StoryTime Townhomes

[jel0511]

Hi,
We're thinking of renting one for a budget trip we're planning for the summer. Anyone stay at one of the townhouses? I'm looking more for some reviews, I did a search, but most of them were when they had their old management company,I couldn't find anything with their new one. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[stczt]

We are renting from them @ the end of the month. I'll let you know whwen we get back. One thing is after we paid our balance they wanted $20 more for thier paypal fees. I think they should be included. we reserved over a year ago and had to put off the trip or we may have changed.

 

[Cindy B]

We are renting from them @ the end of the month. I'll let you know whwen we get back. One thing is after we paid our balance they wanted $20 more for thier paypal fees. I think they should be included. we reserved over a year ago and had to put off the trip or we may have changed.

See I think that is tacky. I would call the Paypal fees the cost of doing business. If I was the owner, I 'd just charge $20 more the month somewhere instead of asking the owner after the payment... that's just rude.

 

[mousemomof2]

We will be staying there in March. As far as the fee, I kind of felt the same way because it does not mention anything about it anywhere on their site or the final balance notice. Kind of lousy. I asked about this on the boards and was told that it was not uncommon though.

 

[willise]

I did stay there and never would again. Granted, it was with the old management company. However, the owners never did return my call or email concerning the problems we had, they just ignored me. I wasn't even asking for a refund! I just wanted to let them know of our experience. Not bothering to return an email or a phone call was enough to let me know that I would not go there again. I even sent them pictures of the broken glass, ants, etc.


Hopefully, things have changed as I have read others have stayed there with no problems.

Good Luck!

 

[cinderella73]

Well I stayed with them from sept 25th till Oct 3rd (I might be off a bit on dates) of last year. We not only loved the house but we loved the owners. They went really above and beyond to help us . Really great people. Nice home. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. ~ Michelle

 

[Lucky'sMom]

Another bad experience with the owners....ignored our emails..etc. (after they had our deposit).

 

[mrswh]

I sent them an email a week ago inquiring about a trip for early 2009, and haven't heard a peep. I guess they don't want our business.

 

[we6clarks]

We just booked with them today. Now I am a little nervous. They have been very quick to respond so far. I emailed about available dates last night I heard back from them in less than 5 min. We also contacted 2 other owners. 1 we heard from this morning and they were more expensicve. The other hasn't responded yet.

 

[twinsmomvj]

We just booked for our upcoming short trip in May. I've exchanged multiple e-mails with Tanya (one of the owners? managers?), and she was super helpful and very quick to respond to all of my questions. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the good experience continues...

 

[willise]

There was a very lengthy thread on this subject that got closed because it became failry nasty. If you do a search on storytime townhome, you may still be able to find it. As I said, we did not have a great experience with them. However, it didn't ruin our trip - although the ants in the dishwasher was very gross! LOL (I can laugh now looking back on it). Both owners were extremely helpful to me right until the day we arrived. They answered phone calls and replied to emails almost immediately. After the vacation, that all ended.

Now, I know they have purchased more homes (we stayed at the townhome on Fitz Clarence) and have gotten rid of Villa Direct as their management company. They now do it all themselves, I believe. Maybe the people like me who experienced problems are the minority, I really hope so.

If you need any specifics or pictures of the issues I had, PM me.

Best of luck!

 

[hlbrink]

My SIL and her family are staying in one of their townhomes when we go in May (we are renting from a different owner - we had to go with two different owners in order to get in the same building). I'm a bit nervous for them now They do mention their new management company on their Web site, so hopefully this means they are making an effort to improve issues that have affected previous renters.

I wonder how many of the owners lurk on the boards to get feedback? I know I would if I was an owner that rented out my unit (however, I tend to take things too personally sometimes ). From what I have seen of the reviews, most posters are realistic in what they expect and aren't too nitpicky.

 

[we6clarks]

hi twinsmommyj. We also have a set of twins. Do you did letting me know how your stay was in May? We are going over the summer. Which house are you staying in? Thanks.
Michele

 

[twinsmomvj]

hi twinsmommyj. We also have a set of twins. Do you did letting me know how your stay was in May? We are going over the summer. Which house are you staying in? Thanks.
Michele

We are staying in townhouse #4. I know our kids will love their room. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[mikkiwikki]

I inquired at one point about dates over thanksgiving.

They were very short and curt with me. I got a one line email saying your dates are not available. I wasnt too impressed. No Thanks for looking into our property or anything.

The condos do look cute tho.

 

[mousebit]

I hesitate to post comments that aren't real positive, but I believe most of us come to this board seeking help and advise so this is my humble opinion. I did not feel comfortable at all with the owners. My emails went unanswered; I felt that some important questions I asked were evaded. At one point, they were very defensive and I couldn't understand why until I read this board and learned they were going through a rough time. What was going on was none of my concern, but the way I was treated was enough to cause me to cancel my ressie, forfeiting the deposit. I just didn't want to take the chance of doing business with them - especially not when it came to a Disney vacation with my family. Their homes look beautiful and I was sooo disappointed. Things might have worked out just fine, but I couldn't shake the gut feeling that if I had a problem that needed to be addressed by the owner, I would have gotten my head bitten off! And that is not my idea of a vacation. Again, this is just my opinion.

 

[kaseyoz]

It is hard to believe you are talking about the same people we have been dealing with.

I put in a request for my friend who is travelling with us (i had booked another home)out of about 40 replies they were the only ones to ring us and we are in australia . they have been "over the top" answering my questions. My friend has booked with them and i was considering changing to one of theirs also

 

[mousebit]

It is hard to believe you are talking about the same people we have been dealing with.

I put in a request for my friend who is travelling with us (i had booked another home)out of about 40 replies they were the only ones to ring us and we are in australia . they have been "over the top" answering my questions. My friend has booked with them and i was considering changing to one of theirs also

I don't doubt this one bit. For those of you who have already booked with them, I'm fairly sure you will be getting a lovely place to stay for a good price.
As I said, there was some controversy (not concerning me) at the time I was dealing with the owners, and with the stress, tempers flared and some got caught in the crossfire. I just felt uncomfortable and didn't trust that if a problem should occur during my stay that it would be handled fairly and professionally. I'm sure once things cooled down, these owners realized they could have handled things differently. Have a great trip!

 

[Lucky'sMom]

I'll also just add that they were friendly before they had my money, and ignored me after they had my deposit. I cancelled and would not book with them again. JMO.

 

[YayDisney!]

It is hard to believe you are talking about the same people we have been dealing with.

I put in a request for my friend who is travelling with us (i had booked another home)out of about 40 replies they were the only ones to ring us and we are in australia . they have been "over the top" answering my questions. My friend has booked with them and i was considering changing to one of theirs also

We've also had very good communication with the owners of this rental property. We are staying there in early June...this will be our first time off-site and we are really excited. We have extra people in our travel party this time, so we decided to save a little and equip ourselves with a comfortable space to share. We looked long and hard before choosing StoryTime and we feel very comfortable with our decision.

Have a wonderful vacation!!