Orlando: accommodations

A couple months ago, M and L asked us if we would like to join them on a vacation in Orlando. L wanted to go, but had just had stomach surgery, so she had to stay somewhere where she could cook her own food. M's research turned up places with many bedrooms, perfect for a group trip. Originally, S was also going to join us, but he had to back out due to family medical issues. (We miss you, S.) So, we rented a condo, and I love it.

What we don't get: daily maid service (which we *could* have gotten, if we were willing to pay extra for it), hotel shuttles to the theme parks (but since we wanted to go other places too, we rented cars anyway), and elevators (which, after a couple of days of walking and walking and walking, I do kinda miss-- the stairs up to the bedrooms are a killer by the end of the day).

What we do get:
* 4 bedrooms. Since M + L did all the planning, they called dibs on the master bedroom with the king bed, which seemed fair to everyone. John has the room with the queen bed. Since John and I are used to a king bed and we go to sleep at much different times, I opted to take what would have been S's room, which is a bedroom with two twin beds in it. CJ has the other bedroom with two twin beds.

* 3 and a half bathrooms. One off M+L's room, one off John's room, and one off the hallway between my room and CJ's, plus a half-bath downstairs.

* A private pool, just for the five of us. Heated.

* Laundry facilities, which means that we didn't have to pack as much. Between John, CJ and I, we only brought 2 suitcases. That means fewer charges for luggage, and it means that most of the time I can make each of the boys take a suitcase and I don't have to haul anything myself. I might be the only one of us who considers that a benefit, though.

* A kitchen. And lest you point out that one can get hotel rooms with kitchens in them, I would like to say: this is not a hotel kitchen, suitable only for making popcorn and soup. This kitchen is larger and nicer than mine:


(I'm not including pictures of anything else, because ultimately this is someone's home, and rental or not, they should still have a modicum of privacy.)

* 4 TVs, one of which has a combo DVD/VHS player attached.

As an additional, unadvertised bonus, the owners have a game closet with Monopoly and Scrabble, plus game room in the garage that has a pool table, foosball table, air hockey table, dartboard, and basketball... thingie (like you'd see at an arcade, with a hoop at the end of a ramp and nets on the sides, to control where the ball goes. I don't know what it's properly called.) Plus, while the condo does not officially come with Internet, the owners put their WEP key on the bottom of the router box, so we're using their FIOS. Hopefully, they have an unlimited plan of some sort.

John and I have pretty well decided that when we're going somewhere and not staying with friends or at "the convention hotel", we're going to look for condo rentals, because this place is niiiiiiice.

Orlando: accommodations

A couple months ago, M and L asked us if we would like to join them on a vacation in Orlando. L wanted to go, but had just had stomach surgery, so she had to stay somewhere where she could cook her own food. M's research turned up places with many bedrooms, perfect for a group trip. Originally, S was also going to join us, but he had to back out due to family medical issues. (We miss you, S.) So, we rented a condo, and I love it.

What we don't get: daily maid service (which we *could* have gotten, if we were willing to pay extra for it), hotel shuttles to the theme parks (but since we wanted to go other places too, we rented cars anyway), and elevators (which, after a couple of days of walking and walking and walking, I do kinda miss-- the stairs up to the bedrooms are a killer by the end of the day).

What we do get:
* 4 bedrooms. Since M + L did all the planning, they called dibs on the master bedroom with the king bed, which seemed fair to everyone. John has the room with the queen bed. Since John and I are used to a king bed and we go to sleep at much different times, I opted to take what would have been S's room, which is a bedroom with two twin beds in it. CJ has the other bedroom with two twin beds.

* 3 and a half bathrooms. One off M+L's room, one off John's room, and one off the hallway between my room and CJ's, plus a half-bath downstairs.

* A private pool, just for the five of us. Heated.

* Laundry facilities, which means that we didn't have to pack as much. Between John, CJ and I, we only brought 2 suitcases. That means fewer charges for luggage, and it means that most of the time I can make each of the boys take a suitcase and I don't have to haul anything myself. I might be the only one of us who considers that a benefit, though.

* A kitchen. And lest you point out that one can get hotel rooms with kitchens in them, I would like to say: this is not a hotel kitchen, suitable only for making popcorn and soup. This kitchen is larger and nicer than mine:


(I'm not including pictures of anything else, because ultimately this is someone's home, and rental or not, they should still have a modicum of privacy.)

* 4 TVs, one of which has a combo DVD/VHS player attached.

As an additional, unadvertised bonus, the owners have a game closet with Monopoly and Scrabble, plus game room in the garage that has a pool table, foosball table, air hockey table, dartboard, and basketball... thingie (like you'd see at an arcade, with a hoop at the end of a ramp and nets on the sides, to control where the ball goes. I don't know what it's properly called.) Plus, while the condo does not officially come with Internet, the owners put their WEP key on the bottom of the router box, so we're using their FIOS. Hopefully, they have an unlimited plan of some sort.

John and I have pretty well decided that when we're going somewhere and not staying with friends or at "the convention hotel", we're going to look for condo rentals, because this place is niiiiiiice.