Furnished homes in Hiawassee.

Where Hiawassee sits on the west side

Hiawassee is not its own town, it is an unincorporated stretch of Orange County running along Hiawassee Road between Silver Star Road and Clarcona-Ocoee Road, the farthest west of the four areas we cover. The subdivisions sit lower and looser than the blocks closer to downtown: more setback from the street, more room between houses, and a quiet feel once you turn off the main road. Zip code 32818 covers the stretch, and our one home here, Wekiwa Home, sits on a residential street a short drive from Hiawassee Road itself.

Orange County groups Hiawassee together with Pine Hills, Rosemont and Lockhart under the same Northwest Orlando label, but the four feel different on the ground. Pine Hills runs along Silver Star Road, Pine Hills Road and SR-408, and Rosemont sits closer to I-4 around Lake Orlando; Hiawassee sits west of Pine Hills, its own pocket along the SR-429 corridor with a character closer to Ocoee than to the urban core.

Being this far west trades a longer run into the city core for something else: fast access to the SR-429 Western Beltway, which runs north toward Apopka and Ocoee and the two spring-fed parks that make this the greenest of our areas. SR-408 still gets you east into downtown Orlando, it just takes a bit longer from here than from our closer-in neighborhoods. If your priority is space, quiet streets and proximity to the west-side hospitals and the springs, rather than a short hop to the arena district, this is the trade you are making.

It is also the most car-dependent of the neighborhoods we cover. There is no rail line or LYMMO bus loop out this far, so plan on driving for groceries, work and everything in between, a point we come back to below. In exchange you get a private driveway, a small yard with shrubs rather than a manicured lawn, and streets quiet enough that guests in Wekiwa Home's own reviews describe the area as calm and peaceful. Guests coming off a west-side hospital shift or a morning at the springs tend to notice the same thing: fewer traffic lights, easier parking, and a slower pace once you turn off Colonial Drive onto the residential side streets.

Getting around from Wekiwa Home

Every trip out of Hiawassee starts on Hiawassee Road, Clarcona-Ocoee Road or Silver Star Road, then onto one of two toll roads, SR-429 running north or SR-408 running east. By road and without traffic, Wekiwa Home is about 12 minutes from Orlando Health's Health Central campus in Ocoee, 16 minutes from AdventHealth Orlando, 18 minutes from Orlando Health / ORMC and from AdventHealth Altamonte Springs, and 19 minutes from Arnold Palmer and Winnie Palmer. Universal Orlando is 19 minutes away, and Camping World Stadium, on the west side of downtown, is 14. Orlando's rush hours add time to the longer of these routes, so a shift that starts or ends during the evening commute is worth padding.

The map below sets downtown Orlando at the center and places every home by its real compass bearing and drive time from there. Wekiwa Home sits on the western edge of that picture, trading a few extra minutes into downtown for a quicker run to the west-side hospitals and the springs than the homes closer to the city core.

If your stay is for work rather than the parks, a few more numbers help: the MetroWest office corridor is 12 minutes away, Valencia College's West Campus is 13, and the Orange County Convention Center, if a trade show is on the calendar, is 26. Both SR-429 and SR-408 are tolled by transponder or by license plate, so a SunPass or E-PASS is worth carrying for a stay of more than a week or two. Orlando International Airport is 39 minutes from Wekiwa Home, and Walt Disney World is 44, both by road without traffic. SeaWorld Orlando runs about 32 minutes, and UCF's main campus and the Central Florida Research Park both run about 36, figures worth having if an assignment or a day trip reaches that far east.

Groceries and everyday errands

The Publix at Metro West Village, on South Hiawassee Road, is the closest full supermarket to Wekiwa Home, rebuilt new and reopened in 2025. Head west on Colonial Drive toward Ocoee and you will find a second Publix and a large Walmart Supercenter running from roughly 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., both good for a bigger stock-up. For anything beyond groceries, West Oaks Mall in Ocoee is the area's enclosed mall, anchored by JCPenney and a Dillard's clearance store, with a fourteen-screen AMC theater, a food court and around eighty-five stores under one roof.

Inside of a Publix store in MetroWest, Orlando, Florida · Nielsoncaetanosalmeron · CC BY 4.0 · resized from 6000x4000

If you want the wider international grocery selection, the Caribbean and Latin markets over in Pine Hills are a short drive back east; our Pine Hills area guide covers those in detail. For everyday pharmacy runs, both the Publix and the Walmart carry one, and CVS and Walgreens line West Colonial Drive on the way toward the mall.

Where to eat and get coffee

The everyday restaurant row for Wekiwa Home runs along South Hiawassee Road through MetroWest: Tacos Don Andres for birria, Habibi Lebanese Grill for shawarma, a sushi spot, Marco's Pizza, and Teak Neighborhood Grill just over on Kirkman Road for craft beer, burgers and a weekend brunch. Chain restaurants line West Colonial Drive in Ocoee near the mall for something quicker. For Caribbean and Jamaican cooking, Golden Krust and the kitchens covered in our Pine Hills guide are a short drive back east.

Mecatos Bakery & Cafe on South Hiawassee Road is the one proper sit-down cafe close to the house, known for Colombian coffee and pastries. Beyond that, the west side leans on drive-through chains along Colonial Drive; the wider independent cafe scene sits east in College Park and downtown, both covered in our downtown area guide.

The springs, the parks and staying active

The reason people ask for this side of Orlando by name sits 18 minutes north on SR-429: Wekiwa Springs State Park, a spring that holds a clear 72 degrees year-round. You can swim in it, snorkel it, rent a canoe or kayak at the concession for roughly $17 for the first two hours (cash and reservations vary, so it is worth checking ahead), hike the park's trails, or camp overnight. Entry runs about $6 per carload, and the gate is open from 8 a.m. to sunset.

Wekiwa Springs State Park springs01 · Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0 · resized from 3264x2448

A little further along, Kelly Park, also known as Rock Springs, is a natural lazy river where you float the spring current on a rented tube. Admission runs about $5 per vehicle and tubes rent for a few dollars from vendors outside the gate; it fills up early on warm weekends, so a morning visit is worth planning for. Magnolia Park, on Lake Apopka, adds a lakefront with a fishing pier, a boat ramp, a playground, an eco-education center and free-roaming peacocks, a slower afternoon than the springs. Closer to home, Barnett Park sits back toward Pine Hills with its own splash pad and trails.

For a gym, there is a 24-hour Planet Fitness on Silver Star Road in Ocoee, with Crunch and EOS along West Colonial Drive near the mall. If you would rather stay outdoors, the Lake Apopka Loop Trail, a wildlife drive and bike path along the lake's north shore, is the other regular option for anyone staying a month or more.

Wekiwa Home

Wekiwa Home is the smallest home in our portfolio and, for a lot of guests, the easiest one to run: two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a simple layout under a vaulted living room ceiling. One bedroom has a king bed, the other has two full beds, so it comfortably sleeps two to four with room to stretch to six if a group needs it. The kitchen is small but complete: white cabinets, a stainless range, microwave, dishwasher and refrigerator, with cabinets already stocked with glasses, plates and cookware. A dining table for four sits beside the living room's sectional and wall-mounted TV, and there is a full-size washer and dryer on site.

West Orlando

Hiawassee

Wekiwa Home

2 bd 2 ba Sleeps 6

17 min downtown · 16 min AdventHealth · 19 min Universal

Travel Nurse & MedicalRemote Workers & Digital Nomads

It does not have the dedicated desk workspace that The Clue House or Meet. Play. Stay. offer, but the dining table under good light is enough for a laptop and a video call if you are working from here for a stretch. Both bathrooms are real bathrooms rather than one shared: a tub bath and a separate walk-in tile shower, which matters if two people keep different schedules. Parking is private, right off the covered front entry, so there is no permit or street-parking question to sort out, and that same covered entry keeps deliveries and guests dry during a summer downpour. Ceiling fans run in the living room and both bedrooms alongside the air conditioning, which helps on the tile floors that run throughout the house.

We will say plainly what the listing shows: it is an older single-story house with a modest exterior, a small front yard with shrubs rather than a lawn, and tile floors throughout rather than anything softer. It is not trying to be more than a clean, well-kept small house, and most guests who book it are looking for exactly that.

Who stays at Wekiwa Home

Because it is compact, Wekiwa Home works best for one person or a couple, or two colleagues on the same assignment who do not mind sharing a kitchen. It is the neighborhood's answer for solo professionals and couples first, and for anyone whose priority is the springs over the skyline second. Travel clinicians assigned to Health Central in Ocoee or AdventHealth's Apopka campus book it for the reasons above: a short, predictable drive on SR-429 instead of fighting the AdventHealth Orlando corridor twice a day.

Remote workers and small corporate placements use it as a quiet month-long base when the job does not require being near downtown, and it also comes up for relocation stays, a family settling into the west side for a month or two while they look for a permanent place nearby. What it is not built for is a large group or a theme-park week; at a sleeping count of six and two bathrooms, it is the wrong size for a reunion or a team, and our bigger homes in Pine Hills and Washington Shores handle that better.

What guests said about Wekiwa Home

These are real reviews from Wekiwa Home's own Airbnb listing, 36 of them at a 4.69 rating, quoted exactly as guests wrote them. Santiago, who stayed in July 2026, wrote: "Michelle’s place is in a great location you can get anywhere around Orlando in 20 minutes. She responds to any questions or concerns immediately. Neighborhood is quiet and peaceful. Close to restaurants and stores would definitely recommend her place." Wilfrido, in September 2025, kept it short: "Was clean, responsive to our questions and a calm area, thank you!"

The theme across the reviews is consistent: a clean, small house, quick communication, and a neighborhood that feels calmer than its curb appeal might suggest. The full set is on our reviews page, and the Wekiwa House page has the complete photo set and booking details.

Practical notes on tolls, rush hour and transit

You will want a car if you are staying at Wekiwa Home. This is the most car-dependent of the areas we cover: there is no SunRail station or LYMMO loop out this far, and LYNX buses run the main roads only. Hiawassee Road, Silver Star Road and Clarcona-Ocoee Road cover the local trips, and SR-429 and SR-408 handle everything longer.

Both expressways are tolled by transponder or license plate, so if you do not already carry a SunPass or E-PASS, it is worth picking one up for a stay of more than a week or two rather than paying the higher plate-based toll rate every time. Orlando's rush hours build on the longer routes, particularly the run into AdventHealth Orlando or downtown along SR-408 in the late afternoon, so build in extra time around an evening shift start or a downtown appointment.

Two of our journal guides go further into both sides of this: how the wider metro fits together for a work commute, and what a slower month on the west side looks like day to day.

Guides · 4 min

Getting Around Orlando for Work

A plain orientation to moving around metro Orlando for a job: the main highways, the commuter train, and how to pick housing that keeps your daily drive short.

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Seasonal · 5 min

Spending the Winter in Orlando

Why some snowbirds pick the middle of Florida over the coasts, what a winter here is like, and how a monthly house works for the season.

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