Trust in terms of the quality of accommodations with a professional rental management company is critical. Although we have mentioned ways to authenticate vacation home management companies in the past, there is one step every prospective Orlando vacation home renter must do before booking. It will only take a few minutes and will assist anyone wishing to verify and authenticate rental management companies.

I must first admit I failed to do this before I booked the services of an online professional design firm recently, and this omission cost me several hundreds of dollars.

We suggest you always consult the Central Florida Better Business Bureau (BBB) website and put in the name of the rental management company. Click to go to this website for the Orlando vacation homes Better Business Bureau certification.

Keep in mind that just because a website displays a BBB logo does not necessarily mean a company has a good track record.

Some additional notes on checking Orlando vacation rental companies:

• Over 100 Central Florida vacation rental business ratings are available on the website.
• Be sure and check the company’s official BBB rating on the website.
• One of the other important elements to check is the BBB accreditation which includes the customer complaint history as well as issue resolution.

In conclusion, if you only do one thing to verify a company’s reputation before reserving an Orlando vacation rental, check the rental management company’s customer complaint history and BBB accreditation using the Florida Better Business Bureau business reviews.

You’ll certainly find that most area vacation rental companies have excellent track records (A+ to A- ratings). This one necessary step is worth your time checking online.

Moreover, to learn about the many vacation home choices you have in the Central Florida area, click on the community reviews section of this website.

Orlando vacations, including the area home rental market, are dependent on international travel more than ever. Overseas visitation to Orlando dropped 1% in 2009 according to the Department of Commerce. However, as a whole Florida managed to increase the number of overseas arrivals to the state during that same period and move into the second spot behind New York.

Very recent year-over-year trends have been positive for the trajectory of international travel as reported by the Department of Commerce. The latest statistical travel trends indicate a 8-10% increase year-over-year from many major global destinations. Click here for this Department of Commerce international arrivals report. This positive growth should begin to lift the park and other area attractions into positive territory after attendance peaked for many busineses several years ago.

Fresh new worries about the European economy do cloud projections. Public debt in countries such as Iceland, Spain, Ireland and Greece have dominated the news lately. However, star markets for Orlando travel such as Brazil and Canada promise to transform the global environment for international tourism. Local retail and service businesses who successfully market to these growing niche markets will stand to gain significantly.

The good news for the Orlando vacation rentals market is that these potential guests are often already aware of the benefits of staying in a villa-style unit. Self-catering kitchens, privacy, large living and dining spaces and convenient locations to area theme parks are all great reasons that international guests love Orlando vacation rentals. Luxurious resort communities such as Bella Vida, Emerald Island, Windsor Hills and Windsor Palms already covet a very global clientele.

Whether you are from Munich, Montreal or Minneapolis, Orlando vacation rentals are another great reason Central Florida is a world class destination. We strive to “internationalize” this blog site with the addition of critical posts in Spanish and other languages. You’ll notice that we have translated some vacation reviews such as Windsor Hills in Spanish. We openly welcome global guests to the area, and hope they enjoy the luxurious accommodations that vacation homes have to offer.

The resort reviews on this website are updated on a regular basis. In the case of Cane Island in Kissimmee, the initial evaluation of Cane Island was completed six months ago and has been further updated after our recent visit.

The actual resort rating is based on a combination of multiple attributes including:

* Overall Appearance of Resort

* Cleanliness of Vacation Community Grounds

* Overall Quality of Resort Amenities

Cane Island in Kissimmee is now a mix of a vacation condominium community and an apartment complex.

The Cane Island amenities include sun deck, fitness room, whirlpool spa and game room. The resort also has some excellent water features including a fountain at the resort pond and an ample community clubhouse pool. Cane Island is a mid-rise condominium complex with an apartment style build with many additional positives including location, complex and variety of amenities.

We will re-evaluate all vacation communities regular for changes. As always, please read our disclaimer for guidance on the opinion reviews and evaluation process. Consult our main page for ratings on over 80 resort communities including additional reviews of luxurious villas in Kissimmee.

Since there are over eighty resort communities catering to villa rentals in the “Four Corners” area, this site also provides guidance and reviews for most luxury villas specifically in Kissimmee. Kissimmee villas vary greatly in size, location and quality.

The city of Kissimmee, Florida was incorporated in 1883 and has a population of over 60,000 persons. The city’s land area is roughly 17 square miles, and is located south of downtown Orlando and the Orlando International Airport. The city has an active central core area with most Kissimmee villas located west of the downtown commercial area, and adjacent to Highway 192 (Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway).

The westernmost parts of Kissimmee are bounded by the Osceola-Polk County line and the city of Davenport, Florida which is also a popular vacation rental destination. Click here to connetct to the City of Kissimmee, Florida website.

Some of the more popular villa communities in Kissimmee include Emerald Island, Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms, and Terra Verde Resort. Additional high quality Kissimmee villas include Acadia Estates and Bella Vida Resort, although this is only a small sampling of neighborhoods. Any of these communities in Kissimmee provide outstanding accommodations with plenty of amenities to choose from.

The key for any Kissimmee traveler is to do your homework. There are some excellent values and packages available, but one does need to review infomediary websites like this one for resort quality ratings and community reviews.

Specific location and distances to the theme parks should be closely scrutinized as well. A distance differential of 2 to 3 miles, which may not sound like much, may be the difference in driving an extra 30-45 minutes daily during the high season. Consult the community reviews section of our main page for this information and more.

Kissimmee Villas

1. Would you and your family rather stay in a traditional single family home or do you find a condo or townhome (with the key being that many units are attached physically) acceptable? A traditional single family home tends to add privacy to one’s stay. Key: Many resorts have mixed accommodation types. Make sure you verify your physical home accommodations at the time of booking.

2. How far is personally acceptable for your daily drive to the theme parks? Keep in mind that a distance of 2-3 miles can add 15 minutes +/- depending on traffic to the drive each day. Key: Review our vacation community profiles for estimated distances and use Google maps as a tool.

3. Will the community meet your expectations? Key: We suggest you use vacation home ratings and review sites to complement some of the posted consumer reviews.

4. What type of rental home amenities should I request? Key: Only you and your family can answer this question. Keep in mind that there are applicable amenities for the interior of your vacation rental as well as amenities in the common areas of the community. Individual vacation rental amenities could include wireless internet, gameroom, number and size of televisions, pool and kitchen appliances. Common area amenity considerations include, but are not limited to fitness room, concierge, community pool and/or spa, and playground.

5. What size of accommodations should I book? Key: Again, only you and your family can answer this question. However, one critical item you need to think about is privacy in your home, especially with bathrooms. Most vacation house reservations are made with family members, so intimacy is not an issue. However, in some cases for groups, privacy is a major issue. Make sure you clearly understand how many bedrooms and bathrooms are needed.

6. Is it best to rent directly from an owner or from a professional management company? Key: There are great owners out there, but the best management companies in the area can offer a full-time service staff 24hrs a day to support your stay.

Each of these important details are a part of planning a vacation that meets your needs and expectations. As stated before, we are confident that Orlando rental homes can meet your needs in ways many hotels cannot, and it always pays to do a little research first.

Orlando Rental Homes

These updates include more detail on the estimated driving distance to major area attractions and specifics on the resort community amenities. One of the updates we wanted to mention is the review of Oakwater Resort in Kissimmee.

The original review of Oakwater Resort was favorable in terms of the quality of the vacation townhomes and common areas. In fact, on a recent blog post, we mentioned the community pool at Oakwater Kissimmee as an area favourite with families on vacation. Having visited the Oakwater again, we maintain our original community rating and reiterateour positive opinion of Oakwater Resort.

Some additional fast facts about the Oakwater Resort review:

• Most of the resort accommodations are two story vacation condos or town homes with attached one car garages. The facades are well maintained and attractive in appearance.
• The Oakwater townhomes range anywhere from approximately 1,000 to 1,700 square feet
• The clubhouse pool features a large community pool and splash fountain for the kids. Check-out our video of the resort recreational areas as part of the original review.
• The location of Oakwater Resort in Kissimmee is conveniently close to the major attractions.

All in all, Oakwater Resort would be a great vacation rental destination for you and your family.

The field for the Old Spice Classic includes Alabama, Baylor, Creighton, Florida State, Iona, Marquette, Michigan, and Xavier. The early favorite to win the event is the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan is in the Top 25 for both the AP and Coaches basketball poll. Baylor, Marquette and Xavier are also highly regarded. The Old Spice Classic field for 2009 is one of the strongest it has been since the tourney’s inception. The tournament was won by Gonzaga in 2008.

Vacation villas in Orlando are an excellent way to house your family and fellow basketball fans. Most homes are 3 bedrooms or more and are an excellent value when you consider the presence of amenities such as a pool, kitchen, and residential appliances. While you are in town, you’ll have to enjoy the sunny weather playing on one of Orlando’s championship golf courses. Some of the golf villas we review are located very close to the Disney Sports Complex. Check-out our 80+ vacation rental reviews posted on the website.

Regal Oaks is close to Old Town and is known for its townhome style suites in the heart of Kissimmee. The resort features a small lake and conservation area along with a fun water feature at the pool. The pool is an oasis after a long hot day at the parks.

See a quick video review of Regal Oaks. You’ll notice Old Town at Kissimmee about 1 minute into the video. The exterior of the resort is well maintained and a convenient place to stay if you want a centrally located vacation condo in Kissimmee.

View Larger Map of Regal Oaks

For our purposes, we’ll define a “resort villa” as a vacation rental with resort style amenities. This would minimally include a clubhouse, resort pool, and/or recreational facilities such as a volleyball court, tennis courts or a family picnic area. Based on this resort style experience, some of our highest rated resort villas in the Orlando area include (in no particular order):

Watersong Resort - Some of our favorite vacation rentals in the area

Windsor Hills Resort – One of the finest resorts we have reviewed

High Grove Villas – Stunning villas with beautiful Mediterranean clubhouse

Bella Vida Resort – Fabulous vacation homes with stunning pool and amenities

Reunion Resort – Residential villa style resort with nearby golf course

Once again, this listing is meant to be a sampling of the many resort villas in Central Florida. Our vacation rental reviews are designed to provide detail on each of the resort villa communities to make the planning a little easier. Each resort is assigned a one star through four star quality rating based upon specific criteria noted on each community profile. We hope you have a great resort vacation experience!

Resort Villas in Orlando

Bahama Bay Resort - Condominium style community with excellent common area amenities

Emerald Island Resort - One of the best resort communities in the area

Lake Berkley Resort - Good location in Kissimmee with ample amenities

Windsor Hills Resort - Our top reviewed vacation community in the area

Windsor Palms Resort - One of the upper tier resorts in terms of quality in Kissimmee

Watersong Resort – Located further out from the major parks, but the homes are typically well appointed

Although we believe that most vacation home communities in the area are safe, this extra level of security may give you some extra comfort while on vacation. If that is the case, there are several options available for you. Orlando vacation home rentals are always an excellent value when compared to hotels based on the amenities and living space they offer. Luxury and security can be be expected from most vacation homes in the area.

Gated and Guarded Vacation Rentals in Orlando