Orlando is one of the world’s most popular destinations for a good reason. Not only is the weather fantastic in the Sun Belt, but the city is also home to multiple, internationally-famous theme parks.

With the unique ecosystem of the Florida Everglades on its doorstep, Orlando makes a great home base for hikers and nature enthusiasts. Parks like the Disney Wilderness Preserve are a fantastic place to take your camera for action shots of the local wildlife.

To accommodate all these visitors, Orlando offers a wide selection of hotels, hostels, motels, and high-quality rental villas. But is it better to stay in a villa or rent a room?

#1. Space

If you’re headed for Universal Orlando Resort or Walt Disney World, the chances are you’re taking the whole family along. Sharing a hotel room with your kids can lead to complications.

After you put the kids to bed, you can’t watch TV or socialise without waking them up. Your choice of activities is very restricted as you are effectively tied to your room as leaving your kids “home-alone” is not acceptable.

In a villa, you have plenty of space. You have a separate kitchen and living room. You can sit by the pool and socialise, watch TV, read, or listen to music without fear of disturbing the rug rats.

And what’s more, that space is completely private. In a hotel, you can perhaps go to the hotel pool, lounge, bar or grounds to get away from the older kids. But when you go to those places, you’re surrounded by strangers.

In a villa, you can have your own private pool, perhaps even a hot tub, completely to yourself. And you have the freedom to use those amenities any time you wish. So, if you want to hit the hot tub at 2 am, who’s going to stop you?

#2. Value for money

So, you’ve got lots of extra space. That’s going to cost you more, right? No!

If you’re visiting Orlando with a large family group, or with a group of friends, it will definitely be cheaper per head to rent a villa together than to rent separate rooms in a hotel.

For example, you can rent a fantastic luxury, 4-bed villa for around $160 per night midseason. This kind of accommodation would be perfect for two families sharing—two adult couples with two kids each.

A “suite” in a nearby hotel might cost around $100 per night. But that suite would only be suitable for two adults. To accommodate the two families in this example, you might pay as much as $400! And you still won’t have as much room and privacy as in a villa.

#3. Self-catering

The main reason many choose to rent a villa rather than stay in a hotel room is the freedom to choose to cook for themselves or eat out in a restaurant. This is especially important for people with special dietary requirements.

If any member of your family suffers from an allergy or food intolerance, self-catering enables you to ensure they are kept safe. And if you’re vegans or fruitarians and unhappy with the selection of vegan food in restaurants, you can cook whatever you like.

Self-catering is also more economical than eating out. Combining low food costs with a villa shared between two families can provide an extremely affordable holiday in Orlando.

Self-catering is super flexible. And it’s much more pleasant eating breakfast with just your family around the table in the early morning by the poolside rather than in some large hotel cafeteria surrounded by strangers.

 

#4. Laundry

If you’ve got kids, and you’re staying in Orlando for two weeks or more, you know clothes will be a problem. Children have an uncanny ability to locate dirt and grease wherever they go.

That means that if you’re staying in a hotel, you’ll probably have to take along a lot of extra clothes just in case of multiple accidents around those theme parks. And when it comes time to return home, you’re packing soiled clothes into your suitcase, some with sweat patches two weeks old. Ugh!

All villas come with washing machines and tumble dryers as standard. This empowers you to wash your kids’ clothes as you go. Not only does this mean you don’t have to worry about packing sweaty clothes, but it also means you won’t need to take as many clothes with you on holiday which leaves room in your luggage to add those designer outlet bargains you so wanted. It’s a win-win situation.

#5. Location

Many villas are located close to major theme parks, so they are almost as convenient as on-site hotels. However, they are often more flexible. For example, if your main interest is playing golf in Orlando, you can choose a villa near or even on a golf course. Or if you’re interested in the Everglades, you can find a villa near the main routes to head out that way.

If you want to spend time in both Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort, a villa located between both will be more suitable than a hotel at one of the resorts.

A “compromise location” also has the benefit of minimizing your children’s exposure to Disney and Universal. There are many more things to do in Orlando than just spending all your time in Disney World. Maybe you want to get your children involved in more healthy physical pursuits, too. Staying in a villa that isn’t surrounded by actors dressed up as Micky and Minnie enable you to steer your kids toward the other family activities you want to enjoy.

So, choose a villa for your Orlando holiday!

As you can see, there are many benefits to staying in a villa rather than a resort hotel. So next time you go on vacation in Orlando, why not rent a villa?