Choosing a Villa

[Dolphin9511]

Hello all

I am after some help

We were meant to go late May/Early June this year and are now rescheduling for the same time next year, I have been thinking about booking a villa instead of the apartment hotel we were meant to be in this year.

I have no idea where to start with this one, I would like the Kissimmee area if possible and there are 2 adults and 1 12 year old, I would also like our own private pool (this is the main reason for booking)

Any help at all would be appreciated

Thank you

[Gryff]

Why not start by looking at the villa location map on here and putting in a request on the villa rental section
It always helps to say how many bedrooms you want general area
If it has to be a villa not a town house with its own splash pool etc and of course dates
Good luck looking there are loads of smash dibb villa

[WDocW]

We've stayed in a large variety of different villa communities over the years.

Choosing where you stay is very important if you're in a villa - you need to have a think about what your priorities are in terms of location and amenities.

As an example, we have small children who dislike long journeys so we like to choose somewhere closer to the parks, but also close to supermarkets and restaurants.

If you've not done a villa before, some of the communities are startlingly far from the parks and have few nearby restaurants.

Many of the newer communities look very sleek and modern but you have to balance the fact that they tend to be a bit further out than some of the more established areas, as an example we stayed at Bella Vida which was nice as a resort but despite looking closer to the action we found the location less convenient than Highlands Reserve/Tuscan Hills because it took longer to get to the restaurants we like and actually took longer to get to Disney.

We've found essentially that it's better to pay a bit more and just be closer in!

[mason1]

I would think about what you want from a villa:

Games room
Outlook from the pool (ie lake or conservation view)
Lanai (covered seating area outside)
Spa
Location - how far to parks, shopping, restaurants
Gated community
Community facilities- communal pool or club house

We always stay in a villa, and are happy to be around 30 minutes drive from Disney. I like to have a supermarket within 5-10 minutes drive, and restaurants in a similar driving time.

The villa maps on here will give you an idea on locations, and then it’s narrowing it down. Good luck with your search.

[Fab Mam]

We stayed in a DIBB villa July last year which is in Hunters Creek. I believe this is to the north of Kissimmee. We were 2 adults and 1 teen so with 3 bedrooms and a private pool on a lovely lakeside setting it was perfect. Take a look at my review to the left of this post.

Would love to be chilling there now with not a care in the world.

[tiggers friend]

I'd agree with Mason1, thinking about what you want and where is important.

For us a covered lanai is at the top of the list as we spend a lot of our time at the villa and enjoy sitting out even if it rains!

[duchy]

For us we look at location, “close to parks” can mean anything from a 10 minute drive to a forty minute drive , as the first priority. For me I don’t like an overlooked pool and prefer one with a lake vista , most other stuff falls into place once those two criteria are satisfied so think about what are your personal must haves as opposed to “would be nice to have” to help seeing the wood from the trees .

[Dolphin9511]

Thanks for all your advice, I have a lot to think about

[Princess Jools]

Windsor hills looks nice but I'm not sure if the villas are for bigger families. We too had our trip cancelled and for the first time looking at a villa but probably 2022 now.Good luck with the search!

[pamela1960]

MASON1 and TIGGERS FRIEND make very good points of which to look for.
I would also add DIBB references by those who have stayed and the communication from the owners should be at the top of the list.
I would also ask the owners about the cleaning regime and precautions the owners will take going forward as the virus may still be prevalent