Grande Vista lately?

[pedro47]

We just checked out yesterday. Enjoyed the resort but there were NO LOUNGE CHAIRS. place had lots of people that we didn't mind at all, but if you wanted a lounge chair by a pool and didn't get one first thing in the morning, you were out of luck. We usually go off season. After Thanksgiving or first week of February. I don't know if this is because of Covid and limiting chairs or this is a regular thing. Or, people can't go to theme parks as much because of attendance caps or need of reservations.

I would request a room with sun so you could use that as a backup. Our room only had sun very early in the morning.

What building were you in ?

 

[Steve A]

It looks like 77 is closed.

When we left on Sunday it looked like it was opened.

 

[KProuty]

What building were you in ?

We were in 89, but we walked everywhere around the resort, all the pools, and didn't spot any open lounge chairs. This happened on two separate afternoons.

 

[NboroGirl]

We are in our 2nd week here, first in building 84 and now in 97. Both pools (Copa Loca and small pool at the club side villas) were busy and chairs were difficult to come by. I noticed people waiting at 7 a.m. for the pools to open, just so they could drop their towels and stuff on chairs to reserve them. One day at the Copa pool we asked an attendant to open an umbrella for us. I noticed towels and a hat on the chairs near us that had been there a while and I asked the attendant how long should I give them before removing their towels. He said "We have a zero tolerance policy" because they had to remove so many chaises so people could be socially distant. But it obviously isn't enforced. The people did show up after about 1/2 hour. Now that we're in #97, the small pool is even worse trying to get a lounge chair, even with building 95 being closed for renovations.

 

[jmhpsu93]

I was swimming laps yesterday at the main pool around 10 AM and there were tons of chairs available. An attendant was also tagging the chairs where there was "stuff" but no one sitting there. It was really weird they were doing that when it was 55 degrees out and almost no one was there vs. last week when it was warmer and I didn't see anyone enforcing rules.

 

[NboroGirl]

We attended an "owner update" yesterday at Grande Vista. We were offered $250 in gift cards, 40,000 Bonvoy points, or 500 (I think) club points to attend. We said we didn't want to go to a sales presentation and the Preferred Checkin person assured us that it wasn't sales - NO PRESSURE, etc. etc. etc. so we said ok. The first thing we were asked when we walked in the sales gallery was "Are you here for the sales presentation?" We said "No, we're here for the owner update." When they assured us it was a sales presentation, DH said rather loudly "Then we were LIED to!".

Anyway, I think I counted 3 untruths or misrepresentations during the presentation (not counting that they said it would be 75 minutes or so, and it went almost 2 hours). One thing I wanted to ask TUGgers about though... The sales guy said that since we are Executive level, we automatically get Gold membership at Interval. I repeated what he said and asked if that was true and he said yes. I told him how do I get that because I don't have Gold level membership at Interval, and he said he thought it was automatic.

Is this true or was he lying/misinformed?

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

We attended an "owner update" yesterday at Grande Vista. We were offered $250 in gift cards, 40,000 Bonvoy points, or 500 (I think) club points to attend. We said we didn't want to go to a sales presentation and the Preferred Checkin person assured us that it wasn't sales - NO PRESSURE, etc. etc. etc. so we said ok. The first thing we were asked when we walked in the sales gallery was "Are you here for the sales presentation?" We said "No, we're here for the owner update." When they assured us it was a sales presentation, DH said rather loudly "Then we were LIED to!".

Anyway, I think I counted 3 untruths or misrepresentations during the presentation (not counting that they said it would be 75 minutes or so, and it went almost 2 hours). One thing I wanted to ask TUGgers about though... The sales guy said that since we are Executive level, we automatically get Gold membership at Interval. I repeated what he said and asked if that was true and he said yes. I told him how do I get that because I don't have Gold level membership at Interval, and he said he thought it was automatic.

Is this true or was he lying/misinformed?

Any "Owner Update" that pays money for attendance is definitely a sales presentation (which you have since found out).

I would suggest calingl Interval International directly to inquire about entitlement to I.I. Gold Membership if you are a Marriott Executive Level owner.



.

 

[dioxide45]

No gold II membership. You can get 50% off (or two for one) gold and platinum. You do get at least Platinum Bonvoy membership though.

 

[NboroGirl]

I beleive 95 was also closed for refurbishment when we were there back in January. I think they had just started.

Looks like the refurb in building 95 has been completed. They removed all the dumpsters, etc. from the building a couple of days ago.

 

[NboroGirl]

I just walked by building 95; most of the doors on the 1st floor were empty so I peeked inside. I smelled fresh paint so I'm guessing the units got a fresh coat of paint. Looks like the straight back dining room chairs in the main villa and lockoffs were replaced because they have a different, more modern (geometric) pattern than the ones that were in 84 and 97 (the two buildings we stayed in this trip). The oval coffee table in the living room has been replaced with two, hard-topped cubes/ottomans. I couldn't see any other difference. Carpet, cupboards, countertops, appliances, couch, and club chairs all looked the same. Perhaps the other furniture was replaced with newer versions. One thing I noticed was all the pots, pans, dishes, etc. seemed to be sitting on top of the countertops in all the units I peeked into.

 

[jmhpsu93]

Building 81 (next to main pool) is now closed for renovations.

COVID has officially ended here. This place is mobbed - if you don't get a chair by 8 AM forget it. Someone we talked to who was checking out wanted to extend their stay (with cash) but was told the place is completely sold out. We went to Disney Springs yesterday at 11 AM and there was already a 90 minute wait for tables at T. Rex and Rainforest Cafe, plus a 30-40 minute wait to get into the World of Disney store. We got the hell out of there.

We've talked to people while they were waiting for rooms - many had been vaccinated and/or had COVID so felt safe traveling, or were just done and needed to get somewhere warm. The weather has been spectacular the last 3-4 days. Sunny, low humidity, low/mid 80s and a light breeze.

 

[dioxide45]

Building 81 (next to main pool) is now closed for renovations.

COVID has officially ended here. This place is mobbed - if you don't get a chair by 8 AM forget it. Someone we talked to who was checking out wanted to extend their stay (with cash) but was told the place is completely sold out. We went to Disney Springs yesterday at 11 AM and there was already a 90 minute wait for tables at T. Rex and Rainforest Cafe, plus a 30-40 minute wait to get into the World of Disney store. We got the hell out of there.

We've talked to people while they were waiting for rooms - many had been vaccinated and/or had COVID so felt safe traveling, or were just done and needed to get somewhere warm. The weather has been spectacular the last 3-4 days. Sunny, low humidity, low/mid 80s and a light breeze.

I just was talking about this over in the Vistana Forum. We just left Sheraton Vistana Villages. The place was a madhouse over the weekend.

Orlando is BACK!

Okay, so we just returned from a stay at Sheraton Vistana Villages. We have been on many timeshare stays since May 2020 and the days of empty resorts are behind us. We went to the Bella pool yesterday and lounge chairs were at a premium. They have small pleather cloths over certain loungers for...

tugbbs.com

 

[NboroGirl]

Building 81 (next to main pool) is now closed for renovations.

COVID has officially ended here. This place is mobbed - if you don't get a chair by 8 AM forget it. Someone we talked to who was checking out wanted to extend their stay (with cash) but was told the place is completely sold out. We went to Disney Springs yesterday at 11 AM and there was already a 90 minute wait for tables at T. Rex and Rainforest Cafe, plus a 30-40 minute wait to get into the World of Disney store. We got the hell out of there.

We've talked to people while they were waiting for rooms - many had been vaccinated and/or had COVID so felt safe traveling, or were just done and needed to get somewhere warm. The weather has been spectacular the last 3-4 days. Sunny, low humidity, low/mid 80s and a light breeze.

We would only venture to Disney Springs in the early morning to get Giedon's cookies. Even so, on Friday it was a 75 minute wait there. Early in our vacation we went early evening just to walk around before dinner elsewhere and I thought it looked busy, but then we went again around 7 and it was PACKED so we promptly left. My d-i-l met a friend at Magic Kingdom on Wednesday and said it was awesome - no crowds and all the rides were walk-on. I believe they are limiting capacity at the parks, but obviously not at Disney Springs.

Of the 3 airports we flew through (to and from MCO), MCO was the only one that was crowded and looked like it always does. Newark and Logan (BOS) were pretty deserted.