Orlando Villas

[Wildboy1983]

Im looking for a 5 bed villa with pool in the Orlando Kissimmee area for February next year and would like some suggestions/recommendations please. If you have connections for a sneaky discount even better.

 

[Matt N]

Im looking for a 5 bed villa with pool in the Orlando Kissimmee area for February next year and would like some suggestions/recommendations please. If you have connections for a sneaky discount even better.

Having been to Florida 5 times, I honestly think your best bet might be to go for some sort of package holiday. I know that it’s often said to be cheaper to book things separately, but with Orlando, the packages can sometimes work out cheaper.

We’ve always gone with Virgin and they’ve been brilliant; the villas have always been really nice! With that being said, Virgin tend to put you in the Davenport/Haines City area rather than in Kissimmee specifically, from my experience; they claim that all of their villas are within a 30 minute drive of Walt Disney World, but we’ve always been put in either Davenport or Haines City rather than Kissimmee with Virgin. Both are reasonably nearby, but if you are dead set on Kissimmee specifically, then you may not get that with Virgin.

I should note, though, that you can pick exactly where you stay if you’re willing to pay a bit more money.

 

[Wildboy1983]

Thanks for your input. I have already booked the flights now so a package may not work for me. I'm not fussy on location really as long as it's around 30 minutes away from either Disney or universal

 

[Matt N]

Thanks for your input. I have already booked the flights now so a package may not work for me. I'm not fussy on location really as long as it's around 30 minutes away from either Disney or universal

If you’re looking for specific recommendations, we’ve always found Southern Dunes in Haines City a nice place to stay. I’ve stayed there 3 times, and it’s also got a Walmart located very conveniently nextdoor! However, that one is a bit further away from Universal, and with traffic on the I-4 being terrible on our most recent visit, it was taking around 1h 15m each way to get to Universal Orlando. The journey to Disney World was more like 45 minutes with traffic congestion. On a clear day, it’s within 30 minutes of Disney and around 45 minutes from Universal, but I’ll be frank with you and say that I don’t know if clear days exist much anymore.

Another place we once stayed where I remember the house being beautiful was Providence, in Davenport. That one was closer to Universal, and the house was beautiful! The Providence complex was still partially under construction when I stayed there back in 2016, but seeing as that was 8 years ago, I imagine that it’s long been finished and looks even nicer now.

I’ve never stayed there personally, but a place to stay that’s closer to the parks and looks lovely is near Champions Gate in Davenport. As said, it’s closer, a lot of the houses in that area are relatively new, and there’s also a Publix supermarket located near there too. The villas are quite expensive there, though.

Ultimately, I think what I’d say to you is that it’s important to consider whether you value cost or location more. If you are willing to stay further from the parks, then the cost of the villas go down a lot, but if location is really important to you, then you may have to pay the increased price for staying closer to the parks.

 

[Craig]

The vast majority of visitors to Florida who choose to stay in a villa are allocate on arrival. While that’s usually as part of a package, you can also book separately on the likes of Virgin Holidays for the villa only. While it won’t be a specific house, you can choose a community to stay at as well as just an Orlando area, and if something goes wrong you still have someone to speak to should you need new accommodation.

Last visit we chose Balmoral Resort which was booked through Virgin. That’s a new community that’s a little further south than the norm at Haines City. The bonus is the houses are all large and modern though Closer to Disney and you’ll mostly get older homes which are a little more dated/tired as they’re always booked up, so there’s a trade off to be had. Reunion is great for modern homes nearer to Disney, it’s hideously expensive in comparison to others but does often include lots of extra thrown in like shuttles to the parks etc.

If you’re looking for booking direct, take a look on sites like TheDibb as they have a villa search. Be wary when searching on booking.com, and only go for places with a high number of recent and past reviews, as there’s been horror stories with a number of friends who’ve turned up to villas which are beyond filthy. Like anything on there, see if they have a site to book direct as they’ll sometimes offer a discount when skipping the middleman. Just be sure they’re well established and been around for a while to ensure you have adequate protection should anything go wrong.

 

[Wildboy1983]

Thanks for the tip off with the dibb. That's just what I'm looking for I think