I cannot speak for the past reviewers' experiences or which units they were inhabiting, only my own. I was a little nervous at first not knowing what to expect with reading some of these reviews, and also because it was our first experience out of a hotel/resort scene.
When we arrived at our villa located at the Laguna Bay complex, my wife and I checked all the water facilities, electrical utilities, appliances, air conditioning, windows, carpets, bed spreads/sheets etc. and all were in excellent condition. Nothing was broken or dirty. Furniture was in excellent condition as well. I breathed a sigh of relief. The villa was very charming. Ours was for 6 people. It had a living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry closet, corner hallway closet, 2 single bed bedroom with walk-in closet and hangers, master bedroom with attached bathroom and walk-in closet with hangers. The kitchen was well stocked with 6 plates, 6 bowls, 6 drinking cups, 6 juice cups, some cookware, and silverware. The bathrooms were stocked with 6 towels, hand towels, and wash clothes, and some soap. The villa was, overall, very clean.
As far as the dated appliances complaints - look it - you're on vacation and these are temporary quarters while you're away at the local attractions. If you're looking for 5-star resort amenities and to be waited on hand-over-fist or to not leave the premises for your stay(if that's what you call a vacation), you're in the wrong neighborhood. Steel convection coil stove vs. a flat cooktop stove does not constitute antique-ish appliances. So let's be realistic here. Minus cooking over a campfire, they accomplish the same thing - heat your food. Furthermore, I don't need a 55 inch flat plasma TV screen while I'm on vacation so I'm not expecting one, nor do I plan on watching one while on vacation. The TV was a regular flat panel console 27 inch and the kids were happy with that. Everything was fine and worked.
There is also a pool area behind the recreation building. The pool takes up to about 20 people or so, but there was never that many there, about 5-8 at any given time. (My kids swam there almost every day.) The rec building has wi-fi as did our villa. It also has a billiard table, reading area, work-out gym, and a sauna. It was clean and well stocked with local attraction brochures in the lobby. The villa grounds were well kept and set in foliage and not out in the open under the hot sun, though it was still hot and humid nonetheless.
Upon check-in (the check-in office is in a residential area about 1 mile away), we had been given a complimentary starter-bag of hygiene products (toothpaste, shampoo, soap) to start just in case if we had forgotten anything from home. But we had come prepared with our own amenities. Again, this is not a hotel, so be prepared and bring your own stuff from home and don't complain about it. If you forgot something, the location of the villa is perfect. It is in a gated complex away from the road and the main strip of attractions (about 2 miles), yet close enough to civilization. There is a Super Walmart and Target nearby for your convenience. The complex is about 20 minutes from the Disney parks and Universal Orlando (given daily traffic patterns). Perfect spot.
The value was just what the doctor ordered for a family of 5. I booked 12 nights (w/ AAA discount) back in January 2010 for our July 2010 stay. It was well worth it. We had no hidden charges charged to us or anything like that. Read your confirmation notice. It spells everything out in English. Charges are only hidden if you don't read the contract. If you don't read or ask questions, that's your own fault - so don't complain about it. If you're a slob that leaves a mess behind where ever you go, yes, they will charge extra to clean up after you - it's in the contract.
The only area of criticism I have is that there were a lot of (nesting) wasps around the foliage. One always kept creeeping into our confines everyday and I had to either capture/release or kill it. No biggie unless you have allergic reactions to bee/wasp stings. Then that would be a big concern. The other minor issue is that the outside fascade could use a power wash to get some of the insect nests or grass clippings off. Not a deal breaker.
Overall, me, my wife and 3 kids were extremely satisfied with our accommodations and would definitely recommend this to a family looking to save a little money while staying for an extended vacation. It's adequately furnished and conveniently located near everything (including a hospital) while maintaining some peace and quiet.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC