Sheraton Lakeside Terrace Villas at Mountain Vista, Avon, Vail Valley

First of all be warned, this is not part of Sheraton Mountain Vista Villas. When I made the reservation for the 2 bedroom suite, I was told that the Sheraton Lakeside Terrace was right next door, insinuating that they are part of the same property. They are not, even though you check in at the Mountain Vista. Our location at Lakeside Terrace seemed like group of rooms that was once a condo complex that Sheraton slapped their logo on the outside of the building. Positives: They did a very nice job, the two bedroom suite looks EXACTLY like the photos on the Bonvoy website, and I was more than satisfied with the aesthetics. There were two bedrooms, and two pullout couches, I would pass to the privately owned Athletic club across the street. The Athletic club venture to guess it was 1500 square feet. We were not able to use the pool at the Mountain Vista Villas, but they more than made up to it be giving us a had a 2 big indoor pools with a great slide for kids, a jacuzzi, workout room etc. Much better than the small pool at the Mountain Vista Villas. The athletic club would be a dream during winter season. Negatives: No a/c, and ventilation is really lacking in the suite. Upon check in, I think it was a bit deceptive when you are told that there is no a/c, but "the policy is to let the cool mountain air cool down the room." Well that would be fine and dandy if the hand crank windows opened more 4-6 inches. There is literally zero cross ventilation. The weather was in the mid to high 80's during out stay. An yes there are two box fans and two tower fans provided, but I seriously felt like I was staying in a tenement in the city with those fans going. Thankfully we were able to put a box fan in front of the sliding glass door, and it definitely helped. Basically, you have to choose to let the morning light wake you or the sheer stuffiness wake you up. The master bath was so stuffy, we had to put a fan in the bathroom to blow the stuffy air into the master bedroom, gross. I don't think I would stay here during the summer again, there are better accommodations in the valley that have a/c. If you plan to visit during ski season, I would definitely stay here, it would be cozy, and the 2 bedroom suite has two gas fireplaces (one in living room, the other in the master bedroom) to make it even cozier. The dining room can accommodate up to 8 people, which make it great for a group. There is also a patio area with a patio table and 4 chairs, along with a nice bbq. If this location fixed the a/c situation, it would be a great place to stay.

I and my other three friends stayed there for two nights in last ski season. The room is a little old but the price is decent. It is more like an apartment than a hotel style. If you want to cook by yourself during your vacation, a nice choice it will be.

Note that this is not actually part of the Sheraton Mountain Vista Villas, even though you have to go check in there across the street. Unlike the Lakeside Villas, the Mountain Villas had a lobby, concierge, pool, hot tubs on the top floor, and arcade. If you stay in the Lakeside Villas, you cannot access the pool or hot tubs. That was incredibly disappointing considering they make it seem like the two villa properties are one in the same. The Lakeside villas is just comprised of two small standalone buildings. There is no lobby or amenities directly on site. If you are staying here in the summer, beware. It was HOT. Impossible to sleep. There is no air conditioning and it did not cool down inside at night. We could not leave the 2nd bedroom window open because it overlooks the main exterior walkway and we did not feel comfortable having our child stay in that room with the window open for anyone to climb in. Even when we left the window open in the master bedroom, there was no breeze coming in whatsoever. But we honestly couldn't even keep it open since there is a huge playground right outside and people played on it until all hours of the night. It was incredibly loud. Children screaming all day. If you are looking to sit on your balcony and relax, this is not the place. But, if you have kids, the playground and beach on the lake next door was very convenient.

Staying at the Sheraton Mountain Vista is no different than buying something disposable in America - it’s meant to fail you sooner rather than later. This lodging is, in part if not wholly, associated with timeshare use. I elected to stay a week in a 1 bedroom apartment-like suite. Although the kitchen is small, it is fully functional with standard size appliances. There is a 4-seat dining table off to the side with a stackable washer and dryer behind a closed door, adjacent to it. The living room is adequately sized and spaced, and has a sliding glass door that opens to a very small patio with a gas grill that takes up about 40% of the space. Behind the living room wall, complete with a gas fireplace (that only works from Sept-May) and a hanging 45 inch television, is a good-sized bedroom. It’s equipped with a king bed and an end-of-bed padded sitting bench with built-in drawers, and a small closet with a hanging safe. There is a second fireplace and another hanging, slightly smaller television. There is also a moderately large, triangular soaking tub. To the side of the bedroom, with access from the living room is the bathroom with double sink vanity, adequate enclosed shower and large toilet room. Superficially, the room doesn’t disappoint… until it’s used. In no specific order- *The carpeted floor feels like there is no pad. It may as well have been one huge rug cut to fit on top of a hard floor; *The coffee maker lacks a basket to hold the filter and the coffee carafe lid is broken, allowing steam to escape and burn your thumb if you use it to keep the lid from falling off when pouring coffee from the glass container; *One of the bathroom sinks has a cold water faucet that lacks any pressure beyond a thin pour; *The ceiling exhaust fan near the shower seems to be wired to flush the room with hot air rather than to draw warm, moist air out; *The cable television lacks a consistent signal, creating a frequent, distorted image when a signal isn’t stalled or missing entirely; *The management allows children to remain in the swimming pool after dark, screaming enough to require that windows and glass doors be closed to muffle their noise. BTW, those are openings required for ventilation purposes since the building doesn’t have air-conditioning due to it’s mountainous setting. Why the halls are cool and the Fitness Room is literally cold, seems to be the exceptions; and *The 8 floor building with approximately 300 rooms, was serviced by a single elevator when a second one was taken offline. This is a Westin wanna-be, an attribute it will never attain due to a lack of detail and attention by ghost management. If you enjoy hearing children running up and down the halls while parents-in-training would rather talk with friends, laughing and playing loud music while keeping their doors open for cool hallway air, congratulations, this is your full price, mediocre disappointment.