just back from windsor hills

[kty]

Hi Everyone,

We just returned from a 9 night stay in a windsor hills townhome. This was our first time ever renting a "home", as we typically stay in hotels - westin, marriot, etc. We are a family of 5, with the kids ages 12, 8, 6. I wanted to try a home as although we love to eat out, and do so frequently, the kids are rather picky eaters and even they get tired of pizza and fries (thank goodness).
we love, love, loved this place. we all had our own space once we returned from the parks (which was a quick 5 minute drive), and enjoyed the splash pool, the three bathrooms and kitchen. we ate breakfast in the home every morning, and utilized the splash pool, the main pool with slide and theatre.
The main pool was heated, and all of the staff were very accomodating. I think the most people we saw at the main pool was about 15, the last time we were there, we had the entire pool to ourselves for 2 hours (5-7 pm)
The home was decorated nicely, and in very clean condition. The beds were ok, but the king could have been a bit more comfy - but nothing we could really complain about.
best thing we did for dinner was call ahead to places like outback, red lobster and bring back to condo on way back from parks. kids could eat sandwiches instead of kids meals and fruit/cereal as desired. we also had delivery from chinese one evening. it was sooo nice being able to come back to room and being able to eat dinner in our pajamas and not subjecting the kids to a restaurant after all day in the parks. Planning on going back next year for a convention, and hubby is sold on the townhome idea.
Since the kids are older, when we travel, we need at least two rooms w/connecting doors, and the townhome was more than enough room. Now I know why so many choose to stay offsite. I forgot to mention the townhome was extremely quiet. no noise from other hotel doors slamming, noise from hallways etc. We did not hear one door slam or any outside noise, and we had plenty of neighbors based on the amount of cars in driveways.
hope this review might help someone - I would be glad to answer any questions.

 

[deejay-55]

Welcomre to another "convert" from hotels to home-owner rentals!

 

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

Where did you rent from??

 

[isla bonita]

Sounds like you all had a great time. Gotta love that pool.

 

[sympatico]

Been there, done that and also loved it.

 

[Anne's Family]

Whenever we stay offsite, we like Windsor Hills too. We rented a three-bedroom condo for a group of 8 believe it or not. The kids room had 4 bunks. It was perfect. And they LOVED that pool! Everything you need is pretty much right there! For $100 a night, you just can't beat it.

 

[queen_bee]

glad to hear this. We have a condo reserved in January. I can't wait. Did you go to the movie theatre they have there? How was it?

 

[Anne's Family]

We never got the chance to go to the movie theatre. It looks very nice. We spent too much time at the parks. Looking back on it, we would nix our trips to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in favor of doing more stuff back at the condo. We would have been much more relaxed. Universal was just so... well... un-Disney anyway.

 

[kty]

yes, we used the movie theatre. You can pick your own movie and the time you would like it shown the day before. We got microwave popcorn and snacks in the sundry shop located right next to the theatre. We really enjoyed it, and it was like a real theatre, just smaller. the picture and sound were great. we watched the transformers. I think the next movie after the one we picked was shrek 3. There is no charge for the use of the theatre.

for the earlier question, we found our unit through the windsor hills website. we put in our request of dates, and the owners emailed us back with pictures of their units, and prices. we chose one from there. if you would like the exact one we used, pm me.

 

[Anne's Family]

We found ours through Vacation Rentals By Owners. VRBO.com Ours was called The Incredibles. The bunk beds were an absolute hit with the 4 kids.

There's another subdivision with the word "Windsor" in it, can't remember the name now, but it doesn't have the amenities this one has. Watch for that.

 

[gqchicago]

Sounds like you guys had an awesome trip, we leave for Windsor Hills and are staying in a townhome on Saturday, 2 days after Thanksgiving, can't wait!!!


Our BIL and SIL are staying in a townhome right across the street from us too, so should be a good time for everyone!

 

[kty]

gqchicago -

have a great trip!!!!

 

[gqchicago]

gqchicago -

have a great trip!!!!

Thanks, can't wait, we're all getting antsy! Our BIL/SIL are surprising their kids actually, they won't know they're going to WDW until Sat AM when they're on the plane! hehe.. (my kids would never fall for that at this point!) LOL

 

[Mainebound]

Hi Everyone,

Now I know why so many choose to stay offsite. I forgot to mention the townhome was extremely quiet. no noise from other hotel doors slamming, noise from hallways etc. We did not hear one door slam or any outside noise, and we had plenty of neighbors based on the amount of cars in driveways.
hope this review might help someone - I would be glad to answer any questions.

This is an often overlooked benefit. Our last onsite stay was at the Wilderness Lodge in 2005. Our room overlooked the restaurant off the lobby. It was loud! And you had kids running and screaming all over the place in the lobby up until midnight, and up and down the hallway past our room door. We spent more -- much more -- on our 2 tiny rooms for 3 nights at WL than we spent for 8 days at a large QUIET beautiful pool home in Emerald Island.

We looked at each other and said: Never again!!*

[* Although.... maybe someday... ]

 

[MaMa3Princess]

As a family of 6 we totally understand. Thanks for your review. We are thinking about switching from Regal Palms to Windsor Hill for our May '08 trip. We especially like the review of the movie theatre. I thought that was so neat and the kids would really enjoy that!!

 

[hjd0411]

I can ditto everything about Windsor Hills. I just spent 16 days there and it was fabulous. We were in a condo overlooking the pool. The most noise we heard was kids having fun in the pool - not a bad noise at all!! If it got too much all we needed to do was close the balcony door.
And the complex was spotless. Every morning we watched them clean the pool and surrounds, and walking around the streets everything was well maintained, and gardens looked lovely too.
I would highly recommend Windsor Hills to everyone!! And to those who are going on vacation - have a wonderful time!!

Heather

 

[Brian Noble]

Most people who try a "not a hotel" option never go back. I *might* be willing to stay in a simple hotel room with my kids for a night. Maybe two. More than that, we need *at least* two rooms, but we'd much rather have a suite with a kitchen (e.g. Residence Inn), a condo, a townhome, or a vacation home.

 

[stacy347]

Thanks to this thread, I did a search on vrbo and found an awesome Disney-themed home in Windsor Hills ~ we just have to find out if it will be available for our dates. We do our Disney trips with my sister's family so a total of 11 people and we usually just get rooms at the values but this would be a perfect solution and the 5 bedroom house we found is actually more Disney-themed than our rooms were, LOL!

I will miss Mousekeeping and the food courts since I refuse to cook on vacation but we can fill the freezer up with quick foods for the times we are hungry there and come out way ahead moneywise!

Thank you!!

 

[Anne's Family]

You won't regret it. My DH always wants to make big meals, I just want quick stuff and a nice meal in the parks occasionally. With all the money you save on just the rooms, you don't have to cook the whole time!

Enjoy!

 

[kty]

thats why we loved calling ahead for outback, red lobster, etc. and bringing it back to the town home to eat. it was the best of both worlds, good food without cooking.