• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Questions for Sheraton Vistana Resort and Village Owners

VEGASZIP

TUG Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
MICHIGAN
My wife and I are interested in buying our first timeshare. I joined Tugs to get some expert advice. I think I have narrowed my search down to Orlando and I think I would like to purchase a platinum season so I can use it during school breaks because my wife is a teacher. I have also narrowed it down between Marriott and Sheraton. I have not been to any of the resorts but I have compared both resorts by the many reviews on this site. With today's economy, I have seen a wide difference in values between Marriott Orlando Resorts and The Vistana Resorts. Why such a wide divergence? How do you SV owners enjoy your resort. If I were to purchase a platinum float, would there be problems getting a unit at my home resort during the floating period assuming I act very early. What has been your trading experience within and without Sheraton. The current prices on ebay are very attractive for SV. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

EZ
 

vacationhopeful

TUG Review Crew: Rookie
TUG Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2007
Messages
12,760
Reaction score
1,699
Points
498
Location
Northeast USA
For the cost of a rental in the overbuilt Orlando market, you should just go there and evaluate both those resorts and several others. You might also look at the Wyndham properties (Bonnet Creek is new and Star Island is cheap, plus they have 2 more) and the Disney Resorts.

Consider all the resorts locations, highways connecting everything, and dining spots outside the properties. And also consider the costs of trading - making some chains, like Wyndham, a better choice in the long run.

You might just find that renting is easier and cheaper overall.
 

Ken555

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
Messages
14,522
Reaction score
5,638
Points
898
Location
Los Angeles
Resorts Owned
Westin Kierland
Sheraton Desert Oasis
And also consider the costs of trading - making some chains, like Wyndham, a better choice in the long run.

Well, that is a very subjective opinion. Why is Wyndham a "better choice in the long run" than Starwood or Marriott? I haven't seen a Wyndham t/s, but do you really believe they are on the same level as Marriott and Starwood?


I have also narrowed it down between Marriott and Sheraton.
I recently bought two weeks at Sheraton Vistana Resort, but haven't been there. I have, however, stayed at the Marriott Royal Palms in Orlando. Though it is one of the oldest Marriott properties, I thought it was nice. That said, it doesn't compare with any of the new properties.

I think you'll find Marriott and Starwood very similar in most respects, with distinctions at the newer resorts.

I also suggest that you visit before buying, since this is your first timeshare. Orlando is an easy market to rent, though school holidays will be difficult. Search this forum and you'll find lots of comparison's between Marriott & Starwood (there's at least one with lots of opinions about the two in recent weeks).

And, of course, read the FAQ above to familiarize yourself with Starwood policies before buying.
 

pointsjunkie

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
Messages
2,285
Reaction score
1
Points
398
Location
goodyear AZ soon
i own multiple units at SVV and we love it. we visited there first and loved the feel of the place. it is very close to markets, disney, university drive for restaurants. we have stayed there 2 times since we became owners.

we have gotten great trades with SVV, we went to lake tahoe area this summer . used 1 small bedroom to gat a 2 br.

we are going to williamsburg VA next week also from a trade.

you can't trade into a disney property with it though.

we have been very happy owners.
 

Robert D

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2006
Messages
1,912
Reaction score
100
Points
424
Location
Austin, TX
We own at Vistana Resort, Cascades section but this may not be a good time to buy at Vistana since they are renovating the resort and there's some big special assessments going on the next year or so. We've rented our unit during spring break since we bought it two years ago but have stayed at Vistana Villages and Marriott Grand Vista on Getaway deals the past two May's. We've also been through Vistana resort. I second the opinion that you should rent at a couple places from another owner a couple times before you buy. I personally would not pay a lot of money to buy at TS in Orlando since you can usually rent one for close to the cost of the M&T's most times of the year and less than M&T's in offseason. Vistana Resort will be the lowest cost alternative and one of the Marriott's or VV's the most expensive. I personally liked VV more than MGV. If you have small kids, Vistana Resort might be the best due to their activities.
 

Transit

TUG Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Messages
2,146
Reaction score
0
Points
396
Location
Coral Springs, FL
Getting a home resort reservation at SVV has always been easy, any week,any season. Following the school sched and reserving at other resorts is a challange.I have made some good internal trades with my SVV unit and have seen good trades within II.There are many locations that are much better traders but if you want the advantage of a low cost unit that trades in Starwood or Marriott SVV or MGV would work although trading during times when school is out are more diffiicult. Orlando has alot of great resorts and is usually easy to trade into. SVV and MGV are in a great location easy access to all the Orlando attractions.
 

lprstn

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
2,655
Reaction score
22
Points
423
i own multiple units at SVV and we love it. we visited there first and loved the feel of the place. it is very close to markets, disney, university drive for restaurants. we have stayed there 2 times since we became owners.

we have gotten great trades with SVV, we went to lake tahoe area this summer . used 1 small bedroom to gat a 2 br.

we are going to williamsburg VA next week also from a trade.

you can't trade into a disney property with it though.

we have been very happy owners.

I thought there was a sneaky way to request that Sheraton bank a non Florida week for you. I was told this by another owner, that this is what they do to get a disney reservation.
 

Sthack

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
Messages
266
Reaction score
0
Points
376
Location
Michigan
When we bought a resale Vistana Fountains II unit at SVR in year 2000, we had not seen the resort before purchasing other than seeing it off the freeway (I-4??) and by word of mouth and reviews here on TUG. We've only stayed there twice, trading all other times. Places we've exchanged into via RCI have been Hawaii (3), Las Vegas (2) and Myrtle Beach. We own a floating week 9 but never had a problem reserving a summer week at our home resort. We really enjoy Vistana when we visit but rather visit other places because our children are older now. I currently have an on-going search (RCI) for 2010 for Aruba, Bahamas or Jamaica and am hopeful that something will come through!!

The only regret is that I believe we could have found a place other than Orlanda that had less Maintenance/Tax and the same or better trading power. But we were set on Orlando because of the kids.
 

calgarygary

TUG Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2007
Messages
1,025
Reaction score
0
Points
36
The title of the thread is questions for SVR and SVV however your post really focuses on SVR. Understand that they are 2 completely different resorts, and just to confuse you further, SVR and the newest development at SVV are voluntary resorts so if you purchase resale there, you will not be part of SVN. The Bella and Key West sections of SVV are mandatory and you will have most but not all of the benefits of buying from the developer if you purchase resale there. Regarding the earlier posts for seeing Disney, if you are part of SVN, you can get them to deposit a week outside of Orlando so that Disney can be traded into. Also, you will likely be using II for future trading not RCI, although there could be exceptions.
 
Top