vacation home recommendations!help...

[calliemom]

Looking to fly into Orlando June 23 -30th 2007 we are hoping to rent a vacation home with pool for the week and just enjoy "chilling out" as a family. Not looking to do Disney this visit as we will be doing that in the Fall of 07. Can anyone, perhaps a local recommend a company or area that is safe for families and perhaps has some things to do within walking distance. I've been looking at properties around Celebration but when I actually check the individual home they say they are 3 to 5 miles away from it. Were actually looking to stay in it.
Any help would be very appreciated.

 

[isla bonita]

The community of celabration does not allow for short term rentals.

 

[calliemom]

That now makes sense why I can't locate a rental in this area. any thoughts on the gates communities of Lake Berkley or High Grove?

 

[Mainebound]

Looking to fly into Orlando June 23 -30th 2007 we are hoping to rent a vacation home with pool for the week and just enjoy "chilling out" as a family. Not looking to do Disney this visit as we will be doing that in the Fall of 07. Can anyone, perhaps a local recommend a company or area that is safe for families and perhaps has some things to do within walking distance. I've been looking at properties around Celebration but when I actually check the individual home they say they are 3 to 5 miles away from it. Were actually looking to stay in it.
Any help would be very appreciated.

Not a local, but have stayed in vacation homes our last 3 visits to Orlando and can highly recommend the area just south of WDW off 192, which has many beautiful neighborhoods including the 2 we have stayed in (see sig), and many others such as Oak Island, Windsor Palms, Formosa Gardens, etc.

Check the sticky at the top of the board for websites which can direct you to pool home rentals.

 

[5mins2disney]

I would recommend Windsor Hills, it's a gorgeous resort with quite a bit to do just in the resort itself, without having to visit Disney.

www.windsorhillsrent.com

You can find a gorgeous pool home in a brand new gated community there. I guess in a week's time you might run out of things to do, if you're looking for more than pool, sports, etc, but there's an awful lot to do right in the resort itself. We always say we spend too much time at Disney and not nearly enough enjoying the resort! hehe

 

[isla bonita]

If you are asking opinions I think if you are not doing disney why not stay out on 27. They have beautiful rental communities. You do not need prox. to parks so it might be just the thing.

VRBO is a great place to get homes and you can put in specific communities.
http://www.vrbo.com/

Here is a map that will show you the rental communities.
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/villa/map.htm

 

[dougsmom98]

I agree with Isla Bonita and you may want to check out some places on 27 in Davenport. You can get some great homes for less money than you will likely pay in a community directly off of 192. We stayed at Regal Palms which is off of 27 this past February and our goal was also to spend family time together and relax. We did Disney one day and Sea World another. We spent 4 days at the pool. Regal Palms only has town homes, but they have a great pool complex and our kids loved the lazy river and water slide. We spent hours there.
Next February we are staying in a 6 bedroom home with 5 baths in Solana Resort it has its own pool, hot tub, games room, two living rooms, 52 inch TV and smaller TVs in each bedroom. We are paying $1300 including taxes and pool heat. We got quotes for some lovely pool homes in Davenport and they were all between $1000-$1300 including taxes and pool heat. I also researched other areas closer to Disney and it was hard to find anything that could compare to what we found in Davenport for the price. The drive wasn't too bad from that area. In February it only took us 10 minutes to get to the Formosa Gardens area on 192, so when we went to Disney and shopping in DTD the drive wasn't too bad.
Good luck.

 

[calliemom]

I would recommend Windsor Hills, it's a gorgeous resort with quite a bit to do just in the resort itself, without having to visit Disney.

www.windsorhillsrent.com

You can find a gorgeous pool home in a brand new gated community there. I guess in a week's time you might run out of things to do, if you're looking for more than pool, sports, etc, but there's an awful lot to do right in the resort itself. We always say we spend too much time at Disney and not nearly enough enjoying the resort! hehe

I've checked out this site but it seems that everything is sold out or already booked for this time frame. I have however found availability with a site go2bahamabay.com that has a beautiful penthouse condo that is in our price range.
Has anyone every stayed here and would you recommend it!

 

[lunabkat]

Looking to fly into Orlando June 23 -30th 2007 we are hoping to rent a vacation home with pool for the week and just enjoy "chilling out" as a family. Not looking to do Disney this visit as we will be doing that in the Fall of 07. Can anyone, perhaps a local recommend a company or area that is safe for families and perhaps has some things to do within walking distance. I've been looking at properties around Celebration but when I actually check the individual home they say they are 3 to 5 miles away from it. Were actually looking to stay in it.
Any help would be very appreciated.

I have heard very good reviews regarding Allstar Vacation homes and they rent homes in the Windsor Hills development with pools and spas, some even have game rooms, good luck. If you type in allstar vacation homes orlando you should pull them up.

 

[5mins2disney]

I've checked out this site but it seems that everything is sold out or already booked for this time frame. I have however found availability with a site go2bahamabay.com that has a beautiful penthouse condo that is in our price range.
Has anyone every stayed here and would you recommend it!

You can search this forum for Bahama Bay and find other DIS reviews posted there.

 

[Christine]

I stayed at Terra Verde Resort. It is off of Poinciana Blvd. I used AmericasDreamVacations.com and they were VERY good. The townhome WAS immaculate and wonderful.

Only drawback is that you could not walk anywhere (well, within your resort you could) but the resort communities seem to be set way back off the major roads. I don't think you could walk to any shopping centers, etc.

 

[KayR]

You could try www.windsor-palms-florida.net for properties at Windsor Palms. They are a resort community close to the parks, but far enough away to be quiet and relaxing.

--Kay

 

[IluvKingLouis]

I've heard wonderful things about holiday rentals. Having said that, please do not rent from this person http://www.sunstaterentals.com/

We were able to get our money back since we paid with a credit card. The house was dirty (previous houseguests wrote the word dirty in the dust on the glass surface of a hanging lamp, and the housekeeper didn't even catch that.) There were bugs, and a dirty bandage on the floor of the master bedroom. There was mold on the shower curtain liner. We took a lot of pictures and a video demonstrating how one of the doors to the outside could not be locked. Needless to say Master Card was on our side.

We stayed just the first night since we arrived late in the evening. There were also a ton of customer service issues, but I've taken up enough space already!

 

[calliemom]

This is all getting so complicated....we find a place its sold out...too expensive...bad reviews. We are so used to booking directly through hotels that I feel like I'm gambling this time around!

 

[bethie]

I am in the process of doing the same thing for the same reason. A possible trip in November. I have been searching VRBO and the thing that gets me is the prices listed on the page are always different from what they quote you??? I think they are sucking you in or something. It is nerve racking because this is our first house rental as well.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

I am in the process of doing the same thing for the same reason. A possible trip in November. I have been searching VRBO and the thing that gets me is the prices listed on the page are always different from what they quote you??? I think they are sucking you in or something. It is nerve racking because this is our first house rental as well.

Use your credit card. If they insist on a personal check, that should send up a big red flag. The guy that I had a bad experience with changed the price on us after we had paid $200.00 to reserve the property. The house went from $800.00 to $900.00. The $900.00 was if we wanted the pool heated. His website implies that the heated pool is included in the $800.00 price.

 

[KayR]

Bethie,

It could be that the rates have not been updated. It is no excuse, but often owners have a lot of adverts to update and don't manage to keep them all up to date.

Also the price you may be shown could be the base rental price, which then you need to add tax and perhaps any options to.

Probably all the owners that I know do this to cover the costs of running the home - not for profit! They put a lot of personal touches into their homes and their service. (From the sounds of a couple of the prices that have been thrown out there - there are a few homes that are not being rented for a fair rate and I would be worried about the reason for that. Homes are generally a better value than a hotel for space and amenities. Income from renting a home is usually put back into the home in the form of upgrades and maintenance).

You want to be assured you are not being scammed. Owners also want to know that they are not being scammed and that you will take good care of their homes. Talk to the owner, either by phone or email. You will get a feel for what they are like. Check out their website, their advertising sites (how long have they been a member on an advertising site). Ask on here about a home / owner.

It can be daunting, but I am sure you will have a great experience once you take the plunge.

--Kay

 

[bethie]

Thanks for your replys. I understand about not updating, but it rather irritating when they advertise one thing then quote you another. I also know, that unless otherwise stated, prices don't include tax or pool heat. It is just annoying at times. I am looking forward to renting a home, like everyone, I want the best deal out there! LOL!!!

 

[calliemom]

we were almost ready to book a property in Bahama Bay last night then stumbled upon a review that claimed this company does not in fact own the units but gets them direct from Bahama Bay as needed. His web site implies that the units belong to him and are as show in the photo's. When I asked him about this review he adamantly denied it , but really how do you ever know? I feel like I'm putting a great deal of faith into this rental situation and quite frankly I don't think I'm cut out for it!!!!

 

[5mins2disney]

we were almost ready to book a property in Bahama Bay last night then stumbled upon a review that claimed this company does not in fact own the units but gets them direct from Bahama Bay as needed. His web site implies that the units belong to him and are as show in the photo's. When I asked him about this review he adamantly denied it , but really how do you ever know? I feel like I'm putting a great deal of faith into this rental situation and quite frankly I don't think I'm cut out for it!!!!

You're better off renting directly from an owner in most cases. You'll be staying in the actual home pictured on their website, not one "similar" or "just like it". Also, no one is going to truly care about a home as much as the owner of the home will, certainly a company won't!

How do you really know? Simple...in Florida the county website lists the owners of every single piece of real estate / property, all you need is the owner's name or the property address and you can go look it up, right online, for free! If you're at the point of considering to book the home, the owner shouldn't really have any concerns with disclosing the owner's name and/or property address to put your mind at ease.