Westgate Lakes Resort

[mcar33]

Does any one know anythings about this Westgate Lakes Resort, or not? We are planning on booking a 2 bedroom, so if anyone has stayed there please any info would be so very much appreciated. Also if you have any pictures. thanks a million

 

[mcar33]

forgot to mention we would be going and doing a timeshare presentation, so I'm just a little scared about this as we have never done this before. We usually stay at cypress point does anyone know how this compares? Thanks again. I have to call them back soon.

 

[tweetylori]

I stayed in a one-bedroom and it was very nice. I got it off Hotwire for a low rate, and was not happy when I found out it was a time share place. But if you're knowingly going in, and willing to sit through the presentation, go for it. But be prepared for HEAVY pressure from these people.

 

[noahynav]

Ok, I know a lot about this place, as I have stayed there 3 different times. My first time was an amazing experience. Big, beautiful rooms. All the appliances, fully loaded kitchens, huge whirlpool tub in the master suite.

We went back a second time and also enjoyed ourselves, although the resort seemed to be going downhill a bit. The rooms were not as clean as I would have liked, and our first room had an ant infestation so we had to pack up and move half way thru the trip. We were on the 6th floor and found ants crawling out of our soda cans, after only being open for an hour. Pretty gross. But they did move us to a cleaner room, so we were happy about that. They also had fun children's activities at the main pool. My son really enjoyed that.

My third trip got really bad. We decided then and there never again. This was our first trip where we did the time share meeting. BIG MISTAKE!! High pressure sales tactics. When we very politely declined for the 10th time they then became very rude and acted like we had wasted their time(another tactic in my opinion). I found the sales reps to be condescending, and very rehearsed. I could see through all the "great deals" they were offering me. At times I almost wanted to laugh out loud. I will never do another time share meeting again because of this experience.

Also, by my third trip, I found the rooms to be downright disgusting as far as cleanliness goes. They are very clean to the eye when you walk in. IT will take your breath away at how spacious and beautiful the rooms are, however as you walk around on the floors (both the carpeted and tile rooms) your feet and socks become BLACK. The floors are obviously never deep cleaned. Also my sons slept in the extra bedroom which features two twin mattresses on built in platforms. On the third night I was remaking his bed and pulled the mattress away from the wall. GROSS!! Huge dustbunnies, candy wrappers, popcorn, food crumbs everywhere. It seemed liked the room had never been throughly cleaned....just "picked up".

One other thing I disliked about it was no housekeeping while you are there. You are responsible for making your own beds, washing your own towels(wash/dryer is in your room though) and cleaning up any other messes you make. Not always very relaxing for a mom on vacation. Sometimes I felt like I was at home doing chores!

 

[TotoToo]

As a long time Westgate owner with multiple stays at the Lakes I agree that they are not one of the better resorts in Orlando. As a cheap vacation base they are fine - just be aware that the sales presentation you have agreed to as part of the deal is likely to be as high pressure as you will ever experience. DO NOT fall for it - there is no value in purchasing from Westgate directly what you can easily buy at 25-50% of the cost resale if you really liked it. Hold them to the 90 minutes, don't small talk and get out. Enjoy your vacation and know there are far better resorts in Orlando if a timeshare appeals to you. Don't judge them all by Westgate Lakes even if you think its great. There are far better to be had for far less than they will be asking.

 

[DawnM]

Check them out on TripAdvisor.com. There are mixed reviews. Over and over again the sales folks are refered to as SHARKS.

If you don't have to sit through a time-share, DON'T!

Dawn

 

[mcar33]

Thank you all for your replies, I have called and canceled our plans to stay with them. I did some more research and found everyones statements to be true on the VERY high pressure sells presentation and just don't want to deal with that at all. Thanks for your input. We will be returning to Cypress Point again (we stayed there last Feb. and just loved it) it will cost us and additional 270.00 but I guess it will be worth it.

 

[noahynav]

I think you made the right decision. Your time is worth something, and no one wants that kind of stress on vacation.

 

[mhuber92211]

I just don't understand. Maybe its my naivity but after working for a timeshare company once in my life (not in the sales divison) no still means no no matter how many times you say it. They can't keep you in the meeting and once you ask logical financial questions they will just let you go without continuing wasting everyone's time. To pay almost $300 more to avoid saying know is mind boggling.

 

[tweetylori]

I just don't understand. Maybe its my naivity but after working for a timeshare company once in my life (not in the sales divison) no still means no no matter how many times you say it. They can't keep you in the meeting and once you ask logical financial questions they will just let you go without continuing wasting everyone's time. To pay almost $300 more to avoid saying know is mind boggling.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of the sales pitch? I've had good experiences and bad ones. Some that were well worth my time and others that were most definitely not. I've been practically held hostage in the Bahamas when I said no, and wasn't allowed to use a phone nor be driven anywhere when I had no idea where we were. I just had a wonderful experience at BlueGreen in Charleston. It was painless, low-pressure, enjoyable time. 1 1/2 hours for $500 worth of stuff. It was great and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
I have stayed at Westgate Lake after purchasing it as a HOTEL, and not a time-share deal, had limited time on that trip in Orlando, and didn't want to mess with the whole time share scenario. The pressure (without even going to an actual event) was ridiculous. I had to say NO NO NO. They even had the nerve when I said we weren't interested in a timeshare presentation to say "what's that?"
I could go on and on with the good, the bad and the ugly of time share presentations, but unless you've been on the receiving end, you can't possibly understand the differing degrees of pressure.

 

[djm99]

In general, I love Westgate Lakes. I stayed in a 3 bedroom unit. The property was clean, neat, and looked exactly as all the pictures I found posted all around the internet. The master bedroom is nice and has a large hot tub in the room, it would have been nice to have a private shower, but if you enjoy the openness of bathing - you'll love the master bedroom. I would say its great for honeymoons.

The living room was nice, with a leather sectional sofa sleeper in it, a big screen tv (maybe 50 in.) and the dining area had a table and I think 4 chairs. The Kitchen area has a bar with 3 or 4 other bar chairs. The kitchen has a full size frig, dishwasher, oven, and full size washer/dryer. Although the kitchen has plates, pots, pans, eatery, etc. it does not provide much dishwasher liquid, dish detergent, or laundry detergent - so prepare to go to the grocery store or bring it from home. You are suppose to wash your linen and bedspread before you check out (if you are staying as a timeshare option). It was good to know that the bedspread is washed after every check out (FACT: most hotels - even high end hotels - very rarely wash the bedspread - unless its obviously soiled. They do almost always change linens) - gross isn't it! But, back to Westgate Lakes, the 3rd bedroom is actually a studio suite. It too had a king size bed with a hot tub, a sleeper sofa with TV in the living room area - all open floor plan. It does not have a full kitchen (only a kitchenette - with small frig and microwave). The third bedroom is connected with the 2 bedroom unit, but provided plenty of privacy. I loved it!!! The only down side to this resort was the nightmare check in (everyone checks in a 4pm, so many people were there - we left and went to the grocery store. By the time we came back - check in was a breeze. Parking is a nightmare after 7 pm too. That was the only thing that really bothered me about my stay. Also this was my second stay here, my first stay I stayed at pool side. You could hear children jumping in the pool all night - it wasn't too noisey - but I heard them, so this time I decided to stay near the restaurant (the rooms are newer) - but far, far, away from the pool - so we very rarely used the pool! If we stay here again - I will stay near the pool - I'd rather hear a little noise than walk a mile to the pool. Besides, who wants to sleep their vacation away - I don't!!! Oh yeah - as you read the reviews posted on this website, don't confuse bad reviews of the timeshare presentation with that of the resort itself. The resort itself is really nice, the timeshare presentation is a whole other story! Yeah the presentation is a hard sell, but be firm - don't eat the meal they offer (it prolongs your presentation - the presentation doesn't officially start until after you eat your meal - so eat before the presentation and let them know that you are timing them and that you have every intention on leaving in 90 minutes). Now, if you don't plan to buy - don't ask a 100 questions, except those financial questions that makes timesharing not worth it - just seat back and look disinterested (I bring other stuff to read) - these people are trained to seek blood!!! Take a chance on Westgate!!!

 

[AJKMOM]

To mhuber92211,

From what I have read, mainly at the DIS, the people at Westgate hate to hear the word "No". It does mean No, but when they threaten you by refusing to give you the "gifts" they offered to attend, or tell you that you will owe rack rate for the room if you leave early, those are intimidating factors.

Personally, I am non-confrontational and it doesn't matter how much more it is a night to not attend- I'm not going to a meeting. I went to one at Silver Lake because they had a mandatory fee assessed of $25 which you lost if you didn't go to the presentation. I know now that it was a lot less pressure than Westgate, but I still think I would never go to another one.