Which resort? Windsor Hills, Emerald Isle or Formosa Gardens?

[Tink78]

Hi
Trying to decide which area to focus my villa search on and have possibly narrowed it down to these 3.
Would appreciate comments, good and bad to help me decide (or any recommendations on any other areas welcome too).
I see that some resorts have free buses to the Disneys parks which is a plus for us.
Thanks
Karen

 

[london75]

Windsor Palms is on the same cluster of communities and is very nice, gated and I know they have a shuttle.

Rolling Hills is also next door and while not gated offers really good value homes, this August will be our second time there. 4 weeks in August for £1400!

 

[juliebro]

As you can see from my signature, we have been to Emerald Island a few times. We rent one of the townhouses there and find it ideal for us.

 

[CAROLINE4]

Hi i have stayed at formosa gardens and we loved it!! it is a gated community, it is beautiful! the villas do not back onto one another, which we loved! it is two mins from a supermarket restaurants ect and really easy to get to animal kingdom (about 5 mins drive away)!!

 

[alibeau]

Hi,

We have stayed at all three

Can't fault any of them! Not sure about the shuttle bus as we always drive. Our favourite would have to be FG, mainly due to the space around each villa followed very closely by EI. We would stay at WH again but it is a much bigger community and the villas seemed very close to one another but luckily the villas either side of us were most unoccupied so not a problem. Also IMHO FG and EI are in a slightly better spot.....

If I can answer any other questions for you, let me know....

HTH.

Ali

 

[Tink78]

Ali, what's IMHO please?
Thanks.

Oh no, good points about them all! How am I ever going to decide! LOL!

 

[alibeau]

Morning!

IMHO - in my humble opinion

If I were in your position and you have decided that you like all three communities I would then start to look at the villas available for your dates. If there are still too many to choose from you can get really picky about what you are looking for and then of course the best price...

Also a factor for us is how helpful the owner has been, have they replied promptly, answered all your queries etc.....

We are lucky in that we mainly now book with the same guy, the only problem being we have had to put deposits down on villa dates for Easter and August 2012 as he gets booked up quickly.... Planning that far ahead has never sat easy with me but at least we have the peace of mind of booking with someone we know to be reliable

HTH,

Ali

 

[Tink78]

Thanks Ali.
Seems like it's going to be FG or EI then.
Are there supermarkets and restaurants within walking distance of either area?
I know we won't want to always use the car.
Has anyone ever pre-ordered some basic food items to be delivered to your villa so you don't have to go out shopping after the long flight?
I quite like the idea of the Tesco van coming with goodies! LOL! Well maybe not Tesco, but Walmart or something.

 

[Pegasus928]

Hi

We have stayed at EI and loved it for its location. It was lovely and quiet, the villa we had backed onto a conservation area, had a south facing pool and we had hot air balloons floating past every morning (it's the little things that count )
There are no places to go to eat that are within walking distance - but to be fair that is the case for almost all of the villa communities. Most of them are built alongside a main road - such as H27 - so are not really ideal for walking along.
When you are building your short list might I suggest that you have in mind some of the things you want included. I mention this because some offer more than others.
As a start point we always make sure ours has a south facing pool area that is not over looked, free wi-fi and international phone calls, a games room that has something like a pool table or air hockey table (there may be days when you want a villa day in order to catch your breath, and these things are great for the kids).

 

[Invisable89]

Personally i'd chose either FG or EI... i've stayed at both over the years. I prefer the villas at EI though.

Both resorts are a few minutes drive away from the '192' which has toones of restaurants on it to chose from, there's a 'Publix' supermarket further up, turn left out of 'Formosa Gardens Boulevard'.

I think 'Garden Grocer' can deliver but i'm not 100% sure. Honestly, the 'Publix' isn't far up the 192 at all.

 

[irisheyes123]

I have only stayed in the Formosa Garden area so can't comment on others Its a lovely area nice and quiet It about 5 to 10 minutes walk to a few restaurants and a supermarket and few other shops they have a crazy golf course and a harley davidson rental store too

 

[Tink78]

Thanks everyone.
It's a little early for me to be checking availability yet but at least I can start looking at what type of villa we will want now that I have narrowed it down to 2 areas.
Does anyone have a link to the villa(s) you have stayed in before as I would prefer to book on recommendation?

 

[Invisable89]

Thanks everyone.
It's a little early for me to be checking availability yet but at least I can start looking at what type of villa we will want now that I have narrowed it down to 2 areas.
Does anyone have a link to the villa(s) you have stayed in before as I would prefer to book on recommendation?

Heres a link to one i've stayed in at EI:
http://www.orlandovillas.com/florida-vacation-rental-390.aspx

& i know someone whos stayed in this villa at EI:
http://www.emerald-island.com/menon.htm

 

[Tink78]

Heres a link to one i've stayed in at EI:
http://www.orlandovillas.com/florida-vacation-rental-390.aspx

& i know someone whos stayed in this villa at EI:
http://www.emerald-island.com/menon.htm

Thanks, will take a look.
And I take it both you and your friend who stayed in the second villa both liked the villas and would recommend them?
What were the owners like to deal with?

 

[Invisable89]

Thanks, will take a look.
And I take it both you and your friend who stayed in the second villa both liked the villas and would recommend them?
What were the owners like to deal with?

Yes definitely! I've never had any problems with any of the villas i've stayed in over the years.

& the owners were really easy to deal with, professional & very helpful.

The http://www.orlandovillas.com/ website has ALOT of villas to chose from & it's very easy to sort out, you just fill in the form on the website.

 

[dor1]

Formosa gardens for me.
Easy access to the parks via the sherberth road,great restaurants in the area(outback,giordanos etc) and nicely spaced out villas.
Im sure the others have plus points too but i wouldnt hesitate to stay at FG again.

 

[aaronandterri]

both great locations, very very near to each other, would depend on the villa and location south facing pool? , is it overlooked,games rooms etc...
do you have particular villas in mind, the famosa seems to be a lot more bigger houses, some are very impressive.(and expensive!)

 

[Tink78]

both great locations, very very near to each other, would depend on the villa and location south facing pool? , is it overlooked,games rooms etc...
do you have particular villas in mind, the famosa seems to be a lot more bigger houses, some are very impressive.(and expensive!)

We are looking for a 4-5 bed villa, south facing pool would be great, ideally somewhere where we can see the Disney fireworks of an evening (I have found some that offer this - how lovely!), free wi-fi and international calls, pool/snooker table, spa, etc. I have found some that offer all that we want, but I would like one with a themed bedroom for the kids, but it's a bit early to actually pin point our villa just yet.
I will probably think about making a selection next year, as there might be even more on offer by then.

 

[aaronandterri]

weve stayed here before is a bit bigger than what u want but is lovely


http://www.vr360homes.co.uk/north-america/florida/disney-orlando-villas/acadia-estates/p8.html

 

[irisheyes123]

weve stayed here before is a bit bigger than what u want but is lovely


http://www.vr360homes.co.uk/north-america/florida/disney-orlando-villas/acadia-estates/p8.html

Thats the estate I always stay in houses are lovely