Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the villa?
The villa is on resort development of Highgrove which is on the the US-27, at the point where the US-27 meets the US-192. Click here for a map.

How far is the Villa from the Parks?
Disney parks are about 10-15 minutes drive away and Universal Studios and SeaWorld are about 20-25 minutes away.

How far is the Villa from the Coast?
The Villa is about an hour from the Atlantic Coast, where you can also visit the Kennedy Space Center. It is about 1.5 hours to the Gulf Coast and the beautiful beach of Clearwater.

How many does the villa sleep ?
The villa sleeps 8 comfortably – 2 king size beds and 4 singles. The villa can accommodate 10 people with 2 sleeping on the sofa bed in the living room. Click Here for the layout.

Do you welcome children?
Of course !
The villa comes equipped with DVD player (with films) and Playstation (with games) to keep children of varying ages happy.
A cot or highchair can be arranged if required.
In terms of safety features, the pool area is fitted with a safety alarm to ensure children do not wander into the pool area without adults knowing. As the villa is on one level, there are no stairs for children to fall down.

Do you welcome pets ?
No. We’re sorry but we can’t accept pets in the villa, other than registered guide dogs for the blind.

Is the villa suitable for disabled?
The villa is on one floor with no stairs but has no modifications to make it suitable for wheelchair bound visitors.

How much does it cost?
It varies depending on the time of year. Please click here for prices.

What is included in the price ?
The price is per villa, not per person and includes all tax and utility bills (with the exception of pool heating – see below) See Prices and Availability

Is there anything else we may have to pay for ?
Pool heating is extra but is only really required during the summer months (£65/$100) per week.
For stays of less than one week, we charge a cleaning fee of £50/$85.
A deposit of £150/$250 is chargeable for each booking but is fully refunded subject to the safe return of the keys and no damage to the property.

Do you do any special deals for long stays ?
Depending on the time of year, we may offer discounts available for three weeks or more. Please call or email us to discuss your requirements.

Are there towels at the villa or do we need to bring our own ?
There are plenty of towels at the villa, including for use in the pool area.
The communal pool also has pool towels available for guests to use.

Is linen provided ?
Yes, including blankets for those rare occasions they may be required !.

Do you provide toiletries such as toilet paper, soap etc.?
On arrival, there will be a roll of toilet paper by each toilet and a small block of soap in each bathroom. These are just to get you started and any extras you would have to provide yourself.

I have had a long journey - do I have to go out shopping straight away ?
On arrival, you will be provided with tea, coffee, milk and sugar so that you can sit down, unwind and have a drink.
Should you not feel like shopping at all on that first day, you could get a take-out delivered for dinner and leave the shopping until the next morning - via Denny's for breakfast if you're hungry!.
We can also arrange for a welcome pack of groceries if you’d prefer - subject to an extra charge. Price would depend on what you’d like included in the pack.

What’s in the small print ?
For your protection as well as ours we have created our own terms and conditions which you can download here.

How do we get the keys – do we have to go to an office somewhere?
No, you can go straight to the villa. The key will be stored in a lockbox by the front door. You just need to enter the relevant security number to obtain the key. At the end of your stay you return the key to the same box so there is no need for you to drop the key off somewhere on your route home/to the airport.

Is there any cleaning/maid service during our stay ?
Not automatically. However, if you require this, it can be arranged, subject to an additional charge. The charge will depend on the service you require.

What are the arrival and departure times?
Standard arrival time is 4.00pm.
Standard departure time is 10.00am.
If you require an earlier arrival time or later departure time, please let us know. This can often be arranged as long as there are no guests leaving on the day of your arrival and/or no guests due in the same day as your departure.

What happens if there are any problems during our stay ?
The villa is looked after by our management company who also look after our guests during their stay. During normal office hours they can be contacted if you have any queries about the house or Orlando in general. In emergencies, they are contactable 24/7. Their telephone numbers are given in their information book at the villa.

Does the villa have a phone ?
Yes, and Local calls are free.
For non-local calls, we provide a phone card at the property.

What facilities/appliances are at the villa ?
The kitchen is fully equipped with pretty much everything you could require. This includes dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer, cooker, microwave, coffee maker, even a smoothie maker !
The living room has a television with Cable TV, a DVD player with a selection of films and a Playstation2 with a selection of games.
Each of the master bedrooms have televisions with Cable TV.
A hairdryer is provided.
The pool area comes complete with pool furniture, including table, chairs and loungers.

Are there any facilities on the resort itself ?
There is a community pool and clubhouse. There is also a children’s play area.
The Clubhouse also houses a Gym with Running Machine, Crosstrainer etc. plus a Football/Foosball Table, a PC with Internet access and a Wi-Fi Hotspot.

Is there a shop on the resort, where we can buy food ?
No, there are no shops on the resort. However, there are several supermarkets and restaurants within a few minutes drive.

What facilities are nearby ?
The nearest supermarket is Walmart which sells just about everything ! This is located about 3 minutes drive from Highgrove. There is also a Publix supermarket, again only about 3 minutes drive away.
There are lots of restaurants within a few minutes drive, including Papa Johns (Pizza), Denny's, Ponderosa, Sizzler, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster.
Within 10-15 minutes drive you can pretty much get anything you want !
Other facilities close by include post office, library, internet café and medical centre.

Is there anything else for us to do if we don’t want to spend all of our time at the theme parks ?
Other than topping up your tan lazing by your pool, there are loads of other things to do, such as :
Shopping at the huge number of shopping malls around, including discount and outlet centres.
A ride on an airboat through swampland.
The coast is about an hour’s drive away
Kennedy space centre is just over an hour away.
And more Golf Courses than you can shake a stick at !
For more ideas click here.

Ok, I’m interested. How do I find out if the weeks I want are available ?
Check our on-line calendar. Any dates in Green are still available.

How do we book ?
Send us an e-mail to confirm availability and price. We’ll then send you a booking form to complete and will ask for a 10% (non-refundable) deposit. On receipt of your deposit, your booking is then confirmed.

How do we pay ?
You can pay by cheque, transfer money direct into our bank account or PayPal.

Do you accept credit card ?
Unfortunately, we cannot accept credit cards, at the moment – sorry.

I have some further questions. Can I speak to someone ?
Of course – please call us on +44 (0)1438 228195. If we are not available, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Where can we get the best value tickets for the parks ?
Most advertisers of cheap tickets are selling Timeshare and they give you a discount in exchange for the usual tour of the Timeshare property (and a hard sell!). There are little booths and outlets along a lot of major roads offering discounted tickets, but they are mainly Timeshare. You will struggle to find a genuine discount on a Disney ticket.

There are some agents in the UK who sell tickets :
There is a limited range of tickets available for sale in the UK, but they are generally better value* than buying when you get out there and there are enough to choose from. These sites seem to have some good deals.
There seems to be no difference between the 5 day Premium and 7 day Premium ticket so why anyone would pay the same price for a 5 day I have no idea.
These are roughly in order of price (cheapest first but there is not much in it)

http://www.tickets4disney.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.orlando-ticket-deals.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk/

* Unless you want to spend less than 4 days in the Disney parks and no Disney water parks.

There are lots of ticket options out in Florida but you cannot buy them here. This site has an explanation of the various Disney Tickets available (there are lots) and a Wizard that helps you decide what you want.
“Hopping” means more than one park in a day, so a non-hopper ticket still lets you go to all the parks, just not in the same day!
http://www.park-tickets.com/disney-world-tickets.aspx

How can I find out what else is happening in Disney ?
Special events at Disney
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdwi/en_GB/calendar/specialeventslisting/index?id=CalendarSpecialEventsListingPage

Are there other things to do in Lake County?
Lake County has a website of things to do
http://www.lakegovernment.com/enjoying_lake_county/

Can you help me with Car Hire?
There are a few places you can book in the UK which seem reasonable prices. They tend to use Dollar and Alamo and one site gives you prices for each, shown separately when you ask for the quote.

It’s probably best to input your requirements to each one and see what results you get but the cheapest from the tests I have done are :
http://www.uscarhire.co.uk/

But the following also seem reasonable :
http://www.yescarhire.com/usa/home/location/florida.htm
and
http://www.floridacarhire.com/

We used the last site, floridacarhire, for our last trip, but on my latest checks they weren’t the cheapest.

It is also possible that we may be able to undercut these prices with a deal we have with Dollar Rentacar. But you would need to check with us when you get the quote.

Can you help me with Flights?
There are obviously lots of places you can find flights for a variety of prices and the prices will vary dramatically also based on the date of your trip. However we have found a couple of places if you are looking for cheap flights where you might not necessarily think of looking.

Airtours do offer flight only not just full holiday packages , check here for cheap charter flight prices, especially late bookings, off season.
http://www.airtours.co.uk/AniteNextPage.asp?p=FLIGHTONLY&t=5045&s=140908027

We have also found that TravelCity Direct do have some bargains. You cannot get flight only, but you can buy a fly drive. Try here :
http://www.travelcitydirect.com/AniteNextpage.asp?p=HOMEFLORIDA

As an extra option to look at, if you fancy going in a little more style and want to fly Virgin try
Apollo Travel Direct on 01709 821 000 These are ABTA guaranteed and have been known to be cheaper than going direct to Virgin.