That’s the question that I’ve seen asked a few times recently on Owning Your Magic, the Disney Vacation Club forum on the PassPorter message boards. Having been there a couple of times, I’ll see what I can do to answer that.
Where is the resort?
Firstly, the basics. Vero Beach is located about two hours drive to the southeast of Orlando. It’s easy enough to find, just follow the I-95 south to the SR 512 East, then head on to the US Route 1. From here, you turn right on to SR 510, then turn left to SR A1A, and the resort is literally right there on your left.
The resort overlooks its own private beach
What is the accommodation like?
A deluxe inn room at the resort
On both our stays, we’ve been in the deluxe inn rooms, because we enjoyed it so much the first time around. However, if you want a bit more privacy, and to escape away from it all even more, there are also clusters of vacation homes all around the resort, along with six beach cottages. All types of rooms are on offer here. As well as the deluxe inn rooms (you can pick from either a garden or ocean view), you can choose from studios, one-, or two-bedroom vacation homes or three-bedroom beach cottages. I’ve been lucky enough to have a look round one of those beach cottages, and oh boy, they are nice! Now if only I had enough points to afford a stay there…
What sort of facilities do they have here?
Enjoying the resort's private beach
The facilities here are lovely. My personal favorite was the beach. To me, there’s nothing more relaxing (or romantic!) than wandering along a beach, with the waves lapping at your feet. Both our visits were in December, meaning there weren’t that many people staying at the resort, and we had the beach practically to ourselves, which was a real treat.
The interactive water play area for kids
Because of the time of year we visited, it was too cold to sample the Mickey shaped pool, which is very nice looking. Nearby is a hot tub for the adults, and a water play area for kids, that is imaginatively themed, and when we first visited in 2004, seemed to be ahead of its time. Now a lot of other Disney resorts are catching up with similar fun filled areas.
Talking of fun, there’s also mini golf, and of course, being a Disney Vacation Club resort, there’s also a Community Hall, home to various activities, and excursions. The fitness center now has a spa, which I may just have to try the next time we’re back there, and if you’re feeling active, then you can always rent bicycles, or sports equipment from the wonderfully named Eb and Flo’s.
Inside Shutters, one of the resort restaurants
If you’re anything like us though, dining is more the attraction than working out, and there are two onsite restaurants. We absolutely adored the seafood buffet at Sonya’s on our first stay, although sadly during our most recent stay, it was closed, so we couldn’t reacquaint ourselves with that delicious offering. Instead, we ate in Shutter’s and found the food to be very good. The Green Cabin Room is also a great place to relax, and unwind, while enjoying a drink, and a light snack.
One thing that is worth knowing about Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is that it really is isolated. For us, a rental car was an absolute must. The resort is literally completely on its own and Vero Beach is 11 miles south. Sure, it’s got some nice facilities, but if you don’t have a car, be very sure that you’re happy to be spending all your time at the resort, as there are some great places to explore nearby.
Is it worth a visit?
I think that probably depends on you, and what your party enjoys. Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is very much a getaway from it all destination, and it’s the perfect place to relax, and unwind either before or after a Disney vacation. But beware, it’s a very different pace of life to the Disney resorts you may be used to. However, there’s still the wonderful Disney magic you’d expect at any Disney resort, and that’s what makes Vero Beach a very special place to visit.
Have you visited Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, either as a Disney Vacation Club member or as a paying guest? What did you think of it?
Thanks! That was very useful. We are thinking of possibly going there next year at the end of our Disney vacation.
We’ve stayed at Vero Beach Resort before & it was an awesome experience. Of course, it’s Disney style & you cannot beat that. They have many activities for the kids to do each day and some for families to do together. You can eat there or there are many other places you can drive to. I think that it is definitely worth it & if I can ever go back, I certainly will! There is so much fun to be had there, but it was also relaxing as well.
We have stayed at Vero Beach several times, in conjunction with our WDW trips. We either stay at the beginning or the end of our trip. I enjoy the end of the trip more, as it gives us time to relax after the hustle bustle of WDW.
Our trip in June will have our Vero Beach stay in the middle of our 12 day vacation. It will be the first time that we haven’t been there in January and I am looking forward to the warm weather. This time we will be in a Deluxe Inn room. We have stayed in the Studios, (thought they were small) and a 1 Bed-room Villa. I hope to be able to one day have enough points to get a Beach Cottage for a large family stay.
If you are looking for a WDW atmosphere you will be disappointed, but if you want a nice, slow paced, relaxing stay, Vero Beach is great.
Good point about going to Vero Beach at the end of your vacation because you do have a chance to relax and kick back there. The pool is relaxing but the beach is even more relaxing and so laid back.
We actually said at Vero Beach for the first time during our 2 week trip to WDW because we wanted to venture outside of Disney and check out the area. We also really enjoyed not running around the parks but instead adventuring around all of the WDW resorts.
Thanks for this article Cheryl! It seems like the information for Vero is limited that I could find and this is a good overview for us. I can’t wait until June!!