Has anyone booked a "bad" condo/villa?

[alecam]

I'm just curious if anyone has been truly disappointed in their accomodations. If so, why. Was it gross,too far away, etc? The reason I ask is that all of the condos and villas that I had requested info on all seemed very,very nice and I just want to know if anyone has been duped and found the place really bad. FYI, I have already booked mine at Windsor Palms and am looking forward to going!!

 

[BonnieA]

I have rented 4 houses and 4 condo's (all different). I have never had a bad experience in any of them. Some are better than others, but none have been bad.

 

[mareed]

We've stayed in a condo/townhome/home 4 times and the only issue we encountered was a queen bed in the main bedroom where the website had listed a king. As that is one of our first, basic criteria in making our choice, we were disappointed, but it didn't ruin the trip. I did let the owner know about the difference afterwards and suggest they update their website, but I don't think they ever did.

We really like staying in condos/villas (in the Formosa Gardens area).

 

[crjack]

Stayed in two different villas in Windsor Palms and both were lovely. I can't imagine you will be disappointed with the resort or the convenient location.

All of our accomodations have looked exactly like their website tours but on our first trip I also was a nervous wreck. The trip expanded to include 3 other family members and I kept thinking...."if this place is awful what hotel can I use as a back-up"! My own family was one thing but I didn't want to ruin it for another as well.

It was a 4 bed/3bath in Windsor Palms, in a great location within the resort, and when we walked in we were amazed! It looked even better than the website tour!! My whole family thought I was this brilliant planner! I have been much less nervous ever since about renting homes and condos but I do now look for certain ammenities that are important to me. I'm confortable that what we want, such as bed size or layout, is out there so I take my time and just look through all the options.

I'm sure your condo will be lovely. We'd love to hear about when you return. It's nice for people to have a personal recommendation. Have a wonderful time.

 

[isla bonita]

That is one thing all home owners shoul do is update the web site. When renting ask the owner or man/co if the photos are updated.

 

[UKDEB]

The only time I was disappointed was the very first time we stayed in a private home. We'd booked through an agent and the home was allocated on arrival. It had clearly once been a beautiful home, but had obviously seen a lot of action and was tired and dirty. Remember that these homes often have multiple families using them and the communal areas in particular can take a battering. Luckily, following a complaint to the management company, we were moved the next day to a brand new home - we even had to remove wrappings from lampshades and stickers from appliances.

The photos you view on websites will almost certainly have been taken when the home was new, or newly refurbished. Now I always book homes which are less than a couple of years old. Without exception, we have always been thrilled with our choices.

 

[3kidsmommy]

Disappointed is not a strong enough word. I booked a condo at Windsor Palms for my grandparents and aunt/uncle and for us a couple of months later. When my family got there (thank goodness they went first), we had been lied to about the number of steps, and it was falling apart. The furniture was broken--the couch was held up by a glass--the beds were falling apart (my family took all but my grandmother's bed off the bed and just slept on the mattresses on the floor because the beds were so bad)--the screens were torn--and the list goes on. We cancelled our ressies--never recieved our deposit back (we cancelled with more than a month until arrival-almost 2 months actually!) and only weren't out all the money because I put a stop payment on the check that I had sent for the balance. It really soured my opinion of people's honesty and integrity. Now, we have since booked a condo at Windsor Hills--the guy "seems" really nice and I am praying everything will be ok. We leave in 2 weeks and although my check has cleared, I still haven't received a keycode or anything. I am getting nervous. BUT the man has always responded to my emails and I rented from him directly from the Windsor Hills site, so I am confident he is for real. Best of luck!

 

[tpayne]

We had the best experience of our entire vacation travels this past February. My daughter and I called around about rooms on the internet. There were seven of us going so we knew we had to have at least two rooms. We had never tried to rent a home so decided to check it out. American Vacation Homes had a three bedroom with pool,hot tub,etc. So we decided to give it a try. My daughter left early on Thursday with her family before My son, granddaughter,and I could leave. She called us on our cell pohones when she arrived and we were still enroute, somewhere in south Georgia. "You should see this place.I wish I could get my money back, she said. I told her it would be ok and that we wouldn't be there much anyway. I was disapointed but kept it to myself. When we arrived in Orlando, I called my daughter to get directions to the house. It was off 192 . We followed her directions. They were waiting in the driveway of this Very nice home. "What's wrong with this place?" I asked."Just wait til you see it inside", my dgd said. Well, inside there were SIX bedrooms,four baths, a complete gameroom, a tv/dvd in every room,movies ,a computer, hot tub, pool...this list goes on and on. My daughter was so proud of herself for fooling me. We knew someone had made a mistake, and we even called and asked, but they told us if that's what they rented us, that's what we got. And get this ....92 dollars a night! We had a ball!

 

[April614]

What is the website for American vacation homes I need to check it out. We have a group of 9 as it stands right now but they keep coming........ I have to cancel my fort wilderness cabin so I need something much bigger. I knew moving to Florida would change how many visitors I have in a year. LOL.

 

[tpayne]

American Vacation Homes
2983 Vineland Rd.
Kissimmee, Florida
1-800-617-8496

 

[April614]

Oh! thanks for the info.

 

[shamrock30]

My husband and I had a negative experience with a dirty, run down condo in Windsor Palms in Dec 2004. Luckily, the company I booked through was responsive to our complaints and moved us to another property. I think our experience was an abnomally. I read every review I could find prior to our trip, and they were very favorable at that time.