Windsor Hills for a large group? Other suggestions?

[aja319se]

We're finally starting to plan our next Disney trip after way too long of a hiatus!!

This trip will consist of 6 adults and 3 children. There may also be 2 more adults coming to spend a portion of the week with us too. We are starting to wrestle with the idea of an offsite rental at Windsor Hills since there are so many of us. My other thought is to rent DVC points again which I know will be more costly but then we have the benefit of being onsite and not renting a car.

Does anyone have suggetions or reviews? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Heluvsme]

Well, we have rented a condo at WH, not as large as you would need but I thought I would chime in with a good review.

We have had 6 of us and we were very comfortable. 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, plenty of room in the living room and kitchen, very clean and nice, and beautifully decorated. I really have nothing but good to say about WH based on our experience.

The pool was nice, big enough to not feel crowded even when it was. The "store" there is nice and has essentials. Access to the parks was a piece of cake. The longest it took us was our day to Hollywood Studios, and really that was mainly because of traffic, not distance.

I have never rented points for DVC, but if transportation is a concern, that might be the better way to go.

I hope you have a great trip which ever way you decide!

 

[aja319se]

Thanks for the review! I feel like I trust DIS board recommendations more than trip advisor! Even if we rented 2 cars we'd be saving a lot more I than staying onsite at a value or renting points through DVC.

 

[Cree629]

We absolutely love Windsor Hills and I highly recommend it, especially for a large group like yours.

We have rented a townhouse there (and are going back in October). My previous trips were all on-property, so I didn't know how I'd feel about being "off," but it was amazing!

We had so much space- three bedrooms each with their own bath, a kitchen, living room, dining area... And our very own "splash pool." We were right across the street from the clubhouse and main pool, which the kids LOVED. Driving to the parks was a breeze. 10 minutes at the most.

I really got used to having all that space and had a hard time wrapping my brain around paying much more and getting, in my opinion, much LESS on property! That's why we're going back to Windsor Hills!

 

[Heluvsme]

Like the poster above me, prior to our last stay at WH, we had always stayed on-site. I wasn't sure if I would like it or not, but my entire family LOVED it!

I especially liked having the kitchen to fix quick breakfast items, get up in the morning and make my tea and my DH's coffee, and didn't have to worry about being super quiet so as to not disturb everyone else.

AND... the 2 full baths... NICE!!!

The whole place was clean, the mattresses were basically brand new, the pillows were brand new... very high standards! We are returning the June, to the same condo, and we can't wait!

 

[Brian Noble]

We've shared a 5BR pool home with another family in the past. It was a great way to go, and will be a lot less expensive than just about any other option---even with rental cars/parking/etc.

 

[Woodview]

There are many hundreds of great value

3 bed , 4 bed , 5 bed , 6 bed Villas to rent by the week out there.

A great many of them within a distance of 15 miles of Disney area .

Most have private swim pools ( Heat costs extra )

There are plenty of Management Co. who rent these out on behalf of owners.

A 3 bed ,2 bath & pool can be rented for about $700 per Villa per week .

The best way is to Phone these Management Co & NOT to rely on Websites

Trip adviser & the like are often written by vested people & really do not always tell the real truth

 

[aja319se]

Thanks for all of the feed back! I did see that Windsor hills has two websites that they endorse for rentals has anyone tried those with success or just going through the mgmt companies directly?

 

[khanna]

We are staying at WH in 2.5 weeks--renting a 5 bed house, with own pool, hot tub, etc. Going through the owner but they have the house on allstarsvacationhomes.com It is Castle Disney, 7759 Hockensdale --I hope I have that correct. The owner has been great, very responsive. We are renting through him bc it is a little cheaper if we agree to give honest feedback about the house--which we will. We found the house/ owner by googling Castle Disney--their website comes up with some videos explaining the different themed rooms, house etc... I am looking forward to the extra space, more bathrooms, washer dryer, pool, etc... We are driving down so it is fine that we drive to the parks. If I had to rent a car/van--I absolutely would. Even with parking--we are saving thousands of dollars. Good luck!

 

[sympatico]

Along with WH there's Windsor Palms, Emerald Island that are both similar except for the community pool. Indian Creek isn't gated but each home has it's own pool. Emerald Island has some 7 and 8 bedroom homes as well as those in Formosa Gardens Estates. These are all in the same general area as WH. Here's a map of the area. WH is #1 and the others are the blue markers to the left. Disney markers are pink.
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=...1.608849&spn=0.068335,0.11055&z=13&dg=feature

 

[cammie810]

We rented a 5 bedroom house last fall at Windsor Hills that was great! We had rented condo's their in the past so we knew we liked the location but had a large group and needed more room. I think we paid about $140/night. Another suggestion would be a 4 bedroom presidential at Bonnet Creek. They have a shuttle so if you didn't feel like using a car you wouldn't have to. And while the main pool at Windsor Hills is good....Bonnet Creeks pools, lazy rivers, mini golf, volleyball beats WH by a mile!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We absolutely love Windsor Hills and I highly recommend it, especially for a large group like yours.

We have rented a townhouse there (and are going back in October). My previous trips were all on-property, so I didn't know how I'd feel about being "off," but it was amazing!

We had so much space- three bedrooms each with their own bath, a kitchen, living room, dining area... And our very own "splash pool." We were right across the street from the clubhouse and main pool, which the kids LOVED. Driving to the parks was a breeze. 10 minutes at the most.

I really got used to having all that space and had a hard time wrapping my brain around paying much more and getting, in my opinion, much LESS on property! That's why we're going back to Windsor Hills!

Same here, once you get a taste of the space and savings of staying offsite in a condo/villa it is kind of tough to choose to go back to staying onsite! What makes it even harder is the fact that traveling to/from the WDW parks from Windsor Hills was a breeze!

 

[brownhaired_girl]

My friends from work and I have taken kids on group trips and rented at Windsor Hills 3 times. We rented 5 bedroom homes and had wonderful trips. The private homes had pools and hot tubs which were wonderful. On a trip last May I rented in another area. That house, although beautiful, had a pool and spa. I was unaware that a spa is not heated above the temperature of the regular pool. This was very disappointing. My best guess is that the homes at Windsor Hills will have hot tubs but it is worth asking if you are renting from there or another area.