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~

A huge thanks to Cathy and Mark for allowing us to stay in their beautiful Florida villa. We booked this villa 12 months in advance after careful consideration of the location and direction of the south west facing pool to optimise maximum sunshine hours whilst chilling out. We found instantly on arrival that we had choosen the correct one. The villa is spotless and is decorated to a high standard. The furnishings are extremely comfortable which was a welcome relief after a long day at the theme parks. The secure gated entry into The Sanctuary also gave piece of mind. The villa is situated is in a quiet area near to Championsgate but is close enough to all the Orlando attractions. 10mins to WDW, 20mins to Seaworld and 25-30mins to Universal Resort. We will definitely return to this Oasis.

Date of stay: September 2017    Reviewer name: The McClelland Family, Renfrewshire, Scotland

Owners reply
Hi Lynn and Stewart! We're so happy to know you've enjoyed your Florida holiday at our home. It's wonderful to hear that everything met your expectations upon arrival. You've been lovely guests and we look forward to having you and your family again. Thank you for taking the time to write a review. Much appreciated! :-) ~Mark & Cathy~

A villa can make or break your holiday. After trolling though numerous we decided on this one and have just returned from 2 fabulous weeks at this villa. Had absolutely everything you could possibly need washing machine, dishwasher, wifi etc. Villa is decorated & maintained to a high standard as well as spotlessly clean. Pool is a great size too & cleaned during stay. Only 20-30 mins from Universal depending on traffic & weather. Publix, Millers's Ale House, Wendy's, Red Robyn, petrol station etc only 5 mins drive away & 5 mins to I4. Fabulous location just far enough away for this to be a tranquil haven. Cathy was great to deal with & communication, directions etc were ideal. Will we return to this villa - absolutely!!!!!

Date of stay: July 2017    Reviewer name: Hendry Family, Scotland

Owners reply
Thank you for the lovely review, Lilian. It was a pleasure having you and your family as our guests. We're excited to know you'll return. We hope to see you again soon! :-) Mark & Cathy

We have been to Orlando about 10 times and always stayed in different villas, this one is our favourite as it ticked all the boxes - Good size, on one floor, great pool and facilities and perfect location, it is easy to access everything (if you drive) but far enough away from the loud and busy areas. Champions Gate is getting a big reboot and we saw a big difference this year with a lot of changes ready to happen. Clive and Chris were great from the booking til the day we returned. Even sending us a message to check we were ok as we were there during the hurricane.

Date of stay: October 2016    Reviewer name: McNamee Family, Glasgow

We have just returned fro a 3 week stay in Clive and Chris' s villa and we wished we had found it sooner. We have holidayed in Florida many times over the last 20 year and rented many home but this one is by far the best we have stayed in. The location is excellent. The home was immaculate on arrival and equipped with everything you could need for your stay. We especially enjoyed the privacy and peacefulness of he pool area especially in the evenings after a busy day. Clive and Chris were so helpful with our booking and made us feel right from the start very welcome. Their management company were also excellent and we have never seen a pool area maintained by a pool service company as well the made it look like new each time they visited. Hope we can rent again for another holiday soon

Date of stay: June 2016    Reviewer name: Burns Family, Scotland

We have had the pleasure of staying in this wonderful home 3 years in a row and quite honestly have no plans to stay anywhere else. Why would we when this home has everything, and I mean everything, you could possibly want for the perfect vacation. 15 mins to theme parks, 5 mins to I4 and local shops and restaurants. The house is immaculate and furnished to a high standard and the best bit is the pool. So private and in the perfect spot to get the sun all day long with a fabulous covered area with table and chairs when you need a break from sunbathing. Just perfect for relaxing after a busy day at the parks or just pop into the games room for some good family competition. Thanks again Clive & Chris, so thankful we found you guys.

Date of stay: May 2016    Reviewer name: Cheek Family, Yateley, Hampshire

Thank you Chris & Clive for a fantastic 16 night stay at your villa for Christmas and New Year, it was everything we had hoped for. We have stayed in many villas during our visits to Florida and this was by far the best, would certainly recommend to anyone

Date of stay: December 2015    Reviewer name: Webber Family, Bridgwater Somerset UK

we first holidayed in Chris and Clives beautiful villa back in 2006 and a further four holidays since, we have a two week holiday coming up in May of this year(2015) making a total of six altogether. Is this a RECORD. Chris and Clive are so helpful, friendly and accommodating making the booking so easy, any questions asked were replied promptly. The villa is always spotlessly clean and comfortable, the pool area is private and sunny. All our families have enjoyed many happy memories there and hopefully more to come. Many thanks to Chris and Clive for everything you have done over the years. Jack. Pat and Family.

Date of stay: May 2015    Reviewer name: Moore Family, Isle of Wight. UK.

This was our second time staying in Clive & Chris's wonderful home. It really does have everything you could possible need. The pool is so private, not overlooked by anyone or anything. The home is kept to a very high standard and was spotless upon arrival. The Estate is immaculately maintained and so peaceful and quiet, it truly is perfect. We cannot wait to return next May, which is a record for us as we don't normally stay anywhere more than once. Thanks again Clive & Chris for the use of you beautiful home

Date of stay: May 2015    Reviewer name: The Cheek Family , Hampshire, UK

What a find. This beautiful home has everything you need to have a wonderful holiday. The villa is spacious, very well decorated and maintained to a very high standard. The sanctuary is a lovey gated community which is immaculately maintained. It's so quiet and peaceful considering it's just a couple of minutes from the busy I4. All the big theme parks are within a twenty minute drive and the local supermarket is about 5 mins away. The pool captures the sun all day and the pool deck is huge and not overlooked by one one which is great. Clive and Chris made the whole booking process a breeze and we cannot wait to return again in May. Thanks Clive and Chris for allowing us to use your wonderful home

Date of stay: September 2014    Reviewer name: The Cheek Family, Yateley, Hampshire

What a find. After trawling through what seemed like hundreds of Villas thankfully I came across Clive and Chris's.The service and information provided prior to our holiday was very thorough. When we arrived we were all overwhelmed at how lovely spacious and well equipped the villa was. The location was perfect just a short drive from all orlando has to offer,and close to restraunts and shops. The pool area is great and gets the sunshine nearly all day. The games room was a big hit with our boys (and the husband) they had several competitions and chamionship games going on. The villa is very spacious and is decorated and maintained to a very high standard. The bathrooms are all great and the bedrooms are all lovely . We were very sad to leave but vowed to return having this villa to return to after a hectic theme park day was awesome and on our relaxing days we never left the pool. The pool is fab not overlooked or anything and plenty of room around the pool for chilling reading a book while watching the children splash around. The addition of an poolside wc was great . I highly recommend this villa it scores top marks with us for everything location,size,amenities,cleanliness,value for money . Thanks again Clive &Chris for allowing us to use your beautiful villa .

Date of stay: March 2014    Reviewer name: Pates Family, North Wales

This house has everything you need . . . and more. We have spent our past 2 Florida vacations in this wonderful home and hope to spend many more there in the future. We can’t imagine staying anywhere else. Clive and Chris are very attentive and caring. They provided all of the information we needed well ahead of time and were very quick to answer any questions we had. They are truly wonderful people to deal with. The house is perfectly situated in a gated community that is close to major highways and attractions. We were amazed at how quickly we could get to the Disney parks. The community is clean and quiet – you almost forget that you are so close to the main tourist areas as the community is very peaceful. The house is very spacious, inviting and clean. We had a hard time choosing which bedrooms to use – they were all set up perfectly. The master ensuite is huge and the walk in closets made it much easier to organize our belongings. The kids loved playing in the “Winnie the Pooh” room. It honestly felt like being at home – everything we needed was already in the house (laundry facilities, dishes, towels, highchair, playpen, etc). The pool is amazing! It was always the perfect temperature which meant we could enjoy swimming even if the weather was a bit cool. The seat/shelf at the end of the pool was perfect for the kids (as a new swimmer my son would race to the end of the pool then take a break on the seat). The pool area is huge (much bigger than other houses we have stayed at). We enjoyed many meals and fun activities with the kids in the backyard pool area. Having the outdoor washroom was perfect as well. We could not have asked for a better pool set up. Renting this house was a wonderful experience all around! We can’t thank Clive and Chris enough and we can’t wait to stay there again!

Date of stay: February 2014    Reviewer name: Pillon Family, Canada

We stayed over Halloween 2012, what a brilliant villa! Well located in a secure community a short drive from the main parks. Spacious and extremely welcoming with great amenities and local information provided. This isn't the first villa we have had in this area and of this size but it was the best. The master bedroom is just lovely and the kids room really brings the Disney feel to the kids getting them all excited for the upcoming park visits. Our kids were desperate to get in the pool the minute we arrived and, thanks to great communication from the owners, it was pre heated and ready for just that. The games room has a very high standard of equipment, well maintained, good instruction and a cheeky 'beers compulsary' message. All in all a very high standard of villa and we hope to be back soon. Thanks guys.

Date of stay: October 2012    Reviewer name: Jeffs family, Coventry, UK