Welcome to the renovated Retreat by the Lake

The renovation is now complete and the villa is accepting rentals.  Many, many thanks to Rachel Whited for the beautiful photos she has taken.  Please go to our website where we have posted the full suite of pictures:  http://www.theretreatbythelake.com/

There are many lovely photos, but here is our hands down favorite/favourite.  Wish we were there.  

We're going scent-free

When we were looking for a villa to purchase last August, our realtor Dan Palmer of Team Donovan, shepherded us through 17 vacation homes in two days.  We noticed that in many of those houses there were strong scents from cleaning products and room fresheners.
We've decided that The Retreat will be scent-free as much as possible because there are many people who have environmental sensitivities and we want them to feel welcome in our villa.

All cleaning products used in the villa will be scent free and the linens will be laundered using scent free laundry detergent.  And, we are currently looking for a supply of non-scented guest soaps to provide for our guests.  

http://www.theretreatbythelake.com/

Decisions... decisions

Rachel Whited, the photographer who took the professional pictures of the villa last Sunday, has sent us the proofs to review.  It's a bit overwhelming... she took so many.... so many, in fact, that she had to send them to us in 4 separate emails.  We are finding it rather difficult to make our selections because they are all so wonderful.  However, we want to publish the pictures on our website and here on the blog, so tomorrow is our self-imposed deadline for letting Rachel know which ones want.  After that, she'll do whatever photographers do and then deliver the final pictures to us so we can share them with everyone.  I've added a link to her website on the left.

We've got pictures!

At long last, here are pictures of the Retreat.  They're not the professional ones.... Rachel was in yesterday to do the photo shoot and we'll have them in about a week or so.  In the meantime, here are some of Mike's pictures.

We'd love to know what you think... feel free to post a comment.


living area



dining room




 

master bedroom -  King



master bedroom - Queen



twin bedroom

Option 1: Mickey theme

Option 2: mature theme



second bathroom - 2 vanities



ensuite bathroom

The special things

We are putting the final touches on the Retreat..... so we can start listing the amenities that make this villa one of the very nicest in Orlando.  It's a long list.  Here goes:

4 bedrooms, 2 full baths
breath taking lake view with no rear neighbours
private pool - south facing with sun all day
covered lanai with ceiling fan
located close to the theme parks and golf courses
on a quiet cul de sac with no through traffic
fully renovated
professionally decorated with gorgeous original art
fully equipped modern kitchen
welcome package of coffee, tea and herbal tea
radio controlled solar clock
secure wireless internet access ... WiFi
flat screen TVs in all bedrooms and living room
Blu-ray in living room
DVD players in all bedrooms
PS2 + games in twin bedroom
internet radio
ipod dock/speakers
library of "vacation reads" including Rick Mofina's thrillers
board games
selection of family-oriented DVD movies
optional Mickey Mouse themed room (optional bedding)
new comfy beds
ceiling fans in all bedrooms
clock radios in all bedrooms
Egyptian cotton sheets on queen and king beds
selection of pillows
lots of soft fluffy towels
pool towels provided
deep soaker tub in master ensuite bath
tiled showers
make-up mirror in ensuite
hair dryers in bathrooms
green energy saving technologies
scent free
the very best professional property management team avalaible 24/7
and.....
really super owners who love the Retreat and don't want to leave....

We're absolutely delighted - some pictures

Here are some preliminary pictures, courtesy of Mike, of the master bedroom and the new hall bath.  We hope this will give you an idea of the quality of the renovation.  A suite of professional pictures providing a  full tour of this impressive place will be posted next week.

master bedroom - 32" HD TV

master bedroom - love the lamps!



hall bath



what we woke up to yesterday

We also want to share with you the view we had yesterday morning ... it was breathtaking.

Reminder:  any bookings made before January 15th will qualify for our special "take a chance on me" rates.  Please check the website and contact us at  theretreatbythelake01@gmail.com

website:  http://www.theretreatbythelake.com/

Blown away!

Mike and I travelled down to Florida on New Year's Eve for the "big reveal" and we were blown away.  This place is even more spectacular than we anticipated.  The work has been first class and the decorating is absolutely gorgeous.  There is still a little bit of tweaking to do, e.g., installation of new blinds and a new bookcase.  Photos will be done probably on the weekend for posting on the website next week, but we'll see if we can post some preliminary ones here on the blog in a day or so.

We've been running around all over Orlando picking up all the special extras for the villa:  internet radio (we're listening to Ottawa Morning on CBC right now), Ipod dock/speakers, kitchen equipment, Disney dinnerware for kids, etc.  We will be posting a full list of all the amenities as soon as I'm finished the shopping.

We hope to have all the work done by the weekend to ready the villa for rentals.... so, we can sit back, relax and enjoy this wonderful place ourselves.  The weather has been absolutely wonderful here... we are taking credit for it  :-)