Bad experience at Windsor Palms

[shamrock30]

My husband and I just got back from Orlando. We had rented a 3 bedroom condo at Windsor Palms from closesttodisney. We arrived after midnight, and were not prepared for what we found. I had never seen any kind of negative review of Windsor Palms.

If I recall correctly, Windsor Palms is fairly new. I'm not sure how our condo became so worn so quickly. The upholstery and rugs were badly stained, and the walls had a lot of bug splatter and needed to be scrubbed and/or re-painted. The bedspreads also needed to be cleaned, and the shower curtain liners in both bathrooms were mildewed. There was also mildew on the wall in the showers, and the bathroom rugs hadn't been vacuumed. The master bedroom didn't have any pillowcases, even in the closet.

Let me stress here that the rep at closesttodisney was very nice and responsive to our complaints. They moved us the next day. They had nothing else available at Windsor Palms, so we were sent to a house in a nearby development. They said that the condo would be thoroughly cleaned before it was rented again.

However, since we only had five full days in Orlando, losing a good part of of our first day was pretty frustrating.

 

[Big V]

It's too bad you had a bad experience there. At least they were able to accomodate you to a different place.

 

[Sandyincanada]

wow, sorry to hear that. I don't know anything about Windsor Palms but its always good to hear the good and the bad reviews of condos/hotels. To me, a place can be older but thats never an excuse for dirty. Hope the rest of your trip was great.

 

[djm99]

I stayed in a 6 BR house in Windsor Palms last summer and it was in Wonderful condition. We got there a little early and housekeeping wasn't finished, but they did an excellent job once they finished.

To my understanding each condo, house, and townhouse are individually owned and the owners choose a management company, and the management company hires the cleaning people. Its too bad you had a bad experience, but I don't think thats common of Windsor Palms. As a matter of fact, I thought they were accommodating. You should complain to the management company (closetodisney) - they are responsible for keeping up the property. I would also go to google (search engine) and if you remember the address see if the owners have their own website (often owners try to get business directly with themselves and also deal with a management company because the owners live out of town). The owner could not even be aware that the property is so run down and in need of repair.

Although I was exceptionally pleased with the house I rented this summer, the owner was not aware that someone hit the garage door. The damage was small, but noticable - and I didn't want to get blamed for it (Its the cleaning people that report damage to the management company)- I believe. The person that cleaned our house had not noticed the damage (and of course didn't report it) and she spoke VERY LITTLE english.

 

[Daisy57b]

What address were you in?? I'm checking in tonight at Windsor Palms and I'm using closesttodisney.

Can someone tell me what mile marker to turn at to get to Windsor Palms. I've forgotten already!!
Thanks!!

 

[disneysteve]

Very sorry to hear about your experience. Its ashame if some owners let their properties go like that because it makes people hesitant to rent there. That's why I prefer to rent directly from the owner. I have found that being in touch with the owner I get a good feel for how involved they are with their property. That way, you also see the actual property you are getting, rather than being assigned one on arrival.

Its good that they were able to get you in another place but I'm sure that was a hassle and waste of time having to move everything again.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

That's what I don't like about the places on the net that have only "sample" pictures. Now, I imagine you can get burned either way. But I like that I can actually look at pictures of the place I am renting as on villadirect.com or when you rent from the owner and they show pictures, as on vrbo.com.

Like I said, I imagine a person can still get burned, but there's something about having those pictures and being able to say, "this is what you contracted for, and this isn't it", or,"it's just like in the pictures, beautiful!".........JMO

 

[JANNYANS]

As an owner I can maybe throw a little light on why some homes are a bit worse for wear .Sometimes it is the owners not being able to keep on top of what is happening to their homes especially if they are in another country and if they happen to have a man co that is not doing their job right then things quickly get out of hand.Other times it is because some agents that you can rent homes through do not pay their owners very good rates and so the owners -unless they can keep improving their home and up grading items out of their savings -do not have a very good cash flow to keep their homes up to standard.I had my home with a very big agent in the area when i first bought it and they regularly out groups of 12 people in it and I received $50 per night from them I can tell you I wouldn't be an owner now if I was still with them with rates like that .

 

[disneysteve]

Other times it is because some agents that you can rent homes through do not pay their owners very good rates and so the owners -unless they can keep improving their home and up grading items out of their savings -do not have a very good cash flow to keep their homes up to standard.

Jan makes a good point. You should approach with some caution when you see a home being rented for below market prices. If all the 3-bedroom homes in a certain development are listed between $100 and $125/nite and you find one listed for only $65/nite, it may not be the bargain that it seems to be.