UPDATED w/ more PICS!! At WH's right now and need some advice from former visitors...

[At World's End]

I don't know how to do it, but people on the DISigns board set up a specific photobucket account and then just add a link to it in their post. Then whoever is interested could just click on that link and see all of the pictures.

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

I would only pick two or three, the worst ones, and post them if I were you. Keep in mind that you don't have to prove yourself to anyone here. For instance, I would not post a photo of the bugs. FL is known for a lot of bugs. We had a thing that looked like a huge roach in our unit, were told it is a bug that is common down there. I know that they have different bugs in FL than we do as my sister lives down there so that is no big deal to me unless the place was infested with them. Also, scratched up cookware is common at condos as we always rent condos at other places than WH too and they always have crap for cookware. They keep the good stuff in the owner''s closet. This irritates us each time but there is nothing we can do about it. We still choose to stay in condos due to the value and space. We had yellow towels, that really surprised me as that was a first for us. We just wrote it off as "oh well towels get old and we are washing them so no big deal". Sure I'd rather things would have been better but they were not and we will not rent the same unit again or from the same group of people.

Sorry it is taking so long to upload the pics. I have to upload them to photobucket and it is taking forever. Because they are so big, I have to resize them, crop them, etc. I have a ton of pics to weed though because I took different angles and such to cover my bum should anything come back at us. Does anyone have a request as to what you want pics of? I have the worn stuff, the yellow stained pillows, the disgusting yuck that was all over the front of the dishwasher the day we arrived, bugs in my daughter's room that they said were lovebugs but I'm sure you'll agree are not , the scratched up cookware, etc. If you have something in particular you want a pic of, please let me know so I can post only those that are helpful. LOL Otherwise, this is going to take FOREVER and I'm sure DIS would prefer I not post 200 or even 20 pics of townhouse issues. LOL

 

[kidshop]

I bet I know who you are speaking of lol. Interestingly enough, since this thread was started, this owner sent out a survey asking questions. One of them was do you believe what is said on forums such as the DisBoards. lol. I answered yes. I'll never rent from that person again. I put that in there too. This person is a total jerk.

Yeah, I got the survey. I thought that was pretty interesting. I actually didn't answer that particular question about whether I believe people who post reviews. Does that mean I shouldn't believe the bad ones or the good ones too? Honestly I do believe them. I also know people have a wide frame for reference on what is clean enough or nice enough and I consider that too.


This one experience wouldn't stop me from renting from them. I have before, in townhome and everything was exactly as described. If it keeps coming up in reviews though, that would be a problem. We shall see!

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

His survey was put together fast with little thought to what he was was asking as his options were too narrow. He threw in that last part that said something to the effect "because people always tell the truth" as if to challenge what people are saying. Given I just retired from being a Professor, I know how to write well written surveys, his was not well written, it was laughable IMO. For instance, he asked if one would stay at WH again whereas he should have asked if one would rent from him again. I will stay at WH again but not rent from him.

Yeah, I got the survey. I thought that was pretty interesting. I actually didn't answer that particular question about whether I believe people who post reviews. Does that mean I shouldn't believe the bad ones or the good ones too? Honestly I do believe them. I also know people have a wide frame for reference on what is clean enough or nice enough and I consider that too.


This one experience wouldn't stop me from renting from them. I have before, in townhome and everything was exactly as described. If it keeps coming up in reviews though, that would be a problem. We shall see!

 

[Ed J]

I'd like to see photos .

I believe you when you say you were not satisfied with the accommodations.

But based on 32 loads of wash IMO you are OCD or exaggerating, either one is a loss for the owner / management company. So photos would help.

 

[duffy]

Yeah, my mind is still blown over having to do 32 loads of laundry.

 

[duffy]

Like, right now, I've done over 25 loads of laundry since Saturday!! Just because I've had to do all the sheets, towels, extra sheets, etc. Of course, our clothes are in there too, but still. But, when I was washing the master sheets, all that is in the master closet as extras are 2 king sized pillowcases. No extra sheets. No blankets. Knowing the comforter has not been likely cleaned in quite some time, we haven't used it, so it's been chilly sleeping with just the top sheet at night. Oh well. The kids rooms only have extra sheet sets. No blankets. Just the comforters that are on the beds. The downstairs bedroom did have a throw blanket, but the extra sheets for that room, like I said in an earlier post, are mismatched, etc. I don't get it. I don't think there are even sheets for the pullout in the living room, should we have needed to use it. I don't know. The master bath had 2 bath towels. No hand towels, no washcloths. The boys bathroom had 2 small bath towels, no hand towels, no washcloths. The downstairs bathroom had 2 decorative bath towels and 1 hand towel. The linen closet had a mismatch of different towels and washcloths available, but still, not what you would expect for a place that sleeps this many.

My bolding.

25 loads since Saturday, 10/02, and this was posted on 10/07??

And there's so few towels and blankets? Even if you're washing your own clothes, and the few towels and blankets that there are, 25 loads in 5 days??? Were you washing full loads?

I honestly don't know how you had time to go to the parks, if you're doing an average of 5 loads of laundry per day. And if you were there a week, and did 32 total, that's still almost 5 loads each day.

 

[crusoe2]

I came to this thread a little late but have been following it with interest since I found out that the OP was talking about a unit she rented thru Dave Robinson's site. We've rented from 2 different owners on that site and were very happy with both units. One of them was not quite as well out-fitted as the other but both were very comfortable and our dealings with everyone - Dave, the owners, and Donna Craven - were pleasant. As a matter of fact, I was very surprised to see any negative review at all about Donna - we've spoken with her on both of our previous stays at Windsor Hills and she was extremely nice both times. The first time we were having a problem logging onto the wireless I'net and it took a few phone calls to figure out the problem and get it fixed. Not only was she very pleasant and attentive, she followed up with us later in the trip to make sure everything was still okay.

In all fairness to Donna and the maintenance man, consider what it must have looked like to come in and find the bar stools missing, expensive electronics disconnected and moved from their designated spots, and no evidence of the lack of cleanliness that the renter had called complaining about. I'm not saying that the OP did anything wrong or misled them in anyway. But if you clean up the mess before you call the property manager, how are they to know if there was ever really that big a problem in the first place?

I'm also wondering how there could have been 32 loads of laundry to do. One of my few complaints about our last condo experience was that the unit was a little lean on bath linens. There were 4 of us and there really were only enough towels for 2, maybe 3, showers each before we had to wash them up again. And given that it was really, really hot that week we were taking more showers than usual so we had to wash the towels a few times that week. But we did nowhere near 32 loads of laundry.

As others have posted, I would really like to see photos. Especially since we just booked one of the townhouses from this site for our next trip.

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

If this is a 4-6 bedroom home and she did the sheets/pillowcases/bedspreads/blankets/pillows, etc. She could easily do 32 loads of laundry. I've done 8 loads in one day at my house so it is feasible that she did 32 loads.

I wish everyone would stop judging her as she does not have to prove anything to anyone on this forum.

 

[crusoe2]

If this is a 4-6 bedroom home and she did the sheets/pillowcases/bedspreads/blankets/pillows, etc. She could easily do 32 loads of laundry. I've done 8 loads in one day at my house so it is feasible that she did 32 loads.

I wish everyone would stop judging her as she does not have to prove anything to anyone on this forum.

It was my understanding that she rented a 3 bedroom townhouse. I don't believe that the group she rented from has anything larger than that at Windsor Hills.

As for wishing to see the pictures, I don't mean to judge but, based on my own experiences, I can't help but be a bit skeptical. I'm actually hoping that pictures might ease my mind about the reservation I currently have with Vacation Central Florida.

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

we were there a few months ago and we met Donna, etc. our unit was filthy. i did not take any photos, we just won't go thru them again.

It was my understanding that she rented a 3 bedroom townhouse. I don't believe that the group she rented from has anything larger than that at Windsor Hills.

As for wishing to see the pictures, I don't mean to judge but, based on my own experiences, I can't help but be a bit skeptical. I'm actually hoping that pictures might ease my mind about the reservation I currently have with Vacation Central Florida.

 

[duffy]

If this is a 4-6 bedroom home and she did the sheets/pillowcases/bedspreads/blankets/pillows, etc. She could easily do 32 loads of laundry. I've done 8 loads in one day at my house so it is feasible that she did 32 loads.

I wish everyone would stop judging her as she does not have to prove anything to anyone on this forum.

There's a difference between judging and having honest questions, in the interest of staying there myself. I've done 8 loads a day, but not much else got done that day. I wasn't on vacation those days I did that much laundry!!

I can't conceive how I would ever wash all the sheets/pillowcases/bedspreads/blankets/pillows etc. if I rented a home!! I'd be furious if I had to do all that. If this place requires me to do that, I'm not renting there, ever.

If I were to book here, would I end up being forced to do 32 loads in a week? Would I have to wash every single blanket, towel, pillowcase, etc.? So, yes, I question the amount.

She said that there weren't extra blankets, and few towels. Only the comforters on each bed. Even if she washed all of them, and a comforter is a single load, that's a lot of laundry, but still--32 loads? We don't know how many comforters she had to wash, though.

It still begs the question: If I have to wash an average of 4-5 loads per day, when would I have time to go to the parks?? When you washed 8 loads a day, were you also away at theme parks?

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

when we were there we did not think the sheets looked washed so we put them in the washer and waited for it to get done, put them in the dryer, went to dinner, came back, made the beds, etc. we didn't use the bedspreads as they were not clean, they smelled odd. we did not wash those as it was too much work. the towels were all yellowed, washed them, they were just old, overused towels. we did not do 32 loads but i'd say we did approx. 10 during a weeks stay.

the sofa had hard black stuff embedded in it, gross, yes. we put a blanket over the sofa to avoid contact with it.

the toilets were not cleaned around the toilet seat (the back part with the hinges, so i had to clean that).

there was a lot wrong with our unit including the internet not working.

we did tell donna all of this stuff, she was nice about it, contacted the maid service but when one is staying in the unit if you want it cleaned you have to just clean it.

plates, cups, silverware were dirty too.

we didn't have an issue with donna, just the cleanliness of the condo. donna wasn't happy about the icky stuff either. donna is not the cleaning crew, it is a service they use. personally, i'd find another service if i were her.

There's a difference between judging and having honest questions, in the interest of staying there myself. I've done 8 loads a day, but not much else got done that day. I wasn't on vacation those days I did that much laundry!!

I can't conceive how I would ever wash all the sheets/pillowcases/bedspreads/blankets/pillows etc. if I rented a home!! I'd be furious if I had to do all that. If this place requires me to do that, I'm not renting there, ever.

If I were to book here, would I end up being forced to do 32 loads in a week? Would I have to wash every single blanket, towel, pillowcase, etc.? So, yes, I question the amount.

She said that there weren't extra blankets, and few towels. Only the comforters on each bed. Even if she washed all of them, and a comforter is a single load, that's a lot of laundry, but still--32 loads? We don't know how many comforters she had to wash, though.

we won't rent from dave robinson again.


It still begs the question: If I have to wash an average of 4-5 loads per day, when would I have time to go to the parks?? When you washed 8 loads a day, were you also away at theme parks?

 

[Ed J]

If this is a 4-6 bedroom home and she did the sheets/pillowcases/bedspreads/blankets/pillows, etc. She could easily do 32 loads of laundry. I've done 8 loads in one day at my house so it is feasible that she did 32 loads.

The OP has already stated she did not do bedspreads or blankets, seems like there is a lot of exaggerating going on in this thread.

I wish everyone would stop judging her as she does not have to prove anything to anyone on this forum.

And I wish adults would not resort to calling people jerks on these forums, but I guess that is just how it is on a forum about the happiest place on earth .

I predict the photos will never make it to this thread.......... I hope I'm wrong.

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

I'm not exaggerating, I just pointed out "if" she had done all of these things I could see the laundry load count go up.

The OP has already stated she did not do bedspreads or blankets, seems like there is a lot of exaggerating going on in this thread.




And I wish adults would not resort to calling people jerks on these forums, but I guess that is just how it is on a forum about the happiest place on earth .

I predict the photos will never make it to this thread.......... I hope I'm wrong.

Are you a jerk? Is that why you are taking offense to what I just said.

 

[duffy]

(ILoveMyGirls, you quoted me, but somehow, this sentence appears in my quote: "we won't rent from dave robinson again." I don't know how, but we've never stayed at Windsor Hills or rented from anyone named Dave! )

I only question the amount of laundry that needed to be done. I didn't doubt or question anything else the original poster says. But I think she may be exaggerating this, to bolster her claim, but it's backfired as far as I'm concerned. Now I question everything.

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

that is weird. maybe i typed in the wrong place.

i think WH is hit or miss, depending on who you rent from. i think it is a good idea to go thru these threads and make a decision as to if you believe a person or not. i don't have any reason to believe she is blowing it out of proportion given the icky unit we rented from Mr. Dave.

(ILoveMyGirls, you quoted me, but somehow, this sentence appears in my quote: "we won't rent from dave robinson again." I don't know how, but we've never stayed at Windsor Hills or rented from anyone named Dave! )

I only question the amount of laundry that needed to be done. I didn't doubt or question anything else the original poster says. But I think she may be exaggerating this, to bolster her claim, but it's backfired as far as I'm concerned. Now I question everything.

 

[Ed J]

I'm not exaggerating, I just pointed out "if" she had done all of these things I could see the laundry load count go up.



Are you a jerk? Is that why you are taking offense to what I just said.

No I'm a respectful adult, I find name calling childish and I believe in Karma .

 

[happylittlefamily]

All I can say is WOW! To question how much laundry I did is insane, but okay, if you must. Here's a run down list of what I washed during that time, and perhaps, when Donna gets the water bill, she can verify. LOL

-2 twin beds, 1 queen bed, and 1 king bed in the house
-linen closet of miscellaneous towels/washcloths/pool towels
-all towels placed in bathrooms
-all kitchen towels
-all extra sheet sets that were in the townhouse


Here is how it easily adds up to 32 loads of laundry, my friends...

The washer/dryer is a stackable front loader. There is no load size selection, so I'd say each load was the average large load of laundry.

-The king room had king top sheet, king fitted sheet, 2 pillowcases. Only had 2 extra pillowcases in the closet. Also, washed the mattress cover on the bed.

The twin room had 2 sets of sheets on the beds, 2 pillowcases per bed, plus the mattress cover, and both comforters. The closet also had 2 extra sets of sheets with pillowcases and a baby blanket.

The linen closet had a total of about 3 loads of miscellaneous towels because there were 5 pool towels.

The master bathroom had just 2 bath towels and the twin bedroom upstairs had just 2 bath towels.

Downstairs, the queen bedroom I washed the comforter, the sheet sets, the pillowcases, the mattress cover, the only blanket in the house, and the mismatched sheets that were left in the closet. I also washed all the towels and pot holders that were in the kitchen.

The downstairs bathroom had 2 bath towels and a hand towel.

Now, in addition, we have 4 small children and I had our own clothes to deal with. I also washed all the pillowcase covers that were on the pillows, if they were on the pillows. Granted this was just over 2 wks ago and life has been quite busy, so I might have missed something, but when you are doing sheets and towels and comforters, the loads add up! I bought a 32 load bottle of HE laundry detergent since the washer is a front loader and didn't have a single drop left when we left Saturday morning.

Since there were only 2 towels per bathroom, I did wash towels every day. Granted we could have used the extra towels in the linen closet, but when you are using 6 towels a day, it doesn't really matter where you pull them from. It's a load of laundry.

I also threw some of the sheets in the wash before we left for the house cleaner.

As far as having time for the parks...exactly! I stated throughout my posts that in order to spend any time at all in the parks, I ended up doing much of the laundry throughout the night. I usually had to get up 3 times at night to switch over laundry and fold, etc before going back to bed. The longest we spent in a park on any given day was maybe 7 hrs. We never left the house before 12pm and on one night only did we get a chance to close down Magic Kingdom at 8pm

I'm going to get the pics uploaded. I know I have been saying that a lot, but I do have several small children and spending forever uploading pics isn't a priority. I have nothing at all to prove, but the pics are more for you to just have a visual for those going in and, hey, if none of them look like things that would bother others, well, then I should know that as well. LOL

I'll post the pics to this thread. Off to do it right now...

Okay, I'm back. Here are some of the pics. I only took pics to protect us against being told we were responsible for damages and not to document my workload or the filth of the unit. I have to finish up dinner, but hope these will be helpful to those waiting on pics...

ripped cover on one of the bar stools

pillow in the twin room when I took off the pillowcase to wash

cookie sheet for our use. After washing, it was about 50% better

blood stain on one of the king bedroom pillows

Okay, I have to run and finish dinner. I have more and will post them tonight, but I have to go for now.

I'm back again. Thanks for the patience!

bugs along baseboards in the downstairs room

bug casing on her carpet. If her room had been vacuumed, I can't see how this would have been on the carpet! YUCK. And also, carpet stains

bug casing shown to Donna and the house cleaner and both told me it was a lovebug. LOL! House cleaner picked it up, held it in her hand and as we walked out to the kitchen area, dropped the bug casing on the tile floor and kept walking! All the while, I have little toddlers running around. UGH. Disgusting! And for what it's worth, they never once offered to go grab a vacuum cleaner to vacuum the rest of the bugs up off her carpet either.
I'm from Florida and do not have dead or alive bugs laying around on my floors.

pic of one of the area rugs

stuff all over the front of the dishwasher. Maybe chocolate or coffee or something. Not sure.

These pics were taken after Donna called to tell me that she noticed a hole behind the twin bedroom door knob that wasn't there on Saturday during her walk-through. She threw the word "charge fees" around at least 3 different times during our stay, and this was one of those times. So, we knew there was no way she noticed a ding behind the door while she was there with us to see all the flaws we were bringing to her attention, so I felt it was her way of trying to put one over on us. My kids were only upstairs to sleep at night and we closed the door with it open a couple of inches, so it was very unlikely they put a hole in the wall from the door knob. Anyway, I also was annoyed that she said she knew there wasn't a hole there on Saturday, meaning she inspected something like that and, ummmm, totally missed all the other stuff that is quite a bit more obvious. Didn't add up. So, we decided to look behind the doors and sure enough, almost every door in the house either had broken or no door stop, plus almost every wall had a ding behind it from the door knob lock. So, that is the reason for these pics. Just in case you get a charge saying to put a hole in the wall, you can say it wasn't so! LOL

This is where the fire extinguisher completely came out of the wall. I mean, the entire bracket and all. Someone could have really gotten hurt!

Note stating that all towels have to be washed and dried before leaving. Just wanted Duffy to have this for peace of mind. HOWEVER, this also provides the name of the property management company, which is something I hadn't been able to find anywhere else in my paperwork!!

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

I believe you as we stayed at WH and we had to do everything you did but ours was just a condo. I did about 10 loads.

All I can say is WOW! To question how much laundry I did is insane, but okay, if you must. Here's a run down list of what I washed during that time, and perhaps, when Donna gets the water bill, she can verify. LOL

-2 twin beds, 1 queen bed, and 1 king bed in the house
-linen closet of miscellaneous towels/washcloths/pool towels
-all towels placed in bathrooms
-all kitchen towels
-all extra sheet sets that were in the townhouse


Here is how it easily adds up to 32 loads of laundry, my friends...

The washer/dryer is a stackable front loader. There is no load size selection, so I'd say each load was the average large load of laundry.

-The king room had king top sheet, king fitted sheet, 2 pillowcases. Only had 2 extra pillowcases in the closet. Also, washed the mattress cover on the bed.

The twin room had 2 sets of sheets on the beds, 2 pillowcases per bed, plus the mattress cover, and both comforters. The closet also had 2 extra sets of sheets with pillowcases and a baby blanket.

The linen closet had a total of about 3 loads of miscellaneous towels because there were 5 pool towels.

The master bathroom had just 2 bath towels and the twin bedroom upstairs had just 2 bath towels.

Downstairs, the queen bedroom I washed the comforter, the sheet sets, the pillowcases, the mattress cover, the only blanket in the house, and the mismatched sheets that were left in the closet. I also washed all the towels and pot holders that were in the kitchen.

The downstairs bathroom had 2 bath towels and a hand towel.

Now, in addition, we have 4 small children and I had our own clothes to deal with. I also washed all the pillowcase covers that were on the pillows, if they were on the pillows. Granted this was just over 2 wks ago and life has been quite busy, so I might have missed something, but when you are doing sheets and towels and comforters, the loads add up! I bought a 32 load bottle of HE laundry detergent since the washer is a front loader and didn't have a single drop left when we left Saturday morning.

Since there were only 2 towels per bathroom, I did wash towels every day. Granted we could have used the extra towels in the linen closet, but when you are using 6 towels a day, it doesn't really matter where you pull them from. It's a load of laundry.

I also threw some of the sheets in the wash before we left for the house cleaner.

As far as having time for the parks...exactly! I stated throughout my posts that in order to spend any time at all in the parks, I ended up doing much of the laundry throughout the night. I usually had to get up 3 times at night to switch over laundry and fold, etc before going back to bed. The longest we spent in a park on any given day was maybe 7 hrs. We never left the house before 12pm and on one night only did we get a chance to close down Magic Kingdom at 8pm

I'm going to get the pics uploaded. I know I have been saying that a lot, but I do have several small children and spending forever uploading pics isn't a priority. I have nothing at all to prove, but the pics are more for you to just have a visual for those going in and, hey, if none of them look like things that would bother others, well, then I should know that as well. LOL

I'll post the pics to this thread. Off to do it right now...