Villa Dilemma - More Issues

[Orlandobelle]

I'm having a real crisis over this year's villa - usually I love chosing our villa - it's one of the best parts of the holiday for me :D But this year is different - we've never been over Chirstmas before & this year I'm not paying :omg: Due to a change in family circumstances, my mam is taking us all away for the holidays after a pretty lousy last 6 months.

I'm still searching for that elusive 'perfect' villa, now I've never booked a lemon but have never found 'the one'. This year I've shortlisted 5 villas but simply cannot make the decision :(

I have a lovely Dibb villa that I would feel absolutely secure in booking - it ticks all our boxes (of which there are many) and offers lots of festive extras but, for some unknown reason my mam wants a big kitchen to cook Christmas dinner (why? we're on holiday! I want to go to Discovery Cove ;) ) & it doesn't have this :(

I have a stunningly expensive, brand spanking new, 6 bedroom palace on Watersong - perfect in every way except location. We like to get carry outs (not fast food) & eat at home in the evenings so we can all have a glass of wine & th egirls can spend as much time in th e pool as possible. Watersong is miles from any of our usual eateries (even Champions Gate is over 8 miles away) & this would not be an option - we would end up going out to eat or I'd end up going to Publix (food shopping - yuk) & cooking at the villa.

I have a couple of other villas on SR27 that aren't as inspiring - smaller pool or close to the main road or poor websites etc etc that just aren;t doing "it" for me but I would normally have no hesitation in booking.

Unfortunately nobody seems prepared to make a decision - everyone has chosen a different villa as their first choice - how on earth do I chose :confused2

[psharrock]

Perhaps you could all chose a 1st and 2nd best, and then compare all the answers, this way, you may be able to get everyones 1st or 2nd choice villa.

I don't envy you making a selection but good luck.

Paul

[castanea1985]

I'm having a real crisis over this year's villa - usually I love chosing our villa - it's one of the best parts of the holiday for me :D But this year is different - we've never been over Chirstmas before & this year I'm not paying :omg: Due to a change in family circumstances, my mam is taking us all away for the holidays after a pretty lousy last 6 months.

I'm still searching for that elusive 'perfect' villa, now I've never booked a lemon but have never found 'the one'. This year I've shortlisted 5 villas but simply cannot make the decision :(

I have a lovely Dibb villa that I would feel absolutely secure in booking - it ticks all our boxes (of which there are many) and offers lots of festive extras but, for some unknown reason my mam wants a big kitchen to cook Christmas dinner (why? we're on holiday! I want to go to Discovery Cove ;) ) & it doesn't have this :(

I have a stunningly expensive, brand spanking new, 6 bedroom palace on Watersong - perfect in every way except location. We like to get carry outs (not fast food) & eat at home in the evenings so we can all have a glass of wine & th egirls can spend as much time in th e pool as possible. Watersong is miles from any of our usual eateries (even Champions Gate is over 8 miles away) & this would not be an option - we would end up going out to eat or I'd end up going to Publix (food shopping - yuk) & cooking at the villa.

I have a couple of other villas on SR27 that aren't as inspiring - smaller pool or close to the main road or poor websites etc etc that just aren;t doing "it" for me but I would normally have no hesitation in booking.

Unfortunately nobody seems prepared to make a decision - everyone has chosen a different villa as their first choice - how on earth do I chose :confused2

Why don't you all do a list of what's important to you all, then compare them? Hopefully, you will see a pattern and be able to choose the best one for all your needs??
Good luck - Christmas is wonderful out there!!

Tracy xx

[islabonita]

It might be a good idea to get together and start narrowing down your choices. I know many of the homes will start getting booked for the xmas holiday. Then you will not have as many choices.

[KarenS]

Hi,

I love choosing a villa - it is one of my favourite bits too but it is very difficult.

If I was you I would take a break from looking for a few days. I find that sometimes you just get confused when you have looked at so many. I know someone has said that villas for Christmas are being booked up fast but there are thousands of villas to choose from and I am sure that there will be lots left.

The next thing I would do is try and decide what area you want to stay in and then only look at villas in that area. There is no point in considering a villa if the area doesn't suit you. To be honest I don't think there is the absolutely 100% perfect villa. This year I had 3 on my absolute shortlist. One had everything but no computer another one had everything but wasn't a gated community. The one we eventually went for had a computer was in a gated community with a south facing pool and was 2 storey but didn't have a spa. I would have liked a spa but decided I wanted a computer and the other things more. I suppose what I am trying to say is that you have to decide what is most important and take it from there.

Good Luck with your search!

Karen

[Jules R]

I think you are going to have to accept that you can't please everyone all of the time and there are going to have to be compromises.

If the only thing stopping you from choosing the Dibb villa is the size of the kitchen then have a word with your Mam to see exactly what she is planning on cooking.

American ovens are far bigger than those in the UK so she shouldn't have a problem with cooking even a huge turkey. You can buy most of the veg ready prepared so you don't need a lot of prep area, the fridges are huge so there will be plenty of room to keep anything that has been pre prepared fresh. Also don't forget that the villas are usually much bigger than our homes in the UK so the kitchen in question is probably still much bigger than the one she has at home.

I'm sure that where ever you decide on you will have a fantastic Christmas. .

Jules

[disneylover]

We stayed at a dibb villa in 2005 and the owners put up decorations and made it really lovely for us. It was huge (5 Beds) and it suited all of our needs. Good luck with finding your villa.

[galaxy]

Its hard isnit it. I struggled this year too. I agree that you should only look at villas where you really want to stay. We had some great offers from outwith our desired area, but Dh wants to cut back on driving as were only there for 2 weeks this time...so we wanted a resort closest to Disney.

In the end I had narrowed it down to 2 and let the kids choose, the boys chose one and my dd chose the other(as did my dh)...as it may be my eldests last holiday with us I went with them.....not sure if its right and Im sure when Im there I'll wish i was in the other one....but hey ho Ill blame the boys ;)

another thought...how important is it that your mum gets what she wants....has she been before...if not she'll be pleased with the homes anyway..I know my mum was blown away with the size and space we had when she came with us.


Good luck!

Janie
:smile:

[WindwardGal]

I agree with the OP no US kitchen I have ever seen is small. So there would be plenty of room for cooking dinner.
One thing I would check is that the home has lots of pots and pans and dishes for cooking / serving as some homes have very few and certainly not enough for cooking Christmas Dinner!

[jadehouse]

I agree with the OP no US kitchen I have ever seen is small. So there would be plenty of room for cooking dinner.
One thing I would check is that the home has lots of pots and pans and dishes for cooking / serving as some homes have very few and certainly not enough for cooking Christmas Dinner!

That's a very important point Lin, not all homes have enough cooking pots, pans and serving dishes for a celebration meal. We also provide a china dinner service and lovely wine glasses to make it extra special.

My friends cooked a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings last November at our home, we had booked to go out but I was unwell during our holiday. We had a great day by the pool and really enjoyed the meal with a few bottles of bubbly :thumbs-up :thumbs-up :thumbs-up

[Orlandobelle]

We're all au fait with the size of villa kitchens (this will be our 7th villa stay) & this particular kitchen is a lot smaller than the ones we have at home. Main issue is the lack of counter space.

Good point about the pots & pans /crockery - some villas we have stayed in have been a little sparse to say the least. Will have to check it out - thanks :)

I still want to go out for Christmas lunch :tounge:

[shirley]

maybe a compromise with Mil maybe she cook the xmas day brekkie and then you all go out later for a nice meal, im with you on this one wanting to go out for xmas dinner, you wont be there every xmas so make it a good one lol shirley

[Midsummer]

Our Christmas guests last year were amazed with all the pots and pans we had provided. We even have a spice rack. They had friends for Christmas Day and they could not believe how well equipped our kitchen was. She had had to go out and buy some pans for the villa she was staying in. We decorate our villa inside and out and love doing it.

[Orlandobelle]

Well, we finally made a decision - we're staying on Tuscan Hills :)

Ended up chosing a villa that was nobody's first choice but one most had as a second choice :confused:

It's a lovely 6 bed / 4.5 bath, 2 storey villa with a 30ft, south facing pool & spa :D

Thank you all for your advice :thumbs-up

[Jules R]

Congratulations, it can't have been easy with everyone having their say.

I'm sure you'll all have a fantastic Christmas. :Santa1:

[Tinklfly]

Glad you got something sorted. It couldn't have been easy with so many to please. Hope you have a fab Christmas whatever you do for dinner. :xmastree:

[KarenS]

We are staying on Tuscan Hills too!

Not stayed there before normally across the road in Legacy Park. It is a really great location and now with Posner Park and the new cinema north of the I92 junction even better.

Tuscan Hills villas get a really good write up and I am sure that a 6 bedroom will be fabulous!

We are staying in one of the 4 bed courtyard villas - can't wait!

Karenx

[BnDamo]

Why not order your xmas dinner from Publix?? Pick it up Xmas eve , turkey, veggies ,spuds, everything you need all you do is whack it all in the oven for an hour.. job done. We did it last year for around $25 for four and it was lovely.

[sage]

I'm glad you've managed to get something booked; we have friends who own a 6 bed villa on Tuscan Hills and it's fantastic! You'll have a wonderful time, I'm sure. :thumbs-up

[Orlandobelle]

Typical - now we've sent the deposit off the owner has decided she's 'made a mistake' with our quote and has upped the price by £400 :rolleyes:

[KarenS]

That's a huge mistake!

Did you think the quote she gave you was cheap?

Are you still going to go ahead?

Good Luck!

Karenx

[Orlandobelle]

The quote was in the same ball-park as the others we'd shortlisted, was a slightly larger villa but didn't have the 'bells & whistles' (basic furninshing & decor, near the main road) of some of the others so I thought it was a reasonable quote :(

I don't know if I want to go ahead at the higher price on principle

[psharrock]

Typical - now we've sent the deposit off the owner has decided she's 'made a mistake' with our quote and has upped the price by £400 :rolleyes:

Oh dear not good at all. An owner should stick by their quotations, as long as they are still valid.

Are you now back to the drawing board with your decision making :angry:.

Paul

[Midsummer]

That's not good, if I had made a mistake I would certainly stand by my original quote.

[GUCCIMUM]

I would nt go ahead with it personally but then that is me. If I made a mistake I would honour it and would expect the same.

[welshwiz]

I would honour the quoted price too. :)

I think you've been treated dreadfully :mad2: Tracey and I wouldn't book it on principle.

You have to have faith that they are not going to forget something else or make another mistake with your booking. :nonono:

[QueenB]

I hope they honour the quote , if not return your deposit so you can book something you feel is worth the money

[tomnj]

Did they get caught out with the exchange rate change? (If UK owners)

[Tinklfly]

Even if they honour the original quote - will you be happy that they won't shift the goal posts again? You seem to have made some compromises over this villa and it wasn't "the one" anyway. Maybe you should take some time to consider your options, and if you decide to go ahead and the villa is still available then that's what's meant to be. Good luck with your decision. :smile:

Heather

[sunsetlakes]

Oh Tracy, after all the stress of sorting out the right villa, this is the last thing you needed. Hope you get everything sorted soon so that you can start on the rest of the trip planning.
Good luck
Linda :wave:

[TinkTatoo]

I think on principle I'd find somewhere else. They quoted you a price and you made a booking based on that price so it's totally unfair to come back and change it

[sage]

I can't believe that, having got a villa sorted, you've got yet more hassles to deal with. The owner really shouldn't be asking for more money and should be sticking with their original quote. Good luck with whatever decision you make. :thumbs-up

[Michelle]

I would look for another villa Tracey!

[Kateart]

There is absolutely no need for this amount of stress when booking a private villa. I have never heard of an owner doing this, and I find it totally unacceptable. Tracey, get your deposit back and book another villa, plenty of choice out there.

Hope it all works out for you and becomes much less stressful !!
Kate

[blackburn44]

Tracey

Just caught up with your thread - I thought you were sorted..

I agree with everyone else... it's not very professional to change the quote.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do & have a lovely holiday as that's the main thing.

Debs

[WindwardGal]

I agree with the others. Cancel it and keep looking. I guess it was not a Dibb Villa!

[dismum]

Can't say I disagree with the others -find yourself another home .I made an error in a quote last week -not by as much as this one but I still honoured my original figure .

[Orlandobelle]

Well, after a bit of negotiating over the price (apparently the owner had quoted without gas pool heat) we have decided to stick with this villa. Goes against my better judgement but, as I said, I'm not paying so left the final decision with those there are ;)

[GUCCIMUM]

As long as your happy..Im sure you will have a great holiday.

[debcon]

hi if this helps we went a couple of years ago at christmas staying on silver creek the traffic was a nightmare morning and night i have never seen it so bad so if you can go for the one nearest to disney.ie(about 1 and a half hour stuck on the 192)

[Midsummer]

We own at Silver Creek and were out there last Christmas and never had any hold-ups. I would have thought 1.5hours to Disney was because of an accident. These hold-ups can happen at any time of the year.

[Orlandobelle]

Well I'm resurrecting this thread again as I am still having what I consider issues :(

3 months after paying the deposit I still haven't received any written confirmation. Without fail, every time I've booked privately the owners have immediately sent booking confirmation, dates balances due etc.

I've contacted her 3 times and each time there's been an apology along with an excuse - emails not working, at the villa etc & a promise that they would send booking confirmation within the next few days but nothing.

Am I being unreasonable to expect more than an email stating they'd received my deposit?

[arkv1lla]

Oh No - not professional at all. :angry:

You are right to be concerned - as soon as I recieve the deposit I send a receipt with info of date balance due etc and keep in regular conatct with all my guests to make sure all is ticking along nicely.

So sorry you are having toruble - it does tarnish the whole lead yu up and in these uncertain times it's just not fair to give people unnecessary stress.

Hope you get it sorted.

Sandra

[welshwiz]

Well I'm resurrecting this thread again as I am still having what I consider issues :(

3 months after paying the deposit I still haven't received any written confirmation. Without fail, every time I've booked privately the owners have immediately sent booking confirmation, dates balances due etc.

I've contacted her 3 times and each time there's been an apology along with an excuse - emails not working, at the villa etc & a promise that they would send booking confirmation within the next few days but nothing.

Am I being unreasonable to expect more than an email stating they'd received my deposit?

As you know Tracey owners vary in the the way they operate from basic information such as email confirmations and simple directions and a keycode to others who send out full brochures and computerised invoices and statements.

Until guests book they don't really know what to expect paperwork wise so I try to explain the procedure to my guests before they book so that they know when each stage has been reached.

I'm lucky that I have an office based computer pakage that generates invoices and statements which I can email to guests which I follow up with further information and instructions.

My guests are comfortable that they their money is safe and their dates are secure and happy to wait until nearer their departure time for lengthly files of instructions along with maps and manager details etc.

But I'm happy to send through lots of information to assist my guests and always reply to and deal with emails in a prompt manner. I hate being left on pins for replies to my emails so I know that I couldn't tolerate it if I were in the opposite situation.

I try to guage their needs and supply individualised information as lots of our guests are dibbers I can guage whether they might need more specific help or reassurance.

If in doubt I always send through excess information and I'm the one that doesn't settle until I know my guests are happy.

I can understand one or maybe two excuses and delays due to the owners holidays but to not reply with the requested information after 3 months does not represent very good service inmho and I'd be slightly concerned regarding the speed of their replies when it matters nearer your arrival day when guests tend to have lots of questions and queries as the excitement builds.

So in summary it's not unusual just to have an email to confirm your deposit has been received and confirming your dates but poor service when you have requested more specific information and a written receipt and they haven't bothered to act on your wishes!

My advice at the moment would be not to worry but send a few emails asking general questions and see how speedy and helpful they are with their replies and guage whether you are happy to continue with the arrangements.

Luckily you're an experienced villa renter and you 'know the drill' I dread to think of the poor pople new to villa renting being left in the dark by these owners! :nonono:

[jadehouse]

Oh no!! I am so sorry to hear you are still having problems with your villa owner. This is an awful way to treat anyone let alone a future guest.

As soon as we receive a deposit we thank our guests and let them know it has arrived, once it clears we send out confirmation. Even if her emails are down...I find that hard to believe though. They could have posted something to you 30 times over in the time they have had via snail mail!!

I hope you get everything sorted out to your satisfaction very soon and you can start looking forward to your Christmas trip with your family.

Lynne

[Orlandobelle]

Thanks to the owners for their advice.

Their t&cs state that written confirmation will be sent out within 7 days of receipt of the deposit & completed booking form. I suppose an email could count as written confirmation.

She also hasn't blocked our dates out on any of the websites she advertises on - even though her ad has been updated since we booked.

I've never had a good feeling about this villa - should have stuck with my instincts :(

[Karma]

Cooking Christmas dinner on holiday! lol I am with you and wouldn't want to bother. One year we ate burgers on Christmas day on the beach in South Africa. Far more memorable!

[Karma]

Typical - now we've sent the deposit off the owner has decided she's 'made a mistake' with our quote and has upped the price by £400 :rolleyes:

That can't be right?

Unless you have your heart set on it, you should be able to get your deposit back as you were misquoted.

[blackburn44]

Havn't had a chance to reread this completely, but what would concern me the most is that the dates you have booked have not been blocked out on their availability calander.

I'd send them a note and ask them to block out the dates..definately not an unreasonable request for someone that's paid a deposit on them.

Good luck - hope it all works out in the end, regardless of what you do. So sorry its been such a painstaking process for you. It really should be straightforward & simplistic.

Let us know how it all goes. PM me anytime if you need any advice at all..

Have a good weekend

Debs

[Bullpeppar]

I took a serious amount of time to pick our villa.

I also had numerous boxes to tick as well and after months of emailing, getting prices more emails (you know the drill) we finally got one that had everything we wanted.

We did have to pay over the odds for it but I dont mind. Its in hamlet Court, just off Seven Dwarfs lane near medieval Times.

We'll see what its like in a few days time.

[shaunboxer]

From what you have said I would go for the Dibb Villa as the 1 and only thing is the small kitchen for 1 event of your holiday. The issues around the others will be bugging you everyday of your holiday so it would be the dibb villa for me and do the best Xmas dinner possible and enjoy the rest of your stay

[saraj]

I hope you manage to get sorted.. It is difficult enough choosing one in the first place..:confused2

We had Christmas Brunch at Celebration, was scrummy and a whole lot easier than cooking.. Had more time to lap up the glorious sunshine;);)

[SKIPPY ROO]

Tell them all but one are already booked up and the one remaining just happens to be the one YOU want!!!!;););)