Sell me on a villa

[grant_w]

We've only ever had a villa in Florida. This time there's only 3 of us going, and we have a 4-bedroom villa.

Pros:
Huge space for everyone/everything
Private pool
Huge kitchen
TV plus sofas for comfortable viewing
Games room
Washer/Drier

Cons:
Driving, especially if the villa is far away from the parks like our last one was
Short drive to restaurants and shops

[mick]

Originally Posted by boltyboy

Couldn't have put it better myself Mick

See more...

Paul

It really was amusing watching the mockingbird attack the hawk - even when in flight. The mockingbird is about the size of a blackbird. I think it was mating season and they probably saw the hawk as a rival.

Also Jeopardy has a genius on it at the minute. He'd made around $1.5 a couple of weeks ago. It's on a teacher's special at the minute so he's having a break but he makes Egghead's Kevin appear a bit dim.

Mick

[mick]

Originally Posted by vampiress88

Sorry to jump in but what about for washing clothes? Don’t get what could be taken for that. Wouldn’t want to go through with bags of white power

See more...

You may know that I'm not one of those Dibbers who respond to "what can I take with me?" with "they have shops in Florida" but in this case maybe

From memory in our experience all the washing machines in villas are top loaders so on our first night's trip to Publix Tide Pods are on our shopping list. We did find though that CVS have great offers for them especially if you've signed up to their email club. We've started shopping at both at Berry Town Center on our first night.

We go for 4 weeks now and washing clothes, bedding, bath towels and pool towels we soon get through a decent size box. Places like Dollar Tree though do sell small packets of washing and dishwasher stuff.

Mick

[mick]

Originally Posted by Magnificent

I wish Treefield Villas was of size where I could employ a marketing team ... I wouldn't need to look much further than the posters on this thread.

Absolutely right though, so many advantages of a villa. I spend half my life out of hotels for work, and it gradually but definitely sucks the life out of you, definitely not my idea of a holiday!



He makes everyone appear a bit dim! Incredibly gifted. Although he's won a little more than that

No-one can compete with that, so my goal now whenever I watch is no longer to have won more money than the three contestants but to know just one answer per episode he doesn't. And probably a third of the time, I don't even manage that!

See more...

In the couple of weeks that we watched in April I felt so sorry for the other two. They never stood a chance. How does he know so much about obscure Shakespeare quotes and Plantagenet monarchs?

Mick

[wanye]

once you have a villa, you're spoiled when it comes to the thought of spending 2 weeks in a poky little box, especially if theres more than just the two of you in a room!

you can jump into the pool naked at 2am if you wanted to

you get to save money by cooking and eating some meals in the villa. we tend to eat one main meal in the villa, then one out and about, and probably a snack somewhere in between... so if we are going out for an evening meal, we'll have breakfast in the villa... or if we go out for breakfast, we'll have a steak and wine night by the pool (or by the tv if something is good on)

you can pack light clothes-wise because you can easily wash stuff there, meaning you only really need three changes of clothes to take with you, leaving loads of space in the suitcases for buying a new wardrobe while you're out there

if you have kids, they can be safely away in their bedroom while you are drinking a bottle of wine in the lounge with the tv on (or by the pool) without waking them up or having to go to bed at the same time.

theres loads of other reasons, but even though theres only two of us, we still stay in a (4 bed) villa. if we get friends to come along too, it means the price is even lower... but what we are paying for two weeks in a florida villa isnt really that much different from 5 nights in a hotel in amsterdam, so i know which i'd prefer!

[princess allie]

Nothing much else to add really, but for us after having more space, is the pool. You really can’t beat getting back after a hot day at the parks and be in your pool within seconds - no traipsing to the room, gathering things up, heading for the lift and then finding sun beds etc., Popping to the fridge to get a drink and then lying on your lounger or floating on a lilo in the pool in your own private pool can’t be beat.

[Stitch & Smudge]

I always like to have a Villa with a lanai (covered area behind the villa, not a pool cage as a place in the sun would have you believe) It’s nice to be able to sit in the shade and gives you somewhere to put the furniture when you go out so that it’s still dry to sit on later.

[Moorlandman]

I love villas especially the Dibb ones that I have stayed at.

However, there are some cons

1) when we arrived at our villa a few years ago the pool was green. It was my responsibility to find the contact details of the management company and arrange for it to be sorted out. It’s stressful and not like being in a hotel where you can go to reception

2) We we’re accused of damaging the carpet in one villa with bleach. It was an excuse not to give us our deposit back. We fought this and won

Also, if the villa is rubbish you can’t easily change to another villa like you can with hotel rooms

[mick]

Originally Posted by Stitch & Smudge

I always like to have a Villa with a lanai (covered area behind the villa, not a pool cage as a place in the sun would have you believe) It’s nice to be able to sit in the shade and gives you somewhere to put the furniture when you go out so that it’s still dry to sit on later.

See more...

The number of times I've shouted at Johnny Irwin. "That is not a lanai it's a pool screen"


Mick

[sunshines]

For my family of six –

Villa Pros:
More space/bedrooms (! )
Full kitchen (! )
Convenient laundry facilities (! )
A quiet break from tourist frenzy
more cost effective (even when paying daily parking at Disney)
more than one bathroom (! )

Villa Cons:
Driving to the parks (*but we have stayed in villas where it took less time to drive to MK, for example, than it took to get there using Disney buses from many onsite hotel rooms) and renting a car
Lack of 60 day fastpasses (but we usually don’t go in busy times and have been able to ride everything we wanted to with 30 day fastpasses and early entry or getting on line for a ride just before closing)
Lack of Disney theming
Must always travel together (if staying onsite, older kids/teens can take transportation on their own)

Won’t return to an onsite hotel unless we go as a smaller group. For six of us, there is no contest: villa (or condo) all the way!

Publix has dishwasher tablets, sponges, small containers of clothes washing liquid, and water bottles. We don’t bother bringing any of that. The villa starts off with a bin liner. We use the plastic Publix shopping bags for the bins after that.