Is this thing on?
bruce727 wrote:Hi!I'm Al.Along with my wife,Olga,we have owned and upgraded into several units since 1982.We currently own floating weeks in the Cascades.We live in the Chicagoland area,north suburbs.We will be enjoying our 25th Vistana Anniversary from 3/24/07 thru 3/30/07.If anyone cares to chat about the resort,vacations,meeting for cocktails,etc.,our Email is derfal@hotmail.com Talk to us later, Al & Olga GodinezNobody owns here?
Alfred N G.
We're Bruce and Tammy from Southern Indiana. We upgraded into the Cascades 2 years ago after owning in Fountains II since 1995 via Starwood Sales. They "took our old Fountains unit in on trade"... The new points deal w/ Starwood lured us into another mortgage. I'm sure we paid too much but we love it there.
Bruce Z.
Hi,again,Bruce & Tammy! Whenever we upgraded,it was because we were ready to.We almost always took the annual "look/see what's new" tour,but resisted buying up until we were absolutely sure it was what we wanted.We started in the original Villa/Townhouse phase,then the Fountains,and finally a pair of 1-bedrooms in the Cascades.We still own a Lock-Off in the Fountains.They will always give you/us whatever was paid for the trade-in,toward the new purchase.They also gave us 100,000 Starpoints for purchasing the Cascades units.We used those towards several airfares in the last 3 years.We,too, LOVE it at Vistana! If I mayask,what are your ages?We're a pair of YOUNG 50'S.i'M 53 ,she's 54 on February 21.Hope to see you both someday at Vistana!
Alfred N G.
We're slightly younger as I'm 44 this week and she's 43 in a couple of months. As I recall, we received no bonus Starpoints with our Cascades 2br upgrade but we did get a nice tote bag to carry all the papers home in... Our 9 and 6 year old is begging to return and visit the mouse again. This year we're visiting the Williamsburg, VA area via an RCI banked week that was about to expire. I need to get busy and list our '07 week for rent as it doesn't look like we'll make it down this year, or possibly convert it into points...
Bruce Z.
We stayed at Kings Plantation,or a similarly named resort in Williamsburg a few summers ago.It was NO Vistana,but very nice otherwise.We took the popular local tours,Jamestown,Old Williamsburg,etc.,and enjoyed them immensely.WHAT?!No Disneyworld this year!I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when trying to explain that to the children!Do you fly or drive down to FL.?We used to ALWAYS drive down,to save the $$$,but will fly from last Spring on.We used to get there with just enough $$$ for groceries,return fuel,and MAYBE ONE attraction!But, just being at the resort was worth it! Talk to us later,Bruce & Tammy. Al & Olga
Alfred N G.
HI. MY FAMILY AND I ARE THINKING OF VISITING IN JULY. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW WELL KEPT THE RESORT ROOMS ARE. AND HOW RESOURCEFUL THE STAFF IS. WE LOVE FL AND SO FAR HAVENT BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH WHERE WE'VE STAYED. BUT, WE'VE NEVER STAYED HERE AND I' M CONSIDERING. ON SCALE OF 1-10 HOW WELL WOULD YOU RATE IT OVERALL?
Felicia B.
I'll assume that you're asking about Vistana in Florida.if so,I/we can assure you that Vistana's EVERYTHING positive that a family could possibly desire in a resort!The condos are stylishly decorated/furnished.The grounds are lushly landscaped and scenic,with lots of ponds,,foliage,etc.There are several game/arcade rooms,workout gyms,and a pool/billiards room to keep everyone in the family entertained.The staff has activities scheduled 365 days for all ages.There are 3 poolside cocktail lounge/sports bars for the sports lovers.My rating? I've NEVER stayed in a more entertaining,relaxing,family oriented resort,from FL to VA to CO to AZ to HI.I give Vistana a 10 !
Alfred N G.
alfredn1 wrote:THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT. I LOVE VACATIONING AS WELL , BUT AS I STATED I'VE NEVR STAYED @VISTANA--I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR RESPONSE. IT SOUNDS LOVELY. HAVE A GREAT DAY!!I'll assume that you're asking about Vistana in Florida.if so,I/we can assure you that Vistana's EVERYTHING positive that a family could possibly desire in a resort!The condos are stylishly decorated/furnished.The grounds are lushly landscaped and scenic,with lots of ponds,,foliage,etc.There are several game/arcade rooms,workout gyms,and a pool/billiards room to keep everyone in the family entertained.The staff has activities scheduled 365 days for all ages.There are 3 poolside cocktail lounge/sports bars for the sports lovers.My rating? I've NEVER stayed in a more entertaining,relaxing,family oriented resort,from FL to VA to CO to AZ to HI.I give Vistana a 10 !
Felicia B.
alfredn1 wrote:We stayed at Kings Plantation,or a similarly named resort in Williamsburg a few summers ago.It was NO Vistana,but very nice otherwise.We took the popular local tours,Jamestown,Old Williamsburg,etc.,and enjoyed them immensely.WHAT?!No Disneyworld this year!I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when trying to explain that to the children!Do you fly or drive down to FL.?We used to ALWAYS drive down,to save the $$$,but will fly from last Spring on.We used to get there with just enough $$$ for groceries,return fuel,and MAYBE ONE attraction!But, just being at the resort was worth it! Talk to us later,Bruce & Tammy. Al & Olga
We're exchanging at Sunterra Powhatan. Hopefully it's better than some negative reviews we've read. It was the only place RCI could come up with. We're planning on visiting Busch Gardens, at least it's a theme park...
We've driven to FL in the past to save $$ but the last couple of times we've flown, usually switching planes in ATL or Memphis to keep costs down. With car rental and park hopper passes, etc. totaled in we can't travel that way every time. It was nice to arrive rested though!
Bruce Z.
marciac24 wrote:Hi, The Villages are the newest phase of Vistana properties.The Vistana Resort is the much larger of the properties,and offers by far,the most activities,pools,gamerooms,food/drinks,etc.We believe that it's the more desirable of the two. Owners Since 1982, Al & Olga GodinezHi,My family and I are looking to visit the Sheraton in early summer and wanted to know the difference between the Resort and the Village.
Thanks
Alfred N G.
My husband and I just came back from Sheraton Vistana for the second time and still absolutely love it! We dont have children but there are so many things to do there and the resort is immaculate! We have stayed in cascades both times. We are considering purchasing there in the future..Does anyone have input regarding their network and ease of which you can exchange weeks at other resorts? Is converting the week to starpoints or staroptions worth it? We initially purchased an explorer program to use toward a down payment but later learned that only up to10% would go to the down payment unlike 100% as was empasized to us. Any feedback would be appreciated as to dealings with starwood sales people...Have a great day!
Laura D.
laurad79 wrote:As the Explorer package was explained to my family,the ENTIRE $$$ amount will go toward a timeshare purchase.And along with your purchase,Sheraton is rewarding you with Starpoints,anywhere from 35,000 to 100,000,depending on what you purchase.The StarPoints can be redeemed for hotel stays,the Options(i.e.,the points value of your specific unit) are redeemed for units of the same value at their other Sheraton properties.We have successfully redeemed the Options on our timeshares for units on Paradise Island,the Bahamas,and at their property on Maui.This can be done fairly simply over the phone.Be certain to give them a sufficient lead time(6 to 8 months!)to conduct a "search" for an available trade. The different resorts may not be of the same/equal value,so you may be required to accept a smaller unit for the two mentioned above.The Maui resort is small compared to Vistana,but far MORE LUXURIOUS.The Paradise Island resort,Harborside,is just as fine as Vistana.We hope that this information is helpful in making your decision.My husband and I just came back from Sheraton Vistana for the second time and still absolutely love it! We dont have children but there are so many things to do there and the resort is immaculate! We have stayed in cascades both times. We are considering purchasing there in the future..Does anyone have input regarding their network and ease of which you can exchange weeks at other resorts? Is converting the week to starpoints or staroptions worth it? We initially purchased an explorer program to use toward a down payment but later learned that only up to10% would go to the down payment unlike 100% as was empasized to us. Any feedback would be appreciated as to dealings with starwood sales people...Have a great day!
Alfred N G.
alfredn1 wrote:In regards to the explorer package, the FINE print reads that 100% of the 1500 dollars explorer price could be applied up to a maximum of 10% of the total ownership package price. So to get the maximum out of this offer, you need to spend 15000 dollars. However, our intentions were to spend a lot less than that, therefore, this package did not make sense to us and we cancelled our purchase of the explorer within days. Yes, we should have read the fine print ahead of time, BUT the emphasis was on the fact that 100% would be applied and therefore we looked at that as a downpayment of sorts. The 10% was verified by explorer staff via phone. We still are interested in purchasing, but we dont want to give them an extra sum of money if we dont need too. That would be done if we purchased the explorer. Our money was quickly refunded to us.laurad79 wrote:As the Explorer package was explained to my family,the ENTIRE $$$ amount will go toward a timeshare purchase.And along with your purchase,Sheraton is rewarding you with Starpoints,anywhere from 35,000 to 100,000,depending on what you purchase.The StarPoints can be redeemed for hotel stays,the Options(i.e.,the points value of your specific unit) are redeemed for units of the same value at their other Sheraton properties.We have successfully redeemed the Options on our timeshares for units on Paradise Island,the Bahamas,and at their property on Maui.This can be done fairly simply over the phone.Be certain to give them a sufficient lead time(6 to 8 months!)to conduct a "search" for an available trade. The different resorts may not be of the same/equal value,so you may be required to accept a smaller unit for the two mentioned above.The Maui resort is small compared to Vistana,but far MORE LUXURIOUS.The Paradise Island resort,Harborside,is just as fine as Vistana.We hope that this information is helpful in making your decision.My husband and I just came back from Sheraton Vistana for the second time and still absolutely love it! We dont have children but there are so many things to do there and the resort is immaculate! We have stayed in cascades both times. We are considering purchasing there in the future..Does anyone have input regarding their network and ease of which you can exchange weeks at other resorts? Is converting the week to starpoints or staroptions worth it? We initially purchased an explorer program to use toward a down payment but later learned that only up to10% would go to the down payment unlike 100% as was empasized to us. Any feedback would be appreciated as to dealings with starwood sales people...Have a great day!
Laura D.
frankc109 wrote:Hi Bruce & Tammy, I was reading your message on redweek and you had stated that you have a 2007 week available for rent, would you have some detail of the week in question?
Sorry for the delay... computer issues. We'll need to list our unassigned '07 float week soon over in the rental section. Like computer repairs, I tend to put things off a bit too long. Hopefully we can avoid "last minute" banking w/ RCI again and having to scrounge for limited exchanges like this time.
Bruce Z.