For those of you who have stayed in a house/pool home...

2Pirates2Princesses

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 15, 2010
Where did you stay and who did you rent through? Did it matter to you if the community was gated or not? I recently had a dream that we rented a house for our next Disney trip and had a blast, so I'm considering looking into this a bit more seriously now that it has piqued my interest :laughing:. We've stayed in a condo at Windsor Hills and loved it; but in my searches it seems like the best deals there are with the condos and townhouses. I don't mind looking into another community/development for a house rental as long as it is as conveniently located to Disney as Windsor Hills is. Thanks for any feedback :thumbsup2
 
Gated does not matter to me.

I haven't rented one in years, and it looks like the owners either sold or possibly moved to Orlando full time; their web site no longer exists.
 
I used Home Away to rent a home in Windsor Hills the second time we went with our extended family. The first time I used a rental company. The house was in Davenport, about 15 minutes outside the gate. It was not a bad drive at all. I believe both homes were single family homes.
 
We've stayed in Emerald Island and Terra Verde. Some of the areas around Orlando isn't the nicest...so we definitely look for gated communities. It's just another layer of comfort for us...yes they are usually more expensive, but it's worth it in our minds. We use VRBO and look for what we want in a house and only reserve from houses that have several positive reviews. It has worked well for us so far.
 


I have rented at Windsor Palms and the gate ended up being a pain to deal with. We had to wait in a long line of people returning back. I usually rent in Indian Creek, you can get a 5 bedroom house for around 1100 a week. I have looked at Emerald Island and Formosa Gardens but the prices are usually higher. I always look at VRBO/home away.
 
We have stayed at Winsor Palms (through Allstarvacationhomes) and TerraVerde through vrbo. Both were excellent
 


Formosa Gardens for me.. gated, no attendant. Lots to choose from, but yes, expect to pay at least $1000 a week.
 
I have one rented for four nights in Southern Dunes golf community in June. A three bedroom house w/ pool for $90 a night will make it hard to stay on property again.
 
We did Sunset Lakes through Home Away and Emerald Island through VRBO. This time I found the property on Trip Advisor but booked through the mgmt co directly. This time we are trying Indian Creek which isn't gated but which has a good name. We rented a two bed condo on one trip and it was way better than a hotel room but a real house with a private pool can be had for not much more money.
 
We haven't stayed yet but we are using VRBO to rent a 5 bedroom home in Emerald Island complete with pool, spa and game room. Plus the community has an amazing pool we will have access to as well if needed.
 
We have tried several different communities while visiting the area but over the past several years we have chosen to stay at Windsor Hills. The resort is gated and is always very well maintained and quiet. We found a villa that we love and never disappoints. It is owned by one family who keeps everything in top shape and we can count on it being clean and well equipped for our stay. We have had great luck there and have no plans to try anywhere else. If the owners decide to sell, then we make consider looking elsewhere.
 
Davenport has a good selection of gated communities and a decent location in terms of park access. Shopping and restaurants are also located close by. We had a great experience there for our only off site trip. I still prefer on site but have no complaints about that experience other than traffic at times on I4.
 
Thank you for all the replies. I am starting to think a pool home would really work out well for us. We have five kiddos ages 14 months to 13 years and I like the idea of just being able to come back from the parks and put the baby down for a nap while the older kids enjoy the pool, that way me and DH don't have to worry about one of us having to pack up to go down to the pool since we'd have our own. :thumbsup2 We also plan to have a non-park day, so having a pool home would be nice for that too. I also like the idea of being able to park right outside our house too. We would love to stay at Windsor Hills again. It is such a nice, quiet, well maintained community that is super close to the Disney parks; but it seems like the pool home rentals there are a bit pricier than other places. I am going to look into Windsor Palms and Indian Creek as I've heard about those communities from a few people. I know Indian Creek isn't gated, but it's reputable and also close. I am going to keep checking for deals at Windsor Hills though because we just loved it there. :)
 
Emerald Island is gated like WH and has lots of pool homes. We've stayed there a few times and really like it. Will be staying in a 4 br there at the end of the month. Rolling Hills is next to WH and across form Indian Creek and isn't gated. Friends of ours have stayed there. It's not a large subdivision like WH.
 
Where did you stay and who did you rent through? Did it matter to you if the community was gated or not? I recently had a dream that we rented a house for our next Disney trip and had a blast, so I'm considering looking into this a bit more seriously now that it has piqued my interest :laughing:. We've stayed in a condo at Windsor Hills and loved it; but in my searches it seems like the best deals there are with the condos and townhouses. I don't mind looking into another community/development for a house rental as long as it is as conveniently located to Disney as Windsor Hills is. Thanks for any feedback :thumbsup2


we have used VRBO.com for at least a decade. A least few dozen rentals, and have only ever had one that was less than we expected. Nope two, but the second was not from VRBO. To me being able to go out and swim a few laps at my leisure or spend an evening cooking real food makes it all so much better.

plus is it so fast to leave and get to Disney or the beach or whatever when have a full house instead of tripping over each other in a hotel room. 4 bathrooms makes morning showers a breeze.....

Just remember to ask the owners about everything and anything you are unsure of. And mostly if they don't brag it they don't have it or simply assumed you knew already. so always ask about those things that matter to you.
 
In post # 14 Steve mentioned Davenport

In case you are looking at a map Beware Davenport covers a large area as it is used as

a Postal Code ( Davenport City is a very small community about 14 miles beyond the Hwy I4 & off Hwy 27 & heading towards Haines City ).

Most communities on Hwy 27 going South off Hwy 192 are named as Davenport .

These communities are All within 15 miles of Disney area.

By the way being in a " Gated " community does not really matter as thieves can partake of their activities anywhere

Gates will not stop them......... Gates will slow them down & might deter them .. but villas still will be burgled.
 
Yes thanks for clarifying the Davenport locale. We originally used GPS to locate Davenport and found out the hard way how large this community is. Our rental was Solana I think. Really nice house and community center enclosed pool and barbecue.
 
Emerald Island is gated like WH and has lots of pool homes. We've stayed there a few times and really like it. Will be staying in a 4 br there at the end of the month. Rolling Hills is next to WH and across form Indian Creek and isn't gated. Friends of ours have stayed there. It's not a large subdivision like WH.


Where is Emerald Island located? Is this the community that is past WH and further down off of Old Lake Wilson Road?
 

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