Disney’s Vero Beach Resort…’Welcome Home’… #TravelReview
(Reader note: I was provided a media rate when staying at the resort, but was not otherwise compensated and all opinions below remain my own.)
‘Welcome Home!’
We heard that comforting phrase repeatedly at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, as we passed the guard gate into the parking lot, walking into the doors of the lobby, and again at the check-in desk in the lobby filled with artwork from past orange shipping crates. It was almost like they knew I really was visiting my hometown, Vero Beach, where I spent my first 17 years of life, spending endless days on the beach, playing in the surf, discovering my passion for the water and the coast. But they didn’t know. That’s simply the way they greet everyone when they visit Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. This is your home while you’re here and they do their best to make you feel welcome.
It was a special visit for me. Typically, when I go ‘home’, I stay with family. But I wanted to feel more like it was vacation this time, so I looked into Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. In all these years, I’d never been there. You already know I’m a big Disney fan (my family went several times a year when I was growing up, living just an hour and a half from the theme parks, but we could only afford to stay at the campground at Fort Wilderness, not any fancy resort hotel). As a grown up, I’ve been lucky enough to be a guest at several of Disney’s hotels, from the Yacht Club to Animal Kingdom. I was excited to compare the Beach Resort to those experiences.
Situated on Florida’s Treasure Coast (yes, real treasure has been found off the coast here, from Spanish ships that sunk 300 years ago!), the resort is literally right on the beach. There was no nearby theme park at this beach resort, but there was, well, the beach! To me, that’s adventure enough. There’s also the resort pool, complete with a slide that looks like it wraps around a sand castle, and a small putt putt course, along with other fun options you can sign the kids up for, from contests by the pool to tie-dye t-shirt making type crafts.
Signs of Mickey were snuck in everywhere, even along the wooden fence around the pool.
The hotel lobby feels like your living room, with several sitting areas where various families were playing board games each night.
We didn’t sample the restaurants, though I was tempted to go for the all-you-can-eat seafood night. And the resort was wonderful about allowing us to have guests visit us at the property, making it so family could join us for our activities there (the rule is one guest for each person registered at the resort).
We took walks on the beach at morning and night, checking out the sea turtle nests that are marked off so that visitors don’t interrupt the natural cycle of nature. And we learned on our first day that if you want a table with an umbrella by the pool, you better send someone down to sit there at the crack of dawn.
It was quite a treat for me to walk through the halls and check out the artwork and historical artifacts, especially since one photo included an image of my great, great grandmother (my great, great grandfather founded Indian River County and owned Indian River Groves, as well as serving as the first mayor of Vero Beach), taken in 1929. My kids got a kick out of seeing that, too.
So, for me, it truly was a special visit home, but I am certain others who visit will feel like it’s home away from home, too.
(My great, great grandmother is in the 2nd row, 2nd from the left. I believe this is the first photo I had ever seen of her.)
Check out our video of our stay here:
[hana-code-insert name=’disneyvb’ /]
