Need awesome house rec-4BR-south/private pool

[croconile]

I've been overwhelmed by the house rental choices near WDW - wow! We're a 2 family group of 8 people (4 are kids, 10, 6, 5, and 4) and we are traveling from Jan 30 - Feb 6. I would love recommendations and any advice in case I've overlooked something.

I'm looking for:

-very close to WDW - we will have 2 cars but we'd like to be able to go back to house in the afternoons
-south facing pool with a nice view (not another house) and hedges or something on the sides to block neighbor's pools (pool privacy is one of our biggest requirements)
-gated community but a clubhouse/community pool is not needed
-4 beds - preferable a 2 king/2 twin arrangement
-at least 2 bathrooms
-game room would be nice but definitely not necessary
-local management in case of problems

So far I've checked out Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills but I'm sure there are other gated communities without a clubhouse/community pool. I just feel like, at the Windsor properties, that we are paying for the clubhouse amenities and I know we won't need it. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm also a little concerned about booking so far in advance, especially with the forclosure problem these days so I'd love some personal recommendations/advice!

Thanks!

Nile

 

[Byron13]

Most of the gated communities who have communal pools have townhouses, so a pool is needed for them.

Some other gated communities 10 minutes from Disney off the 192

Cumbrian Lakes - small gated community all homes have private pools, the ones overlooking conservation area will be private with a nice view.

Terra Verde- gated, townhouses communal pool

Lake Berkley - gated, townhouse communal pool

Sunset Lakes - gated

There are gated communities down the 27 but a lot are further away from Disney.

 

[thesaurus]

I'd suggest looking at somewhere like VRBO for Formosa Gardens. It is a gated community, no clubhouse/restaurants inside. The homes are large - master suites and bonus rooms as 'second master suites' are common. Games rooms are often available. I've found that most owners have a management company on the ground and are very good at answering questions. As the plots are large, you won't have a problem with privacy - most houses and pools are set/built (?) to avoid overlooking the house on either side. Some houses have hedges marking the property line.

The estate is a short drive to Disney down one of the back roads.

 

[rrobin3051]

We stayed at Indian Creek the last few times. No clubhouse. Very nice and affordable. For July we have a 5 bedroom 4 bath with south facing pool, for 1400 including tax and that is for 12 days.

 

[croconile]

We stayed at Indian Creek the last few times. No clubhouse. Very nice and affordable. For July we have a 5 bedroom 4 bath with south facing pool, for 1400 including tax and that is for 12 days.

That sounds great! Is the house that you will be staying in the same as the one you stayed in before? Do you have a link to their website?

 

[TwimMom903]

We stayed at Terra Verde last year and I didn't really care for it. The community pool is very small, as is the clubhouse. The home we rented was big but the layout was quite awkward.

 

[TammyIsBlessed]

I highly recommend Romancing the Mouse.

We stayed in their 5bd/5bath house with my inlaws. It was great. They gave such personalized service. They were at the house to meet us (no stopping anywhere else for keys!) with muffins & juice, fresh baked cookies and flowers! They also stopped by at the end of the week with chocolate covered strawberries. They gave us a tour of the house showing us how everything worked and were willing to stay as long/short as we liked giving us tips on which grocery stores to go to, shortcuts to Disney, etc. They even left us their cell phone number and encouraged us to call whenever we needed anything. Simply fabulous - cannot recommend them more highly!

If you decide to go with them - pm me for my email address - you'll get the referral discount and we'll get a 5% discount towards our next stay, which we already have booked! Can't wait to go again!

They have 2 houses in Windsor Hills and 2 in Windsor Palms. They range between 4 and 6 bedrooms.

We loved the 5bed 5 bath because every room has it's own bath! It had a pool table as well (not sure if they all do or not)

 

[DisneyNutzy]

I have rented homes in Formosa Gardens, Indian Creek, Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills. Formosa Gardens was definitely our best experience. We have rented from the same owner several times. His prices are not the cheapest but his homes are all in fantastic condition and updated regularly. Here is his website if you want to take a look.

http://www.villatorent.net/

His management company has always been responded quickly the few times we have needed them.

 

[croconile]

I highly recommend Romancing the Mouse.

We stayed in their 5bd/5bath house with my inlaws. It was great. They gave such personalized service. They were at the house to meet us (no stopping anywhere else for keys!) with muffins & juice, fresh baked cookies and flowers! They also stopped by at the end of the week with chocolate covered strawberries. They gave us a tour of the house showing us how everything worked and were willing to stay as long/short as we liked giving us tips on which grocery stores to go to, shortcuts to Disney, etc. They even left us their cell phone number and encouraged us to call whenever we needed anything. Simply fabulous - cannot recommend them more highly!

If you decide to go with them - pm me for my email address - you'll get the referral discount and we'll get a 5% discount towards our next stay, which we already have booked! Can't wait to go again!

They have 2 houses in Windsor Hills and 2 in Windsor Palms. They range between 4 and 6 bedrooms.

We loved the 5bed 5 bath because every room has it's own bath! It had a pool table as well (not sure if they all do or not)

Thanks for the recommendation - the 4 bed/4 bath in WH is on the top of my favorites list - do you remember if the pool was facing south or at least in a direction where it received a lot of sun? Since we're going in Jan/Feb, I think the pool direction will be important. (But I could definitely be wrong!)

If we decide to go with this one, I will defintely PM you!

I have rented homes in Formosa Gardens, Indian Creek, Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills. Formosa Gardens was definitely our best experience. We have rented from the same owner several times. His prices are not the cheapest but his homes are all in fantastic condition and updated regularly. Here is his website if you want to take a look.

http://www.villatorent.net/

His management company has always been responded quickly the few times we have needed them.

There are a couple of really nice 4 BR houses in FH on his site - unfortunately they are already booked for our time - I've really like the places I've seen in that community! I'll have to go back and check his houses in the other communities. Thanks so much for the link!

 

[TammyIsBlessed]

I'm really bad at directions - but I know that we seemed to always be in the sun when we were by the pool (which was every day - one of our kids favourite parts of the whole vacation was having our own pool!), so I would assume that means it's south facing. You could definitely email them to verify that though.

One thing to note - their prices include everything, including pool heat and taxes. Often quotes don't include that!

Edited to add: I just checked the map they have on their website - YES it is south facing!

 

[croconile]

I'm really bad at directions - but I know that we seemed to always be in the sun when we were by the pool (which was every day - one of our kids favourite parts of the whole vacation was having our own pool!), so I would assume that means it's south facing. You could definitely email them to verify that though.

One thing to note - their prices include everything, including pool heat and taxes. Often quotes don't include that!

Edited to add: I just checked the map they have on their website - YES it is south facing!

You guys are great - thanks so much!! I think the 4 BR will be perfect.

 

[Hasil72]

I have rented homes in Formosa Gardens, Indian Creek, Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills. Formosa Gardens was definitely our best experience. We have rented from the same owner several times. His prices are not the cheapest but his homes are all in fantastic condition and updated regularly. Here is his website if you want to take a look.

http://www.villatorent.net/

His management company has always been responded quickly the few times we have needed them.

OP-Sorry to hijack your thread. We have friends who have stayed in Rolling Hills and we have stayed in Oak Island Cove before the bypass was constructed. OIC was nice but I've heard that the bypass noise can be heard in one side of the development.

DisneyNutzy, have you stayed at Laurel Springs in WH by chance? We're booked there for November. I thought $1150 inclusive was a great price for the week.

 

[croconile]

OP-Sorry to hijack your thread. We have friends who have stayed in Rolling Hills and we have stayed in Oak Island Cove before the bypass was constructed. OIC was nice but I've heard that the bypass noise can be heard in one side of the development.

DisneyNutzy, have you stayed at Laurel Springs in WH by chance? We're booked there for November. I thought $1150 inclusive was a great price for the week.

Laurel Springs looks really nice and 1150 seems like a great price. Would you happen to know if they have a website with more pictures than the VRBO listing? They are not available for my dates but we are fairly flexible.

 

[rrobin3051]

so sorry to be getting back to you so late...here is the website
http://www.homeaway.com/search/keywords:207109

I sent an email when looking for places and asked about any discounts, specials etc. She sent me back an offer and then my dad said we would book if she took this price...she wanted to beat anybody else that we were looking at...so maybe check around and see what the going price is then ask...cant hurt

 

[Hasil72]

Sure. The US site is www.villatorent.us

Good luck!

 

[croconile]

so sorry to be getting back to you so late...here is the website
http://www.homeaway.com/search/keywords:207109

I sent an email when looking for places and asked about any discounts, specials etc. She sent me back an offer and then my dad said we would book if she took this price...she wanted to beat anybody else that we were looking at...so maybe check around and see what the going price is then ask...cant hurt

Sure. The US site is www.villatorent.us

Good luck!

Thanks so much!!