Vacation Home (Trip Report)

[kcarp]

Just back from 10 days at Disney! We stayed in a 6 bed 4 bath vacation home in Indian Creek. The house was nice and very clean. Very close to Disney, Animal Kingdom 2 miles away. We drove every day, and I don’t think we were in the car more than 45 minutes anytime we went to the parks. Sherberth Rd works well in this area. Our first day we went shopping at Winn-Dixie and I don’t recommend shopping there. The prices are ridiculous! I know I’m on vacation and I can understand the higher price, but come on $7.99 for a pound of ham? $6.99 for a pound of ground chuck? 0.89 a pound for Bananas? I could go on, but pick a different place to shop! Getting back to the vacation home. The home we stayed in had some minor problems that I did not let ruin my vacation. The pool alarm we had was a joke.

It tripped when ever it wanted, when you did everything right to shut the door, it still would go off! If you don’t have kids, make sure you rent a home that doesn’t have an alarm or make sure they can disarm it. I saw 3 or 4 pictures fall off the wall from just shutting doors. The blender started smoking the first time we tried to use it; also the can opener fell apart the first time we used it. The pool was great but the Spa had two temperatures hot or cold! We rented a Gas grill for the week. The first day we tried to light the grill the lighter didn’t work, we had to go buy matches, no one smokes in my family. They also didn’t supply a wire brush to clean the grill after use, had to call management for the 4th time.




I didn’t realize the game room was not climate control until we arrived. That really hurt, because it was 90 degrees every time you went in there to play. I learned a lot about renting a vacation home for the first time. I also learned I would rather be in a suite hotel than a vacation home. I felt like I was working more than on vacation at times. I forgot how much I like a maid cleaning my room providing fresh towels and not having to empty the trash & wash clothes everyday. I’m not saying anything is wrong with renting a vacation home, it’s just not for me. One of the biggest mistakes I made while I was there, I put the garbage cans to the road 2 days before pick up so I wouldn’t forget. I retrieved the cans after they were dumped to find atleast 20 empty plate lunch boxes in my cans. From what I understand all the garbage must be bagged to be picked up. I bagged everything, but did realize the workers in the neighborhood would use our cans by the road as their garbage cans…lol my fault! Just keep that in mine.


In conclusion we really did have a nice vacation! I still say all this stuff is minor problems. We had a great time at Disney. This was my first time not using Disney transportation and we loved it. You can get to the parks so much faster. There are so many cheap places to dine on 192 that will save you money! We had a party of 17 and renting the home was the best deal for us. Would I do it again? I don’t know, but I did learn to ask more questions about your home so there are no surprises! I would like to thank everyone that helped me plan our vacation on this great board. I will see you guys again in 2008, now it’s time to go cruising!



Take care!

 

[isla bonita]

I am sorry it was not what it had promised. As a home owner I have to say we try to keep our home as good of shape as possible. We are always adding and improving but we are also only there twice a year. We do have a man/co for emergencies and big jobs but we generally do the smaller fix ups like maybe a picture came loose or something such as that.

Some one may have sent you to WInn Dixie because it was the closest to the house. We generally use Publix a little further west down 192. I have shopped in the winn dixie and do not remember it being that expensive.

The pool alarms need pressing before you leave the door. Also as soon as you open it and step thru you again need to press the button. Not for every one but we had 2 1 yos with us and I wanted all the protection we could get.

I sent my own aunt down with her friends for her 50th and they also had the same problem with the blender. It happens and I just had them purchas another and I repaid them when they returned. It is vacation and I have to tell you ours gets a lot of use. We pick our own fruit and make smoothies all the time we are down.

Doing laundry is one of the chores I don't mind doing. In our home in Florida our washer dryer is on the first floor right in the kitchen and it is easy to switch the landry. At home it is in our cellar so it is more of a pain to get to. I also hate dirty cloths when we get home. It brings down my high after being in Florida.

I was one who recomended the pool home and gave you some of that not so useful advice. I am truely sorry about it. Thank goodness you do not have to do that again. Deb

 

[kcarp]

I was one who recomended the pool home and gave you some of that not so useful advice. I am truely sorry about it. Thank goodness you do not have to do that again. Deb

You gave me great advice and so did so many others. It might not sound like it, but we had a great time....lol Again renting a home is a great idea, if that's your thing. Thanks again!

 

[drgnfly30]

I just got back (last Sunday) from our vacation home rental.. it was a four bedroom also in Indian Creek.. We thought the location was perfect.. I didn't think the Winn Dixie (MarketPlace) was that overpriced, no more so than my local Acme!

The pool alarm is a necessary evil & I don't think you'll find a home that doesnt have one.. the home I was in had a sign posted saying that it was the law & that disarming the alarm was illegal....

Our game room was in the garage & while it was hot during the day, it was fairly bareable by evening...

I didn't find the housekeeping too much of a chore, we did easy quick meals & I did small loads of laundry throughout our stay. Our home contained a reference book that contained a wealth of information including a mention about NOT putting the garbage on the curb until the night before pick up.

We only had two minor issues, the sprayer in the kitchen sink got stuck so that the water wouldn't come out of the faucet.. the owner stopped by to have the fire extinguishers checked & I mentioned it, she said to give it a good whack to unstick it.. that the replacement was on order.. it never did unstick but then again I was afraid of breaking it!! The other was that the pool alarm battery went dead which causes a repeated beeping.. I just ran to the Winn Dixie & picked up a 9volt... no biggie!

Will we rent again? Probably... Will we stay on site again? Probably... We loved the roominess, the price & the privacy but we did lose a tiny bit of the vacationy feel of our trip..

 

[florida_dreamin]

We have rented homes the last four years. We alswyas come down in the summer and then again in Dec or Apr. Renting a home is teh only way to go in my book. I have yet to find an owner who has not gone out oftheir way to make your life easier, and the fact that you can swim in your OWN pool and/or hottub without 100 kids and drunk parents around you is the ebst end to a day at the parks I know. Yes, you have to do your own laundry, but if you put it on wash before you go to bed and turn the dryer on when you leave for the aprks then it is a non issue. Regardless of the cost of the supermarket, youcan still cut your food bill by75% by buring cereal, poptarts, bread, cold cuts, etc eating in versus eating out. My family has a four bedroom 2500 sq ft home reserved in three weeks that we are chomping at the bit to get to. It is 950 for the week, That equates to less than 50 a night for my sisetr, parents and myself each. Well worth the privacy, convienience and comfort.

 

[vhoffman]

hi!

I'm just jumping in on this thread and can't say I've ever had any experience with an actual vacation rental home, so perhaps my comments don't really belong here, but they're just my opinions and observations.

We just came back from an 18-day trip to Hawaii. We stayed in condos for 2 islands, the third island we stayed in a hotel. Actually, I almost found the hotel to be more convenient. I really would have thought condos/rental homes to be the way to go, but we found that by the time we got in, got settled, found a grocery store and set up for housekeeping half our stay was through. Actually, our last trip to Disney we also stayed in a condo, had the same experience--by the time we got in groceries, etc., our stay was half over. Of course, it all depends on how long you stay!

I thought our last stay in Hawaii at the hotel would be the most stressful, however, it was the best stay. Didn't hurt that we got a free upgrade to an oceanfront! We quickly found inexpensive eateries within walking distance (Hilton Hawaiian Village ain't cheap ), however, we found some nice basic Denny's-type restaurants nearby. Actually I found it less stressful that way. Also, I've found when I stay in a place too much like home, like a 2 bdr, 2 bath condo with washer-dryer, I never really go on vacation. I'm washing clothes, cooking meals, etc. There again, its all a matter of how long you stay--I would say a rental home or condo is great if you're there at least 1-2 weeks, otherwise, you spend too much precious vacation time trying to find the closest stores, stock up, etc. Well, just my opinion, I really thought the condos would be more enjoyable than they were for us.

 

[judykay53]

Any other comments about Indian Creek? We have a 5 bedroom reserved there for Thanksgiving week. We are doing Universal, IOA, Sea World and Disney. This will be our first pool home to rent so we do not know what to expect.

 

[minnie29uk]

We have rented homes the last four years. We alswyas come down in the summer and then again in Dec or Apr. Renting a home is teh only way to go in my book. I have yet to find an owner who has not gone out oftheir way to make your life easier, and the fact that you can swim in your OWN pool and/or hottub without 100 kids and drunk parents around you is the ebst end to a day at the parks I know. Yes, you have to do your own laundry, but if you put it on wash before you go to bed and turn the dryer on when you leave for the aprks then it is a non issue. Regardless of the cost of the supermarket, youcan still cut your food bill by75% by buring cereal, poptarts, bread, cold cuts, etc eating in versus eating out. My family has a four bedroom 2500 sq ft home reserved in three weeks that we are chomping at the bit to get to. It is 950 for the week, That equates to less than 50 a night for my sisetr, parents and myself each. Well worth the privacy, convienience and comfort.

I actually love the fact that I can do my laundry before I come home and just unpack my suitcase rather than face a washload.The machines in US are also sooo much better than here in the UK.Really quick and do the job!!!

Lynn

 

[Brian Noble]

While many of us do enjoy vacation homes, I think the OP makes some really good points. Perhaps the most important is that vacation homes aren't for everyone. The experience in one is really nothing like that in a suite hotel.

For example, at a Residence Inn, daily maid service includes washing your dishes and sweeping up the kitchen floor so you don't have to. You can give the staff at most of these properties a shopping list, and they will shop for you, and bill you *at cost* for what they buy---no additional charges! You can have them do your laundry if you want, too, though it will cost you a fair bit.

Of course, a 2BR suite in a residence inn is going to cost more than the 4BR pool home, it doesn't have the private pool/spa, and it doesn't have a 3rd bath (and sometimes not a second one!). In other words, you have to pay for service.

We like the extra space and privacy a pool home provides, and don't mind not having maid service. I can generally make it a week without maid service on vacation, particularly because I'm not doing *that* much cooking.

However, when I travel for consulting, I usually stay in a Residence Inn, and I tend to cook a lot more in the evenings, because it is more relaxing to bum around the suite than go out, and then I really appreciate the daily maid service. (I still do my own shopping though, because I prefer specific stores---Trader Joe's keeps me in kibble during these trips!)

As a compromise, many property management companies will allow you to schedule a mid-stay clean, for a price. If it is important to you, just ask.