West Gate Vacation Villas

["Ginger"]

I got a call the other night from a gal pushing timeshares for West Gate Resorts. Now, were already DVC members so another time share is totally out of the question, and I told her so. But, she continued on with her spiel offering me a deal I almost could not refuse. A 5 night stay at this 5 star resort in a 1 bedroom for $243. Catch??? Yes 1 so far my DH and I would have to listen to a 90 minute talk about the resorts offerings at 7:30 a.m. then breakfast afterwards.
I've been looking long and hard at what West Gates has to offer. It looks very nice on the internet site.
Has anyone stayed at any of these resorts in Orlando? If so would you mind sharing your experience.

Thanks, Ginger

 

[CarolMN]

I stayed there in October, 1999 with the families of my two brothers. One of my brothers used another timeshare to trade in. We had two 2 bedroom units. I was FAR from impressed and will never stay there again, even it it's free

First of all, the check in process took almost 90 minutes. My brother took care of it so I really don't know what the problem actually was. I gathered there was some type of discrepancy with the reservation. It didn't help that the desk agents spoke very poor English.

The units themselves were large, but no where near the quality of the DVC units - at least those of BWV & VB. There were several minor items that needed attention from the maintenance department, and I didn't think they were all that clean.

My brother put off going to the required timeshare presentation. This was "disguised" as being some type of mandatory "maintenance check" and included a breakfast. I didn't have to go, only my brother and his family since the reservation was in his name. My brother took his 3 year old, but not his wife. Salesman was not pleased, but my brother just said his wife wasn't interested in "maintenance. LOL! My brother told the salesman that he and his family were absolutely not interested in purchasing. After about 1/2 hour he said he needed to take his son to the restroom and then he was leaving. When the salesman tried to argue and keep him there, my brother just got up and left. FWIW, my brother is 6 feet, 5 inches tall and a BIG guy. When he got back to the unit, he was laughing. Said he's been to those high pressure sales presentations before and that's why he took his 3 year old with him. And no way was he going to put him in the special kid's area (as the salesman suggested) while they went through their spiel.

Anyway, I'm sure some people like this place. IMHO, it doesn't begin to compare with the DVC resorts. If you go, be prepared for a very high pressure sales presentation and have a plan to get away.

 

[Wislodgers]

We had a terrible time at a Westgate presentation last summer. I posted our events in it entirety and had a number of replies, mainly more horror stories. The units seemed OK, but to be honest, they are the only other timeshare units we have seen besides DVC(which we bought). We love our DVC, and only went to the presentation for the $60 disney dollars. Figured we had a little extra time, why not!

To make a very long story short, the salesman got irate when we were not interested. When we told him that it had been well over 90 minutes and we wanted to go, he started playing this game about having to get a manager to sign off so we could go. Finally we just got up and started to leave, it was not worth even waiting for the disney dollars, the salesman came running out of nowhere yelling that if we left, he would call security! It was terrible! We finally talked to a manager. We met 3 other couples on our way out that were waiting to speak to managers after similar experiences! By the way, the prices for the Westgate timeshare were double what we paid to buy into DVC! Personally I would be careful with any dealing through them. But it is just my opinion!

 

[ducklite]

Westgate a Five Star??? I got a bridge to sell you.

Anne

 

[Robinrs]

I went to Westgate Lakes Dec 30-31, 2001 and I had a wonderful time. I told the guy I was assigned that I was not interested and we spent the 90mins having a very interesting conversation about our lives.

I stayed in a studio with a jacuzzi, a leather sofa and a screened patio. I paid about $35 a night. It was a great deal IMHO. The room was clean and nice and the hotel was very close to Universal and SeaWorld. The villas are closer to Disney.

I would suggest you take the tour. It depends on your attitude how they treat you. If you're interested I'd advise you to buy a resale AFTER the tour.

Hope that helps...

 

["Ginger"]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to share your honest opinions. Our vacation time is precious to us and any time wasted would be great lost.

Thanks for the offer Anne, I am sure it's a great bridge but I'm still paying for a ship.

 

[TinkHappy]

Hi "Ginger"~I just had to say hi when I saw your name. When are you guys going? When are going the last week in August (HOT, HOT, HOT). How is the family? Say hi to everyone.

 

[Belle1962]

I agree with CarolMN. We stayed at Westgate Villas Nov. 2000 and had such a horrid experience we would never stay there again.

Double check which Westgate they are trying to put in. Westgate owns three properties in the WDW area---Westgate Villas (the place I had the horrid experience); Westgate Towers and Westgate Lakes. I have heard nothing but great things about Westgate Lakes but have never personally stayed there--that is the property Robinrs mentions above.

But, in all honesty, if they are trying to sell you a timeshare they will not put in the older, run down units no matter where you stay. It's only AFTER you purchase from them that you have problems. IMHO.

 

[robinb]

I also have a Westgate "horror story". We went for the breakfast/sales presentation about 4 years ago at 7:30 and didn't walk out until after 11:00! I finally had to play "bad guy" with the manager when I asked him "What part of 'no' don't you understand?". We also just got a call from them last week and my DH took it. He asked me if I was interested in doing it again and I said "With those sharks?!? No way!" pretty much loud enough for the person on the other end to hear me .

 

[Belle1962]

bump for person who had a ???

 

[mmapwright]

I have owned at Westgate Vacation Villas for 10 years now and I am very satisfied with the resort. Sure it has its problems now and then, but my experiences have never been as horrible as those of some of the other posters. I have a beautiful 2-bedroom villa with a loft that has everything I need to live for a week or two accept for the food. There is a swimming pool and a hot tub everywhere you turn around at this resort (I think there are 12). They have bicycles, boats, fishing rods, tennis equipment, shuffle alley, etc. all available to use without any additional cost and without having to bring any of your own equipment. They offer a welcome party with music and food as well as numerous other resort type events during the week. They are very close to the Animal Kingdom and by using a side entrance you can bypass a lot of 192 and maingate traffic. The grounds are very well kept. It has been a nice place to look at and a nice place to visit for me. If you want a bargain and can stand true to your convictions to say NO at the sales presentation it is a great value. I have recommended dozens of friends to stay there and no one has given me a horror story about the place. If there is one bit of advice that I can offer, don't take 10 people with you. I don't care how many people they say can fit in a villa. My villa sleeps 10. Once I had 10 people with us at the same time and it was annoying. It is enough to put anyone in a bad mood. It is frustrating for me to read this board sometimes when every other post about Westgate is some one telling me how foolish I am to go there. If I can get a bridge that is as good of a value as I have received from Westgate, then sign me up.

 

[Ecdubfan]

I stayed at Westgate Villas in May...got it as a rental through RCI. Paid $249 for the wek...2 bedroom, no tour required. The villas themselves were not that bad. They were nice and roomy. The landscaping seemed to be very well taken care of. The activities offered onsite were much better than what my home resort offers. The elderly fellow at the security gate was tremendously friendly and entertaining. These were the goods.

Now the bads...I did the maintenance meeting out of pure curiosity thinking it couldn't be as bad as I heard. I was wrong. I was handed off by "my rep" to a supposed trainee. He claimed it wasn't a sales pitch, yet I had to sign an offer declined waiver at the end. He claimed to have never heard of my company (Fairfield) yet he knew that they were converting from a deeded system to a right to use one. He said we were RCI VIP's even though we bought excess inventory through the RCI website...NOTHING LIKE BEING LIED TO TO MAKE YOUR MORNING. Of course, he could only say "um, um, um" each time I called him on his dishonesty.

There was mold on the pool deck of 3 of the 4 pools we tried. The bar/snack bar at the pool by the towers did not keep its posted hours of operation. The attendant at the activity center told a guest in front of me that he should just "buy his son a bike" because they were a few minutes late returning it. The check-in procedure was a total debacle. The room inventory was missing 12 items. We did the express check-out and our credit card was charged $37 yet we never received a copy of the bill in themail like promised. When I called to get a explanation, they had no record of my stay. Incoming telephone queries by friends and family were met with rude, angry phone operators.

I would never buy Westgate considering their reputation. There are many better places in Orlando. I would likely stay again if I got as cheap a deal. It was close to Disney property. It was semi-clean and safe. We mainly used it as a layover between park visits. PLus, the general rudeness of most employees just served to make Disney seem that much more magical.

 

[msdznyduck]

We stayed at Westgate villas 6 yrs ago.....beautiful place, had no problems until we went to the mandatory "maintance" breakfast meeting on Friday am........we were being held hostage by the sales reps and wasted both his time and ours because we told him right from the beginning we had no intention of buying. My recommendation........if you feel you absolutely have to go to this.........go on Sat am before you leave and right after you eat breakfast,,,,,remember that your plane leaves in 2 hrs and you have to leave for the airport. We would never subject ourselves to such a hard sell again

Msdznyduck

 

[BedKnobbery2]

just another POV...I own a 3 bedroom lock-out unit at Westgate LAKES, and managed to trade my lock-out studio for a 2 bedroom at Westgate vacation villas through Interval.

While the Villas aren't as nice as the Lakes, we still enjoyed the resort. Accomadations were very nice--nicely furnished unit, nice pools. Seemed much busier than the Lakes, noticed a lot of folks touring.

I expected the 'maintance' call, but never got it. We were left alone for the entire visit.

BK

 

[Julie24H]

I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who had good things to say about Westgate Lakes. My DH told me a week ago that he had a surprise.....he planned a trip to Disney all by his little self I about freaked since I am the ultimate Disney trip planner. Here we leave on Thursday and I don't have any PS's or plans. He booked a week at Westgate Lakes in a 2/bedroom, 2/bath (our 20 yo DD and 16yo DS are coming alone) I had never heard of this place and was very concerned after reading many awful posts. He did get a rate where we are not obligated to attend the sales presentation so I need not worry about that. Guess I will just have to go on a wing and a prayer mixed with a little pixie dust! If anyone has any suggestions about the Lakes I sure would appreciate it. I want to find a grocery store close and a very nice restaurant for an evening alone with my DH Again, thanks for the positives. I needed them desperately!! Julie

 

[Ecdubfan]

I can say that I have seen very few negative reports about Westgate Lakes. Westgate Vacation Villas, on the other hand, seems to be a love it or hate it property.