Windsor Hills Question: Townhouse or Condo?

[Epscot]

I have pretty much decided to rent either a condo or a townhouse at Windsor Hills for our annual October trip, but I’m having a hard time deciding which one I prefer. The condos are all 3B/2b and are located in several 4 story buildings near the clubhouse/pool. The townhouses are all 3B/3b and are reportedly a 3-5 minutes walk to the clubhouse/pool. Our party is 4 adults and 2 kids under 10, so the extra bath isn't that big of a factor. I submitted a general inquiry at www.windsorhillsrent.com and received MANY offers. The townhouses are generally $75-$100 more for the week than the condos. The townhouses have a small “splash pool” that has been described to me as an oversized in-ground hot tub (complete with spa jets). The condos actually have a little more square footage than the townhouses.

There are elevators in the condo buildings, but I’ve heard they can be a little slow which makes me favor a lower floor. However, I’m concerned about hearing footsteps above me either very late or very early.

Can anyone (that is impartial) who has stayed in both the condos and townhouses at WH offer an opinion or recommendation of one or the other? Of course, the people that own townhouses tell me they are better than the condos and vice-versa. They both look really nice, so I doubt I’ll be disappointed either way. Just wondered if any fellow DIS’ers can offer a recommendation?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Robinrs]

I have pretty much decided to rent either a condo or a townhouse at Windsor Hills for our annual October trip, but I’m having a hard time deciding which one I prefer. The condos are all 3B/2b and are located in several 4 story buildings near the clubhouse/pool. The townhouses are all 3B/3b and are reportedly a 3-5 minutes walk to the clubhouse/pool. Our party is 4 adults and 2 kids under 10, so the extra bath isn't that big of a factor. I submitted a general inquiry at www.windsorhillsrent.com and received MANY offers. The townhouses are generally $75-$100 more for the week than the condos. The townhouses have a small “splash pool” that has been described to me as an oversized in-ground hot tub (complete with spa jets). The condos actually have a little more square footage than the townhouses.

There are elevators in the condo buildings, but I’ve heard they can be a little slow which makes me favor a lower floor. However, I’m concerned about hearing footsteps above me either very late or very early.

Can anyone (that is impartial) who has stayed in both the condos and townhouses at WH offer an opinion or recommendation of one or the other? Of course, the people that own townhouses tell me they are better than the condos and vice-versa. They both look really nice, so I doubt I’ll be disappointed either way. Just wondered if any fellow DIS’ers can offer a recommendation?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, Scot:

I have not stayed at either but have a good friend who built a home there and rents out the condos and the townhomes. We had the pleasure of touring the townhomes when they were being built and thought they were really nice. He suggested to me then that it would always be better to rent an end unit because they're larger and you only share one wall of your pool with the neighbors. The private pool by itself was a selling point to me!

The condos are large and lovely. I toured the 2 and the 3 bedroom. They do remind me of large apartments, though.

 

[Disney Ella]

We will be staying at a townhouse in November and I went back and forth about which we should pick - townhouse or condo. When we were in a first floor unit at OKW last year, one of my DDs was worried that someone was going to break in when she was sleeping. I promised her that we would not rent a first floor unit at Windsor Hills. The problem was that most of the condos available seemed to be fourth floor units and I didn't know if I wanted to wait around for an elevator and then drag groceries, luggage etc. up to the fourth floor.

The parking for the townhouses is right at the door, which was appealing. My parents are coming with us, so I thought the bedroom on the first floor for them might give everyone a little more privacy.

Both the condos and townhouses look very nice and I'm sure you won't be unhappy no matter what you pick.

 

[dizneefamily5]

We haven't stayed there yet but we had decided on a townhome until we got several emails from homeowners offering to match the townhome price for their private pool home. We just couldn't turn down 4 brs 4 baths, private pool, game room, etc. PM me if you want and I can send you info on the home we have chosen. Good luck!

 

[cwnhokie]

We just got back from a wonderful stay at Windsor Hills. We had 12 people with us and rented a 5 br pool home. We drove through the community and saw the condos and townhouses. I would chose the townhouse because we found one of the best perks was relaxing in the pool or hot tub after a long day at the parks. It was awlsome to put the kids to bed and relax with a glass of wine in the hot tub. Some of the townhouses are pretty close to the clubhouse. You could actually end up as far away in some of the condos. We drove to the clubhouse when we were there and it wasn't a big deal. I'm sure you will love it whatever you decide.

 

[Gillian]

Although we haven't stayed in Windsor Hills, we have stayed in both a condo and townhouse in Windsor Palms. One thing we found especially convenient about the townhouse was having our own driveway right near the front door. It made a difference with little kids.

 

[willise]

We have a end townhome rented in Windsor Hills for a week in October. Apparently it is very close to the clubhouse. The website for the unit we rented is

http://www.storytimeorlandorental.com

The owners seemed really nice and very professional.

 

[Steve B]

I recently purchased a townhouse at Emerald Island (3.3 miles from World Drive off 192). I did a lot of research and toured a lot of communities, townhouses, and condos.

I did not like any of the condos. They all felt like apartments, no matter how big they were. And the communites that had condos tended to be not as nice as communities with only townhouses and homes (higher home values). The townhouses all have their own first floor entrances, usually with parking right outside the front door. With condos, you may have to deal with stairs or elevators. Even if you are on the first floor, you probably have to go inside to get to your door.

Some townhouses have "splash" pools that are screened in. They are very small. It isn't much pool for the extra cost of buying the home. Plus, management for a pool, even a splash pool, is very expensive (heat, chemicals, cleaning, managment, etc.), so the rent is usually higher for these townhouses. I decided to buy in Emerald Island where the townhouses do not have pools, but there are two community pools, each with a hot tub.

It is hard to get decent information on a community. One of the things I did was to find out who built the community. Usually it is a large, public company, and you will be able to read about their reputation. A good builder will usually translate into a beautiful community. Emerald Island was built by Park Square homes. The townhouses are approx. 3-4yrs old.

I am not sure wat I can post here, but if you want to talk about my home, please send me an email. I have a website for my home, but I don't want to break any rules. As I said, I did a lot of research, and I found it pretty confusing at first to sort through the different communites. I would love to share information.

 

[Maria395712]

I thought maybe a 4 bedroom home how much do they go for per night in july anybody know
maria

 

[traciedee]

I went through the same thoughts as you and finally decided on a condo. I have 3 teens and I know they will want to hang out at the big pool/slide and to interact with other kids. We rented a downstairs unit facing the pool to avoid the stair issue and to be able to walk out our sliding door to the pool. We are only there for a week so it doesn't matter to me if it feels like a apartment. They have kitchens and washer and dryers. Yeah!! The location of the unit is what I was looking for. The way I look at it WH is new, so no matter what unit you rent it will be in good shape.

 

[Robinrs]

I thought maybe a 4 bedroom home how much do they go for per night in july anybody know
maria

Do a search on vacation homes in Orlando here and on a search engine and get an idea of what they go for. Also check www.vrbo.com

Robin