Our Week at Westgate Villas . . .

[familymagic7]

Our family of 7 decided this trip to try staying off-site b/c of our need for larger accomodations. We will NEVER, EVER do this again. Number one, it's just not the same magic for us off-site. Number 2, we were disgusted with our experience at Westgate Villas. We received a promotional rate as long as we did the 90 min. timeshare, which was okay b/c we had already been to a DVC presentation and wanted to compare. What a difference!!! I felt like we were being herded in like cattle, the so-called breakfast buffet was gross at best, and the rep got belittling and nasty with our friends. The worst part was the way our children were treated in the "child care". I think I will feel guilty over that for a long time. Our rooms were dirty (the carpet left our feet black). The rep said it's hard to maintain all of their properties over the year, but if we bought, we would get a brand spankin' new one to share with our babies over the years. If they can't maintain the ones they already have, what's my new one going to look like over time??? I'm happy to report that we promptly went back and met with DVC 2 more times--Our children were greeted with smiling faces (they wanted to stay in the fun center), we were not harrassed or hurried into a decision, and we were in our own private office with Mary to ask all the questions we needed. We decided to buy and are thrilled with our decision. While our experience was a bummer, it did give us the conviction that we wanted Disney property. I know our choice isn't for everyone, but I hope my review of Westgate will save someone else the misery.

P.S. We also had two other families we know that stayed there the same time. One family's air conditioning was out for half the week (they finally convinced guest services there really was a problem) and the other family struggled terribly with transportation to the parks.

 

[sharbear]

sometime the best thing about a bad experience is knowing what you want to do. Congrats on buying DVC!

 

[imgointoDis]

Wow, does that sound familiar! We also stayed at the Westgate Villas a few years ago, and listened to their extremely hard core sell job!!! What a nightmare! The last straw during their presentation, was when I told the rep we wanted to check into DVC Club as well, and he told me, "I don't care where you buy, but you'd better think twice about buying from that stingy rat!" Stingy rat? Singy rat?!!!!! He called my beloved Mickey a stingy rat! That was it! We promptly got up and walked out. We were treated like dirt the rest of our stay! I wouldn't go back there if they gave it away!

 

[familymagic7]

I believe my DH said the exact same thing--He wouldn't stay there if it were free!! Did you happen to notice on the graph of top selling timeshares that they show that DVC is the 2nd leading seller? I think the only reason Westgate was ranked #1 was because they take advantage of people from other countries that don't have established credit in the US or people that have bad credit (Our rep came right out and said that was the reason for the 17.75% interest rate for financing--What a scam!)

 

[mrsstats]

Sorry you were unhappy with your Westgate stays. I bought my unit resale and am very happy with it. As far as any problems I have had while staying, they are always taken care of quickly and promptly. As far as the carpets, last time I was there, someone else complained about the same thing and they sent out the carpet cleaners.

 

[MERVXTC]

THANX MAGIC FOR YOUR HONEST REVIEW. WE ARE STAYING AT WESTGATE LAKES AUG 23-28. FOR 439 DOLLARS FOR A 2 BEDROOM WITH SOME TICKETS THROWN IN FOR SOMEWHERE. REALLY DON'T REMEMBER. WE HAVE TO TAKE THE TIMESHARE TOUR. HOW LONG WAS THE PRESENTATION? CAN YOU JUST GET UP AND GO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BUY? DO THEY HAVE TO SIGN SOMETHING BEFORE YOU LEAVE? THEY DIDN'T TRY TO CHARGE YOU UP FOR NOT BUYING, DID THEY?

DID YOU TRY ANY OF THEIR AMENITIES AND ACTIVITIES? IF YOU DID, CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW THEY WERE?

SORRY FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS, BUT I'M EXCITED ABOUT GOING. MY BEST FRIEND BOUGHT ONE LAST YEAR AND SAID IT WAS GORGEOUS. AND FROM HER PICTURES IT LOOKS THAT WAY.

 

[MERVXTC]

THANX MAGIC FOR YOUR HONEST REVIEW. WE ARE STAYING AT WESTGATE LAKES AUG 23-28. FOR 439 DOLLARS FOR A 2 BEDROOM WITH SOME TICKETS THROWN IN FOR SOMEWHERE. REALLY DON'T REMEMBER. WE HAVE TO TAKE THE TIMESHARE TOUR. HOW LONG WAS THE PRESENTATION? CAN YOU JUST GET UP AND GO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BUY? DO THEY HAVE TO SIGN SOMETHING BEFORE YOU LEAVE? THEY DIDN'T TRY TO CHARGE YOU UP FOR NOT BUYING, DID THEY?

DID YOU TRY ANY OF THEIR AMENITIES AND ACTIVITIES? IF YOU DID, CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW THEY WERE?

SORRY FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS, BUT I'M EXCITED ABOUT GOING. MY BEST FRIEND BOUGHT ONE LAST YEAR AND SAID IT WAS GORGEOUS. AND FROM HER PICTURES IT LOOKS THAT WAY.

 

[familymagic7]

The presentation is only supposed to be 90 min. Our guy called us 15 min before we were supposed to be there & rushed us over only to have us wait in line to get in. We were there at 7:50 am for an 8:00. At 9:30 I reminded him that we were supposed to be done & we had other plans. He still hadn't shown prices, etc. I think at that point they realized we weren't buying. They did sign a checkout paper of some sort--It was evidently proof we held up our end of the deal. At this point, I am not aware of any further charges. We owed tax ($63.00) at checkout.

As for the amenities, we only used the pool. It had a somewhat worn appearance, and our last night there the kids complained that their noses burned. I went over to the pool and the chlorine smell was pretty intense. Hopefully, your experience at the Lakes will be better since it is a newer property. Like I said, I am happy we tried it b/c it made us realize what really makes us happy. Best wishes!!

 

[Lisa P.]

Mervxtc, hope you have a fun trip. It's a shame some timeshare salespeople are so awful and some resorts don't take better care of their properties. They're not all like that and some (like the Westgates) can vary considerably within a resort.

If you have to take the presentation, as part of your price quote, then you must stay there for the full 90 minutes or they have the right to charge you rack rates for the room. So be certain that you are obvious about noting the time to the salesperson when you get there.

If you don't want to buy, just say no. It can be harder than that sounds but, it's the reality. You are NOT obligated to buy. And you may mention to an aggressive salesperson that you would immediately rescind your purchase the same day if you did buy so you don't want to waste their time. (The law gives you at least a week to rescind... and they know it... it happens regularly.)

They do have to sign something (which you take to the "gifts" counter or window to receive your freebies) but you don't have to sign anything about the timeshare.

The amenities and activities at the Westgate properties are varied, pretty extensive and (we thought, about 4 years ago) quite nice... something for everyone. See their website. You are already booked so make the best of it. Have fun.

 

[Truly]

My family have stayed at these villas a few times, and have never been bothered by timeshare salespeople...maybe because we are from UK? We have always found the amenities good, the staff pleasant, and the accommodation clean and well maintained. Have a good time.

 

[Belle1962]

I feel your pain. My family and another family (who OWNED there) had such a horrid experience we will NEVER EVER stay there-even for free. here is a link to my report about Westgate villas

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14259&highlight=westgate



Also, to the poster who mentioned Westgate LAKES. Westgate owns three properties in the WDW area--Westgate VILLAS (which is what these posts are about), Westgate Towers and Westgate LAKES. I have heard nothing but great things about the Lakes although you have to be careful not to get a room that faces I4 (traffic noise and all that).

 

[familymagic7]

Belle-Just went over to your post . . . WHOA! It all sounded so familiar! Did I mention in my post that for the first 3 days our water was yellow (the jacuzzi looked like a bath of Mountain Dew), we had NO trash cans, and my toddler found old candy stuck to the carpet under the sofa??? I guess we live and learn. Best wishes on future vacations!