Villa Communities recommendations please

[kazdav]

Hi

Not been back to the Florida since 2006 so I imagine big changes have taken place. Have previously stayed at Davenport Estates (bit far out) and then Windsor Hills. Any recommendations please.

 

[Pegasus928]

We have stayed in a few different communities during our trips and have our favourites.
I would say top of our list up to now is Cumbrian Lakes, off Ponciana Blvd. We found this location perfect for access to all local ammenities, and pretty central for both Disney and Universal. It is also a short trip to Old Town - which is one of our favourite places to visit while there.
The villa we had was huge, overlooked a conservation area and had a balcony off the master bedroom which was perfect for just sitting in the evenings and listening to the wild life, whilst getting mesmerised watching the lit up fountain in the lake.
Next on the list would be Emerald Island. This is off the 192 and is genuinly about 10 minutes away from Animal Kingdom. Then once you are on World Drive you have access to everywhere.
Although the communities on H27 are nice - and we have stayed in 3 of those so far - they do make the trip either end of the day a little bit longer. Not by much you understand - only about 10-15 minutes - but it makes a difference to some people.
If you want details of the villas we have stayed in then please let me know

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

I have stayed at Windsor Hills and Windsor Palms and enjoyed both - are you looking to stay in that vicinity?

Do you have any 'musts'- such as a gated community or close by to somewhere?

 

[alibeau]

We always stay in the Formosa Gardens area on the 192. We have stayed at Formosa Gardens and Emerald Island and loved both and for our trip this Easter we are staying at Windsor Hills for a change.

We really like this area, it has everything we need, supermarkets, restaurants, close to Disney, easy to get on the I4

HTH,

Ali

 

[dixonsontour]

Only time we stayed in villa it was at the hamlet at west haven - championship gate area. Would stay again no problem - publix and a few restaurants at championshipgate, fairly new gate community - clean and safe - easy access to parks.

 

[kazdav]

Hi Guys

Thanks for your replies.

I am looking to be fairly close to the amenities, Davenport Estate was a bit of a trek. Gated community would be nice but not essential.

The Windsor Hills House we had was a five bed two storey, but it was bedroom heavy not living room heavy if you get my drift. We only really need 4 beds and could get away with three but I would like something with a decent amount of ground floor space as well which kind of knocks the three beds out of the running.

Also is it just me but a number of the houses I have looked at have seemed very dark as though they are missing a few windows - maybe the ones I have looked at have been bought by the brits who have put up the nets!!

 

[kazdav]

Hmm also would it be too much to ask not to be overlooked, preferably a few bushes. I don't wish to offend but I do like to do the European - there only ****s!

 

[buzz for boys]

We have stayed in various communities and im going to disagree with Pegasus.For us Poinciania turns into a bit of a trek and we much prefer the communities that are in the formosa gardens area. We literally hit the park ithin 10 mins of leaving the jouse here compared to a good half hour down Poinciania.

I think when you are looking for a villa you need to have a clear idea what is important to you as everyone wants something different. For us a private pool is a must and like you said a little bit of privacy for this pool area is ideal!!

If you need links for villas we have stayed in and would reccomend just ask.

 

[Pegasus928]

Hmm also would it be too much to ask not to be overlooked, preferably a few bushes. I don't wish to offend but I do like to do the European - there only ****s!

There are varying degrees of 'overlooked'. We always look for a pool area that isn't - but for us this just means no other villas backing onto it. We don't mind if there are any to the sides and can count on one hand the amount of time we have actually seen any neighbours. Other villas, however, do provide a pool area that is totally enclosed by either a wall, fence or greenery - but we have always found this to be a little too claustrophobic for us.