Vacation Rentals by Owner

wholehearted five-star recommendation

Guest: Stalkopf (Barsinghausen, Germany)
Date of Stay: 10/09/10 Review Submitted: 10/22/10

We just prepare for leaving this wonderful villa after a two weeks vacation. The description is very accurate, we found that the house is even bigger than it looks on the photos. Everything met or exceeded our expectation. The villa was very clean and you can feel the love of the owners for their property everywhere in the lovingly chosen furnishings. The communication with Tracey and Andrew was easy and prompt from the first inquiry to every question we had in advance. Everything was clear and easy when we arrived here, we had only one one question which was answered quickly by the facility management on the phone. We spend most of the time in the parks around (Orlando and Tampa), saw a football match in Tampa - all the nice spots are accessible in 30 ... 70 min. The WLAN in the house is very helpful to get the latest information about park hours, nearby restaurants and stay informed about the latest things going on at home. Without any doubt a five star recommendation (our son would have given this for the pool and the games room alone ...). We will tell all our friends about this wonderful time we spent in this property, thanks Tracey and Andrew a lot and wish them all the best for the future. The Stalkopf family from Germany.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, people with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

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Guest: smiffy (haverhill, suffolk , england)
Date of Stay: 08/22/10 Review Submitted: 09/14/10

been back just over a week now and after looking at your website is making me miss it even more ,very accurate description of the villa , my family loved the villa we thought it was much bigger than what it looked like in the pictures ,vey clean and had all that we needed , the kids loved the pool and so did my wife and myself , great response to all our questions and were answered promptly and were very helpful ,close to all the parks and plenty of places to eat close by , we will be looking to stay again in a couple of years time ...a great holiday was had by all thanks Tracy + Andrew from the smiths

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Great home; much bigger than pictures show

Guest: David N.
Date of Stay: 08/17/10 Review Submitted: 07/22/11

This home is fabulous... Tall, vaulted ceilings and plenty of space. My wife and I stayed here with our two kids (then ages 5 and 3) and we loved it. Much more than we expected - we even had a third bedroom that we did not even use! The kids loved their Disney-themed room and took advantage of all the stuffed characters and Disney books. The master bedroom is huge and the adjacent bathroom has dual sinks, a large tub and a beautiful shower. Living and dining areas are wonderful, as well as a lovely kitchen complete with dishwasher and washer/dryer. And, of course, the best part is the pool. The kids loved it more than anything. There were even some balls and flotation toys provided. In response to the one bad recommendation on this site, I must say I disagree with most of it. The kids never complained about street noise in their room and it is a gated community so we never felt unsafe. You can see the pool area from the houses next door but this is impossible to prevent - the community does not allow walls to be built between the houses. The grass was nice and short when we were there. The house was extremely clean - no dust. Here are the only valid complaints about the house: 1. There was something wrong with the motion detection lights at the front door, making it difficult to see when coming home late at night. However, we never even complained to management as it was not a big issue to us. 2. The air hockey table did not work, but since the owners do not even advertise this as an amenity it's neither here nor there. 3. We did have a hard time keeping the spa warm. I think this had more to do with figuring out how it worked than anything else. 4. It's not as close to Disney as it appears on the site. Probably 20 minutes to the Disney gate, but it takes even longer to get to the actual parking, depending on the park you're visiting. These minor complaints aside, we had wonderful time and hope to stay here again sometime.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children, sightseeing.

Would not consider property "Luxury"

Guest: Chris (Georgia, USA)
Date of Stay: 06/11/10 Review Submitted: 07/14/10

We stayed for five nights in June and were not impressed. From the street, the property looks OK but the cleanliness of the home was far below our expectations. The problems I have with this home are: 1. Cobwebs on some of the light fixtures. overall unclean feel. 2. The next door neighbors could view us sunbathing and we could view them - no privacy 3. The pool cleaning person didn't announce their presence to straighten the pool area. They knew we were home (car parked in drive) but continued to enter the pool area. The person startled my family who had just come in and were removing swimsuits in living room. The person was able to "view" the family through the sliding glass doors. Again NO PRIVACY 4. The pool heat was purchased but was never turned on. The "hot" tub wasn't even warm and the pool was cold! Had requested heat/hot tub be ready prior to arrival and sent multiple emails requesting heat be turned on. (having it on while it's 95 degrees outside doesn't make sense!) 5. The "game room" was not air conditioned - placed in garage that only conversion to living space was a piece of carpet on floor. 6. I had to "wade" through tall, wet grass to find bin for trash pick up. 7. The "children's" room was located next to street. Kids ended up sharing a lumpy sleeper sofa in living room because of being scared from noises and lights. 8. The lights at the front door did not work, it was hard to see how to unlock door at night. 9. Supposed to be pet free home, -animal feces in the front yard, allergens bad inside the house. 10. Very bad air conditioning......When we arrived the inside air temperature was only 10 degrees cooler than the outside (94) and the thermostat had a note on it requesting the temp not be set below 78 while anyone was occupying the home. The note also asked that the unit be turned off when we were out of the house, this made the inside of the house extremely hot when we returned in the evenings and it never cooled down completely!!!! My personal home is larger than this house and is by no means a luxury style home but I maintain a constant 69 degrees in my home and it's clean. This home needs some renovations, a larger air conditioner, upgrades, and a thorough cleaning before it could ever be considered "luxury". The home did have two good points: We received a discount even with booking for less than seven nights and the home was close to Disney. Unfortunately, those are the only good recommendations we could make for staying here.

Owner response:We are so sorry to hear our guest’s did not enjoy their stay with us. Our Management Company has a 24hour call out telephone number posted at the villa for any such problems so our guest’s can enjoy their stay to the fullest. Since owning this villa we have never experienced any problems. So we were so surprised to read these comments. If these concerns were relayed to us sooner, then these items could have been addressed 1- Our villa was cleaned the day before the guest’s arrival and we inspected the villa our selves and found no problems with the cleanliness. After each guest leaves the villa is fully cleaned from top to bottom and is inspected by our M/C. 2- Our villa backs on to a nature reserve, but like other properties we do have neighbors adjacent to us. As part of the community regulations we are not permitted to install fences. 3- Our Pool cleaner M/C are requested to be quite and as discrete as possible. The pool area is cleaned once a week, for the comfort of our guests; they are instructed not to disturb you. 4- We could not find any problems with the pool heating. However the temp can be adjusted to suit our guest’s requirements, just ask our M/C. 5- Our games room is fully air conditioned (Most properties only have ceiling fans) It has been fully carpeted and has plenty of games for your entertainment. 6- The trash bin has to be stored to the side of the villa out of site from the road as per the community regulations. The grass is cut once a week by our M/C and has to be at a length of between 4-5 inches during the summer months to avoid it dying. 7- Our Disney room has blinds and curtains to block out any light and over looks the front garden. The gated community which we are situated in has always been very quite and peaceful. Our daughter always stays in this room when we stay and she loves it. 8- We have now replaced the light bulb and all is well. 9- Our villa is a pet and smoke free environment for the comfort of our guests. However the external of the property is open to the nature reserve and to local resident’s pets. Any problems experienced of this nature are dealt with by our M/C. 10- The A/C serves the entire villa. During the summer we recommend that the A/C be left on to maintain temperature. We always strive for our villa to be clean and welcoming, we love staying at our villa which we feel is like our second home. We want our guests to feel the same way and enjoy their experience as much as we do.

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Guest: John Michael Lerma (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
Date of Stay: 05/01/10 Review Submitted: 05/01/10

Stayed at the villa in Mission Park again (third time) for the American Pie Festival/National Pie Championship during the week of April 21 through April 27. When I walked in the villa this time it was if I were home. I love it here. We brought a friend with who is now obsessed with moving to Orlando. Andrew and Tracey take such good care of the property along with manager Jane. Everything is always ready for us when we arrive and the pool/spa are incredible. The majority of my time is spent baking, doing media events and filming for Food Network or CBS but it's always wonderful to return to the villa and relax. I cannot recommend their villas enough. Staying here will only enhance your vacation. I would rather stay in the villa then visit the parks and other recreation. A+ accommodations and service. Thank you Andrew, Tracey, and Jane!

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Guest: Michelle 10 (Minnesota)
Date of Stay: 05/16/09 Review Submitted: 05/16/09

This home is wonderful! Clean, great location and more than we expected! Tracy was wonderful to work with and made our first home rental vacation a huge success. It was SO nice to be able to come "home" after a long day at the parks and be able to relax by our own pool and watch the kids swim, there is something to be said about having your own space. We can't wait to come back! Thanks Tracy!!

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This house is lovely!

Guest: MN Family of 5 (Minneapolis, MN)
Date of Stay: 03/11/09 Review Submitted: 03/24/09

We just returned from our first vacation to the Orlando area and rented this lovely villa. We had high expectations and this house not only met, but exceeded our expectations. It's a beautiful house, the pool was wonderful to relax by, and the house is close enough to all of the parks to be convenient yet secluded. The owners of this rental are sweethearts! This was a wonderful experience for us and we couldn't have been more pleased!

Owner response:I am so pleased that you enjoyed your stay at our villa, It is so nice to hear comments from our guests, This is the first time we have been called sweethearts. Thank you All the best Tracey

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 01/01/09 Review Submitted: 01/04/09

We have stayed on the Disney grounds numerous times and this time decided to rent a house in the area. It was about the same price and SO MUCH BETTER than a hotel room or even a condo! We thoroughly enjoyed every moment in the Clermont home. The pool and spa are great! The house is clean and spacious! The neighbors are very quiet as is the whole subdivision. I cannot recommend this property enough. Do not stay in a hotel--or even a condo in the area--when you can rent this spacious, quiet and lovely home!My family celebrated Christmas 2008 here, and it felt like home to us.

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An Excellent home away from home

Guest: dobemom (Edgefield, SC)
Date of Stay: 06/21/08 Review Submitted: 07/02/08

Very nice house, great play room & plenty of space. Beautifully landscaped yard and much more. Convenient to shops, food & all theme parks. Would definetly stay again & recommended highly.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, people with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 04/01/08 Review Submitted: 04/28/08

My partner and I stayed at Mission Park from April 16 through April 21. I was competing at the National Pie Championship--my fourth year. The villa offered the best kitchen area for baking 10 pies. In what little free time we had, we were close enough to visit Sea World and Discovery Cove. One day before we flew to Orlando, FL., I was contacted by the Food Network. They had contacted me in the past about filming me at the Pie Championship but they changed the shot and decided on a filming a Food Network Challenge. I now needed to duplicate the pies I was baking for the Pie Championship--20 pies! I did it but thought I would die. I used the swimming pool and spa to relax while baking like a madman. The villa was so comfortable, clean, well located--near grocery and restaurant--well maintained, and Tracey and Andrew so wonderful to work with. The beds were more comfortable that ours at home. Very large bathrooms and living area. A great game room and stylish dining room area. This house offers everything you would like in a home let alone a vacation rental. So much better than a hotel/motel. The price is truly right on this property and we will rent again. My patner and I decided to hold a Sunday morning Amerian Pie Festvail Brunch. Food Network asked if they could come out and film the brunch. So Mission Park will be featured in a Food Network Challenge in the Fall of 2008. They filmed both interior and exterior shots. We can't wait to return. We have homes that we consider our home on Isla Mujeres, Mexico and Cortona, Italy. Mission Park is our newest home in Orlando, FL. All our best and thank you Andrew and Tracey! John Michael Lerma, Author, Chef, and Food Networkk Personality

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Nancy G. (Maine)
Date of Stay: 02/01/08 Review Submitted: 02/24/08

We just returned from spending a week in Florida at this beautiful villa. It is beautifully decorated, very clean, and child friendly. We have young children and they just loved the game room and especially the pool. I think they loved the pool as much as the amusement parks. They couldn't wait to come "home" after a long day at the park and jump in the pool. We would recommend this villa to anyone planning a vacation to Florida. We can't wait until we can return for another vacation. Ed,Nancy Gayton and family

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Dee and Chris Engler_HAC125670 (Hatton, ND, USA)
Date of Stay: 02/01/08 Review Submitted: 02/18/08

Tracey, Well we are home:( We loved your villa!!! Gorgeous decorations and beautiful layout! the kids were so thrilled! The only thing that could have made it better would have been longer time there and a bit warmer weather for laying by the pool( my idea of a vacation). Otherwise I know we were all sad to leave. We have not spoke to many friends since the return but if you have a link to your villas page that you can send me, I will forward it to all in my address book!!!! Although if the word gets spread tooo much it may make it difficult for us to be able to book with you again,:). Thanks again. We did leave a few extras behind for the next people. Also, if anyone wants to ask questions about the stay or what is in the villa in the way of supplies, or what ever.... please feel free to give our email. We would be happy to speak to anyone who is interested but has questions..... Thanks again! It was wonderful and we miss your home already, makes ours look all too plain and very old....:)( it is over 100 yrs old). Anyway, i can't say enough.... we are so grateful and pleased with the whole experience! makes a hotel seem like tent camping....:) It will be hard to vacation any other way now. Thanks again! Dee

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: B Garner and family (West Midlands)
Date of Stay: 10/01/07 Review Submitted: 09/30/07

*****EXCELLENT VILLA WOULD DEFINATELY RECOMMEND*******The photo's and 360 video's do not do this villa justice, it is a lot bigger in reality and you don't get the real feel of the place on the photo's. We returned from our holiday in Clermont/Orlando on 28th Sept 07. This villa is well worth staying in. It is immaculately clean and fully equipped. We stayed in a different villa a couple of years ago and thought that one was nice, but when you compare the two this one wins hands down. It is situated in a quiet gated country suburb and is beautifully decorated. The kids room has a large supply of quality cuddly toys and a small selection of dvds to keep them amused. It also has a travel cot and high chair.I have left a number of inflatables for the pool. The pool has a hot tub but unless you opt to have the pool heated this does not heat up so I would recommend having the pool heated. We are definately going to stay in this villa again when we return in 2009.

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 08/01/07 Review Submitted: 08/30/07

We enjoyed our stay at your vacation villa. The home was new, clean and moderately priced. We especially appreciated the owners' flexibility. Since there was no rental after ours, the owner allowed us to stay in the house for a few more hours. We were able to sleep a little later, enjoy the pool before we sashay to the airport. Thanks again!

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Guest: Mr an Mrs Hawksworth & Kids
Date of Stay: 06/20/07 Review Submitted: 06/19/07

Just got back from you Clermont villa, 02-16 June 07. The villa was more than we could have expected, even better than the picture on the web site, great value for money and very good location, its a great credit to you, hope to come back one day.

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Guest: Mr an Mrs Hawksworth & Kids
Date of Stay: 06/20/07 Review Submitted: 06/19/07

Just got back from you Clermont villa, 02-16 June 07. The villa was more than we could have expected, even better than the picture on the web site, great value for money and very good location, its a great credit to you, hope to come back one day.

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