Is Sunset Lakes nice?

[keith&carol]

We've been looking at villas for March next year. One we like is on Windsor Palms but not as accessible as we would like with DD being in a wheelchair. The next is on Lindfields, by far the best price but the 3rd is on Sunset Lakes where DH could fish so he favours that one (suprise!).
Does anyone have any comments that might make it easier for us to choose.
We've never stayed in a villa before so this is all new to us,
Cheers,
Carol

 

[kazzie]

Hi,

The first villa we stayed in was on Sunset Lakes.Although it was amazing having our own villa and especially pool,we found it quite isolated there,you never see another soul.We missed the community feel of Caribe Royale and Cypress Pointe where we'd stayed before.Sunset Lakes says there is a boating lake this really annoys me as there is about one broken down boat left on there.I'm not sure how they manage to make the community pool look as large as they do in the photo,I was astonished when I saw the real size of it! I'm sure though I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't had children with me.

So the next trip we stayed on Windsor Palms and this is the best of both worlds,your own villa and pool plus a large community pool, and loads of other things to do.The kids/teens get to get out of the villa and meet other kids/teens while swimming playing pool,table tennis etc.

On my first trip with just DH and me in Feb we stayed on Formosa Gardens and have booked to stay on Indian Creek for the two of us next year,these are similar to Sunset Lakes I was more concerned with the finding the right villa.We've booked to stay on Emerald Island with the teens in October though,this also has many community features.

What I am trying to say is any of the resorts are fine when you just want your villa and pool,if you have children or teens who like to get out and meet people or who might want a bit of independance one of the above resorts with community features would be better.

If your DD is in a wheelchair I'm not sure how much she can get out and about so perhaps finding the right villa which is most accessable (sp!) for her,is more important than the resort it is on?

Hope this helps

Hope I don't offend any Sunset Lake villa owners as my first impression of staying in a villa was the isolation and nothing to do with the actual ressort.

 

[Sue F UK]

No offence taken Kazzie,

We have owned a villa on Sunset Lakes for the last two years and chose it after looking at villas on most of the other developments. I have to say we don't find it in the least isolated! It is only 4 miles from Disney (a genuine 10 minute drive) and is even easier to access as they have just paved the road through to Formosa Gardens Boulevard.

As far as the community pool is concerned, I have never seen anyone using it - why would they when every single home on Sunset has it's own pool, most with a lovely lake view? This was something that I wondered about when we viewed villas on Windsor Palms - would guests actually use the community features when they are spending the majority of their time out at the theme parks? We just couldn't justify the extra expense of buying there, especially as the day we were there the place was deserted. JMHO - Perhaps others that have visited WP may disagee.

The thing that sold us on Sunset Lakes was, of course, the beautiful lake which is tranquility itself when you are sitting on the deck watching the sunset. A wonderful respite from the theme park madness.

As Kazzie says, the boats on the lake are now no more, we had to remove them all due to insurance considerations. A good thing in my book as peace and quiet reign! The fising dock remains at the head of the lake and my DD (8) and her friends have spent many a happy hour there catching fish (Many, many Minnows and a few Bass (?) I believe.

Sunset Lakes has a great community spirit and we are always seeing other people out and about and saying 'good morning' to each other - especially in the winter when the Snowbirds are staying.

So, while I may be somewhat biased, I would wholeheartedly recommend Sunset Lakes for your vacation. Most of the villas have downstairs master bedrooms with easy access for wheelchairs too.

 

[keith&carol]

Thanks Sue, that's really good to hear. We particularly wanted somewhere very quiet this time as I have health problems and DD in W'chair gets very tired with all the stimulation of a Disney day so we thought this might be the right place for us. We also understand there is a lot of wildlife to look out for which would please us all. Have taken the plunge and booked now so fingers crossed.