Firstly, the best thing about this property has to be the owner. Lesley Annan was absolutely brilliant and replied to any queries very quickly. We can't fault her at all!
Our stay at in this villa at Doral Woods was fun and relaxing. The pool and hot tub provide the right amount of relaxation needed after a day at the theme parks. They are nice and private and the pool heat was appreciated when the sun went away.
The location for us was a bit hit and miss. Yes, you do have the perks of living in what seems a mostly residential area, meaning it's quiet. But it is quite a long drive to anything when you take into account how long you sit at traffic lights and any roadworks.
There were some restaurants/supermarkets about 15 minutes in one direction and more about 25 minutes in the other.
Disney/Universal took about 40mins at off-peak times, but a bewildering 1hr+ during the "rush hours".
The kitchen facilities were top-notch. Everything worked and more than the basics (pots, pans, cutlery) were provided.
The living area was well maintained and we thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment on offer on our quiet nights in.
We used both the ensuite and double beds. The ensuite bed was a bit hard for one of us but the double was fine.
The lemon tree gave us some wonderful lemonade and salad dressing.
The only negative thing we can say is this villa is in need of a bit of TLC. A good, thorough clean and a bit of updating to the beds/bedding etc would be good.
Overall we recommend the villa!
Tips/hints for your stay:
- We ate at the villa most of the time to take advantage of the kitchen/BBQ and save some $ on eating out everyday.
- We recommend eating at/around the parks if you're there though as, by the time you get back from them, you won't want to prepare meals.
- Publix has better quality "fresh" food but is much more expensive than Walmart for the essentials. Both are local to the villa.
- Be prepared to drive everywhere.
- The tolls are confusing and costly. You can avoid them by selecting "avoid tolls" on your GPS/Sat-nav (it seems to be quicker sometimes). Otherwise carry lots of small change. We had a bag of quarters (25c) in the car just for the tolls.