Any tips on choosing a Florida villa

[tallulahturtle]

I and my other half have got a family wedding to attend in September. The wedding is in Lake Buena Vista and the rest of the family have already booked villas all of which are in Windsor Hills. We have looked at villas here but they are much more expensive then other gated communities ,on the one hand it would be nice to have all the villas fairly close together ,but also we want a good value villa . For example for the price of a villa with a large pool in a different gated community ,in Windsor hills you would get a condo or a villa with a plunge pool rather than a proper pool. Is Windsor hills really that great ? And why? Are there other communities that are just as good but better value? Also is Florida such a dangerous place that everyone lives in gated communities. We have been to Florida before but did hotels rather than villas and are doing a villa this time as we need to be in Orlando for a longer period and villas seem to be cheaper. After the wedding we will be going down south to Boca Raton , Key West and then to Miami where we will fly out from- if anyone has any hotel recommendations for these places that too will be much appreciated !!

My favourite subject!

Windsor Hills is more expensive as the home owners have to pass on the resort costs. It is a 24 hour security manned resort with plenty going on and a shop. It is officially the nearest resort to Disney but if affordability means you can only go for the splash pool then we need to find you some where different.

Go on these websites www.vrbo.com and www.homeaway.com

Look at homes in these areas which are all VERY close to Windsor Hills (within a couple of miles).

Indian Creek (not gated, older homes, good sized pools, some homes here are residential.)
Emerald Isle similar to Windsor Hills as in resort style
Windsor Palms (is just up the road from Windsor Hills)
Rolling Hills (not gated).

I have never felt unsafe in the Orlando area and you will be fine in an ungated community.

Any particular reason for choosing Boca? The west coast is much nicer and the sea is warmer. I can recommend a lovely little motel in Naples, walking distance across the road from the beach and you can walk to shops and restaurants.

Thanks for the info , we will have a look at some of those places and sites now. We'd love to be able to pay more and be in Windsor Hills but I've been unemployed for a few months and its a tough one as we really can't afford to go on holiday this year - especially long haul, but as its a close family members wedding , we have no choice , so we do want to do it as cheap as we can to some extent but also we want to have an enjoyable holiday as we will not be going back to Florida for a few years after this.

That's reassuring to hear that you have felt safe in a non gated community as we have found some that are perfect but haven't looked further at them as they are non gated, but we will do now.

As regards Boca, basically we stayed there last time as a stop over while travelling down to Miami and The Keys , we are open to suggestions for anywhere to stay or visit really , the only things that are fairly set in stone are that we would like to stay in Key West for a few days , and we would like to fly out of Miami (flights are cheaper and also we get land at Heathrow which is far more convenient). Naples sounds lovely , we didn't visit any of the west coast last time and do regret not visiting there so would definitely consider staying there. Also when we are in Orlando if you have any recommendations for places to visit for the day from Orlando on either coast , or up/down state , we would be very grateful. Last time we went to Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach, but would like to not just repeat this time what we did last time.

Right back to the planning :-)

In my opinion you are paying for the name Windsor Hills. We looked at buying a villa there but it was stupid money and the maintenance fees were probably 5 times as much as anywhere else.

Indian Ridge and Indian Ridge oaks are very close to Windsor Hills, literally a 5 minute drive.

Have a look at this villa which is IRO and which you'd get for 400 per week in September. www.ownersdirect.co.uk/usa/f1895.htm

Alternatively, for more choice look at www.loyaltyusa.com They are a management company owned and run by an english lady who only manages properties within 4 miles of Disney so all will be pretty close to Windsor Hills.

Look for villas within the Formosa Gardens area as the previous poster says those are two more areas to look at. Staying close to WH means you can visit family easily.

We used to own a home on WH so I know it very well, you may want to leave your booking until August as September is a quieter time and I expect you will get some good deals come up, take a look at www.windsorhillsrent.com.

You didnt say the ages of your children or how long you will be there. We always find enough to do in the Orlando area to be honest. We have tried the drive to Key West in the past but it is a slowish 100 miles and so we stay on Key Biscayne instead!

Hey Second , don't chuck me off here but we don't have any children, I discovered mumsnet a while ago and find it a very useful and friendly forum for all manner of things , there arent many general forums that don't have a specific emphasis/agenda , yes most people on here have children ,but then again most people do.

Ive heard of Formosa Gardens , so will give those ones more of a look too. Yeah im guessing start of Sep is when most families will be heading home for the schools going back , so would be great if we could get a good late summer deal.

We tend to travel around as I hate missing out of things , I pick up a guide book about a place we are going and next thing I know , I have a list of places i want to visit and a whole road trip planned out. We know it would be cheaper to stay in a villa in one place for 2 weeks but we have found some dirt cheap hotels in a few places we want to visit. Its basically a toss up between doing the holiday/wedding as cheap as possible and planning carefully so that we can still have the holiday we want ,considering how much the flights alone are costing and as we will not be going to Florida for a considerable time after this.

As regards if we get a villa elsewhere and want to visit family in Windsor Hills , are there any restrictions , as id imagine a gated community would be very careful about who was let in , (sorry have strange Stepford wife style images in my head!!). Also for using facilities in gated communities would you need a pass/id for example? Like if the rest of the family wanted to go swimming or to the clubhouse, could we go too?

The one issue is that I believe the Highways when you get to Miami area and south are all prepay, so you may want to be careful which car rental company you choose. We stayed in Rolling Hills last year and it was very nice and seemed very safe.

Ah yeah that would bring the cost up a bit , will look more into it.

How many of you are going?
If there's only two of you, would a hotel be cheaper on the 192?
That's the main road to Disney if you like or stay in Lake Buena vista in a hotel.
I've always felt safe in Orlando, I've been 20+ times on holiday. We have stayed in the Golden Link Motel on the 192 a few times when it was $19 dollars a night. It's more corporate now!
I've never stayed in a villa though.

$19? I'm sure that will be quality!

If you are arriving as a guest of one of the homes, the renter just needs to pop to the guardhouse on Old Wilson Road to tell them you are expected. Simple as that.

You can get through the doors of all areas (gym, games room, pool) easily as people hold them open for each other and forget their passes. Anyone can access the shop and the playareas as long as you have passes through security at the front gates.

If there is just the two of you why not book a condo on WH and use the community pool and the pools rented by the rest of the family if you want to be close to each other. But again dont book too soon, there are sooooo many places you can stay. Wait for a deal on www.windsorhillsrent.com

tallulah have you actually got quotes from any of the recommended villas? You will probably get some good deals as September tends to be pretty quiet.

Cheers everyone for your replies . It's just the two of us ,we originally thought villa as seemed cheaper then some hotels ,but yes we have found some hotels even cheaper. Trouble is as soon as we look at a specific hotel I check trip advisor etc and i can never take the reviews with a pinch of salt so therefore I'm vey dubious about the cheaper hotels,although saying that we have found some gems before. I think we will leave it a while before booking anything to allow for good deals to be had ,I don't mind hotels but in a way is love a villa as the rest of the holiday will be hotels and I'd love to veg out at our own pool . Although if we still can't quite get our ideal villa the idea about a Windsor Hills condo might work as we have a big pool if we want and are close to the rest of the family villas if we want a more private pool. I think we will keep our options open for as long as possible and hopefully a really good price will come up we will be sorted. Just got to get our fingers out and book flights !!

What is your budget for a weeks accommodation?

Do you have any family you get on well with? We would have quit happily have shared our villa last year, (okay my DD would have moaned), but we had a 4 bed villa, and could easily have given up one bedroom and ensuite.

ooh, a spot of cheeky advertising!
well I raise your 4 bed pool home to a villa with a pool and a gamesroom!

Just the same as you Mosagain!

not quite as obvious. I've recommended two different places, both of whom I recommend regularly and I know a few MNers who have booked through the company I recommended (who I don't get commission from I hasten to add) Not a blatant advert like that

I've said this before but we have used www.ownersrentals.com for our holidays in florida. They have 100's for where your looking for in Florida. I know lots of people who use www.ownersrentals.com to book holidays and have never had a problem.
Hope you have a great time
Holly