Westgate Villas-read it and weep.....

[Badger Brent]

We first booked Westgate Villas on Feb 10th, 2003. As we waited for the confirmation letter and all of the promised add-ons, it never came. After e-mails, phone calls and such, we finally got all of our letters in hand on April 24th, 2003!! We tried to cancel on one of these call in early April. They said we would lose our $540.00 deposit for a weeks stay in one of their 2 bedroom villas. With 6 of us traveling, we decided the pictures looked nice and the rate came out to around $75.00 a night, we could live with this.

Check-in was pretty smooth. We arrived around 3:30 p.m. The only hang-up was the escort to our room took about 15-20 minutes. Deep breath, we made it to our room and unloaded and headed off to the parks. Parking seems pretty tight if you have a suv or mini van. I suggest backing in when parking.

The villas were the old ones. We stayed in ZZZ 2. The villas themselves were nice at first. The only thing not in the villa was the 50 inch big screen they listed on the website. Otherwise, the rooms were nice. It was nice to have a full kitchen and dining room and living room. We took a afternoon break almost everyday. We all had our space to relax.

Now we start to do the downhill slide. A water leak in the master bathroom by the jacuzzi tub and above the toilet started to flow. We laid towels down the first night. It was late when we got back the first night, so we didn't call maintanence. We called the next day and nobody came. Called again the next day to say we were done washing and drying the towels to put on the floor. They did come this time, they left a bag of extra towels to lay on the floor. I called again after our son slipped and fell on his elbow and butt!! A few tears and he was alright, but enough is enough. Maintenence comes in while we are gone the next day and removes the vent covers and spray some sort of chemical spray for the mold and leaves all of the covers laying on the toilet and ground. The next morning we have a our timeshare presentation. We arrive and the salesperson tells us to go ahead and eat the complimentary breakfast and we declined and wanted to get all of this over with. She asked what was wrong and we told her the story. She got Monica, she then got Rob, who told us to go to our room and this would be dealt with within 15 minutes. We go back to our room and after an hour, nobody had come to see us. I head back to see Rob. He said he sent somebody and would investigate. He said, go to the parks and he would personally leave a message on our phone to what was going on and why things went so wrong. Get back from the parks and no message!! We check out the next morning and we meet Rob at the guest relations desk and ask him what happened? He passed it off again and gave me a 800 corporate # to call. I said I wanted some type of resolution to this whole matter and he claimed there was nothing he could do.
Got home called the # and they heard the whole story. Since we fulfilled our stay, we got one night's stay refunded to our cc. Better than nothing I guess. So we didn't do the timeshare deal, but we still wasted about 2 hours trying to get the whole thing resolved.

It was very easy access to get to WDW. The pools were too wild for me and my kids. Overrun with unsupervised kids. We also had a run-in with a woman who didn't speak english who threw our towels off a chair because she wanted that certain chair!! Others were available. We will be staying on-site next year. The mold also played havoc with my sinuses. Couldn't sleep at night. In the end, you get what you pay for I guess...

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I say you need to write a LETTER to whomever owns this organization. Do not E mail it send it through US mail.

I will say you do not get what you pay for. I stayed at the Wyndham Palms just down the street from you and it was only 79 per night. The same suite would be over 400 at Disney. I also stayed at the Liki Tiki and you can read my experience if you want to under Jcanary's post. I am going to raise havoc over what happend there and I do not care if I get anything free!! I have written to hotelkingdom and blasted them for saying that LT was a 5 star and I will write to the manager of the property as well as the highest officer in the company. In my opinion, these type of places need to get more than their hands slapped. You wait all year for vacation and it is wrong to misrepresent or not take care of customers just because your resort is not filled and you decide to help pay the bills by giving a lower rate!

 

[dizney dreamin']

Wow- I feel really bad about your experience at Westgate and I am surprised. I have been an owner there since 1995 and have never had any real problems. I have never used the main pools just the little ones but, I've heard similar comments that they are too wild. Westgate just had a major expansion recently so maybe they are understaffed but, it still doesn't excuse what happened. I hope you still had a wonderful time in the parks despite all your troubles!!

 

[Badger Brent]

Since we did get a 1 nights refund, what would you have tried to get out of westgate? The whole complex is huge!! If your trying to sell a timeshare, they had a funny way of presenting themselves to us.

We had one of the most awesome trips while at the parks ever!! We took our 24 yr old niece and her 4 yr old daughter. This was our 8th trip to WDW, it was refreshing to take someone who has never been to the world before.

The lack of response from anyone at Westgate was really aggrivating. But our trip was not to be derailed by there incompetence.

 

[spiceycat]

I am so sorry that your visit was not as nice as you would have liked.

Westgate has one of the worst reputation in the timeshare business.

I am an owner and I have yet to stay in any of their resorts where there was not something wrong. very, very irritating.

so my last couple of times we have stayed at other places - I really wish Westgate would wise up and stop spending so much on their sales force and fix the place up - it could be so beautiful!!!

 

[dizney dreamin']

Like you said, it's no way to sell timeshares!
On the other hand, there can be bad experiences anywhere, though. We stayed on property(CBR) for our honeymoon and also had to deal with a very bad leak in the room. We put up with a soggy carpet (really bad) and 2 industrial fans blowing on us for 5 days until we made such a stink that they finally moved us. We spent the rest of the honeymoon with very bad colds from the fans and not much sympathy from the hotel. Oh well- We had a wonderful time anyway!
Badger Brent- I'm SO glad it didn't ruin your vacation!!!

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Brent,
I am glad it did not ruin your vacation. I am not saying you should get anything more out of Westgate BUT they need to hear about your experience and not just at the resort level. One of the places I stayed this year I would not return to if they paid me and I mean it. I will not stay where I feel they are either insulting my intelligence OR not living up to providing the bareset of niceities and I consider getting rid of a leak and mold a requirement for health not a amenity.

 

[Cinders]

Since we did get a 1 nights refund, what would you have tried to get out of westgate?

First off document everything when something goes wrong. Since you didnt call them the first night that is the only night you should have paid full price for IMO. After that you need to write down all calls made and ignored. And write down the person's full name so you can easily prove you made numerous calls to have the problem fixed. After you son fell I'd have been calling and mentioning a lawsuit (no I'm not sue happy but the threat usually works on its own ). If you charged the stay there I'd also tell them you would be calling your credit card company to dispute the amount you were charged.

 

[disneypooh]

Hi. If you read my post several messages down, you will see that I had a very similar experience at the Villas a few weeks ago. Maybe if enough people start complaining, they will get their act together and do something to make it the five star hotel it is supposed to be. You said you stayed in the ZZZ unit. The unit I stayed in had only a single letter which is supposedly the oldest units of them all. Boy. Did it need a little manpower to clean it up. That wasn't what bothered me the most, because it was liveable. It was definitely the unsupervison and the rowdiness that took place by the pools and the gym until the wee hours of the morning. I wouldnt even let my two teenagers go there by themselves. As I said before, one is better off staying in a hotel like the Hampton Inn Westgate before wasting a penny at this place. I intend to write to Interval International about what goes on at this hotel. Hopefully if enough people complain, the place will find themselves off the RCI and II list. The salespeople (if you can call them that) really need to go too. They do nothing for you except treat you like an animal to buy into this place.

 

[dizney dreamin']

I'm so sorry you all had bad experiences at Westgate. We are going in October and they always have a sit-down with us because we own- I am going to tell them how many people are unhappy with them and their service(lack of). They are always bugging us to send people down to see the villas but, why would I recommend them if this is how they are going to treat people? I will complain so hopefully these types of things don't happen to people who stay there in the future.
So SORRY about everything!!

 

[disneypooh]

Thanks. That would really be great. Its the owners who I believe can make a difference. I know at the timeshare I own, there were several maintenance issues and once a week the owners would sit down with managerial staff and discuss them. It took them awhile to fix problems, but they eventually did. Hopefully, the same will happen with Westgate. It has lots of potential if things were run accordingly.

 

[DisneyChick02]

...to the suggestion of threatening a lawsuit. If you want the problems solved while you are staying someplace, threatening a lawsuit (against a reputable, wellbacked company mind you...I'm not talking a franchised operation or flybynight place) is probably the last thing you want to do- usually your threat can result in the property management and staff ceasing communications from that point forward and directing you to a legal or claims department. Speaking from experience it is probably the least effective way of dealing with a problem in the present. If you are looking for a "fast fix" threatening legal action is the last thing you really want to do....it could end up backfiring on you and then you are really out. I think the other suggestions- get the names of everyone you deal with, time of communication. phone records, etc. are wonderful. Put those in a well-detailed letter to the resort management as well as the worldwide executive management, with pictures as well if you have them and send it all via registered mail. If they are smart they will contact you!

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Did you have an opportunity to sit down with their customer relations staff to tell them how many negative comments about service have been expressed on these boards?

Others beside myself would probably like to know what the latest information is.

 

[Mic]

Our good friends bought into the newer of the Westgate properties(Westgate Towers?) the same time we purchased an interest in Disney Vacation Club. Besides all of the obvious advantages to staying on-property, we have had an overall better experience with the whole timeshare aspect of our trips. On our last trip, we met up for dinner, and their vacation began with a change of rooms after 1 night, while I could only complain that I did not get into my room until 4 pm(but I requested and received the very room I wanted). So far, out of the 3 or 4 trips our friends have taken since purchasing, they have never been treated the way they feel they should be for the amount of money they spent. Based on their experience, I would never consider even taking the tour. I am so glad you did not let your experience ruin your trip!

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Are the Westgate Towers closer to route 192 than the Villas?

You said the friends had to change rooms after one night. Did they say that they were upgraded to a better room, perhaps?

 

[Mic]

WDWis-
My friends have actually never stayed at the property they purchased due to the "week" they have vacationed since purchasing. They have a Spring Break week(near Easter), and have been vacationing in May and Oct. like us,so they have been "trading" their week for another week in other properties. They once stayed in the Villas, and enjoyed that, but this year they ended up in Claremont(?) at a property that is not well-known(I've seen it mentioned here a time or two, but not often). The Towers are indeed closer to WDW according to them, so they may just have to use their not-so-convenient-for-them week next April if they want to be happy. And the reason they changed rooms after 1 night on this last trip was due to the fact that they had requested(and been told) that they would have a room near a pool, but found that not to be the case at check-in. There were also other minor issues that were not resolved quickly. While we have had an issue or two with DVC at times, we have had an overall better experience.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Folks, I have to tell you that our recent stay at the Westgate Vacation Villas was very satisfactory. We did not have any of the problems that others had.

Our 2BR 2 bath villa was very clean, no mildew, no overcrowding at the pools, quiet at the pools and around the villas. We had no issues other than a clogged toilet in the guest bathroom that was fixed quickly by maintenance.

We did not have any of the problems that were outlined on this thread by others. We were in the triple digit quadrangles near the towers.

 

[Badger Brent]

That's great for you, but others need to be warned of the experiences at this place. There total lack of response was one of the most frustrating deals I've had to go through. I read other good and bad responses and we took our chance. No more timeshare presentations for us. Where are all the responses from satisfied Westgate Villas guests? I haven't done a count, but I bet the bad stays outweigh the good ones.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

It is a well known fact, that more people report on negative experiences than positive experiences. When you say, "Where are all the responses from satisfied Westgate Villas guests", it appears to me that you expect that people would come back home and sit down to report on their positive experience. That normally just doesn't happen.

It appears to me that even though you didn't have to attend the timeshare presentation and were refunded one night's stay, that you still are not happy. I may be wrong, but it appears that you can't be satisfied by Westgate. What else do you expect from Westgate Resorts? Your stay cost $75 per night at a timeshare resort. You didn't attend a timeshare presentation that was part of the reduced rate that you received. And, one of the nights was refunded, wasn't it?

Please don't misinterpret my comments, but I think that you were treated fairly. What else do you expect that they should have done? I hope you don't think that your total stay there should have been free.

 

[Badger Brent]

Did you read my report? You put yourself in my shoes on this one and see how you would react. My son falling on his hip and butt and crying. As a parent, the fact I called and they chose to sweep it under the mat, that's what makes me upset. I'm a go with the flow kind of person. I have a feeling this problem on this particular room has been ongoing for awhile. I post on this forum if someone has a question I can answer it and it's useful to them. All have been positive responses until this trip. Of my 8 or 9 trips to the world, this was the only time we've ever had issues with a hotel. As far as not going to the timeshare presentation, We ended up sitting in our room waiting for the rep to talk about the whole mess. I guess they got 90 minutes out of me anyways. If your trying to sell a timeshare, wouldn't you put your best foot forward?