Review Time
Normally l like to end with the good, but in this case there's not much, so let's start with The Good...My wife and I stayed at WestGate resorts in Gatlinburg between Oct 26 - Oct 30 and the Smoky It's did not disappoint. It was beautiful, Cades Cove was spectacular. Oh, WestGate. The room was nice size, full kitchen, balcony. The views from the top of the property was excellent. We didn't eat at there restaurant but the food smelled good. They did have a free shuttle to take you into Gatlinburg, the wait was a bit long thou.The Bad...The reservation said the room had a DVD player, it did not. Just a hole in the wall under the T.V. we had to call maintenance because the refrigerator sounded like a bad engine trying to start. It never got fixed. All the air conditioning and heating units were right outside our bedroom windows. The hot tub at the top of the property was hot, but no jets. So it was a bit like taking a bath. There bar at the same location, which was open closed without notice for the rest of the season. Very disappointing. And now for...The Ugly...On day two around sunset my wife and I were walking down the road on the way to the resorts market. We crossed the road in front of the security booth and a 10 seat golf cart stop sideways in the road. I noticed the the guy driving was looking over his shoulder. When my wife and I passed in front the dummy stepped on the gas a hit me in the leg. I slammed my hands on the front of the cart and he stopped. His response was "my bad". Which did not sit well with me and then his next comment was most people use the crosswalk, a simple apologie would have taken care of everything. But he felt after hitting me, a "my bad" was a sufficient apology. I went into the lodge, and stepped up to the front desk looking for a manager. His name was David. His response was "we can't make him apologize". and I'm busy" he then commented "you need to go back to the security booth and file a report, and locate his name". He wouldn't do it and would not send anyone down with me. Basically no apology from David as well and I had to do his job. The security booth pulled the video footage found his name and saw the same thing I was reporting. I was told I should hear back with in 24-48 hrs. This never happened. 3 days later we left for home with a piece of paper with the report number and 4 names to call. I called one name "Keith S" no return call. I called and did speak with Waldemar Cantero. Both in the Department of Safety and Security. His response was just as bad. No apology, they cant make the driver apologize and said they will make the guy driving the golf cart take another course in driving after all the double talk Waldemer ended by saying they have done all they will and can do. Westgate should be ashamed of themselves. Lack of effort, and rude. Westgate Resorts is a joke at best, an un safe place to stay. There a so many other choices to stay from 4 start hotels to cabins, b&b, camping. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Westgate. It's not worth it.Update:This is to follow up up the first review RE: Westgate properties in Gatlinburg. Customer Care reached out and asked us to respond and leave our email and or our phone number. On the same day my wife and I responded back with the information they requested. It's now going on a week later and NO response from Customer Care. I'm telling you, the whole thing (Westgate) from top to bottom is at best a joke. They talk a big game but they really don't care about you, the guest. As proff of there lack of concern and follow thru. Our advice... stay away. There are many other really nice places to stay in the Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge area.
We just checked and they gave us a broom closet- not all what we booked. When we called management to speak to them about it, they just tried to ram this room down our throats. Customer service they ain’t. Maybe we should have been rude and pushy about it, but we just left instead. Their management was arrogant, rude, and unhelpful. I despise West Gate properties.
I would give negative stars if that were possible. We were tired when a friend suggested one night at Westgate Branson Woods. The required attendance at a sales pitch played on that cleverly! When we left, we had bought an every other year membership, and immediately after, our work schedule changed.No longer were we traveling near Branson, and there is NO Westgate near our home. We have had this albatross about 7 years and NEVER used it. We just paid the HOA and pleaded with them to get out of the contract.NO, they always say, to turn it back to them, we must pay them a few thousand dollars! Worst decision ever to buy something you have no way to be rid of. I will be the anti-Westgate ad forever.BTW, the latest brochure from Westgate says, "Your voice matters". It's a lie, or Westgate would work with people who want out! Recently I offered to pay $500 to get out of the contract, (all I could scrape together), and they turned me down and sent it to a collection agency.
Where to start. This company is the worst hotel & resort company I ever dealt with. They pressure you to buy a timeshare with them, promise you the world. When it comes to deliver on their promises they fall short. Their resorts are disgusting, their customer service is terrible, and they trap you with a contract, high mortgage rates, and lifetime increasing maintenance fees. RUN, don't even give them the time and day.
The lack of communication from Westgate when issues arose was astounding. We had an infestation of biting ants inside the property that was half heartedly and inneffectively dealt with so they remained there. We also had cockroaches. There was no in-lodge info on emergency contact numbers, how the lodge phones worked etc or what to do in a hurricane situation, which would have been really useful as Helene blew into town. Our personal concierge failed to show up for 2 pre arranged appointments so we could get no information from him either. All we got were excuses from the front desk regarding all of these issues and the promises of management reaching out to us, which surprise surprise they never did!! Once they have your money, they really arent interested in their guests, or their wellbeing. I could not recommend Westgate River Ranch to anyone !!
We were dragged in by offers of a breakfast during a trip to universal back in May of this year and it was fine until it wasn't now they are trying to get "maintenance fees and taxes out of us of 1600 or better "anyone who loves theirs wanna buy mine you can have it
The experience with this company from the very beginning has been nothing short of a nightmare, marred by deceit, manipulation, and outright cruelty by the sales team. On August 24, 2021, my mother, her husband, my 3 children and I went to Westgate Palace located at 6145 Carrier Dr. in Orlando, Florida, for breakfast under the ruse that we would attend a short presentation in exchange of free tickets to Universal Studios. The sales presentation I attended was a masterclass in deception, led by individuals who seemed to take pleasure in crafting a web of lies so intricate, it was designed to ensnare unsuspecting prospects. We started talking with a gentleman that started asking questions directly to my mother. Keep in mind that my mother is elderly, and she tires very easily, and the questions were all super-fast with the ill intent of confusing and tiring her out. They never mentioned there would be fees every year, in the form of a maintenance fee. This maintenance fee would always increase, going up by at least 5% every year. It was also never mentioned that it would be a lifelong debt that her grandkids would go on to inherit nor was it mentioned that there would be multiple weeks blocked off. Their tactics were not just aggressive; they were cruel. They mocked my financial situation, scoffed at my inability to afford lavish vacations, and used this as a battering ram to push me towards signing a contract. Documents were thrust in front of me with a demand for a signature, no explanation offered, no time allotted for review. Critical information was deliberately withheld, including the vital fact that I had a legal right to rescind the contract within a specific timeframe. It's clear I was subjected to a calculated scam, preyed upon by a team well-versed in exploitation and deceit. The practices employed by the Westgate sales team were not only unethical but cruel, and I refuse to be bound by an agreement that was forged under such tricky circumstances.
I am writing this review because of the misleading and coercive tactics used by Westgate Sales reps. They got us to sign a contract under false pretense, had they been honest with us, we wouldn’t be in this situation, and I wouldn’t be leaving this negative review. To start, they held us hostage by taking our ID’s when we checked in at the presentation. Our 1.5 hour presentation stretched out to 5.5 hours dealing with high pressure sales from multiple sales people. The presentation was filled with misrepresentations and falsehoods. During an owner meeting with my mother, who owns shares with Westgate, we were presented with three options. One option was to sell her shares to me at a supposedly reduced value. However, upon careful review at home, it became clear that we were misled about the true cost and financial implications of this purchase.The sales presentation failed to disclose crucial information such as the actual percentage rate, which is significantly higher than implied and beyond our ability to pay. They failed to mention that maintenance fees increase annually and the potential burden on our children should we pass away.We are both retired postal carriers living on a fixed income. We are unable to keep up with the payments, which are far more substantial than we were led to believe. We were told that owning a Westgate timeshare would provide significant benefits. In reality, it has only resulted in costly payments and undue stress.Given these circumstances, we assert that the contract was entered into under false pretenses, misrepresentation, and coercive conditions. We would never have agreed to this purchase had we been provided with accurate and complete information, given adequate time to review the contract, and not been subjected to high-pressure sales tactics. We were completely taken advantage of.We hope Westgate does the right thing and terminates our contract and release from all future financial obligations related to this
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
