Villa Cleanliness

[skelfbsfb]

We are currently renting a villa whilst we stay at Florida, however the standard we expect for a luxury villa is not accetable. Patio Windows still have other peoples hand prints on them, pool had dead frogs in it also an infestation of ants, when pool guy came round to clean pool he said that he already knew about this and reported it. lights not working in toilets and kitchen areas. remote controls with no batteries, there is dust everywhere on skirting boards to door frames and you can actually see where they tried to clean kitchen table as its all streaky and sticky, even the utensils had food stuck to them. A lamp shade was also broken and just lying around base of lamp. Now I know that the owner is not here all the time but the management team have let them and the customers down badly, so much so we are not staying at another resort at our own expense as my wife and kids do not want to stay at the villa anymore. What advice can anyone give.

 

[florida sun]

Sorry to hear things are so bad Im going to pop this over to UK Trip Planning for you, where most of our Villa experts are and hopefully they can give you some advice

 

[Netty]

what you need to do is take photos of the villa, get in touch with the management company and tell them the problems and its not acceptable.
Also who did you book with?
If it was direct with the owner then get in touch with them asap. If with a travel company then phone them and tell them your not happy and want to be moved. remember to take photos of everything that is wrong, for evidence- as it has been known for people to be landed with a bill for the state of the villa.
Just re read- see you have had to move out the villa to enjoy your holiday, please go and see the management company and tell them to find another villa for you, which will not cost you anything.
We have stayed in villas for the past 13 yrs and have never really come across this problem ourselves
good luck let us know how you get on

 

[cymbeline]

We had a similar thing happen last year. We stuck it out as we had booked direct through the owner. The villa was soon repossessed later that year. The owner blamed the management company and they blamed her so we got nowhere. First time in 8 years there had been a problem but it does put a bit of a dampener on your hols.

I would take photos and hassle the management company as suggested. Hope you can still enjoy Florida.

 

[skelfbsfb]

Thanks for the advice we will go back to the villa and take pictures as we still have the key and have been going back to make sure everything was ok with the villa. When we first arrived we telephoned the owner about a couple of issues we had and she was surprised that the things had not been reported to her by the previous poeople who had been staying the weeks before us. But like all thing when you first arrive you are tired and do not check thing properly until the next day and this is when we realised the villa was not at a standard you would expect to stay in.

 

[Pegasus928]

I know you said that you had mentioned it to the pool guy but have you had direct contact with the management company?
At the end of the day the owners pay a lot of money to have these properties looked after by the management company, so they would be as keen as you to know that they are doing their job.
You have paid for a service, and included in this service is the management company being on call to sort out any problems you have. I wouldn't rest until I had made sure that they are doing what they are paid for. You are also obliged to give the management company the opportunity to sort things out before you start to pay for things out of pocket, so if you haven't contacted them yet the chances are you won't be able to get reimbursed for your extra costs so far.

 

[JulieSharp]

I know you said that you had mentioned it to the pool guy but have you had direct contact with the management company?
At the end of the day the owners pay a lot of money to have these properties looked after by the management company, so they would be as keen as you to know that they are doing their job.

It is unlikely, given the previous comments, but it could be necessary funds are not being made available to the Management Company?

Our first villa rental was a nightmare, similar situation to this one, the home was a disgrace. We got our money back and moved to a new villa for the second week, just about coped with the first week there.

The home was a mess when we arrived, absolutely dire, turns out the owner wasn't making funds available for the upkeep, hence we were caught in the middle between owner and Management Company.
We made mistakes, it was our first time in a villa and we should have taken photos/camcorder etc, after a few phone calls we got the villa cleaned, new pool furniture.
MC were not blameless, we were told 'the cleaner has given up' or words to that effect.
The scars still remain, I can't explain in words how bad it was. The guest book read like a bug report, previous visitors seemed to just put up with it - we didn't.

Just thinking if it was the same villa!! What development is it on?

 

[Netty]

Thanks for the advice we will go back to the villa and take pictures as we still have the key and have been going back to make sure everything was ok with the villa. When we first arrived we telephoned the owner about a couple of issues we had and she was surprised that the things had not been reported to her by the previous poeople who had been staying the weeks before us. But like all thing when you first arrive you are tired and do not check thing properly until the next day and this is when we realised the villa was not at a standard you would expect to stay in.

Have you contacted the management company yet?
They need to move you to an acceptable villa asap
where abouts is the villa?

 

[skelfbsfb]

Thanks to all who ahve given advice. We are no longer staying at the villa due to the issues stated. I have since found out that the owner is selling the villa due to lack of interest from people and maybe this is why the standard has dropped. I do not regret booking the villa as it has made us realise that we only want to stay onsite at our DVC resorts.

 

[skelfbsfb]

UPDATE:

Received email from villa owner asking if I new anything about broken lamp shade, I explained that it was I who reported it broken. I then informed her of all the complaints but she was totally surprised as no one else has every complained about the standard of the villa. I then emailed her all of our concerns as she is advertising a 4 bedded luxury villa which fall way short of that standard. Awaiting her response.

 

[skelfbsfb]

Received email from villa owner who states the the management team have admitted that they have been sloppy and villa was not cleaned to required standard and as we had not inform her of all complaints she has closed the matter. I explained that I had told the chap who came to fix original issues that I had informed the management team of issues and when we went back to the villa the issues where still not resolve so much so that the other guests had complained as well. Now the owner is not answering my emails because I said i would contact my credit company and make a complaint so see if they can refund some of my money, also she is now with holding my deposit which I was to receive when I came home.

 

[joolz1910]

What a nightmare. You should 'review' her villa all over t'internet. I really do hope you get some sort of refund as your experience sounds awful.

 

[CjBoatman]

This is not good.

We hate reading things like this on the internet.

We own a holiday home near Disney which we rent out, and we would be so disappointed if we thought any of our guests had had a bad time. We would be really upset to know that our home was dirty.

We are very lucky, and have a management company who know how to clean, and we have to date never had an issue like this.

The first point of contact should be the management company, who act on behalf of the homeowner, but if things are bad, get in touch with the homeowner if you know who it is.

Taking photos is a great idea. And this might also help the homeowner if the home is not being looked after as they expect.

Sorry to hear you had these problems and hope it didn't spoil your holiday.

 

[skelfbsfb]

Ive emailed the owner several times since yesterday asking to resolve this, but to no avail. I have also informed her that if she does not resolve by Sunday I will take alternative actions. Hopefully this will not happen.

 

[Darrenndfamily]

Please keep us informed.
Also where abouts is this villa situated? as i think everyone reading this would want to know.
Hope everything turns out alright for you.

Darren

 

[skelfbsfb]

Please keep us informed.
Also where abouts is this villa situated? as i think everyone reading this would want to know.
Hope everything turns out alright for you.

Darren

Will keep all inform, but dont want to name the owner just now, wanting her to make amends. Just noticed that she is now nearly full for the rest of the year so hopefully they get a cleaner villa. I have tried to leave comments on her website but it wont let me. Now thats a surprise. I do know that she is member of several disney forums so she may see this thread. I did start a new thread on the site that she had displayed her villa but it has been taken off just now to allow moderator to check with website owner if its allowed.

 

[Head_in_the_clouds]

I hope the owner does sort all of this out and you get a full refund as, whether she is not getting the business in the long run or not, it is a pretty mean and nasty thing to ruin people's holidays in this way. I just thought I'd let you know our experience as owners. Hopefully the owner is a good person and not knowingly taking advantage of holidaymakers.

We have our own home in Florida which we no longer rent out to tourists because a) we were appalled by the disrespect some tourists had for other people's property and b) we were truly taken advantage of by several management companies. We only realised they were taking advantage of us when we turned up for a stay at our villa expecting pest control etc to have been done (as they were charging us an arm and a leg for it) and we were greeted by loads of dead cockroaches in the villa. We cleaned them up and I was awoken in the night by a giant bug (about three inches long) crawling on my head. I was only at school at the time and ran screaming and crying to my parents room. I didn't sleep well despite my dad doing pest control himself and with 48 hours was taken into hospital covered in bites all over my body (face, arms, right down to my ankles). They were big, sore and angry looking and my mum thought I would have permanent scars (luckily I didn't). Turns out I had fleas . I was embarrassed and felt disgusting. I was put on high doses of steroids and anti-histamines which I should never been given as I had a heart condition. They made me hallucinate to the point that I tried to cut my face with a knife because I thought I was a monster (thats what I saw when I looked in the mirror) - it was AWFUL. When my parents went to fumigate my bed, they found flannels covered in old faeces hidden under the duvet from a previous occupant. Turns out the carpets, sofas etc were flea ridden and the management company had been letting people bring dogs in. They were also supposed to be paying our mortgage from the rent but they didn't and twice when we were in England we had to fly over as an emergency when we found out (through friends or the Orlando Sentinel) that our house was up for foreclosure without the management company telling us. They wanted to buy our house dirt cheap behind our backs.

Our house never felt the same to us after the flea incident, it was no longer our piece of the Florida dream. My Dad paid off the mortgage and switched companies a few times, doing long term rentals to locals instead in a hope they would respect the property more. However, the management companies promised the earth and delivered nothing, constantly asking for money to repair things and when we would go on holiday and pay a visit it looked like these things hadn't been done at all. For over a year the house lay empty and whilst we were over there we finally managed to get a tenant. We have yet to see a penny from the management company. She says the tenant left but when we spoke to the tenant she said she loved the place and wanted to stay and make a life with her children there. Turns out the manager also has properties of her own, she sees a good tenant and poaches them for herself. I do think that my Dad should sell as its more hassle than its worth but he doesn't want to let go of his piece of the American Dream . Sorry to waffle on, just thought I'd share some insight. Hope that the rest of your vacation more than made up for the nasty start. Best of luck.

 

[skelfbsfb]

The thing is she doesnt want to take responsibility as in her words I never reported all issues to her, but i did to the chap who came from the m,anagement team to fix the first problems we encountered. Now she says the matters closed as far as shes concerned and if i go to the CC company she will with hold my deposit as she may lose money.

 

[Head_in_the_clouds]

The thing is she doesnt want to take responsibility as in her words I never reported all issues to her, but i did to the chap who came from the m,anagement team to fix the first problems we encountered. Now she says the matters closed as far as shes concerned and if i go to the CC company she will with hold my deposit as she may lose money.

Did you take photo evidence? And are the management definitely not taking any responsibilty for it? Would your travel insurance cover it as a last resort?

TBH, if that is her attitude you should name and shame her. Post a warning on the Orlando hotels and attractions board, write a letter of complaint to the Sentinel highlighting the fact that tourists can be taken advantage, anything to make her realise that you can't do this to people. She should give you a refund, unfortunately there are alot of dishonest people out there. Hope you get it resolved soon.

 

[skelfbsfb]

Did you take photo evidence? And are the management definitely not taking any responsibilty for it? Would your travel insurance cover it as a last resort?

TBH, if that is her attitude you should name and shame her. Post a warning on the Orlando hotels and attractions board, write a letter of complaint to the Sentinel highlighting the fact that tourists can be taken advantage, anything to make her realise that you can't do this to people. She should give you a refund, unfortunately there are alot of dishonest people out there. Hope you get it resolved soon.

Thanks for your advise.