Holiday Villas

[kismet1003]

We are staying at the Holiday Villas when we go in December. Their website states they are 5 miles from WDW. The prices were great and I am wondering if anyone has ever stayed here and has a review of the place. My husband & I are going with my sister & brother in law & their 3 kids.
Thanks for any input!

 

[momto4obkids]

tripadvisor


TripAdvisor has a bunch of good reviews for holiday villas,the link takes you right to them!

hth!'Amanda

 

[Keacc]

We stayed at one of the Holiday Villas developements about 7 years ago. It was on Poinciana about 1 mile south of 192. It was about 6 miles total to WDW. We had a 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo which was very nice. The pool was not real big but was never too crowded. We had a Publix and a Super Walmart within a few minutes of the condo.

 

[kismet1003]

Thanks!
I will check out tripadvisor.

We are getting a 3 bedroom/2 bath as well. I was hoping there would be grocery stores close by !

 

[tednvon]

Hello, these are older but nice condos. If you are at the Villas at Sommerset you will be just south of Hwy 192 on Poinciana Blvd. Other similar units may be a mile or so farther south on Poinicana, but most are in Sommerset.

These condos are not the fancy new ones with marble baths but are very livable. It will be a little crowded with 7 of you. There is a nice size living room and one master bedroom has a nice pvt bath with walk-in shower.

If you made all the plans you should get that bedroom as a reward!!!

Sis and the family will share a hall bath.

To get to Disney quickly...take Poinciana north to 192 and go straight across and stay on Poinciana for about a mile turn left onto Osceola Parkway. It will take you west directly into Disney with NO traffic hassels. It will cost you about 75 cents for a toll for a short ride but a lot of folks think it is worth it not to hassel 192 traffic.

If you want no tolls, take 192 left and drive to the Disney entrance.

I think you will find these condos very adequate for the price. I assume you got a price of less than 85/ night for the condo. If you paid more than that, unless it is Christmas week, you are paying a very high rate for these units.
Also, I would check and see if you have TV in the bedrooms and if there is a King bed in the master...I would ask for these ammenities. There are lots and lots of condos for rent in the $85-$100 ( non Christmas week) range with kings, and 3-4 bedrooms/3 bathrooms, so don't be afraid to ask for the best they have...

Good luck...you will have a great time....Ted

 

[kismet1003]

Thank you so much Ted, you're reply was very informative!!
I have done ALL of the planning, so I'm going to mention that master bedroom thing!

I printed your notes out for your direction tips. Thanks again!

Tina

 

[kismet1003]

Oh and that is the rate that we got, we are going 12/3-12/13. We initially were going to stay in the parks but getting somewhere for all of us to stay together was not reasonable. My sister has a hard time getting ready in the mornings on time so I need to be there to get the twin 6 yr old girls ready so that we are out on time. I don't have children myself, so this should be an interesting experience for me to say the least.

 

[tednvon]

Enjoy...you are going to Disney at a great time...Christmas is soooooooooo beautiful at Disney...Neither you nor I care to stay in the $300 to 600/ night Disney Premier Hotels BUT you can visit them at Christmas and see drop dead gorgeous Christmas decorations....so, if you are looking for a fun 2-3 hours hop in the car go the Grand Floridian, the Wilderness Lodge, the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and last if you have time, The Beach Club...
At the guard gate just have your ID ready and tell them you are stopping to see all the beautiful Christmas stuff and shop in the hotel store...they will give you a two hour parking permit. At GF, you may need to park across the street...DO IT...the lobby is impossible to describe at Christmas...

And a very strong vote for Mickey's Verty Merry Christmas Party to replace one day at Magic Kingdom...from 6 to midnight the parades are fabulous...many of the rides have no lines at all and the shows are fantastic...

Enjoy...Ted

 

[kismet1003]

I did get tickets to the Mickey's Christmas Party, I had read on here how kids love it. I was unaware that you could go check out hotel lobbies though, we will do that for sure. My husband & I stay at Wilderness Lodge when just the 2 of us go so I would love to see that decorated at Christmas.

 

[sam-eliza]

Hi there. We just returned TODAY from the Holiday Villas (Laguna Bay). I got a lot of mixed reviews before I left & I was getting nervous about what it would be like. We were very pleased. We stayed in a three bedroom, 2 bathroom villa with our family of two adults & two small children.

The room was spacious & had everything we needed, including a dishwasher (w/soap), garbage disposal, washer & dryer (w/soap but not dryer sheets), microwave, & two televisions with satellite tv. We did not pay extra for daily maid service so you'll probably need to wash your towels mid-week. They also supply you with a dust pan & broom, little sweeper vac, iron, etc.

Here's our photos from Laguna Bay.

Family room (had satellite tv & 2 sofa beds)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/maxler/DSCN1744.jpg

Looking toward kitchen:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/maxler/DSCN1749.jpg

Kitchen:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/maxler/DSCN1745.jpg

One of two walk in closets:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/maxler/DSCN1750.jpg

Master bathroom (the other bathroom had tub):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/maxler/DSCN1751.jpg

Master bedroom:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/maxler/DSCN1752.jpg

Sorry, I didn't get pictures of the two smaller rooms because my kids were napping, but they both had two twin beds and one room had a large walk in closet.

The pool was small but we only used it once because we wanted to concentrate our time at the parks. You will need to check-in and out at a strip mall close-by on 192, but this is open 24 hours. We checked out this morning at 5:30AM.

The shuttle to the park was fairly useless. It only ran twice in the morning and a few times in the afternoon. We rented a car so this didn't really matter to us. If the kids are small and need rest time, you'll definately need a car to get back and forth on your schedule.

We had a problem with the function of our key-card and needed to call the main office at the strip mall. They arrived in about 20 minutes with a replacement key. That's the only problem with no on-site management. There is a small store with Internet access for $, pool, & snacks though.

The biggest issue we had was that it was very difficult to get out into traffic on Poincianna Rd., where Laguna Bay is located. Getting out of the parking lot was, at times, the longest part of the trip. Not really the Villas fault...

We liked Laguna Bay although we are not too hard to please. We don't require marble tubs, hardwood floors, tiled baths, etc. For the price we thought it was excellent.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'd be glad to help.

 

[kismet1003]

Thank you so much! I enjoyed seeing the pictures, it looks clean.

Did you request which ones you stay at or do you find out when you check in? We booked through AAA and they didn't tell us which ones we would be staying at.

Thanks!!

 

[sam-eliza]

I believe you can make a request but they don't guarentee anything.

If you booked through AAA, don't forget to get their AAA Diamond Parking Pass. That thing is like gold if you are driving to the park!