Just back from Windsor Hills

[crjack]

We just returned from an 8-night stay in Windsor Hills. I will write up a full review for the accomodations thread but thought I would send this out in case anyone who is considering the resort or has an upcoming trip has any questions.

The resort is very convenient, especially for the Disney Parks. We didnt hit any traffic on I4 so we used that on the days we went to Sea World and Universal Studios. I would say the ride to Disney property was 5 min., Sea World around 12-15 and Universal around 20 min max.

Most mornings we were at parks we left around 8:30 am and came back mid-afternoon to swim and relax.

We stayed in a very nice 6 bdrm/4 bath pool home and shared it with family members. There were 5 kids total on the trip and they loved having a pool right outside the door. We did use the resort pool a few times, mostly to try the slide.

My only disappointment with the house was the bedroom layout. We have rented pool homes before and I thought I knew exactly what to look for when selecting a home. We were 4 adults and 5 kids. The kids were easy but basically I wanted a larger home with two master suites for both couples. (Pretty standard from virtually every house we viewed on-line) We really like king size beds so I made sure that the bed breakdown listed two. This house had 2 kings, 2 queens, 4 twins. Perfect.....at least I thought.

The second "master" with a smaller bathroom attached had a queen bed! The second king was in another bedroom that didn't have a private bath. Not the end of the world by any means but I was a little annoyed by it. We had planned on having the four younger children share the two twin bedrooms and have the older one have his own bedroom with a queen bed. Each couple was going to have a king bedroom. It worked out fine but it made me realize that you really need to be specific about bedroom layouts if that is a key consideration for you. The floorplan didn't specify what size bed was in each room and I just assumed with two king beds they would each be in the master suites.

Anyway, if I can answer any questions on it just let me know.

 

[isla bonita]

crjack

When putting together my vaca home I made that very mistake. I did not put kings in both master suites. When one queen bed goes I will then replace it with a king.

I do have to say it is the only real mistake I think I made.

I would have loved to have a bigger patio but it was a lot more $$ so we just upgrade a bit on that.

Unless you have been in the homes it is hard to get from pics what is exactly in the home. I have to admit it is strange that the other king is not in the other master. Glad to hear you enjoyed the pool home. Would you do it again? Was it a bit more relaxing then a hotel? Did the kids enjoy their vacation as well?

 

[crjack]

I would absolutely do it again and again! We love renting homes and even for just our immediate family of four we rent a smaller home or townhouse.

This house was very new and decorated beautifully. Honestly, we never once used the living room or dining room. We spent all of our time at the house in the pool, kitchen, great room/den with the t.v. and the bedrooms. We're pretty casual on vacation and prefer to be in the pool as much as possible. Furnishings aren't that big of a deal to us. Obviously we want it clean but it definitely doesn't have to be formal.

The beds wasn't that big of a deal....more of a surprise than an issue really. I just assumed the two kings would be master suites but I didnt ask specifically when talking to the owner.

One suggestion I have for any home owner is pop-up hampers for the bedrooms, bathroom or laundry room. They are so inexpensive and sometimes I actually remember to bring one with me but not this time. I never know where to put the dirty laundry.

For our next trip I want to stay in Emerald Island. We have now been to Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills. We prefer not to go to far down 192. We enjoyed Summer Bay for the $$$ we paid but our preference is the area around Formosa Gardens since we like to visit Sea World, Universal and other off-site attractions.

I definitely prefer having a pool home rather than using the resort pool. There was no cafe or food/beverage option other than the small convenience store at the resort so we stayed at the house pool a majority of the time because it was easier to just go in and get what we wanted. We also didn't have to worry about what time it closed or crowds. The kids wanted to try the water slide a few times so we did visit the resort pool a few times.

I wish we had another trip to plan....I actually enjoy looking through all of the choices on vrbo!