Our Visit to the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”We spent the Memorial Day weekend in the Walt Disney World area so that we could be a part of the Rock Your Disney Side 24 hour event at the Magic Kingdom and so that I could celebrate my 50th birthday at Animal Kingdom. I will be writing other posts about those events in the next week or so. Today I want to tell you about our home-away-from-home for the weekend. We were blessed to be invited to check out the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort, which is just minutes from Walt Disney World.

We arrived at the resort right about at the beginning of check-in time, 3:00pm after an hour and a half drive from our home. We were greeted by very friendly valets who unloaded our luggage with my husband while I went inside to check-in. I was greeted by Jon and he quickly had us all checked in and ready to begin our vacation. I met my husband and we headed up the main elevator to our room. We had a double-queen room with a pool view on the third floor of building two. The room was a comfortable size for 4 adults and I was happy to find that the vanity was outside of the bathroom so that more than one person could be getting ready at a time.

Once we had settled in a bit we headed downstairs to meet with the resort’s PR Director, so he could give us a tour. We visited the restaurant ZEST which has a breakfast buffet and a sit down dinner menu, the Springboard Marketplace which offers grab-and-go foods as well as hand-dipped ice cream, Starbucks Coffee and other treats, and the 27 Palms Grill which offers poolside and indoor dining. We toured the lobby area which includes a reading nook, charging stations and an Internet cafe area. We also visited the well-appointed fitness area and the game room.

After our tour we settled into our room and unpacked before making dinner plans. We wanted an early dinner because we were heading to bed early, since we had to be up by 4am to head to the Magic Kingdom. The Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort is located within walking distance to lots of restaurants to fit every price point and taste. We walked next door for a quick pizza dinner so that we would be nearby if our friends arrived while we were dining. After dinner my husband went to the pool to relax while I stayed in the room to wait for our friends.

Saturday we slept in until about 11:30am, due being up for 22 hours on Friday/Saturday. My husband ran across the street and got us Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and then we headed to the pool area to relax. When we arrived and found our cabana, it was decorated for my birthday!!

The cabanas cost is $69 for the day during the week and $99 during the weekend. This includes a fruit platter, snacks, water, soda, TV and a fan as well as you’ll be checked by a designated employee to make sure you’re taken care of. If you’re an SPG member, you get a discount on both weekday and weekend rates! Our “designated employee” aka cabana boy LOL was Julian and he took amazing care of us all day. Having the cabana was great because it gave us a place to relax in the shade when we got out of the pool and we enjoyed the snacks and beverages too.

As you can see from the picture above, there are two pools. The one on the right is a zero-entry pool, complete with splash deck for the kids as well as volleyball net and basketball hoops. The pool on the left is the “regular” pool with a tube slide in the deep end. We spent a lot of time in both pools and enjoyed them both, except for the fact that there was a decent amount of hair floating in the pools. (Please, at least put your hair in a ponytail if you are swimming in a public pool.) We ordered lunch from the 27 Palms Grill, we enjoyed a delicious Angus Cheeseburger and some spicy Floribbean Chicken Wings, I could go for some more of those wings right now!

During our time at the pool Franny and the other Pool Captains kept the music playing and led hula hoop competitions, conga lines and other activities for the kids. My husband and I both commented that our time at the pools felt a lot like our time on a cruise ship. Great atmosphere, friendly workers, good music and activities. We don’t enjoy much down time but we sure enjoyed our time poolside at the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort.

If you are looking for a moderately priced resort near Walt Disney World I highly recommend the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort. The beds are comfortable, though a bit tall. The pillows are nice and squishy, just how I like them. The five different types of accommodations include something for every family. The employees are more friendly than most Disney Cast Members! We are already discussing possibly returning to the resort for a “good-bye to summer” trip.

We are very thankful for all of the courtesies and special attention that was afforded us during our stay as guests of Starwood Hotels. These extra perks were very nice but in no way did they sway our opinion of this beautiful resort.