't charge for that either.  The upscale hotel chains do charge for Internet but I think this is the exception for TS's vs. the rule at this point.



I haven't stayed recently at more than a dozen resorts and there are hundreds. But according to ARDA, who has access to far more information regarding amenities then we as owners do, less than 1/2 even offer IN ROOM Internet - and those that do charge a fee in more than 3/4 of the resorts for that service. Picking 1/2 dozen, nearly new resorts (which tend to have more features than most older resorts that often struggle to stay up with trends) is not a way to establish "the rule".  No cost Internet may be on it's way (like a telephone or tv in the unit) but it is far from the "standard" today. 

My guess is it will never be "standard" as there is not one universal way to gain access that allows a resort to make the investment in service/hardware and be assured nearly everyone that checks in can in fact connect.  Some use WiFi, some hard wire, some cell service, etc.  What they invest in today may be functionally obsolete within a matter of months.  

My personal experience, which I will not try to say is the universal one by any means, is even those that do offer no additional cost Internet seldom have reliable service. And those that charge may not be much better.  Try asking the desk/maintenance folk about poor connectivity and be ready for a totally lost, blank stare that tells you they haven't a clue (and they don't).  Unless you carry your own access (like a cell phone / hot spot) having good Internet access at most resorts is hit and miss at the very best and will cost you at the majority of them.


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 5, 2011)

*For Us, Free Wi-Fi Is Now Mox Nix.*

That's becuse, starting last year, we carry with us a cute little Palm Pixi cell phone, connected wirelessly to the Verizon network, that has its own built-in wi-fi hot-spot.  

Any time we want to hook up our portable computer to the internet, we just turn on the cell phone wi-fi feature and -- _WHAP !_ -- we're on-line wirelessly.  Who'd a-thunk ?

I doubt it functions out in the boondocks or on the high seas.  But if we're within range of cell phone service, then we can do internet -- even while rolling down the Interstate at a high rate of speed (with somebody driving who's not doing internet).  

Before getting that, we did not take a portable computer on vacation.  For occasional internet access, we used the (free) terminals down in the clubhouse of Vacation Village At Parkway or other timeshare(s) offering something similar.  

We stayed at a Florida Gulf Coast timeshare last month that is equipped with free in-room wi-fi.  That was semi-OK -- that is, when there was enough signal strength for it to work, it did work.  As a practical matter, however, the timeshare free wi-fi was so iffy & so hit-or-miss that after a day or 2 of trying to compute via free wi-fi I gave up on it & switched to our own portable wi-fi hotspot that's built into the cell phone.  So it goes. 

If more & more timeshare vacationers start carrying with them their own means of getting on the internet, as the various brands & networks & diverse kinds of equipment proliferate for that purpose, then it will make less & less sense for timeshare resorts to install their own costly internal "free" access systems, which owners have to pay for as part of their ongoing maintenance fees.  (That is to say, free wi-fi is not really free.) 

The Chief Of Staff & I are not leading-edge early adopters by any means.  So when old folks like us start toting our own wi-fi hotspots, you know the general world is quickly surpassing the old days of resort-supplied wi-fi as the main or only way to get connected. 





-- hotlinked --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 5, 2011)

*Sheraton Vistana Orlando Was Outstanding In 2003.*

We have a soft place in our hearts for Vistana Orlando because it was our very 1st RCI timeshare exchange.  We used our newly acquired foreign timeshare in a far-off land overseas as trade bait & then nearly sprained our shoulders while patting ourselves on the back at the shrewdness of our excellent timeshare exchange.  

I'm not sure which Vistana section we were in, but it must have been a newer phase because as I recall there was an elevator in our condo building & we were in a 2nd floor unit.  Back then (2003), I don't think anybody cared about or possibly even knew about wi-fi. 

That was our 1 & only Vistana Orlando experience.  We'd gladly go back if the opportunity arises. 

_Full Disclosure*:*_  We have stayed twice at Vacation Village At Parkway -- RCI _Last Call_ both times.  Not only that, last year we became owners at Vacation Village At Parkway -- just a dinky triennial off-season 55*,*000-point 2BR unit, but owners nonetheless.  Plus, Vacation Village At Parkway is where we caught the timeshare bug, in 2002.  We took the tour, were appropriately _wowed_ by the nice units & the timeshare concept, but did not buy (because of the excessive cost).  On the road back to our semi-shabby motel after the tour, we saw a highway billboard advertising timeshare resales -- and the rest is history.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## bnoble (Feb 5, 2011)

I stayed in both Vistana *and* VV@P just last February.  I would take Vistana hands down.  The newly-refurbished units at Fountains were *much* nicer than the unit I had at VV@P (for example: very nice blackout curtains plus a sheer vs. vertical blinds, more comfortable beds, higher quality soft goods, much nicer cabinet hardware vs. the cheap plastic handles, etc.) 

In fact, VV@P is on my "only if I had to" list.  In Orlando, that's probably  not very likely.

As for safes: most timeshares I've been in don't have them.  Of the few that did, VV@P is the only one who charged for it separately rather than fold it in with the regular maintenance fees that owners pay.  In-room internet has become quite common.  But in my experience, as often as not there is a modest charge for it.  (And I thought VV@P's charge counted as "modest".)  Like Alan, I've come to just use the cell phone infrastructure instead.


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