Cutting & Pasting my review of Magical Vacation Homes (February 2015):
I wish I had read the negative reviews before we booked.
We're here now in condos at Windsor Hills and have had a few issues (and when I say "we" I mean me and my family in one unit and my sister and her family in another unit -- both rented through Magical Vacation Homes).
Overall my unit is nice. It's well decorated, has a good selection of kitchen utensils, everything I've used seems to work sufficiently. It doesn't have a bathtub which is a negative, and it doesn't have a deadbolt (eek! thank goodness it's a gated community, but still...). But what gets me is the tv. Silly as it sounds, cable or satellite tv is a must-have for us when we vacation. We don't have it at home, so it's a nice luxury we look forward to. The listing for our unit boasted recently upgraded cable tv package and cable tv in all rooms. The only cable appears to be in the living room. Bedrooms have what I would call basic cable (which to me isn't really cable at all - it's just the normal over-the-air channels, a couple of public and local channels, a few religion channels, and a QVC). After a few (frustrating) rounds of discussions with Customer Service, including a work order request they say was fulfilled but which didn't change anything, frankly I've given up expecting any sort of resolution. The kids'll just continue to monopolize the living room TV and I'll turn Netflix on my tablet like I do at home. Chalk it up to experience.
My sister's unit? Not so nice. Very stark with minimal furnishings. Somebody went to IKEA. I think she must have known that from the photos; in any case she didn't seem terribly bothered by it. More concerning to her was the broken toaster, lack of a cooking pans, and broken washer. The toaster burns everything when set on it's lowest setting. The washer doesn't drain, a fact she learned 3 days into her vacation when she attempted to do laundry only to find housekeeping had left a rug in her washer, now mildew-y from sitting in water for at least 3 days. Witnessing the dealings I've had with Customer Service, she didn't even bother contacting them choosing instead to try to make the best of it.
The icing on the cake for us both, though, was a note attached to the our doors when we returned from the parks on Tuesday afternoon (we're in the same building). It's from the Windsor Hills Condo Association, and it reads: "Wednesday & Thursday TIME 10:00AM UNTIL 6:00PM Please be advised that the floors of the hallways are schedule for painting in this building. Weather permitting!! Please either remain indoors during this time or plan your day to leave or arrive before or after these times. This is for the safety of all guests and unit owners."
As a guest who has paid good money to rent the condo, who is ON VACATION, who has made PLANS which contradict this mandate, I WAS LIVID! I can't imagine that the homeowner/property management companies weren't made aware of this in advance. I don't feel they should have even rented the unit out to me (and my sister's family as well -- they got the same note and were the same LIVID!) if they knew these capital maintenance projects were going on. That's just wrong. I "get" that they'd be losing out on rental income, but hey, that's the cost of doing business.
At this point I'm just trying to salvage what's left of our vacation. I wouldn't book through MagicalVacation Homes again.
*****
I thought it might, but time really hasn't given me a different perspective. It still makes me angry, and sad, that our vacation didn't go well. I'm not a "high standards" kind of gal at all.......I don't sweat the small stuff........but it was just all too much. The whole "be gone from your unit" became a problem as the "mandate" extended an additional day without any warning. I know for many it might not be a big deal, but we aren't go - go - go type vacationers; we do a lot of down time and this put a serious crimp in things.....having to be gone all day and not able to come back for lunch and a swim.
My sisters unit only became more wrought with broken items. By the time she left, she'd found more and more broken appliances, furniture, and lack of basic utensils. She was a die-hard Windsor Hills lover and is seriously reconsidering somewhere else for her next vacation.
