The Plum Guide* is a London, England based curated website of vacation rental homes. It’s produced by a company which personally evaluates homes using a 150-point test criteria, and then presents them on their own listing site. Their purpose is to do an ‘honest’ assessment of vacation rental homes (reviews
The Orlando Vacation Rental Market is highly competitive, and prices have been stagnant for well over a decade. In fact, prices have not changed much since we first stayed in a vacation rental in Orlando back in 2003! When compared to just about everywhere else in the U.S. and around the
This is Part III (sort of…) of a list of great things to do that are free(!) or nearly there in the villa area. See Part I here, and Part II here. Part IV presents details on Polk County Walking Trails. You may think us boring, but one of the
Help is coming for I4, but we will have to be patient, just like anyone must be lately if they use I4 between Highway 27 and Walt Disney World. UPDATE: There is a LOT of good news recently which affects the information in this article. A new post will be
About pool heating at Breezy Oak Villas, and why we charge extra for it. Pool Heating is the most common optional item that our guests choose, and yes we do charge extra for it, beyond our seasonal nightly rates. There are a number of reasons for this, but one of
Thank you for choosing to book our property and stay with us. As our guest, you and your booking are very important to us, and we want to provide you with the best in service and accommodations. In order to book our property, you must complete our own booking form
When it comes to booking a vacation rental, and the charges and fees you pay, the best surprise you can get with your rental is this: No Surprises! We do have some extra charges for optional items that our guests may choose to add to their booking. We realize that
Hi Robert. My husband and I are both retired and are planning a trip in the hopes that at sometime during the four week stay some of our children can visit for short intervals. That’s why we are looking for a house this size. Some of the websites advertise a
One of the great things about vacation rentals is that they’re all different. This means that each and every stay in a vacation rental will be a different experience from another property and host. For many, that is part of the attraction of vacation rentals. The unexpected adds a bit
After a decade of renting out our properties, we just don’t get as many reviews as we used to. It doesn’t mean we are off our game. In fact, we keep improving the properties and our service all the time! I would love to get more reviews, but it keeps
Ask any vacation rental owner what the best part of owning and renting their property is, and most likely they will reply it is when they get a ‘5-Star’ review from an appreciative guest! There is nothing like that positive pat-on-the-back that tells a VR owner that they contributed to
Enjoy this list (Part I) of activities and explorations that won’t tap your wallet, courtesy of the Orlando County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau. Part II features more activities in the Kissimmee area, Part III features Osceola County Nature Trails, and Part IV lists Polk County Walking Trails. In a city
A few years ago, during the winter months we would place out for our guest’s use a large floating pool blanket to cover the pool water at night. The blanket would float on the surface and reduce the temperature drop in the pool water over night. We no longer use
Thanks for your message and your interest in our property. First of all, please understand that our normal booking deposit is 20% of the value of the rental. However some listing sites, such as HomeAway/VRBO or TripAdvisor do not give us that option. The minimum percentage they will allow is
Subject to certain restrictions, we provide FREE Early Arrivals or Late Check Outs! See below for details. Requesting an Early Arrival or a Late Check Out? Unless you want to book the additional nights, we can not at this time offer you an early check-in or late check-out, however if
This is Part II of a list of great things to do that are free(!) or nearly there in the villa area. See Part I here. For even more interesting things to do closer to home, explore this list of activities and attractions courtesy of the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors
Photo above: Our second time at Disney World, 2003. I realize that what I am about to write here will sound like simple self promotion, but I would tell you the exact same thing before we purchased our home in Florida, because some of what I am going to explain is one
Occasionally guests who will be staying over the Christmas season ask us about seasonal decorating. This is not something that we have ‘traditionally’ done at our vacation rental properties. Now before you declare us the ‘Grinch’ who stole Christmas, please understand two things: We LOVE Christmas Decorations! We go CRAZY
Tip #1 (My first tip may appear rooted in bias, but I lived by it for years, and it is what got me into my Florida vacation rentals in the first place.) Ignore the advice of the vast majority of travel writers who write about a trip to Disney World
Ah… a simple question, but a tricky one to answer! In truth, you likely don’t want to be close to the theme parks nearly so much as you want to be able to get to and from them fast, and hassle free. One doesn’t necessarily equal the other. This is
Periodically, I get asked for the specific address of the villa, either by someone curious about booking, or by a guest asking far in advance of their arrival. This always presents a challenge for us… we don’t want to be secretive, about where the villa is… but in a way,
Every once in a while, I get asked about our rates… because, well… frankly, we’re not the cheapest vacation rentals in the Orlando area. We’re also not the most expensive either. Frankly, what others charge is of little importance to us. We’re out to provide the best value in a
If you have seen both of our properties, and are wondering what the differences are between them, this information is for you. Talking about the differences between the two is a bit strange – because in truth, they are far more alike than they are different. So what do they
I often get asked how much time is needed to take in the theme parks and other activities in Orlando. Here, in question and answer form taken from actual communications with guests, is how much time I recommend for the major attractions. (There are lots of other great things to see
I often get asked about how to save money on a trip to Disney World, and for good reason. It is an expensive undertaking, no matter how you look at it. Airfare, park tickets and other attractions, accommodations, food and dining, spending money and souvenirs; these can all add up
I received the following question from a prospective guest a few weeks ago. It covers a lot of ground and turns over a lot of worms! Her question: “I’m curious about one thing, most families go and stay on property with Disney (we did our first time too) and claim
One day, in a brief moment of brilliance, it occurred to me that this blog format would be a perfect place to organize and ‘store’ our reviews. We are constantly hearing back from our guests for various reasons, and most of them are very positive communications where they simply want
