Windermere

Located about 12 miles SW of downtown Orlando, Windermere sits on an isthmus in the center of the Butler Chain-of-Lakes and still maintains much of the charm and beauty that made it a haven for Walt Disney World executives back in the 1960’s and 1970’s and many sports celebrities such as Shaquille O’Neal and Tiger Woods.

Depending on who you ask, there are really two Windermere’s:  Old Windermere, which consists of unpaved quiet streets and old gnarled oaks full of Spanish moss close to the downtown core and New Windermere, which is pretty much everything else.  In old Windermere you can still find homes that were built fifty to sixty years ago and have retained much of their original character, but they are becoming much more of a rarity these days as many of them continue to be replaced with new, grand estate homes.

New Windermere more or less began in the early 1990’s with the development of Isleworth, a premier golf and resort enclave designed by golf legend Arnold Palmer.  Encompassing over 600 acres and located adjacent to many of the lakes that make up the Butler Chain, this gated community features some of the most beautiful and expensive mansions in Central Florida.  A quick peek at the www.isleworth.com website shows homes for sale ranging in price from $1.3M up to $7.4M.  Windermere has since grown to include several other exclusive, gated communities such as Bay Hill, Keene’s Point, The Reserve at Lake Butler and Chaine Du Lac just to name a few.

But Windermere is not just for lottery winners, professional athletes and trust fund babies.  There are many affordable communities located throughout Windermere that give you access to all of the things that make Windermere such a desirable place to live:  natural beauty, great schools and convenient access to Central Florida’s theme parks, entertainment, shopping, restaurants and more, all while remaining just a short drive to Orlando.