West Gate Lakes Resort & Spa ???

[Desi]

Has anyone recently stayed at Westgate Lakes and spa? I have searched and found most of the posts are a few years old.
It seems at one time they were "hardcore" sellers, and the accomadations just so-so.
We will be there in June. We have done a few timeshare tours, and found them not too bad, but this one may be a little different than we are used to.
any answers would be great!
thanks

 

[spiceycat]

westgate from what I have seem on tug is still very hard cord - just say "no" about 50 times - just don't make them make you feel guilty - they are trying to push you into some thing that you really don't need.

the Fairfield at Destin tried the same stuff of me.

So if you have lived through a Fairfield - Westgate is similar.

 

[djm99]

I've stayed there twice and I personally love the resort, but it has some pros and cons.

Pros:

1. Wonderful location - off I-Drive (or this could be a con)- near everything. And Extremely close to the highway!!!!

2. Several swimming pools
3. 2 bedroom condos have big bedrooms, spacious, washer/dryer
4. Activities are actually fun - for those rainy days
5. Excellent rate with timeshare presentation


Cons:
1. Not enough parking spaces (if you get there after 9 pm be prepared to walk a distance.)
2. Westgate is the hardest sell I've ever experienced
3. Location - this can be a con if you don't like heavy traffic - I-Drive is a nightmare, but I don't mind so much I enjoy the "action"!!!!

I have not had some of the complaints that so many on this board have. But I will give you some pointers if you don't mind. If you are checking in during a weekend don't try to be there at 4 pm check in time. It is a nightmare (the first time we stayed there the room wasn't ready and we ended up standing around for over 2 hours). The second time we stayed we didn't check in until around 6 pm and it was super smooth. The first year we stayed near a pool, which was convenient, but it was a little noisy at night. The second time we stayed away from the pools and almost regretted it, because we stayed so far away. And in truth, for me the pool noise wasn't so bad. And it was great to seat on my balcony and watch the children play. It was really relaxing for me. If you want the convenience of walking off your balcony request a ground floor room. Don't let them stick you all the way in the back (in their old section - they are not remodeled -and they are near their restaurant). So request NOT to be near the restaurant. I've been told that they pick your room once you book so make sure you request that they don't stick you back there. I've seen some pretty angry people walk from that area.

The Presentation:

Its a really hard sell, so if you don't plan to buy, ignore them, literally bring a newspaper, a book, and bring your children for distraction. Don't worry about being rude. BELIEVE ME they have no problem keeping you for their "90 minute presentation" that turns into 4 hours. And it takes several people to "clear" you!!! Trust me - be rude!!! A friend of our last year totally ignored him, by falling asleep and the presenter asked them, “You not buying a timeshare are you?” Our friends told them no, and was in and out in 1 hour. But if you are really interested in timesharing there - their $20,XXX introduction price turns into $5,XXX by the end of the presentation. I was almost tempted!!!! But all in all I think you will enjoy it. I would stay there again in a New York minute. I would even do the presentation again!!!! – But my husband hates the presentation – he says they are worse than staff meetings at work!!! Take Care and have fun preparing for your vacation!!!!

 

[Desi]

djm99,
thank you so much. I don't really mind the "timeshare pitch", but when I say no thank you, I mean just that, no thank you.
I figured they were going to be a little more hard core, the more $$, the harder the pitch. But like you said, I'm willing to put up with a little, because the rate is so good.
I usually find if your doing the "tour", they generally put you in the nicer rooms. Is that the case here? They do things a little different, in that, they want you to wait til the end of your stay to do the tour. Which would seem to me to be a little risky, if they don't put you in the nice rooms and be kinda nice to you.
Do you own there? or trade into there, or like me do the tour for the good rates?
thanks again for the info, it will come in handy

 

[djm99]

Desi,

No I don't own there, but a friend of mine does. She loves the place. Personally, if I do decide to buy I want to buy with a timeshare property that uses RCI and not II. RCI has a set price for their "getaways" vs. II to my understanding has prices that vary with their "getaways". Again if you don't stay in their old section in the back (next to the restaurant) I'm think you will get a nice room. And if you have seen the pictures and web cast the rooms look EXACTLY like that. If you haven't here is the site: http://www.westgatevacations.com/index.cfm?mrksrc=0&phone=0&page=wglakes&cat=wgl&title=WG Lakes-

Oh, make sure you are staying a WESTGATE LAKES. Westgate has MANY different resorts in the Orlando area, and I personally like the lakes much better than all the others!!!!!

Cheak out this site - to see if you have a better rate. I've used this place last summer, and everything moved smoothly. http://www.discounthotels.cc/Hotels/westgatelake.php

 

[Desi]

hi,
thanks for the links, they are great!
Maybe this will be ok afterall.

d

 

[carol & jim]

We just returned from Westgate Lakes this past sunday. I would be happy to answer anyones questions. We are not owners, we bid on hotwire for a 4 star hotel/resort and got Westgate Lakes.

 

[goudaman40]

We stayed there during Christmas week and had a horrible experience. We did a trade through II with about 4 weeks out and got a two bedroom for the week (12/21 - 12/28). It was the worst exchange we have ever had.

As stated earlier - parking is horrible (buildings are 6 stories tall with the possibility of 20 total rooms per floor with a possible total of 120 parking spots per building) the designer gives about 20 spaces per building with vary narrow roads to drive through.

Another prolem we had was the noise issue with the family staying above us. They were noisy from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. four nights in a row. We contacted Security and we were told that they couldn't do anything and that WE should go up there and talk with the people above us. We went to the front office and spoke with a manager and our complaints fell on deaf ears. (We had more than the noise issue at this point).

In our two bedroom, I had to wash all of our towels and bed linens before we could use them because of the strong smell of Mildew. Also, the floors were extremely dirty. The tile floors looked like they hadn't been mopped in months. Our white socks turned black in a matter of minutes. I had to clean out the tub and shower areas and remove trash from our unit that was left by the last family that stayed there. We called housekeeping, and asked for these things to be done and were told that they were doing the best that they could because of being filled to capacity.

I know that not everyone has had these problems and we have stayed at Westgate before (Gatlinburg) and loved it. We have traded into Disney properties, Fairfield properties, and Marriot properties and you expect a certain standard at these resorts. Due to the experience we had above, we will NEVER stay at a Westgate owned resort. I will stay at a Scottish Inn before I stay at Westgate.

Not all Westgate properties are the same (Gatlinburg had a really nice lodge feeling), but the Lakes was far from the standards that I expect from a 5 Star Rated Resort through Interval International!

 

[debm]

We have stayed there twice and listened to the "sell." The first time it took almost 3 hours to tell them "NO." We brought the kids with us because we figured it would help to cut our time down. We have a little boy with special needs too and we even let him get on our nerves more than normal (ie get up 50 times for the gross breakfast buffet, make more noise than normal) in the hopes that they would understand that we would hear their pitch but our answer was still "no." Well they had more patience than we did! It seemed to drag everything out more. I think it would be a great place if you were in the market for somewhere but we own DVC and love it and don't plan to buy anything else right now. Anyhow, it is worth it even just for the entertainment. The way they usher you from one room to the next depending on how you are reacting to their sale. The first time we were there we thought the manager person that came over at the end was truly going to yell at us. Honestly I was almost feeling so bad I wanted to say yes. And our person that spent the morning talking to us was SO nice right up until the very end. Then they practically slammed their book shut and stalked off. We were actually left sitting there at the end looking around wondering if we were done or someone was coming back. It was crazy!

We received a notice in the mail a year later to come back again for the same price. $89 per night for a 2 bedroom/2 bath place. Can't beat it so we did it again. This time we got "special" treatment and got to go to a different room at first. Didn't take as long that time. We were a bit more firm.

I felt the unit was very clean and nice. But then again, do they just give their best ones to the folks that they are trying to sell a unit to?? I wondered about that. Especially since an earlier poster said hers was so dirty and they didn't do anything about it. It just doesn't seem as personable to me as Disney. Even checking in you had to keep going from one desk to another, to another, and then special parking, and uuuugh, it got tiresome.

If you just want it for a cheap place to stay for a large family then it would be fine. Just dont do your "sale talk" on a day that you want to get to a park early. Takes much longer than they say. If you are an early riser--go early as you can.

Hope that helps a bit. Debi

 

[Desi]

Thanks Debi,
It sure looks like we are going to be in for a real treat! OH well,
I guess I'll just hope the room will be worth it. I think I'll just tell them up front,"youv'e got exactly 90 minutes of my time. Do what you can in that time, and then I'm leaving!
thanks again,
d