We've been back for a few weeks, but I'm just leaving this review now. We stayed at a townhouse through www.vacationcentralflorida.com and were very happy!
First, Windsor Hills was a very well-kept resort and super close to WDW. Most days it took us about 10 mins. to get ot the parking lot of whichever park we were visiting, about 20 mins. to US/IOA. We went at the beginning of Dec. so less busy than normal so your mileage may vary, but the traffic wasn't bad at all when we were there.
At the resort we only used the resort pool twice, but both times we were there it was very well lit and clean and the kids had a blast. My son played for almost 3 hrs. straight one night just on the fountains that bubble up unexpectedly. He and another little girl would try to run and step on whichever fountains were coming up.
The kids only played a few hours at the park at the resort because we didn't get there until the last day of our stay, but it was also very clean and well-kept and the castle theming was very cool.
As for the townhouse itself, I will definitely stay there again if possible whenever we make it back to Florida for vacation. It was very clean, well-kept, well stocked, and there was Disney theming everywhere.
I kept the place we were staying a surprise for my family and they all were incredibly happy with the townhouse. Dd's favourite was probably the backyard splashpool that she swam in almost every night.
Ds loved having his own room and bathroom. Since it was 3 bed/3 bath each of the kids had their own room, bathroom, and tv so they thought they were royalty.
Dh's favourite parts were probably the large screen tv in the living room and having soooo much room. We were so comfortable with having so much room for days when we weren't in the parks or when we came home from the parks on an early-closing nights and just wanted to wind down. It was lovely to not have to worry about turning the lights out early to not wake the kids or having to worry about timing showers in the morning so we could all get clean and still get to the park for opening.
My favourite parts were oddly enough the washer/dryer and the full kitchen. It was very convenient to throw a load of laundry in at the end of the day and then move it to the dryer before bed. We could pack much lighter because we had clean clothes every morning so we really only needed 2 pairs of warmer clothes and 2 pairs of clothes for cooler weather. It was also nice to come home and just unpack the clean clothes from the suitcases rather than spend the day cleaning loads of laundry as soon as we got home.
The kitchen was great because we ate breakfast at home every morning. No need to go out and pay at a restaurant and take time to do that when we could quickly eat breakfast and then go straight to the parks. Most mornings we only had to wake up 30 mins. before we wanted to be out the door! We ate some suppers at the townhouse as well when we left a park that had an early closing time. The kitchen was extremely well stocked. The only thing I would have like that wasn't there was a stainless steel cook pot and a cast iron pan. The reason being is that the non-stick stuff was scratched up from people who had used non-plastic utensils in them. The scoopers, flippers, etc. were plastic, but I'm sure people had used forks, knives, etc. in the pans and scratched them up. I don't expect the owners to keep buying new non-stick stuff whenever people scratch them up, that is why I'd prefer cast iron and stainless steel, even if just one of each.
There were more than enough towels in the place. In fact I didn't even realize there was a linen closet until the last day we were there because we never even had to get a single blanket or towel from it our whole stay. There were several towels folded decoratively that were on our beds when we arrived and since we did laundry almost every night we never had to use the extra towels in the closet.
There was a small bottle of dish detergent and a small box of dishwasher powdered detergent as well as garbage bags and hotel-type soaps in the bathrooms. There was the roll of toilet paper in each bathroom and if I remember correctly there were a couple extra rolls underneath, but you would obviously have to buy toilet paper during your stay. You might have to buy dishwashing stuff too because I'm guessing the stuff that was there was left by the previous people. When we left we left the bottle of dishwashing detergent we bought as well as a small amount of laundry soap.
There were hairdryers in every bathroom and I couldn't say if there was a curling iron because I didn't need one and can't remember.
The couch set in the living room was very nice. It was the one thing in the pictures online that I wasn't crazy over, but it was very stylish and comfy. The beds were quite comfortable as well. In the main bedroom there was a king bed. I found it a bit too firm, but it was comfy and dh and I didn't have to worry about kicking each other with all that space!
If anybody has any questions ask away. I'd recommend this townhouse without hesitation to anybody though. I was very worried about renting privately but it turned out wonderfully!
First, Windsor Hills was a very well-kept resort and super close to WDW. Most days it took us about 10 mins. to get ot the parking lot of whichever park we were visiting, about 20 mins. to US/IOA. We went at the beginning of Dec. so less busy than normal so your mileage may vary, but the traffic wasn't bad at all when we were there.
At the resort we only used the resort pool twice, but both times we were there it was very well lit and clean and the kids had a blast. My son played for almost 3 hrs. straight one night just on the fountains that bubble up unexpectedly. He and another little girl would try to run and step on whichever fountains were coming up.
The kids only played a few hours at the park at the resort because we didn't get there until the last day of our stay, but it was also very clean and well-kept and the castle theming was very cool.
As for the townhouse itself, I will definitely stay there again if possible whenever we make it back to Florida for vacation. It was very clean, well-kept, well stocked, and there was Disney theming everywhere.
I kept the place we were staying a surprise for my family and they all were incredibly happy with the townhouse. Dd's favourite was probably the backyard splashpool that she swam in almost every night.
Ds loved having his own room and bathroom. Since it was 3 bed/3 bath each of the kids had their own room, bathroom, and tv so they thought they were royalty.
Dh's favourite parts were probably the large screen tv in the living room and having soooo much room. We were so comfortable with having so much room for days when we weren't in the parks or when we came home from the parks on an early-closing nights and just wanted to wind down. It was lovely to not have to worry about turning the lights out early to not wake the kids or having to worry about timing showers in the morning so we could all get clean and still get to the park for opening.
My favourite parts were oddly enough the washer/dryer and the full kitchen. It was very convenient to throw a load of laundry in at the end of the day and then move it to the dryer before bed. We could pack much lighter because we had clean clothes every morning so we really only needed 2 pairs of warmer clothes and 2 pairs of clothes for cooler weather. It was also nice to come home and just unpack the clean clothes from the suitcases rather than spend the day cleaning loads of laundry as soon as we got home.
The kitchen was great because we ate breakfast at home every morning. No need to go out and pay at a restaurant and take time to do that when we could quickly eat breakfast and then go straight to the parks. Most mornings we only had to wake up 30 mins. before we wanted to be out the door! We ate some suppers at the townhouse as well when we left a park that had an early closing time. The kitchen was extremely well stocked. The only thing I would have like that wasn't there was a stainless steel cook pot and a cast iron pan. The reason being is that the non-stick stuff was scratched up from people who had used non-plastic utensils in them. The scoopers, flippers, etc. were plastic, but I'm sure people had used forks, knives, etc. in the pans and scratched them up. I don't expect the owners to keep buying new non-stick stuff whenever people scratch them up, that is why I'd prefer cast iron and stainless steel, even if just one of each.
There were more than enough towels in the place. In fact I didn't even realize there was a linen closet until the last day we were there because we never even had to get a single blanket or towel from it our whole stay. There were several towels folded decoratively that were on our beds when we arrived and since we did laundry almost every night we never had to use the extra towels in the closet.
There was a small bottle of dish detergent and a small box of dishwasher powdered detergent as well as garbage bags and hotel-type soaps in the bathrooms. There was the roll of toilet paper in each bathroom and if I remember correctly there were a couple extra rolls underneath, but you would obviously have to buy toilet paper during your stay. You might have to buy dishwashing stuff too because I'm guessing the stuff that was there was left by the previous people. When we left we left the bottle of dishwashing detergent we bought as well as a small amount of laundry soap.
There were hairdryers in every bathroom and I couldn't say if there was a curling iron because I didn't need one and can't remember.
The couch set in the living room was very nice. It was the one thing in the pictures online that I wasn't crazy over, but it was very stylish and comfy. The beds were quite comfortable as well. In the main bedroom there was a king bed. I found it a bit too firm, but it was comfy and dh and I didn't have to worry about kicking each other with all that space!
If anybody has any questions ask away. I'd recommend this townhouse without hesitation to anybody though. I was very worried about renting privately but it turned out wonderfully!
