• 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!

Sheraton Vistana [Resort] Florida [Palms]

penny1234567890

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Messages
119
Reaction score
3
Points
128
I have just purchased a 2 bedroom at the Sheraton Vistana in Florida, can someone tell me the best area to be in?
 

falmouth3

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
3,417
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Burlington, MA
I'm not sure what you're asking. You've already purchased your unit. Are you asking which building to request? Is it a float week/unit or fixed? If you can provide a bit more detail on what you own and what you would like to know, someone here will probably be able to give you some good advice.
 

penny1234567890

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Messages
119
Reaction score
3
Points
128
Yes thank you, new to this. I have already purchased week 11 but I may need to trade it for another time. if so then yes what building or unit is best.

Wil
 

DeniseM

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
57,766
Reaction score
9,168
Points
1,849
Resorts Owned
WKORV, WKV, 2-SDO, 4-Kauai Beach Villas, Island Park Village (Yellowstone), Hyatt High Sierra, Dolphin's Cove (Anaheim)
How long ago did you sign the contract? Did you buy from the sales people AT the resort? If you signed within the last 10 days, you should rescind immediately. You can literally acquire this timeshare on the resale market for pennies on the dollar - sometimes totally free.

This is a Starwood timeshare, so I moved your thread to the Starwood forum.

Is this a FIXED week 11, or a FLOATING WEEK 11?

Sheraton Vistana RESORT or Sheraton Vistana VILLAGES?

When you reserve another date, you don't get to choose the building or unit - that is assigned by the front desk at check-in.
 
Last edited:

DeniseM

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
57,766
Reaction score
9,168
Points
1,849
Resorts Owned
WKORV, WKV, 2-SDO, 4-Kauai Beach Villas, Island Park Village (Yellowstone), Hyatt High Sierra, Dolphin's Cove (Anaheim)
The Palms phase is at Sheraton Vistana RESORT.

The only way to trade a resale week is through an exchange company - Interval International. (Starwood will not allow you to reserve a different week with them.) When you exchange through an exchange company, you don't get to choose the building or unit - it is assigned by the front desk.

For lots of info. about how Starwood works check out all the info. at the top of the Starwood forum.

Starwood FAQ: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63224

Interval International FAQ: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109418
 

DeniseM

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
57,766
Reaction score
9,168
Points
1,849
Resorts Owned
WKORV, WKV, 2-SDO, 4-Kauai Beach Villas, Island Park Village (Yellowstone), Hyatt High Sierra, Dolphin's Cove (Anaheim)
By the way how do I remove the guest tag I am a new member?

You have to change your own status to MEMBER. After you paid - you received an email with those instructions, or you can also find them by clicking on BBS HELP at the top of the forum, and scroll all the way down to the last link on the page.

*If you just paid - watch your email for the welcome letter.
 
Last edited:

falmouth3

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
3,417
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Burlington, MA
The Palms phase is at Sheraton Vistana RESORT.

The only way to trade a resale week is through an exchange company - Interval International. (Starwood will not allow you to reserve a different week with them.) When you exchange through an exchange company, you don't get to choose the building or unit - it is assigned by the front desk.

For lots of info. about how Starwood works check out all the info. at the top of the Starwood forum.

Starwood FAQ: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63224

Interval International FAQ: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109418

I recently was given a Sheraton Vistana St. Augustine week. After the transfer to my name, I called, reserved the 4th of July week and deposited it with SFX. I understand that the conditions for exchange through II are indeed different.
 

DeniseM

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
57,766
Reaction score
9,168
Points
1,849
Resorts Owned
WKORV, WKV, 2-SDO, 4-Kauai Beach Villas, Island Park Village (Yellowstone), Hyatt High Sierra, Dolphin's Cove (Anaheim)
I recently was given a Sheraton Vistana St. Augustine week. After the transfer to my name, I called, reserved the 4th of July week and deposited it with SFX. I understand that the conditions for exchange through II are indeed different.

She owns a True Fixed week without Staroptions, at Sheraton Vistana Resort. That means the ONLY week she can reserve with Starwood is the week she owns.

You bought a week at a different resort: Sheraton Vistana Villages, and apparently you bought a floating week, so you can reserve any week in your season, but you can't make reservations at other resorts.
 
Last edited:

falmouth3

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
3,417
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Burlington, MA
Thank you for the clarification. I didn't think about true fixed weeks. I've always had weeks that floated, although there is a deeded week, of course.
 

nokaoi9

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
207
Reaction score
15
Points
228
Location
Southern California
Resorts Owned
Marriott, Sheraton, Westin
Is St. Augustine a mandatory building at SVV or only Bella and Key West? I'm contemplating purchasing a resale week and been monitoring on eBay, just would like to get some knowledgable feedback.
 

DeniseM

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
57,766
Reaction score
9,168
Points
1,849
Resorts Owned
WKORV, WKV, 2-SDO, 4-Kauai Beach Villas, Island Park Village (Yellowstone), Hyatt High Sierra, Dolphin's Cove (Anaheim)
Is St. Augustine a mandatory building at SVV or only Bella and Key West? I'm contemplating purchasing a resale week and been monitoring on eBay, just would like to get some knowledgable feedback.

It is voluntary - no Staroptions.

For a list of the mandatory resorts, see the Starwood FAQ at the top of the forum.
 

Rsauer3473

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2013
Messages
203
Reaction score
8
Points
128
Location
Salem, OR
We just purchased a Bella ($0) and a Key West ($1000) through the Marketplace. Never would have done it with other SVV phases. Each unit has 67,100 SOs. Good for two weeks in a studio at WKORV(N). We reimbursed for 2014 MFs and closing through LT Transfers was less than $200 each.
 

bankr63

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
555
Reaction score
100
Points
403
Location
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Resorts Owned
Vistana Resort Orlando (2BR, Deeded Wk10) , Silver Lake Resort Orlando (3BRLO)
Hi Penny with the many numbers,

I just wanted to say welcome to Sheraton Vistana resort. We also own week 11 in the Courts (original) section of SVR. Palms was the 4th section of SVR built and has a nice unit size and area density. The newer sections tend to cram in the units, the older sections often weren't quite as large. Your week 11 should give you fairly good trading power in RCI, and I assume II as well.

As stated, you will need to join one of the exchange companies even to trade within the resort; something we do from time-to-time. We joined RCI primarily because our other resort ownership only trades in RCI. You can also trade in II with SVR as it is affiliated with both. Choose carefully when picking your exchange company, there are pros/cons to both. One of the more frustrating things about RCI (and maybe II) is that you need slightly more points to trade into your week than you get out. So you always need a few points to top up if you are swapping back into your own resort (or you need to take a smaller 1BR unit).

There really aren't any good or bad sections at SVR, although there are some less desirable buildings. I would suggest using you own week the first time and getting a feel for the resort, this will give you an idea of what other sections you may want to try. Our family prefers the older sections with larger units but most seem to prefer the taller/newer buildings with higher density. We have stayed in most sections now on the South side of the resort. Never stayed on the North side (Fountains/Lakes). Denise is correct that the resort gets to choose your unit when trading, but there is a "diamond lane" checkin form that you can use to make special requests. They can't always meet your request, especially during busy times. but they do their best when they can, especially if you aren't overly specific. Week 11 is the beginning of March break, but they have always managed to keep our family groupings together, and have kept us in the same unit for extended stays.

It really is a great resort. Hope you enjoy it as much as our family, and learn to leverage your ownership for additional great experiences!

Adding in a shameless plug for DISboards here as well. If you want to learn about Orlando and Disney, this is the place to be. To learn a bit more about the resort start with this thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3148502 started by yours truly, but with contributions from other owners too.
 
Last edited:
Top