How to Choose the Right Orlando Villa for Your Family

One of the great things about an Orlando villa holiday is the amount of choice available.

But that can also make choosing your villa surprisingly difficult.

How many bedrooms do you really need? Is a games room important?

Should you choose a villa on a resort with a clubhouse? How close should you be to Disney World? Do you need a south-facing pool? And is the cheapest villa necessarily the right one?

With so many Orlando villas to choose from, the secret is to decide what really matters to your family before you start searching. Here are some of the things we suggest considering.

1. Start with the right number of bedrooms – not just the number of guests

It's tempting to start by searching for a villa that simply sleeps the number of people travelling.

But think about who is actually going to sleep where.

A family of 6 could theoretically fit into a 3-bedroom villa, but would everyone be happy with the sleeping arrangements?

If grandparents are travelling, they may prefer their own bedroom and bathroom. Teenagers might appreciate having separate rooms. 2 families travelling together may each want a master bedroom.

An extra bedroom can sometimes make a considerable difference to how well the villa works for your group.

Before searching, work out your ideal sleeping arrangements rather than simply counting heads.

2. Think about bathrooms too

Bedrooms tend to get most of the attention, but bathrooms can be just as important.

Getting a large family ready for an early start at the theme parks is considerably easier with several bathrooms.

If 2 families are sharing a villa, look at where the bathrooms are positioned and whether there are multiple en-suite facilities.

The layout can sometimes matter more than the overall size of the villa.

3. Decide how important the private pool is

For many families, having their own private swimming pool is one of the main reasons for choosing an Orlando villa holiday. But pools differ.

Look at the photographs and description carefully. Is there plenty of pool deck space? Is there a spa? Does the pool overlook another villa, a conservation area, a lake or woodland?

If you're travelling during the cooler months, you may also want to consider adding pool heating.

Don't become too fixated on whether a pool faces north, south, east or west. The amount of sunshine reaching a pool can also be affected by the time of year, surrounding buildings, trees and the position of the house.

Think instead about how you expect to use the outside space.

4. Games room, cinema room or neither?

A games room can sound essential when you're booking an Orlando villa – but ask yourself how much you'll actually use it.

For families planning long days at Disney World and Universal Orlando, it might be relatively unimportant.

For families deliberately building rest days into their holiday, a games room, cinema room or games console could be much more valuable.

Teenagers in particular might appreciate having another area of the villa where they can spend some time.

These facilities can be great additions, but don't pay more for features your family is unlikely to use.

5. How important are resort facilities?

Some Orlando villa communities have extensive facilities, including resort swimming pools, clubhouses, gyms, children's play areas, sports facilities and sometimes restaurants or bars.

Others are primarily residential communities without resort-style amenities. Neither is automatically better.

If you have younger children and expect to spend several days away from the theme parks, a resort with a large communal pool and other facilities could be high on your list.

On the other hand, if you're planning to spend most days exploring Orlando and already have a private pool at your villa, you may decide you'll hardly use a clubhouse.

Think about what you'll genuinely use rather than choosing a resort simply because it has the longest list of facilities.

6. Location matters – but understand what “close to Disney” means

Most established Orlando villa communities are located around Kissimmee, Davenport, Clermont and Haines City, giving holidaymakers a wide choice of locations within driving distance of Disney World and the other Orlando attractions.

Don't choose purely on a claimed drive time.

Disney World itself is enormous, traffic conditions vary and the time it takes to reach different parks can be very different.

A villa that appears a few miles further away on a map may sometimes have easier road access than one that looks closer.

It's also worth remembering that Universal Orlando and SeaWorld are in more hotel-orientated areas. Most holiday villas are concentrated further south and west, particularly around the Disney area.

Look at the overall location and road connections rather than becoming obsessed with saving a few minutes on a particular journey.

7. Consider what is nearby

You won't spend your entire holiday at the theme parks. At some point you'll probably want a supermarket, restaurant, pharmacy, takeaway or coffee shop.

For some families, having a Publix supermarket and a selection of restaurants a short drive away is more useful than shaving a couple of miles off the journey to a theme park.

If you enjoy eating out, look at what is available around the community you're considering.

8. Look carefully at the photographs

Photographs give you a very good idea of the style, layout and facilities of a villa.

Look beyond the first photograph of the pool.

Check the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, living areas and outside space. If you're particularly interested in a games room, cinema room or themed children's bedroom, make sure you know exactly what the villa offers.

At Debbie's Villas, we aim to show our properties consistently so customers can compare different homes more easily.

But photographs should be considered alongside all the other information available rather than being the only reason for choosing a villa.

9. Read the description – not just the headline

2 villas with the same number of bedrooms can be very different. The description should help you understand what makes each property suitable for different families.

Look for the features that matter to you – perhaps an en-suite bedroom downstairs for grandparents, a lake view, themed bedrooms for the children, a spa, a games room or access to resort facilities.

You may discover that a villa you initially overlooked is actually much better suited to your family.

10. Read recent guest reviews

Reviews can be extremely useful when choosing an Orlando villa. Previous guests may mention things you hadn't considered, such as how well the layout worked for 2 families, how much their children enjoyed the pool or how useful they found the resort facilities.

Don't necessarily dismiss a villa because of a single negative comment either. Holiday homes are used throughout the year and occasionally something will need attention. Look at the overall pattern of reviews and, importantly, how recent they are.

A collection of recent reviews can give you much more useful information than a single comment from several years ago.

11. Don't choose on price alone

Everyone has a holiday budget, and price is understandably an important part of choosing a villa.

But compare like with like.

A lower-priced villa may have fewer facilities, be in a different location or simply have a more traditional interior. Another might cost more because it has a larger pool deck, additional bedrooms, a cinema room or extensive resort facilities.

Neither is necessarily better value.

The question is whether you are paying for features that matter to your family.

12. Think about how you'll actually spend your holiday

This is perhaps the most important consideration of all. Imagine a typical day.

Will everybody be leaving early for the theme parks and returning late at night?

Will grandparents occasionally stay at the villa while the rest of the family goes out?

Will you have several days when you don't leave the villa at all?

Are you likely to cook meals at home?

Will the children spend hours in the pool?

Once you picture how your family will actually use the villa, it becomes much easier to identify the features worth paying for.

Don't forget who you're booking with

Choosing the right villa is important – but so is choosing who you book it through.

A villa holiday can represent a significant investment, so look beyond the property itself.

Check who you are paying, what financial protection applies to your booking, how long the company has been established and, importantly, who you can contact if you need help before or during your holiday. Debbie's Villas is a long-established UK Orlando villa specialist and an ABTA member, and our eligible flight-inclusive package holidays are ATOL protected.

We also inspect and approve the villas we offer rather than simply allowing anybody to add a property to our website.

That additional reassurance can be every bit as important as deciding whether you want a games room or a south-facing pool.

Finally – don't search for the “perfect” villa

With so much choice, it's very easy to keep looking.

You find a villa you love, then wonder whether another might have a slightly larger pool. Then you find one with a cinema room but prefer the bedrooms in the first. Before long, you've opened 20 browser tabs and can't remember which villa you originally liked!

Instead, make a short list of your priorities.

Perhaps yours looks something like this: Must have: 4 bedrooms, private pool, 2 master suites and within our budget. Would like: Spa, games room and a lake view. Not important Resort clubhouse and themed bedrooms.

Once you separate the essentials from the nice-to-haves, choosing your Orlando vacation villa becomes much easier.

And if you're still struggling to decide, talk to us.

We know our villas and the communities they're located in, and sometimes a quick conversation about your family, your plans and what's important to you can narrow hundreds of Orlando villas down to a handful that are much better suited to your holiday.

After all, the right Orlando villa isn't necessarily the biggest, the closest or the most expensive.

It's the one that works best for your family.