What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

After viewing the DVD, my husband and I are "this close" to checking availability for a 3-night visit through The Villages web site. Can anyone tell me what happens after you send in that request? Do they contact you with a specific place to stay and instructions on what you can and can't do? What is included in your visit besides the accommodation? Any sales presentations that you must attend?
Thanks much for any info you can share. I'm anxious to learn. :read:

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

We booked our lifestyle preview over the phone. It included luxurious accommodation in the Cottages, plus lots of freebies, dinner at The Cattle Baron, and much, much more. We could even include our two dogs. We didn't get a lot of pressure from the Village agents. They were happy to show us both new and resales. We ended up putting in an offer through MLS.

If you call The Villages, they'll tell you everything that is included.

Good luck and enjoy. Be careful .. it is SO easy to fall in love.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

We took the tour and it was eye opening. Stayed in a house similar to what we would consider buying. And it was spotless! At check-in they gave us the coupon book...we weren't expecting all the freebies!

Once we put our stuff in the house, we thought "When are the sales wolves gonna call?" They never did. We called to make an appointment with one toward the end of our stay, and that was the start of a good relationship. The Villages does not pressure potential buyers, at all. Their approach is "Here's our product, if you wish to buy, great..but we won't press you into anything." And they live up to it.

Long story short, after 2 more visits, and 7 months or so, we bought (May '07). We are trying to sell our existing home, after which we'll be moving and we can't wait!

Your goal with lifestyle preview is to see as much of the Villages as you can...and use all the coupons!

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

I agree with Fourpar. We spent 6 days a few weeks ago in a home similar to what we want to buy. They gave us a 3 bed/2 bath Jasmine II model that was in impeccable shape. It allowed us to 'make believe' we were owners.

We rented a golf cart for the week to get the full experience and we used all (OK most) of the freebies that they offered. We almost paid for no food during the week. Check out my reviews on the restaurant forum.

Sales NEVER called. We went looking at many open houses on our own (check the Daily sun everyday for open houses that day). I've I had 350K hanging around I would have pulled the trigger on a house on the Havana course (in Amelia I believe).

I played golf at Havana and the course, when mature, is going to be a real challenge. I visited with some new TOTV friends and met up with an old acquaintance. We hung out at the pools during the heat of the day and spent some time at the squares at night.

We toured the hospital and took a quick drive around the major roads to see what lies outside the 'campus'.

I would suggest more than 3 days if you can since the price per night is so low anyway. We paid $100 per night but with the freebies the real cost was very close to zero.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

OHMYGAWSH...thank you so much everyone for your input! It seems that everything I was HOPING would happen on a visit, DOES. :bigthumbsup: I thought I was asking too much for 1) no pressure; 2) nice place to stay; 3) tours if we wanted them; 4) open houses; 5) leisure time to ourselves. That's a tall order but at this stage in our research, it was the pace we felt we wanted. Turns out my order isn't so tall after all! That's good news and I will be calling to sign up for a visit. Only hold-up now is I would like to see if we can stay longer as Russ_Boston suggests. I'm excited! ;D

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Don't wait too long Dizz, it gets real hot, real fast in the summer.

I forgot to mention that we also took a pickleball beginner lesson (free) on Tuesday at Lake Miona rec center. You need to call them first to register since they only hold it if enough people sign up and it starts to get slow in June (so they told me). Ask your sales rep if interested.

If you are golfers remember that they will give you two free rounds each at any of the championship courses - again just ask the sales rep.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Hi Dizz,

We signed up for the week preview, it was great..Had a golf cart, ate at great restaurants every night, drove around till we got tired every day..Viewed all the new homes, and bought our home after one day!! LOL
I am so compulsive :o

Best of luck!

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

We came down last month and we too agree with fourpar. The house was beautifully decorated and spotless and the nice meals and golf were a total surprise. NO ONE, I repeat, NO one in any way pressured us and there was no "sales presentation". They took you to see whatever you wanted. NOT a word about buying. It was just wonderful.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Thanks again for all your responses. After much discussion, unfortunately we have to postpone our visit. It is definitely only postponed as we now will be going in January, 2009. We are spending a week at Disney World and then stopping at The Villages on our way north. Also, this way we might be able to stay longer - 4 or 5 days as opposed to only 3.

What are your thoughts on coming in January? I'm assuming everything is in full swing because all the snowbirds would be back. We actually felt we may get a better feel for things if everybody and everything is hopping. ;)

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

I concur with Russ in that you will want to spend more than 3 days in TV. Once you get your bearings, you will find so many things to do and places you will want to explore that you will be hard pressed to see and do it all in a couple of days. Many have to come back for a second and perhaps a third 5 day stay to take it all in.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

We were there for 4 days in Apr and there was absolutely no pressure of any kind. We had to call someone to say we wanted to look at some properties. With all the freebies, we hardly spent a dime, it was great! Does anyone know if you make a second trip if you can do another preview deal?

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Dear Dizz - my husband and I are coming to TV on May 30 for our 3 day visit - wish we had more time. If we like what we see - our house will go on the market as soon as we get home. I'm excited and scared! Can't wait to see for myself the "Utopia" that everyone talks about. Reading these posts has really enlightened me on questions for our Sales Agent.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Jo - I wouldn't set my sights at 'utopia' but I'm sure you'll love it. Our visit was too short at 6 days. Can't wait to secure my semi-retirement and join my TOTV friends for good!

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Dear Jo~ :agree:
Please come back to this forum and let me know what you think after your visit.
My husband said just what you said..."the next 2 years should be scary but exciting". ;D

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

We're coming down in October with another couple on the recommendation of friends. We're all looking forward to it. We're coming for 6 days and I think we are only getting 4 meals. Are they at specific restaurants and can anyone tell me which ones? Are these included in the coupon book? It seemed like it was something separate.

I was told about the coupon book but no specifics were given. Can anyone who has taken this preview tell us more about what’s included? Are there meals in that coupon book?

It seems like there are more activities than we would ever have time for. Are there any that you would recommend? We like dancing, having an adult beverage or two, games, cards, theater, music and of course, golf. The pickleball sound like it would be fun as well.

We were discouraged from renting a golf cart. They seemed to encourage a car because the place is so big & this would allow us to have access to more. It would also allow us to go offsite. Does anyone have a strong opinion on this?

Thanks for taking the time to help.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Golf cart - My recommendation is to get one. Yes TV is big and maybe when you go around looking at model homes etc. you should use the car but to know the lifestyle you should try the golf cart access. It sold my wife on TV. You could rent from the villages cart store but there are private people to rent from who are a little cheaper and have better carts (do a search above for whole threads on the topic)

Meals - Not a coupon book per se. More of a punch card deal. My best recollection is that it had:

breakfast at Veranda (good quiche!)
lunch at Palmer (must be seated before 4PM)
lunch/dinner at Cane (try the meatloaf!)
lunch/dinner at lighthouse grille (sit outside if not too hot)
lunch/dinner at cattle baron (ask for a table overlooking the dance floor of Katie Belles).


Each of us got a punch card to use.

It also had movie tickets, bowling discount, 20% off of the mercantile store (TV logo stuff).

Golf - two free rounds each at any of the championship courses but they need to make the tee times in advance for you. I might suggest Havana and Cane Garden but they all have their merits from what others have told me.

Have Fun!

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

We had two Lifestyle Previews before we decided to buy and both were spectacular! You'll love it and you'll love it here! It's the next best thing to paradise and I'm not exaggerating! ;D

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

er
The meals were pure hospitality. They included everything and if you didn't want an appetizer or dessert, the server encouraged you to take it "home" and put it in the refrigerator for a midnight snack. You will be overwhelmed. There is NO pressure and no sales pitch. Welcome to Paradise. We weren't going to buy and we did and we have now spent 20 full days and nights at our new home in Hadley.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Thanks everyone for their quick response.

I tried (briefly) to find private rentals for golf carts and was unsuccessful. I think that the carts are about $19/day at the cart store.

Russ Boston- Did you rent privately? Thanks for the recommendations

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Definitely get a cart to better enjoy the lifestyle.

We've had good luck renting privately from Barbara Hocking, who has numerous 2 and 4 seat electric club cars available. She prefers cash. Don't worry about electic vs. gas - you'll have enough juice to go everywhere.

She can be reached at 352-259-8395 (home) or 330-412-1408 (cell).

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Dizz.....i certainly agree with all the previous comments.....my wife and i did our first visit last Feb (4 days) and like many others, fell in love with TV.....so much so that we are now booked for our second visit (6 day) the end of September...we can't wait

no matter what, like others, i recommend as long a stay as you can arrange and without question, you need to get that golf car to get the real feel for what life in TV is like

enjoy!!!!!!!

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

From a previous post on the topic:

For the rental or purchase of a used golf cart I would call Jim Followell at cell 317-258-1241 or home 352-259-7525. He rents carts that go faster than the ones The Villages rents and his all have side curtains also which The Villages carts don't have. He also has 4 seat carts. Good person to work with.

Hope this helps.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Regarding the golf cart, it depends on what you anticipate doing while visiting. If you are trying to get a taste of the lifestyle, I think it makes good sense to get one. However, if your motive is to actually look for a place to buy, I strongly suggest that you skip the golf cart. When we were down in July, we were in the "buy" mode and were very thankful that we didn't waste money on a golf cart. I doubt that we would have used it more than once or twice ... we needed a means to get from point A to B as fast as possible. We didn't even take advantage of all of the freebies on the card because of lack of time - and leaving freebies on the table doesn't sit well with my Dutch blood.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

We had the same experience as NJBlue. We already knew that we wanted to purchase. So we wanted to see as many listings as possible and we looked at many VLS and MLS houses.

We intended to rent a golf cart but didn't have time to even take advantage of half the freebies. We were busy every single second either looking at houses or hanging out at the town centers. We did take advantage of the complimentary meals, yummy, especially the one at the Cattle Baron!

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Boston:

Ditto on this one. My wife is enjoyin TV with one of his carts now. Very good sevice.

:bigthumbsup: :bigthumbsup:

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

My wife and I just returned from a lifestyle visit to TV last week.

We had a golf cart because we wanted to get a feel for driving around in the cart. However, we only used the cart for part of our stay because traveling long distances in the cart takes a long time (the car is a lot faster) and it can occasionally be difficult to figure out the cart paths and tunnels. Also, it was not fun driving the cart in the bad afternoon rainstorms. As others have said, whether or not you should rent a cart depends on what you want to accomplish during your stay.

With the lifestyle preview, my wife and I both received cards good for:

$12 Breakfast or Lunch at the Veranda Restaurant
$15 Lunch at the Palmer Legends Country Club
$20 Lunch or Dinner at the Lighthouse Grille
$40 Lunch or Dinner at the Cane Garden Country Club
$50 Lunch or Dinner at either the Cattle Baron Club or Katie Belle’s

2 movie tickets good at Rialto or Old Mill theatre
2 rounds of golf, championship or executive course
2 games of championship tennis
Championship Course: Large Bucket of Balls
20% off total of one purchase at the Market or Banner Mercantile
20% off one service at Tuscany Day Spa & Salon
20% off one service at Salon Fifth Avenue

The amounts they gave us for meals were more than adequate in most cases with the exception of Palmer Legends where we went over the allowed amount. In that case the restaurant just charges you the difference. Incidentally, gratuities are not included in the meals. I believe this may be a recent change since two people in the Sales Center told us that they were included.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Yes, those are changes.

In April we had the same choices but there was NO limit on amount spent and the gratuities were included. I assume that is per person but still we went over those amounts. The servers were pushing all sorts of specials to bump up the bill as much as possible for a higher tip. I guess that is why they started to limit.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Another possibility may be that since the rates are reduced in the summer perhaps they put a limit on only during the off season? Just thinking out loud. Maybe someone who visited last summer on a preview can confirm? ;D

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Yes, the dollar amounts I listed were per person.

As I said we went way over the amount allowed at Palmer Country Club for lunch. In the other cases, we stayed within the limits of the card but we didn't order the most expensive things on the menu.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

When we were there in July they were in the process of transitioning from the old cards to the new ones. When we went to a restaurant and showed the card to the servers, they would typically have to go check with the manager to determine if they were the new ones or the old. They were the old ones, but were still a bit different than what others had mentioned in that we could only go to Katie Belle's and not the Cattle Barron's.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

dizz42, The Villages will take great care of you with no pressure.
My singular minor objection was full payment in advance, but.. it was well worth it.

--- and we bought

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

We were here on a preview last summer and their were no limits on the meals.

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

We were down for a visit May 07....and were pleasantly surprised on the meals offered on the punch card. I don't remember the exact amounts but all of them were very adequate. When we went to Palmers it was in the afternoon for lunch, my husband mentioned to the wait staff that we had the coupons...her response...Oh, then I will get you the dinner menu!!!!! 99% of our meal was covered. It was delicious, actually all the meals were delicious!

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Here's what happens... (or, I should say... "here's what happened to me/us")... You spend 4 days in paradise (we golfed 3 days), you party and have the time of your life, you cry on the way back to the airport because you have to leave, you get home and become obsessed and posessed with the homes on the website and then YOU BUY A HOME AND GET YOUR FANNY DOWN HERE ASAP! nuf said?

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

Mr. JoC and I were there this past July and the coupons were the same as when we were there last March except that there was a limit on the amount you could spend in the restaurants e.g. $50 each at Cattle Barron. My favorite is Cane Garden. Yum. We can't wait to move to TV which will be during Sept. some time. We don't know our closing date up here - our closing date in Hadley is this Thursday --we're so excited!

Re: What happens when you sign up for a visit?
 

It seems funny to me to hear that Cane Garden was your favorite. :dontknow: Both my wife and I hated the appetizer and the entrees we got at Cane Garden when we were there on the lifestyle preview plan last month. The only good part of the meal was the cheesecake which they purchase from an outside vendor. In fact, I said to my wife after we left, I'm not sure I would go there again even if the meal was free.

However, reading other people comments online, several people have commented on the great meals they have there. Maybe we just ordered the wrong things or were there on a bad night. :dontknow: