Westgate Lakes Resort & spa

[spencem]

Hi all,

We are booked in here for a two week stay next September in a two bed condo. I'm wondering if anyone knows the resort and can offer advice on which building to request please?

We'd like a lake view and somewhere quiet. We're not at all fussed about being close to the main building and attractions, in fact further away is probably better. Same with play areas and pools.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We were in building 500. We had the view of the lake you are seeking:







and thought it was a great location. We watched an alligator swim around every morning. Sorry the view photos appear a little grainy, but the screen around the verandah makes for some less than stellar pics.

This was the view as we walked out the front door:





All that said, building 500 is located in a "hub" of amenities. Directly across the parking lot from the Citrus Breeze pool and activity center. Right beside the mini golf course, tennis courts, and basketball court. And the paddle boats were right behind the building. So that may or may not appeal to you.

But these pics show how close building 500 is to Turkey Lake:





We thought it was a GREAT location, and would absolutely request that particular building again. It was central to everything, but quiet at the same time. We were on the 4th floor which we enjoyed (the buildings are five storeys high). Would have preferred the 5th, but still had little problems with noise from the neighbours above us.

Just a word of caution......the resort is HUGE. Enormous. Vast. Really, really big. Be careful about requesting to be "further away" from anything, because some of the areas are really, really far out. We couldn't believe how long of a distance it was between certain points within the resort!!!

 

[spencem]

Thanks for the information, it certainly looks like a lovely resort.

Anyone else been?

 

[aleksandr]

Been many times to the Lakes both as an owner and a renter over the past 15 years.

What to expect:
1. Rooms showing their age--many buildings haven't been renovated in years. Expect tube televisions in bedrooms (living rooms are usually flat-screen now), aging kitchen appliances, cracked floor tile, grungy grout, and general shabbiness. The last time I was there parts of the ceiling in the 2nd bedroom were cracked, peeling, and hanging down.

2. Little to no parking, no matter the season--if you aren't back to your room by 7-8PM, don't expect to find a spot anywhere near your building.

3. Staff that simply doesn't care and isn't responsive to your needs--across all walks of the organization. Expect long lines at registration by people who are not very enthused by their jobs.

4. Unless you are an owner, expect to be shuttled around the registration office to various people who will try to push you to sign-up for a "breakfast" (AKA Timeshare Presentation). Unless you are staying on some kind of deal that requires a presentation, use ALL of your willpower to decline! Tell them you have ADRs at Disney every morning and then disconnect your room phones!

The final straw for me at Westgate Lakes was in April of 2012. End of April is a VERY bad time at the Lakes--they rent out rooms to teenagers celebrating after-prom parties. I've had the misfortune of being at the Lakes during prom season two years in a row. Expect drunk and disorderly behavior, public intoxication, roving bands of shady teenagers, the smell of pot in the air, etc.

My less than six month old car was vandalized during my final night at the Lakes that year, likely by a drunk kid. Westgate security was next to useless. They seemed extremely put out to have to take my report. Orange County deputies showed up within 20 minutes of my call. It took Westgate 1.5 hours to send a guard out to take a report and only after repeated calls to the security office and front desk. There is evidently no parking lot surveillance at all in this place, or they just didn't want to be bothered to find and download the footage.

Long story short, in the aftermath of this event I didn't even receive a single call/email/letter from Westgate management to talk about the issue and find out if things were resolved to my satisfaction. I understand that parking is almost always at your own risk, but I ended up paying ~$450 out of pocket to fix the damage to my car without even an APOLOGY from Westgate, let alone any kind of compensation.

I didn't expect them to pay for the damages, but it would have gone a long way for a manager to call me and apologize. It also wouldn't have taken much for them to offer to comp a couple of nights in the future.

So they have lost a customer for life, and not only that, but I am not shy about expressing my disappointment in their company and properties. I stayed last year at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and plan to do so again this year. I will never set foot in another Westgate property even if it were free.

 

[spencem]

Thanks for the information, I think .

I just hope things have improved since you last stay. Can't say I blame you for making it your last trip, sounds like a nightmare.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Been many times to the Lakes both as an owner and a renter over the past 15 years.

What to expect:

2. Little to no parking, no matter the season--if you aren't back to your room by 7-8PM, don't expect to find a spot anywhere near your building.

3. Staff that simply doesn't care and isn't responsive to your needs--across all walks of the organization. Expect long lines at registration by people who are not very enthused by their jobs.

We didn't find the PP's #s 2 or 3 to be the case on our stay in August 2012. We had no issues finding parking right in front of our building at any time, day or night. And we walked right up to the registration desk, and were checked in very speedily by a friendly young man who was very, very kind (I had been air sick on the plane and was still suffering from motion sickness when we arrived at the resort...and staff were awesome about getting me to our room as quickly and efficiently as possible).

Not saying the PP didn't have a terrible experience as described....but definitely not our experience at all.

We also didn't find the room to be as awful as aleksandr. While somewhat dated in décor, it was clean and in very good repair.

Now...the sales weasels....definitely as terrible as most people describe!

 

[spencem]

We didn't find the PP's #s 2 or 3 to be the case on our stay in August 2012. We had no issues finding parking right in front of our building at any time, day or night. And we walked right up to the registration desk, and were checked in very speedily by a friendly young man who was very, very kind (I had been air sick on the plane and was still suffering from motion sickness when we arrived at the resort...and staff were awesome about getting me to our room as quickly and efficiently as possible).

Not saying the PP didn't have a terrible experience as described....but definitely not our experience at all.

We also didn't find the room to be as awful as aleksandr. While somewhat dated in décor, it was clean and in very good repair.

Now...the sales weasels....definitely as terrible as most people describe!

Thanks for that.

Any tips on which building to ask for to be away from the I4?

 

[MaMudduck]

I'm glad Gina posted her pictures because it was based on her building recommendation that I also requested building 500. And we were given "brand newly" renovated 3 bedroom villas, I fact we were the first to stay in those villas since renovations (that was last Dec. - for 2 weeks)
I've stayed in at least 10 different timeshares in Orlando and this one rates in the top 3 for sure.
I would definitely heed or agree with the advice of Westgate Lakes Sales reps. They are EXTREMELY aggressive and will continue to hound you to take the tour. I just tell them NO at the front desk checkin process, don't care what you offer (we are exchanger from II) it's not worth 2 hrs of hell

Everyone else we dealt with on staff there was really good.

In a couple of weeks I'm staying at the Westgate Town Center and the reason I chose another Westgate was because it like the Lakes.

 

[MaMudduck]

Oh and also from building 500 3rd floor we could see the Wdw fireworks every night.

 

[spencem]

We stayed in building 2400 on the top floor, which was ideal for us. Yes we were right at the end of the resort, but that was where we asked to be.

We had two issues that were very quickly dealt with by Westgate. We woke one morning to a hot condo as the air con wasn't cooling, within 10 minutes of my calling maintenance a guy was knocking our door and a few minutes after that cold air was coming out the vents.

The other issue was a very loud family of I'm sorry to say fellow Brits who moved in next to us one night. They were not only very loud but also decided to use the jacuzzi at 5am! A call to security had them quiet within moments, security must have called their room and told the to keep the noise down because there was no way someone got there that fast from the office.

Our apartment was nice and clean, recently renovated I'd say with large flat screens in each room that we never switched on all vacation. At no point did anyone try to get us to see a presentation, we didn't see any sales people at all. Checkin was smooth and there was no sales pressure there even.

The only complaint I'd make was the $40 per week charge for the internet, even the Comfort Inn next door has free wifi.

 

[Brook1099]

We used to stay in the 2100 building( facing the lake is the way to go staying here) There is a map on website u can look at and decide. When we do stay here ( usually stay DVC until we have to use our week) We know request the 500 because it is in the hub of it all and our kids being teens now works for us. We have always had an enjoyable stay here with few issues. At check in things always go smooth then as owners they say " go to so and so and they will set u up for owners breakfast. we politely say NO THANK YOU and walk away and go to our room. But they tried. Parkingonly when workers park there golf carts in the spots.. my husband gets quit pissed about that and tells them about. Beds in 2100 section were a little hard for my liking, not sure if they still are its been 4 yrs since stayed in that unit. Two visits we seen a couple cockroachs which I know its Florida but as much $ as they get from maintenance you would think they could get rid of. I did right to them about that problem. Bonuses of this resort in location.. love the fact I am close to EVERYTHING.. SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Aquatica. Universal and Disney. Walmart which is two minutes down the road we go there for supplies as opposed to Publix for convenice and much cheaper.) I think you will have a great vacation. Its Florida and we always make the best of it.