Windsor Hills - VRBO?

[busyshrew]

Greetings to fellow DISers,
We have been regular visitors to Windsor Hills and usually go through Florida Sun Vacation Homes, but in 2015, our two favourite units are already booked!


We are a small family - just 2 adults and 1 child. So we really would like a 2 bedroom unit at Windsor Hills and now we're looking at VRBO.

I'm pretty nervous about doing VRBO - can anyone offer a recommendation of an owner that has a 2 bedroom unit? We really do NOT want any bigger, it would be a complete waste of space for us.

Right now we're looking at a unit owned by Ron & Sylvia Dawson. Has anyone rented from them? I would very much appreciate any feedback & advice.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Not sure about VRBO, but we always use vacationcentralflorida.com to book Windsor Hills . Never had a problem in the 5+ years that we've rented from them. They have condos and TH at WH.

 

[Amanda999]

I'd definitely go with vacationcentralflorida or WH's own website - not VRBO. I know many people have no problems with VRBO, but I'm a cynical, savvy, comma checking type person (I'm a lawyer, fwiw) and I twice nearly was scammed earlier this year on VRBO trying to rent WH units.

I finally rented from an owner well known personally to the desk staff at WH (I called to snoop on him!), and via the Windsor Hills homeowners site. And I checked the government (county and state) deed records and tax records... Not fun, and not worth the small $ saved v. a large rental agency. I'll stick with large agencies from now on - I can't be worried about whether I was scammed or not until we show up on the first day of vacation. (Well, hopefully I'll like this townhouse and just stick with this owner. Will let you know later this month!)

 

[busyshrew]

Thank you so much for the recommendations. You're confirming what I've suspected. It's one of the reasons we used Florida Sun Vacation Homes - they were recommended & used by DISers. It's just a shame that they don't have any 2 bedrooms we can rent!!!

I can't use the services of vacation central because of their strict Saturday-to-Saturday rental policy. That just doesn't work for us. We want to rent for a week, but from a Thursday to a Thursday. Sigh.

I am also looking at some units at Windsor Hills that are being managed by Magical Vacation Homes. Would anyone have feedback on that company?

Many, many thanks!

 

[judi]

We have used magical vacation homes the past 8 times with no problem. The staff is helpful and a pleasure to deal with.

 

[dbrn]

We used VRBO, listing #89676. It was very nice, well kept, and clean, and I think it's a great value for the price. The price has gone up slightly since I stayed in 2011, but it's still a great price. I didn't think the pictures did it justice. The owner was great to work with. I was worried because we'd never rented a condo before, but everything went very smoothly. After staying there, my family has no desire to stay on-site, and when we have the opportunity to go back, this will be the first place we check to see if our dates are available.

 

[srobinet]

I have worked with an owner VRBO 43696 Stewart's Condo. It is a 3 bedroom condo but the rate is only $75.00 night with no cleaning fee if staying 6 days or more. I have reserved this condo twice and had to cancel and the owner is very honest. I have always received my money back immediately and she responds to emails quickly and is willing to answer any questions. The unit gets good reviews. The owner's name is Andrea Stewart.

 

[srobinet]

I'm sorry I meant VRBO 43695 sorry for the typo.

 

[robinb]

Not sure about VRBO, but we always use vacationcentralflorida.com to book Windsor Hills . Never had a problem in the 5+ years that we've rented from them. They have condos and TH at WH.

We are also a family if three and we rented from vacationcentralflorida.com as well. We ended up with a unit owned that was not owned by Dave and Patti but one of their friends. The communication with the owner was very good and at $412 for the week including taxes and cleaning fees that price was right. The unit was comfortable enough but it was also worn with a very dirty, worn carpet near the entry way that they covered with a small matching area rug that became a tripping hazard. There were also some little problems here and there (like lights and remotes that did not work and a problem in one of the bathrooms) and we had to call the management company to fix some things. The kind of things that were fixed should have been noticed by their cleaning company. The floor was the worst and I thought the owners should have taken the unit out of use and given it some TLC.

I also rented a pool home from VRBO (but in Formosa Gardens). It was a big 4-bedrooms house (yes, we left 2 bedrooms unused) but again the price was right ($800, all in for Christmas week) and we really enjoyed our own private pool. I was not worried about being scammed, although I assume it can happen.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

I used homeaway for this upcoming trip. He was also an owner who contacted me when I inquired on whrent. Ive used vrbo in the past and had no issues though.

 

[busyshrew]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to answer & reassure me!
I think this thread will probably be useful for others too... because Jet Blue opened up the flights past March and I'm sure we're not the only people who jumped on tickets .

Right now we're really leaning toward Magical Vacation Homes but I'm going to also contact the owners of the VRBO listings recommended here.

 

[robinb]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to answer & reassure me!
I think this thread will probably be useful for others too... because Jet Blue opened up the flights past March and I'm sure we're not the only people who jumped on tickets .

Right now we're really leaning toward Magical Vacation Homes but I'm going to also contact the owners of the VRBO listings recommended here.

FWIW, I would not hesitate to rent from Mark and Patti if I had the chance. I get the impression that they keep a closer eye on their properties than their friends. When are you planning to go to WH? Apparently the pool will be closed starting in September.

 

[busyshrew]

I saw that warning in the listings - we are actually going next year, late February 2015.

 

[Poohbear77]

Sorry double post

 

[Poohbear77]

We are staying in a 2br condo from vacationcentralflorida next month, number 402c. I will let you know how it was when we return.

 

[Poohbear77]

We are also a family if three and we rented from vacationcentralflorida.com as well. We ended up with a unit owned that was not owned by Dave and Patti but one of their friends. The communication with the owner was very good and at $412 for the week including taxes and cleaning fees that price was right. The unit was comfortable enough but it was also worn with a very dirty, worn carpet near the entry way that they covered with a small matching area rug that became a tripping hazard. There were also some little problems here and there (like lights and remotes that did not work and a problem in one of the bathrooms) and we had to call the management company to fix some things. The kind of things that were fixed should have been noticed by their cleaning company. The floor was the worst and I thought the owners should have taken the unit out of use and given it some TLC. I also rented a pool home from VRBO (but in Formosa Gardens). It was a big 4-bedrooms house (yes, we left 2 bedrooms unused) but again the price was right ($800, all in for Christmas week) and we really enjoyed our own private pool. I was not worried about being scammed, although I assume it can happen.

Hoping this wasn't the one we will be staying in. 402C :/

 

[robinb]

Hoping this wasn't the one we will be staying in. 402C :/

Sorry, I can't remember the exact number. In all fairness, it's been over a year and I am sure that the unit I was in has been fixed since the carpet really was that bad. If it's the same one I'm sure you'll be fine!