Florida Villas

[Kal El]

Hi guys I am after some advice.

I am off to Florida for my 5th time in September so know the place fairly well. But I have only ever done Motels.

My mam is planing on organising a big family holiday for next September when we will all be going together to Florida (mam and dad have never been before). I am going to book the flights through Travel City Direct (I know people have mixed feelings about them on here, but they are cheep and do what they say on the tin).

I am looking for advice on finding a villa. Where is the best place to look and is there anything I should be on the lookout for?

Please help

 

[martina857]

Hi Kal el,

I use www.daystarvillas.com to rent from, I have now rented quite a few from there and have been impressed with all the owners.

M

 

[JANNYANS]

There are loads of sites where you can find villas either by renting direct from the owner or through an agency.With the agency you may have the choice of where you go for an extra charge or you may not know where you are until you get there .If you rent direct from an owner then you will be able to find out all you can from the owner about the home where it is what it has in it and so on .Good sites for renting direct are
www.orlandovillas.com
www.disneypremiervillas.com
www.springvacationrentals.com
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=93

there are members of this board who are owners who may be able to help as well.

 

[lucy_love_]

hi

we just booked our villa through travel city direct along with our flights. its the first time we have been with them.

i see you live in sunderland. im just up the road.

lucy

 

[sue&and]

Hi, we used www.villas2000.com and got an exceptional deal on a villa in kissimmee.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I agree with www.villas2000.com but also try www.vr360homes.co.uk as you get 360 degree views on all the rooms plus the pool also.

I would advise you to stay in the Kissimmee area, just off the 192 - easy access to restaurants,supermarkets plus Disney and the I4.

The main 2 developments are the Formosa Gardens area and the Poinciana Boulevard area.
FG has Formosa Gardens, Indian Creek, Windsor Palms etc while Poinciana has Indian Point, Eagle Pointe, Cumbrian Lakes etc - of these would recommend CL and IC.

Try and pick one with a South Facing pool as you get the sun all day, and a private/fenced pool area is a must too.
We had a bad experience the first time we rented one - it was a nightmare - 10 years old home and falling to bits - so now we only rent homes that are reasonably new and are on either of the websites above.

 

[sunshine state]

We used - www.orlando4villas.com, my dad did all the booking but from what i gather we got a brilliant deal.

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

We've booked a villa for our trip next month which will be the first time we've not stayed in hotels since we've been visiting Florida I'm really quite excited, but it look quite a time to source all the villa sites - all those that have been mentioned are excellent, but especially the villas2000.com and vr360homes.co.uk - they were fantastic to the novice

I think what you need to do is something along the lines we did - almost make a list of exactly what you're looking for. There is SO much out there that you really can match what you are looking for . . .

- location - both for theme parks and restaurants, shops etc.
- number of bedrooms/bathrooms
- privacy of villa (ie not overlooked all around, on a lakeside setting, in a
gated community, that type of thing)
- facilities - ie Playstations for children, gamesroom, internet connection,
BBQ etc.
- who owns it, are they easy to contact, can you get hold of their
management company in emergencies etc.

Happy hunting

 

[Kal El]

hi

we just booked our villa through travel city direct along with our flights. its the first time we have been with them.

i see you live in sunderland. im just up the road.

lucy

Hi Lucy.

We have thought of booking the villa direct with travel city but the fact that you dont know where you are staying untill you get there is putting me off.

 

[Aceman88888]

For a small supplement you can specify your villa location with TCD. Just dont know how much the supplement is!. Ring them for details.

 

[Booknut]

The 'floridasunshine' website are very reputable! We've just booked a villa through a recommendation and they are very well priced and great homes!

Good luck!

 

[tyke]

You can also try Holiday Rentals

This ia an excellent site that I have used on several occassions - all the villas we have stayed in have been top class and we have never had any problems with the rentals.

tyke

 

[shawty2]

Try vrbo.com. Its a web site for people that rent out their own properties. Have found villas a couple of times and had great results.

 

[Kal El]

Thanks guys for all the advise (more welcome) and it looks like I am going to be spending all weekend looking at villas.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

We've used this company several times, and will be using one of their villas in 13 days time )) http://www.floridadisneyhomes.com/index.htm

All their villas seem to be in good locations around the Formosa Gardens area, and are well specified including free high-speed internet.

Regards

Rob

 

[SEVANS2208]

we've booked through www.floridasunshine.com and found they had plenty of properties to choose from. We e-mailed them with specific questions and they were great. We're not going til next year though so can't comment yet on the house itself!

 

[tartangirl]

I'm interested in this as well and have spent the morning sending out enquiries to the websites mentioned.

I have used www.orlandovillas.com before and never been disappointed.

This year I'm trying to get a villa as close as possible to Universal (having had some delays on the I4 from the US27 this year).

Can anyone recommend a location that has easy access to Universal?

Thanks

 

[JANNYANS]

The closest to Universal will be the communities at the eastern end of the Kissimmee area or maybe Poinciana .BTW depending on which part of the 27 you are staying you don't have to use the I-4

 

[sue&and]

Another good one is www.vrbo.com.