Treehouse Villas - A Lengthy Review!
Here’s an extensive a review of the Treehouse Villas.
Coming from the BCV on Sunday, August 9, I arrived early to SSR and checked in at 10 AM. Of course my treehouse wasn’t ready; the girl checked and there were absolutely no treehouses available. She did tell me, however, that I had one of the “better locations” and a great view from our villa. (For what it’s worth, she wound up being right!)
Sparing you the details of our trip, SSR sent me a text message around 2:00(ish) telling me that our place was ready. We had treehouse #7030, and I will tell you this – our location was awesome. In my opinion, I have to say that we had one of, if not the best treehouse in the entire loop. We had both location and view. If you check a map of the THV loop, you’ll see where we were. We did time walking distances at a relaxed pace:
Less than 1 minute to the bus stop
3 minutes to the boat dock
5 minute (walking time) to the Grandstand bus stop
7 minute (walking time) to the main lobby of SSR
9 minute (walking time) to the Springs bus stop
The villas are set up staggered so that one is closer to the “road” and one closer to the golf course or river. It’s almost as if one is outside, one inside, one outside, one inside… you get the idea.
The bus stop stations are quite small, but covered. There is music pumped in at the bus stop station, and we never shared the stations with another guest. In other words, they were somewhat barren (more about the actual bus situation later).
The quiet pool is set up nicely – but it is quite small (maybe a touch larger than the average rectangular backyard built-in pool, but not by much). There are restrooms and a vending machine at the quiet pool; also there are plenty of chairs and a small frog type fountain in one corner.
The entire feel of the Treehouse Villa area is that of Fort Wilderness – very rustic, very outdoorsy. It is a VERY swampy, marshy area, and yes, there is an abundance of wildlife – small stuff, but lots of it! There are frogs everywhere, and we found them every evening and each morning around our front light and climbing on our windows. There are mosquitoes as well; I have the small welts to prove their existence! We did hear reports of snakes, otters, and more, but we did not see them (I did see a black snake walking to the BCV the week beforehand, however!).
The villa itself is appointed nicely. The deck is plenty large, although the seating on the deck is only for four people. Kind of odd when the villa accommodates up to nine. Walking into the villa, there is a small closet on the right with the only safe. It’s not a key safe, but one of those digital combination types. The dining area is directly in front of you and the large table comfortably seats 6, although we easily squeezed 7 in (4 kids). There are three bar stools at the counter facing the kitchen.
Kitchen has the usual DVC stuff; electric oven & stove top, refrigerator/freezer (WITH ICE MAKER!), and ample storage facilities. There are several wine glasses in addition to the usual kitchen amenities.
The floor in the kitchen area is a tile floor and I had read reports that the unevenness of this floor bothered people – not so with me. I’m barefoot often while on vacation, and the flooring wasn’t bad in my opinion.
We did make use of the pullout couch and chair. Both are significant upgrades to the older models of years past. They are comfortable! No complaints there, but space does become an issue when people are sleeping in the living room. There’s barely room to walk between the bed (pulled-out couch) and the TV.
Master bed is nicely done with a desk, and the ONLY high-speed-internet-access connection in the villa. This worked for us, but in a few years when my kids get older… well, I can see a problem coming if more internet access points aren’t added.
In addition to the desk, there is a chest (like an old fashioned toy chest) that actually pulls out in drawer like fashion. There are end tables and an upright (narrow) dresser. The bed is a QUEEN SIZED BED.
The master bathroom is very, very nice. One sink on the left, separate toilet area to the right (private with its own door). Jacuzzi style bath (smaller than traditional DVC tubs) and shower contained in one area. It works well.
The faucet/accessories to the bath are very cool – as you turn on the faucets (including the tub), water pours down a “leader-type” spigot. It’s supposed to be like an old fashioned (manual) pump where you’re pumping the water out. It’s cool. (Sorry!! No pics!!)
The bunk-bed room on the other side of the villa is the smallest of the three, but it’s set up nicely, especially for kids. I’m not sure how well two adults would fare here. Beds are fine, space on top bunk is more than sufficient (I had read otherwise), and there is ample storage space – a closet, a dresser, and shelves.
Third bedroom also has a QUEEN SIZE bed. Plenty of room. Great views out of this bedroom’s window! Looked right out onto the river! Lots of ferries passing by.
Across from the third bedroom is the washer/dryer. It’s an upright unit.
There are two “iHomes” in the villa (in the two queen bedrooms, not bunk room). We always took one from the bedroom and plugged it into the kitchen (there were 6 iPods in the villa!!!).
There are ceiling fans, but only ONE zone climate control. Set it at 70, and that’s what everyone gets in all three bedrooms and the living room/kitchen area.
There are phones in every bedroom and the living room area, so if a call is coming in, everyone hears it! No separate lines.
No locks on doors to bathrooms or bedrooms…
Buses – Here’s where things get interesting. I had the absolute lowest expectations for transportation at the THV – we even rented a car the first day there. But overall, the buses worked out VERY well. Not perfect, but MUCH better than expected.
There are two bus stops in the THV “loop.” Buses come every 12 minutes (and this was pretty much accurate our entire stay). MOST buses, but not all, go directly to the Grandstand bus stop, then return to the THV. There was the occasional bus that went all the way around the resort (entering closer to DTD) and then proceeded to the Springs bus stop. We couldn’t make heads-or-tails of which bus would stop where! But to get into SSR and get to a “real” bus stop was not a problem. It was a matter of whether or not you’d be dropped off at the Grandstand or the Springs – that’s where it became guesswork! From SSR, buses ran more efficiently than I’ve seen in years. In fact, from the BCV and from the THV, I was overly impressed with the buses this trip. Best transportation I’ve had in many, many years.
I’m sure I’m forgetting something, so if there are any questions, shoot away!
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Originally Posted by PlutoPlanet
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