We, the group I play weekly DnD with, started playing this module over Thanksgiving and it has been a great deal of fun for one off's since then. I think we're about 1-2 nights away from the final confrontation. Part of what is really fun with the reinvisioning of the module, and the first one truth told, is that not everything in the castle is under Strahd's control and everything does have a reason for being where it is doing what it's doing. There are critters that you can negotiate with, some you fight, traps and turns and twists. Even the storyline is based on player's choices. When you visit the gypsy in town the lay out of the cards determines which of several backstories is controlling the adventure. The book also gives guidelines for having the module run in a short, medium or long fashion so you can make a multiple month campaign if you wanted to.
The maps are, admittedly, huge and very twisty and turned about, but with a prepared DM it's not too bad.
The matching up of gothic horror and DnD works very well in this case and I agree that it is well worth the effort and expense.