Why is staying in a vacation villa better value than staying in a hotel?

A lot of people who go to the Orlando area on holiday still stay in hotels. Perhaps it's because staying in a hotel is the obvious choice when you go on holiday - but is it?
There are so many more benefits to staying in a vacation villa but is it still bette value to stay in a hotel? Let's compare:

One of the nearest big hotels to my villa is Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - and a very impressive hotel it is too. I've chosen it because it makes sense to use a hotel in the same general location - although we are a few minutes drive west of the AKL the same restaurants, shops, theme parks are close to both of us.

My villa sleeps up to 10 in 4 bedrooms and a sofa bed in the lounge but for the purposes of this comparison we'll say 8 so we won't use the sofa bed. Let's take a large family group - Grandma and Grandpa, Mum and Dad, 20 year old son with his new wife and two younger children. Just the kind of family group that enjoy a fabulous vacation in sunny Orlando, Florida.

Staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for this group would need at least 3 rooms - unless the newly-weds don't mind sharing with Grandma and Grandpa - but we'll assume that's not a popular option.

That means the cheapest option is 3 x standard rooms (with Mum and Dad sharing with the kids) -the total cost for the 3 rooms for a week in August is £4074 - thankfully, that includes tax.

Now let's look at the cost to stay at my villa for a week for this group of 8 people - the same week in August would cost the grand total of £695. That's not per person - that's for the entire villa. And you get 4 rooms so Mum and Dad can have a room to themselves.

So now I've got your attention - well that's a saving of £3379 - think what you can do with that on your vacation.

Just as an aside - even for a couple - (or for a family of 4 all sharing one room) there is a saving of £663 to stay at my villa - and of course no sharing - well not unless you want to.

So cost for cost it's just obvious isn't it - staying at my vacation villa makes perfect sense. So how to the facilities compare - we've already looked at the issue of space and in the villa you get so much more for your money.

At the AKL you get a room with two double beds, a bathroom, TV, coffee maker, fridge, safe, iron and board, hairdryer.

At the villa you get cable TV in every bedroom - our master bedroom has a king-sized bed and it's own bathroom, in addition there is a 2nd bathroom, double bedroom and two bedrooms with twin-beds. Like Disney we like a little bit of theming so we have a beautiful Mickey & Friends bedroom with wrought iron Mickey ears beds, Disney artwork and little touches like the ears rug. We also provide hair dryers in both bathrooms.

We also provide a coffee maker, fridge and iron and board but unlike the hotel, my villa has a full kitchen with full-size fridge-freezer, cooker, microwave, kettle, pots/pans etc, crockery and cutlery - plus a full size washer and dryer - and plenty of space to sit and eat - we have seating for everyone - with 6 seats at the main dining room table and 4 seats at the smaller nook table.

So far it's looking good for the villa isn't it? And, remember that £3379 you're saving!!!!

The hotel has a nice pool area - well so do we. Ok, our pool isn't quite as large but then you don't have to share ours - and it doesn't close. In the cooler months, you'll also find ours is much warmer if you have the pool heating on. The hotel has plenty of loungers and chairs to relax but if you want to use one you'll have to get up early and put your towel down. In my villa you can wander out whenever you want and sit in the sun - these loungers - very comfortable padded ones too - are exclusively for you and the only people sitting on them will be you.

The hotel has a spa - but you might have to wait to get a turn in it. And when you do get your turn, you may well have to share. Oh, for exclusive access to the spa - where you can relax for as long as you like - even take a glass of wine perhaps without getting glares from impatient people waiting for their turn. Remember, there is no waiting your turn at the villa - every facilty we have is exclusively for you!!! Go on - you deserve it!

If  you want a larger pool for laps we can provide that too - although I can't guarantee you won't have to share the community pool, it's always much quieter than a hotel pool. The community also have a tennis court and basketball court - both of which have been recently refurbished and are in excellent condition and available only to residents and guests.

So, where was I? What other facilities does the hotel have on offer? Well there's the lounge and bar areas. The lounge areas have some nice comfy sofas to relax in although it's a bit public to put your feet up and there's no TV - back to your room for that. The lounge area in my villa is perfect for relaxing - comfy sofas - a convenient coffee table for your drinks - and a large 37" LCD TV with extended cable package - which means you can relax and catch up on British sport - yes, premiership football (England and Scotland) - no need to drive all over Orlando looking for a pub with the British sport on it when you stay in my villa. For those who're not so keen on sport, our cable TV shows a huge range of movies/sitcoms/comedy/cartoons etc as well - and best of all you can watch a different channel is every bedroom if you want to - so no more arguing over what to watch.

The hotel offers a video games room which is great but unless your kids are older you'll have to go down and supervise them so no putting your feet up. On the other hand, in my villa we have a games room - with pool table and a multi-activity fussball table - plus magnetic darts (no pointy bits!) and we have a playstation 2 with games as well. So plenty to keep the kids amused - and when the kids are happy!!!!!!!

What about restaurants and bars? Well, the hotel does have these - and the villa doesn't - sorry!!! BUT - we are within 2 minutes of Super-Walmart (open 24 hours a day) and two other supermarkets so you can stock up on beer/wine/soft drinks and bring them back to the vila with you where they will chill very nicely in our large fridge (and there's an ice maker in the freezer too). We even supply plastic glasses (even wine glasses) so you are very welcome to take drinks outside and relax on the pool deck (or in the spa) - I love a really cold glass of sparkling wine in the evening while lounging in the spa.

If it really has to be a bar, then there is one within walking distance - less than 5 minutes - which has a full liquor licence.

There are restaurants within walking distance although if you don't mind driving for 5-10 minutes you'll get such a huge selection it's hard to choose. And, there's always the option of eating in at the villa - either cooking yourself - how about a bbq? Or there are plenty of take aways nearby - many of which will deliver to the villa.

Have I convinced you yet? You've got to admit it's far better value to stay in a villa than a hotel - even if your party is a small one. All that space, all those exclusive amenities. Try it, you'll like it!

Now the only decisions to be made are when do you want to stay? Contact me now and I can help you with availability and provide a personal quote - http://www.floridaorlandovilla.com/

And, what are you going to spend that £3379 on that you've just saved? You can contact me about that too if you like - perhaps you'd like to stay an extra week!