Congratulations!  You have chosen a truly magnificent place to stay!

Because of the quality of our villas and commitment to customer service, guest experience and feedback has been extremely positive.

 But one thing that is clear from reading other owners’ reviews is the importance of explaining clearly and carefully what to expect before, during and after your stay.  Misunderstandings are less likely to arise, and if something does go wrong we can put it right quickly and in the way we said we would. 

 We hope that you’ll have a great time, and we’ll do everything we can to make that happen! 

AT ALL TIMES

Responsiveness          

We appreciate the importance of providing you with a timely response, whether it is confirmation that your booking form or your payment has been received, or to any questions you ask us.

Our guests are thrilled by our responsiveness, it is a major strength for us, but due to the sheer level of interest we receive for our villas it can be easy for us to miss something.  Communication is a two-way street, so if you think we have missed something please don’t let frustration build, just let us know and we’ll get in touch as soon as possible.

BEFORE YOUR STAY

Multiple interest for the same dates

Such is the level of demand, it is very common for us that more than one guest will request to stay for overlapping dates.  The dates are held once a completed booking form has been received, a reservation deposit has been made and we have confirmed your reservation in writing.

Arrival information

One of the most common concerns we have from guests is that their stay is only a few days away and they have yet to receive their arrival information (keycodes and directions).  Don’t worry – this is planned – but as the information is sensitive we generally send it just a couple of days before you are due to arrive.  If you need it earlier, please let us know.

ACCESSING THE VILLA

Access to the villa

Access to the villa is by keycode.  The good news is that no special journey is required to go and pick up keys.  But you do need to take the keycodes with you and there is the risk something could go wrong!   If you have difficulty accessing the villa, keep calm, here’s what to do:

1.  Call* the contact numbers in the order given in the arrival information until you get a response.  It may be the middle of the night in the UK but call anyway if you can’t reach my property manager.  We can most likely sort things out over the phone.  If not, we’ll get someone to you ASAP.

2.    If step 1 fails send a text message to my property manager on his cellphone and an email** to the email addresses given.  You can use the internet connection from outside the villa if need be.  All details given in the arrival information. 

3.    If steps 1 and 2 fail, you could drive to my property manager’s house for assistance, details are given in the arrival information.

* A phone call is better as due to the time difference (6pm FL time is 11pm in UK) emails sent to a UK email address may not be received until the next morning (8am UK time is 3am FL time). 

** If you do send an email saying there is a problem but it has then been resolved, for my peace of mind and so that we don’t try to call you unnecessarily in the middle of the night, I’d really appreciate you sending a one word email saying “resolved”!

Back-to-back bookings

Treefield Villas are extremely popular and as a result it is common for us to have “back-to-back bookings” where one guest leaves in the morning and then the villa is cleaned for the next guest to arrive later in the afternoon.  In seven years, we have never had a problem getting the villa ready for the next guests, so problems are very unlikely, but not impossible due to circumstances beyond our control, for example if the previous guests left late or left the villa in a poor way.   

YOUR FIRST NIGHT

Phone call

I try to call each guest on their first night.  I may not be able to, for example, if you don’t get to the villa until quite late or if I’m working away from home, but if I can I will.  This is your vacation time, so it is just to check you’re happy, and if you have any questions that I can answer easily.  If I don’t get to speak with you, I hope you have a great time, please do get in touch if you need anything.

Supplies

It appears from other owners’ negative reviews that a minority of guests expected certain things such as refuse bags, kitchen roll, dishwasher powder, detergent etc to be included.  When renting a Disney-area villa these supplies are generally not provided as standard.  I don’t think any guest would have a big problem if they knew to expect this, given the nearby Publix or Walmart.

Cleaning

Our property management company appoints a cleaning team to clean before and after your stay, and then inspects their work. 

If the clean is not to your satisfaction when you arrive, the action is simple:

Please let me and my property manager know immediately and the cleaners will be sent back to fix any problems.  Please do not suffer in silence, or wait until after your stay to tell us.

This is important.  For the comfort of future guests, if the cleaners and/or the management company are not up to scratch, I really do need to know in order to make changes.

Pool cleaning

As is generally the case for Disney-area villas, pool cleaning is done on a given day each week, so this may not necessarily be the day that you arrive.  Any issues with the pool, please call the management company and if necessary they will send the pool cleaners back.

DURING YOUR STAY

Who to contact if any issues

Almost all owners of Disney-area vacation rental homes are not based locally, and so hire a management company to look after you during your stay. I will help where I can, but issues such as “How do I turn on the bubbles?” can usually be dealt with more easily by talking to the management company directly.  A quick phone call or email to them could save you a lot of time.   

Home maintenance

We spend a lot of time and money maintaining our villas.  But from time to time things may still go wrong.  For example, items such as air conditioning units, pool heaters and appliances can sometimes fail without warning.  If so, we’ll sort it out as soon as possible, so the earlier you let us know the quicker this will be!

Many issues can often be fixed that day and almost all issues in a further one to two days.  So it could be frustrating for guests who are only staying for four or five nights if something goes wrong as they could be left with an unfairly negative impression.  Please keep in mind that we will do our best to get any problems resolved quickly.

BBQ

Use of the BBQ is free, but if the gas runs out and more is needed then we leave it up to the guest to replace if they wish to continue using it.  Replacement gas cylinders are available from the local Publix or Walmart.

Bugs

It is important to clarify for guests how pest control works in Florida.  We pay an annual fee for unlimited pest control services.  As part of this, the perimeter of the villa is regularly treated, any bugs that cross the perimeter are killed. 

It is impossible to guarantee that bugs won’t get into the villa from time to time – any owner who says otherwise is not telling the truth – this is Florida after all!   But if you do see bugs inside the villa, here is what to do:

·         If they are not alive, this means the pest control is working and so they can just be removed, but please let us know if you see any.  If you do not wish to remove them yourself, again please let us know!

·         If they are alive, this means that re-treatment may be necessary.  If so, please let us know and we will get this done as soon as possible.  After all, this is included in the annual fee we pay.

Pool heating

If you choose optional pool heating, the pool temperature is set to 80° and the spa to 90°.  It’s just worth noting that:

·         you may find that the pool temperature on your first night may be cooler if the previous guests did not have pool heating and the heater has relatively recently been turned on

·         keeping the pool heater on longer than the programmed times may risk overloading it

·         if the weather is cold, the water may not reach these temperatures, but this is unusual

·         if the weather is very cold, the heater switches itself off as a safety measure, in which case we will refund pool heating costs in this period

·         if you have paid for pool heating but think that the heater may not be on please let the management company know immediately.  We will refund the cost of pool heating from when you tell us to when the heater is put on.

Internet access

Instructions are in the arrival information, in the guest book and on a sign in the villa.  Any problems, let us know.

Making phone calls

Free phone calls can be made to:  all regular USA, Canada and Mexico numbers – whether landline or cellphone – andlandline calls to the following European countries including the UK (currently Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City).  Mobile phone calls to Europe cost considerably more.

AFTER YOUR STAY

Return of security damage deposit

Around 95% of guests pay their security damage deposit by a separate check (cheque).  We will destroy it three weeks after your stay and only contact you if there is a problem, we have only needed to cash a deposit once in seven years.  If you’d like confirmation that everything was left fine and we won’t be cashing it and/or if you’d like it back, then please let us know.

For guests who pay the security damage deposit another way, where we need to refund it back to you (eg by bank transfer or PayPal), if we haven’t done this within three weeks of your stay, please get in touch.  It is very easy for this to get overlooked when so few guests pay the deposit this way.

Reviews

Reviews are vital to our success, and at the time of writing this document, we have had a 100% success rate of 5 star reviews.

“A magnificent place to stay!" is not just a slogan – it is at the heart of everything we do.  Perhaps other villas just aren’t as good!  Or perhaps other owners have not clarified what to expect.

Given our commitment to quality and customer service, but also having given a good insight as to what to expect, a less than 5 star review would be extremely upsetting.  We cannot promise that nothing will ever go wrong, but we can promise that if something does go wrong, that if you let us know we will get it sorted as positively and as quickly as possible. 

We do not actively solicit reviews as we want them to be from guests who feel as passionate as we do.  But if everything went well of course a 5 star review would be much appreciated.  If there were any problems and we did what we said we would in line with this document and the booking form T&Cs: it is our expectation that you will leave either a 5 star review or no review. 

Booking again

Our villas are extremely popular.  At the time of writing, the last seven repeat guests who enquired were all disappointed to learn that we did not have availability for their chosen dates the following year.  During your stay, it will become clear why our villas are so popular, and why it really is important to book as far in advance as possible.

AND FINALLY

 Ask questions!  This guide is intended to be friendly and helpful, and to remove some of the concerns you may have when renting a home in the Disney area.  But not every issue that could arise when renting a vacation home can be included.  So if you have any questions or comments, please contact us.