Where to begin with Condo/Townhouse rental?

[maggiew]

What is the best way to find a vacation condo or townhome to rent for your vacation? I have read through many threads and checked out some recommendations like vrbo.com and the WindsorHillsrent site, etc. But it doesn't seem you can do a search for just the amenities you want. You have to sift through lots of rentals and open up many links to find out what you want isnt' there.

Is there a site you can do a search by specific amenities.

For example, I would like a condo or townhouse (or home for that matter) that sleeps 4. We could do a 2 BR with bunk beds in one room OR a 3 BR.

We'd like a private pool.

No pets allowed place as I am allergic.

Gamerooms and Mickey decorations not necessary as my kids are 12 & 15.

Where do I begin???????

Maggie

 

[5mins2disney]

You've kind of hit it on the head...unfortunately the home rental sites don't really allow you to narrow down places much past the # of bedrooms, then you have to "dig" through listings, websites, etc, to find the specifics of what you're looking for, there's really not much of a better method.

 

[FLParadisevilla]

You can do some searches on
www.onlinefloridavillas.com
www.fabvillas.com
www.orlandovillaowners.com
www.vrbo.com

 

[sympatico]

There's also homeaway.com that you can do a limited search for what you want. You won't find a condo with a private pool. The 3 bedroom townhouses at Windsor Hills and Palms have private splash pools. The 4 br towhhouses at Terra Verde have private pools. There are 3 bedroom homes in some of the subdivisions that have private pools but not at WH,WP,EI etc. There's some in Lindfields, Sunset Lakes, Oak Island Cove etc.
It does take a lot of looking to find just what you want. I've done it many times. I usually bookmark ones that look good for future vacations so I won't have to search so much. Good luck!

 

[maggiew]

Thanks. I will look at those suggestions.

What is a splash pool? Is it just a little pool? I did see a few 3 bedroom townhouses that had little pools with them on the back patio area? I think. But I looked through so many it is hard to remember!! A private pool isn't absolutely necessary if the complex has a nice pool and the townhouse was near enough. I just thought the girls would get a kick out of having their "own" little pool.

I don't mind renting a pool home too. It just seems most of them sleep 8 people or more! Is a home too big for the 4 of us? We don't need luxury, but we are at the point in our lives that we no longer feel the need or want to cram into a small hotel room. Last year when we went to Disney, we rented points for Old Key West. We may go that route again, but I wanted to check out offsite places too.

Maggie

 

[Christine]

Thanks. I will look at those suggestions.

What is a splash pool? Is it just a little pool? I did see a few 3 bedroom townhouses that had little pools with them on the back patio area? I think. But I looked through so many it is hard to remember!! A private pool isn't absolutely necessary if the complex has a nice pool and the townhouse was near enough. I just thought the girls would get a kick out of having their "own" little pool.

I don't mind renting a pool home too. It just seems most of them sleep 8 people or more! Is a home too big for the 4 of us? We don't need luxury, but we are at the point in our lives that we no longer feel the need or want to cram into a small hotel room. Last year when we went to Disney, we rented points for Old Key West. We may go that route again, but I wanted to check out offsite places too.

Maggie

When I went over Easter, there were 5 of us (3 adults and two kids). We rented a 4 bedroom townhome with a splashpool. It really was the perfect size for us. In fact, we had one "extra" bedroom but someone used it here and there! The pool was a pretty good size for a splash pool. You couldn't swim laps across it but it was also much better than, say, a hot tub. It was 5 feet deep and you could float across it--and that was in a townhome!

I would recommend where I stayed (Terra Verde Resort) but I find most people shy away from it as it doesn't seem to be nearly as close as Windsor Hills. We had about a 12-15 minute drive to the parks.

I agree with you though--it is overwhelming going through the VRBO site. I think it actually made me dizzy!

 

[chris7]

I just went through this same exact time. I spent about 3 full days consumed by scrolling through pictures of different townhomes until they all blurred together. But...you do get to a point where you can make a short list of the ones that you like how they look. Then you contact the owners/company and see if you can come to terms on a price. I had it easy because I knew from the beginning of my search that I wanted a three bedroom townhouse in Windsor Hills. These are the ones with the splash pool. Some I was able to rule out because the decor looked shoddy or cheap, or I just did not like the taste of the person who decorated. I think there must be a place in orlando that has a generic "decorate your rental property" line. I started to recognize bedspreads across many rentals. The greenish ones with palm trees on them. I wish you luck, I feel your pain, you will get it done and then you can relax.

 

[5mins2disney]

I think there must be a place in orlando that has a generic "decorate your rental property" line. I started to recognize bedspreads across many rentals. The greenish ones with palm trees on them. I wish you luck, I feel your pain, you will get it done and then you can relax.

There is! The local furniture stores will sell you a "packaged" deal to do your whole house, top-bottom, turnkey. Very expensive overpriced stuff, and not that great in our opinion. We started working with one and got frustrated and left when they wouldn't let us pick better TVs, wouldn't let us pick any of the wall decorations, and high end mattresses and linens were not an option, yuck, no thanks!! Also, bedspreads were a big no no with DW, she insisted on comforters with duvets (they wouldn't do this either).

It's a great business though, for the furniture people! hehe... We laughed and said we should move to Florida and open one up, we've heard they operate on 100% profit margins!

To the OP, you might want to checkout the 3 bedroom townhomes in Windsor Hills, my DW and I rented them for 2 years with our 2 kids before buying one, we had an extra bedroom but the space and amenities were just so amazing we didn't even mind, and it was a fraction of the cost of staying on site! The kids just LOVE having their own private splash pool, that and the video games are such a hit with them it's hard to get them to leave for the parks sometimes! With your own private pool you can swim morning noon and night, where you wouldn't necessarily want to go over to the clubhouse. For instance, in the morning while having coffee on the lanai they can just jump right in, it's nice! Get back from the parks, you're hot and tired, throw in a load of laundry, and they can swim, when you might really not feel like walking over to the clubhouse.

- GQ

 

[sympatico]

The splash pools at WH are 12 by 12 feet. They are from 3 - 5 ft deep and they have an underwater ledge that you can sit on. I thought it wouldn't be big enough by when you look at a 12 ft room in your house you'll see that it is fairly big. It was big enough for the two of us to cool off in and it was great not having to go to the main pool after a long day.

 

[Lisa BC]

Hi Maggie!

It can be overwhelming, I went through the process myself a few months ago for our upcoming trip in November.

Here's my advice:


1. I'd decide on a budget.

What is the max you are willing to spend per night? (Include tax, and pool heat if you are traveling from Nov - Apr). Prices vary according to your travel dates. Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Spring Break weeks are pricey everywhere. Depending on the time of year and your neighborhood, you can expect to spend as little as $600 or as much as $2k for a week for a 3-4 bedroom home pool home.

2. Decide what amenities you want.

I personally would suggest a home with private pool, that way you don't have hike to the pool to keep an eye on your boys while they are swimming. Also, I'd think the games room would be ideal for your boys... I'm sure they'd enjoy playing pool, air hockey, or foosball. Many of the homes have high end video games players that the older kids like. Do you want a private pool, as well as a main resort pool / community complex? (that will narrow your neighborhood choices too)

3. Determine an geographic area that you want to be in.
Here's a map that shows many of the developments:
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/villa/map.htm

The Formosa Gardens area of Kissimee is generally the closest to WDW. There are lots of developments in this area includes Windsor Hills.

If you really want a pool home, but want to spend a little less money, look out in the Davenport area. (Generally you can get a pool home in this area for about the same money as a town home in the Formosa Gardens area.) There are lots of developments in/around the Champions Gate area of Davenport that have nice homes. These homes rent for less, partly because of the longer distance to WDW. You'll spend an extra 10-12 minutes traveling back and forth then if you stayed in the Formosa Gardens area. But it might be nice of everyone to have their own bedroom and bathroom.

Here's a recent thread that talks about Westhaven area out in Davenport. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1487605

One person included a link to a home that they recently rented, and it looks very nice, for $750 - $970 per week including tax.

4. Focus in on a few neighborhoods, and start scrolling down the list on one of the rental websites.

Once you decide on a geographic area, or a few neighborhoods, you can always post again and ask for specific suggestions.

btw, the vast majority of homes are pet free... I bet more than 97% are pet free homes... so no worries there.

Good luck searching!

Lisa

 

[CoralCayTownhome]

Once you have decided on exactly what you require try www.homeaway.com where you can search under Kissimmee or Disney area and then reduce the search depending on your main requirements. It will cut down the list considerably.

You will have your choice of homes some with splash pools like Windsor Hills and some with spas like Terre Verde and some with hot-tubs like Coral Cay. Lots of decisions for you to make I'm afraid

Good luck with finding something.

 

[maggiew]

Can you please explain the desirability of an end unit?

Thanks,
Maggie

 

[Christine]

Can you please explain the desirability of an end unit?

Thanks,
Maggie

For me, the end unit townhome at Terra Verde had a splash pool whereas the internal unit townhomes had hot tubs.

 

[5mins2disney]

I own a few end units and a few interior units. (We're talking townhomes in Windsor Hills here just to be clear). Personally, I think the end units are nice, but I wouldn't make that one of my criteria for picking the vacation home out I'd be staying in. Once you're in the home you're not really going to notice the difference, there's no windows on the side of the end units or anything! There's cinderblock or cement or something along those lines between the units anyhow, so we've never heard our neighbors through the walls or anything, ever, I think more importantly would be the resort, the location, and the home itself (meaning the amenities, decorating, electronics, etc), and of course, the price.

One very unusual fact about Windsor Hills townhomes, the end units have roughly 50 sq feet of extra interior space..however, every townhome has a 100% identical floor plan / layout (although some are mirror imaged / reversed), but you would be VERY hard pressed to find the extra 50 feet! LOL The realtors and I were laughing about this one, no one's ever been able to figure out where they put the 50 feet! hehe

- George

 

[maggiew]

Thanks. I just noticed that a lot of ads listed that they were an "end unit" and I wondered if there was anything special about them.

Maggie

 

[5mins2disney]

Thanks. I just noticed that a lot of ads listed that they were an "end unit" and I wondered if there was anything special about them.

Maggie

We list it too, you never know what someone is going to be drawn to when they book, but I don't think it's a major factor, I wouldn't base my decision on that alone, much more important things to consider, but that's just me, you need to decide what's important to you!

 

[Christine]

Thanks. I just noticed that a lot of ads listed that they were an "end unit" and I wondered if there was anything special about them.

Maggie

I can't speak for Florida but, where I live, if you are buying a townhome, an end unit is more desirable. Usually you get windows on the side so you get more light (althought 5mins2Disney says that WH townhomes do not have this), no chance of having any "noise" coming from both sides of you, more usable yard space as you will have the side yard, etc.

Obviously, for WH and end-unit makes no difference. As I said in my previous post, it did make a difference at Terra Verde. The yard was bigger in the end units so they all had pools versus hot tubs.

 

[mbb]

I find www.vacationrentals.com works okay for filtering amenities in/out...

And lots of those rentals are listed on other sites like VRBO, and everywhere else too

I try to cross references homes if I can..and interestingly enough, sometimes one site has more/less info or pictures about a property.

HTH!

 

[maggiew]

After looking through what seems like a zillion links, I am starting to see what I like and don't like. Hopefully I will narrow it down a little now. I took a spiral notebook from my "school supply stash" and am writing down all the info from each site that seems interesting. That is making it easy to remember what is what!!

By the way, for you owners out there. Another big issue that ended up affecting my search was ease of use of the website. When you have to click through a zillion websites to find something you like, you don't want to waste time clicking around a website. So if I came upon an owner's website that was difficult to use, I just shut that down and moved on to the next one. I will say that a few of you that I recognize from this board had easy to navigate websites.

Maggie

 

[KayR]

Some sites have a general inquiry function. If there are things that are 'must haves' for your stay, I would recommend putting that information in the general inquiry. For example, if you must have a home with a computer, put that in your inquiry and say if you don't have these amenities, don't reply. It helps narrow down your choices.

Do consider a pool home as well as a condo or town home. With a pool home, you will get a pool and perhaps a spa out the back of the home. Don't underestimate how nice it is to just step outside your home to your own pool. You can leave any pool toys / floats out and not have to carry them to or from your unit.

We are currently staying in a condo in a development, and it reminds me how nice it is to have the pool out the back of the home. (The condo and the development are nice, but sitting out by your own pool or in your own spa with a cool drink as the sun sets... bliss...

What ever you decide, you will have a great time.

--Kay