View Full Version : hidden costs?
questions
21-09-2003, 00:05
First off I want to let you know how interesting this site is.
We are planning our first visit to Florida next year and as we we are a group 6 adults and 3 children we are planning on renting a villa.
To tell the truth , the prices sound to good to be true. We have rented villas in Spain and France and the prices were at least 3 times what I see here.
What we are looking for is a villa with at least 4-5 bedrooms and minimum 3 baths. I have seen some very nice ones here ( much larger, but big is good! ) for only about 1000 $ a week.
Is this right? What are the hidden costs here? I know there is 12 % taxes but what about the rest?
Another question we have? How hard is it to find a maid or someone to help around the house ( cleaning, cooking ). How much would that cost us? Per hour or day?
If these prices are right then we will be looking out for something for 3 weeks next summer.
Or is the summer to hot? Would it be better at Easter?
thanks for any replies. Can't wait till the summer , it all looks so inviting!
sunshine state
21-09-2003, 00:42
Hi there and welcome to the boards first off what month are you deciding to go because you can usually get some pretty good prices and as for maids when i hire a villa they usually clean it for you when your at the parks they will come in and do a bit of work like changing towels etc.
check this out http://www.orlandovillas.com/
It might be some help on what prices are like.
Hi
there are no hidden costs in the prices and you will find a nice 4 or 5 bedroom for $1000 per week
if you see a home you like put in an enquiry and ask the owner your questions
each owner is individual and all will answer your quireies some will be able to help with maid service some may not you have to ask
i hope this helps and i am also sure you will find the standard of homes very high
steph_goodrum
21-09-2003, 01:49
Hi and welcome to the forums. I don't think many villa owners include a maid service as standard. If you are staying for longer than a month you may find a mid stay clean included in the price quoted.
I'm glad you agree with us how reasonable our villas are, you'd be surprised the no of people who compare them to the price of a hotel room at maybe $120 a night and forget they are getting the equivalent of 3 or more rooms.
Most owners quote their prices to include everything except taxes and pool heating, taxes are obviously compulsory, pool heating is optional. There may be the occasional owner who will charge for some extras but they will always tell you exactly what you are getting for your money so you don't get any nasty surprises.
If you can go at another time other than summer you'll probably enjoy the weather more, May and October are nice times to go. Easter although weather wise is nice is the most popular time of the year and the parks are very crowded , also the flights are sold out quite quickly.
huckleberry house
21-09-2003, 01:56
Hi
Yes it is amazingly good value for money in Florida.Some of the prices quoted already include sales tax as well.The only extras would be for pool heating which varies from house to house and which you may need at Easter but probably not in the summer when it is much hotter. Although I use it then as well as it helps keep the differential down between air temperature and water temperature.Maid service is not normally included but most owners would be able to sort out that service for you as an extra and price would vary depending on how much you wanted doing and how often(although I have not heard of any providing cooking services)I would advise you to book as early as possible as the times you mention are peak times and fill up fast.
Lesley
I can only repeat the above comments - most owners could organise a mid stay clean for an extra charge and again pool heat would in most cases be an extra cost. All owners list their charges fully - there are no hidden extras. But peak seasons do get booked early so I would urge you to book as soon as you can. Try putting out a general enquiry then you can see the homes that have availability.
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
21-09-2003, 03:39
Sunshine State
I have to disagree with you with regard to maids coming in and changing towels etc.
Most (if not all) villas do not have the facility of maid service and guests self-cater. (This usually involves takinging breakfast and an evening meal night at a restaurant or diner! such a hard life!!!)
Properties are thoroughly cleaned before a guest checks in and then on checkout but if you want anything between arrival and departure then this probably could be arranged but there would of course be a charge. The Management Company should be able to arrange this for you.
Villas offer a "home from home" - back here at home in the UK I'm still waiting for my bed to be turned down and a chocolate on the pillow before retiring to bed but it's never happened yet:D:D.
Sarah
quote:Originally posted by sunshine state
Hi there and welcome to the boards first off what month are you deciding to go because you can usually get some pretty good prices and as for maids when i hire a villa they usually clean it for you when your at the parks they will come in and do a bit of work like changing towels etc.
Sarah
You just want to be pampered dont you :D
I think everyone has covered most things, except the High Season gets booked up really quickly, lots of people will be full for Easter next year already (probably booked at least a year in advance) and almost the same for the summer. So get in quick to get the choice of villa you want!
Funshine
21-09-2003, 14:33
Hi and welcome! Personally I would advise either May/June or September/October for your first holiday in Florida. These shoulder months are very nice, weather is fabulous - not too hot and certainly not as humid as July/August. The theme parks will still be busy (they're always busy) but the queues should be a little lighter as these periods are slightly quieter than mid summer or Easter.
You are absolutely correct - Florida homes are very reasonably priced by comparison to Spain/France and there are [u]no hidden extra costs</u>. And I totally agree with other owners comments that as soon as you have decided what time of year you would like to visit you should start making enquiries - its very easy.
Regarding maid service - this will include cleaning the villa and changing beds, it will not include cooking or a waiting service. You can book maid service in advance with the home owner or arrange through the management company.
Also, don't forget to view the sister site to this is: www.villasflorida.com where you will find superb quality villas, townhouses and condos to rent.
questions
22-09-2003, 21:40
Thanks for all the infomation!
If it were up to me I would rather travel in May , but when there are school kids , you have much of a choice.It is either a short Easter or longer stay in July , August.
As for the maid service. What I mean is as we are 3 couples traveling with children we all know who uselly ends up doing the house work, now don't we:D
It does give us girls a little vacation as well if we find someone to clean up, change beds, and so on.
Having someone to cook is always far more cheaper then eating out every evening with 10 people ( not that we plan to eat out that often, so it looks like we will have to have some cooking rotation worked out. :( )
again thanks and I am sure I will have more questions, once we start looking deeper into this site.
Looks like you have it all covered here! Do many of the owners answer here on the forum? Looks like there are alot from UK. here , am I right?
questions
A lot of owners do use the forum and a lot of them form the UK. However many other countries are represented and comments from renters come from all over the world. There is usually someone with any answer or knowledge of where to find an answer to most questions asked.
We are only too happy to help where we can so feel free to ask as many questions as you like, although many will have been asked before. You can use the search facility on this site to find most things of interest to you about holidaying in Orlando area.
Jeff
In my experience the homes in the states do not seem to get so dusty as those over here in UK so actual housework as such is mimimal -just a general tidy up and change of bedding or hoover if you really have withdrawl symptoms.There are companies that will prepare , cook and deliver meals to youre holiday home if you really want a change for the norm.
Funshine
23-09-2003, 14:05
If you are really feeling you need someone else to cook a meal for you try this site. They do absolutely everything: http://www.orlandotripplanner.com/cooks4u.htm not sure what the prices are but if you have a special occasion then they might fit the bill! [8D]
steph_goodrum
23-09-2003, 14:34
I think you'll be surprised Questions at how little you want to eat in the villa. If you go to places like Golden Corral and Ponderosa they have a buffet which includes over a hundred items and caters for just about everybodies tastes for around $3.99 breakfast, $5.99 lunchtime till 4 and $8.99 after that. Golden Corral have a bakery which has fresh pizzas rolls etc every 15 mins.
Even with 9 of you going you will still find it very economical .
We usually find that we only really buy breakfast cereals, salad and BBq items and snacks for when we are there, all other thoughts of cooking seem to get overtaken by wanting to spend as much time out as possible whether at a theme park, shopping or one of the other parks etc.
there is also another company that will cook for you
http://www.orlando-chef.com/
bob Evans (I know there is one on the 192 near Splendid China) do a full take out menu including plates, glasses and cutlery we did this last time we were there and it was very nice, don`t know if any one else has tried this
questions
23-09-2003, 16:36
I will be keeping an eye on this forum.! I quess you are right about eating in. With prices you mentioned it would be great. I still always compair prices from here (Belgium ) and we are a very expencive country to eat out. We have been to the east coast many times ( Washington ) and noticed how cheap everything was there. Just though that Florida being a holiday spot would cost much more to eat out.
------
and you are right about the dust. That is one of the things that I noticed the first time I visited. ;)
We spent 4 days with family there and not once did I see her dust anything and yet it all looked so clean!
--If I don't dust everyday here you can write your name in it!
wonder why that is?
questions
sunshine state
23-09-2003, 17:08
I remember now we did not have maids coming in we had to ring them up if we wanted anything done and they came right away.
Sorry if i gave anyone the wrong information.
sammibabe
23-09-2003, 20:27
Eating out is very economical and no prep/clearing up! Last time we went there was 8 of us and it certainly did not break the bank (can't remeber prices but we ate out at least twice a day). We have found that villa prices compared to mallorca are extrordinarily cheap. We tend to find that one week in a villa in Mallorca cost the same, roughly, as two in Florida.
coombsyl
26-09-2003, 23:49
We don't actually do much cooking in the villa but, after a long day, when we just fancy going home to eat or when we are just bored with restaurant meals, we sometimes buy one of those nice cooked chickens in Publix, some french bread, salad and there you go!!!!! (you can't really class that as cooking I suppose [:I])
Their ranges of ice cream tubs is to die for too!!!
chrizzy100
26-09-2003, 23:53
quote:Originally posted by janny
In my experience the homes in the states do not seem to get so dusty as those over here in UK so actual housework as such is mimimal -just a general tidy up and change of bedding or hoover if you really have withdrawl symptoms.There are companies that will prepare , cook and deliver meals to youre holiday home if you really want a change for the norm.
Oh please everyone say the FL homes are less dusty....hehehehe
My place here in Mass needs dusting everyday....summer winter whenever.....I've never had such a dirty home before......does anyone else in the States have this trouble....??
I have just returned and I too could not believe how cheap it all was and neither can anyone I have spoken to. The villas are gorgeous, so light and airy and labour saving. You will just love it and the shopping is great - I can't wait to go again but am worried at having to co-ordinate all our family holidays and might not know until Christmas what weeks we can have. Probably be in August - What if everyone is booked up? I shall be so disappointed.
Lisi
coombsyl
04-10-2003, 17:52
When I think how much I had to pay for a caravan in the school holidays in Norfolk to take granddaughter away, it makes me realise what a good deal we get for a house in Florida (around the same price!!!)