Is Vero Beach nice?

[epceddie]

Just wondering what the resort at Vero Beach is like.
What are the good things and the bad things about the resort? I've heard that you have to pay for things like beach chairs and other stuff.
I'd love to hear about the kind of experiences y'all have had there.
Any and all replies will be appreciated.

[buzznwoodysmom]

We spent 3 nights at Disney's Vero Beach resort in June and we loved it. The resort is very beautiful, the beach was nice and uncrowded, and there were tons of activities for the children to take part in. We had an Inn room which was very nicely decorated, typical beach decor. The service was great, CMs even more happy than in WDW, in our opinion. We ate at Shutter's for the character breakfast, which was great. It reminded me of the menu at Ohana's for breakfast. DH and I also had a special Birthday dinner at Sonia's. Everything was excellent there!! The pool area is nice and relaxing, while still having tons going on to keep little ones occupied. We would definitely return to the resort in the future.

[hlkeck]

You do have to pay for beach chairs and umbrellas, but there are chairs at the pool that you do not need to pay for, which is where we spent most of our time.

The pool/slide is great and our kids had a BLAST there January '08. The pool was nice and warm even though the air was a bit chilly. That didn't stop them from going down the slide 5,000 times though.

There are a lot of things for kids to do - and every morning you can pick up a daily list at the front desk. The character meal there was great for us, there were only 2 other families having breakfast - so we got to hang with Goofy and Donald for an hour by ourselves. They played tic tac toe and hangman with my kids (who were 3 and 5 at the time).

The biggest negative I had: I was attacked by something - probably at the beach - but I was the only one in the family. I still have a few scars left. Some have said 'red ants', some have said 'no see ums' and I've even been told that my sores looked like 'bed bug' bites. Again, I was the only one covered in bites and sores and they were quite itchy. I would highly suggest taking a bug repellent for the beach and then possibly even a bed bug spray for the room, just in case...since I don't know what it was that I walked in to...

We're thinking of making vero a once a year visit b/c we really loved it!

[Fortgoofy97]

Vero is incredibly nice!! We spent two days/one night and tried to extend our stay but couldn't. It is a small resort, you can walk from one end to the other end in about 5 minutes. The pool was nice but the beach was 10 times better. You can rent chairs and umbrellas or you can do what we did, grab a bunch of towels go down to the end we noone else was and lay out the towels. We had the whole area to ourselves and the water was great! The staff at Vero was fabulous, the general store was small and limited. There are plenty of things for everyone to do for young ones to teens to adults. It was my DD's birthday, 16, and they had a picture and a Donald Duck pirate for her. We only spent the two days there and can't believe we never went before and now can not wait to get back there for longer stay!!!!:thumbsup:

[Aurora]

Beautiful resort and gorgeous beach. Great place to relax and have some family fun time without the theme park frenzy. We'd definitely go there again.

I second the comment about the bugs, though. If you're used to "no bugs at Disney," it's a completely different area. On a recent trip in October there were love bugs everywhere (I guess we came during mating season) and little sugar ants in the room. We moved rooms twice, prompting the front desk guy to mutter, "you know this IS Florida. Don't you have bugs in Chicago?"

[doombuggy]

We went to VB in March 2007 and LOVED it! We had a 1 BR, unfortunately on the 1st fl (no view of the ocean, just of the cottages I would love to try sometime!). The service, pool, food, etc was excellent. I was surprised about the beach chir rental, but am prepared to bring chairs myself next time. The place is lovely. You definately need a car, however, if you want to go into VB proper.

:thumbsup:

[Ed]

My favorite DVC resort, hands down. We've spent quite a few weekends and week-long trips there. Nice to get away from the hubbub of WDW occasionally (but not TOO often ;) )... I'm just wondering how the resort weathered Tropical Storm Fay ? That area was hit pretty heavily with more than 2 FEET of rain and lots of wind.
:(

[casper]

I'm sorry to be the lone negative here, but I feel like if my daughter had heard this earlier, it would have saved her a lot. My DD and her DH went for the first time on what was supposed to be a four night stay. The first night was fine. After driving up from the airport they were tired and happy to eat dinner and spend a restful night. The next day was also fine. That night they went out to dinner at about six thirty and then had planned to go shopping maybe or even just get an ice cream somewhere - only to find out that there is NOTHING to do after six at night for a young (28 years old) couple to do. Nothing is open - no shopping, no ice cream places. People suggesting driving a distance away, but even then couldn't guarantee that they'd find any activity. They were not looking for clubbing or anything - just SOMETHING to do after dinner. They ended up checking out early, driving up to Orlando and staying at CSR. So, I don't think they'd recommend Vero Beach unless you do not care about evening activities. No one on this board seems to mention this. Hope this helps.

[Ed]

Different strokes for different folks, I imagine. :shrug:

As far as there being "nothing" to do in the evenings, they obviously didn't look very hard. There's plenty to do in Sebastian (15 minutes away) and the town of Vero Beach (10 minutes south on A1A.

As for me, I go to VB for the relaxation. Turn off the cell phone. Turn off the computer. Turn off the TV. Ignore the newspapers. Drop the wristwatch into a dresser drawer. Get a good book and a :beer: or :marg: and relax by the pool. Take an occasional dip in the pool or unwind in the hot tub. Splash in the ocean. Rent a jet ski. No schedule, no need ~~nor DESIRE~~ to do the same things I can do at home.

As for me VB = :cloud9:

[Sharon1026]

VB is a very nice resort. Having a car does help, if you want to wander around the coast a bit. Yes, you do have to pay to rent beach chairs. Most people just plop some pool towels on the beach and hang out. I have the advantage of living in Fl, so we just bring our chairs and umbrella with us. There is a CVS close by, so you can always stop there and buy a chair, if it ends up being cheaper than renting (depends on how long you stay). Sebastian inlet is up the road, VB proper is 10 min. down the road. There is also a huge mall about 20 min away, if you want to shop or see a movie.

The beach is great, the pool is great... Go there to relax and enjoy yourself!

[TexasPrincessAurora]

How much is the rental for the beach chairs and umbrellas? Do you have to make reservations for the character breakfast the way you do at WDW?

[Sharon1026]

I don't remember the price for the chairs/umbrellas. you can call vb and they'll give you the latest prices.

I would make a reservation for the character b-fast, just to be on the safe side.

[Ian]

I'm posting this from our 1BR at Vero Beach, so my feedback is what you'd call "fresh." ;)

It's awesome! I'm sitting here with our balcony door open, looking out at a gorgeous view of the ocean, palm trees, and the sun rising.

The resort is nice and cozy ... very small and intimate feeling (only 200 rooms). The staff is amazingly nice (what you really expect from Disney Cast Members), the pool is really nice, the food is good, and the whole resort is very well-kept and neat as a pin.

It's not a "nightlife" town, though, so if you're looking for some type of wild time you're coming to the wrong place. It's definitely more of a lazy, relaxing, early-to-bed kind of vacation.

We'll definitely be back ... maybe as much as once a year. We absolutely LOVE it!!

[epceddie]

Thanks for all the great replies!

[Ed]

I'm posting this from our 1BR at Vero Beach, so my feedback is what you'd call "fresh." ;)

It's awesome! ...

We'll definitely be back ... maybe as much as once a year. We absolutely LOVE it!!

I told you so!:thumbsup: Would I steer you wrong? :nono:

Glad you enjoyed it; sorry we couldn't meet up over there.

[Ian]

Ed, you did NOT steer us wrong. That was one of the nicest, most relaxing three days we've ever spent anywhere.

And the Cast Members were just out of this world! So nice, in fact, that I'm definitely going to drop them a line praising them for what a great job they did.

All in all a near-perfect vacation! :mickey: