Not sure if this is a trip report or not but this is where my life on these forums started.
Well for those of you that may have read my earlier posts about allocation on arrival villas you may be interested in knowing how things panned out now I am back home.
As it turned out although we booked through Thomsons we ended up with a First Choice package as they are now one and the same company. We picked the keys up at Sanford airport and registered the villa the next day at the First Choice office.
Well my initial question was about location and we ended up at Lake Berkley, just off 192 behind Medieval Times adjacent to Wal Mart. A great location with easy access to all the parks and amenities. We were allocated a 4 bed villa rather than the 3 bed we booked so to say we were pleased is an understatement.
The quality of the villa was good and what we expected basic, no frills, clean and comfortable a typical holiday home. The only thing that you could comment on was perhaps a freshen up of the paintwork would put a shine back on the villa. Comments from the guest book complained that the beds were noisy but we found them very comfortable and I don’t know what they got upto but when we went to bed we were beat and slept like a log. Usual cable TV in lounge and main master bedroom. No other TVs in the villa. An added extra was free international calls from the villa which was unexpected and very useful. This only worked to landline phones not to mobiles but hey it was free.
The pool was great, we had decided not to have it heated however found it refreshing and after a couple of days decided to have the heat switched on. We called in at the First Choice office and made the arrangements. It was $30 a day which we thought was a bit expensive so we opted for just 7 days which should boost it up and if we put the blanket over the pool at night this would keep most of the heat for the remaining days of our stay. Giving the pool a couple of days to heat we were convincing ourselves that we cold feel the difference but we still thought that the water was on the cool side. However as the temp was 88 – 94 degrees it was a welcome plunge to cool down. By chance after 5 days the pool guy arrived for his routine clean and we asked him what he thought. The heating had been turned on but the thermostat had blown and the water had not been heated after all. We went back to the First Choice office to advise them and as there would not be enough time to have the thermostat fixed and the remaining days left we asked for our money back. There was not problem with this but as it was Memorial Day they would have to check with the “real” management company who look after the villa to confirm that what we were telling them was the case. It took 3 days the get a refund. But no issues in ducking the claim. This was our only bad experience with this villa and all in all did not spoil our enjoyment.
Would we go back to a villa? The answer is yes, however if it were just my wife and myself we would probably go back to the Rosen Centre but if there were more of us then a villa is the way to go. Now having the confidence I also think that I would book direct with an owner as you all maintain a higher standard with added extras. Going with a Tour Operator, for us, was not a horror story and a good way to try it out without the “worry” of hooking things together. But now we have done it there is nothing to fear.
Attached are a couple of photos of the villa.
It all seems a distant memory now.
Please let me know if anyone has any questions about our experience.
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