We just completed our two month stay, March and April, 2013 in Homosassa, Florida. This is the second year we have stayed at the villa and we have thoroughly enjoyed our stays. We are already booked... more

The owners, Jim and Valerie, are a great couple. Very friendly and accommodating. The home is immaculate. The kitchen well appointed. The vacation home is very comfortable and secluded. We are... more

We booked this charming villa for a quiet getaway over Christmas & New Year. The contact with the villa owners prior to arrival was excellent, and we were looking forward to meeting them during our stay. James & Valerie are very experienced and thoughtful property renters and the villa was very well appointed. They made our stay even better because of their warmth and hospitality! There was a wealth of material on hand to give us ideas on how best to explore the amazing Nature Coast of this part of Florida. The community of Homosassa is lovely, the wildlife viewing opportunities are unrivalled and the sunshine just doesn't get boring! We will certainly be booking again and looking forward to catching up with some new chums too!

REVIEW - Mangrove Court North, Homosassa, Florida, USA
This property is a real undiscovered gem! I say undiscovered but the owners James and Valarie Kennedy, a delightful Irish couple, do have frequent regular renters from within the US who come down and rent this house for two or three months at a time so it's not by any means unknown!

However, I discovered this home quite by accident while looking for a last minute Villa to rent for my family and I when we decided to vacation in Florida at the last minute. As with many situations like this, while reading the excellent reviews and looking at the nice photos of the house, you always wonder what it's actually going to be like when you arrive there. Well, we need not have worried!

The house is a one level bungalow, located in the quiet town of Homosassa in North Central Florida, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large open-plan living, dining, kitchen area and a fairly large study (which could be used as a third bedroom – I have mentioned this to the owners). There is also a large two and a half car parking garage with remote entry access (hit the button on the remote which James will give you to put under your car sunshade and the door will open and allow you to drive in and park your car under cover) a two car driveway, lovely landscaped gardens which surround the house and a decent private pool at the back. The pool is very shallow at one end and drops away to about six feet at the other. The pool is small by Florida standards but there is more than enough room to swim and enjoy it. My two kids had a ball in there and my wife got up every morning and swam before breakfast. Talking of breakfast, there is a large sun table with chairs so that you can sit out and have breakfast, lunch or dinner outside by the pool. There is a large patio concreted area in front of the pool with plenty of electrical outlets, ceiling fans with one above the table and lighting for you to enjoy that evening glass of wine when the sun goes down. The pool has an underwater light so swimming at midnight is fun if that is your thing.

Probably one of the best things about this house is that it is not overlooked by any other properties! The house lies at the far end of a small road circle that is itself off of Mangrove Court and only two houses occupy lots in this road. You cannot see the other house at all and the rear of the property has a small garden which fades into the Florida “bush” as my daughter calls it. A good distance behind this is a main road but you cannot see it and there is no ability to see behind the house from that direction. We swam without bathing costumes at night when the kids were in bed then enjoyed a glass of wine by the pool lights – excellent!

The property is also not overlooked at the front either. Having said that, further back along the road, the development is a private community with good looking, well built, decent houses and is clean and uncluttered. You have good access to US Highway 19 where you can drive north towards Homosassa Springs and the larger community of Crystal River or you can head south towards Spring Hill (a lovely Steak Restaurant called the Outback can be found there) and Publix Supermarket can be found just down the road about 1.5 miles at the junction with Highway 98, along with a Walgreens store and gas station. There is also a super large Walmart Store within three minutes of the house if you like to shop.

Inside the house, the main bedroom has a huge Super king size bed which is adjustable on both his and hers side to enable it to be either soft or hard to suit your sleeping comfort – very neat feature! This room also has plenty of storage with a walk-in wardrobe and draws. There is also a 28” widescreen TV. Ceiling fans are also present which are found in both bedrooms and the study. The second bedroom is a fair size and has two separate single beds in it. The main bedroom has an en-suite bathroom with a double size shower in there (two can shower in it) and a good bathroom suite and toilet. There is also a door to the pool which allows you to walk in and out without getting pool water in the house. The second bathroom is well equipped and is located between the second bedroom and the study which lends more to the idea that the study would do well as a third bedroom. Both bedrooms have sliding door French window type windows which will allow direct access to the pool area, if you require this – we didn't need it but it was nice to look out over the pool in the morning.

The house has a the usual large size washing machine, tumble dryer and overall scullery area and the kitchen has all you need from a full set of crockery and cutlery and other required kitchen utensils, plus a full size dishwasher, US style fridge/freezer, microwave and large Oven/Grill. The main living area is fully carpeted where necessary, over standard white tiling underneath. There is a 40” full HD TV (not sure if it is Plasma or LED) which comes with Cable and a Blue Ray/Standard DVD Player. The house has free wireless internet access as well as local telephone use.

The Kennedy's clearly believe in looking after their guests too! We arrived to find that they had left us a bottle of wine and even made sandwiches for us as we arrived in the evening around 7:30pm. They also had milk and a box of cereal on hand plus sugar and salt which meant no need to go shopping for food right away. Very thoughtful!

What did I like about this house? It was impeccably clean, in a very quiet location, all mod cons on hand and no possibility of being overlooked. The house has full heating/air conditioning and is well landscaped and looks very serene from the outside and also when you step into it. You almost want to buy it! I would! Away from the house, there is a nice beach about 30 minutes north located at Fort Island and you should visit the Manatee Centre too and the outdoor spring water park if you have kids. If you like steak and salad, check out Cody's Roadhouse in either Crystal River or Spring Hill. We ate at the Crystal River location and it was great! Homosassa is actually very central for everything. We drove down to Siesta Key beach in Sarasota for the day and this was a two-hour drive. Tampa is one hour fifteen minutes away and Orlando and the Disney Parks are about two hours fifteen minutes away. The Space Centre at Cape Canaveral is about three hours away – all very reachable on day excursions.

We stayed there in early August for nine days and paid UK£450 fully inclusive (around US$700). James usually charges less if there are two people staying so couples will find a lovely little retreat at a cost which in my opinion is a real give away! Currently, there is no cleaning fee or deposit required and James' prices are inclusive. You can pay using all the usual methods and James will even take a cheque drawn on a UK Bank Account (we did this as we made the decision to take the villa about 8 days before we actually arrived!). James is however very flexible and you can negotiate with him. I cannot credit him enough! James and Valerie are lovely people with the most wonderful little place hiding away here in north central Florida. You need to see it to enjoy all it has to offer. My family and I are indebted to the Kennedys for allowing us the use of their lovely house and giving us the chance to enjoy a nice break close to the Gulf.

DISCLAIMER – I am not in any way affiliated to James or Valerie Kennedy and affirm that I did, indeed stay at this property with my wife and children for nine days in August 2012. Lee James, West Sussex UK

What a beautiful villa,the best we have stayed in so far in Florida.It was absolutely spotless and had every amenity you could possibly need.The setting was lovely too,so secluded but close to shops etc.Our hosts were great too,so friendly and helpful,in fact there was nothing we could fault about the villa it was just the area was a bit quiet for us otherwise we would definitely stay here again.Thank you for a wonderful stay.

We spent the month of April in James & Valerie's Homosassa villa. They were more than gracious hosts, we left knowing we were friends. Their rental villa is beautiful with all the amenities... more

Hosted by such a lovely couple, this villa has 'welcome' appeal. Everything we could possibly need was on hand, even delicious sandwiches and a cup of English tea in a teapot! Nothing is too much trouble to Valerie and Jim; they have a wealth of local knowledge and an easy conversation.
Wildlife is right outside the door as well as the surrounding area. We cycled, using our own folding bikes carried in the back of the car, parts of the two local cycle trails, taking in pretty, non-touristy small towns such as Floral City and seeing the real Florida with its wealth of wildlife (including Bald Eagles) and all in glorious sunshine. When exhaustion set in it was only a short drive to the villa to relax in the comfort of a squishy sofa.
For those who like a beach on their holidays; Fort Island Trail ends at a pretty, sandy beach and hosts an impressive flock of Black Skimmers.
To top it all this villa is very good value for your money.

10 days of bliss in peaceful Homosassa. Our friendly hosts were wonderful supplying food and wine on arrival, with other essentials in the fridge.

The villa was great, very private backing on to woods with a massive comfortable bed and well equipped all round.

The local area has plenty of shops and places for food, with a shopping Mall nearby with some of the cheapest clothes in Florida.. There is a wildlife park with alligators, bears, bobcats just up the road. The cinema is based in the shopping mall starting at 1pm till about 10pm.

This is a quieter face of Florida away from the big parks but only an hour from the airport.

Can't praise our hosts highly enough it was a great pleasure, and thank you both once again.

We're regular visitors to Florida but don't want to spend our time in theme parks, we've stayed in Naples and Clearwater Beach on the Gulf Coast as well as Melbourne on the Space Coast.. We've never rented a villa before and for spring 2011 we wanted a quiet relaxing break from work and home in the UK. We couldn't have made a better choice, the villa itself was beautiful: more than enough room for four people, fully equipped with good quality appliances, HD cable TV, broadband internet, everything you would want in your own home. The location is idyllic, a deed controlled community set in natural Florida woodlands and a few minutes drive from Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park. There are shops and restaurants within a few minutes drive too and it's under an hour to get to Tampa, we visited Big Cat Rescue, and a little over an hour to get to Clearwater Beach where we spent a day on the beach. Homosassa itself is just a regular Florida town, not overtly touristy and we really enjoyed the experience of "just living" in Florida for a couple of weeks. Jim and Valerie were wonderful hosts, there was lunch and a bottle of wine in the Fridge waiting for us when we arrived and they live nearby should you need them for anything.

I really can't recommend this villa highly enough, I've enthused about it and the location to friends and colleagues and genuinely have recommended it to others, we can't wait to go back.

If you are looking to be treated like royalty and are needing to unwind this is the place for you. The Kennedy's are amazing hosts and will make you feel like you are at home. 5 stars all the way!