I’ll be attending a conference in Orlando at the beginning of June, and all I know so far is that it will be held downtown. I’ve been to Orlando quite a bit, but I’ve only stayed in the downtown area once. Most of my expertise is resort related. I know there are condos and Orlando town homes available for rent, I just don’t know if the downtown area is a big vacation resort rental market. Here’s hoping we can find something reasonably priced to stay in for the conference!

Technorati Tags: Orlando, vacation, Orlando rentals, Disney rentals, Disney resorts

It’s no secret that I love Disney. My parents took ME for the first time when I was 3, and I’ve been going back ever since. I’m just a big kid when I get there - I love the rides, the shows, the stores, even just staying in the resorts onsite. With 52 theme parks, the rest of central Florida & Orlando is pretty nice too. They’ve got top rated golf courses, beaches only 40 minutes away, dinner shows, outlet shopping, and nightlife. Disney World packages are a great way to get good deals on rooms and tickets - not to mention its an easy way to book everything if you’re new to vacationing in Orlando. Figuring out where to stay and what to do, coordinating buying tickets - that can add a real headache factor to your relaxing vacation. Vacation packages make it easy to do what you want, when you want to do it. As for me, my next planned trip is in early June, and I’ll be hitting Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios for the first time in years! I can’t wait.

Technorati Tags: Disney, Disney World packages, Disney World, Disney vacations, Orlando, Florida, Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios

When we went to Ocho Rios on our cruise in 2005, we passed right by this BEAUTIFUL strip of beach loaded with luxury resorts - I asked our tour guide what it was, and they said it belonged to a large group of resorts - some for couples, and one was an all inclusive family resort. You pay one fee, and everything is included - from your wining and dining to your entertainment at night. Just like a cruise, except you stay in one place! Vacations.net specializes in all-inclusive travel, and when you compare it to booking everything on your own, it really is reasonable - especially when you take into considering the 50% savings that Vacations.net is offering to new bookings right now!

Technorati Tags: vacation, all inclusive, resorts, family friendly resorts, Jamaica, Caribbean, Mexico, Dominican, Sandals

I need to take a minute to plug Blue Ridge Rentals in Blowing Rock, NC. We rented a vacation cabin in the Boone, NC area last week that was just fabulous. Close to town, reasonably priced, and a true home away from home. The owners of the cabin had it stocked with games, books, and movies, they had ping-pong and foosball in the basement, and a hot tub on the porch. It was such a difference from last time, when we used another company. In that case, our rental cabin was FAR away from skiing (even though we were told it wasn’t!), there were ladybugs all over the inside of the cabin, and the roof leaked. If you’d like to vacation in North Carolina, I highly recommend Blue Ridge Rentals! We will definitely book with them again.

My husband and I are looking into making a real estate investment in the upcoming year. We’re not exactly sure where we’ll end up buying land, but I’d like for it to be in a resort area, so that we can build on the property and then rent it out when we’re not using it. Vacation rental homes and condos are getting to be huge business. For example, check out this Hawaii condo managed by Gebhart Properties. Amazing, huh? Their vacation homes are the cream of the crop, with custom furnishings, great views, and some are just 30 feet from the ocean. Everything they offer just screams “luxury”. When I finally make it to Hawaii, I want to stay in a place like one of these beautiful homes!