Roll Out Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer: an August Trip Report (Complete!)

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Not being able to see much of the resort exterior due to the darkness (sometimes late arrivals can really suck), we were very pumped to check out the inside of our villa. Everything we had read about the Vistanas renovations (which occurred, I think, over a 3-year period from 2009 to 2012) had been so positive, I was almost a little worried that we may have over-hyped the accommodations in our minds and end up being slightly disappointed. One swing open of the door, however, any worries or concerns that we may have had were immediately swept away&&it was even NICER than we had hoped!!!

Let me say that the finishings in the villa were absolutely top-notch. Granite countertops. Ceramic tile. Sturdy furniture. Flat screen TVs. Warm, earthy colours. Space. Space. And did I mention&..soooo much space??? More than 1200 square feet in all, with a functional layout that worked so very well. Let me give you the grand tour:

The kitchen offered a view of the front of the unit, or a street/community view. There was a full size fridge (with an ice maker in the freezer), a large dishwasher, a standard stove and oven, and a microwave. Amenities also included a double sink, granite countertops, and a breakfast bar with stools (which we loved&&we much preferred grabbing our breakfast there than at the formal dining table). There were lots of glasses, plates, bowls, cups, silverware, knives and enough pots and pans to create a good meal (if you were so inclined). There was a coffee maker, a toaster, a blender, and all the small appliances you probably have in your own kitchen, all of which were in great shape. The only thing I would have said was lacking were good size coffee mugs (they had the small handled cups which matched the plates and bowls, but no regular sized mugs). We brought our own Tim Hortons coffee for brewing each morning (my apologies to my American friends, but I am not a fan of Starbucks or Dunkin!) and a big ol mug would have been a little more functional. We thought about buying a couple of Florida souvenir mugs during one of our shopping expeditions throughout the week but somehow never bothered to do so.



The main living area was open concept with the kitchen leading into the dining area and living room. The sofa in the living room was a pull-out (queen size), which raised the sleeping occupancy for the room to 8. The living room had the largest TV, and patio doors to the screened in balcony. The living area also had a great view of the small lake behind our building (which you will see in a later post).



The dining area offered a round table and four chairs.



Adjacent to the dining area (just inside the front door), there was a small desk that ended up being our administrative hub for the week. It was a very convenient place to keep the laptop when not in use, charge our cell phones, and keep our paperwork (shopping receipts for customs, activity schedules, etc.).



The bedrooms were just as spacious as the main living area, and Jake was delighted to have a large rooms with two double beds, a huge closet, and his own flat screen TV. His room, like the kitchen, also had a community/street view.



He really, really, REALLY enjoyed (as did we!!) having his own personal bathroom (those that have ever had to share with a teenager would know how nice it is for them to have their own space for personal care). The shower was awesome and housekeeping kept us consistently stocked with a good supply of white, fluffy towels. Great water pressure (a real sticking point for me) and the temperature of the water got nice and hot (another sticking point&..we like to be lobster-red when were done) . The beautiful finishings continued in here as well, as did the functional layout.



Between Jakes bathroom and ours, a large closest opened up to a stackable washer and dryer. It was apartment sized so I probably ended up doing about a load a day (just so things didnt pile up), which I loved. Clean and dry swimsuits every time we put them on &. Fabulous. And coming home with all clean clothing was a dream. Unpacking has never been so easy.

If we though Jakes bathroom was lovely, the master bath was da bomb. On the left side of the room, we had our own stand-up shower (very similar to Jakes) with a sink and mirror to the right. Another awesome supply of towels that was replenished daily.



We were offered a daily resort credit of $5 per day to forego housekeeping (which was included as part of our Jetblue Getaways rate) but personally, I think it was $5 well spent. While I love the space afforded by a timeshare property, I also love the housekeeping convenience of a hotel. This gave us the best of both worlds&..and I was a happy Mom not having to wash linens, make a bed, or even vacuum sand up off the floor the entire trip. They would even start the dishwasher for us on the days we forgot to do so before leaving the villa.

The right side of the room housed a HUGE therapy tub. While we didnt use it trip (and probably wouldnt during the summer months when the pools were such wonderful places to hang out), I would have been enjoying those water jets in the winter FOR SURE.



Outside of the bathroom, there was an additional dressing area with a second sink next to a full-length closet (with a safe). We LOVED having this second area of the master bath, as Steve could shave, shower and use the loo while I unfrizzed (or at least tried to) at the sink and counter in the dressing area.



The master bedroom boasted a huge king sized bed, a ton of pillows, a view of the lake and had a door to the screened in porch. There was another flat screen TV in this room, two night tables, and a large dresser. Might I say that the beds in the villas were soooooo comfortable&&Sheraton has the best beds, ever. The linens were top-notch as well, great quality and lots of variety in blankets (from a super heavy duvet to light sheets, and a couple of other options in between.



And finally, we have the screened in deck. A great place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning. From the balcony, we saw several different birds sunning themselves on the gazebo across the pond, including a gorgeous heron.



So thats your tour. Hope you enjoyed it!

Next up: we've earned ourselves a swim!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Darkness or not, once we were all settled in, we decided to go in search of the nearest pool and grab a moonlight swim. While we were weary from travelling, we were also a little wired and restless, so we figured a swim was a good way to combat both syndromes. I let the boys go exploring first (while I finished organizing all the stuff, and worked with the Vistana’s front desk team to track down a missing parcel that should have been ready for us at check in…..turns out the label was cut off by the shipper and the missing portion was the part that actually had my name on it….d’oh!) but it wasn’t long before they burst back through the door, bubbling with enthusiasm over the “amazing” pool that was apparently just a hop, skip and jump away from our building. I jumped into my swimsuit and found myself a the Super Pool in a matter of moments.



This pool turned out to be our favourite among them all (there were 7 pools in total at the resort, with 4 of them being within a 5 minute walk from our door….2 of them a two minute walk away). We didn’t miss a single night of swimming here under the stars (not to mention the multiple afternoons we enjoyed lounging and splashing). The pool was enormous, with no distinct shape and a pretty consistent depth throughout the entire length. The guys particularly took advantage of the volleyball net at the far end of the pool and often found other guests eager to take part in their impromptu game.



Following our swim, we headed back to the villa and eventually hit the sack somewhere between 12:30 and 1 a.m. Tomorrow was our first full day in Orlando, the kick off to our go-with-the-flow vacation (a first for me) and one of the very few times we had to adhere to any kind of a reservation or time deadline. We were booked for a tour of a Florida orange grove via a monster truck…..so it was off to bed for some much needed rest. No baggy, dark circles under the eyes permitted…..there are vacation pics to be taken, after all!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Since this was our first full day to enjoy (i.e., no travelling as part of the day’s itinerary), I will call Saturday, August 24th “DAY 1”.

It dawned bright and sunny, a completely picture perfect kick-off to the morning. Weather was hot, hot, hot, but we didn’t find it stiflingly humid. We had expected worse.

We got our first glimpse of the view from our balcony, and were mighty impressed :



Sorry the pic is a little grainy....its the screen .

This trip was carefully designed to be a “relaxing” trip, complete with chunks of time built into the schedule as being unscheduled. Tough for me to do (relaxing is not one of my best talents, I will admit), but I promised the boys we would have opportunities to enjoy the resort and actually chill out on our vacation. With that in mind, we were all eager to explore the resort grounds and see what was out there. Alas, it would have to wait for later, as this day had one of the few commitments of our trip: we had reservations for a 10 am tour at Showcase of Citrus in Clermont.

I did get a few shots of our villa in the daylight as we piled into the Jeep and headed in search of breakfast. Its such a pretty resort .



Since we hadn’t left ourselves oodles of extra time to make the ½ hour drive, breakfast was going to have to be a quickie. We settled on Dunkin Donuts conveniently located across SR535 from the resort. I strongly dislike their coffee (but don’t worry, we had enjoyed a pot of our beloved Timmies before we left the villa) as much as Jake strongly enjoys their chicken sandwiches. I swear his stomach is made of iron . The boys ate their man-breakfasts and I had a muffin and milk. Back in the Jeep and we were on our way.



The drive was shorter than I expected and easy…..Ms. GPS took us right there, arriving with about 10 minutes to spare .



We purchased our tickets (half price with a coupon from the Entertainment Book) and were directed to the monster truck boarding area to the rear of the store.



Our driver and tour guide, Chad, was not far behind us. The bus wasn’t full (probably less than 15 of us in total, and two were small children), so we had lots of room to spread out and get comfy in anticipation of the one-hour journey through the 2600 acre orange grove and working farm. Chad hustled us aboard, gave the horn a good blare, and we rumbled noisily away.



This was a GREAT TOUR. Jake had been skeptical but we caught him smiling and very much enjoying himself, yes we did . Chad was a hoot, and his enthusiasm was very contagious. He knew his stuff, was afraid of nothing, and drove that monster truck with more ease than I drive my beloved little Alero.

Thanks to an abundance of rain over the summer months, we bogged through some big ol’ puddles that were more like the size of small ponds.





We passed rows and rows of orange trees, lemon trees, berry bushes, and some of the most beautiful forest you have ever seen, while Chad filled us in on all sort of neat facts about the day to day operations of such a huge grove. While none of the oranges were in season at the time of our visit, we could see the thousands of green oranges on the trees as we passed by. I can only imagine what it would be like to visit when those trees are in blossom.







Showcase of Citrus, "part 2", coming up next.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Continuing right along.......

We stopped along the way to check out some of the wildlife on the farm. I was kind of disappointed that none of the resident alligators made an appearance, but Chad brought our buggy to an abrupt stop in the middle of the tour, and hopped out like he’d been bitten by a spider. Turns out he had just spotted one……a Banana Spider, to be exact, hanging out on one of the palms . He picked it up and proudly showed it off to everyone on the bus, despite that poor spider’s best attempts to escape. How Chad didn’t get bit in the process, I have no idea.



We got to see the resident water buffalo, his “wife” and baby:





We also had the chance to meet the resident Ankole-Watusi and his lady friend. Impressive horns on those two. Chad provided the bus with a huge bucket of animal feed that we could toss out as we grabbed some photos. Steve had an amazing arm and managed to toss those food pieces so that they landed right in front of their faces. I, somehow, managed to hit the roof of the bus .



The farm has its own zebra as well, but he was content to hang out in the field and watch that silly bus drive right on by.



The one-hour expedition flew by, and we had so much fun. We all agreed that it was most definitely worth the drive and the price of admission, and that it was a wonderful change from the commercial whoopla of the major theme parks. Even Mr. Skeptic had to admit, with a smile, that it was a darn good time. Chock one up for Mom .



But our visit didn’t stop there……we still had a few more things to do!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Following along!

Yay! Welcome aboard!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Back at the store, we took some time to peruse all the homemade jams, jellies, marmalades, honeys and sauces that lined the shelves, and picked up a few items to take home to friends and family (since taking some of their delectable fresh fruit over the border would be a big no-no). We had a Groupon for $20 worth of food and gifts for $10, so it made for some very thrifty shopping. Of course, there were lots of opportunities for those crazy touristy photos that I love so much. I spotted a gator from across the store…..and coerced the boy into a picture.



He got rewarded for his easy-goingness with one of these:



Pure heaven in a cup . A real orange slushie, and quite possibly one of the best things I ate while in Florida. Oh. So. Good. Steve opted for the super-deluxe version, the “orange creamsicle slushie”, which blended vanilla soft serve with the orange slush, and savored every slurp. A perfect treat on such a warm summer day . Note to those who might choose to visit here themselves…..the slushies are available in souvenir cups for an extra $1. Would have purchased those myself had I known ahead of time.

We moved on to explore the outside of the store, and guess what? I found more reasons to take photos! (not that I needed a reason, I know! ).



Visitors can spend the day fishing in these waters, if they like.



Perhaps they might catch one of these? (Okay, maybe not . Unsure how the shark fit into the theme of Showcase of Citrus , but who am I to pass up the opportunity for another picture?)



But despite the oppressive heat of August, there's no swimming allowed……for good reason :



By this point in the day, we had arrived at “lunch time” yet no one was hungry (take my word for it: those slushies are as filling as they are refreshing). A short scoot down the street was Kissimmee, so we indulged the boy in not one trip to a Nike store……



….but TWO trips to a Nike store (within a 5 minute drive of each other, I might add!).



It always amazes me how so many retail outlets can survive in the Orlando area. Not that I’m complaining….we get some amazing deals while we’re in town. After being outside for the hot morning, it was perfectly okay with me to soak up some air conditioning while we scoped out our first round of bargains.

By the time we finished shopping, the boys were starting to feel peckish (had to use that word, as it drives Jake crazy. He thinks it makes me sound weird. But I am weird, so I don’t think it matters). Next up….lunch at Friendly’s. And were those clouds rolling in?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We have an unofficial family motto…. “every vacation should start and end with ice cream”. So it was no surprise when the boys voted to visit Friendly’s on International Drive for lunch. It’s a bit of a tradition, and one of those wonderful US chains that we love, and that we wish would expand into Canada.

On our Christmas trip, we ate at this location and had the most wonderful server. Imagine our surprise when the very same woman was our waitress once again. We remembered her, but she didn’t remember us (guess we didn’t make a lasting impression, lol), but we ended up with some fabulous service again this visit.



Jake ordered his beloved Honey BBQ Chicken Supermelt . He doesn’t even look at the menu anymore.



I opted for the chicken fingers. Following this picture, I relegated the coleslaw to Steve’s plate…..I’m not a coleslaw girl. Our dear server offered to bring me double fries in place of the coleslaw, which I declined…..no way would I be able to eat all that.



And for Steve? Oh, Steve. What he was about to do to himself .



He opted for the “Build Your Own Burger”. To this day, I can’t even tell you what all was on it, besides the fact that it was topped with a fried egg . All I know is that he couldn’t get his mouth around that sucker, and THAT is saying something!!!



Sadly, after morning slushies and our Friendly’s entrees, our stomachs had reached capacity and not a single one of us had room left for ice cream . A travesty, let me tell you. So we took a pass on dessert. At Friendly's, of all places. Now doesn't that just seem wrong?

By the end of lunch, it was nearing 2:30 pm, and the sky was growing really dark. Full and tired, we opted for a stop for supplies at Walmart, then planned to head back to the Vistana for some resort time. It rained so hard while we were inside Walmart that I thought the roof might collapse, so we took our time and meandered around the store while Mother Nature unleashed her fury outdoors. We were in no hurry to walk across the parking lot to the Jeep in a monsoon!!! Eventually, the skies quieted and we made the short trip back to the resort and unloaded our purchases. Like magic, the sun came out once again just as if the rain hadn’t bothered with us in the first place. One of the reasons I love Florida !

 

[My2Qtz0205]

That citrus farm sounds so neat! What a find!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Glad to find your report, I read your December one too

The Sheraton looks wonderful, it's been a while, but we stayed at the villages and enjoyed it there. As you said, the space is great.

Really looking forward to more

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

That citrus farm sounds so neat! What a find!

It was a great morning . I actually initially read about the Showcase of Citrus here on the Dis, mentioned briefly in passing in a few different posts but with enough info that it piqued my interest. I really like the "off the beaten path" attractions...the airboat ride we did in December was another gem. I still have a few on my to-do list, so hopefully there will be more trips in the future so I can check them out, too .

Glad to find your report, I read your December one too

The Sheraton looks wonderful, it's been a while, but we stayed at the villages and enjoyed it there. As you said, the space is great.

Really looking forward to more

The Vistana was awesome . We had considered the Villages vs. the Resort for this trip, but ended up choosing the Resort because of its proximity to Disney (even though we were not doing the theme parks, we knew we wanted to visit both TL and BB). Might have to keep the Villages in the back of my mind for a SeaWorld trip....the proximity to the SW parks is excellent!

 

[shalom]

Sheraton Vistana has been on our short list the last two times, so glad to see that. Also really looking forward to the World of Citrus monster truck ride, which sounds like it could be really neat but I haven't seen many reviews on it. And I know you'll do it justice.

The only thing I would have said was lacking were good size coffee mugs (they had the small handled cups which matched the plates and bowls, but no regular sized mugs).

This is one reason I collect mugs on vacation.

The dining area offered a round table and four chairs.

In a unit that sleeps eight? How Disney of them.

We were offered a daily resort credit of $5 per day to forego housekeeping (which was included as part of our Jetblue Getaways rate) but personally, I think it was $5 well spent.

$5/day for housekeeping is an excellent deal. Some timeshares charge more than that for an extra towel exchange!

Square footage only tells part of the story, but it looks like they managed their space very well.

……a Banana Spider, to be exact, hanging out on one of the palms . He picked it up and proudly showed it off to everyone on the bus, despite that poor spider’s best attempts to escape. How Chad didn’t get bit in the process, I have no idea.

We saw one of those "beauties" at Brookgreen, near Myrtle Beach.

They are kind of pretty... for a spider. Apparently they're pretty mellow and won't bite unless you pinch them. And they're not dangerous poisonous, although their bites still hurt. I still wouldn't pick one up!

So we took a pass on dessert. At Friendly's, of all places. Now doesn't that just seem wrong?

I expected better of you guys. That's just criminal.



So how rough was the Showcase of Citrus ride? Mostly smooth? Mostly bouncing and jouncing? If you could compare it to Kilimanjaro Safari or something I'd be most grateful.

 

[sympatico]

Always like reading your trip reports, Gina. We've been to Showcase of Citrus to pick oranges a few times but have never taken the swamp buggy ride. We usually go in late Oct-Nov and/or late Feb-Mar when oranges are in season.

 

[cheerky]

Vistana looks beautiful! I stayed there when I was a senior in high school (which was many, many years ago) but it still ranks as one of my faves!!!
Looks like a successful day in Clermont... no sinkholes!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Always like reading your trip reports, Gina. We've been to Showcase of Citrus to pick oranges a few times but have never taken the swamp buggy ride. We usually go in late Oct-Nov and/or late Feb-Mar when oranges are in season.

We will be there from 27th October and dd has asked to go (we drove by it in December ) so good to hear oranges will be in season

 

[dennise]

As usual an A+ for the trip report, keep it coming, thoroughly enjoy it. I notice Steve must be a Leafs fan, we are planning a Leaf/Tampa game on our April trip. Not necessarily a Leaf fan, but with 3 hockey players(g-sons), we don't want to go into withdrawal on vacation. We went to a Pittsburgh/Tampa game in April but Crosby was on the injured list.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Sheraton Vistana has been on our short list the last two times, so glad to see that. Also really looking forward to the World of Citrus monster truck ride, which sounds like it could be really neat but I haven't seen many reviews on it. And I know you'll do it justice.

This is one reason I collect mugs on vacation.

In a unit that sleeps eight? How Disney of them.

$5/day for housekeeping is an excellent deal. Some timeshares charge more than that for an extra towel exchange!

Square footage only tells part of the story, but it looks like they managed their space very well.

We saw one of those "beauties" at Brookgreen, near Myrtle Beach.

They are kind of pretty... for a spider. Apparently they're pretty mellow and won't bite unless you pinch them. And they're not dangerous poisonous, although their bites still hurt. I still wouldn't pick one up!

I expected better of you guys. That's just criminal.

So how rough was the Showcase of Citrus ride? Mostly smooth? Mostly bouncing and jouncing? If you could compare it to Kilimanjaro Safari or something I'd be most grateful.

I was surprised, too, that the table only sat four. Now granted, I am sure most folks wouldn't put more than 6 people in that unit (unless they use the pullout.... but I would think that would be a FULL villa with that many bodies, luggage, etc.) and then there's seating for two more at the adjacent breakfast bar, but it still seemed like a strange choice. We wondered if that's why they went with the less plush style of chairs in the living area....making them a little more functional then a standard "easy chair" if they needed to be pulled up to the table for dining?

That banana spider gives me the heebie jeebies. Just sayin' . I mean, Florida has some mighty nifty (and unique) wildlife (I will wholeheartely admit to having a thing for alligators, I find armadillos to be adorable, and I've even learned to live with those teeny little lizards that are EVERYWHERE in Orlando) but spiders? They freak me out. Particularly the ones the size of Oreo cookies.

I couldn't believe we blew it on the ice cream too. I was so ashamed....me, queen of the sweet tooth. Next time, I am eating dessert FIRST, and that's a promise .

Roughness of the ride? I asked DH for his input too, and he thought it was less rough than Kilimanjaro. The seats were really nicely padded, for a monster truck. Now, we did get kind of stuck in the mud at one point, which was a bit jiggly to get out of, and it was reasonably bumpy, but nothing too terrible (it definitely didn't bother my aging back, and I've had physiotherapy for it over the course of the year).

So happy to have all your awesome input and comments on this thread !

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Vistana looks beautiful! I stayed there when I was a senior in high school (which was many, many years ago) but it still ranks as one of my faves!!!
Looks like a successful day in Clermont... no sinkholes!

We drove past Summer Bay on our way to Showcase of Citrus. It was very humbling to see such a lovely looking resort that has suffered so badly at the hand of nature. I mean, it looked no different than the Vistana, Westgate Lakes, Orange Lake, or the hundreds of other resorts in the area. Who would have thought???

How did you guys make out on your vacation? You ended up moving to a different resort, didn't you? (as would I have, too!)

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

As usual an A+ for the trip report, keep it coming, thoroughly enjoy it. I notice Steve must be a Leafs fan, we are planning a Leaf/Tampa game on our April trip. Not necessarily a Leaf fan, but with 3 hockey players(g-sons), we don't want to go into withdrawal on vacation. We went to a Pittsburgh/Tampa game in April but Crosby was on the injured list.

Thank you, dennise . Yep, Steve and Jake are Leaf fans (what does that say about my boys?? Hopefully its considered a noble quality to root for the underdogs! But hey, they actually made the playoffs last year....so at least we can say they're "improving"!!! )

I think taking in a sporting event is a great idea when down south. Its fun to cheer for the opposition in their building. We went to a Toronto Raptors/Orlando Magic basketball game at the Amway Center on our Christmas trip and had a ball. As an added bonus...the tickets are cheaper and WAY easier to get as well!

Have a great time! And glad to have you reading along!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So….when I last left off,we had arrived back at the Vistana in the late afternoon of day 1.

Moving right along .....

Back at the resort, out came the sun and on came the wonderfully hot summer heat. The boys and I made a beeline for the Super Pool, eager to explore it by the light of day rather than the moonlight of the previous evening. I had solemnly promised that this trip would involve their much-anticipated rest and relaxation, and give them the resort time we grew to love on our vacation last August.

The Super Pool (why its not called the “Spas Pool”, I’m not sure…..every other pool at the resort is named after the section in which is lies, with the sole exception being the Super Pool) was even better by day.





In addition to the main pool, there was a shallow splash pool for the youngest guests:



A family hot tub (which I didn't an individual picture of but if you can close your eyes and picture it using the picture two photos above, it was located to the left of the stairs into the pool), and a second, more private raised hot tub.:



Zimmie’s Restaurant and Bar offered an outdoor seating and service area for those wishing to enjoy a poolside beverage.

At the end of the Super Pool, we found the sand volleyball court:



Beside the pool was the Main Recreation Center , which offered a variety of children’s activities and was the south side hub for lending sports equipment (basketballs, volleyballs, tennis rackets, etc…..all free to guests).

On either side of the Rec Center were the tennis courts (and my heavens, there were a lot of them!), and mini golf (more pictures of both to come in a later post). And just beyond those areas were two more pool areas (Courts and Falls), a playground (next to the Falls pool) and some bee-you-ti-ful basketball courts (enjoyed several times by my guys). All of this great stuff (along with the Cascades pool and rec areas, which were located to the front of the Spas area as opposed to the side) was less than a five minute walk from our villa door. As far as location went, Spas 464 was absolutely prime.

We spent some very refreshing time in the pool, then came back for a rest at the villa before tossing around ideas for dinner.



Getting adjusted to the heat had taken quite a bit out of us, so no one was eager to hop back in the hot Jeep and head anywhere in search of vittles. We weren’t entirely sure how delivery would work with the fabulous gated security at the entrances (I *loved* that access was strictly monitored) so we nixed that idea just because we were too weary to call the front desk and ask. We remembered seeing a flyer from Zimmies (which was just a couple of buildings down from ours) that said they offered a barbecue buffet on Saturday evenings, so we dug it out of the pile of papers given to us at check in, reviewed the details, and decided we’d give it a try.

This was the ONLY place the Vistana disappointed us over the entire stay.

Let me preface these comments by saying the meal wasn’t “bad”. It was perfectly palatable. But for the price we paid in comparison to some of the other amazing meals we had that week, it was truly underwhelming, and the service and ambiance didn’t knock our socks off either. It was very ordinary and very “meh”. The buffet consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, chicken, mac and cheese, baked beans, flavoured rice and (maybe?) corn. Dessert was chocolate pudding and watermelon. And that was it. Now, we all got full and the taste of all items was fine, but yet….I dunno. It just was a let-down. I didn’t even take any photos!!!

We did not return to Zimmie’s for the rest of the trip. Lesson learned: next time we are feeling lazy, figure out how to order in.

The evening we spent splishin’ and splashin’ under the stars (the Super Pool was open daily until 1 am), and then we slept like babies. First day, done.