What to pack for Rental Home?

[poohsdoodle]

We have rented a private home for our nine day trip in March '03. All of the information says "everything you need, just pack you bags!"...

I need some advise from others as to what you have packed for your trip? I'm mostly concerned about kitchen items. We always pack extra towels but I'm not sure what else we will need. We're flying so I can't go all out as I would w/ my beach trip.

Your help is appreciated!

 

[BonnieA]

I've stayed in a few rental houses and here's what I would suggest:
Bring enough dishwasher detergent to last thru your stay (I buy the little detergent tablets, easy to travel with).
Measure enough coffee to bring to last you if you aren't big drinkers. Otherwise just buy a can of coffee when you get there. The house may have coffee filters or not, either check first or bring a few.
Bring garbage bags.
Also bring enough laundry detergent for a couple washes & fabric softener sheets.
You will need to buy toilet paper when you get there but I would do that at the grocery instead of bringing it with me.
Bring or buy napkins or paper towels.
You will, of course, need your own personal cleaning products like soap, shampoo etc.
I think you will really enjoy having a house.

 

[poohsdoodle]

Thanks BonnieA.

Those items were on my list but I needed someone to validate my ideas.

You mentioned you have rented several homes. What were your expreiences with them?

 

[BonnieA]

I love rental homes. I wish I could do it everytime but it doesn't make sense when I am alone. Love the room, quiet and privacy. Nothing like having your own bedroom for a good nights sleep, it makes the vacation so much better.
The homes I have rented have been new, clean and roomy. Wish I could move one here to Virginia. One year it rained quite heavily one day while we were there and the dryer sure came in handy for our wet clothes.
We always ate breakfast in the house, sometimes lunch. The house was close enough to leave disney for an afternoon rest and this was during early December when the hours were short.

 

[emmagata]

Originally posted by poohsdoodle
Thanks BonnieA.

Those items were on my list but I needed someone to validate my ideas.

You mentioned you have rented several homes. What were your expreiences with them?

We've rented homes 3 times so far and this December will be number 4.

We LOVE the room, quietness, your own private pool, etc.. Feels like home. I don't think we will ever rent a hotel room again. We *might* stay on site once just to try it.

We usually do a grocery store run when we get there and pick up the "basics". Cereal, milk, juice, etc.

I would wait until you go there to see what they have already.

The last place we stayed had most everything. Even teabags and coffee. They also had a fresh quart of milk for us and a bottle of wine and a bag of chips.

I would rent again from thius owner (he was from England).

We are renting from a couple from Scotland this year because we needed a much bigger house since there are 10 of us. The house is a 6 bedroom/4 bath. Last year was a 3 bedroom 2 bath.

One year when it was just my wife and I, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Family Suites. It was ok and included free breakfast but I minded the noise of the other guests above us and outside our door.

Good luck!

 

[twinz]

We just got back from staying in our first vacation home, and I would definatley stay in one again. What we did when we arrived was do a sort of inventory of the stuff they already had in the home, and we went to Wal-Mart and bought some stuff (like tea bags, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and groceries). To bring from home, since we were travelling from Canada,a nd were strapped for space on the drive to Buffalo, we really didn't really bring much except for our clothes.
Have fun.

 

[poohsdoodle]

Thanks everyone! I wish I could start packing now!!

emmagata.. I checked out your pics, they're great! I was at WDW for my first trip in April /01 and saw the shuttle for the first time from our hotel, it was the coolest thing I ever saw... well, second coolest, arriving on the ferry, seeing the Castle for the first time was about the best!!

 

[sweetieRN]

Hi Everyone! I too have stayed inside the Parks but for the last 5 years I have rented a home in Davenport. You just can't beat the homes especially if you have a big family.
The extra space and the private pool is a bonus. No more packing up and trecking thru the hotel for a swim then realizing you forgot something and trecking back up to the room!
When I go I bring the items you mentioned too, but I also pack some of my clothing items in plastic ziploc bags. Let all the air out and you've got a compact solution.
Re-use the bags for leftovers or put your water bottles and drinks in them so they keep your backpacks dry!!
Purex clothing detergent comes in tablets pack those for your laundry loads and bring half as many clothes.
Most of the homes come well equiped with utensils, pans etc.
Before you go find out where the closest Walmart super-center is and get all your food and things you forgot there.
I am going in December and I'll be making my super center stop on the way to the house!

 

[sweetieRN]

Hi Everyone! I too have stayed inside the Parks but for the last 5 years I have rented a home in Davenport. You just can't beat the homes especially if you have a big family.
The extra space and the private pool is a bonus. No more packing up and trecking thru the hotel for a swim then realizing you forgot something and trecking back up to the room!
When I go I bring the items you mentioned too, but I also pack some of my clothing items in plastic ziploc bags. Let all the air out and you've got a compact solution.
Re-use the bags for leftovers or put your water bottles and drinks in them so they keep your backpacks dry!!
Purex clothing detergent comes in tablets pack those for your laundry loads and bring half as many clothes.
Most of the homes come well equiped with utensils, pans etc.
Before you go find out where the closest Walmart super-center is and get all your food and things you forgot there.
I am going in December and I'll be making my super center stop on the way to the house!

 

[Jane E.]

We rented our first home this past September & it was worth it. We had a great time. It was so nice having room for everyone without feeling cramped. All of the suggestions so far have been right on target. Our house had plenty of towels for the kitchen & bath. I, too, had packed extras just in case. We always make sure to load up on bottled water because we always drink it. We bought a couple of gallon jugs as well as the individual bottles at Walmart. After years of staying in hotels it was great to have all that room. Have fun on your trip!

 

[twinz]

Just a quick note about the bottled water...try not to buy stuff that is bottled in Florida. We bought about 6 of those large jugs, and it was absolutely disgusting (very metalic tasting). We ended up going back to Walmart and trying to find water NOT bottled in FL. We ended up buying some over priced Evian.
Leslie

 

[Claudia2]

We ended up going back to Walmart and trying to find water NOT bottled in FL. We ended up buying some over priced Evian.
Leslie [/B]

This makes me ROFL because we live just opposite Evian (on the Swiss side of Lake Geneva), so should I bring my own water? J/K