Southern Dunes Villas

4 readers found this review helpful

The Holiday was a fantastic experience. Florida is a fantastic place to visit, with lots of activities and theme parks to see and do. The weather was OK, due to the time of year, there was a fair bit of rain. Shopping is brilliant as goods cost a lot less. I couldn't wait to go back again.
As for the Villa, it was great. Located on a golf course with a private swimming pool was beautiful in itself. To come back after a day out and 'chill out' beside your own pool is awesome. The facilities within the villa were lovely. The location of the villa was fine, but maybe could have been closer to the theme parks to garner a higher rating.

5 readers found this review helpful

My family and I have just returned from a two week vacation in Orlando, our third time in 4 years, we spent our first week in a 4 bedroom villa in the Southern Dunes complex, and our second week in the Marriott Courtyard at Lake Buena Vista.
Southern Dunes is located on route 27 (exit 55 off I-4), close to Haines City and approx 40mins from I-Drive. Apart from a large Wal-Mart a Winn Dixie's and a couple of fast food restaurants the surrounding area is pretty bleak - mostly trailer parks and garages. The complex itself is well maintained but very quiet during the day, there is a golf course on-site which meanders through the villas and is not much of a challenge for mid to low handicappers and approx $45 a round.
The clubhouse is very pleasant and offers a buffet breakfast and a lunch menu every day, the staff are a little stand-offish and it closes at 7.00pm - so no late night drinking sessions here. I did say it was quiet during the day but in the early hours of the morning all hell breaks loose! at approx 3.00am every morning a train passes by with all sorts of bell claxons and horns blaring for approx 5-10mins and some mornings at approx 5am another one would follow, we were also awoken every morning by the lawn sprinklers which came on at approx 6am an spray directly onto the bedroom windows.
The villa itself was very nice and well maintained with plenty of linens and towels. Traveling to Disney parks or Universal will take approx 30 - 40 mins and sometimes more during morning and evening rush hours. One thing to ask your travel agent about is the registration form the letting agent insists on you signing - according to them state law requires tenants of the villas to sign a form and leave a $300 deposit or leave your credit card details, which makes you liable for any charges which may occur after you have left such as phone bills, refuse charges (if you leave too much rubbish), damages etc.
This may seem fair enough but I could not help but wonder who decides if its too much rubbish, who says who damaged something in the villa or when it was damaged and once the charge has been made against you credit card you can be sure it would be very difficult to get it reimbursed. My overall rating of 2 out of 10 reflects mostly on the location of Southern Dunes and not the villa itself.
If you are a family who intends to visit the parks during the day and have a nice meal and a few beers in the evening, then this is not the place for you - find a villa or hotel near LBV (Lake Buena Vista) and save yourself a lot of hassle. Any of the Marriott’s, Homewood Suites or the Radisson on I-Drive are your best bet.