windsor palms not disclosed

[swincha]

i will do a trip report later. our house was wonderful but people do NOT tell you about the well water. you need to buy your own water and that this resort is by a sewage plant and when the wind blows it smells like crap and i mean this literally. then you smell the sulpher from the well water also. we only had the bad smell 3 times but it was nasty. i can't believe no one mentioned this before. other than that the house was wonderful, great location. a person who owned there were rude to my teen son in the club house and my son is very well behaved and was trying to work out.

 

[isla bonita]

I am sorry you had such a disapointment while renting your pool home. I have not heard that the area has well water. The water in Fl. if you are from any where else is tough to drink. We always use bottled water for everything. There tap water smells like sulfur. You can smell it when you shower. That is not from a well it is there city water that is so bad. I am going to find out where the closest sewage plant is located. I live not far in EI and have never had the odor problem or have ever had my guests complain of it. I will get back to this thread as soon as I find out anything more. About the owner sorry so rude. We all have bad days but your son should not have had to be in the cross fire. I would like to PM you and pick your brain about what you liked in the house and such. If you have time let me know I am always trying to offer what everyone is accostomd to. Or what they would enjoy while on vaca.

 

[swincha]

you can pm me. i loved the house. just the smell 3 times and it was not long just when the wind blew from the sewage plant. great price, great house, great location.

 

[bicker]

Lots of folks from around the country aren't used to lots of things that are pretty normal in Florida. Water, smells, bugs, etc., all seem horribly wrong to some, but when they raise their concerns about these things the Florida natives don't understand what they're talking about, because these things are normal there.

 

[disneysteve]

people do NOT tell you about the well water. you need to buy your own water and that this resort is by a sewage plant and when the wind blows it smells like crap and i mean this literally.

I can't speak for anyone else but I can tell you that I never mentioned these problems in my Windsor Palms recommendations because we didn't experience them. We drank the water every day and used it to fill the water bottles we took to the parks. No problem at all. We also never smelled any sewage. Now we were there in November so maybe that is more of a summertime phenomenon when the weather is hotter.

 

[Brian Noble]

I think the city water in Orlando is horrid, so I would have killed for well water.

 

[isla bonita]

They reuse use the water for lawns and such and they have made the reclaimed plant a bit larger and are working on the problem I hear. Sorry for the offensive odor. This is the first I have heard of it on this forum. I think it might be fairly new due to the recent expansion.

 

[winniedapooh]

The last time we stayed there in October we never noticed this either and we have stayed in the same home 3 times!

 

[swincha]

I can't speak for anyone else but I can tell you that I never mentioned these problems in my Windsor Palms recommendations because we didn't experience them. We drank the water every day and used it to fill the water bottles we took to the parks. No problem at all. We also never smelled any sewage. Now we were there in November so maybe that is more of a summertime phenomenon when the weather is hotter.

the smell had to do with which way the wind blowed(I was told) it was bad 3 times but not for a terribly long time. The night we got in (and went to bed), one morning we went to the parks and one night when we got home. By the time my kiddos were in bed I was able to use the hot tub without the smell. For the price, nice accomodations and distance to the parks I would rent here again. The water was nasty. We bought water. There was no way I would drink the nasty well water or even the water in the fountians at the parks. I guess we are lucky our tap water is good where I live. Surprised in all the tripadvisors ect... no one mentioned the possible smell of the sewage plant. It could be the warm weather also.

 

[dgaston]

I too have never smelled the sewage plant. We are returning in December 2005 to the house we stayed in in 2003. I do use a Brita filter at the parks for drinking water.

 

[pavil]

We were there at a condo May 14-21 and were outside at all different times of the day and night and never smelled anything so that is probably why no one has mentioned it in their reports to the DIS. As for the tap water, we live in Michigan and the water in FL while not bottled water, was fine with us. We used it for our refills all the time.
Sorry to here about your negatives on your trip, We absolutely loved the Windsor Palms, can't wait to rent a pool house there next vacation. It really is close to all of WDW.

 

[Seahunt]

You can smell a nasty sewage smell every time the lawn irrigators go off here in Florida if the irrigation system is using reclaimed wastewater (non-drinkable) - I've smelled this all over the state. It really, really stinks like sewage, but saves the fresh water for other purposes.....

Florida water actually tests great on water testing, but I'll admit I've even noticed at Disney resorts the shower water sometimes smells "burned" !

 

[ritchie56]

We just returned from two weeks in Windsor Palms. LOVE the house and will return, as we have for the past couple of years.

I have to admit though, I did notice the smell this year. Not overbearing, and just when we were outside, on occasion. The smell didn't permeate the house or anything. We thought it was a backed up sewer line, but obviously that was incorrect. I do wonder what it is--the watering theory sounds quite plausible to me. We also wondered if the construction of the highway adjacent to the complex had changed the sewer configuration? (And by the way--I was very surprised by that construction. Not that it affected our stay in any way, but it will change the flavor of the complex in years to come. I wonder what the owners think of THAT?)

 

[pavil]

We saw it too. Big freeway comming through, is it a new one or just a reroute of an existing one?

 

[JANNYANS]

it is a new one called the Beltway which will go north up tp the turnpike. this link will show you the area around WP ans Oak Isalnd Cove so you can see exactly where it is going and how close it is to some homes .If you travel west on the 192 you will also see the massive concrete pillars in place where it will cross the 192 at a height of around 35 feet.It will afffect some home I have no doubt

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/turnpikepio/WesternBeltwayPartC/Section 2.pdf

 

[ritchie56]

Thanks for the map Jan!

Is that Water Reclamation plant fairly new? When we were there two years ago the road pavement ended at Windsor Palms and just a dirt road went on. I don't remember any smell issues then. But now the road continues. Was that plant always there but just on a dirt road? Or is it new in the past few years?


Looks to me on that map like Windsor Palms has gotten a double whammy -- smelly plant and major highway! From the map, it looks like their access into the development is going to be moved as well. It will be interesting to watch in the next few years how that goes.

 

[becky7953]

When we stayed at Windsor Palms we didn't smell anything. (and I have a senstive nose) I would stay there again.

 

[JANNYANS]

The plant has always been there but it is now being made bigger.The road will tower aboive everything when it is finished and create a bit of noise for some communities as it is only 20 feet away from some homes .

 

[disneysteve]

The plant has always been there but it is now being made bigger.The road will tower aboive everything when it is finished and create a bit of noise for some communities as it is only 20 feet away from some homes .

How unfortunate. Windsor is a great community and one thing we really liked was that it was at the end of a dead-end road, very quiet and off the beaten track. Sounds like that won't be the case after all the construction is finished. I'm sure the owners must be tearing their hair out. And to think I seriously looked into buying there.

 

[LIFERBABE]

How unfortunate. Windsor is a great community and one thing we really liked was that it was at the end of a dead-end road, very quiet and off the beaten track. Sounds like that won't be the case after all the construction is finished. I'm sure the owners must be tearing their hair out. And to think I seriously looked into buying there.

We did too Steve!! We loved Windsor Palms, and were seriously looking into purchasing there or Emerald Isle. I never smelled anything and we have stayed in that area twice. I really feel terrible for the owners. We decided to go the DVC route instead of purchasing a Vacation Villa. So glad we did!

PS-Thanks for the tip about the Marriott Bonus Bucks on Ebay you posted on another thread. We stayed at Tampa WestShore Marriott for 1/2 price using the $100 off BB and then used a Marriott Check (redeemed reward points) to pay that! Awesome deal and great hotel.