Does anybody else think that...

[ducklite]

The way some of the vacation home listings describe the homes are quite exaggerated?

I've seen a few lately that describe themselves as "quality construction" when they obviously aren't--I don't consider formica counter tops, cheap cabinetry, and low-end plumbing fixtures "quality."

Or the ones that are described as coming with "designer furnishings." By what designer? Most of those tend to be furnished with what looks like cheap furniture from the early 1980's did.

Or the best ones are described as having "high end furnishings" when the furniture in the rental photos was a set shown on the cover of the most recent Rooms to Go advertisement, hardly "high-end."

It seems to me that if they are exaggerating about those things, I'd question the other things being exaggerated about.

JMHO.

 

[isla bonita]

Personally I think that is along the same lines as our home is 10 minutes to Disney.

Some of the homes may be 10 miles away but certainly not 10 minutes away.

 

[ducklite]

Personally I think that is the same lines of 5 minutes to Disney.

Oh yeah, that's another classic. I saw one for a place on the south end of Poinciana the other day that said "just minutes to Disney." I guess it wasn't a lie, it was certainly "minutes," many of them, but it was definitely misleading, and if rented there I wouldn't give a good reference or refer them to anyone. Maybe wording like "Away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist areas, but within a short drive" might be better wording.

I've been looking through VRBO out of curiosity. As a potential renter I'd much rather be told the truth and have them use words like "comfortable furnishings" instead of a total lie "high quality furnishings." And frankly if I were traveling with kids, the words "designer" and "high quality" would probably scare me off. Although if I looked at the photos and turned on my brain, I'd quickly realize the truth with many of them.

 

[HunnyPots]

Ummmm... OK... we just rented our first vacation home ever in Indian Ridge for June '08 and you're making me a little nervous now.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

The way some of the vacation home listings describe the homes are quite exaggerated?

I've seen a few lately that describe themselves as "quality construction" when they obviously aren't--I don't consider formica counter tops, cheap cabinetry, and low-end plumbing fixtures "quality."

Think about it...without a "qualifier", "quality" can mean "high-quality" or "poor quality", or anything in between. The word "quality" alone doesn't really describe anything...although in common usage, we do tend to see it as "high quality" ("I consider Jackie O to have been a real quality person")

Or the ones that are described as coming with "designer furnishings." By what designer? Most of those tend to be furnished with what looks like cheap furniture from the early 1980's did.

Ikea is a designer of furniture. It is also cheap. The unfinished furniture store down the street is a designer of furniture...again, without qualifiers, "designer" means nothing. It's a meaningless buzzword, meant to infer a higher quality product without actually promising anything.

Or the best ones are described as having "high end furnishings" when the furniture in the rental photos was a set shown on the cover of the most recent Rooms to Go advertisement, hardly "high-end."

Again, high-end is relative. This might be the high-end product for stores such as Rooms to Go or Ikea.

It seems to me that if they are exaggerating about those things, I'd question the other things being exaggerated about.

JMHO.

I feel the same way. If they are using buzzwords to imply something, I'd question the ad. I think it's always a matter of "buyer beware".

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Personally I think that is along the same lines as our home is 10 minutes to Disney.

Some of the homes may be 10 miles away but certainly not 10 minutes away.

That is just lying. There is no way that a person, driving within the speed limit, could get to the edge of WDW property in the time quoted by many of these villas. Unless you're Flash Gordon, or a bird...

However, if they claim "minutes to Disney", well, that's not lying. Not even an exaggeration. Fiji is also "minutes to Disney", if you want to be literal. But it does imply a time that can be measured in whole minutes but not whole hours, which means if it takes 59 minutes or less to drive in normal traffic to WDW, then it doesn't even imply an exaggeration. Always good to talk to the owner of the property, if there's any questions at all about what's being offered. You can usually get a better feel for what's the truth and what's just eye-catching advertising.

 

[mom2of2]

Ummmm... OK... we just rented our first vacation home ever in Indian Ridge for June '08 and you're making me a little nervous now.

Indian Ridge is a nice area and the short terms there are nicely done.

 

[HunnyPots]

Indian Ridge is a nice area and the short terms there are nicely done.

Thank you! Of course, I'm not really too worried about how "high end" their furnishing are; I'm not buying the place, after all. I do want something clean and comfortable though. If they wanted to decorate it in pink and turquoise throughout, I couldn't care less! We got a 4 br house with private pool for $600 a week! I'm pretty happy about that!

Now, about the drive time to disney: that's something I DO care about! It is listed as "3 miles to disney world" with the drives times as "15-20 minutes to MK, 10 minutes to EP, MGM, and AK". Does that sound reasonable? Of course, I'm sure a lot depends on the season, time of day, etc. Just wondering...

 

[mom2of2]

those are all reasonable trip times.

if you have any other questions about the community just ask

 

[safetymom]

I think you can have a quality home and have formica countertops. Anyone can be creative in the description it is up to the renter to decide what exactly is in the unit.

 

[safetymom]

Indian Ridge is a great area.

 

[ducklite]

I think you can have a quality home and have formica countertops. Anyone can be creative in the description it is up to the renter to decide what exactly is in the unit.

It's not just the formica countertops. When the entire place looks like it was built with the cheapest everything available to the builder, I have a problem calling it "high quality construction."

I just feel that many of the listings are over represented and mis-leading.

 

[ado121]

what about claims of 'fireworks view'? is that possible in windsor hills condos?

 

[mom2of2]

what about claims of 'fireworks view'? is that possible in windsor hills condos?

yes, it's possible

 

[OhioDisneyDad]

It's pretty simple to figure out how long it would take to drive from a particular rental....JUST ASK FOR THE ADDRESS! Map it out using MapQuest and then you'll know how long it will take.

As for the quality question, common sense should tell that if you're paying $600 a week for "high quality" in the high season - you might wanna look somewhere else. Then again, it's all relative...one person's quality is another person's average. I've rented places that had marble countertops and places that didn't and it didn't impact my vacation at all!

 

[sympatico]

We stayed in a 6 bedroom at WH in Nov and you could see the fireworks from the upstairs master bedroom, quite good actually but only the Epcot ones, MK fireworks were blocked by house next door.
Quality of furniture doesn't matter much to us except for the mattresses. I really hate sleeping on a rock.

 

[deide71]

We have stayed at Emerald Islse X2 in the townhouse area. I was very happy with both the price and location of the resort. But I remember thinking how poorly built the units seemed to be. Now I live in Minnesota, where construction has to be hearty in order to make it through the winter. But I noticed the windows were poor quality, the walls seemed badly taped and put up, Flashing and gutters were cheap, and the furniture was definately low end stuff. It was more obvious when I moved to Old Key West the next week. While the decor seemed a bit dated, the furniture quality was quite good (except the crappy faux wood blinds) and the construcion quality seemed top notch.

However, I paid less than 80/night for 3br units and was totally satisfied with the value I received. I would think twice about buying one of these townhouses, but perfectly happy to rent one for the week. YMMV

 

[Mysteria]

The one thing I found funny while looking through homes to find ours for May is how many had the same Ikea entertainment unit. No matter the other furnishings there was that entertainment unit. Didn't matter to me I just found it funny.

Myst

 

[Mainebound]

I always wondered about the term "executive" in the listings. What on earth does that mean?

Also, "luxury" -- often not applicable.

Also, the backyard pools at vacation homes tend to be 14X28 or sometimes 15X30 -- not that big (although certainly big enough for a great vacation), yet are described as "huge" and even "massive".

We know the competition is fierce. I am sure if I were an owner I would be tempted to hyperbole as well, but I think they're just great without all the exaggerations.

 

[tnmom25]

Ummmm... OK... we just rented our first vacation home ever in Indian Ridge for June '08 and you're making me a little nervous now.

Which one did you rent? I'm looking at www.vrbo.com/5855.