WELCOME

Welcome to our blog about our Orlando vacation villa: The Retreat by the Lake. Here we will be posting updates about the newly renovated house and its availability as a rental villa when we are unable to be there ourselves.
We started this blog in the middle of November, 2010 to chronicle the renovation of the villa. Please see the archive (lower left) to read all about the how the reno went and how The Retreat became a luxury 5-star vacation home where you could stay on your next trip to Orlando to visit the awesome theme parks, to enjoy the many wonderful golf courses in the area, to watch baseball spring training, or for a pre- or post-cruise excursion.
Please feel free to leave your comments about our postings... we'd love to hear from you and what you think about The Retreat.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Verdict Is In: Part Four

This is a new review from some guests who have been going to the villa, under the previous owners, for a number of years.  The fact that they have been repeat guests speaks to the wonderful location of the villa... south facing pool, close to everything but in a secluded community, etc. 
They are in a unique position to assess the quality of the renovation we have done as well as the upscale accommodation and service that we are striving to provide.  Looks like we exceeded expectations.
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Review #1538161 "Our Secret Spot"
We've been staying at this Villa almost twice a year for the past 7 years...and when we heard you had completely renovated everything - we couldn't wait to check it out! To say we were blown away does not even begin to describe the changes. New EVERYTHING! From the fully equipped kitchen (and we cooked almost daily) to the grille outside - nothing else was needed. Beds, linens - all top shelf. Cleanliness? Spotless. LCD's in every room, dvd players, satt radio, wifi and playstations...along with a brand new pool table and darts - kept us all busy. But our favourite part is the pool - the fully screened in, heated pool is where we spent most of our time. Early mornings and evenings we spent fishing the lake (full of largemouth bass) directly behind the Villa. We normally drive but flew this time ...and couldn't bring our gear - then we saw there's 4 rods supplied in the game room, complete with tackle! We picked up a dozen worms at Wal-Mart and our 2 kids were soon busy reeling in 1 - 2lb bass almost non-stop. We've always loved the Villa for the location. It sits backyard facing south - sun all day on the pool and lake...in a quiet, gated community - close enough to everything, but far enough to enjoy the peace and quiet. Restaurants galore less than 5 minutes away. We enjoyed Joe's Crabshack, Kobe Japanese Steakhouse, Smokey Bones and Crabby Bills. Disney is only 10 minutes away - and we also saw Pirates 4D in Downtown Disney. Brand new Super Target and Wal-Mart are practically right around the corner, and we visited the Vans Skatepark and Bass Pro Shop at the Festival Mall. Great job Karen and Mike! We can't wait to come back! Joe, Debbie, Meghan (11) and Travis (9) Longbeach, ON, Canada