We have received several reader questions lately regarding a detailed explanation of the “community reviews” area of our website. Although we consider the exact ratings formula award weightings to be proprietary, our community quality awards are based on the following:

• The quality of common area amenities (playground, pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, etc…) as defined by the cleanliness and maintenance of those amenities at the time of the on-site evaluation.
• The cleanliness and general maintenance of other common area grounds including buildings, landscaping, etc… at  the time of on-site evaluation.
• The cleanliness and maintenance of homes in the resort subdivision.
• Location to major parks and restaurants with an emphasis on proximity to the Disney parks.
• Other factors are also considered including whether the resort community is gated and/or guarded. The ratings system is dynamic in the sense that we will re-review each of the communities every six months in case of major community refurbishment which happens from time-to-time.
• The “overall” rating for a resort community is derived from all of the factors above.

Vacation Home Rentals

Our system is similar to the Mobil 5-Star Awards and AAA Diamond Awards for restaurants, spas and hotels albeit an adapted format for vacation homes. The critical component is that these awards should be based on objectivity as much as possible to the benefit of the individual travel consumer. The award system is also formulated to reward resorts for maintaining quality amenities also to the benefit of Orlando vacation rental guests. 

Vacation Home Ratings

Since word-of-mouth and referrals are key to building the repuatation of the industry, our 80+ independent community reviews and profiles are compiled to achieve this goal. The quality of the actual vacation experience with this product will ultimately be the reason whether vacation home rentals continue to emerge in the mainstream of travel and tourism accommodations.

Orlando Vacation Rentals - Do Your Research

Orlando vacation home rentals present a great value opportunity for any vacationer to the Central Florida area. Our Orlando area vacation rentals area includes community profiles and independent guides for the prospective consumer. There is a myriad of accommodation choices including a variety of home amenities, size of homes and community locations near major points of tourist interest.

Our website attempts to take the mystery out of selecting a vacation rental. We start at the top and provide you a macro overview of each of the major neighborhoods in Clermont, Davenport and Kissimmee which are the major home markets for Orlando. We think you’ll find our community profiles and guides unique and independent in the blogosphere. We’ll continue to add subdivisions to the site as we gather resources to provide you the information. This will include video guides of most Orlando vacation rental communities.

Finally, you’ll notice that in each opinion/profile we provide additional information beyond the basic review. This includes an interactive map, amenity information and quality considerations for the neighborhood. As we state on another post, it does pay to “shop around” for your holiday villa.

Although hotels have common area laundry areas, schlepping clothes to and from the hotel room is no fun. Vacation homes are normally equipped with appliances that make clean-up after a long vacation so convenient. Many vacation homes also have multiple televisions that make relaxation much easier after a long day at the parks, and no hassles about what to watch with a normal hotel stay.

Other affordable amenities include kitchens that help defray food costs for serving the whole family. Self-catering meals cannot be overlooked in terms of saving money on a tight travel budget. Another convenient item is your own pool which most vacation homes have at your leisure. Once the hot weather returns to the area, a cool pool in your very own residence makes your vacation that more enjoying.

Please consult the exclusive “vacation community review” and opinion section of our website. These reviews are independent and impartial, and can take much of the risk out of selecting your Orlando vacation rental by rating the individual communities and subdivisions.

A typical hotel hotel room runs approximately 325 square feet in size. The average nightly rate in Orlando for that hotel room runs around $80 per night depending on the time of year or .25 cents per square foot if you are evaluating a cost average based on size. Two hotel rooms could tightly accommodate eight people for a total of $160 per night.

For a three bedroom vacation villa in Orlando that will sleep eight to ten persons, it will run around the same amount ($160/night) depending on time of year, amenities and subdivision. Such a vacation home/villa will be roughly 1,800 square foot on average. Therefore, for a much larger home, your per square foot cost is .09 cents per square foot, plus you get the use many amenities that typical Orlando hotels do not have such as a fully equipped kitchen, private garage and private pool.

In summary, Orlando vacation homes/villas represent significantly better value than hotels if you are traveling with 4 or more persons. Based on our caluclations, hotel rental rates run around .25 cents per square foot while vacation homes are in the .09 cents per square foot range on average.

Why would you book a hotel in Orlando? Please consult our blog postings for helpful tips, consumer information and community reviews.