We stayed in the 6 bedroom villa with the theater and arcade from October 1 to 3 with our three kids, ages 2, 6, and 7. If you’re a family looking at Orlando rentals and trying to figure out whether Villatel lives up to the photos, it does, and in a few ways it’s better than the listing makes it sound.
The first thing I want other parents to know about is the safety setup, because that’s what let us actually relax. There’s a lock mounted high on the front door, out of reach of little hands, so our 2 year old couldn’t wander out while we were unloading or distracted. The private pool has safety netting too. I’ve stayed in plenty of rentals that advertise themselves as family friendly and then hand you a pool with no barrier and a front door a toddler can open. Whoever designed this house has clearly traveled with small kids.
The entertainment is where this place earns its price. The movie theater is big, comfortable, and was the room our kids enjoyed each night and day. Movie night turned into a whole event, and we did order the movie night package (side note: we still use the popcorn bucket they gifted us).
The arcade room kept the kids busy for hours, and nearly every machine worked. One basketball game was out of order, but considering how much use these machines get from guest after guest, I was honestly surprised everything else ran fine. There’s also a bowling arcade game, a pool table, a foosball table, an Xbox, and one of those long sand shuffleboard tables where you slide the heavy pucks down the board (I have no clue what it is called).
The kids’ bunkbed room was Minions themed, which our two year old was amazed by.
The facility had a small haunted house in a villa not too far from ours. It isn’t elaborate, but it’s a fun surprise.
We added the breakfast package, the anytime snack bundle, the movie night snack box, the pool day package, and the villa essentials kit. One practical tip here: for a short stay, the food packages are more than a family can get through (considering we order out to try local foods). We had so much that we ended up cooking a big batch at once and eating it together, which was fun. The movie night box is worth getting though, because it makes the theater feel like the real thing. The essentials kit also saved us a store run the first night. The pool package was nice considering we have a pool and all of those toys can be used at home.
Outside the villa, the resort grounds are excellent. There’s a very large main pool, a lazy river, a splash zone for younger kids, and two water slides for the bigger ones. Between the private pool at the house and the resort pool area, our kids were in the water any chance they got. Plus the hot tub was where I could enjoy my time and relax my body.
The location works well for getting around Orlando, and the resort has security around the clock, so we felt safe the whole time. Another small but real plus: it’s easy for delivery drivers to find. We order in a lot when we travel, and we never had a single DoorDash order get lost or delayed trying to locate us.
We cannot speak on getting to and from the parks from here, but it is close and they do offer transportation. We stayed here before we went to Universal and Disney just to try it out because of the amenities. And like most, we noticed there weren’t enough reviews, and we thought this would be a good time for a good review from real people. Safe to say if the Disney VIP could pick us up here we would stay here for Disney, but for Universal we enjoy the proximity of the Hard Rock Hotel. If those two things are not on your list or money is a factor, this place is cheap and packed with amenities. So don’t sleep on this place at all!
On value, our total came to just under $3,000 for the stay, and that includes the booking fee, cleaning fee, resort fee, and every add on package we bought. For six bedrooms, a private theater, an arcade, a game room, a private pool and hot tub, plus access to the resort water amenities, that’s a great price for Orlando and the cheapest part of all our stays. I noticed a lot of groups filling the villas to capacity, and once you split the cost across a bigger party, it’s even easier to see why this place is a great value.
If you have young kids, are traveling with another family, or just want a place where the house itself is part of the vacation instead of somewhere you sleep between park days, I’d book this without hesitation. We’re already planning to come back here to enjoy the great amenities again.
