Whether you’re new here or have been with us since opening day, there’s bound to be something you’re not quite sure how to do. This page contains answers to the questions our Cottage/Villa Owners most frequently ask.
Club Membership is limited to Cottage & Villa Owners and their predesignated family members. If you are a new Owner, the Club will contact you once it receives information on your purchase (typically 3 to 4 weeks after your real estate closing occurs). If you wish to complete your Membership documents prior to that, you may begin the process by sending us a copy of the ALTA, Closing Disclosure, or HUD document you received from the title company on the day of your real estate closing. The document must be fully executed with all signatures and should be sent to [email protected].
Please contact the Membership team at [email protected] for assistance with accessing the Member Portal.
Contact [email protected] to update your Membership Records, including:
Your Club Membership Card grants access to Club facilities and Resort amenities, the security gates at the Resort entrance, and Member discounts and perks where applicable. It does not unlock the front door of your property. To receive a Member Card, an individual must be listed on an active Club Membership and must be in good standing with the Club. To request your card, visit the Member Card page and follow the instructions on the request form.
Eligible Members receive discounts on select dining, shopping, and experiences around the Resort area. Each offer is subject to terms and conditions, and a valid unexpired Member Card must be shown to receive the offer.
Creating an account on this site, known as the Member Portal, is an important first step; you’ll find information on how to do this below. If you provided your email address when you submitted your Club Membership documents, you’ll also be automatically registered to receive email updates from us a few times each month (don’t worry — you can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of each email). You can also request to join our official Facebook group (Opens a new window) to get official updates directly in your social media feed; make sure you update your settings to be notified every time there’s a new post in the group. Beyond updates from the Club, you may also want to sign up for additional email updates directly from the Margaritaville Resort Orlando (Opens a new window), Island H2O Water Park (Opens a new window), and Promenade at Sunset Walk (Opens a new window) websites.
Each home in the Community pays to the Club a startup fee (during the real estate closing) and monthly dues. Most Members keep a credit card on file with the Club to allow automatic payment of their Club dues and other charges each month. If you wish to add or update your card on file, please contact [email protected] to complete an authorization form. You may also review your statements and pay directly on the Member Portal (Opens a new window).
Separate from the Club, each home in the community also pays startup fees and monthly dues to Artemis Lifestyles for Community management. Artemis will automatically send information about those dues to the address listed on your Warranty Deed, approximately 3 to 4 weeks after your real estate closing.
There are two different types of Cards that our Members use on a regular basis. One is your Membership Card, which has your photo on it. The other, without a photo, is your Keycard. We’ll briefly describe each of them here, and you can review the other sections of this page to learn more about them.
Your Membership Card is a photo ID card which allows you year-round access to amenities like the Resort pools and the Fitness Center during their normal operating hours. This means that you can use your Member Card to access the pools even if you’re not staying at your property. Finally, your Member Card can be used to receive Member Discounts at participating locations. Membership cards have an expiration date on them, but we automatically re-issue new Member Cards when your old cards are about to expire. Your Membership Card does not unlock the front door of your property.
Your Keycard does not have your photo on it and serves primarily to unlock the front door of your property. The Keycard may have other capabilities as well, depending on whether your property is part of the Resort’s Rental Program:
For more information on Member Cards and Keycards, please see the corresponding sections elsewhere on this page.
Your Club Membership Card is the primary method of accessing the Club facilities and Resort amenities. Even if you forget your Membership Card, you can still access Fins Left/Right pools and Salty Rim Bar & Grill during staffed hours; present your government-issued photo ID to the pool staff at the entry gates so they can look up your Membership in our database.
Note: If you are with an approved Rental Management company, the Keycard issued by your Rental Company will also allow amenity access… but only during your stay at your property. Keycards for properties not in the approved Rental Program do not provide facility/amenity access.
Your Club Member Card does not work on the front door of your property; you’ll need a Keycard for that. Note: This information applies only to the RFID-enabled locks installed on properties as part of initial construction.
New Owners who purchased their property directly from Margaritaville: Contact your sales representative to receive your initial Keycards. Note: if you also signed up to be a part of the Rental Program with ACE/VStays or LRR/Rentyl around the same time as you purchased your property, the Rental Company may already have control of your property lock and be the source for your initial Keycards; check with them to make sure before contacting your sales representative.
New Owners who purchased their property as a resale from a previous Owner: The Seller is expected to provide Keycards to the Buyer, like any other real estate transaction. If the Keycards the Seller gave you are white or blue (rather than bright green), it’s very likely that they are temporary cards which will soon expire. You should request long-term Keycards to ensure you’re not unexpectedly locked out.
Existing Owners in the approved Rental Program: Your Rental Manager controls your door lock. Contact them for assistance.
Existing Owners in the process of leaving the approved Rental Program: If you are leaving the Rental Program, your Rental Company will typically issue a “final” keycard to you when they stop managing your property. This card usually expires within 30 to 60 days as they remove your property from their computer systems. You’ll want to request a permanent Keycard through the Club as soon as possible to ensure you have continued access to your property, especially if you left the Rental Program because you’re selling your property or will have a long-term tenant.
Existing Owners not in the approved Rental Program: The Club can assist in many cases. Requests typically take several business days to fulfill; please see the Keycards page for more details and to place your request.
Long-Term Rental Tenants at a Privately-Owned Property: The Owner of your property is expected to provide Keycards to you, like any landlord.
Short-Term Vacation Rental Guests and Cottage/Villa Houseguests: If you checked in for your stay at the Hotel’s front desk, please return there for Keycard assistance. If your stay did not require check-in at the Hotel front desk, Resort staff are unable to assist with your stay; Rental Guests should contact the person from whom they rented the property, and Houseguests should contact the property Owner.
After extended use, the battery in the RFID lock on your front door may need to be replaced. The door lock will flash aternating red and green lights each time a Keycard is used as an “early warning” of a low battery. When the door battery is completely depleted, all Keycards will stop working and no indicator lights will flash on the lock when a Keycard is used. If you’re with one of the approved Rental Managers, they will typically assist with battery replacements when needed.
If you’re not in the Rental Program, replacement batteries may be purchased from a number of suppliers. One such supplier is HD Supply (Opens a new window), which stocks the battery under part number 884952. Other suppliers can be found by searching for batteries compatible as a replacement part for “Saflok 28110.”
The Cottage Key Request Team occasionally has replacement stock available for purchase. Contact the Cottage Key Request Team ([email protected]) to inquire about availability.
When replacing the battery, you may need a specialty Torx, star, or hex bit to open the lock housing; these are readily available in the screwdriver/socket section at general retail and hardware stores, but we suggest you take a photo of the lock screw before purchasing as there are multiple shapes on the market.
It is also suggested that you quickly connect the new battery as soon as you remove the old one; leaving the battery disconnected for too long may result in the lock’s internal clock losing its set time. While this is not a major issue for a non-rental home, it does result in the red and green lights flashing simultaneously each time the lock is used.
The RFID locks installed on property front doors are required as part of the approved Rental Program. If your property is not part of the Rental Program, the Club can assist with providing replacement Keycards… but some Owners opt instead to replace the RFID lock with an approved standard lock that is serviceable by any locksmith. However there are a few things to be aware of before making the change. The RFID locks used on the Cottages and Villas contain a large internal component that results in a larger hole being cut in the door than for a traditional lock; as a result, some Owners have found it necessary to replace the entire door… not just the lock. In addition, an architectural review is required via Artemis Lifestyles (Opens a new window) before the lock can be replaced with a traditional lock. Finally, it is advisable for the Owner to keep the original RFID lock in storage to avoid substantial expense later should they wish to rejoin the approved Rental Program or sell their property.
Most Cottages and Villas have a back door with a lock which accepts both a traditional metal key and a secret code number entered on a keypad. The code is able to be reprogrammed to a personal code in certain circumstances.
Properties within the approved Rental Program: Your property lock is enrolled in an electronic network which allows the lock to be controlled by your Rental Company. They can assist with resetting the code if needed.
Properties not within the approved Rental Program: The property Owner can reset the code by following the instructions in the lock’s User Manual to perform a factory reset and set a new code. If you’re unable to find your lock’s user manual, the Cottage Key Request Team maintains instructions which work for most locks. Contact the Cottage Key Request Team ([email protected]) for details.
Most Cottages and Villas have a back door with a lock which accepts both a traditional metal key and a secret code number entered on a keypad. If your home has this type of back door lock and you need a key for it, here’s how to get one.
New Owners who purchased their property directly from Margaritaville: The key for the back door lock is typically provided to the buyer following the real estate closing of the home. If you didn’t receive a back door key after closing, contact your Margaritaville sales representative for assistance. If the sales team is no longer able to assist due to the amount of time that has passed since your purchase, you’ll need to contact a locksmith for assistance.
New Owners who purchased their property as a resale from a previous Owner: Like any real estate transaction, the seller is expected to provide keys to the buyer at closing. If the seller did not provide back door keys, you’ll need to contact a locksmith for assistance.
Existing Owners in the approved Rental Program: Your Rental Manager controls your door lock. Please contact them for assistance.
Existing Owners not in the approved Rental Program: Copies of existing back door keys can easily be made at many local retail and hardware stores. We suggest you keep copies in a secure location to avoid being locked out. If you’ve lost your back door key, you’ll need to contact a locksmith for assistance.
Members are able to bring non-Members with them to the Club facilities (subject to guidelines within the Club Membership Plan (Opens a new window)). The Member must accompany these Day Guests for the entire duration of their visit to the Club facilities. If you would like your Guests to have access without a Member present, they may be eligible for access as Houseguests; check the other sections below for more information.
One of the great perks of having a Cottage or Villa at Margaritaville is the ability to let family and friends use it for their vacations, too! You are, of course, free to allow Guests to stay at your property as often as you like… after all, it’s your home! Your non-renting Guests (such as a family friend to whom you have gifted a stay at your property without payment) can also access the Club facilities and Resort Amenities in many cases, even if you’re not going to be there with them.
If you’re with a Rental Company, make sure you’ve followed their instructions to block time at your property for your non-renting Guests. If your property is managed by ACE/Vstays or LRR/Rentyl, they will issue Keycards upon your Guests’ arrival. Otherwise, you’re responsible for getting a Keycard to your Guests; neither the Club nor the Hotel front desk can provide keycards to your Guests.
Some Hotel amenities, such as the spa and the restaurants located inside the Hotel Lobby, are available to all Guests and the public. But other amenities, such as the Resort pools, theme park transportation, fitness center, and Salty Rim Bar & Grill, are restricted to certain individuals. If neither you nor another Member on your Membership will be able to escort your Guests the entire time they’re at these locations, you’ll need to submit a Houseguest Reservation Request Form to the Club Membership Office at least five business days prior to your Guest’s arrival. Please contact the Membership office at [email protected] or call (407) 775-4175 to be provided with the houseguest reservation form.
A nightly amenity fee must be paid, which covers your Guests’ access to the amenities for the duration of their stay. Your Guests’ names will then be on file with the Pool Staff so they can allow access to Fins Left/Right pools and Salty Rim Bar & Grill. An amenity card can also be created so the Guests can access License to Chill pool, the fitness center, and theme park transportation. The Club limits these Houseguest visits to twelve Houseguest Reservations per property, per calendar year; multiple consecutive nights at the same property with the same Houseguests are considered a single Houseguest Reservation. You may not allow a non-Member to use your Member Card to access the facilities, and you may not use the Houseguest reservation program to grant access to paying Rental Guests; these violations of Club rules are subject to disciplinary measures, up to and including fines, Membership suspension, and revocation of your Houseguest privileges. One more note, to avoid any confusion: the annual limit on our Houseguest Reservation program applies only to amenity access for your Guests. It does NOT limit the number of times you can allow someone to stay at your home.
Many Owners choose to offer their property to the public as a vacation rental.
Two Rental Management Companies, ACE/VStays (Opens a new window) and LRR/Rentyl (Opens a new window), make up the Resort’s approved Rental Program. These companies agree to uphold the Margaritaville rental standards (Opens a new window) in the Cottages and Villas they manage and therefore hold a license to market their rentals under the Margaritaville name. They maintain a check-in desk in the Hotel lobby, and Rental Guests of these properties have full access to Resort amenities during their stay. Your property must be managed by one of these companies if you want your Rental Guests to be able to access Fins Left/Right pools, Salty Rim Bar & Grill, and resort amenities such as theme park transportation.
Owners may also rent their properties independently or through another rental company. If an Owner choses this route, their Rental Guests will not have access to the Resort pools, fitness center, theme park transportation, or Salty Rim Bar & Grill, nor will these Rental Guests be able to check-in at (or receive reservation assistance from) the front desk. Owners not within the approved Rental program are also responsible for maintaining and providing to the Community Manager all of the necessary documentation normally maintained by a Rental Management Company, such as insurance records, service provider contact information, and business licenses. Contact Artemis Lifestyles (Opens a new window) for further information on requirements if renting your property outside of the approved Rental Program.
A limited number of Hotel amenities, such as St. Somewhere Spa, the Margaritaville Store, and the restaurants located inside the Hotel Lobby, are available to all Guests and the public.
Some Owners have long-term tenants in their property. For example, an Owner may prefer to stay at their property during the winter months, then let a tenant stay in it for the entire summer. To be considered a long-term tenant, the term of the lease must be at least three months in length. The Club’s Membership Plan includes a provision for the lessee to access the Club facilities during their tenancy, and the Owner also has the option to retain their own Club access during that time. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Like any landlord, you’re responsible for making sure your tenant can access your property; make sure you’ve acquired any extra Keycards you might need prior to the start of your tenant’s lease.
If you’ve decided you no longer want to rent your property, you’ll need to contact your Rental Management Company and follow any steps they may require. You should also contact Artemis Lifestyles (Opens a new window) to ensure they’re aware of the change in status of your property and complete any necessary documentation. Finally, if you’re leaving one of the approved Rental Companies and not signing with another approved Rental Company, submit your Keycard Request to ensure you’ll have access to your property after the Rental Company stops managing your property; the Rental Companies typically issue a final temporary keycard which works only for 30 to 60 days after they stop managing your home.
Owners are permitted to give their property a personalized name and have an approved nameplate installed on the property. No architectural review is required, but all proposed property names are reviewed by the Margaritaville brand prior to approval and the Club coordinates all orders with the Community’s approved vendor. To start the process, visit the Property Name Request page for review.
Proposed exterior modifications and additions require architectural approval through the Artemis Lifestyles (Opens a new window) prior to any work commencing. If you are part of the rental program, interior modifications must be presented to your Rental Company for approval by the Club prior to any work commencing. Certain modifications may also require appropriate permits from Osceola County government.
If your property is still under its original builder warranty and the issue in question arises from its original construction, you will need to submit a repair ticket through the builder’s warranty portal (Opens a new window). Contact information for the warranty department may also be found on our Contacts page. If you have a rental manager, they may handle this process for you as part of your agreement with them.
For homes no longer under warranty, repairs and maintenance are generally the responsibility of the Owner as either self-service, using a contractor, or through your rental management company if provided for in your contract with them. As always, you should ensure that any necessary government permits are obtained, and check with Artemis Lifestyles should any exterior work require architectural approval.
The Cabanas at Fins Left and Fins Right pools are the perfect way to take your day at the pool from “ahhhh” to “ahhhh-mazing!” They offer dedicated space for you and your family, along with a shady retreat from the relentless Florida sun (and passing showers)! Visit our Cabanas page to see the different types to choose from and learn how to reserve yours. Fees apply, but Members receive special pricing and discounts in many cases.
The United States Postal Service does not perform regular mail delivery to the Cottage & Villa community because it is considered to primarily be a short-term rental community. Owners wishing to receive mail locally should obtain a Post Office Box from a nearby vendor. Any US Mail addressed to a Cottage or Villa street address will be returned as undeliverable. Other package delivery services (FedEx, UPS, Amazon, etc) do offer package delivery within the community, but in some instances may deliver packages directly to Margaritaville Hotel instead of your property. Check with your carrier for details, as packages delivered to the hotel will incur a service fee from the hotel’s business center. If an expected package does not arrive at your property as scheduled, please proactively contact the front desk (407-479-0950, ext. 0) to see if it has been delivered there; the Hotel usually does not have contact information for Owners so they are often unable to notify you that a package has arrived. Please pick up any packages delivered to the Hotel in a timely manner, as storage space is extremely limited and unclaimed packages will be discarded after reasonable efforts have been made to arrange for their pickup.
Most Community-provided services such as landscaping, trash pickup, pest control, and private pool cleaning are already operating. Additional information on these services may be found in Community Information at a Glance, published by Artemis Lifestyles. You will, however, need to set up your utility services (unless your rental manager handles utility startup as part of your agreement with them). Here’s who to contact:
Valet trash service is provided to the community daily. All trash must be free of liquids, securely contained in kitchen-size plastic bags, and placed in the bins provided outside each home. Large cardboard must be broken down, flattened, and bundled for collection. Bulk item pickup is not provided, and individual use of Community dumpsters is prohibited. For further details, see the Community trash policy published by Artemis Lifestyles.
Outside of Club operations, Artemis Lifestyles maintains an extensive Owners Handbook which outlines services such as utilities, trash pickup, community security, pest control, private pool maintenance, and more. Contact Artemis Lifestyles (Opens a new window) to obtain a copy of this document.
Cottage and Villa sales are treated very much like a traditional real estate transaction, so you’ll likely want to engage a real estate agent to assist with the process. While the Resort itself cannot help you sell your property, there are a few things you and your agent should be aware of to make the transition from seller to buyer as easy as possible. The Club and Community Documents require that Artemis Lifestyles and the Club Membership Director be notified of your intent to sell so estoppels can be issued. In addition, all Club Membership Cards must be returned to the Membership office so that new Member Cards can be issued to the buyer. And, like any real estate transaction, you’re expected to provide Keycards to your buyer at Closing, along with back door codes/keys (if applicable); sellers often forget to do this, which leads to the buyer being stranded without a way to get into their property after closing. Remember that if you’re leaving the approved Rental Program and selling your property, the temporary keycards your Rental Manager provides will only work for a short period of time; your buyers may not realize this and get locked out of their property unexpectedly! Requesting permanent Keycards from the Club prior to the sale is a great way to make sure that you’re setting your buyer up for success.
In an emergency, dial 911 for Osceola County emergency services. For non-emergency situations, please report the incident to the appropriate group.
Community streets (and street parking) are Osceola County public roadways. We may monitor access via checkpoints and courtesy patrols, but roads must generally remain accessible to the public. For noise complaints and other security concerns inside the Cottage & Villa Community, please contact Community Security at 347-818-8273 as the event is occurring so it can be quickly addressed. You may report incidents anonymously if you desire. You may also contact the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number at 407-348-1100.
For concerns about unauthorized access or other security matters at the pools or Salty Rim, contact the on-site staff for assistance. The pool area is also under patrol by the Hotel security team, which can be notified by contacting the Front Desk or the Hotel switchboard (407-479-0950, ext. 0).
If you’ve not been able to find an answer to your question or want to share a comment or concern, please visit our Contacts page to find the correct person to whom your correspondence should be addressed.
