Booking a Villa

[jessie2]

Hi

Does anyone know the best way to book a villa being able to choose location. We have friends thinking of late August, they have been offered a package with villa but at one of 4 locations: Westridge Bridgewater Crossing Clear Creek and Southern Dunes. Looking at the Kissimme map site they look a fair way out.

Thanks

Jessie

 

[eeyore1998]

Hi!

We have booked a villa at Sunset Lakes (close to disney) for 3 weeks £450 a week . pool and jacuzzi, sleeps 8_10. From May24th to June 14th.
Is low season there so booked it from US

www.floridaleisure.com

Last time we stayed in Chatham Circle , slept 6, £400 a week from 'Pat' at visitors centre on 192

www.ticketman.com

Both pple origanally from UK
Barbara

 

[Minx]

Hi
We've booked a villa on Indian Ridge again close to Disney, private pool 3 bedrooms. We are going for 3 weeks 21st July through to 11th August it has cost us £500. per week.


www.jodi-florida.com

 

[floridamum]

Hi Eeyore,

I know Pat at the visitors centre on the 192, She is very helpful, If you call in to see her you will be offered coffee or orange for the children while she gives you any help you may need.

 

[Sue F UK]

Our villa is on Sunset Lakes which is very close to Disney and is managed by Alexander homes inc. Their website is www.floridasunshine.com and you can view each house by location & size before booking.

The villas that you mentioned are out on the Highway 27 which is a long way from Disney and even further from Universal /Seaworld. In early morning traffic it can take up to an hour to reach Disney from some of these developments.

Hope that helps.

 

[jessie2]

Thanks for that really useful information, i'll pass it on.

Jessie

 

[snookhams]

We have a three bed villa with pool booked for three weeks from 9th August, at Indian Point, we have stayed here before and its not far from Disney 5-10 mins depending on traffic and real close to the Super Walmart near the medieval times, it was only £450 per week we thought that this was a real bargain considering the time of year, have a look at www.villasflorida.org

 

[The Murfs]

Try this site it lists villas by location and size

www.floridapremiervillas.co.uk

We are booked for 3 weeks this summer at Hamiltons reserve off Pionciana Bv.

Anybody else stayed around here and can give opinion of area???

 

[squitty]

Hi Murfs..


We stayed on Hamiltons Reserve back in May 99, we have also stayed on the adjacent Chatham Park a few times.
We like this area as it is very close to the 192. It is not that far from Wal-Mart either

 

[MalcolmC]

Jessie2,

We have a 4 bedroom villa at Hampton Lakes which is across the road (US-27) from Westridge and we think that is the ideal location.

Before buying we always stayed at Westridge. It's less than 15 minutes drive to WDW and very easy to get to all the other attractions via Interstate 4.

The best (and cheapest) way is to book directly from the owners. They will (should!) tell you exactly what you are getting, where it is, what shops, restaurants etc. are nearby and so on. They will know more about their own property than a management company who may have hundreds of houses to "shift".

You will normally have to hire a car but driving isn't a problem in Florida - just keep you left foot glued to the carpet and keep thinking "drive on the right, drive on the right, drive on ......."

 

[Lakul]

Hi Jessie2

I'm also an owner at Highlands Reserve which is very close to Malcolm's place at Hampton Lakes.

Highlands Reserve is in a quiet setting away from the parks but only a 15 minute drive from Disney.

I agree with Malcolm, book direct from the owner. You will get a good rate and a one to one service. You can ring or Email us and we will help you and answer any questions you might have. This also give first timers reassurance when booking.

Kerry

 

[FLeisure]

Jessie,
The best way to book what you want is to ask !! If you know which area you want to be in, just ask whoever you are thinking of booking with if they have homes / villas in that area.

Many people / companies have web sites with pictures of homes on and you should , in this day and age, be able to select the actual home you wish to stay in.

Booking directly with an owner can be the cheapest way of doing things but it isn't necessarily so. The old addage of you get what you pay for certainly comes into play, so do be careful of taking the "too good to be true deal". Further, it is imperative that the owner, if you choose to book direct, has a management company looking after the home. If you get a problem, you need local help.

The downside of booking with an owner is that if the property isn't what you expected (and some owners do mislead as do MC's) then you won't be able to move to a different property. With a MC you usually can.

Either way....have a great time.

 

[Jennie4647]

Jessie,

Location map :

http://www.1stfororlando.com/Location-map.htm

Questions you need to ask yourself. How close do I want to be? Will I want to pop home during the day for a bit of R&R? Will I use the villa as a base or I will I be spending quite alot of time there? Do I need lots of TVs, games, internet connection? Do I need good large supermarkets near by? Do I want a commuity around me, i.e. tennis, club house, golf, cinema? Do I just want peace and quiet? Do I want company? How much am I willing to pay? Will I need pool heat? Would I like a spa?

All these questions need to be answered and then look for the property /community that fits your bill. We have chosen Wyndham Palms this October because it looks perfect for us. There are loads of villas out there, I booked direct with an owner this time, although last time I went through a TA. I feel more confident having been there to be able to book everything myself. I don't think you can get a 'bad' villa, even their basic villas are well above average.

BUT there is a wide choice across a wide expanse with varying prices, shop around. Happy hunting.

Jennie

 

[MalcolmC]

Quite right Jenny, you would be hard pressed to find a bad villa.

I forgot to mention Southern Dunes. It is located on the edge of Haines City. There's a Wal*Mart superstore and a Winn-Dixie supermarket just outside the entrance. Thats not as bad as it sounds - the nearest houses are some way away - they are scattered over Southern Dunes Golf Course which is a very nice location. It is only about 15+ minutes drive from WDW as well.

The other two locations I don't know very well so I won't comment

 

[UKDEB]

Jessie

We have booked directly with owners through the <b>Private Villas</b> and <b>Holiday Villas</b> magazines which are always in stock at WH Smith.

Another good way of getting a good idea of what is about is to use a search engine such as <b>Google</b> and type key words such as 'Kissimmee+Villas', 'Orlando+Villas' or simply the name of the sub-division (Westridge, Clear Creek, etc).

 

[neilybealy]

we booked a villa for the first time with Florida Villas Select

i found them really helpful and they were recommended by a friend at work who's used them 2 or 3 times.

we go out in sept 2002 and shall let you know how we get on

neil

 

[JohnnySharp]

Jessie,

We have been to Orlando 8 times and have just booked our 9th.
We have stayed in a villa only once and were dissapointed, hence this time we have searched heavily on the internet and have found a perfect one for us.

Ideally you want a property owned in the UK, must not be more than 4 years old, must be South Facing (gets the sun all day), have a private pool area, must have good quality photos, must be less than £450 a week (no need to pay more), and must be in a good location I would suggest the following:
Windsor Palms, Florida Pines, Indian Creek or Indain Point.

We have booked 2 weeks at an Indian Point villa, it is 3 years old, well maintanined, fantastic pool area not overlooked by other properties, is only half a mile from the US 192.

check out : www.villas2000.com/homes/1555.html

good luck
Johnny

 

[Shardeblil]

Hi
We have a villa at Oak Island Cove (4 bed 3 bath), and I would just like to say that, booking through the owner, I think, you get a more personal response.
As someone has stated before that the owner knows more about their own villa, than a management company.
With a management company, most of the time you do not know where you are staying until you arrive.
The cost all depends on the time of year, during the summer months the a/c is on most of the time and the owners still need to cover their bills, most owners also have to pay their mortgages, licenses and insurances, so to be honest most of us do not make a profit, we just bought the villas, so we could say that we knew where we would be staying every year, with the satisfaction and peace of mind that for such an expensive holiday, (flights, tickets for attractions and cars), we knew we were getting a nice place to stay.
Can I also just say that most UK owners do have mc's or caretaker's, so if there is any sort of problem they are on hand to help
Just my opinion though
Shardeblil