We booked Emerald Hunny Pot in 2016 for a family holiday (me, wife, 3 children, 16, 13 and 11) in October 2017. We had stayed on the Emerald Island resort on a previous holiday and loved the location so it was great to find an affordable family home in the same place.

Pre-holiday – communication with the owners was excellent. They handled any queries promptly and efficiently and set out when exactly payments would be required to complete the rental including having a number of payment options. Once all payments had been made and the rental finalised we received a wealth of information on the villa, the resort and also many many tips and detailed information on both the surrounding area and indeed the wider central Florida region. While some of it was already known due to previous visits, plenty of it wasn’t and indeed if you are a first time visitor then its as ideal as any guidebook could be in preparing you for an Orlando holiday.

Check in at the Emerald Island resort was smooth as was entry to the villa, the owners provide all your entry details in advance of you arriving.

There is always some doubts that may sit in your mind when you arrive at a property for the first time. Pictures on websites can only give you so much information. However I can say that the pictures on TA probably didn’t do this property justice. Its beautiful and was spotless on arrival. After a long flight from the UK you just want to get to you property and relax without any worries, well this is the ideal option for that in my opinion. We arrived and felt immediately at home.

The villa itself is beautifully presented and has all the requirements you would want for a family home on holiday. Spacious living room, 4 very well sized bedrooms, plenty of storage space, 3 separate bathrooms and an ideal sized kitchen with an excellent fridge/freezer to hold all your required cold drinks when you want to cool down from the hot Florida sun. At no point did myself, wife and sons ever feel we were living on top of each other, its definitely spacious whether everyone is in the same room or separate rooms.

Been a keen sports fan I had the pleasure of cable TV throughout the house with more than enough sports channels to keep me happy for both versions of football – “soccer” and American. And the ability to watch different channels in the bedroom than what was on in the living room.

Beds were large and luxurious in the main and second bedroom, and my two sons who each had their own rooms in bedrooms 3 and 4 slept well and comfortably in the single beds.

Outdoors we had the joy of a well sized swimming pool in our back yard as well as sun loungers, tables, chairs, a lovely Jacuzzi and multiple pool “toys” to keep the children occupied.

If the TV’s and outdoor area wasn’t enough to keep you entertained then the garage, as with many Florida villas, was a very well stocked games room which saw many family pool tournaments taking place over the holiday. There’s many more entertainment options there too including table tennis, fussball and darts as well as washing machine and tumble dryer if you want to be a bit domesticated while on holiday. Add in mountain bikes and childrens buggys and you have practically everything, and more, you would have at home.

Overall, a fantastic property in a fantastic location, especially if you are doing Disney parks, 10 mins tops to them….and that doesn’t involve requiring to drive like Lewis Hamilton. The owners are great and will do everything to make your holiday go as smoothly as possible. And I also must make quick mention of the property management company who service the villa. I had a query on the first day on what exact cable package I had, I emailed and got a response within 15 minutes. On day 2 I noticed a couple of sections of lanyard had become detached from the frame, possibly due to the recent high winds. I emailed the property management in the morning before heading to the parks, it was fixed by the time I arrived home mid-afternoon. Basically if you want a family holiday location with both owners and property management taking care of any needs and questions then this villa comes highly recommended.

My final observation, this felt like a home from the moment I walked in the door, not a place you were just staying in for a couple of weeks that didn’t feel like it was yours.