Windsor Hills Townhome

[Anc96]

This townhouse had no name... it's just the " 3 bedroom Townhouse" on this site : http://www.vacationcentralflorida.com/3bedroomtownhouse.html
A lot of people here have stayed at Dave Robinson's condos. Since everyone had such good experiences, I went through his site for our first condo/townhome rental.

The townhouse is owned by John Cline, and everything on his site is true! This is a great townhouse! It was very clean, every thing was in immaculate condition, and everything seemed brand new. It even looks better in person than on his site!
He had a binder with 'need to know' things about the townhome, and the names and locations of local grocery stores, pharmasies and attractions. All the information for the property manager, Donna, was in there too. She called on our second day to be sure everything was ok. The one time I called her and left a message, she got back to me within about 10 minutes.
3 bedrooms/3 baths, and very tastefully Disney themed. Nothing seemed childish at all, except the kid's room which is supposed to be childish:) You didn't lose any magic at all staying here.. everywhere you looked was a disney reminder. All the pictures in every room (including the bathrooms) were
Disney pictures, framed and under glass. If you look at the website you'll see the pictures over the sofa and get the idea.
Checking in was a breeze. We got directions from the front gate, drove to the townhome and entered the code for the key lockbox (this is sent to you before checkin) right at the front door. No searching for a management company, no waiting for checkin. Leaving was just as easy. The only thing they ask is for you to wash and dry the towels.

If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them. I would love to rent from John again next year. Right now this townhome is already booked for our dates though :( Maybe he'll have another by then.

[poohangel]

Thanks for the review of this townhouse. We have this one booked for our April trip.
Can you tell me what things I will need to bring?

[Anc96]

Thanks for the review of this townhouse. We have this one booked for our April trip.
Can you tell me what things I will need to bring?


First.. bring a bath mat. The bathtubs are very slippery when wet! I put a towel in the first night, then bought bathmats at Walmart. They don't have them in the tubs for sanitary reasons.
There was dishwasher detergent that the last people may have left, but no automatic dishwasher detergent. You'll need paper towels, refills for toilet paper (they do start you with some), and laundry detergent/fabric softener. There were also trash bags under the sink, but we also purchased some before we realized it. I don't know if the trash bags were left by the previous renters. You need to provide all personal items such as shampoo/cream rinse, soap ect...

They have dishes, utensils, a pot set, things like that. They even had a pizza pan and colander. There's an ice maker in the freezer, so you don't need to buy ice. They even have a few pool toys. They have loads of towels... but no real pool/beach towels.

I can't think of anything else off hand... I'll update it if I do think of more.

You'll LOVE this place!

[poohangel]

thank you so much. i cant wait.

[Anc96]

I never thought to mention things about very young children since my dd is 11. There is a pack n play and a high chair (both brand new in still in the boxes) in the kitchen pantry closet. There is also a safetygate around the pool, AND a very childproof lock on the sliding door. So childproof my 11 yr old had to show me how to use it.. lol. But seriously, a young child cannot open the sliding glass doors because the lock is too high, and the way you need to manipulate it is too hard for a child under say 5 or so.

I'm trying to think of other young child things.. can't offhand, but if you have any questions I'll do my best to answer.

If you are already booked for this townhome, anything you want to know you can email John to ask. He's always gotten back to me quickly.

I just loved it here... I know everyone else will love their stay too!

[poohangel]

thanks in fact my little girl will be 2 when we go so knowing the safety gates are there is great. Can you remember if there was a toaster, Faith is a toast fanatic.

[HappieMommie]

So good to hear this! We have a condo rented from Dave Robinson in Sept. :)

[Anc96]

thanks in fact my little girl will be 2 when we go so knowing the safety gates are there is great. Can you remember if there was a toaster, Faith is a toast fanatic.

Yes.. there's a toaster, coffee maker, microwave (stove hood), Fruit hanger I think that's what you call it..lol), blender, garbage disposal and dishwasher. There are oven mitts (Mickey ones) and potholders. I can't think of anything that you would need in the kitchen that isn't there.
:)

[richmo]

I was just looking at this one too...looks interesting and I'm glad to read about a good experience here.

Here's a question: most of the condos on their website are in fairly close proximity to the community pool. I see that the townhouse has its own pool, but I think my kids would enjoy the larger pool at the clubhouse. Is the townhouse in easy walking distance to the main pool (for that matter, can townhouse guests even use the community pool or do they have to use the private pool?)

[emmsmama]

You can use the community pool. There is a $6 card charge (for each person I think), but it is refundable. I can't speak as to how close the townhouse it is to the community pool as I haven't been there yet but Anc can lyk.

[loriandmatt]

if you don't mind me asking....what sort of security deposite did you have to put down and when (if it was actual funds and not just a held copy of your credit card) was it returned to you after check out/end of your stay?

[Anc96]

I was just looking at this one too...looks interesting and I'm glad to read about a good experience here.

Here's a question: most of the condos on their website are in fairly close proximity to the community pool. I see that the townhouse has its own pool, but I think my kids would enjoy the larger pool at the clubhouse. Is the townhouse in easy walking distance to the main pool (for that matter, can townhouse guests even use the community pool or do they have to use the private pool?)

As Emmasmom said, you get the key card (correct at $6 per person, and is refunded when you return them) to the community pool, which is pretty big with a nice slide. It's clean and it's well heated too. I won't stay in a pool if the water isn't warm enough and I stayed in this one. I didn't have any problems finding a chair either.
There was a variety of different people in the pool, younger kids, families, teenagers and such, and they were all very friendly! We used the pool several times and everytime we met very nice people.

We drove to the pool. You can walk to it, but for us, in the heat, it was too far. Maybe if you cut between the townhomes it would be shorter. It looked like there were paths that cut between the homes. It's not close enough for the kids to go alone, unless they're teenagers. We're lazy.. especially because we usually went after a day at the parks! We didn't want any extra walking..lol. I'm not 100% sure what time the pool is open till, the lastest we stayed was about 10:ish.

Can't say how much I loved this place!

A couple of points: The "gameroom" isn't much of a gameroom with only 1 pooltable and a couple of video games. The gym is small, but the equipment looked new. And, when we parked in front of the office (where the pool, store, game room etc are), we noticed a very large number of ants around the borders of the folliage. That really made me a bit nervous. But, I didn't see any ants at all in any inside area, and believe me I looked.
At the townhomes, since they are all enclosed, you don't get any bugs. Though one day dd found a little lizzard..lol. She wanted to keep it! :scared1: I made her put it outside the fencing to be with it's little friends.


You will really love your stay here....



Sidenote: Emmasmom. LMK if you find what we left! It would be obvious to you that I left it I think, I just hope it'll still be there :)

[Anc96]

if you don't mind me asking....what sort of security deposite did you have to put down and when (if it was actual funds and not just a held copy of your credit card) was it returned to you after check out/end of your stay?

Every owner is different, but our owner, John Cline, did not require a security deposit at all. Not even a copy/imprint of our credit card. Along with all the good reviews, it was a deciding factor of choosing this home. I hate to have hundreds of dollars in limbo waiting for it to be returned to me. Also, their cancellation policy is great. If they can re-rent the condo/townhome, there is no fee AT ALL. Considering our usually vacation time, I know if I needed to cancel they would have no problem re-renting. Of course it'd have to be a dire emergency for me to cancel my vacation plans! My vacation itself is a dire emergency!!

[richmo]

Can't say how much I loved this place!

You will really love your stay here....

That pretty much sums it up! Thanks for your input...I'll have to seriously consider this place for our trip next year. My kids will be 12/14, so they'll have no problem taking a hike to the pool. A couple of the condos on their site look pretty good too.

[loriandmatt]

Wow - checked out the link that you provided to their site and the prices for this place is unbelievable! i had to look a few times to make sure that i was seeing it right......they are charging the same price for this townhouse as for the condos they own???? and those prices are realy that low????

i feel like an idiot. i stayed at WH townhome just a month ago and payed almost double that. it was appointed very similarly as well.

i am bookmarking that site and am off to make my vacation plans for next year.

(i could use the extra dough too......have you seen the new prices for APs? :scared1: )

thanks - lori

[Anc96]

Wow - checked out the link that you provided to their site and the prices for this place is unbelievable! i had to look a few times to make sure that i was seeing it right......they are charging the same price for this townhouse as for the condos they own???? and those prices are realy that low????

i feel like an idiot. i stayed at WH townhome just a month ago and payed almost double that. it was appointed very similarly as well.

i am bookmarking that site and am off to make my vacation plans for next year.

(i could use the extra dough too......have you seen the new prices for APs? :scared1: )

thanks - lori

Yes, they charge the same price:)
They seem like wonderful people, very family oriented. I just hope I can always rent with them since I'm spoiled now..lol. Since it's only the 2 of us, a condo will do, but we really loved the splash pool!

Yes, I've seen the new AP prices... fortunately for us, my bf buys us our APs so it's one less cost (and a big one) that I have to worry about. He's wonderful :love:

[emmsmama]

I think the only "catch" and the reason the rates are so low is because they only do Sat-Sat rentals so they don't have days here and there when it isn't rented. Originally I was planning on doing a few days onsite at WDW or a couple nights in a Universal Studios hotel, but since they only do Sat-Sat rentals I just rented a full two weeks with them. However, for that great of a rate I don't mind at all!

[momofdbsdc]

Thanks for sharing your review! I was just looking at this place last night and considering it for our next vacation!

[castanhope]

Wow, this property sounds great! We are going next Aug. w/another family and this would save us SOOO much money over staying onsite. The one thing I'm not quite clear on is exactly what is the difference between the condos and the townhomes? Is it only that the townhomes have a private pool? Just wondering if someone can help me out w/the descriptions!

[Anc96]

Wow, this property sounds great! We are going next Aug. w/another family and this would save us SOOO much money over staying onsite. The one thing I'm not quite clear on is exactly what is the difference between the condos and the townhomes? Is it only that the townhomes have a private pool? Just wondering if someone can help me out w/the descriptions!


The townhomes are 3bedroom/3 baths, and yes, they have the small spash pool. I believe the 3 bedroom condos are 2 baths. Also, it's very convenient that you can park right at the front door of your townhome. With condos, you have to park in the lot and walk to wherever your condo is. Of course, you're at Disney, walking is to be expected anyway... but why walk more than you have to..lol.

I would think if you're sharing a rental, the townhome is a bit nicer since you have 2 floors. I loved the townhome we had, and the people we rented from were really great, you couldn't get any better!

[TinkerbellNYC]

This is very helpful. We are considering this owner, but there are so many it's sometimes confusing!

[sympatico]

You can use the community pool. There is a $6 card charge (for each person I think), but it is refundable. I can't speak as to how close the townhouse it is to the community pool as I haven't been there yet but Anc can lyk.

Just to clarify it isn't $6. per person, it's $6. per card that you get. We only got one for the family. When we returned it we got the $6. back.

[sympatico]

Wow, this property sounds great! We are going next Aug. w/another family and this would save us SOOO much money over staying onsite. The one thing I'm not quite clear on is exactly what is the difference between the condos and the townhomes? Is it only that the townhomes have a private pool? Just wondering if someone can help me out w/the descriptions!

The condos are 2 or 3 bedroom and two bathrooms all on one level in 4 story buildings. You park in the parking lot and take stairs or elevator.
The townhouses are 2 story. Upstairs you have the master bedroom, usually a king and master bath, a twin bedroom and bath, stacked washer and dryer. Downstairs you have the entry, queen bedroom and bath, full kitchen, dining/living room with patio doors that open onto your deck with private 12 by 12 ft.splash pool. You can park beside your front door.
Just the townhouses and 4 - 6 bedroom pool homes have the private pools. The main pool is available for all to use, it's very nice and usually warm.