Carolyn

1 property

28 reviews

Expert owner

Direct booking - no fees


Joined 2012

Carolyn

Owner from Musselburgh, United Kingdom

About

My name is Carolyn and I live in Scotland with my wonderful husband and 3 kids. We bought our beautiful holiday home in Florida in 2008 when my children were young. They are now 23, 25 & 29. How time flies !! The lovely thing is they still come with us to Florida when we go on holiday. It’s just like our home from home. We set out to buy a holiday home in Southern Dunes as we had previously rented a villa there and fell in love with the area. Not to mention the fabulous golf course. When we saw our villa we just knew it was the one for us. We especially love our pool and the place is so bright and airy. We go over on holiday as often as we can and I just love shopping for new bits and pieces. It’s so important to me to ensure that guests have a wonderful stay and I am passionate about the villa being perfect. I have a fantastic management company over there owned by Sam & Bryn who run a tight ship. They are just amazing ! I can’t wait for my next trip over. I love it so much !! I’m sure you will too !

1 property


28 reviews

Family from Cromarty, United Kingdom

Scott

Family from Cromarty, United Kingdom · December 2023
We had an excellent stay in the villa, couldn't recommend the location enough. Gated community, plenty ammenites near by and outstanding golf course with open air driving range and bar for a nights entertainment. The staff at the Golf course & bar were all very freindly and made you feel welcome. The villa was spacious, clean with a great warm pool and overall well worth the stay. The Villa is well equiped with recent upgrades to both bathrooms and kitchen. Would also recommend a short trip to the Ovation bar and grill for the Brisket and BBQ beans!!
Carolyn

Reply from Carolyn

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your lovely review Scott. It’s very much appreciated and will be very helpful to future guests. Glad you liked the villa. We’ve put a lot of effort into making it perfect for guests so hearing your comments makes it all worth while. Please come and stay again in the future !! Carolyn

Couple from Glastonbury , United Kingdom

David

Couple from Glastonbury , United Kingdom · November 2023
If you are considering a villa in Southern Dunes then look no further, this place has everything you require. We have stayed at Southern Dunes on numerous occasions and this is by far and away the best villa we have had the pleasure of staying in. The whole place was immaculate, inside and out. The communication with Carolyn was excellent, she was so helpful. We would definitely recommend this villa and will certainly be returning
Carolyn

Reply from Carolyn

Thank you so much David for leaving your wonderful review. It means so much knowing that our efforts to take good care of our guests and make our home a lovely place to stay are working. It would be an absolute pleasure to have you stay again in the future. Not too long I hope ! Thank you again. Carolyn

Friends from Pease Pottage, United Kingdom

Karl

Friends from Pease Pottage, United Kingdom · November 2023
This is the third time we have stayed at the property and like our previous stays, cant recommend the property enough. Everything is spot on and the upgrades made to the property by Carolyn since our last stay just enhance the experience. If you are looking to stay in the area look no further.
Carolyn

Reply from Carolyn

Thank you so much for leaving your lovely review Karl. I’m so glad you like the upgrades!! It makes me really happy to know that you like the villa so much that you want to return. It makes all our efforts very worth while. I’m so looking forward to your next visit. Hope it’s not too long !!

Family from Nelson, United Kingdom

Rebecca

Family from Nelson, United Kingdom · August 2023
Fabulous villa in a great location, lovely one-level living and well equipped, very close to amenities and some amazing places to eat (Sonny’s BBQ and Manny’s Chophouse especially). Owner Carolyn, very helpful and incredibly responsive. Excellent value for money if the Haines City location works for you l!
Carolyn

Reply from Carolyn

Thank you so much Rebecca for leaving your lovely review. I’m really pleased that you enjoyed the villa ! You were the perfect guests. It was a pleasure to have you staying in my home and I would love you to stay again in the future.

Family from Brechin, United Kingdom

Michele

Family from Brechin, United Kingdom · August 2023
This is our second stay at this villa and will definitely be planning a third . Lovely clean , spacious villa and the pool is wonderful. Feels very safe as it is in a gated community . So near to shopping and restaurants. Check in /out couldn’t be easier. The villa has everything you need and is beautifully furnished . Can’t wait to come back ! Thank you 😊
Carolyn

Reply from Carolyn

Thank you so much for writing your lovely review Michelle. I so appreciate your kind words about my villa. It means a lot to me and my family. You are the perfect guests and you are welcome to stay again anytime. Please come back again soon !

Family from Lutterworth, United Kingdom

Michael

Family from Lutterworth, United Kingdom · June 2023
I have been visiting Florida for over 30 years including many stays in Southern Dunes and the central Florida area. I even viewed this estate when they were built over 20 years ago Southern Dunes itself being gated is ideal, You feel safe and its a nice well kept and a pleasant community in a great location. Central Florida in particular the I4 is becoming a nightmare for traffic, the influx of population growth is making driving miserable but that can be somewhat avoided by using a sat nav. Back to the Villa on the negative side these villas are beginning to show their age and this one I would describe as being a little tired and in our opinion in need of a bit of a refresh. The TV's and laundry equipment are modern but that shows up the rest. The Pool was a bit of a mess due in part to the poor weather they had been experiencing however on calling the management company the next day I was left under the impression it would be cleaned. That never happened during our stay and despite us managing to skim some of the debris off the pool surface the sunken mess just got worse. As for the good things this is a very comfortable villa and as there was only three of us we certainly rattled around in it. One of the best points was that the management company / owners did provide a starting supply of such things a bin bags, detergent, paper towel and toilet paper etc. I know its not a big deal but it is greatly appreciated and quite a pain when you first arrive to faff about shopping for stuff like that so top marks there. All in all a great holiday was had. I would always recommend a villa over a hotel here, the home from home feeling can't be beat.
Carolyn

Reply from Carolyn

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review Michael. I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed your holiday as it means a lot. Firstly let me apologise on behalf of my management company for not coming to clean the pool. They had so many villas which were badly damaged during the storm and had to prioritise them but they do send their apologies. For future guests who are reading your review, I would just like to clarify that although our villa is over 20 years old, we follow strict Home Owners Association rules and every home owner in Southern Dunes has to maintain their properties to a high standard. Im pleased that you described Southern Dunes as a very nice, safe place to stay but I would say that the villas here are not dated but just your typical Floridian villas. We have many repeat guests who love this kind of property. I know you mentioned the new laundry facilities and TV’s as positives but, again for anyone thinking of booking with us, we have a beautiful master suite, twin bedroom and living room furniture which have been bought over the last couple of years and we continually buy beautiful lamps, pictures, towels, bedding, kitchen utensils, etc., We also installed a new air con unit 6 months ago. We are continually upgrading our home. In fact we have just bought a new queen suite and we have plans to upgrade the pool area later this year. I would love you to come and stay in our beautiful home again in the future as you were very respectful guests and I appreciate your comments.

Family from Edinburgh , United Kingdom

Elaine

Family from Edinburgh , United Kingdom · August 2022
Brilliant property ,great size plenty spacious in fact we never once used the second sitting room , right next to a giant Walmart , brilliant Chinese take away next to Winn Dixie’s ,was a little further out than we are used too but some nice touches hairdryers and straightners in both bathrooms, pool area was really nice ,very quiet gated community safe and secure ,and Carolyn was amazing answering every daft question I had many thanks

Couple from Lanzarote, Spain

Patricia

Couple from Lanzarote, Spain · June 2022
The villa was exactly as described but unfortunately we were plagued by bugs from the first day they were on the kitchen worktops and under the kitchen appliances. We live in the canaries and understand the problem because of the heat. I purchased some bug spray and sprayed under and around everything in the kitchen, killed quite a lot but the next day they were back I resprayed again. The following morning they were back. I contacted Brin and he came out and resprayed with a more potent spray. But 2 days later they were back in the cupboards and in the fridge, we had them in both bathrooms and the master bedroom The day we were leaving I text Sam and Brin and told them the problem was worse. In between all this the Dryer never worked from day one we were promised a repair guy but never got one. Also the WiFi stopped working after 3 days but Brin came the following day and installed a new system. Apart from all that we enjoyed our stay, would we come back again...... I would say yes if the bug problem was resolved.
Carolyn

Reply from Carolyn

Dear Patricia, As I am used to getting 5 star reviews from my guests, at first I was quite upset when I read your review. I pride myself on keeping my villa in perfect condition for my guests and their holiday experience is very important to me but on reading it again and after speaking with Sam & Bryn I realised that the things you mentioned were dealt with quickly and, where possible, rectified straight away. I don't know why you had a problem with the bugs as this hasn't been a problem in the past and I pay for regular pest control treatments but I have taken on board what you have said and we have had the villa fully treated by a specialist. As for the tumble dryer, I can only apologise if this was an inconvenience for you. I can confirm that I have now bought a brand new washing machine and tumble dryer so future guests will enjoy using them. I appreciate you saying that you enjoyed your stay and I would really love to have you stay again. The bug problem has been resolved and the brand new dryer is working !! If my guests aren't happy then I'm not happy and we can't have that !!

Family from Brechin, United Kingdom

Michele

Family from Brechin, United Kingdom · May 2022
We had a fantastic stay at this villa . The owner couldn’t have been more helpful ! Easy to follow directions and check in/ out . This villa is a little bit farther than we would normally choose to stay but that didn’t deter from all overall stay . Plenty of places to eat and drink very close by and also Walmart’s and Winn Dixie practically on doorstep . Villa is lovely inside and pool was great ! Would definitely recommend and clickstay we’re very good at communicating what info we needed . Great holiday , thanks !

Family from Caerphilly, United Kingdom

B

Family from Caerphilly, United Kingdom · April 2022
Lovely stay at a very nice home on a great development, everything we needed was there, all areas were clean and well equiped, great communication with owner, only marked down slightly on games room, needs updating and a brighter light, would recommend this property to any family. Many thanks, The Chalk family