We made our second trip to the Vero Beach resort in July of 1997. We stayed for a long weekend in a one bedroom vacation home and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We look forward to our future stay there in October as we complete our Disney honeymoon after having stayed at OKW for 10 days.

Vero beach resort is quite different from OKW in that there is no theme park to spend time at and as such there is a more relaxed atmosphere. There is no rushing off to get to the parks or to try to complete as much as you can during your short time there.

The layout is smaller than OKW as well as other WDW resorts. It consists of the Main Inn which houses the Deluxe Inn Rooms, three other buildings which contain the studios, one and two bedroom units and the four Beach Cottages (Vero's version of the Grand Villas). These are free-standing buildings which overlook the beach and have great ocean views.

There are plans to expand the resort across A1A but at this time there is no construction. Vero beach is DVC and Disney's first ocean front resort and the only ocean front resort in FL. Therefore the major activities are water related. A big portion of the property is taken up by the pool and surrounding activities.

The pool is in a shape of a Mickey and is anchored by a corkscrew water slide that is fun for kids of all ages. When the resort is full the pool can become quite crowded and therefore is not a swimming pool but rather a relaxing pool. With a large number of people in the pool it is difficult not to bump into others.

At busy times it is difficult to get a pool side lounge chair and tables with umbrellas are prime real estate. They become occupied very early in the morning and are usually occupied throughout the day.

Landscaping around the resort is quite nice. It is designed so that the foliage is somewhat above eye level giving a feeling of isolation from the surrounding areas (ie traffic, other beach side buildings).

Surrounding the pool are other focal points of the resort. Here also is located the Community Hall. Located here is a big screen TV where Disney movies are shown each evening. A table-tennis table is located here as well. Next door to the TV room is Anchors Aweigh, the resort's fitness room. Next door are the male and female lockers/restrooms/showers as well as the sauna room and masseuse area.

At the "helm" of the pool is "Eb and Flo's". This is the Vero version of Hank's. From here many different activities are based as well as rentals of bikes, tennis rackets, putters (for the nine-hole mini golf course located around the pool) boogie boards, beach chairs, and videos. Pool towels are available here as well the ever present wristband. Because of a problem with locals using the pool and activities, guests are given wristbands to identify themselves. For this reason, it is necessary to always carry your room key-card to identify yourself as a resort guest and/or DVC member. The key-card will also allow you to gain entrance to the locked pool area.

There is also a cute little kids area near the pool as well that has a pirate ship water slide and water shooting cannons. The hot tub is here as well.

For quick meals Bleacher's is located pool side. Here you can purchase burgers, fries, hot dogs, sandwiches and drinks. There are kids meals which come in plastic beach buckets with shovels.

We found that the beach was much less crowded than the pool even at the busiest times of the day. Beach chairs can be rented at a nominal fee. The water is quite pleasant in temperate and is spotless. Unfortunately the beach is quite narrow and at high tide is almost completely covered. However, even at the busiest times, there was plenty to go around.

Our room was quite impressive having been decorated with all sorts of tropical type colors, peach light blue, light green and other pastel colors, having an ocean motif. We had an ocean view facing eastward and it is obvious that DVC put some thought into designing these rooms.

There are two restaurants located on the property; Shutter's and Sonya's. Shutters being the less formal of the two and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sonya's is the more formal serving only dinner. The dress is `resort casual' (ie collared shirt for the gentlemen). We only had the opportunity to eat at Shutter's and we were not overly impressed. The food was good however it was somewhat pricey and the service was less than Disney although more than other non-Disney restaurants. The theme was nautical with items on the wall. From what I have heard Sonya's is more expensive serving roughly the same items as Shutter's but again, more expensive. A character breakfast was recently started at Vero Beach. Guests would come from WDW and ask "where are the character breakfast's"?. A breakfast with Goofy and Max was recently started.

In keeping with the DVC tradition, there are member socials on Thursday evening and Saturday morning for all members at the resort.

It was interest to note that the majority (~75%) of those at the resort were NOT members. The reason that I know that is that when arm bands are given out at the pool they are of two types. One is given to members and cleverly say "members". The other type is a plain band of a different color each day. From this, you can spot those that are members and those that are not. For the weekend of our visit, it was surprising to note just how few members made up the guests. I would imagine that this is not as true for other resorts (OKW) as non-members have many other choices for accommodations. After hearing some conversations at the pool it seems that many use Vero as a `getaway' from the craziness at the parks.

There are activities outside the resort. Kennedy Space Center is located about an hour north of VB and makes an enjoyable educational day trip. Vero Beach is the spring home of the Los Angeles Dodgers as well as the Vero Beach Dodgers (farm team for LA). Vero Beach is known for its citrus groves and is home to the largest packing house in the state. Hales Grove offers tours daily.

The area around the resort is still in somewhat developmental stages. We left the resort one evening in search of a restaurant for dinner. We drove for about 30 minutes before coming upon a place to eat. Transportation is not provided and therefore a car is necessary. There is much potential in this area. There is nothing (restaurant or other)withing walking distance of the resort.

To do at the resort: Campfires (complete with smores), Green Cabin Room (lounge) with mediocre service and entertainment. A croquet lawn is behind the resort and on clear nights a telescope is set up here.

The area beaches are well known for being the hatching ground for Loggerhead turtles and each spring the females come on shore to lay their eggs. Once they hatch the baby turtles head for the sea. In season, tours of the beaches and nests are conducted (without disturbing them of course).

Summary

The DVC Vero Beach resort is a welcome addition to the DVC family of resorts. It is a resort where relaxation is the `theme'. There is no running to the parks for early admission and usually the biggest decision to make is where to eat. The landscape has been well done. The architecture of the building compliments the surrounding foliage and blends in quite nicely. It makes for a nice relaxing getaway from the craziness of the WDW resorts.