Which one would you choose?

[DisneyAli]

We are planning a 3 week trip at the end of Jan 2005 for two adults. After toying around with the virgin website for many hours have come to the following choices.

Fantasy world club villas, its nice and central on the 192 and plenty of room for the two of us and have found some very favourable reviews on the trip advisor website.

Virgins own 3 bedroom villa. They are at Lake Davenport and we have no experience of this location, travel times etc. BUT it only works out at £50 more for the 3 weeks, so very tempting obviously.

Your views and comments would be most welcome, especially any information on lake davenport area. We have stayed in hotels the past 3 trips but would like more home comforts this time around. thanks.

 

[BevS97]

I don;t know either, but check a map because I think Lake Davenport is quite far away from the action

 

[peter r]

Hi

We have just got back from 2 weeks in Lake Davenport and it is just below the junction of the 192 & US27 so is well placed for the disney parks. (It took us about 10 mins to get to Animal Kingdom via Black Lake & Sherberth Road). There is also a Publix within 5 mins drive of the estate & the Virgin office is at the entrance to the estate so not far to go for advice.

Davenport Lakes is like so many of the villa parks - well laid out and very tidy. Our villa was lovely & would have no qualms about going back there.

HTH
Peter

 

[DisneyAli]

Thanks Peter. Did you book through virgin, if so was it a painless procedure to pick up the keys etc. Any other info greatly received. thanks alison

 

[peter r]

Hi Alison

Yes we booked thru Virgin and they use a management company that has their office next door to theirs at Davenport Lakes.

As it was after 5.30 when we arrived at their 109 Davenport Lake Blvd office we had to go to the Virgin office to get the address of the villa & combination code for the key box rather than the management company as they were shut.

We then had a knock on the door at 7.45am the next morning from the management company to get us to sign the paperwork. We were actually all still in bed so popped into the office later that morning.

Be aware though, that this management company (who's name escapes me, 2000 something) can allocate you a villa in any of the local estates so you won't know the address until you get there.

All in all it worked out great for us. We had a small problem one day with the netting around the pool and called into the office & they had someone round within the hour to fix it.

If I can answer anything else then ask away

Peter

 

[WDWfan uk]

Welcome back Peter !

Would love to hear more about your trip !

 

[DisneyAli]

Thanks for replying, just a couple of questions that come to mind at the moment.

What paperwork did you have to sign the next morning?

I notice in the virgin brochure they offer an optional maid service, did you have to pay for this or did they come a few times during your stay? and you paid for extra cleaning if wanted? thanks

 

[peter r]

I'll dig the paperwork out tonight & see what it was about but to be honest DW went in to sort it out & I went into the Virgin office to get a map & I didn't even ask what it was about. I guess it was to do with signing for the inventory of the house & giving a credit card swipe for any damages.

As for the maid - can't help there I'm afraid as we didn't pay for it. That is only if you need one to come in, otherwise it is your responsibility to keep the house clean while you are there. No-one comes into the house during the time you have it unless you pay the extra you mention.
Otherwise the maid comes in at 11am on the day you are leaving and they ask you to strip the beds & put the towels in the washing machine for her. The only people that came onto the property during our stay were the pool man & the gardener to cut the grass.

Hi WDWfan, I'll try & put something together but overall we had a fabulous time, but boy, doesn't it rain in August!!

Peter

 

[DisneyAli]

Many thanks for the really useful information.

Do they supply the cleaning materials etc for you to keep the villa spotless? thanks

 

[JANNYANS]

You may find a small supply of cleaning materials but it depends on the man co a lot of the time .Most don't like leaving
such things in the villas in case of accidents.The beauty of the homes is that they don't get dirty like ours do. with no central heating it seems to stay a lot cleaner so housework should not be a problem. When I am in my home I rarely do any.

 

[peter r]

Hi Alison

There was a hoover, dust pan & brush together with a few cloths, dishcloth etc so we just bought some washing up liquid & something for the sinks & loos. All the houses have large washing machines, tumble driers & iron.
I would suggest taking a bag of dishwasher & washing powder tablets for your stay as they only seem to sell them in great big boxes over there & they simply go to waste so take your own

But as Jannyans says the villa tends not to get too dirty & to be honest we didn't spend long periods indoors anyway, aside from sleeping of course.

HTH
Peter