Looking for Advice/Help with a Villa

[BiGGy]

hi all, were in the early stages of booing a trip for just after crimbo. After quite a few visits we have never stopped at a villa. Would be grateful for any recomendations or advice please

many thanks
Biggy

 

[BiGGy]

Thanks for the info shirley, small world eh, i work up the road from the the jewellery quarter. we are looking to stay between crimbo and new year. have no idea what sort of rates or what area is the best to stay in we will have a car so distance isnt a major factor. Just wanted a nice house.

thanks again for the reply
Rgds
BiGGy

 

[Pegasus928]

We have stayed in villas on both the H27 and down Ponciana Blvd.
There are good points to both, but our last trip on Cumbrian Lakes on PB we both felt closer to everywhere. It is only a difference of 20 minutes or so between the 2, but when you add up trips to the parks and back daily it adds up to a lot of hours in the car when you could be doing something else.
The last one we stayed in we are planning on booking again as we liked everything about it.
I will post the link when I can find it.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I could post countless links to villa's I have either stayed at or looked at, it would just depend on the location you are looking at.

Just off the 192 is where we usually stay and with supermarkets, restaurants, WDW and the I4 all nearby I think it's a sound choice.

The area could do with some freshening up and parts are looking a bit tired now, but it still for me is the best location.

If you look at homes at the likes of Windsor Palms, Windsor Hills, Emerald Island and Terre Verde you won't go far wrong. All these are gated and have community facilities too, such as internet cafe, clubhouse and communal pool.
These are at the 2 main Kissimmee locations - Formosa Gardens and Poinciana Boulevard.

You will see some villas advertised as south facing pool, this is a plus point as you get the sun all day long. It may also be an advantage renting from a UK owner with current exchange rate. Also some villas can be 25-30 minutes away from the theme parks, especially those quite southerly of the main areas. Location is a big factor.
Gated resorts are in my opinion a plus point too, for that extra feeling of security.

Some good websites:
www.vr360homes.co.uk
www.villas2000.com
www.holiday-rentals.co.uk
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/villa-map.php

Any questions, happy for you to pm me. Could talk all day about villa's

 

[Netty]

we have always stayed at villas at the poncianna boulevard end of the 192, reason being, just love the location, close to disney-even though that isnt a major factor for us any more. we have in the past used
www.villas2go4.com
it is direct with the owners and is a very good site.
as Johhny says you need to decide which area you would like to stay in- poncianna or formosa- poncianna villas are on the whole a little bit older than formosa but just as good!
Johnny is the dis's villa guru!! he has a wealth of info so you wont go wrong with any advice that he gives you

 

[JohnnySharp2]

we have always stayed at villas at the poncianna boulevard end of the 192, reason being, just love the location, close to disney-even though that isnt a major factor for us any more. we have in the past used
www.villas2go4.com
it is direct with the owners and is a very good site.
as Johhny says you need to decide which area you would like to stay in- poncianna or formosa- poncianna villas are on the whole a little bit older than formosa but just as good!
Johnny is the dis's villa guru!! he has a wealth of info so you wont go wrong with any advice that he gives you

That's another £5 I owe you Jeanette

 

[Pegasus928]

Other things worth considering:
Does the villa have internet/Wi-Fi, does it supply free international phone calls, is pool heating included, is the view from the deck overlooked by other pools or is it private, does it have a lake or conservation view, is the door to the pool area alarmed and is the pool screened off (especially if you have little ones), does it have a games room for those relaxing days away from the parks, is there a BBQ, are there enough pool seats for the amount of guests - and many other things that are unique to what you want from your holiday.
There are a lot of people on this forum who have stayed in villas and have learnt over time what they see as a good villa. But as with everything in life it is all down to the individual and personal preference.

 

[Netty]

That's another £5 I owe you Jeanette

There are a lot of people on this forum who have stayed in villas and have learnt over time what they see as a good villa. But as with everything in life it is all down to the individual and personal preference.

yep, so true!
we personally are not bothered if the pool is not south facing, and now that we have a laptop we will be looking for internet access, we also like to be looking over a lake or conservation area, so as Pegasus says, its all down to what you want.

 

[BiGGy]

Sorry for the delay in thanking you all for the advice, my computer went belly up just after i posted the thread.
Thank you all for the help as per usual, im gonna have a closer look at what everyone has said now and see if i can refine my search and come back with some more info

thanks again everyone

BiGGy

 

[arielrocks]

we too have stayed at villas on Highway 27 and Poinciana Blvd - we definately prefer Poinciana Blvd - namely Terra Verde Resort. Its a gated community and has a great clubhouse with loads of extra amenities should you want them.

 

[Byron13]

Another vote for Poinciana - Cumbrian Lakes. We have stayed both sides of Disney and always go back to Poinciana Blvd. It is close to everything.

 

[Dimplenose]

Something we didn't look for in a villa but got by chance was a lanai - a covered area by the pool so we could sit outside without getting drenched from a shower or overly cooked by the sun. (We did go in August so it might be more important then than at Christmas.)

 

[AaronSilk]

http://www.cumbrianlakesvilla.com/location.php

seems OK price, about 550 a week for 4 beds (and far too many bathrooms!)

 

[thehails]

We stayed in a fantastic villa which we found by looking at doltons weekly, however the website that the owners advertise on is

http://www.vr360floridavillas.co.uk/

the villa was at the retreat at legacy park which is just off the 27. It was only 15 mins to disney. We had 12 nights onsite at disney and then 10 nights in the villa, next time we will just be going with the villa. It was so relaxing

The villa had a nice sized pool area and plenty of games in the garage to keep the children happy.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Have stayed at Windsor Hills 3 times now in a 3br Town Home.

I like that it is a gated community (manned) and that it is really easy to get to WDW from there - there are plenty of lovely places to choose from wherever you go it is mind boggling!

Think that's why we went back to the same place - if you find somewhere you like it's nice just to be able to go back & know what you are getting.

 

[Sunrisedream]

Another good site to try www.orlandovillas.com

 

[castanea1985]

You could also try this.... they have a forum so any if any villa owners were to 'mess up' their reputation would be shattered.
Its a good way to get to know the owner well in advance of going!

http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=94

Hope this helps?

Tracy xx

 

[Netty]

Have you decided yet??

 

[BiGGy]

Thank you all so much, the list of what i want in a villa is coming together
so far we got
wifi for our lappy
pool and hot tub
south facing for the pool
3 bedrooms
location not that important i will be driving

anyone any idea what sort of price i should be looking at for a week, will be using the hard rock hotel voucher they gave me towards maybe a week there if i get enough for one of the kids on ebay

biggy

 

[Pegasus928]

anyone any idea what sort of price i should be looking at for a week
biggy

Bit of an open ended question this one. As has already been mentioned the location, standard and size of the villa all come into it when the price is being determined.
I think if you get onto any of the sites mentioned you should be able to find all the info you require.
We have used http://www.orlandovillas.com/ for most of our trips and have never had any problems, this should also give you an idea of what sort of prices are available.

The easiest thing to do is to search for a 3 bedroom villa then send a request to the owner for availability for the dates you are interested in. There is a tick box at the bottom that will also send the same request to all 3 bedroom villa owners on that site if you check it. State the requirements you have (south facing pool, wi-fi etc) then sit back and wait for the emails to come in. It's then a case of looking for what you want and comparing prices. For example some will want you pay for pool heating seperatley and some will include it or give it free.
Don't just restrict yourself to 3 bedrooms though. Our last stay was in a 5 bed at Cumbrian Lakes, and this worked out cheaper than a 3 bed at some other locations we have stayed at - and we loved the place so much we have booked for next year even though we don't need all the bedrooms.
The main thing we have found when searching for a villa is to keep an open mind - apart from where not having an overlooked pool is concerned that is, that is one stipulation we always stick to