Cast:
Me: 33 - Florida Mad, Disney Daft etc, etc,
DH: 41 - As above x 100
Also Starring:
Friend Joanne, Joanne's DH, FIL and 4 lovely DS's aged 9, 8, 5 and 2.
We arrived at Joannes villa around 8.30 with the intention of going to Universal studios. After sleeping on it for the night Joanne and her DH had come to the conclusion that they were still not happy with the Villa. So Universal was of for today so that this problem could be sorted. It was decided to go to the management company so that Joanne and her DH could confront them with their concerns. Before we left we took pictures to back up the concerns and chatted about how to approach the situation.
(as well as this the sofa was absolutely FILTHY, unfortunately we did not get a picture of this but believe me when I say you wouldn't let an animal sit on it)
The Management company (whom I will not name as I know I am not allowed to, but I would love to
) were not very helpful, infact they were quite dismissive. They said plug sockets hanging of the wall and a leaking air conditioner making the floor wet were not health and safety issues. They said there was nothing they could do and the only thing they could suggest was to go through the company that the holiday had been booked with which was American Holidays. Joanne asked the guy at the management company if she could contact American Holidays from their office phone, but was told no (miserable git). She then asked if he could contact American Holidays directly himself and ask them to get in touch with her DH, and he said he would. However after leaving the office and discussing amongst ourselves, we did not trust that he would do this. Joannes DH had a look through their paperwork and as luck would have it American holidays have an office in Orlando. We called from a phone box in Publix, not very private but the phone in the villa would not let you make outgoing calls (even with a phone card). They said they would send someone out as soon as possible. We raced back to the villa and waited. About 45 minutes later a representative arrived. He looked round the villa and we could tell he was just as horrified as we were. Of course he was very diplomatic and said it does look rather tired but we knew he was on our side. After all, this management company was representing American Holidays when it supplied villas to people. He filled in some paperwork and said that he would be in contact later that afternoon. We didnt want to go anywhere as it really was important to get this sorted as it was interfering with Joanne and her DHs enjoyment of their holiday. It was now lunchtime so my DH and Joannes DH and FIL decided to go out and grab some subway sandwiches for lunch. They had been gone maybe 15 minutes when they American Holidays rep called and said that he may have another villa but to sit tight for 10 minutes and he would call back and confirm it. He called back as promised with good news that another villa was available it was slightly further away than the one they were in now (this was off the US27 and the new one was just past the Florida Turnpike of the 192). Joanne was delighted to say they least so she and I started packing immediately. In fact by the time the others got back from Subway everything was more or less packed up, except for her FILs things, we didnt think he would appreciate his DIL and her friend going through his smalls.
.
The new villa was lovely and so far removed from original one they had been allocated. Windsor Park at Remington development. Bit further away from us (about 45 minutes) but we didnt mind as Joanne and Ronan were very happy with it. We unpacked the cars and got them settled in. DH stood in Ants nest while emptying car and had about 30 ants crawling up his leg (YUK). We headed home around 6.30 stopping on the way to get pizza for tea. It had been a bit of a lost day but a worthwhile one. Lets hope that was the end of traumatic times for Joanne her family in Florida (yeah right! Ill get to that later!!!) Can I just say that American Holidays were excellent in this whole thing. They acted quickly and professionally and really did help make a bad situation better.
Me: 33 - Florida Mad, Disney Daft etc, etc,
DH: 41 - As above x 100
Also Starring:
Friend Joanne, Joanne's DH, FIL and 4 lovely DS's aged 9, 8, 5 and 2.
We arrived at Joannes villa around 8.30 with the intention of going to Universal studios. After sleeping on it for the night Joanne and her DH had come to the conclusion that they were still not happy with the Villa. So Universal was of for today so that this problem could be sorted. It was decided to go to the management company so that Joanne and her DH could confront them with their concerns. Before we left we took pictures to back up the concerns and chatted about how to approach the situation.
(as well as this the sofa was absolutely FILTHY, unfortunately we did not get a picture of this but believe me when I say you wouldn't let an animal sit on it)
The Management company (whom I will not name as I know I am not allowed to, but I would love to
) were not very helpful, infact they were quite dismissive. They said plug sockets hanging of the wall and a leaking air conditioner making the floor wet were not health and safety issues. They said there was nothing they could do and the only thing they could suggest was to go through the company that the holiday had been booked with which was American Holidays. Joanne asked the guy at the management company if she could contact American Holidays from their office phone, but was told no (miserable git). She then asked if he could contact American Holidays directly himself and ask them to get in touch with her DH, and he said he would. However after leaving the office and discussing amongst ourselves, we did not trust that he would do this. Joannes DH had a look through their paperwork and as luck would have it American holidays have an office in Orlando. We called from a phone box in Publix, not very private but the phone in the villa would not let you make outgoing calls (even with a phone card). They said they would send someone out as soon as possible. We raced back to the villa and waited. About 45 minutes later a representative arrived. He looked round the villa and we could tell he was just as horrified as we were. Of course he was very diplomatic and said it does look rather tired but we knew he was on our side. After all, this management company was representing American Holidays when it supplied villas to people. He filled in some paperwork and said that he would be in contact later that afternoon. We didnt want to go anywhere as it really was important to get this sorted as it was interfering with Joanne and her DHs enjoyment of their holiday. It was now lunchtime so my DH and Joannes DH and FIL decided to go out and grab some subway sandwiches for lunch. They had been gone maybe 15 minutes when they American Holidays rep called and said that he may have another villa but to sit tight for 10 minutes and he would call back and confirm it. He called back as promised with good news that another villa was available it was slightly further away than the one they were in now (this was off the US27 and the new one was just past the Florida Turnpike of the 192). Joanne was delighted to say they least so she and I started packing immediately. In fact by the time the others got back from Subway everything was more or less packed up, except for her FILs things, we didnt think he would appreciate his DIL and her friend going through his smalls. .
The new villa was lovely and so far removed from original one they had been allocated. Windsor Park at Remington development. Bit further away from us (about 45 minutes) but we didnt mind as Joanne and Ronan were very happy with it. We unpacked the cars and got them settled in. DH stood in Ants nest while emptying car and had about 30 ants crawling up his leg (YUK). We headed home around 6.30 stopping on the way to get pizza for tea. It had been a bit of a lost day but a worthwhile one. Lets hope that was the end of traumatic times for Joanne her family in Florida (yeah right! Ill get to that later!!!) Can I just say that American Holidays were excellent in this whole thing. They acted quickly and professionally and really did help make a bad situation better.
