sersee05
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2009
I hadn't seen a ton of reviews so thought I would add mine. It is about Windsor Hills but also how I got to that decision .
The choices of where to stay offsite are completely overwhelming. I was horribly stressed trying to figure out the best place to stay.
We are a family of five. I have kids ages 16, 11, and 9. Our dates were locked in due to a lax commitment. We had to wait until we got more info which prevented me from signing on the dotted line to lock in dates or get airfare. We knew around the time we were going to be there.
So we decided to stay on Disney property at first. We heard free dining was coming . I had always wanted to have the dining (since I never had it) and was very excited. But we are a family of five . I knew i wasn't about to pay for two rooms. That was not something I would do. So obviously it puts our choices to the hotels that allow five.
We had stayed at the Poly before and loved it. I looked into that one and it was all booked. My ta tried to get me POR ...but it was booked. The only thing that was available was the Yacht club. So we reserved that with "free " dining(which we all know isn't truly free). We were coming to a total of $5800 and we hadn't even put in travel yet. Not to mention I was having trouble getting adrs.
So my husband and I just decided we didn't want to spend that much . So I started exploring offsite with much help from the lovely people on this board!
But it was very overwhelming. I didn't know the area like some and had no idea where any of the places I was looking at in vrbo was. Do I go vrbo? Do I go with a company?
I have rented vrbo in the past when we have gone to tourneys . It was better than staying in a hotel. So I wasn't too nervous about vrbo until I started reading horror stories.
I am a clean freak...and I kind of like upscale places. I was having a heck of a time finding a place that i wanted to rent. I was concentrating on Windsor hills because that is the only place people really talked about on this board. But as the properties came in, I couldn't figure out why? I wasn't seeing much of anything. I saw a lot of themed bedrooms that were too kiddie for my kids.
So then I came across Reunion. They had beautiful upscale condos. I had a few I was considering that were beautiful. I came here and asked about it and I had heard that it was a beautiful area and not that far from Disney. I drove by it while I was there..beautiful and not at all far. But they were only 3 bedrooms and that was going to be difficult . Of course I would be lucky to have a condo like that but..do I really want to hear my children fighting on vacation...
I looked in Emerald Isle. I didn't find much in there. I think if I were able to plan way ahead I would have had more properties to choose from. I tried for Bonnet creek ...through everyone. lol It was booked solid.
I even got to a point where i found a place and was ready to sign but the person never got back to me and rented it to someone else.
So then I was back at the drawing board.
Checked out Paradise Palms. There units were gorgeous and four bedrooms. It had a splash pool which I think is ridiculous unless you have small kids. But we didn't care about a pool. Florida Scandi was the manager and I read someone say that they had a good experience. There wasn't a lot written about PP. But I was close to signing that one. But something kept stopping me...I don't know.
Then I had a property come through in Windsor hills. A five bedroom home with pool and they were decently priced. I spoke to the owner and we agreed on a price . The two bedrooms were themed but at least it wasn't a baby mickey mouse. It was Star Wars so I knew my son would be ok. It was just a mural and the comforters that were star wars. The other bedroom was a princess room. It had two masters downstairs. One for me and my husband and one for my daughter. There was also a queen bedroom that my 11 year old took. Each had their own tvs so we were all spread out !
I came back here because I was torn and had people vote. You all kind of pushed me toward Windsor hills house and I thank you for it! I was concerned because I heard it wasn't a great area and that it was rundown.
So we arrive and I guess I can kind of see maybe what people consider kind of sketchy. It has a lot of neon signs from the souvenir shops. But the shops and restaurants looked new and nice . Global resorts managed the home so I had to go pick up a packet. We stopped at panera(we had driven 17 hours and got there by 8:45pm) and then headed to the house.
In my package I had the key code and alarm code. There was other info but I thought it was advertisements. Well we followed the gps to the house but it took us to a gate we couldn't get in. We must have driven around for 15 minutes like nummies looking for the gate. I finally called the emergency number for global and the guy told me the directions were in the package..I found them and told him that I was a big dummy.
We got to the gate and we had to wait in line while other people got checked in. When you first get there you have to show Id and they write down your plate. You are then given a ticket with a barcode to get in and out . Well the guard was awfully chatty. We were trying to be nice but he just kept talking . We were starving and tired. But we know he didn't know that. But this is why it took so long to get through the gate. Very chatty guy. He then gave us menus and allowed us to go on our way.
We got to the house . I liked that there was a garbage bench outside and trash was picked up everyday. The home was GORGEOUS! Way better than the pictures. It was absolutely spotless!!!! The bedrooms all had their own bathrooms and I tell you it was great coming back and being able to relax in our own rooms and wind down with tv. The family room tv had an issue with it's volume. It kept getting quiet on its own .No biggie.
My kids only swam in the pool once. There was a lot of the debris in the pool..But we didn't really have much time to swim. The kids were too tired when we got home at night.
One night the neighbor next to us was playing tropical music really loud. But I kind of liked it..lol At 11pm..it was turned off. That is the noise curfew. The last night though a family came into the house behind us and decided to swim at 11:30-12 at night. The kids were screaming and it was very loud and very annoying. I don't understand people who think they are the only ones in the world. We were getting up at 3 am to head home ..so we were annoyed. After awhile of listening to them I called the guard. It says on the paper to call the police...but I wanted to check with him first. I told him what was going on and he said he had numerous calls on them and it was being taken care of. Voila..within 5 minutes it was quiet.
Windsor hills was beautifully maintained. All the grass was cut . It all looked very nice. My daughter said she felt so safe like we were on our own island.
So thanks for all the help! Anyone wondering about Windsor hills. It's great.. Just find the house that you like and it will be good. Don't worry about the neighborhood . It is very nice and oh my gosh it was so easy to get to all the parks and hardly took any time at all! It is very very close. I am going to add pictures to the thread so you all can see the house. I whole heartedly recommend this house. I couldn't believe it was available. The owner was very nice to work with and Global does a great job at maintaining the home!
The choices of where to stay offsite are completely overwhelming. I was horribly stressed trying to figure out the best place to stay.
We are a family of five. I have kids ages 16, 11, and 9. Our dates were locked in due to a lax commitment. We had to wait until we got more info which prevented me from signing on the dotted line to lock in dates or get airfare. We knew around the time we were going to be there.
So we decided to stay on Disney property at first. We heard free dining was coming . I had always wanted to have the dining (since I never had it) and was very excited. But we are a family of five . I knew i wasn't about to pay for two rooms. That was not something I would do. So obviously it puts our choices to the hotels that allow five.
We had stayed at the Poly before and loved it. I looked into that one and it was all booked. My ta tried to get me POR ...but it was booked. The only thing that was available was the Yacht club. So we reserved that with "free " dining(which we all know isn't truly free). We were coming to a total of $5800 and we hadn't even put in travel yet. Not to mention I was having trouble getting adrs.
So my husband and I just decided we didn't want to spend that much . So I started exploring offsite with much help from the lovely people on this board!
But it was very overwhelming. I didn't know the area like some and had no idea where any of the places I was looking at in vrbo was. Do I go vrbo? Do I go with a company?
I have rented vrbo in the past when we have gone to tourneys . It was better than staying in a hotel. So I wasn't too nervous about vrbo until I started reading horror stories.
I am a clean freak...and I kind of like upscale places. I was having a heck of a time finding a place that i wanted to rent. I was concentrating on Windsor hills because that is the only place people really talked about on this board. But as the properties came in, I couldn't figure out why? I wasn't seeing much of anything. I saw a lot of themed bedrooms that were too kiddie for my kids.
So then I came across Reunion. They had beautiful upscale condos. I had a few I was considering that were beautiful. I came here and asked about it and I had heard that it was a beautiful area and not that far from Disney. I drove by it while I was there..beautiful and not at all far. But they were only 3 bedrooms and that was going to be difficult . Of course I would be lucky to have a condo like that but..do I really want to hear my children fighting on vacation...
I looked in Emerald Isle. I didn't find much in there. I think if I were able to plan way ahead I would have had more properties to choose from. I tried for Bonnet creek ...through everyone. lol It was booked solid.
I even got to a point where i found a place and was ready to sign but the person never got back to me and rented it to someone else.
So then I was back at the drawing board.Checked out Paradise Palms. There units were gorgeous and four bedrooms. It had a splash pool which I think is ridiculous unless you have small kids. But we didn't care about a pool. Florida Scandi was the manager and I read someone say that they had a good experience. There wasn't a lot written about PP. But I was close to signing that one. But something kept stopping me...I don't know.
Then I had a property come through in Windsor hills. A five bedroom home with pool and they were decently priced. I spoke to the owner and we agreed on a price . The two bedrooms were themed but at least it wasn't a baby mickey mouse. It was Star Wars so I knew my son would be ok. It was just a mural and the comforters that were star wars. The other bedroom was a princess room. It had two masters downstairs. One for me and my husband and one for my daughter. There was also a queen bedroom that my 11 year old took. Each had their own tvs so we were all spread out !
I came back here because I was torn and had people vote. You all kind of pushed me toward Windsor hills house and I thank you for it! I was concerned because I heard it wasn't a great area and that it was rundown.
So we arrive and I guess I can kind of see maybe what people consider kind of sketchy. It has a lot of neon signs from the souvenir shops. But the shops and restaurants looked new and nice . Global resorts managed the home so I had to go pick up a packet. We stopped at panera(we had driven 17 hours and got there by 8:45pm) and then headed to the house.
In my package I had the key code and alarm code. There was other info but I thought it was advertisements. Well we followed the gps to the house but it took us to a gate we couldn't get in. We must have driven around for 15 minutes like nummies looking for the gate. I finally called the emergency number for global and the guy told me the directions were in the package..I found them and told him that I was a big dummy.
We got to the gate and we had to wait in line while other people got checked in. When you first get there you have to show Id and they write down your plate. You are then given a ticket with a barcode to get in and out . Well the guard was awfully chatty. We were trying to be nice but he just kept talking . We were starving and tired. But we know he didn't know that. But this is why it took so long to get through the gate. Very chatty guy. He then gave us menus and allowed us to go on our way.
We got to the house . I liked that there was a garbage bench outside and trash was picked up everyday. The home was GORGEOUS! Way better than the pictures. It was absolutely spotless!!!! The bedrooms all had their own bathrooms and I tell you it was great coming back and being able to relax in our own rooms and wind down with tv. The family room tv had an issue with it's volume. It kept getting quiet on its own .No biggie.
My kids only swam in the pool once. There was a lot of the debris in the pool..But we didn't really have much time to swim. The kids were too tired when we got home at night.
One night the neighbor next to us was playing tropical music really loud. But I kind of liked it..lol At 11pm..it was turned off. That is the noise curfew. The last night though a family came into the house behind us and decided to swim at 11:30-12 at night. The kids were screaming and it was very loud and very annoying. I don't understand people who think they are the only ones in the world. We were getting up at 3 am to head home ..so we were annoyed. After awhile of listening to them I called the guard. It says on the paper to call the police...but I wanted to check with him first. I told him what was going on and he said he had numerous calls on them and it was being taken care of. Voila..within 5 minutes it was quiet.
Windsor hills was beautifully maintained. All the grass was cut . It all looked very nice. My daughter said she felt so safe like we were on our own island.
So thanks for all the help! Anyone wondering about Windsor hills. It's great.. Just find the house that you like and it will be good. Don't worry about the neighborhood . It is very nice and oh my gosh it was so easy to get to all the parks and hardly took any time at all! It is very very close. I am going to add pictures to the thread so you all can see the house. I whole heartedly recommend this house. I couldn't believe it was available. The owner was very nice to work with and Global does a great job at maintaining the home!
