Good, Bad, and Ugly about Renting Pool Homes and Town Homes

[isla bonita]

I can understand how if renting from perfect strangers or a management co that handles rental properties can be scary, Maybe we can ease some mind about the experiences you all have had.

We rented once before we bought our own. I had never stayed in a rental home and thought it would be a nightmare with every one in the same house.

I was so wrong! It was one of our best ever vacations. Thats why when we got an opportunity to purchase on ourselves we jumped on it. No regrets at all.

Thinking back to the first rental the only thing it did not have were pool towels. I have made sure with ours there are always plenty. Our favorite part of vacation is the pool. No matter what we do while there. Coming from new england we don't get a lot of pool time in so we make up for it while there.

Any one want to rant about what they didn't like or what they did like for that matter? I think we all should know the good the bad and the ugly.

 

[congregation]

Thinking about renting one this winter. Hopefully get some extended famliy to come and get a big one. The pool definately would be great!

 

[Snoopymom]

The only bad and ugly I can come up with is having to tell family members a big fat ugly "NO!!!!" when they invite themselves to go down with you after you asked them back in January when you made all the plans and paid the deposit...but now that it's warm and sunny and they think they might get to come for free since the house is already paid for....well, NO!

Sorry, bad day, feeling guilty, talk about ruining all the fun in the planning. Well, maybe it will be a warning to someone else, LOL!

 

[HalfDozen]

Good:

One nightly fee - no matter how many people in the party - no buying two "connecting rooms" onsite if you have more than 2 kids.

NO PARKING LOTS! Oh, that saved us so many times. No walking across the parking lot with bags and diaper bags and strollers and whatever else

No carrying sleeping kids across a parking lot and having to wake them up. We took turns carrying in the kids because we entered either through the garage or parked in the driveway.

No expensive onsite meals - even if it's eating bananas and bagels in the house, or barbecuing or ordering pizza for dinner - it's more laid back and affordable.

Full size fridge

Blenders - margaritas! Need I say more?

private pool - no random kids splashing your baby in the face, no kids wearing leaky swim diapers, etc.

hot tub

QUIET - no one to wake up the kids in the middle of the night, no loud music, no unsupervised teens, no slamming doors or elevators

Laundry - yes, a plus We threw a load in before bed every night (free!) and changed it over to the dryer in the morning when we headed out. We brought home suitcases of CLEAN laundry and didn't have to fight Mount Neverrest on our first day back at work.

Management company immediatley accessible - located just minutes from the house.

BAD:
no housekeeping

no towel animals

no tiny toiletries

no onsite transportation

UGLY:
nadda. Far more pros than cons!

 

[kimbac3]

My cons... If you are a rental house owner please check your tv remote batteries. Maybe replace often. I can't tell you how frustrating that was. Also A cordless phone is such a blessing. I hate being tethered!!
Another thing, please have your management company check your towels for holes. Ours where so holey it was ridiculous. It just felt to us that the home was unloved and unkept. They had a lovely soaking tub in the master bath with no stopper!!! Crazy!
We also had the joy of the smoke detector going off in the middle of the night. There was no smoke or fire just an old smoke dectector going goofy (DH is an electrician/alarm tech and he did let the management co. know - be sure to replace them every 5 years!)

My Pros....we did enjoy having the space to spread out. (of course having more space led to more space to have to clean up before we left. Stuff just went everywhere!!)
The kids each had their own beds,that was nice.
Also 2 bathrooms..definite plus!!
Having a kitchen with full size frig was nice.

We rented a different place this time. It's a little newer so maybe it will be in better shape!!
Kimba

 

[disneygirlatheart]

This will be the second time we have rented a home. We have one booked for our first trip to WDW. Our first time renting was a nightmare. The management company they had was a joke. They sent us to the wrong house, charged extra when we arrived, food in the chairs when we arrived, and I can go on and on but will spare you. I hope that our experience this time is a lot better. We are very nervous, and want every thing to be perfect for our first trip to see the mouse.

 

[isla bonita]

I have to say kimbac3 and disneygirlatheart you are brave to be doing it all again. Not sure I would have if it was a nightmare.

 

[kimbac3]

I have to say kimbac3 and disneygirlatheart you are brave to be doing it all again. Not sure I would have if it was a nightmare.

Well I love an adventure! Seriously it still is the best value for a family of 5 or more. 2 rooms just won't work for us and that would be double what we paying for the rental home. I'm hoping that because we have done it once before I chose more wisely this time...well I can hope anyway!
Kimba

 

[isla bonita]

Kimbac3 ask a lot of questions. Find what you like and didn't like of the last home and ask specifics. Ask if the pictures are recent. Also the best information is right here. Ask if anyone has rented from the owner/man/co before. That I think is the most reliable. We are a wealth of information together and you are bound to find out what you want to know. Have a great time searching thre are a wonderful array to choose from. With being individual owners you can see the choices are endless, just like the areas they are in.

 

[Brian Noble]

Most of the "goods" are obvious. Some of the not-so-obvious ones: I was surprised at how much I loved having a washer/dryer in the unit rather than in some central location---much easier to pack light. Extra bedrooms are obviously useful, but extra bathrooms were surprisingly useful.

The "bads" (compared to onsite): Splitting up is hard to manage, unless you've got more than one car. (compared to any hotel): Sometimes, it's nice if someone else makes the bed/vacuums/does the dishes while you're there. The shopping-for-lodging part is much harder, because each property is different, and there are a LOT of them.

The "uglies": hasn't happened to me yet, but because every property is individual, it's hard to know what you are getting unless you've got a personal recommendation, and you can be surprised about quality, fit, and finish when you arrive.

 

[disneysteve]

I agree with everything HalfDozen said with two exceptions. We consider no housekeeping to be a good thing. We hate having a maid come into our room every day and move stuff around. We're not slobs. In 7 days, the place just doesn't get that dirty. We'd rather have privacy.

We also don't consider the lack of onsite transportation to be an issue. Even when we stay onsite, we still drive everywhere we go. We can't stand depending on Disney transportation, waiting in line and getting on crowded buses. Much more comfortable in our own car.

We've rented pool homes 4 or 5 times and rented a condo once (and will again this fall). I think it is the greatest way to go all around. Nothing at all bad to say about it.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

A little bit about our recent experience when we rented a Condo at Windsor Hills. First off the owners were very nice and friendly over the phone, great communication. The Condo however had a few issues. It was obvious the cleaning crew half cleaned the place, the fridge was dirty, trash can in the kitchen was dirty, ring around the second bath tub, kitchen sink had food stuck in it, tons of fingerprints on the glass sliding doors, dining room table had not been wiped off, some silverware in the drawer was dirty. The Condo itself was beautiful, I don't blame the Owners as I'm sure they were unaware that the Cleaning Crew didn't do a great job cleaning. The Condo didn't have enough Face Towels or pool towels, no board games to play, had a Playstation but no games, had a DVD and VCR but no movies, a Broom but no Dust Pan. Not nearly enough pots and pans for cooking! The master Bed was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever slept on, it had to be one of the cheapest mattresses sold whereever it was purchased. Nothing like spending hours walking around a theme park then coming back to a thin mattress, you could even feel the springs in it, very poor quality. We also had an issure with the master toilet, and a Plunger would have been helpful. It was plugged when we arrived, we didn't know it until we flushed it, it started to overflow, my husband quickly stuck a hanger in there to unplug(gross). Overall we had a ok experience, I would never rent that Condo again, but will stay at Windsor Hills again, the resort was beautiful!

 

[sweetpeakaris]

March 2005, we rented a home at Eagle Pointe. The home was spotless, very clean, had everything you could think of, well equipped! Only negative thing is the pool, it had clearly not been cleaned in a while. I called management 3 times to clean it, they never came during our 8 night stay, the kids were upset they didn't get to use it. Management stayed right in the sub, they told me they would send someone to clean it, but that "someone" never arrived and I got tired of calling them.Overall Great experience!

 

[kimbac3]

Kimbac3 ask a lot of questions. Find what you like and didn't like of the last home and ask specifics. Ask if the pictures are recent. Also the best information is right here. Ask if anyone has rented from the owner/man/co before. That I think is the most reliable. We are a wealth of information together and you are bound to find out what you want to know. Have a great time searching there are a wonderful array to choose from. With being individual owners you can see the choices are endless, just like the areas they are in.

I have been asking (via email) the owner alot of questions. I sometimes feel like I'm a bother! She never seems to be bothered though. I haven't actually spoken to her on the phone, only email. I did call her management co and asked them a question. I checked out their website too. I asked on here about the development but not the specific house. I just never thought to do that. Hmm...maybe I'll do that.
Thanks for the tips. It is pretty nerve wrecking handing over all that money, only hoping and praying that the house is as good as it looked on the web.

Kimba

 

[disneysteve]

I just wanted to point out that rental homes are available lots of places, not just Disney. Just last nite, I booked a 3-bedroom chalet in Stowe, VT for our summer vacation. We were looking for something roomy and different, rather than just staying in a hotel. Really looking forward to that trip.

 

[HalfDozen]

I agree with what you said above, Steve. I don't see those as cons for our family, either. I'd rather have my own car (and carseats for the kids) and the freedom to come and go as I please without waiting for busses - and I love not having a maid. We call and decline housekeeping when we travel. I just don't always trust that my things are going to remain where I left them - whether because they were moved or swiped, yk? I don't think "Mousekeeping" would do it - but I've read stories about computers, wallets, etc. going missing - and we just don't need our bed made every day with new linens, etc. And we can always throw them in the washer - or the towels for that matter. And no hanging suits or wet towels all over a tiny hotel room - we throw those in the dryer as well.

 

[Sue Sullivan]

We just booked our fourth rental at Highlands Reserve in Davenport. It's a beautiful development and the houses are so roomy. We go with extended family so it's like $50 a night each family, including tax. We save of $ on meals and have a pool of our own. We would not do it any other way. We get the listings from villas2go4.

 

[isla bonita]

Sweetpeakaris and others when you have a problem and the man/co refuses to budge if you have rented from an owner call them directly. I know I would have more then a big problem if my home was that dirty. Also if you think the home needs items by all means when you have a moment email the owner. They should want all of the information you are repeating. If you were in need of anything I am sure the future guests will also.

Kimbac3 ask away. You are spending a lot of money to stay in a rental home. It should be exactly what you want. There are never enough questions. You need to feel that you are putting your money into something worth while. There will not be any repeat customers if you come back from vacation and it was a bust. Not good for business for the owner. We want you all to feel assured.

As you all know owning a home has its unexpected happenings. Recently a guest was not allowed to use my pool for 24 hours because of a mistake the pool co. did. Also the phone would not work at some locations. Sent in a work order. Both are pretty big issues and I acted on both but it is not something rentors should have to have happen but they do. Things do happen and they are rather annoying. There are things that should not be. Dirty home or pool is the worst totally avoidable. There should be enough clean and unblemished towels sheets, and blankets for your comfort. Enough dishware and silverware. Other items are up to each owner, and for the guest to decide what would be best for their group.

I can not stress enough to ask every question you have. Do not feel like you are bothering them. Personally I can talk about my home like it is my fourth child.

 

[horseshowmom]

I just wanted to point out that rental homes are available lots of places, not just Disney. Just last nite, I booked a 3-bedroom chalet in Stowe, VT for our summer vacation. We were looking for something roomy and different, rather than just staying in a hotel. Really looking forward to that trip.

I agree with this and always like to check VRBO. I've never had a problem with a house that I've booked in the Orlando area (and I've stayed at several different houses).

I did have a problem a couple of years ago when I booked a house in San Antonio. It was a beautiful old two-story ranch house that had been restored - absolutely gorgeous. It was beautifully furnished and had lots of room. We (and the other family traveling with us) loved it - until the scorpions came out. We had 4 scorpions in a 24 hour period. The lady taking care of it said it was because they had had so much rain (and I'm sure that was true). Nonetheless, it had the other wife scared to death that her little ones were going to get stung, and we wound up moving into a way overpriced hotel.

 

[tednvon]

Interesting thread...

Renting a home can have few complaints from the standpoint of space, laundry facilities, pvt pool, and so on.
As a former owner also, I can tell you, and it is obvious from the posts here, that the proof is in the management company.

There are so many management companies now that it is a total gamble on quality. We changed companies because our first one was so bad. Poor management usually equals poor cleaning, poor upkeep, poor service or response to calls from renters, and even mismanagement of funds.

Personally, I think prospective renters are better off always going through an owner via word of mouth or info from a board like this...I know several owners post here a lot and walk a fine line between informing and advertising, but do a nice job of keeping the two separate.

Ugly for us was:
1. missing towels all the time...changing towels to cheaper ones
2. The remote controls...god, the remote controls...always broken, missing, batteries stolen, probably for cameras or games.
3. garbage everywhere when left on the street...those buzzards can open a plastic garbage container no matter how tight it is sealed!!
3. Games room always missing equipment.
4. pool heat set too low or not turned on.
5. phone calls to management not returned

Owners always need feedback from the renters about problems. So renters, don't be afraid to let owners know if there were specific problems. It is the only way they can address the issues.

Carry on!!

Ted