Windsor Hills - lessons learned?

[emilyrachael]

Hi,

I think we're going to rent a 5 bedroom villa at Windsor Hills for our November trip. I was wondering if anyone who's stayed in Windsor Hills in the past had any 'lessons learned' - things you didn't realize or advice for anyone thinking of staying there? Anything you wish you had asked the owner before renting? We'll have cars, so transportation to Disney is not an issue - plus we've stayed off property before so we're familiar with the area around Disney.

Thanks!

 

[PrincessCK]

Make sure the pool is heated if the house has one. What is the daily fee to heat the pool (if there is one).
Any extra management fees or anything other fees, cleaning fee, etc?

 

[kmc8826]

The management company makes a huge difference. Some will have extra supplies, some barely an entire roll of toilet paper. Just have an idea what to expect. Along those lines I would rent only from one that you get the code ahead of time and don't have to stop and get the code at another location. First time we rented the management company was Villa Direct and the stopping to check in added a lot of additional stress we did not need. Since then I make sure we just can go straight from MCO to WH.

 

[emilyrachael]

Thanks for the tips! I would never have thought of getting the access code - the house that's #1 on my list specifically says they send you the info you need the week before you arrive.

 

[mjhtvchick]

I have never stayed there before but know a few who have. Definitely interested in it as a place to consider for future trips - would love if you can "pay it forward" and do a post-booking post and maybe do a little post-trip report on WH when you get back.

 

[emilyrachael]

I have never stayed there before but know a few who have. Definitely interested in it as a place to consider for future trips - would love if you can "pay it forward" and do a post-booking post and maybe do a little post-trip report on WH when you get back.

Sure, will do!

 

[sarahrdh]

The mgmt company that handles the condo we rent is Palm Tree Vacation Homes. It's right around the corner, in a plaza on 192. The only thing that I wish I had realized was that the key was in a box outside the office- no one was there, I didn't see the box...so we came back at 4pm after hitting up the outlet and still no one was there... so I was confused and went back to look through my correspondence, and THEN i realized I had a code to get into that lockbox to get my key Oops! First timer mistake!

Other than that- it was fine. I can't complain, we found a 2 bedroom condo for a heck of a deal last year, so much so that I booked it again this fall.

 

[ParkHopperFan]

If your arrival date is on a Saturday, try to get into the resort before 4pm. The line for checking in at the gate can be pretty long after 4pm.

 

[PulsarIII]

“We'll have cars” ... How many?
The 4 & 5 BR villas should all accommodate 2 cars (3 if 2 are very short) WH's does not allow on street parking or blocking the sidewalk at the front of each property. The sidewalk parking may not be a total no-no, but the overnight on street thing will most likely get someone’s pants in a bunch. There is a parking lot on site to handle oversize and extra vehicles, but probably will not be convenient to your villa’s location.

G’day
III

 

[emilyrachael]

“We'll have cars” ... How many?
The 4 & 5 BR villas should all accommodate 2 cars (3 if 2 are very short) WH's does not allow on street parking or blocking the sidewalk at the front of each property. The sidewalk parking may not be a total no-no, but the overnight on street thing will most likely get someone’s pants in a bunch. There is a parking lot on site to handle oversize and extra vehicles, but probably will not be convenient to your villa’s location.

G’day
III

Thanks! We are planning to have 3 cars, and I didn't even think of a place not allowing street parking. Do you know if the extra parking lots fill up? As long as we can find an extra space somewhere (without having the circle the place forever) that shouldn't be too big of an issue.

 

[pcstang]

We stayed at a house there once and fit 4 vehicles in the driveway. No issues about blocking the sidewalk.

 

[ParkHopperFan]

Thanks! We are planning to have 3 cars, and I didn't even think of a place not allowing street parking. Do you know if the extra parking lots fill up? As long as we can find an extra space somewhere (without having the circle the place forever) that shouldn't be too big of an issue.

You can park the third car perpendicular across the apron of the driveway which keeps your car off the street and also doesn't block the sidewalk. I have seen that done there numerous times.

 

[PulsarIII]

Do you know if the extra parking lots fill up?

Haven’t ever seen it close to half full, but I try to only be there during low seasons.
Looks like the previous posts about 3 & 4 cars should work out well.

BUT ... (Just guessing) don’t forget the real tuff question; After an exhausting day at the parks, who has to go out on the lanai with the little ones?

G’day
III

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I have stayed at Windsor Hills many times and always had a great experience. I would echo the comments of others, a few things to think about:

-Is pool heat included?
-What are the check in procedures (is there a keyless door code or do you have to check in at the gate?)
-Is there a cleaning fee?
-Are any toiletries (TP, hand soap, etc) included? (most often you have to provide your own)
-What are the checkout procedures? (some houses require bed sheets stripped and laundry started before checkout, etc)
-Each car will need to be checked in at the front and get a pass for the week.
-Make sure you have contact info for the management company in case of any issues.

I have personally stayed in these properties (6 bedrooms) and both were great!

http://www.sunkissed-villas.com/
http://storytimeorlandorental.com/

 

[PrincessP]

Just returned from a Windsor Hills Townhome rental. Great experience. Windsor Hills was so quiet and convenient!

Some homes have pool towels, others don't. So inquire about that if you need them.

Also, from previous rentals at the beach, we knew to ask whether cookie sheets and baking pans were available. We like to make simple Pillsbury biscuits, we bake our French fries, and a few other things. From our experience, rentals never have baking sheets or pans.....just stove top pots and pans.

 

[kathy884]

I will reiterate what others have said. If you plan to use the pool make sure that pool heat is included or that you pay the extra and have the pool heated. My husband's company rented a big freebie home in Orlando that employees could sign up for at nominal cost (like $300 extra in wages for taxes only that come out of your Christmas bonus). Anyway, the pool was not heated -- burr. Only one in our party even went in the whole week. For swimming, we went to the community pool which we needed to drive to. // Hind site I would have paid the extra for pool heat for sure.

 

[Mom2m&k]

The one and only...because we will not ever do it again...we had a quite the party going on in the house behind us. No one cared. Not security, not the rental company and not the police. The windows are very thin and cheap on these places and you can hear everything going on around you. The house and furnishings were beautiful and the location was great but we will never do it again because of this!

 

[Belle's Librarian]

Had a great time there last November! Agree with others, check whether you will be able to fit 3 vehicles in the driveway and be sure you have that key code in advance. Also, pay attention to the trash pickup. There's a small trash receptacle that won't be picked up on holidays, and you can get fined for leaving trash bags outside the receptacle. Pay attention and take it out on time. Also, check whether you'll need to provide extra trash bags.

 

[bearzabout]

We have had many surprises (disappointments) with our Windsor Hills rentals.

For example, for one large house, we paid for pool heat but didn't not find out until we arrived that the heat would only be on for 4 hours per day. The time was set before our arrival, so by the time we'd get home from the parks late at night, the hot tub was cold. The system heated the water in the attached spa and dumped it into the pool to raise the pool temp. When the heat was off, the cold water from the pool circulated through the hot tub which made it useless 20 hours per day. Ask how the pool heat works.

All the houses we rented that had pool tables had broken pool cues. The cues were missing the tips that hold the chalk. We learned to bring our own cue or we checked them as soon as we arrived and bought glue and tips at Walmart.

One house had the alarm hooked up to the door to the pool area, so whenever it was opened, the burglar alarm sounded. The mgmt co said it was for safety to prevent kids from sneeking out and could not be disarmed. This was very annoying and disruptive.

One house was unoccupied before our arrival so the ac was not running. It was over 90 degrees on the upper level and took two days to cool off enough so we could sleep.

Wait until you arrive before buying supplies. Some homes were well stocked.

The fan in the kitchen of one was so under powered that we set off the fire alarm while cooking prime rib. The management company was a bit clueless on how to turn it off. They said fire alarms could not be reset at the house. They did it remotely, but it took them a while to figure out how to do it. Imagine Christmas dinner with the fire alarm screeching for 15 minutes.

Learn from our mistakes.

 

[Woodmnky]

Many others have mentioned pool heat, but one thing that I also ask about is how far in advance do I need to decide about pool heat. We have been in WDW in November and December and had 90 degree weather. We have also been there and had 50 degree weather. I don't like paying for something that we don't need or want, so I prefer to make the decision within a week of arrival so that I can make a good decision.

I would just make sure that you know what is included with the house and what is not. I always bring paper towels, TP, hand soap, dish soap, a few dishwasher tablets, a sponge, laundry soap, and some cleaning wipes. We also bring paper plates to limit the amount of dishes that I have to do on vacation.

I don't like using the dishes until I know that they were washed properly, so I stick a load of dishes in the dishwasher as soon as we get there and use those for the week.