Sanctuary at West Haven - 4 Bedroom, 4 Bath Florida Villa

Our third visit to this beautiful home. Cathy is the owner and and such a great host. We love long days at the pool. You get the sun all day. The house has everything we need and more. The house is in such a quiet and safe area. Great shops near by at Championsgate. Can't wait to return.

Date of stay: October 2023    Reviewer name: rita coulter, Scotland

Owners reply
Thank you, Rita, for the kind words. It is always a pleasure having you as our guests. I'm so glad you could enjoy some sun. See you again soon. Cathy & Mark

Our first holidaay in this villa was way back in 2006 when Chris and Clive owned it and have had many happy memories with family visiting numorous times since. We have since returned for another stay and it definately didn't disappoint. The villa was spotlessly clean, with many a new homely touch and improvements and a really luxurious new comfy bed. The weather was absolutely perfect, we couldn't have wished for a more perfect stay. Thank you Cathy and Mark for being so helpful with our booking at this difficult time through the pandemic.

Date of stay: March 2022    Reviewer name: Jack & Pat Moore & family. , Isle of Wight. UK

Owners reply
Thank you, Jack, Pat, and family. We're happy you finally made it back to Florida. And the weather was perfect! See you again soon. :-)

Just home from villa. Have been visiting Florida for many years, this was the best villa we have staying in. Everything was first class, Cathy was amazing to deal with. The villa was spotless had everything for a perfect holiday. The pool gets the sun all day, loved the games room. The location of villa has everything near by including good choice of shops and restaurants. Can't wait to return.

Date of stay: March 2022    Reviewer name: Coulter Family, Glasgow

Owners reply
Thank you, Rita! We look forward to your return. :-)

A Beautiful Villa with everything. Pots, pans, storage boxes, linen and pool towels. The Villa was well kept and clean. We felt very much at home. Games room, was a welcome break from sunbathing and shopping. As it was November, we had the pool heated and it was a dream. We could swim till late in the evening. Kathy was fantastic, so easy going with our arrangements, couldn't praise her more. Thank you for a wonderful stay.

Date of stay: November 2021    Reviewer name: Gillivers, Guernsey, Channel Islands

Owners reply
Thank you! We're so glad you enjoyed your Florida stay as our guest. :-)

This was our 8th time to Orlando and first time in this villa.....and it was great. Villa had everything we needed and more....just like a home from home. Everything is to a high standard and we loved the location, approx 15/20 mins from Disney and lots of stores/supermarkets and restaurants within a 5 min drive. Plenty of room in the villa and our 4 year old loved the games room. Kitchen is well equipped for the days you want to cook your own dinner. Had another fantastic holiday and would definitely stay in this villa again. Hopefully see you next summer!

Date of stay: August 2019    Reviewer name: Williams family, Northern Ireland

Owners reply
Hi Kathryn - Thank you for the kind review. We're happy you enjoyed your first-time stay at our villa. It is a great location because of its proximity to all the places you noted in your review. We'd love to have you back again next summer. :-) Kind regards, Mark & Cathy

This is our 2nd holiday at this villa. Extremely clean & well kept with everything you need on your arrival no matter what time of day. The pool is a great size to swim in as well as relax around with plenty of loungers, chairs & table. There is a pool shower & outside toilet too. Four bedrooms are large with plenty of storage space & 3 bathrooms. Living area, kitchen & dining are a great size too not that we were in it that much. Games room is an added bonus with a pool table, air hockey & table football together with balls, toys & floats for the pool etc. The pool was maintained during our stay as was the garden area surrounding the villa. There is absolutely everything you could possibly need in this villa. It is close to Champions Gate area which has more restaurants since we were there last including Millers, Red Robin, Panera Bread, Chillis, First Watch etc. Publix supermarket & Walgreens are all there with Walmart not that further away. The I4 is 5 mins making the theme parks, Kennedy Space Centre, Clearwater, Tampa etc all very accessible. Looking forward to staying again. Thanks you Cathy, Mark & your team once again!

Date of stay: July 2019    Reviewer name: The Hendry Family, Scotland

Owners reply
Thank you, Hendry family, for the kind and thoughtful review. We're glad you enjoyed your second stay in our home. You're lovely guests and it was a pleasure to have you back. See you next time. Take care of yourselves Mark & Cathy :-)

This was our second stay in your fantastic villa! Lots of great improvements, and the best villa we have ever stayed in! Brilliant facilities and a great location with shops and restaurants a short drive away! The owners are very helpful. We look forward to returning for a third time!!

Date of stay: March 2019    Reviewer name: Hamilton’s , Glasgow

Owners reply
Thank you for the kind words, Stewart and Anne. We were thrilled to have you stay with us again. We're glad you liked all the improvements we've made to the villa. Looking forward to your next stay with us. Mark & Cathy :-)

This was our second holiday in the villa, we had another fantastic 3 weeks stay there. Cathy and Mark purchased the villa after we had placed our booking and introduced there selves as the new owners shortly after they took ownership which reassured us with our booking. They provided us with excellent information prior to arrival. The villa was immaculate on arrival and is very comfortable with all you could need provided for a great stay. Our teenage guests loved the games area especially their air hockey challenge. The property management company were excellent and dealt with a few minor issue we experience during our stay very promptly. We had rebooked this property as we love the location as it has easy access to I4 and highway 27 to allow you visit the parks, beaches or just explore the many other activities Florida has to offer . We also love the pool area in which we spent a lot of time just relaxing and enjoying the sun as the weather was very kind to us during our stay. We have already rebooked for our next holiday in Florida in Cathy and Mark's beautiful home. Looking forward to returning.

Date of stay: June 2018    Reviewer name: Burns Family, Scotland

Owners reply
Hi J & A, It was great having you and your family. We're glad the weather was nice, as well. We are very fortunate to have an outstanding property management team to assist our guests. We are very happy you've already booked another stay with us. We look forward to your return. Have a super summer! :-) Thank you and kindest regards, Mark & Cathy

We have stayed in many villas since we first visited Florida in 1985, but this property has certainly been the best yet. It is located in Davenport, very peaceful and a safe gated site, which is away from the hustle and bustle of the Kissimmee 192, but close enough to the shops restaurants and theme parks. The home I was spotlessly clean throughout and pool was delightful. We only used master bedroom in this four bed property, bed very comfortable, but the other bedrooms were lovely, and the twin room for young children was delightful, decorated with Disney Characters throughout. The garage converted to a games room will be well received by older children I am sure. Finally a word of thanks to the owners Cathy and Mark, who were absolutely lovely and so helpful, and nothing was too much trouble. We hope to return to this beautiful home on our next visit to Florida.

Date of stay: May 2018    Reviewer name: Sims Family, Bristol, United Kingdom

Owners reply
Hi Martin and Sue, Thanks very much for the positive feedback. We appreciate your time and appreciate you being our guests during your Florida holiday. You are lovely folks. We hope to see you again soon. Mark & Cathy

REVIEW We have had the privilege of staying in many florida villas over the past twenty odd years, most have been up to scratch while some have fallen below standard. I feel, therefore we are in a good position to pass comment on Mark and Cathy's property. We found the property to be well presented and well maintained with ground maintenance work being carried out around the area on a regular basis. The pool was cleaned twice while we were there. While on the subject of the pool, this forms an intricate part of a villa holiday and can often be the make and break part of a vacation. We have had some poorly maintained pools in villas in the past, one of which was in the nearby abbey complex. I am pleased to report that this pool was clean and the decking area was a reasonable size. The pool heat was sufficient but did struggle a little on the cooler days. Over the years I have spent many hours fishing worms,creatures and leaves out of pools prior to use, but this pool performed adequately. From a nature point of view, the birds and squirrels would keep any young children entertained I'm sure. One observation which I have not seen in other reviews and one which could be an issue for some people is the close proximity of the main road. We have stayed around this area for many years and have seen the growth in traffic on the Ronald Reagan parkway road. With more property's being built in west haven I did find the noise of vehicles, trucks and emergency vehicles especially from the local fire station to be a little disturbing. This used to be a quiet off the beaten track type of road...not any more. Please bear this in mind if you are looking for a more peaceful holiday stay. This is not a criticism as there's nothing Mark and Cathy can do here, but I have read various other reviews over the years on other sites where people have been critical of owners who have failed to mention the proximity of main roads. In this case however,it would not stop us staying here again. The internals of the property were very functional, babies and toddlers were catered for along with a games room for teenagers. The compulsory wifi access and signal quality performed well so keeping in touch worked fine. The telephone use was limited to local calls unless you have purchased a calling card, I have stayed in many villas where international calls were included which you sometimes need if family back home don't have internet access themselves..something Mark and Cathy could consider. We were often disturbed daily by anonymous calls from the telephone where no-one answered the other end....strange. I know most people have mobiles but the American phone market has been a little slow on travelers sim card access with calls using UK phone sim cards being very expensive to use. This is something I shall be giving more thought to on my next visit. On the plus side a 5 dollar calling card from a very close supermarket will give you well over a hundred minutes of talk time when using the villa house phone...so it's not too bad once you have entered the huge pin and call numbers. The kitchen was well equipped with many utensils,pots,pans and food storage boxes supplied....great for the days in the parks etc. The utility room with washer and drier was a great asset and saves transporting the normal amount of luggage that you may normally carry on a vacation. The community has a locked gate system in place so don't forget the code. During previous stays at The Abbey in west haven, renters were given access to the community pool and Gym area which didn't seem to be available at this property, maybe the usage rules have changed. On this visit we purchased a portable sunpass toll road transponder which you can buy from pharmacy's and supermarkets. This allowed us to utilize the ever increasing number of automatic toll road systems that are around Florida now. These toll fees and lately car park fees can be paid for using this transponder account at reduced rates.Be aware there are 2 types, a fixed to one car system or a portable car to car system. See the sunpass website for more details. We found this useful on this visit. CONCLUSION A very enjoyable property, one we have added to our return list for the future. Thank you to Cathy and Mark for allowing customers of the world to explore the pleasures of the Florida area while staying in their property.

Date of stay: February 2018    Reviewer name: Morgan Family, The South of Wales

Owners reply
Hi Keith and Helen, Thank you for the detailed review and five-star rating. We're very happy that you enjoyed your stay at our home and added it to your "return list." Thank you, too, for the tip about buying the toll road transponder. Other guests may want to consider doing the same if they plan on doing a lot of travel in Florida. You and Keith were great guests and as super caring of our home as we are. We sincerely appreciate your thoughtfulness. We will consider all suggestions you've made. Thank you. Until next time ... :-) Kind regards, ~Mark & Cathy~