When you own a home in Florida you very much take for granted exactly what you have and what you are renting out to guests.
On our recent trip to Ft Myers we stayed in a small privately owned hotel which was described to me as ‘Robinson Crusoe with efficiencies' and to be honest, I couldn't have put it better myself.
I had a vision in my mind of what to expect and I was pretty much spot on. Our apartment was made up of a bedroom with king sized bed (you could just about walk around the edge of it with your back pressed up against the wall), a bathroom with shower, basin and WC, a kitchenette with a fridge that just about held 12 bottles of beer, no dishwasher or cooker just a portable electric hot plate and a living area with a 42" TV. Off the living area was a screened room.
I promised myself that when I arrived I would not just tumble into the room but savor my first impressions. One word that summed them up was ‘OK'. It was clean but had a few issues here and there, there was a smell which wasn't unpleasant but had a hint of damp (I guess living right on the beach explained that one) but the overwhelming impression was of my Mom and Dad's static caravan they used to have in Wales, the floor didn't feel stable and when the guy above us (who I later learned was a rather large gentleman) walked across the floor the place trembled with every step. But, we were right on the beach, the steps from our balcony lead directly down to the icing sugar sand and azure blue waters of the gulf and that's really what our $140 plus tax per night paid for.
That said, it was still only OK. We came to realize very quickly that to the side of our room sat the 6 AC units that cooled ours and the other 5 rooms in our block - constantly it seemed. Whilst there were loungers to use, the presence of Germans in our hotel meant that you had to get in early to get a lounger and if you wanted to sit under one of the three tiki umbrellas then you had to be up before 6.00 am.
The sea was about 90 degrees BUT you had to shuffle your feet to avoid stepping on stingrays and I have a phobia about fish touching me so I was never that happy in the water, I would have much preferred a pool - something the hotel didn't have.
On our first night we struggled to find a decent restaurant to eat at and ended up at a burger joint. An observation that didn't sit well with me was that every restaurant we looked at on that first night, served their fare in plastic baskets, with plastic knives and forks and plastic glasses. The burger place we ate at served my Diet Coke in the can with a straw! Duane's flat beer in a plastic cup and the food in the customary plastic baskets - no silverware at all - all for the princely sum of $25.75! Not cheap, but it was OK.
Restaurants on the island itself were not quality at all and you had to travel inland to find anything decent. Not much to do during the evening either, the main attraction was the sunset and once that was all over, it was time for bed. I was very surprised though to find that their high season is January, February, March and April, perhaps that explains why we were the youngest people there!
It was a very relaxing 3 days away and ticked the boxes of allowing us to do absolutely nothing, the beach was to die for. However 3 days was enough and compared to staying in a house in Orlando there is just no comparison.
The accommodations we manage are luxurious, well equipped, spacious and very affordable, no fighting for the loungers, privacy, a pool with NO fish, and everything that Central Florida has to offer on your doorstep. You can be as relaxed or as busy as you want - you have a choice! If you want to eat out - you can and get served food on plate and a drink in a glass, if you want to stay home and cook - you can without trying to figure out how to use the hot plate that made up the cooking facilities - all kitchens are fully equipped with full sized everything and there is no washing up as all our homes have dishwashers!!!
I don't think that enough can be said to promote villas in Florida and until you have stayed in one you will not appreciate what I'm talking about. They are superbly equipped, luxurious, private and really are home from home.
So if you want to find out more about staying in one of these beautiful, well appointed homes, drop me a line, I'm sure I can find one to fit your needs and budget. I don't rent out the homes we manage, we put you directly in touch with the owners so everyone is getting a great deal with no commissions to leasing agents to cover.
Debbie Mansell
May 2009
