“Why Do it yourself? Surely a package holiday is best?"

“Why should I rent a private villa for my holiday?”

“Why not go to one of the main tour operators and book a hotel?”

“Surely its better to book a package holiday?”

These are a couple of questions we are often asked and truthfully answer “You couldn’t be more wrong”.

When we first went to Orlando in 1997, we stayed at a 4 star hotel on the 192 – one of the main hotel chains. We had a great time, just like everyone who visits Orlando. We also found it hard because we had to share our room with the children (We had been used to having 2 bedroom apartments in Spain!). We felt that this was the cheapest option available to us and because we were “doing” Disney we put up with it, and also to be fair, we too thought that it was a better and safer option to book through a tour operator.

If you have a young family then when they go to bed – you have to as well! You have no where to go. Think about it! The theme parks tire everyone out and if you or the children need an impromptu nap then you are very limited in what the rest of the family do.

For the next few visits to Orlando we actually stayed in Timeshare Apartments – all very luxurious and nice, but after a stay in a villa on the Gulf coast in 2002 (we were sharing with another family) we were bowled over by the spacious living accommodation as well as the fantastic pool and spa. We spent a great time there eating beside the pool - breakfast, noon and night! The children were in their element with their own private pool. For the whole week they just got up and dived in and spent every spare minute in there – apart from when we went out sight-seeing. This spurred us on to buy our own holiday home in Orlando!

A holiday in a luxury private villa gives you so much more freedom and choice. Our villa is large and luxurious with plenty of space, with a pool, patio area and spa. DIY means that you get what you want and you are not leaving the success of your holiday up to a tour operator who has thousands of clients spread across hundreds of hotels, apartments and villas. One of the benefits of DIY holidays is they have a wide variety of choice in terms of flights and car hire. By organising your own flights and car hire as well as booking a private villa, means that you should save money compared to a package holiday, as well as gaining lots of space, etc.

So what is the catch? Well we don’t think that there is one really. Driving? This is not a problem. If not having your own transport (to do as you want, when you want) is not attractive enough. Think of the queues you will be avoiding when waiting for coaches and shuttle buses. Then think of the other journeys you can make – Kennedy Space Centre, Busch, Gulf coast and all the shopping malls! Gardens

Finally pound for pound or dollar for dollar, you will really get the best value accommodation you could hope for. For the LESS THAN the price of an 8- birth, 3 bedroomed, caravan in a well known holiday park on the east coast in Yorkshire, ENGLAND, you can get a 4 bedroomed/3 bathroomed, luxuriously furnished villa with its own pool and spa and games room in the entertainment capital, Orlando. Not forgetting all the added extras that are FREE for our guests – the Glenbrook Resort Community Club house with pool, games room, tennis courts, volley ball net, and media room. With flights to Orlando becoming more and more affordable – go on! Treat yourself to a holiday of a lifetime for the same price as a holiday in Spain.