Windsor Palms and All Star Vacation Homes

[FLeisure]

Well I'm glad there was some good advice in there apart from one line that seems to have upset a few.

 

[tmli]

This past January we stayed at Windsor Palms and booked thru www.closesttodisney.com , the rate was $69/nt for a 3bdrm condo. We were very pleased, we paid the entire cost on arrival, they had taken a credit card in case we didn't show and would have charged 1 night.

I am planning a stay for 8 in Jan'05 and will be booking a 4bdrm home. I'm considering booking with fleisure because I like the idea of knowing the exact house we will be in etc. I want no problems because my aunt and uncle will be with us and I'll never hear the end of it.....I'm actually pretty impressed with their website and prices. I could actually see some of these other companies overbooking, and I want no surprises upon check in!

 

[lisag1]

Tmli,

If you book with an owner direct you get exactly what you see too - there are no surprises!! We've been renting villas direct with owners for the last 8 years and but have now taken the plunge and bought our own home in July this year. I can understand your initial fears but it's really easy, in fact the only problem I've ever had was when I booked direct with a Travel Agent in the UK

When we got to Kissimmee to the Man Co's office to collect the keys from the lock box they hadn't left any!! We had to call them out to the office and they told me that they hadn't been told by the UK office that we'd booked any accommodation. I showed him our invoice and unfortunately for us the only home he had free that night hadn't had the cleaners in. It was horrendous, by then it was approx 10.00 p.m. I was 7 months pregnant with my then 18mo son in the back seat and I was in tears!!! The next day we were moved into another home on Chatham Park, I can't even remember who the US management co was or the UK agent (they were based in Preston, Lancs) as it was nearly 5 years ago.

After that fiasco we decided we'd book direct and have had no problems whatsoever.

Lisa

 

[FLeisure]

Lisa,
Bit concerned to read of your problem and wanted to point out that the management company may not have been entirely to blame. If they had been given the information that you were coming by the owner then they are obviously to blame but if they weren't then it's a little bit difficult to blame them !

Also, as regards your opening sentence.....it's always best to see photo's or videos of the property before you book the property no matter if it's direct from the owner or the MC. It has been known for owners as well as MC's to bend the truth !

Further, most MC's/owners have a lockbox on the house so that the guest can go directly to the property rather than to the MC office.

Hope everything is working out with your house...it's a big step and a steep learning curve...but worth it in the end.

 

[Daisy57b]

Lisa -

Do you mind sharing who you rented directly with? Looking at staying with Windsor Palms and nervous about sending money to an idividual.

Thanks!

PM me if you want! Thanks!

 

[lisag1]

Hi Nigel

It was through a Travel Agent - I'm not sure how they work it. Does the T/A notify the owner who then notifies the M/C??? Or do they go direct to the US agent?? I have since used an agent - last year in fact to stay at Windsor Palms and we got a great place but you could also choose which villa you wanted.

Maybe we were just unlucky!!!

With regard to the lockbox business - well we tell our guests to go directly to the house to use the keyless entry code but you know last year when we went with an agent we had to go to the office to pick up the keys (or so we thought), what it turned out to be was the directions to the house and instructions to pick up the key from the Gatehouse on Windsor Palms - ggggrrrrr all that way out for nothing.

Everything is going great at the house - we've had the most perfect start and I hope it continues that way but you're right it really is a learning curve as you've seen by my posts on the other board - LOL

Daisy - unfortunately the time we were at Windsor Palms we didn't go direct but we did use www.statesideuk.com (I think that's correct) and they were great. Honestly though as an owner myself please don't feel too nervous about dealing with us direct.

I understand though - it's a bit like our first trip to Orlando we didn't know the ropes so used a Travel Agent to book a package deal . Then once I'd gained confidence I started to book flights and accommodation myself and saved money in the process!!!

Lisa

 

[tmli]

I agree that you also usually get to see the exact property when renting from an owner, as you do with Florida Leisure. I have scoured the vrbo and have actually been in contact with many owners that I would have no problem doing business with.

The main reason I decide to go with a company like closesttodisney or fleisure is the flexible payment terms. I don't like to pay the entire amount 30-60 days prior to arrival, my life situation means that I may have to make a last minute change (I haven't yet--but it could happen). Also being Canadian alot can happen with exchange rates, I like having the extra time to watch the rates.

I fully understand why owners take full payment up front...for me personally I have not yet found a great enough home at a great enough price to book directly with the owner. Thus paying the entire rental before my arrival.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Beejayjay
By the way, STR ? MC ? what do those mean ?

See, I'm a regular and dont know those acronyms....

STR = Short Term Rental - self-explanatory I think

MC = Management Company - the local folks who handle the rental properties owned by people outside of the area. The MC is the one responsible for maintenance, bill paying for the owner, and any issues that arrive during your stay. MC may also be involved in advertising the property and locating customers. Sometimes when you rent, you do so directly through the owner. Other times you may rent through the MC.

We are spending next week at Windsor Palms. We rented direct from the owner. After making the arrangements (and paying), owner sent us the name and phone number of the MC in case we have any problems or concerns after we get there.

Steve

P.S. I agree with FLeisure that a vacation home board would be terrific. At the very least, it would be nice if the Search function wasn't constantly disabled. I'll admit I've posted some questions myself that I know I could have gotten answered by reading earlier posts if I could have found them.

 

[FLeisure]

Lisa,
When you book with a travel agent it all depends on who the travel agent is dealing with, either a) the homeowner or b) the MC.

In either case there should be communication between the parties and then with you , the guest,, so that everyone knows what their responsibilities are and where to collect the key from. On your first trip someone messed up. I just felt you were blaming the MC without realising it might not have been their fault!

As regards the keyless entry....I've had problems with those in the past and would strongly urge you to also have a key option. Mount a lockbox with a key in it somewhere else on the house. One day those batteries will fail and you'll end up with a problem !

tmli, one of the other advantages of being with a company is that if the house doesn't meet your expectations, they can actually move you to another property far easier than an individual owner. Of course, if the research is done properly before booking, the chances of this being needed are slim !

 

[lisag1]

Hi Nigel,

It's ok we've got both the keyless system and lockbox - I already know from experience what happens when the batteries fail!!

 

[me me57]

First time poster here. We're looking forward to our 3rd visit to DW and I guess I'm a little nervous about renting. We're renting from Windsor Palms in March. We went through this website http://www.windsor-palms-resort.com/ and rented directly through the owner. Actually my parents are the one booking it and they reserved it through the owner and received the contract info from Sunshine Magic Vacation Homes. Does anyone know of them? They sent the info with the exact address we're renting from and told us to call 48 hrs in advance to get the key code. Everything seem fine.
Also a thank you to the people on this board for recommending these rentals. This is where I got the information from. Last time there were 16 of us (this time only 6) and our relatives rented a nice house, but it was about 25 minutes away. I was thrilled to find this board and get the information for Windsor Palms. I'm also getting a lot of great tips for our upcoming trip.

 

[FLeisure]

me me57,
Sunshine Magic Vacation Homes do not show up in the Div. of Corporations records and they are not a member of the Central Florida Property Managers Association.

Their web site switches to a company called Florida Vacation Homes and Rentals and doesn't show them to be claiming to be members of any organisation or body although it does look very professional.

The link to the real estate sales arm is interesting and I do know the people involved there and they were OK a year or so ago. Can't comment on recently though.

The one thing that does strike me is the actual address given of Grand National Drive and that concerns me. Most MC's are actually based in the Kissimmee area with zip codes 34741, 34746 and 34747. This tends to give me the impression that they are a booking agent rather than a management company.

me me57, I think you need to ask a few more questions.Who are you actually contracting with and what is their relationship to the property? Are they the MC or are they a booking agent? If they are a booking agent then who is the MC?

I'd then run through the list of points outlined earlier and made sure I'd satisfied myself before booking.

Lisag1 - glad to hear it

 

[me me57]

Thanks for the info FL. My parents are the one that have most of the info, so I'm not sure what else they have and they are on the other side of the US. They contacted the actual owner as all the homes thru that site were available thru the owners only and she (the owner) was the one who contacted them with prices, details and availability. She is not based in the US. After my parents agreed to take it and sent the deposit, the days we requested were soon marked as unavailabe on the availability calendar, so I'm not too concerned. (just got a little nervous with some of the stories). I think the Sunshine Co is the one who handles the US portion as they are the ones who sent them the exact address of the house along with directions and also requested they contact them 48 hrs prior to arrival to get the code. Thanks again and hopefully everything will work out.