When you plan your Orlando vacation package and you’re looking at Florida vacation homes, it’s worth remembering that you have a choice of different community types. There are thousands of Florida short term rentals in dozens of communities close to the Magic Kingdom - some are comprehensive “resorts” that have lots of extras such as a club house and a community pool, while others are regular sub-divisions containing nothing other than homes. Let’s take a look at a few typical communities to clarify the differences.
Simplest of all are the regular residential communities that are zoned for short-term rentals and where a number of properties have absentee owners. One of the better examples is Grand Reserve, located on the Ronald Reagan Parkway in Davenport, Florida. Of the 100+ homes in this gated community, approximately 35 are Florida vacation homes. Due to the relatively small number of homes and the extensive amount of land retained as conservation, the community has a very open and spacious feel to it.
Because it was conceived as simply a residential community, there are no additional facilities but it is a quiet and safe place to walk or even ride a bicycle. But all of the vacation homes have their own private screened pool and some owners have equipped their homes with every possible additional feature - computer games, a separate games room with pool table or ping pong table and even some exercise equipment.
Shops, restaurants and theme parks are close to Grand Reserve, which is why the Orlando homes there are so popular. Driving to I4 (exit 58, ChampionsGate) is a trip of only five minutes that takes you past a supermarket, restaurants and other shops. Many more shops, restaurants and Malls can be reached within an additional 10-30 minute journey, depending on the amount of traffic on the roads. The Disney World theme parks are a drive of about ten to fifteen minutes away, with Sea World and Universal taking about twice that length of time.
In comparison, the second category of community (”resort” style) is usually gated and offers a wide range of additional facilities for guests. Typically much larger than the size of Grand Reserve, a resort community has the vast majority of properties established as vacation homes.
One instance of this type of community is Emerald Island. Containing only a very low proportion of permanent residents, most of these Orlando homes belong to absentee owners who value the 24/7 security gate and the leisure facilities - as do the vacation home renters!
The Emerald Island Clubhouse has a gymnasium, cyber cafe and games room. There is a community pool, volleyball, tennis courts and childrens play area. If you like to walk there are nature trails to explore. The clubhouse also sells newspapers and offers information for guests.
For shoppers, Mile Marker 4 of Highway 192 is only five minutes or so by car from Emerald Island (follow Funie Steed Road and turn left onto Formosa Boulevard) - there you can enjoy many restaurants and shops. If that’s not enough, an additional 15 - 20 minutes drive will give you the choice of various Malls.
The final type of community is the condo style properties. In concept they are very similar to the “resort” type of community and indeed many resort communities contain both single family homes and condos. Obviously condo renters can only use the community pool in the absence of the private screened pool enjoyed at a single family home.
Villas at Island Club, close to Mile Marker 2 on Highway 192, is one example of a condo community. Facilities include a gym, tennis and volleyball courts, two communal pools and a games room. A range of restaurants, shops and supermarkets are only five minutes away along the 192.
There are many more communities than those listed above offering Florida vacation homes and the extra facilities offered vary from community to community. So when you are choosing the perfect Orlando home for your vacation check out what the sub division has to offer.