Cottage Golf Villa

We have stayed at Southern Dunes several times, and really enjoy the area - close enough to the main Orlando attractions but far enough away to be peaceful. The area around Southern Dunes is a lot less busy than around International Drive but has plenty of places to shop and eat, including the excellent Manny's Chophouse.

The villa was identical to those we have stayed at nearby before. The living and kitchen area is spacious and having 2 bathrooms is great in the mornings. There was also plenty of crockery and cutlery and enough utensils to get by, although other than 2 dishwasher tablets and a bin bag nothing else is left so you will need to pick up things like washing up liquid, kitchen roll and handwash if you need them. Dollar Tree as you come out of Southern Dunes between Winn-Dizie and Walmart is ideal for these as you can get smaller sizes of good quality branded products for $1 (including laundry detergent if you want to use the washing machine in the garage) which will be enough for your stay.

As noted in other reviews there are one or two maintenance issues which the management company haven't attended to. The cooker drawer is still loose and one of the cooker rings was loose and not working. The pool light would also flicker and go dim after a few minutes, and we were unable to retract the blinds on the patio door leading to the pool. None of these really detracted from our stay however.

One thing we did find a bit strange was the air conditioning could not be set below 75 degrees Farenheit. The welcome manual also had a note about not setting the air conditioning below this temperature (which was impossible anyway) as the unit could freeze. This has never been an issue at the other similar villas we have stayed at on Southern Dunes, and resulted in the villa being a bit too warm on occassions.

We did enjoy our stay here again, and would certainly return. This villa represented very good value for money compared to similar properties on Southern Dunes.

The villa was nice and adequately equip. Everything we needed, good tv channels for those rest days home even did us a welcome as we were arriving late christmas eve. A christmas tree would have been a bonus as we were travelling with kids but, not a problem. Games room a hugh bonus. The heater on the pool broke down which was a little of a disappointment as our disabled daughter needs the warmth but, Paul the owner tried to get it sorted and is in the process of refunding in full for pool heating. Pool a good size. We were just 30-70 mins from all disney parks etc and just a little further to lovely beaches. Some lovely parks etc in a short distance away. A fab Walmart just down the road within walking distance if you fancy a walk. Over all very good and had an amazing holiday. Thank you

Reply from Paul

Thanks Melanie i glad you have a good stay and a great holiday.
Bad luck about the pool heating i had to get it replaced i think it was about 16 years old.
Yes southern Dunes is a fantastic place to stay with some wonderful beaches not that far away.
I hope you return soon
Thanks
Paul

We stayed at this property last year as well, was glad to see the sofas had been replaced and also the bed base and mattress. The property could do with the cooker being replaced as lot's of rust on the front also the fridge door did not always close properly, definitely needs some new cookware and knives. Its advertised with pool tabe but you could not play as all the ques were broken, was also very dirty in the garage Apart from this had a very enjoyable stay.

Reply from Paul

Hi Patrica i am glade you enjoyed your stay i will pass your commends on to the management company about the garage and for them to take a look at the cookware and knifes
Thanks
PAUL

The villa is lovely and has everything you need for your stay. The only complaint I’d have is that the pool lighting wasn’t working so we couldn’t use the pool after it was dark which would’ve been very welcome after hot days at the parks. Southern Dunes is beautiful and well kept and having the security gives great peace of mind.

Reply from Paul

Hi Timothy
I am glad you had a nice time the pool light is on a time switch its a pity you did not phone Ian (management company) he would have fixed it that day for you

We are a family of four who stayed in Paul's house for three weeks in December 2017, having stayed on Southern Dunes previously we chose the house primarily for its familiar location which allowed us to get some peace and quiet if we wanted time away from the parks etc whilst retaining easy access to Orlando and the Disney/Universal parks as well as Clearwater, Busch Gardens, etc.

The house itself was exactly what we needed for our holiday, spacious and clean in a secure and attractive location. Throughout the process of renting was painless and both Paul and his representative in Orlando were helpful and accommodating.

We would definitely consider renting the house again if we visit Orlando again.

Enjoyed our stay but a couple of things should have been sorted before our arrival. The 3 seater settee base was sunken into the frame and in fact collapsed onto the floor the management company supported the base off the floor on wooden blocks so we could use it however it still was not at the right height and to uncomfortable to sit on. The second thing was the noise coming from the master bed every time you moved I had to sleep on occasion in the smaller bedroom to get a good night's sleep. Lastly there was a shortage of cooking utensils, colander, sharp knife and a broken carving knife. With these things taken care of I would rent the villa again.