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We put this page together to help describe some of the reasons why we like Southern Dunes and our home to help potential guests appreciate what we have to offer for a vacation. Several guests suggested it would be a good idea as there are so many places to stay, home types, hidden extra costs and other considerations its often difficult to choose....

Why did we buy a villa at all?

We have been visiting Florida (initially as a young couple and then as a family) for about 20 years.  We started off staying in hotels near Disney but one year tried a small home instead.  We were amazed at the level of specification, space and freedom in the home (it was larger than our home in the UK!).  We didn't have to queue for hotel buses/transfers at the airport, stand in line for up to 2 hours to rent a car (and be pressured into upgrading) as we traveled under our own steam rather than on a package. We booked the flights we wanted at the times we wanted and found the whole experience much more enjoyable and relaxing - which were 2 reasons why we were going on vacation after all!  We also found that it was MUCH cheaper than a hotel vacation (especially with kids or grandparents!)

Since then we were converts and always stayed in homes - initially small ones and then larger ones as our family grew.  We have also brought our respective parents with us several times so ended up renting 5 bed homes. 

We like Florida so much because there is always something to do - from theme parks and "busy" attractions, to just relaxing by the pool, having dinner or playing golf.  Our kids have really enjoyed the area and as they have grown up have found more and more things to keep themselves occupied!

The weather is great all year round so it's ideal for a winter break as well as a summer vacation.

So, as we liked it so much and vacationed so often there, we thought it would be sensible to buy a home and fund some of the cost by renting it out to other people for a few weeks a year.  We keep the home to a high standard (so we are definately NOT the cheapest place to stay) and as a result have guests that do not tend to treat our home badly...

Why did we buy a home on Southern Dunes?

We decided to buy a villa several years ago and spent a LONG time looking at different areas and types.

We selected Southern Dunes as the ideal location for two reasons

1) It saves us time and effort to make the holiday more relaxing...

We are close to the main attractions (theme parks, downtown Kissimmee and Orlando) which saves time and reduces the length of busy "park days". It is 5 minutes away from I4 (the main freeway near Orlando) so getting to and from the area attractions and golf courses is very easy (we have stayed at other homes that are actually "3 miles from Disney" but it has taken us 40 minutes to get there through 10 sets of traffic lights - a real nightmare and a long drive at the end of a busy day). 

There is a HUGE Wal-Mart at the entrance to the complex. This saves a LOT of time stocking up for food and drink, as in other resorts a decent supermarket can be 15-30 minutes away (a real pain if all you need is some nappies/diapers and a bottle of milk!)

A new Publix supermarket opened about 1 mile away in 2007 (more expensive food but a larger range than Wal-Mart).

We are close to Sanford, Orlando International and Tampa airports to reduce the travel time from the airport to the villa and provide options in case flights into one airport are not available on the days we want - its possible to fly into one airport and out of another to make the dates work.

In October 2011, Legoland is opening which is around 15 minutes to the south of our home (the other parks are to the north) - so our home is actually in the perfect location if you want tocover ALL the parks easily.

2) We have great facilities on the doorstep to make sure that people with different interests have great time...

LOCATION, LOCATION and LOCATION!.  Our home is in the middle of all the key tourist areas - Disney, Sea World and Universal theme parks to the North, Tampa and Clearwater beaches to the west, Kennedy Space Centre and more beaches to the East as well as Legoland to the South.  We particularly liked the idea that we could be within easy reach of all the busy tourist places but also be able to spend quiet days at the house or go to Lakeland or other non-tourist areas for shopping and days out.  We recently had an interesting day out at the Florida College where there some interesting architectural constructions...

Southern Dunes has a load of local amenities nearby including a video store (where you can hire DVDs and videos after a simple registration process), several restaurants, a nail bar, kids play area, tennis courts, and large community pool all WITHIN 5-10 minutes WALKING DISTANCE! which means that we only need to hire 1 car (eg if one group is going to a theme park or golf course and another group wants to have a day at the villa we can still make it work)

There are a number of great family restaurants within a mile - eg Manny's Chophouse (very busy at happy hour but great food, salad ,steaks etc - expect to pay about $60 for a family of 4! for 9 oz fillet mignons, all the salad you can eat and soft drinks).  You can now call ahead to reduce the wait time...

It has great GOLF!.  Southern Dunes is a truly great course - not too expensive but can be a real challenge if you are a low handicap but easy enough if you are a beginner.  Great greens, practice facilities and hills! (unusual in Florida).  The position of the ladies tees make it a real challenge for the men to beat them and there are not any silly 200 yard carries over water to hit the fairway.  So mother in law games are very tight!  The Southern Dunes green staff switch the pin positions every day on the large greens so it's always different - especially as there is often a breeze - we have played one of the par 3s with everything from a 7 iron to a 3 wood!.  There are something like 20 other courses within 15 minutes drive so it is easy to find other places to play (from $30 to $180 a round).

Why did we buy this villa:

We had a choice of several to buy from but we wanted a flexible home big enough to comfortably fit a variety of guests:

We worked out that for 8-12 people, you really need at least 2000 square feet of home (ours is 2200) and a good floor plan - some larger homes have plans that make the available space less usable than ours.

We wanted a heated pool AND spa (especially for the winter) - some villas have solar heating which is fine for the summer when there is a lot of sunshine but we found they were too cold for our kids and their grandparents in the winter if it was cloudy for a few days. (we also like a HOT spa in the winter!).  When we bought the home, the pool and spa were heated together (ie at the same temperature) which we didn't like as either the pool was too hot if the spa was the right temperature or the spa was too cold for the pool to be at the right temperature - a lot of villas have this as it's a cheap way of heating.  We spent some extra cash converting the system so we can keep the spa HOT and the pool and the right temperature when they are on at the same time, or you can just the pool on or just the spa on if you want.  We also like to use the pool and spa after dark so we have installed lighting in both.

We also wanted a shady area near the pool (some homes are under direct sunlight all day which is no good for small children or grandparents as it gets VERY hot in the summer and you can burn in 15 minutes) so we chose a home than has good sunlight for most of the day (for sunbathing etc) but also has a shady area (Florida Room) all day.

Finally, the view from the pool was ideal - it overlooks the 18th fairway at Southern Dunes (not a brick wall or another pool area) which is a very tranquil, open view - and you can watch the spectacular sunset from the spa or the deck whilst drinking a glass of chilled white wine!.

What have we equipped the home with?

We have stayed at some homes that were poorly equipped - (from too few plates or 3 knives missing to only 1 TV).

So we wanted to be able to make this a home from home and ensure your vacation (and ours - as we spend a lot of time there ourselves!) is as relaxing as possible.

We have spent a lot of time and effort equipping the home to suit a combination of different parties with differing needs.  For example we realised that different groups want to watch separate films (eg kids and parents, grandparents and parents, men and women etc) so we have installed 6 TVs, 5 DVD players and 3 video players in different rooms. 

For entertainment, we added an iPOD player (built into the desk lamp), Digital TV in the sitting room (300 channels) and recently added a Playstation 2 because a number of our guests suggested it would be a good idea (games and DVDs can be rented at the Blockbuster over the road from Southern Dunes - you just need a credit card to open an account).  We also recently added a soft tip dartboard (no metal spikes! but adult supervision is needed) and a games table (table football/soccer, push hockey etc) as well as a soundbar for the TV that you can plug an MP3 player into.

We were unhappy about having to buy phone cards or not having access to the internet at some homes that we stayed at so we have arranged for a FREE US and CANADA telephone service and FREE wired and wireless High Speed Internet based upon suggestions by our guests. We added a PC and a fax/photocopier/printer to improve the ability to communicate, work or simply print out photos of our kids in the theme parks. As guests you have access to all these facilities as well and a free gmail account if you don't bring a laptop or a PDA (watch out for HUGE fees from apple iphones data roaming overseas - personal experience of 2 $1500 monthly bills with minimal usage).

We bought ample cutlery and crockery (so you don't need to fish out a knife from the dishwasher to butter some toast) and have installed a blender (eg for fruit smoothies), a toaster oven (for kids to cook pizza, bagels etc) which makes life so much easier!  The kitchen has a large cooker, a microwave, ice maker in the fridge freezer and all the pots and pans you need to cook a 4 course meal meal for 12 as well as everything from a garlic press to a bread maker!  We have 2 coffee makers as well as an expresso maker at the suggestions of guests.

As it does rain sometimes! (or everyone wants a quiet day between park days) we have added some games suitable for children through to adults and have built an extensive library (around 200) of books for guests of all ages, plus a bunch of magazines to read by the pool.

We also worked out that it would be good to have separate eating areas to suit different groups or times (eg one family likes an early start - the other likes a lie-in) so we have a dining room seating 6-8, seating for 4-6 in the nearby breakfast nook, 8-10 in the family room and 4-8 outside so kids and adults can eat at separate tables, families can eat together or everyone can eat at the same time/place (by moving a few chairs and a table). 

Sleeping is important as well (especially with small kids!) so we have added two quality king size beds and made sure the other beds are comfortable with quality mattresses, sheets, covers and pillows.

As we have travelled with small children a lot, we wanted to make sure that this was easy for guests as well and were often disappointed at the children's facilities at some of the homes we stayed in.  So, in our home, we provide a high chair, collapsible crib and stroller free of charge.  Plus we have an extra high chair that can be attached to a normal chair and a booster seat (for use at the table).  We also found that some homes stung us for $200 for two weeks for these items so we include them in the rental FREE OF CHARGE!  If a party needs more cribs or strollers we can arrange them for a small fee.  Another guest suggested we should add stair gates and we have purchased 2 that fit easily on the stairs or in a doorway.

We try and travel light nowadays and wanted to make sure we could wash and dry clothes during our stay so have added a washing machine, dryer and iron with an ironing board.

The pool area is the main area that gets a lot of use by us so we have made sure there is adequate sitting and sunbathing (4 loungers) equipment around.  We also like to eat outside occasionally so we have shady area with 2 tables and 6 chairs and a set of plastic cups and plates we can use round the pool.

Finally, we ask every guest that stays with us for any improvements they can think of so we are continually updating the home - this has meant us adding everything from a Playstation 2, iPod player, High Speed Internet access to finding a place where a family could rent a piano or get a massage for a bad neck!

In 2011 we upgraded the rugs, window blinds, sofas, bedding, flooring, carpets, lounger and chair cushions.  We also added a soundbar to the living room TV, more kitchen equipment, a WEBER gas grill, clearly labeled the wires into the TV (at guest request).  We added sofas to the garage/games room to create another area that we will build on based on guest feedback.

Finally, we operate a "no surprises" approach - everything you need apart from toothbrushes is provide in our home, and all our rates include linen, towels and and end of stay clean

We hope you will be our guests soon and appreciate what Southern Dunes and our home has to offer

Jon, Fran, James and Anna Hughes