Windsor Hills Townhome Ant Problem??

[Katies Dad]

Didn`t realsie it was Storytime you had problems with. We have been looking at these properties and after reading this and how you have been treated I am not sure if I want to deal with them.

Everything is great in the beginning they want your money so will be helpful and obliging. Really sorry that you have had all this hasstle. I would really have to think twice about these properties now.

 

[beachgrl001]

And, I posted earlier about our own WH Townhome experience, but we had zero problems with ants in 2/06. I'm not sure if that was due to location (on Renshaw near Otterspool) or because the management company kept on top of the problem.

Brian, did you use the splash pool? We were on renshaw street also.(I think in the same house as you). We could not even go out there becuase every time we did it was covered with ants. There were LOADS of them in the splash pool it was really pretty gross. The inside of the house was fine, although We really didn't eat at the house at all. The mgt. co.(IPG) was great, we called to tell them about the pool area and they came RIGHT AWAY. AND it was a holiday. But the next day the ants were back out there again. We just used the big pool after that. We still had a good time and when I signed the guest book I didn't mention anything about it to the owner. I figured the mgt. co would tell him. He was a really nice man and I felt there was no need to upset him. There is really nothing you can do but keep spraying in a situation like like (when they just keep comming back). We figured it was the new construction. At the main pool I spoke to someone renting one of the big single houses and he was complaining about ants too. He said he kept calling the office(they rented directly from windsor hills) and all they would say was that they had a contract with a pest control company and that the house had already been sprayed! He said they never even sent anyone over! It seems like the condo's are fine though...

 

[Lucky'sMom]

Oh, great. It looks like I'm going to be out my 20% deposit. I have already booked an 11 night stay at Story Time 3. That is the owner that I emailed about the ant problem, and their response was that they "never have had an ant problem, and that they have their units sprayed every week!" My email would have been sent after the one they would have received about Story Time 2. This makes me very leary to rent from anyone now.

 

[Katies Dad]

Lucky`sMom, hope you can get your deposit back. I`ve decided that if we decide to stay here I am definately going for a condo.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

Unfortunately, the contract states that cancellation results in loss of 20% which is my deposit amount (over $300!). I really thought I had researched this well before I made my deposit. I am so leary of any home rentals, now. I think I may go back to a 2-bed. 2 bath villa (like Vistana or a Marriott property). My kids were really excited for the Mickey bedroom theming and the splash pool, though. Ugh. Oh, well, I am so thankful for these boards so that I can find out this kind of info. BEFORE I arrive, instead of after. We've had zero bug problems where I live in Pa, and I really can't take ants in the house. It would really ruin my trip.

 

[willise]

Just for the record, we had no ant problems in any bedrooms. Just the Kitchen, dining and bathroom areas (I can't believe I am saying "just"). VillaDirect told me to "get a can of Raid and they would reimburse me" until they could get Terminex in. That was the first of 5 calls.

As far as the owner goes, I can't really understand why he hasn't gotten back to me, other than he is on vacation or doesn't feel the need to respond. I am not out to try and ruin his reputation or his business, but I have made so many decisions based on other people's experiences on this board that I thought it was only fair to others to tell of my experiences. After that, they can make their own decisions based on the information they have. Like I said before, maybe this was an isolated incident, maybe the people there before us left food out, I guess anything is possible. However, the one thing I am a little angry about is the email to Lucky'sMom saying "they have never had an ant problem"

This is the email I sent to him on October 15th. I don't think it was rude in any way, certainly not anything that would not warrant a response

"We just returned yesterday from a stay at your townhome in Windsor Hills. The townhome was beautiful, as was the resort, and it served our needs perfectly.

Unfortunately, it was not wothout problems. There were many items that were broken or in need or repair. The patio door to the splash pool does not have a handle and made it very difficult to open, one of the pictures on the dining room wall has a large crack in the glass, and several chairs need repairs. One chair was even put away in the storage room as it needed some repair and could not be used.

But the biggest problem we had were the ants. They were everywhere in the home. We made 5 calls to Villa Direct and also left a voice mail for the manager. Each reply was the same - "we are very sorry and someone will be there today". However no one ever came. There were ants in the kitchen constantly and when we put food on the dining table to eat dinner, there would be ants there before we could finish. So we mostly ate with our food in our laps or we ate out. We had to keep all the food in the microwave or the fridge as it seemed the only place where the ants could not penetrate. They even got into the dishwasher by the dozens. Thankfully they were not in any of the beds, only the kitchen area and the bathrooms.

While, overall, we enjoyed our stay, the management company should have been more eager to deal with these problems.

Thank you again for the use of your home, and I hope this problem can be sorted out by Villa Direct as I would like to stay in a StoryTime property again for our April trip (or another Windsor Hills property) provided it is ant free."

I cannot see how he can say he never had an ant problem.

 

[isla bonita]

willise

First off any owner would be looking for a new man/co asap. Believe me you can not have that many problems without being irrate. We pay a lot of money to have our home cared for and if I ever showed up and saw what you did I would be balistic.

You do not go through a home after it has been rented and not see a picture at eye level that is broken. What type of man/co is villa direst. I would be leary renting a home, town home condo or anything when these are the man/co. Also shame on the owners for ignoring their home. An owner needs to be on top of things.

If I had gotten an email stating that my furniture was broken, a potential disaster if the glass in the picture should fall, a potential fire hazard with no handle on the slider. All of these things look bad on the owner as well as the man/co.

There is no need for your vacation to have had this much go on. This takes away from the stay. You rent a whole home not a small portion of the home. I know my guests will have problems in the future even with being on top of things. I also hope that between my man/co and myself we handle things for our guests to the best of our acbility.

 

[Brian Noble]

Brian, did you use the splash pool?

Yes we did. No issues at all. Maybe different times of year? I know in my own house, we have a couple of anthills out back that act up in the late spring/early summer, but other seasons there's nary an ant to be seen.

 

[MomPlanner22]

After reading this thread I am suitably freaked out about the Windsor Hills townhome we've rented in December. The unit we are renting is owned by a woman in NY and we dealt with her directly. It is a home she uses for her own vacations (suggestion from Brian -- Hi Brian! See you over at TGM!)

I contacted the management company for our unit who is Global Resort Rentals. They said that typically any ant problems are during the summer and they are not aware of a widespread problem with their units. However, they assured me that they have 24/7 service and if there is any problem we should contact them immediately. I also have the owner's phone number and she told me when we rented that although she hasn't had a complaint before, I should call her if I felt the management company wasn't doing their part.

The unit we are renting is on Otterspool St. and backs to a common area. Has anyone stayed on Otterspool and had this problem (or did another guest report this to you during your stay?). I am putting Raid on my grocery list just in case!

 

[5mins2disney]

Sorry to hear you guys had such a bad experience. We are new Windsor Hills townhome owners ourselves...and rented the past 2 years in May as guests before buying a place this summer. We have heard horror stories about some big management companies being non-responsive..that's why we used a small well run company that focuses mostly on guest experience. Our realtor warned us about several MC companies to stay away from, and we have had guests stay with us already who have had issues.

I do not think it is a problem with all of the units, our townhome is right by Sir Kaufman and Maneshaw and I have honestly not had an ant problem. Now..we just moved in / opened up in July..before that it had been empty...so I can't speak to prior to that....but we do have pest control and we were just there for 10 days ourselves last month (Sept) and didn't see any inside or outside of our place.

In the past I've stayed down the street 2x and haven't had these issues either (same mgmt company though)... so maybe they do a better job on pest control than the others do. /shrugs We were so happy with them as guests though, that we hired them, very responsive the time we called for say..a burned out lightbulb...or once the smoke detector battery went dead and needed changing...came right out.

Any place and for that matter...all places in Florida get bugs..you need pest control and to take care of the property! And..more importantly..take care of your guests!! Sorry for your bad experience folks...everyone who has stayed with us so far has absolutely loved our place and the resort, I can promise you most people love it here!

Oh one other thing to mention..someone mentioned in this thread that they had rented directly from the WH Resort itself. This is impossible..there is no such entity! The people in the Resort clubhouse work for Pulte Homes selling new construction homes and managing the resort property...they have nothing to do with rentals whatsover!

 

[5mins2disney]

Hmm...this thread got me concerned...so I asked my property manager about ants and Windsor Hills today...here's his reponse:

Pest control come once every 8 weeks or on demand at no extra cost. Ants are a huge problem on Windsor Hills, the trouble is that they move quickly and in large numbers. Our pest control covers the house and perimeter. If an ants nest in the yard takes a fancy to the trash bin then the doorway will be overrun by ants in no time at all. Our guys will go out and sort out that problem but that's reactive action. Yard treatment should be done by the landscapers on a proactive basis, if they don't do it then the problems will continue. I have had our guys treat a yard (at extra cost) because the problem was so bad.

What's important is that your MC takes care of the issue, some are very non-responsive as you have seen, some are great! We call Florida "the land of bugs, nasty critters, sun and humidity"! LOL Seriously though, everyone in Florida has a bug issue at one time or another and everyone has pest control for this reason, hopefully you won't ever run into one of Florida's nastier critters! (snakes, gators, more...yuck!) (One tip... don't go digging for your lost golf balls in the little lakes in Florida! hehe)

 

[FLParadisevilla]

I have to agree with everyone here I usually call my guest after they have been in the home for a day or so to check to see if all is ok. If there is a problem and sometimes things happen...If they have called the Management Company I usually follow up with the Managment Company.
I have been soooo lucky the only problems we have had is that the door alarm batteries were going dead and beeping, the pool light went out on a stay, or we had a guest disconnect some wires on our tv and not plug them back up... thus causing picture and no sound or sound and no picture.... but again my MC went over to fix it and called me when they could not get it fixed and I fortunatly had another home owner in town across the street from our home, and the husband came over with the MC and had it fixed for the guest.
I think I talked to him a couple of times during his stay and he was great about the TV not working.

Lets all be honest there is always something that could go wrong ie lights, something not working... its all about how its handled by the owner and MC.

I know I would be majorly upset if I showed up and thier were chairs broken and pictures broken and handles missing from doors!! My MC lives in my neighborhood so when a guest calls the worst they can say is they can't believe how fast they showed up!

Its a real shame that you have had all the problems you had, and then no response from the owner!

 

[sympatico]

We stayed at 2508 Renshaw and there was no problems with ants. There was a note saying that spraying had been done the day we arrived and there were a few ants ( very few) outside by the splash pool that day but after a day or so we didn't see any.
We stayed in a home in Clermont area 8 years ago and had ants inside and loads outside when we first arrived. We called and someone came that day and sprayed and we didn't see a single ant afterward. We've learned over the years that you can and probably will have some kind of bug problems in Florida but it doesn't ruin our vacation. This was the first time we had to deal with the lovebugs though, hopefully not again.

 

[5mins2disney]

Lovebugs come out 2x a year in Orlando..in May, then again in the fall...late Sept. We had them everywhere in May...splattered all over the cars. If you go one of these times you might catch them, they're not really that big a deal besides being everywhere...they don't bite or anything, and don't get into the pool area if it's a lanai / screened in, just be prepared to have your car splattered with them!

For some reason they affect the Orlando area worse than other areas of the state, I am told it's because Orlando has a lot of vegetation.

 

[sympatico]

Our ususal time to visit is from Jan to Mar so the lovebugs were new to us. I guess we got used to them after a while but they were still a nuisance. We were there the last of Sept. Next year I think we'll wait until Nov. We did drive over to Daytona and there were just as many there. The strange thing is that in the 15 or so times we've been in Florida ( central and gulf side ) we have never seen a mosquito. Maybe there not too plentiful in the winter.

 

[5mins2disney]

In May we had lovebugs..in early Sept we had none. Then we had guests come right after us in Sept and said they were EVERYWHERE! Funny how a week can make a big difference like that! I've had people say they weren't as bad on the coasts, but like I said, they don't really bite you or anything, just lots of them around.

 

[MomPlanner22]

I spoke to the owner of the townhome in Windsor Hills that we are renting in December. She said that her brother recently used her home and there were some ants. However, she is at the house a lot and said she finds the ant problem worse in the hotter months so in December it should be better.

She also told me that she has monthly pest treatment in addition to what the management company does. She was very understanding of my concern and said if we have any problems to call her, the management company, pest control, etc. to take care of it.

I guess I will go in not shocked if there are ants and not be afraid to call whoever we need to to get it rectified. I will be very careful about keeping the kitchen, etc. clean and free of crumbs (which will be challenging with a 2 and 4 year old!).

I have to say that dealing directly with the owner has given me some peace of mind. I also think raising the concern before you get there doesn't hurt!

Here's hoping all us December visitors have ant-free vacations!

 

[isla bonita]

I have had ants in our home and also love bugs this past year. Not to excess, not on a regular basis, but it happens. That is why like your owner we have both outside and inside pest control.

With the other posters they had a problem and no one attempted to rectify the issue. That is where there is a big problem. Also ignoring a guest when they contact you is another problem. I have to say the broken furniture, slider handle and cracked glass is also another problem.

I truly think most renters will be fine as long as they rent from home owners or man/co's that have the attitude the guests are important. After reading the previous posts I do not think that was the case. If the owners are not down at least once a year they have no idea what is and has happened to their home. That is a shame because by the time they get down to see first hand I think they will want to cry.

To trust you man/co for everything is a big mistake. They are a great asset to us owners make no mistake but they have little vested interest. It is a lot of $$$$ to operate and upgrade these homes. Why some one would ignore there investment is beyond me. It becomes to costly at that point.

I do hope your stay is relaxing and enjoyable. I have not heard back on the forum I am on that any one has heard that WH's is having a problem with ants. Please note it is a small fraction of owners in EI that I have access to it could still be a problem they are yet unaware of.

Have fun on your vacation Deb