Orlando Vacation Homes Rentals

posted by orlandovacationhome on Jan 21

What are the closest homes to SeaWorld? This is a question we often get asked. The closest vacation “community” to SeaWorld© is Vista Cay and The Isle at Cay Commons. These communities offer condominiums and townhomes and are not typical single family homes.

These resort complexes are next to each other, and share extensive amenities. The bulk of the amenities are actually located in Vista Cay.

These communities are also close to Universal Studios ® and next to the Orange County Convention Center. Interstate 4 can easily be reached from these condo and townhome communities including convenient access to the Walt Disney World Resort ® theme parks.

To learn more about these vacation rentals near Sea World, visit our reviews on the right hand side of our main page.

Vacation Homes Near Sea World

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Jan 5

We often get asked how many bedrooms will we need when renting an Orlando vacation home? The answer is simple. How many people are in your party and how friendly are they?

Lets say you have two families of four travelling together with a total of four adults and four children. You most likely want to rent a home with two master bedrooms and two additional bedrooms (with two beds each). A four bedroom Orlando vacation home would, in most cases, easily take care of such a party.

Some Orlando vacation homes have as many as eight bedrooms and can sleep as many as 16 people or seventeen if you include a pull out couch in the living room or an extra rollaway bed. Try doing that in a hotel room!

No matter how many people are in your party, an Orlando vacation home can offer 2,3,4,5,6,7 and even eight bedrooms comfortably sleeping from 2 to 17 people.

Four Bedroom Orlando Vacation Home Rentals

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 16

Orlando area vacation rentals include what many refer to as vacation homes, condos and townhomes. Although the differences for each type of product are subtle, this Orlando vacation rentals oriented blog and reviews website is meant to help you understand each type of resort accommodation.

To fully understand all of the numerous options available, you’ll also notice community reviews for most of the various communities in the Orlando area. In fact, over 80 resort reviews and profiles are posted on the website. The amenities in most Orlando vacation rentals are quite numerous and luxurious including washing machines, Wifi, fully equipped kitchens and individual pools.

Although Orlando is the namesake for our vacation rentals guide, the trade area for short term rentals also includes the Florida cities of Davenport, Clermont and Kissimmee. Insiders and locals often refer to this geographic area where vacation homes are very common as the “Four Corners”.

The Four Corners area is actually where the four Florida counties converge (Osceola, Orange, Lake and Polk). The significance in location of the Four Corners is that it is conveniently located south of Orlando and near some of the major theme parks and attractions including Walt Disney World.

Orlando vacation rentals near Disney World  are in high demand. The closest vacation homes to Disney often command premium nightly rates, but it does pay to shop our resort reviews. In addition, the vacation rental inventory available is very diverse and includes condominiums, townhomes and traditional single family homes.

If you desire greater privacy, single family homes will perhaps be the best option for you, although condos often come with extensive common area amenities such as a clubhouse, fitness area, community pool, etc… The diversity of vacation rentals in Orlando is what makes the destination unique.

If you are a visitor in the area, consult our vacation rentals guide including community reviews to assist you. As we state on our main page, we focus on Orlando vacation rentals as the accommodation of choice for all types of resort activities. We do the research so you can fully enjoy your vacation!

Vacation Rentals Near Disney

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 13

Yes, Orlando does have a winter! There are a few months of the year (November, December and January) where the Orlando weather can dip below 75 degrees during the day and some nights (typically less than 5 a year) where the temperatures can border on freezing.

For our international visitors from Europe and Canada and most domestic travelers, these temperatures can still seem incredibly hot for this time of year – hence Florida is the Sunshine State.

Most single family homes will typically charge a little extra if you want your private pool heated. A small price to pay for true luxury. If you are looking to save money, you can take your chances and not heat the pool. We recommend that you also rent a home in a community with a great community pool. Some of our favorite Orlando area vacation home communities with great community pools include: Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms and Vista Cay.

Renting an Orlando Vacation Home in Winter

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 28

There are some extra amenities that are provided by some, but not all vacation homes. The top five we have identified are:

1. Private Pool – Not all Orlando vacation homes come with a private pool. If this amenity is important to you, be sure to request it during the reservation process..
2. Game Room  – Many homeowners have converted the garages into game rooms that often include a pool table, dart board and air hockey. This is a great way to keep the kids (and some adults) entertained.
3. Internet Access / Computer – The career demands of many people require that they stay in touch with their e-mail even when while on vacation. In addition, internet access allows you to surf the internet in the comfort of your own vacation home.  The internet can also be a valuable resource tool for planning your vacation. 
4. Hot Tub – After a hard day walking around the theme parks, relaxing in a nice hot tub is a great way to the end the day.
5. Great View – Most vacation homes typically offer a residential view of other houses. Some Orlando vacation homes offer spectacular views of golf courses, lakes or natural conservation areas that allow for maximum privacy. Once again, inquire about these special features during the reservation process.

Orlando vacation homes provide a great way to enjoy a full vacation experience. With thousands of homes to choose from, don’t be scared to be selective and request homes with all the full service amenities you desire.

Orlando Vacation Home Amenities

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 20

One of the great benefits of renting a vacation home is self-catering kitchens. Although vacation house rentals offer affordable amenities, perhaps the most delicious appeal of a vacation stay is having the convenience of a full kitchen.  Cooking on vacation is certainly becoming a trend for Orlando vacation rentals with kitchens, and a sign of our economic times.

We checked around and not surprisingly, usage of kitchens in vacation homes is at an all time high. Kitchens help control the cost for a cheap family vacation by not eating out as much. This comes from several sources who do the actual cleaning of the homes, and have been in the business for many years.

At best, some hotels have small burner top stoves, but most do not offer full kitchens due to the fact that this takes away from their in-house food and beverage business. Many do not even have small refrigerators to store pre-packaged food. This is certainly not the case for vacation rentals that mostly have full kitchens and refrigerators. This benefit delivers outstanding value to any visitor to the area when you consider the savings from cooking in a vacation home. Vacation rentals meet the needs of today’s value conscious traveler.

If you are planning a vacation to Orlando, be sure to consider vacation home rentals. One can enjoy the benefits of a home in a comfortable setting.

Our vacation reviews website is meant to be used as a guide for vacation house rentals in the area.

Vacation rentals offer unparalleled value especially when you consider the full amenities present including kitchens. As we have indicated, the trend towards cooking while on vacation is catching on. The savings for any family doing this certainly adds up for discounted travel in Orlando and provides appealing value in these economic times.

Orlando Vacation Rentals with Kitchens

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 19

Some Orlando area vacation rentals offer extensive community pool facilities. This benefit is exclusive to rental guests staying within resort type communities. 

Although many people rent an Orlando vacation home with a private pool, some vacation home subdivisions do have outstanding resort community pools with extensive water features. Renting a vacation home with resort amenities is ideal for days when you don’t want to visit the parks and you simply feel like relaxing in a resort style setting. For this post, we’ll take a look at some of the best area resort pools available to vacation rental guests.

The most elaborate area vacation home community pool we have reviewed is an actual water park. The Reunion Resort community has numerous pools, a kid’s zone and large a lazy river. The water features at the resort are fabulous.

Number two on our reviewed resort list is Regal Palms which again offers a lazy river. This resort has water features that any kid would love. 

Third on our list is Windsor Hills. Although the resort does not have a water park, it does offer a great pool with a decent water slide.

Other communities with great community pools include: Aviana Resort, Oakwater Resort, Windsor Palms, Solana Resort, Encantada Resort and Vista Cay. Check out our reviews and locations of these vacation home communities on the right hand side of our main page. Many of the best resorts near Disney have outstanding common area amenities.  Use our community reviews to check them out.

As a final note, if you want to enjoy a major water park while in Orlando, the best water park in Orlando is Aquatica at Sea World in our opinion. The water features and level of entertainment is world class.

Reunion Resort Orlando - Lazy River

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 7

Some of the most popular web sites on the internet offer Orlando area vacation homes for rent by owner. Although most owners are highly reputable, it can be hard for the customer to screen the owner, and thus may offer hidden risks. As they say in latin “caveat emptor”, let the buyer beware.

Recently, it is no secret that a significant portion of the Orlando vacation home market is in some stage of foreclosure. We have even heard of some rental guests being served foreclosure notices during their stay and some even getting the power turned off when the owner has failed to pay all the bills in a timely manner.

In addition, homes that are not professionally managed could be exposed to quality issues with regards to cleanliness and furnishings.

Why a Professional Management Company?

Orlando vacation home management companies that are established typically manage all aspects of the vacation rental process, greatly reducing the risk often associated when renting directly from the owner.

The great advantage renting from a credible Orlando vacation home management company is that a little light screening is easily possible (i.e. they have been in business several years, manage multiple homes, and are members in good stead with both the local Better Business Bureau and the Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association). If one is at all concerned, ask for references. A credible company would always be happy to provide them.

Orlando Vacation Home Management Company

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