Villa (house) rental near Universal???????

[crazymomof4]

Has anyone found a rental home or know of a community closer to Universal than WDW where there are vacation rentals?
Bc. of the size of our family and the fact that we will probably be trailering a boat with us on this trip, we want to rent a home ("villa"). In years past, we never have a problem finding a home very close to WDW as there are thousands to chose from. Right now I'm looking for subdivisions/communities closer to Universal that have rental homes. I am not finding ANY! All that I'm finding are those closer to WDW and that generally makes them a 20-30 min drive to Universal. I'd like to get closer. Is that possible?

 

[Cindy B]

I asked this question a while ago as well--- it was a few years ago, so some of the info may have changed.

The answer I got then was that Universal is in a different county than WDW. The county Universal is in has much stricter restrictions on short term rentals and due to this, there really isn't any availability right near Universal.

I wish this wasn't the case because I love the Dr. Phillips area and it would be ideal to have a villa/home nearby.

I see you are from NJ-- as you know only 30 minutes away from something isn't that terrible. Technically, WDW and Universal is about 8- 10 miles away fron one another--this distance is depending where you are/what part of Universal you are standing in.

We've clocked an 8 mile difference from our Cypress Point villa to Universal area. Since my town is huge, I can't even cover from end to end in 8 miles.

 

[crazymomof4]

Thanks Cindy!

I knew there had to be a reason why I wasn't finding ANYTHING up close to Universal!
As you said, I wish it were different too but, at least now I know WHY and can give up my fruitless search!

I know a 30 min. drive is nothing really to complain about, esp. when you've already driven almost 1000 mi from home to be there! It's just that when you are so beat at the end of the day you want to hit the shower and bed ASAP!
I'm going to concentrate on looking down in the Kissimmee area, south east of WDW. My brother and oldest son will be coming w/ us but they are not terribly interested in any of the parks. My brother will trailer his boat and those two will be fishing in Lake Toho. So an ideal spot to find a home would be smack in between Toho and Universal!
The difficult part is looking at an ad for a rental and they often give the location as the name of the "community" or neighborhood, like Hunter's Isle. Then before you look into that property any further, you have to locate that community to see if it is near where you want to be. Doing this a few dozen times in an evening can be frustrating!
Again, thanks for your post!

 

[Snoopymom]

I've always wondered that too. Thanks for the info Cindy.

If you already haven't, you could try the villa rental direct websites and put in your criteria...close to Univ and Lake Toho. Whenever I've done that I've always gotten 25+ to sort through, but the best part is they usually quote you a lot less than what they show on their price charts and/or they throw in pool heat for free and taxes are included. Most owners are in Ireland and England and just awesome to deal with. Here's one, and a map. Good luck!

http://www.orlandovillaowners.com/

http://www.orlandovillas.com/Map.aspx

 

[horseshowmom]

Another suggestion that you may want to try is Vista Cay (www.vistacayrent.com). This is a gated condo/townhouse complex next to the Convention Center. It's actually on Universal Drive (nearly new and very upscale), so it makes getting to US/IOA or Sea World very easy.

You can send out a request based on what you want (keep in mind that the 3BR units aren't generally much (if at all) higher than the 2BR units. They also have 3BR/3 1/2BA townhouses (with a garage).

Don't let the prices that may be listed on some of the listings throw you. If you do an open request for quotes, you should get some that are very good prices.

Good luck!

 

[crazymomof4]

If you already haven't, you could try the villa rental direct websites and put in your criteria...close to Univ and Lake Toho. Whenever I've done that I've always gotten 25+ to sort through, but the best part is they usually quote you a lot less than what they show on their price charts and/or they throw in pool heat for free and taxes are included. Most owners are in Ireland and England and just awesome to deal with. Here's one, and a map. Good luck!

http://www.orlandovillaowners.com/

http://www.orlandovillas.com/Map.aspx

Isn't it something how the VAST majority of these rental properties are owned by persons who live in Grt Bit.? We've also always had good experiences renting from them. In the parks the British tourists are always so friendly too.
In years passed, I've used the map in the link above. In my searching today I've come across two additional maps that others reading this may find helpful, so I'll post the links:
http://www.1stfororlando.com/Location-map.htm
http://www.elitevacationsincdirect.com/elite_villamap.html

DS18 does not want to go to the parks so I'm winning him over with the prospect of great fishing and golf in the area.............I think it's working!

 

[Snoopymom]

Isn't it something how the VAST majority of these rental properties are owned by persons who live in Grt Bit.? We've also always had good experiences renting from them. In the parks the British tourists are always so friendly too.
In years passed, I've used the map in the link above. In my searching today I've come across two additional maps that others reading this may find helpful, so I'll post the links:
http://www.1stfororlando.com/Location-map.htm
http://www.elitevacationsincdirect.com/elite_villamap.html

DS18 does not want to go to the parks so I'm winning him over with the prospect of great fishing and golf in the area.............I think it's working!

Thanks for the great maps. The owners are so wonderful. We had one owner call us from Ireland to check on us when we got in, another sent us a Christmas card with a picture of the villa on the front (ds thinks we lived there when he was little ) and once we sat near a family from Ireland at Finnegans and had a blast talking to them....they LOVED Florida. Oh and one house we stayed at had two clocks, one with a little American flag Mickey above it and another set 5 hrs ahead with a British Mickey flag above it, which we thought was neat.

Dh is a tournament fisherman and says Lake Toho is one of the best lakes in the country, your ds should love it!

Have fun planning.

 

[crazymomof4]

(ds thinks we lived there when he was little )

LOL- This happened in 1994- We don't have a garage here at home so when DS4 opened the interior door of our villa and looked into the attached garage he said, "Dad put the car in the closet!"

Dh is a tournament fisherman and says Lake Toho is one of the best lakes in the country, your ds should love it!

OMG- are you serious? I didn't know the lake was THAT good! Hey, I know fisherman are often secretive about their fishing spots, but if your DH is in the mood to throw something our way about Toho (east or west- doesn't matter) it would be greatly appreciated. You can PM me ANY time! My guys do well bass & walleye fishing in Ontario and saltwater fishing in the Keys, but they've never fresh water fished in FL.

 

[astonrickenbach]

I have been renting from loyaltyusa.com for the past 6 or 7 years and have always had great success with them. They are in Kissimmee and it is about 30 min away. The only place I rented that was closer to US was a condo and not a home.

Good luck.

 

[NH Park Commando]

My family and I have used Vacation Rentals By Owner, or VRBO to rent villas in the Kissimmee area. We have stayed at Venetian Bay Villages, which is a gated community failrly close to Lake Toho. Can't help you with the fishing as DW does not let me partake when we are in Florida

vrbo.com

 

[jsd2643]

I used greatrentals.com ... rented a 3 bedroom 2 bath 2000 sq ft condo (new in 2005) for $149 per night ... you can google the complex it's called vista cay ...close to everything ... this site has houses listed as well

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We are from England and frequently rent a villa in the Kissimmee area.
Close to Formosa Gardens location gives you easy access to the I4 for Universal, restaurants and supermarkets closeby too.

see..

http://www.thedibb.co.uk/villa/map.htm

Sorry Universal not shown on here, but we know it's just a short drive away

 

[babieemelly]

Whatever you do, do NOT rent from Loyalty Homes, aka Loyalty USA. They are the most unprofessional, childish, inconsiderate, RUDE people we have EVER dealt with, and we've been renting homes down here for years.

We're still in Orlando now, and the original home we rented hd an air-conditioner that was too old and too small to cool off the house. In August. In Florida. We called up Loyalty Homes for help, and they sent a maintenance man who said exactly what I just posted. We then called them back to have us moved to a different home, and they refused. They screamed at us that they didn't believe us, no one from the company came to the home to see that the air conditioner was broken, they called us "pathetic" and then the owner, Yvonne, turned off her phone so we couldn't contact her. We had to call friends of ours who own a home down here and they reffered us to Villa4UFlorida, and they found us a great home that night.

When we called Yvonne at the office the next day she refused to meet with us, and she continued to be extremely rude and unprofessional. She then agreed to meet with us, and my parents and I went down to her office, which happened to be in her home. Funny, considering the night before she said she couldn't meet with us because she was home, and not at her office. She gave us such attitude and was extremely unhelpful. We asked where she was from, and she rolled her eyes and said, "Not New York." Obviously. Businesses in NY treat their customers with respect and honesty. We then found out that the key code was changed from the house we rented through them, and we were locked out. So they locked us out and refused to give us our money back. It was INSANE. We eventually threatened to get police and the local courts involved, and they decided to give us half of our money back.

I wrote a letter to the owner of the home, Sue from Sun Palace, yesterday about how disappointed we were with all of the problems, and how they were all rude nd unprofessional, and this was her reply...

"Please refrain from sending any correspondence to me, by email or any other means, as there is not a word of truth in this email, just as there was no truth in your accusations whilst you were in our home, we obtained an independent report on the A C, which states it was working fine, i will also remind YOU, that defamation of character is a CRIME in any country, and will not be tolerated by me, or Loyalty, the name CALAMERA is one i would prefer to forget, you and your family's treatment of both me and Loyalty was appalling, we are very proud of our home and ALL our guests are satisfied, and we have wonderful guest comments, so what does that tell YOU?????"

This reply e-mail completely proved my point. Instead of apologizing or providing any sort of explanation, they were again extremely, extremely rude. Can you imagine any other company sending a customer a letter like this?!

So, in short, do NOT rent from Loyalty Homes!

 

[mareed]

Another suggestion that you may want to try is Vista Cay (www.vistacayrent.com).

We're also looking in the Universal & Sea World area for next March and are used to condos/townhomes/homes in the Formosa Gardens area near WDW. We're renting at Vista Cay that we found at the website listed above. Many of the price quotes were quite a bit more than we're used to (close to $200 per night), but we had several from which to choose between $115 & $130 per night. And this is the week before Easter, so I'm considering it peak pricing. We chose a 2000 sq. foot 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo. This is larger in terms of sq. ft than some of the 4 bed homes we've looked at in Windsor Palms, Emerald Island, etc (basically Formosa Gardens area)! It looks to be very upscale and much nicer decorated than places we've stayed at before. I think it's targetting a slightly different audience of Convention attendees, so most plans include an office.

The only problem I can see for you might be the boat. I don't see anything specific, but I'd guess that they would not let you park a boat and/or boat trailer in the parking lot outside their upscale condo. Definitely check on that if you look at Vista Cay.

I was not able to find anything else close to Universal or Sea World like this, so I'll be checking back her to see if anything pops up.

 

[horseshowmom]

We're also looking in the Universal & Sea World area for next March and are used to condos/townhomes/homes in the Formosa Gardens area near WDW. We're renting at Vista Cay that we found at the website listed above. Many of the price quotes were quite a bit more than we're used to (close to $200 per night), but we had several from which to choose between $115 & $130 per night. And this is the week before Easter, so I'm considering it peak pricing. We chose a 2000 sq. foot 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo. This is larger in terms of sq. ft than some of the 4 bed homes we've looked at in Windsor Palms, Emerald Island, etc (basically Formosa Gardens area)! It looks to be very upscale and much nicer decorated than places we've stayed at before. I think it's targetting a slightly different audience of Convention attendees, so most plans include an office.

The only problem I can see for you might be the boat. I don't see anything specific, but I'd guess that they would not let you park a boat and/or boat trailer in the parking lot outside their upscale condo. Definitely check on that if you look at Vista Cay.

I was not able to find anything else close to Universal or Sea World like this, so I'll be checking back her to see if anything pops up.

We received several quotes that were very high too (compared to what I'm accustomed to paying), but I also got several quotes in the $600 range for Thanksgiving week. You're probably right that Easter is factoring into your price.

Have a great trip! The property looks gorgeous, and the location is excellent!

 

[idgystripes]

Whatever you do, do NOT rent from Loyalty Homes, aka Loyalty USA. They are the most unprofessional, childish, inconsiderate, RUDE people we have EVER dealt with, and we've been renting homes down here for years.

We're still in Orlando now, and the original home we rented hd an air-conditioner that was too old and too small to cool off the house. In August. In Florida. We called up Loyalty Homes for help, and they sent a maintenance man who said exactly what I just posted. We then called them back to have us moved to a different home, and they refused. They screamed at us that they didn't believe us, no one from the company came to the home to see that the air conditioner was broken, they called us "pathetic" and then the owner, Yvonne, turned off her phone so we couldn't contact her. We had to call friends of ours who own a home down here and they reffered us to Villa4UFlorida, and they found us a great home that night.

When we called Yvonne at the office the next day she refused to meet with us, and she continued to be extremely rude and unprofessional. She then agreed to meet with us, and my parents and I went down to her office, which happened to be in her home. Funny, considering the night before she said she couldn't meet with us because she was home, and not at her office. She gave us such attitude and was extremely unhelpful. We asked where she was from, and she rolled her eyes and said, "Not New York." Obviously. Businesses in NY treat their customers with respect and honesty. We then found out that the key code was changed from the house we rented through them, and we were locked out. So they locked us out and refused to give us our money back. It was INSANE. We eventually threatened to get police and the local courts involved, and they decided to give us half of our money back.

I wrote a letter to the owner of the home, Sue from Sun Palace, yesterday about how disappointed we were with all of the problems, and how they were all rude nd unprofessional, and this was her reply...

"Please refrain from sending any correspondence to me, by email or any other means, as there is not a word of truth in this email, just as there was no truth in your accusations whilst you were in our home, we obtained an independent report on the A C, which states it was working fine, i will also remind YOU, that defamation of character is a CRIME in any country, and will not be tolerated by me, or Loyalty, the name CALAMERA is one i would prefer to forget, you and your family's treatment of both me and Loyalty was appalling, we are very proud of our home and ALL our guests are satisfied, and we have wonderful guest comments, so what does that tell YOU?????"

This reply e-mail completely proved my point. Instead of apologizing or providing any sort of explanation, they were again extremely, extremely rude. Can you imagine any other company sending a customer a letter like this?!

So, in short, do NOT rent from Loyalty Homes!

UNBELIEVEABLE!!! How do business like that stay in business? Thanks for sharing your experience. Whatever happened to "the customer is always right"????

 

[babieemelly]

UNBELIEVEABLE!!! How do business like that stay in business? Thanks for sharing your experience. Whatever happened to "the customer is always right"????

Exactly, I thought the same thing! We just sent a huge report to the Better Business Bureau trying to get the rest of our money back. It was literally insane! I'm just trying to warn everyone about them because it ruined the first few days of our vacation. I wouldn't want anyone else looking for fun and relaxation to have to go through that stress!

We've rented from Villa4UFlorida and Lowery Vacation Homes before and they were AMAZING. We never had a problem, but we were told that if we needed ANYTHING we could call them at any time of day or night for help. They said we could even call just to get the address of a local store or restaurant! Most of the agents were from the UK, but were all located here in Orlando and were the nicest people ever. I know they have homes all over Orlando. Check them out!

 

[tam2004]

Hi

I recently rented from just-florida-villas.co.uk you book directly with the owner.

They have some beautiful villas and there is a detailed desciption and photos of each villa, and you can email the owner directly to ask questions.

Hope this helps.

 

[crazymomof4]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I'll be trying all of the links posted here........ I have plenty of time to look!

Re: babieemelly's nightmare story- that is such a shame! All it would have taken would be someone from the office to swing by the villa and feel how hot it was in the house. Fortunately, I believe these cases to be in the minority. There is a lot of competition in this orlando area rental villa business bc. there are SO MANY down there now. They all want the return customers and usually treat us well. For ex. when we were in Indian Creek in '05 there were a few minor things that needed fixing (drawer knob, shower head, etc) We called and they sent someone out the next day. When we returned from the parks everything had been fixed properly! That same trip I left a drawer full of our things in the villa. I called the management co. and they obtained it, packaged it and mailed it to me, charging me only for the shipping!

Re: rate variations- I've been looking at many sites and once again, I'm astounded at the variations in rental rates. Now, basically the houses are pretty much the same- all built around the same time, same general location give or take a few miles, all maintained fairly reasonably, almost all have screened pool. I'm looking a 4 bdrm homes and I'm seeing ones w/ rates of $1000-$1300/week and then I'm finding others for $600-$750! Who is renting $1000+ homes? I look at the sites for these expensive villas and they look no different from the rest and have no special location. (???) We've always paid around $525-$750/week and the homes have been fabulous! The '05 home was 3 bdr @ $525/wk and it was exactly 2.5 miles from WDW property!

 

[babieemelly]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I'll be trying all of the links posted here........ I have plenty of time to look!

Re: babieemelly's nightmare story- that is such a shame! All it would have taken would be someone from the office to swing by the villa and feel how hot it was in the house. Fortunately, I believe these cases to be in the minority. There is a lot of competition in this orlando area rental villa business bc. there are SO MANY down there now. They all want the return customers and usually treat us well. For ex. when we were in Indian Creek in '05 there were a few minor things that needed fixing (drawer knob, shower head, etc) We called and they sent someone out the next day. When we returned from the parks everything had been fixed properly! That same trip I left a drawer full of our things in the villa. I called the management co. and they obtained it, packaged it and mailed it to me, charging me only for the shipping!

Definitely We've rented homes in Orlando three times before and never had a problem. And by never had a problem I mean with the service. Last year we checked into a home in Crescent Lakes and there was a problem with the pool. When the pool guy came to check the levels he told us that the chlorine levels were "dangerously high" He got in touch with the owners of the home ASAP, and it was all straightened out. They even gave us back two nights worth of our rental fee, and we weren't even going to ask for anything. Now THAT'S service!

And about the prices of homes, the house we rented this year was the most expensive yet. In 2005 we rented a condo in Emerald Island for $2000 for FOUR WEEKS! We stayed an entire month for only $2000, and the condo was spotless and the owner was the best. All of the homes and condos are basically the same, with some having a few extra benefits (game rooms, hot tubs, etc). I definitely wouldn't rent an expensive one thinking you'll be getting more because you really won't be getting much more. The Emerald Island Condo had 3 bedrooms and 2 and a half bathrooms. The house we rented last year was $1400 for 3 weeks, and we had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a private pool and a hot tub. Since there are SO many vacation homes to rent in the area they need to keep their prices low to beat the competition, and it's worth it to take advantage of it!