FAQ – Windsor Palms Vacation Rental

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers to the questions below are specifically in regards to our own personal townhouse (2370 Silver Plam) within Windsor Palms Community in Kissimmee, Florida, USA. We sometimes help people rent other properties within the same complex, and other places near by. Some of the answers below likely do not apply to those units. If something is critically important to you then please ask.

 

Health of Condo Community

While some condo communities in the Orlando/Kissimmee area are struggling financially our community was very healthy as of April 2010. Feel comfortable in booking without having to worry whether the property/community is in danger of foreclosure. We bought the property in March 2011 and plan to be there for years to come. The community has a healthy reserve funds so it too should be there, and in good shape, for years and years.

 

Phone Calls:

Calling within the US is toll free, the phone is on an unlimited calling plan for calls made within the USA.
You get 210 minutes of free calling to Canada for a 7 night stay (prorated for shorter or longer stays)
It is possible for us to turn on a voicemail service during your stay but there would be a $15.00 set up fee.
International calls must be charged to a calling card or you need to call collect. If you make any International calls that are charged back to the townhome phone you will be billed back for those charges including a $15.00 processing charge.
You will be billed back for any calls to 1(900) or other pay/minute (beyond long distance toll charge) type services.
You can receive local or long distance calls, the phone# is 407-397-2308.

 

Check In/Out Times:

Check In is 4:00 PM or later, Check Out is 10:0 AM or earlier. These times allow our cleaning staff to prepare the vacation rental in between guests.

 

Quiet Time

Since these are residential buildings, the condo corporation rules state that everyone must observe quiet time from 10:00 PM to 8:00 AM.

 

Will I pay tax on the rental?

Yes, you will pay tax. The state of Florida, and the local country charge taxes, for any stays of 6 months or less, and we must collect them on their behalf. The total tax rate is 13%.

 

Smoking Is Not Allowed

The townhouse is smoke free, no smoking is allowed in the townhouse, or throughout common area buildings, such as the clubhouse.

 

Keys

The townhouse is equiped with an electronic keypad. You will receive a time sensitive code that will allow you to enter as you please during your stay. You will be provided with your unique access code to our townhome about 10 days before your arrival. If you need it with more lead time please let us know. The fitness center in the clubhouse is restricted to 18 years and older, you get the 4 digit code from the tuck shop at the clubhouse.

 

Parking

The property comes with one private parking pad right outside the front door. There are lots of visitor parking spots right across the street, and through out the gated community. We are just under a 5 minute walk to the club house. There is plenty of additional parking at the clubhouse. There is no overnight parking of RV’s or trailers on community property.

 

No Pets

We love pets but they are not allowed at this particular property. It just keeps things simple around noise complaints, allergies, damages, etc.

 

Can I get a refund on the taxes paid?

No.

 

How does cleaning the unit work?

We pay to have the unit professionally cleaned after guests leave so the unit will be clean for you when you arrive and cleaned after you leave. We do ask that you leave the unit neat & tidy but you don’t need to vacuum, wipe down mirrors, etc., on your last day. We do ask that you do the dishes, there is a dishwasher, before leaving and put items back roughly where you found them but everything else is looked after for you.

 

Is there an Internet connection?

Yes, the connection is up to 10Mb/s download and up to 1.5 Mb/s upload. With a wi-fi connection. You need to provide the laptop. It is from a company named CenturyLink. The wi-fi connection details are printed on the modem in the downstairs bedroom. We do not support the wi-fi connection. If your pc or mac is set to receive an IP address from a DHCP server it should connect without problems. If it doesn’t try unplugging the modem for 30 seconds. Next try a wired Ethernet connection, you will need an Ethernet jack on your computer (RJ45 Female connector – this is the normal port for DSL or Cable Internet). We will not guarantee what your speed will be, or even that the service will be up (although the up time tends to be over 99% up time). We do not provide personally provide technical support on the connection. If that fails you can call CenturyLink – support# is listed on the modem. The provider’s Internet help page is: http://www.centurylink.com/Pages/Support/ which should help provided you can connect to it. Their technical support phone# is available (24/7/365) at this phone#: 1-877-290-5458.

The SMTP server (needed to send e-mail out from your computer) will work with your own SMTP connections. CenturyLink does not block a connection and force you to use their SMTP connection.

A basic Ethernet cable is at the unit provided a previous guest didn’t pack it up by accident.

 

Are there grocery stores near by?

Yes, we are 2 miles away from Highway 192 which is Kissimmee’s major road and it has plenty of grocery stores. There is also a tuck shop (small convenience store in the local clubhouse to get basic necessities like toothpaste.

 

Are there any restaurants near by?

Yes, there are many restaurants, from inexpensive, to upscale. Google Map’s link showing nearby restaurants (our vacation rental townhouse is represented by the green arrow):

 

What is the weather like, what should I pack?

Coming Soon

 

Is there much noise near by?

It is located near the end of a dead end street, within a gated community and backs on to a local conservation area. It is located just under a 5 minute walk from the Clubhouse so you experience no noise from the clubhouse. We have never received any noise complaints from previous guests. We are located on the extreme west side of Windsor Palms. Some of the properties on the east side of Windsor Palms do hear traffic from the 429 Toll Road. You don’t hear this noise at our town home and I’ve never heard 429 traffic noises at the Windsor Palms club house.

 

How close is the condo complex to Walt Disney World?

The vacation rental is less than a 10 minute drive to the park gates. Our activites page lists distances to many of the local amusement parks.

 

How close is the Orlando International Airport?

The vacation home is usually about a 35 minute drive, or slightly less with no traffic and good weather. It is just under 27 miles away.

 

Is the townhouse wheelchair accessible?

Basically, the set up is not ideal for a wheelchair; however, we get asked the question occasionally so here is some information. There is one small step at the front door. The doors inside the townhouse are 30 inches wide (the actual doorway openings in the unit by the time you add the door jam, etc., are about 29.5 inches wide. The main floor is fairly spacious so there would be room to maneuvre a wheelchair. The main bedroom is fairly close to the front door with fairly decent access. There are no handrails in the main floor bathroom.

 

Trip Insurance questions?

We recommend you get some type of trip insurance. Any funds paid to us (and likely your flights, etc) are non refundable. We see at least one person a year who needs to cancel due to illness, or a family emergency. Please get some type of insurance to cover off the unforeseen events which do happen. Here is a 3rd party link to various trip insurance plans; however, you will need to verify with the insurance company that the plan you pick covers all of your needs: http://www.insuremytrip.com/, or http://www.insurmytrip.ca (for Canadians).

 

What type of beds are in the condo?

Having a bad back I know what it is like to need a comfortable bed. The bedrooms have higher end mattresses on the beds. We’ve never had a complaint about their comfort level. The sofa bed is a sofa bed though, a sofa bed mattress just can’t compare to a higher end bed mattress (since a sofa mattress is built to constantly fold in to the coach they just are never as comfortable). Our nephews and neice have used the sofa bed and have been perfectly comfortable.

 

Is there a hairdryer in the townhouse?

Yes – there is a hairdryer in each bathroom

 

What Type of Last Minute Discounts Do We Give?

We do give last minute discounts based on the number of nights and time of year but not for requests where the stay is more than 28 days before the booking.

 

Here is our discount schedule.

10% discount for stays within 4 weeks of booking
15% discount for stays within 3 weeks of booking 20% discount for stays within 2 weeks of booking
25% discount for stays within 1 week of booking

You may choose to see if the property is still available closer to your actual arrival and book within our discount period.

 

What Type of Property Management Do We Have?

We found that we didn’t like dealing with the larger management companies when we were booking as guests in other peoples’ properties prior to buying our own place and that many of our guests feel the same way. Therefore, we have installed an electronic key pad that allows you to set your own 3 to 6 digit code that is easy to remember. You do not need to find and stop in to a property manager’s office to pick up a key, code or package from them. You have our personal contact information in this email. We are a husband and wife that own the property. We do have a small local property management company that we work with. They provide fantastic service at a fair price and we pass the savings along from working with this company to you. Should you need an onsite contact for something they are close by.

 

Seeing the Property before your rental

Occassionally someone asks us if they can view the property before their rental. This is okay in between rentals if the property manager is present. We cannot show the property if it is rented to a guest when you wish to view it. We have a video of the property here: http://www.discovervr.com/kissimmee/video-gallery/