Vacation homes

[daystar]

Hi,
My family and another family are looking into renting a vacation home for the time that we are in Orlando....My question to anyone who has rented these homes before, is there any other fees that you have to pay other than the rent, and taxes???I see that they charge you a fee for heating the pool....What about the utility bills??Just don't want to get stuck with a big bill at the end and not knowing if there is other fees i have to pay for...............Thanks

 

[JANNYANS]

it depends how you book the home .If you go through an owner then each one will have their own way of doing it generally US ones do not include taxes but the British one do- it stems from how the brits are used to seeing the price including the taxes. An agency will normally qoute exclusive of taxes .Utilities are usually included but pool heat is often an extra .The only other thing is the security deposit which is refundable once the owner or their man co ascertains no excessive damage done or charges have been made.the best thing is to ask for a quote fully inclusive of everything that way you can't get any surprises

 

[dkal95]

We rented through www.villadirect.com for our trip on October 1-8th.

We had to pay the rent, a processing fee ($25), taxes and a accidental waiver fee($55). So it wasn't that bad at all.

We chose not to get the pool heat since it was the beginning of October and the weather should still be pretty nice.

 

[daystar]

Hi,
If you don't mind me asking what did it cost you for the days you stayed in total???I have looked on that website and found several nice places to stay....Are they as nice as they look in photo???

 

[dkal95]

We haven't stayed there yet, our trip is in October. I have asked around and haven't heard anything bad about them, so hopefully they'll be nice!

The one I got was a 4 bedroom 3 bath with a private pool and hot tub. I paid tax and all, $1019 for a week.

 

[Keacc]

We have rented condos and single family homes in the Kissimmee area on several occasions and always had a great experience. I have never paid for utilities (except pool heat). I have never paid a processing fee either. We are staying in a 5 bdrm, 4bath home the week before Christmas with pool and hot tub for under $1,400 with everything including tax and pool heat. Shop around for the best deal.

 

[ptcruisermom]

When we rented last Dec-Jan for three weeks, we paid around 126.00 a night plus pool heat of around 130 a week. That was tax included. We did have to give them 200.00 security deposit which we received back within a month of our departure. The pool heat ws well worth it as some of our days the high was 62 and some days it was in the mid 80's our pool was heated nywhere from 86-92 degrees. We could swim at night when it was cooler with the water that warm. It is well worht paying for the pool heat.

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

We have stayed in both a condo and a 6 bedroom house w/pool and 4 bedrooms. Both were great, with no hidden fees. The house was $155 per night in May/June. The condo (3 Bedroom-2 bath) was $99 per night. Terriffic for big families. The house had full kitchen, washer/dryer. Awesome deal.

 

[disneysteve]

We have rented pool homes several times and a condo once. Houses ranged from $99-$110/nite. The condo was $90/nite. We never asked for or paid for pool heat. One fee which you might encounter is a cleaning fee of about $60-65. Most owners include this for a week-long stay but add it on if you are staying less than 6 or 7 days.

One warning about renting a home in the Disney area. You will never want to stay in a hotel again. There is absolutely no comparison between a hotel room with 2 beds side by side and one small bathroom and a house with 3-6 bedrooms and as many bathrooms usually including at least one master suite with sunken tub or whirlpool bath, a private in-ground, heated, screened-in pool, a full kitchen, multiple tv's, stereo, vcr or dvd player, possibly a video game system and maybe even a computer with Internet access. And all of that for less than the cost of a mid-range hotel. Even better if you can split the cost by sharing a home with friends or family.

 

[Mainebound]

We are also shopping for a villa for our spring 05 trip. I have found vrbo.com, villas2000.com, and orlandovillas.com (plus its sister sites) to be the most helpful, as they all deal directly with owners, not management companies, and you get the home you see, not whatever is available the week you go.
On orlandovillas.com there are forums where you can ask owners general questions and also maps of where all the communities (there are dozens) are located.

As for fees, I have found taxes and pool heat often not included in the quoted price. Also, if the home has a freestanding spa outside the pool, it often costs extra to heat that. Also, baby equipment is sometimes extra. Charges for phone calls vary, with some homes having free international calls and internet, and others not.

As for getting what you see, I think you just have to ask: "are these photos of the home as actually furnished, or of a model home?". When was the villa built? When were these pictures taken? I have found owners more than happy to answer questions and even to send additional photos.

It seems like these villa questions keep coming up lately. It would be great if we had a FAQ at the top of the page, wouldn't it?

I would also love to see a villa review thread. We get so much feedback on hotel rooms at WDW from returning guests, but nothing on pool homes.

 

[torismom]

http://www.floridadisneyhomes.com/

Dan and Donna are great to work with. They also have a couple of houses not on the website. I would book with them anytime.

 

[JANNYANS]

Mainebound- you will find that the one thing villa owners love doing is talking about their homes I am always more than happy to answer any questions and where possible provide exactly what my guests need -one I had recently wanted hair straighteners -they got them .If you get one who won't answer you then forget them .

I totally agree we could do with a separate section on pool homes

 

[torismom]

I agree about a seperate section on pool homes. I love talking about our home and would love for more people to know about it!! I am very proud of what we have done.

Have a great time planning your vacation in a private "villa"