| Two visits to Budapest. Two apartments, walking | | | | heading out of town, but he missed his flight. With |
| distance from downtown. I did not even set foot in | | | | ten people staying in his rental home, there really was |
| the Hilton. My mother and I saw Budapest like only | | | | no place for him. He checked into a very basic motel, |
| someone who stays away from the Americanized | | | | typical of the Kissimmee strip, and realized he would |
| hotels can. We stayed with the locals. We came to | | | | be paying over $200 per night for ten people - or |
| feel the city, not just see it. | | | | about $1500 per week - for uncomfortably basic |
| Several years later, I returned to Europe on my | | | | motel rooms typical of Orlando and other vacation |
| honeymoon (this time, without my mother). The first | | | | mecas. |
| two nights in a little village near Schaffhausen, | | | | "They stayed in my house for $900 - and they got |
| Switzerland, we stayed in the European version of a | | | | their own private pool, ensuite bedrooms, laundry |
| vacation villa rental: our own unit in a private home, | | | | facilities, refrigerator and all the things you now take |
| our own balcony overlooking the scenic village, | | | | for granted in villas," Drew says. "It really opened my |
| comfort, privacy and peace. | | | | eyes to just what a sweet deal my visitors are |
| Three weeks of touring brought us to one or two | | | | getting - and how little motel visitors get for their |
| hotels, several bed and breakfasts, and a couple | | | | money, too." |
| "gasthauses" in Austria and Liechtenstein that felt | | | | Two years ago, my brother and I rented a private |
| more like private homes. | | | | cottage in the Laurentians. We had four bedrooms, |
| "There is no way to compare the comfort and | | | | enough to accommodate both our young families. |
| privacy of a private villa with squeezing everybody | | | | We could see two of the neighboring houses, which |
| into an impersonal hotel room," says Stewart | | | | would be useful in case of an emergency. |
| Granville, CEO of Last Minute Villas ( ), a booking site | | | | We had the television, the stereo, the fire place, |
| for Florida villas and vacation rental homes. "You have | | | | fresh raspberries right off the bushes around the |
| your own space - and lots of it - and you don't have | | | | house (some blueberries, too!), a screened patio with |
| to worry about noise of peeping eyes. Usually you | | | | a private table/bench swing, and a nice big fridge to |
| have a private pool, spa, sound system and other | | | | keep juice, milk and beer cool. We had plenty of |
| luxuries." | | | | space to spread out and a table just perfect for a |
| Last Minute Villas books some vacation rentals on | | | | relaxing evening of cards. |
| Florida's Gulf Coast, but mostly in the Orlando area. | | | | Last summer, we rented a private villa in the |
| Typically, theme park visitors stay in the motel strip | | | | Laurentians again, this time overlooking a small lake, |
| in Kissimmee. Those with deeper pockets might stay | | | | and a canoe was supplied. |
| at the Disney World Hotel. Few people realize that a | | | | Why would anybody want to crowd their family into |
| Vacation home near Disney World or in nearby | | | | a hotel room? Or even two? I've been spoiled. From |
| Orlando is even an option. | | | | Orlando, Florida to Budapest, Hungary, travel in style |
| Fewer still realize how cheap it is. One Florida villa | | | | by staying in a private vacation rental home, no |
| owner describes how he had just checked his guests | | | | matter where you go. |
| in to his own Kissimmee/Orlando area villa. Drew was | | | | |