Westgate Reservations Reviews

Also, I've always felt the personnel we work with do a very good job. I had some trouble with them a while ago in trying to get the right unit. That was a pretty high frustration for about eight years but they were able to fix that last year. I couldn't get to the right person that could fix the problem and once I showed them the documentation, they fixed it. Other than that, they've always been good to work with me. I'm happier now with them than I have been in the past little while.

I reached out to Westgate, they told me I have to pay them to surrender the property to them, I was offering the property back to them for free, the property that is paid for and deeded, and they will turn around and sell it, but they want me to pay them to take from me and turn around and sell to someone else. This is a total scam. Tens of thousands of dollars wasted. Never buy timeshare from Westgate. It is a trap, all the promises are lies.

The food options are very good. We've eaten in the restaurant on site, we've gotten some things from the store for sandwiches, and we've eaten in the cafe at the water park. The activities have been very nice, too. We don't usually access a lot of those, but when we take our grandchildren or great grandchildren, they seem to like those things. We've been very pleased with our experience

Also, I read different stuff about people having trouble but I've never really had any trouble. My rooms have always been clean and if anything's wrong, I just call extension 1234, tell them, and they send somebody up and fix it. I know they want you to take a concierge, but I haven't taken any since 2019 because I don't need them. I know what to do. And when you're with them, they want you to go to meetings to buy more and I'm not doing that anymore.

The one time we stayed there in Orlando, our room leaked from the story above causing a power outage in our room. The couches had pen marks all over them, there wasn't enough amenities to cover our family, not enough towels, pillows, blankets nor COFFEE. We were not thrilled having to call room service over and over to get these things we needed for a comfortable stay.

I have let Westgate know of all my complaints several times and they didn't care and they still expect me to pay maintenance fees and won't allow me to get out of this nightmare timeshare they pressured me into and lied about. They still expect me to pay when we are not satisfied at all. As someone who has the misfortune of owning a timeshare with Westgate and has been trying to get out of it for over a year, take my advice and stay far away from them. Everything they tell you in their sales pitch meeting should be taken with a grain of salt because the odds it's true aren't the greatest. Overall Westgate has been a terrible mistake and I do not recommend it to anyone. I will warn everyone.

I tried to book through Westgate Lakes in Branson and after three phone calls, nobody could help me. Finally, I got ahold of a person on a Saturday morning. She was fantastic. She booked me, and everything was right on. The Branson Lake was fantastic. The purpose of this is not so much taking advantage of the properties I own, but to be able to get into these Westgate Resorts with minimal amount of problems. I'm trying to get into Las Vegas right now, and I was given the incorrect number. So, my issue is not being able to have the right numbers available to me.

The correct questions are not asked when I call. I look for weekend getaways. They say, "Are you an owner?" "Yes, I am." "Are you willing to exchange?" "No, I want to get into this resort during this time." "Oh, you gotta call this number." I want a one-stop shop. As far as their properties, I've only went to one and it was fantastic. So, as far as my experience once I'm there, it's great. The people are accommodating. Setting up the concierge and setting us up with shows were fantastic.

Moving forward we were mocked by the manager, we are a different demographic than the rest of the people doing a tour, and it truly seem because of our difference that we were treated like a second class citizens. Upon trying to address the man who was mocking us it was brought to our attention that he was the manager.

He even said to us “I’m Johnny **” and there’s nothing we can do about it. Then when we called corporate to file a complaint about the way we were treated they informed us that there’s nobody to talk to and then we can write in a letter not email. Not a phone call. But we can hand write a letter and mail it in. Almost like corporate can care less about the way Managers treat guests and potential owners. I truly felt like it was the 1950s. Mind you this all happing while on our honeymoon.

To make matters worse, I'm being forced to work exclusively with Jessica from the attorney's office. I can't even get any information about my account from anyone else. It's like Timeshares is purposely trying to make my life a living hell. The only way I can regain control of my account is by paying off the entire balance, which is just outrageous! And to add insult to injury, they dangle the deed of foreclosure in front of me like it's some kind of prize. It's just another way for Westgate to bully me into submission which is how I got into this mess in the first place. I've had it with Westgate and their shady business practices. It's time to take a stand and demand transparency and fairness from these crooked companies.

They will not do anything to help us though. We have even offered to negotiate some kind of settlement as long as it would let us out of our timeshare, and they won’t even consider it. We are looking to get out of our timeshare because we were misled by their sales team. I would recommend to anyone considering a timeshare with Westgate, to keep in mind, if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true.

We have now been trying to get out of our timeshare contract after we received a call from one of their representatives who told us we could rent out the property and it would only cost $1900 to do so. We figured this was fair because we would hopefully generate that $1900 plus more when it is rented. We paid the money and then never heard back from anyone. They took our money and did not rent it as they said they would. We have never used the timeshare yet continue to be charged maintenance and usage fees. Westgate has been truly awful and we are doing everything we can to get out of this timeshare. We are still hopeful someone at Westgate will do the right thing and let us out of this timeshare. Let this review be your warning that Westgate is not interested in helping you vacation. Once they squeeze every dollar they can out of you they will tell you that it's too bad and you need to continue paying and they won’t let you out.

We were promised a free week every other year but it turned out to be false information. Also, we were told that we could travel anywhere, but that wasn't true either unless we paid extra. I strongly believe that Westgate should have zero stars. To make matters worse, Westgate has taken thousands of dollars from us and refuses to let us out of our contract. The supervisor I spoke to was rude and arrogant. She said that the only thing we could do is let it go into foreclosure or sell it to someone else. I've tried finding someone to take it off our hands, but nobody wants it. It's frustrating because there has to be something that can be done! Overall, I would not recommend doing business with Westgate Resorts.

The sales people lied straight to our face in order to get their commission check with zero remorse. I have contacted and will continue to contact Westgate until they close my account fully. We do not trust anything they say and have no desire to have any affiliation with Westgate Resorts and it’s unethical lying employees! We will continue to fight until they cancel our account and we would advise anyone even remotely considering buying a timeshare with Westgate to steer clear of this company at all costs!

Once I reluctantly agreed to attend the presentation, I was subjected to hours of high-pressure sales tactics. The sales representatives employed manipulative techniques, using false promises and exaggerated claims to entice me into purchasing a timeshare. They downplayed the financial obligations and failed to provide a clear and transparent picture of the associated costs.

Furthermore, the tactics used during the presentation were misleading and unethical. The sales team employed aggressive persuasion, attempting to create a sense of urgency and scarcity to pressure me into making an impulsive decision. It was evident that their primary focus was on closing the sale rather than genuinely addressing my concerns or providing accurate information.

Moreover, the promises made during the presentation were far from reality. The sales representatives painted a picture of luxurious vacations and exclusive perks, but upon further investigation, I discovered that the actual benefits and availability were severely limited. The fine print revealed numerous restrictions, blackout dates, and hidden fees that made the timeshare much less appealing than initially presented.

Additionally, the overall guest experience at the hotel suffered due to the relentless focus on timeshare sales. Staff members seemed more interested in targeting potential buyers than providing quality service to all guests. The level of attention and care I received as a non-timeshare guest was noticeably diminished, leaving me feeling undervalued and overlooked.

In conclusion, my encounter with Westgate Resorts' timeshare presentation was deeply disappointing. The deceptive sales tactics, false promises, and disregard for the guest experience have left a lasting negative impression. I strongly advise prospective guests to be cautious and consider alternative accommodations that prioritize genuine hospitality over aggressive sales tactics.

Lunch was mushy pasta and the tour turned into almost 5 hours. They sent a salesperson of our ethnicity who claimed to be from our city who kept calling us "Mom and Pops" because I guess that's what they thought we'd relate to. Neither of us are actually from the city we live in so it was lost on us. We told them we were not prepared to put 25k down or pay $800 monthly on a 3 bed timeshare because we were closing on a home within the month. They said they would not report anything to the credit bureau until 90 days to help us out and gave us a figure of 80k we would spend on vacation over the next 20 years without this savings. They talked about value of this 65k timeshare and passing it down to my kids. When I said I was once a realtor and 20% interest is crazy for a mortgage he said they could waive closing costs since I am a nurse.

4 proposals and several hours later with the manager implying we didn't have money, throwing out pitches for even and odd year timeshare purchases and offering free Waterpark tickets we headed to the door with a firm "no". At the exit we were accosted by a very young salesperson with a last minute deal of a lifetime for a 1 week getaway at the same resort for $1200 to be used over 2 years. At this point I was afraid to sign anything because the desperation of the salespeople, sketchy sales tactics, empty tables of other potential buyers and blatant disrespect for my time were making me uncomfortable. Plus after touring the facility it was mediocre at best.

We stuck to our guns and left so they denied the free resort tickets they had promised and told us that at least we would not have to pay a $500 fee since we showed up to the tour although it seemed we had made a pact not to buy anything. Then we had to find a shuttle back to our car because they just waived us in the general direction of the exit although they escorted us to this hostile negotiation of sorts. Someone should shut this establishment down for unethical practices.

The person I spoke with the 2nd time told me unless I am able to pay my fees in full, I won’t be able to speak with anyone else and that message is coming directly from their manager. Instead, they gave me two different phone numbers to call because there is nothing they can do for me since my file is flagged to call those numbers below ** and **. I’m disappointed because in their website they claim they have options for owners who are going through financial hardships. I’m disappointed because they that they are not interested a bit on what really is going on in our lives!!

We have had several family situations since then and contacted Westgate Resorts to end our membership. They finally sent a hardship form, but never replied to our request. Westgate Resorts will mislead it’s customers to get them to sign up, then hold them accountable for not being able to read the legal wording in the contract. Everything the sales people says is just to get people to sign, not at all what they are actually getting! Be careful where you book your vacation, and if it turns out to be Westgate - change your plans!!

A 2 hour presentation turned into (no joke) over 8 hours. I asked every question to protect us and was just blatantly lied to. For example.... Cisero asked Heidi in front of us if we could have a special deal of "uncapped" stays at our home resort (Vegas) a reward for being a medical professional. He had already offered us this. When I reminded him, he asked and she said, "Yes we can do that." I told Cisero and Heidi so many times. "We couldn't afford it." I said I needed to call my son and he followed us and waited. Complete intimidation. My son told me to leave and tell him no and that's when the lies really started rolling out of his mouth. I know that now.

We had to sign a consent to be recorded during the deed signing. Alberto stated we were welcome to a copy of our recording as well. That really put our guard down. I asked all the right clarifying questions during the recording so I'd have everything on record. They even give you a CD, No recording on it. I called to request a copy and they've "never heard of that request before." Shocker. Now we're paying over 8,000 dollars a year to stay in Vegas for 3 days. (I'm from Las Vegas and no one in their right mind would agree to that!!). If they were truthful, they would NEVER sell a timeshare! We are sick to our stomachs. We call and they just say.... "never heard that one before" And then they want us to stick our kids with it in the end. No thanks!! Westgate Resorts should be ashamed.... I hate to even grant them 1 star. :( Westgate needs to be stopped.

When we called customer service to tell them our salesperson had lied and we wanted the contract cancelled, we were told they don’t do that and we couldn’t get out of the contract. When we called them to tell them we could no longer travel due to health, they declined the request the very next day. We have discovered that Westgate is a complete scam. All they want is to get you to sign their contract and they will say ANYTHING to get your signature on it. Then you are stuck paying them. For nothing. We have seen that other timeshares do have programs to end the ownership, we have seen timeshares that do stand behind their product. We regret choosing Westgate instead of a reputable timeshare.

My rights under the MLA include:

● A 36% interest cap. You can’t be charged more than a 36% Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR), which includes costs like the following in calculating your interest rate (with some exceptions).

● Finance charges

● Credit insurance premiums

● Add-on credit-related products sold in connection with the credit

● Fees like application fees, participation fees, or fees for debt cancellation contracts, with some exceptions.

● No mandatory waivers of certain legal rights. A creditor can’t require you to submit to mandatory arbitration or give up certain rights you have under State or Federal laws like the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

● No mandatory allotments. A creditor can’t require you to create a voluntary military allotment in order to get the loan.

● No prepayment penalty. A creditor can’t charge a penalty if you pay back part – or all – of the loan early.

Westgate does not care they take advantage of the men and women who fought and died for this country. I am 100% disabled service veteran and financially we cannot continue with these payments. We have asked Westgate multiple times to release us, and return our money but they continue to ignore us. We are hoping the your company will assist us in giving back this purchase to Westgate and recovering some of our money from this fraudulent contract.

They then rope you into this extra fees in order to be outside of the US and travel internationally and on cruise ships. Keep in mind that’s an entire separate membership that to Canadians is about $200 per year, and if you don’t use that membership, it’s a waste of money. You can also only travel to certain places in the United States and as a Canadian that’s not beneficial to us but they roped us in by saying, "Well. You can go to Mexico for 200 bucks a week," but on top of that, you have to pay the fee to be part of a different Membership to get access to all these different resorts. It’s called interval international.

They come back to us with a price and we were like no, absolutely not. They come back with us with four different offers and the last one was super, super low and affordable and they tell you, "Thank you for your service as a nurse. We’re going to waive all these fees," and blah blah blah. "We’re gonna give you a hell of a deal. You can’t say no to this. It’s the lowest price we’ve ever sold anyone. You’re Canadian. You’re a nurse. Thank you for your service." This is a great deal," so they come back and our loan was for 7000 but with a down payment of 800.

They tell you your loan is for 6300 but in the real paperwork your loan is actually 6800 because again of extra fees then they tell you, "Well you won’t pay resort fees wherever you go," but as a Canadian the exchange rate is so awful. The HOA fees, in turn turn out to be almost C$2000 a year and then, on top of that we’re paying flights and then on top of that you pay your $2-400 to go international or whatever which in turn turns out to be 500 to $600 Canadian so now you’re paying $2600 a year for what for a week of a vacation then they tell you, "Oh my God. You have to take this deal. It's the lowest deal we’ve ever seen," and make sure you read all the reviews because we aren’t the only ones who got this so-called lower deal then they suck you into all these free trips and these two day three night vacations for $99. Well what the heck are you gonna do in Hawaii for two nights?

Then they invite you back for a free stay at Westgate Las Vegas for some orientation but again your whole entire time is taken up by some orientation and not actually doing stuff so we got roped in. We took the deal then we really sat down and reviewed everything because they told us that if we didn’t purchase, then we could never ever come back to Westgate for timeshares, so we didn’t have time to research. We just were in the moment and purchased we got home to Canada and really started Researching.

Read the fine print people. It says you only have five business days to revoke your contract, but on a separate piece of paper it says 10 days to revoke your contract so when I went to text Ashton from Las Vegas westgate She read my message and never answered back on questions I had so thankfully we were only on day 2 of the contract when we got home to Canada and we did a bunch of conversions of how much we were actually going to pay in Canadian dollar and it’s a scam, people. It’s a scam.

We were lucky enough to get the cancellation paperwork which comes with your package. It says timeshare cancellation on it and I had to pay $76 for it to be expressed to Florida. If anyone approaches you on the street run as fast as you can no matter what free activities they offer you. They will hold you for 4 to 5 hours and the free meal that they offer was pasta and hotdogs. They say, "Oh it’s a big Buffet. You can come enjoy free food." It was literally pasta and hot dogs, you can get way cheaper deals on Priceline or even through a travel agency. We unfortunately got suckered into the scam and we were very fortunate enough to read the fine print of how many days we had to revoke our contract. If they say your contract is 7000 over 10 years but the interest is 17.99 and then they put it on your credit card now you’re paying double interest on your loan and on your credit card. Don’t do it people. Run!!!

The pushiness was annoying. And the sad part is I almost agreed to something I knew we couldn't afford. Their tactics are brutal. I was in tears and she could care less. I skipped breakfast just to speed things up to no avail. Something told me to look at the reviews and sure enough I dodged a HUGE bullet!! I hate them. I will never come back. They ruined our family Sunday for nothing!

After driving for a long time we stopped for dinner since their confirmation email said check in was at 4:00 PM. We arrived at the hotel about 5:30 to check in there is a huge line of almost 45 minutes to check in, when I get to the front desk my reservation was nowhere to be found, the girls at the front desk kept looking for my reservation for about 20 minutes asking me all kinds of questions, "Your name, your email. Show me your email, your confirmation #" etc.. She keeps trying all kinds of ways to give me an explanation as to why I wasn't on the system. "You booked this through our welcome center. Let me get my supervisor," at the point it had been 40 minutes before a supervisor came out. The supervisor also came out and gave me a bunch of excuses with no solution to my reservation.

As I am sitting there I keep hearing all the other people checking in being offered upgraded room and their welcome team escorting them to their rooms. The supervisor said there is nothing she can do because my reservation didn't go through their system. I never got a notice about that but instead I had 2 different receipts with me that proved I should have a reservation. At that point is 7:00 pm and I checked my phone to see if Expedia had other hotels and everyone was booked, she offered me to have a manager come out to talk to me. They took another 30 minutes before the front desk manager Humberto came out to tell me the exact same thing that they were booked and my reservation never made it to their system, he asked me to show him my bank statement showing that my payment went through.

Honestly I found that irrelevant because I was willing to give them my card again and when you make a purchase you never go back to your card to see if the payment went through especially when you are given a receipt you assume they took payment if they give you a receipt showing how much you paid with your last four digits of your card attached to that, I asked my husband to log in to his card app to see the transaction went through but there was no cell service in their hotel. After another 20 minutes of nonsense I took my family and left the hotel.

I went back to my car after 2 hours. By this time is almost 8 pm and we started looking for a hotel even all the way in Tampa and found nothing. Everything was booked in Orlando. We stopped to eat something before driving back home, we made it back at around 2:00 AM. This hotel really ruined our weekend. I am just glad this didn't happen to someone from out of state with no car. That would have been devastating. Doesn't discredit our experience and time we wasted, we had a dog sitter and tickets to Universal plus all the time driving. They offered Zero solution. Not even an apology. Do yourself a favor and do not book with Westgate, their business model is to sell timeshare and memberships and even those people get scammed.

When I locked my credit card and they couldn't take payments anymore, they sent us to collections and that's what we are dealing with right now. Westgate is a ** scam and no one, I mean not one person should sign up with these people because they will ** your credit totally and they do not care! Disgusted with their service and people handling their phones and their reps.

The next day just random we met up with an ex agent that used to work for Westgate timeshares exactly same location and first thing she told us is to get out of this scam asap in 10 days and go back and have them sign all the paperwork that you want to cancel because that is their policy but we never thought it would be such a difficult task to do because they do not even do any paperwork or sign any cancellation forms or give any cancellation confirmation it's a total scam... I filed a dispute with my bank to dispute the purchase since I canceled on the 5th of Jan 2023. We will be starting a legal action against the Westgate Resorts

We sat and waited till our names were called. We met all their prerequisites for the stay. Well then they take to up to the third floor and serve you some food and drink, and then you go up to the third floor for the sales pitch, with the loud music. The young guy in his early 20's was really nice, he gave the pitch, and we went on the tour. Then you come back and then the pressure for the sale is on. You are told that what they are offering is only valid for that day. The prices for a timeshare cost more than our house costs and what you get is only a week for each room you get. There are other niceties they say you can get and they show you other locations you can go to. Got to remember there are maintenance and homeowners association costs, alond with property taxes to consider. You see the first guy, and then another salesman comes over and gives you lots of other things and gives you what each will cost.

If you have lots of money well maybe this is something you can get--but remember this is for life and we know getting out of a timeshare is almost impossible. But anyway, he keeps the pressure on until I finally got up like I was leaving and then I sat back down. The manager comes over and makes a final push and then offers you a one week stay for like $795.00. We listened to everything they said, and decided this is something we just did not care to do. You are then allowed to check out and leave. I would not recommend anyone to sit through one of these presentations unless you have the will power to say NO. It feels like a scam with all the sales pressure they put on you. These snake oil salesmen really want your money, and if you have that kind of money to burn then go for it. For most it is something to stay way far away from.

Westgate representatives did not disclose vital information at the time of our purchase that could have altered our decision to make our purchase. They gave us no time to review the contract we signed, and no one told us we had a rescission period. We are not interested in keeping and maintaining our contract with Westgate and they refuse to provide us with a viable option for exiting our contract. We are asking for the timeshare to be completely terminated from our names. This is a small favor that we are asking considering that the company took advantage of us during the purchase process. Any help you can give us is appreciated and needed.

We get to the “resort” and automatically it felt very off. As soon as we parked our car a worker approached us and offered valet parking. We didn’t really like the idea as 1) we are driving a rental and 2) wanted to leave when we were ready. When we walked in, we filled some paperwork out and sat down in a lobby with a couple other families, which is where it started to go downhill. This family sitting by us tells us how we should leave because they are going to basically hold us hostage for 3-4 hours and that’s why they valet parked our car so we couldn’t leave until they were done with the “presentation.” This family told us they had put down $300 and couldn’t get their money back until they completed the presentation which caused them to miss their park reservation the day before.

After hearing this we decide we do not want to stay, but right when we get up to leave our names get called. My boyfriend told our sales lady that we needed to leave. I told her that we do not have that large of a time frame and she ASSURED AND PROMISED that she could do the presentation in under 30 minutes. She joked that we could even set a timer, which we did. We even skipped the breakfast to make the “presentation” go by quicker.

From here is was your typical timeshare spiel. She went over what they offer, how their company works, and how much it was going to cost. Regardless of if we were interested, they didn’t even have what we we would be looking for. They were out of the 1 and 2 bedrooms and only had a 3 bedroom available, which is too much space for us and out of our budget. The conversation should have ended here, but wait there’s more. It was quickly approaching the 90 minutes and we told her that we needed to go. She then has us get up and takes us to a different room where we thought we would be leaving, considering we told her we going to be late to our reservation. Wrong again.

She then proceeds to show us the “history” of the company and leads us outside to where the golf carts are. Immediately when we saw this we did not want to go because we had prior plans at 10:30 and did not have the time to be taking an extensive tour of a property we weren’t interested in. She once again ASSURES us that she is taking us to get our car, but we have to go to a different building, which is supposedly where the car is parked (it was in fact not where the car was parked).

We agree and we start heading towards another building. The building she brings us to is where they show you an example set up of what you could own. We had ZERO interest in seeing anything at this point as we were not interested and we were especially not interested in a company that doesn’t respect its customers' time. She then tells us that she will skip the rest of the tour since we are in a hurry and now she will take us to get the car. Wrong, again.

She then brings us to another building where her manager is now going to pitch the sale to us. He sits down and we immediately tell him that we do not have time and we need to leave. He tells us that “he understands, but we’re interrupting him which will make this take longer.” He then said something along the lines of “so why don’t you let me write down my offer for the cameras to see so she gets paid and doesn’t get in trouble, fair?” I flat out told him what’s fair about signing a contract that states we would ONLY BE HERE FOR 90 MINUTES and then keeping us for 2 1/2 hours. Guaranteed if we didn’t keep pressuring them that we needed to leave we would’ve spent at least 4-5 hours telling these people no.

He proceeds to write his “deal” down and then leaves. We again tell our sales lady that we are not interested due to finances. She then has ANOTHER women come over who asks us how our experience has been. We told her it was terrible as we have been here longer than we were promised. Without really even acknowledging that we told her you people made us miss our reservation she tries to offer us a weeks stay at their “resort” for a “discounted fee.”

At this point we were feeling aggressive as one can imagine and we don’t even let her finish and tell her we NEED TO LEAVE. You know what this lady told us? “These presentations are never as short as they tell you, next time say no if you are approached.” No I’m sorry, how can we make this better? Nothing. She then tells us how to get our prize and tells us we have to take a 15 MINUTE shuttle to retrieve our car.

This whole experience was disgusting and if this company ever thought I would give them business after disrespecting my time and breaking a contract, they are out of their mind. I have never been treated so poorly. Only positive outcome is we got did get our full $170. And again, we have been to two timeshare presentations in the past and they have never been like this. This place is a joke and based on the reviews I’ve read, the place is run down and isn’t maintained well. I feel bad for the sucker who gets themselves into this trap.

They conveniently didn’t tell me that maintenance fees increase every year. Without my permission or knowledge their salespeople did a hard audit on my credit to try to get me approved for a credit card! They trap you in hours and hours of ** and once you’re exhausted, they get you to sign paperwork without properly reading everything. These savages are getting away with scamming people and because you signed a contract, they are able to get away with it. Their contracts are designed to cover their backside because they contradict what the salespeople verbally tell you. I hope my review serves as a warning. Beware of Westgate!!!

When we got back from the tour, Johnny tried to close the deal by showing us 3 different units (1 bedroom, 2 bedrooms and 4 bedrooms) ranging from $100K - $250K with down payments of $20K - $40K. We told him we’d have to think about it as we just started our family and were not interesting in spending that kind of money on a “vacation home”. He tried to tell us we’d be able to make money off it by leasing it and by referring friends to the program. We continued to tell him we were interested. He got pushy and my husband asked him when was the last time he fished out $20-$40K at one time. He told my husband a couple years back when he bought his timeshare to go to Hawaii…

The funny thing about that is on the tour, he told us he’d only been on a plane once and that was to Miami! Something’s not adding up! Lmao. Then he went and got his manager… which that guy was a joke. He told us he could offer us a 4 bedroom for $130K vs $250K and we told him no… still wasn’t in our budget. He then offered us a 4 bedroom for $10K. When we said no to that… he looked at our salesman Johnny and told him he didn’t do a good job convincing us we needed this and no matter what number he offered, we’d never say yes. He got up and told Johnny to close the deal. I felt a little bad for Johnny for all of 5 seconds until when we told him no for the final time, he stormed off like a 5 year old. Moral of the story… stay far far away!

He spoke of making this investment work for my retirement. How I could help pay for my child’s college with this investment. Now I’m the one struggling to make my own mortgage payment and my child has to wait for me to build my account up to pay for college courses. I am so mad with myself for falling for this scamming. All they do is lie and hurt people. They should all be jailed for ruining people's lives. This has to be illegal.

If anyone is reading this just, please keep in mind, if you ever visit a Westgate property please run as fast as you can if any type of sales representative approaches you. Don’t fall for their sales ploys and tactics they use to trick you! They will offer you gifts, tickets, etc. but those gifts and tickets aren’t even worth it because you will get trapped and suckered into purchasing a timeshare! They will not stop until you have signed that contract, they are very pushy, use pressure, and just LIE. Since signing that nightmare contract with Westgate our finances have been affected negatively which was not disclosed by the Westgate staff. I mean, why would they? If they were honest, there would be no such thing as timeshares. We were completely blindsided by their deceptive sales practices.

Sad state of affairs. This was annoying also because I didn't even want to meet with anyone about a timeshare in which they wanted $64000 and $15000 down. They also magically come up with two other deals from owners selling the remaining balance of their timeshare and try to conive you into paying alower monthly payment. What they don't tell you is the constant rise of maintenance fees annually. This sort of treatment actually pisses me off because weaker minded people agree to these terrible agreements and lose money and suffer anxiety and frustration when all they were trying to do originally was have a relaxing vacation. They can take their timeshare and shove it.

Part of the reason we ended up signing after about six hours of intense pressure was because there was a safety net. Westgate had a program to buy back the property if we changed our minds. When I needed this option, I was informed that it was never even available. We have never been able to use the timeshare because of availability issues, and now that my wife has passed, I have no desire to use it. I informed Westgate of my wife passing and received no compassion or help. All the contract has done is make my life more difficult.

Westgate is very deceitful, and they omit a lot of the financial details about their timeshares, there are fees that you must pay every month and they increase over time…But they don’t tell you that until the purchase is made! We tried to get rid of the timeshare due to financial hardship and medical issues, but we just got the run around and they referred us to shady third-party companies. If we could give Westgate a lower rating, we would! Westgate is a huge scam.

It is a WORTHLESS timeless, most certainly not an investment that we were TRICKED into purchasing! They waived the Disney tickets around saying “if you want these tickets you are obligated to attend the entire presentation”. We said NO multiple times to the sales reps that we are not interested in purchasing anything, we were only attending the presentation to qualify for the tickets. They just ignored us and continued their sales pitch. This has all been a joke, the entire company is a big scam, they defraud people, and fool you by using the right words to make it seem like we are getting the “best deal”, but all we got is lied to!

Not only did we not have a property, then we learned about the maintenance fees that were due every year and all the other hidden fees, like booking fees. Getting a reservation is always a complete nightmare. The availability is scarce, at best. Chances are if you deal with Westgate, you’ll end up paying for something you can't use because everything is always booked! They even rent our units online to non-owners, Westgate is a shameless organization!

The salespeople were particularly aggressive and applied a ton of pressure to make a purchase. They literally kept me there for 7 hours with no breaks. I’m sure this is a tactic to wear you down while they talk in circles about the fantastic investment a Westgate timeshare is. By the time the contract came, I barely noticed how little time it took to sign. I did not even realize until later that a copy of the contract was not provided when I left. I called to have one mailed to me and received it about 2 weeks later, which was conveniently well after the 10 day cancellation period that was never mentioned.

The hallway carpets were very dirty with stains, and dog pee was constantly in elevator. Our room wasn’t cleaned well before we arrived and I found someone’s drugs (labeled as insulin) in our fridge which security had to get. The shower wouldn’t get hot and there was low pressure regardless of time of day. Major construction was going on which meant limited parking, and being woken up by 8am even on weekend with trucks and construction noises. The beds were very tall and very hard (all of us woke up sore in necks and backs every morning, even our 15 year old). The very old AC unit ran super loud and made it hard to sleep.

Marijuana was heavily used in the hotel parking lots (especially Lot 2) and also just outside gate to pool deck but security, when informed, didn’t seem to care and just said that happens around there. They are also very short staffed and so do not do housekeeping at all. You have to get toilet paper and towels requests from front desk. Timeshare presentation was supposed to be 90m - it turned out to be a 5 hour (not at all lying). Very pushy and aggressive by the time the manager came. They didn’t listen to us at all but tried to push a decision what wasn’t for us on us. The worst part is that it took up an extra 3.5 hours of daylight which meant we didn’t get to enjoy the beach that we came to enjoy. We did try to speak to management, the owner referral program, and the timeshare folks about the issues we had while on-site but no one was able to provide any resolution nor did they seem to really care about our terrible experience.

When my saleswoman found out I was in the U.S on a student visa, she used that to her advantage. She said that if I “owned a property” in this country, it would be easier for my family and I to get visas to stay here permanently. She also told me that I could sell it back to Westgate if I changed my mind or rent it out for extra money. All lies! Even the part about easy access to reservations was a lie. I can never find anything that is available, resorts are always booked solid. I have had this timeshare for over a decade and have been able to use it TWICE. Save your money and take a vacation in the places you want to go without worrying if there will be a unit available. This timeshare is a complete waste of money.

The staff told us that purchasing with Westgate would be a real estate investment and would increase in value the longer we were owners and that the company would pay US to NOT use the timeshare during peak times! Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, we have learned that it is NOWHERE NEAR THE TRUTH!! Instead, we are charged additional fees to use the unit during the off-season and anyone can book these rooms straight off the internet WITHOUT a mortgage. When we reached out to them asking to cancel, they just told us that there was nothing that they could do. Do not believe anything this company tells you! They are a total scam!!

Then there were things that were completely left out. Our children will be forced to inherit the timeshare and the maintenance fee responsibility. There are hidden fees for things like just making reservations. Now we are stuck with a timeshare that we don't want that was sold to us with gross misrepresentations. I genuinely hope that this review saves someone else the frustration of what I've been through.

We worked with Mr. ** there at Westgate. He apologized for what we were sold during the presentation. Then we found out he had lied to our face as well when we went to the meeting to upgrade. We were told that for what we were paying, we could have a bigger unit with better availability. We were offered gift cards for attending this meeting. It turns out those gift cards were expired. So not only have we been misled by the original meeting, but got tricked into attending another one with more lies being dished out. We are not trying to cause trouble with Westgate. We are simply trying to terminate the contract and move on. Hopefully reaching out this way will get us the results we're seeking. We are eagerly awaiting your response.

When the salespeople learned that my husband and I were actually separated, they used this as a tactic against us and even told us not to disclose the separation when signing the contract because it would affect the financing. The promise that Westgate would take back the timeshare if we changed our minds was a blatant lie. They do NOT take any timeshares back from owners. The staff left out vital financial information, so neither of us knew what we were paying until being surprised with bills, which were considerably more than disclosed. This whole situation has been an absolute nightmare and they will not let us out even after their dishonesty!!! I guess I should not be surprised. I hope no one reading this gets in to bed with this company because you will regret it.

In over 8 years, we’ve only been able to book 4 trips, 3 of which were not where we wanted to go. We paid a $200 booking fee each time. Don’t they have enough of our money? It’s so difficult to book trips, it is not even worth the effort. We are stuck paying what will be over $50,000 for mediocre vacations… IF we can even get one! WESTGATE IS A MONEY PIT.

On the day of the presentation, we arrived and sat in a lounge waiting for more than half an hour. When we were finally given a rep to meet with, we told her from the beginning that we were not interested in purchasing anything. She told us that as an owner with Westgate, we could go to any resort, worldwide, for $203 a week! This seemed too good to be true (spoiler alert: it was!). When she told us that we could pass the benefits down to our children and if we passed away, we would no longer be responsible for payments, we really believed her.

For SIX HOURS, we told their staff that we could not afford this, that we had just filed bankruptcy, and that we could not afford a down payment of any amount, but THEY WOULD NOT STOP. They stated this would help us build back our credit. We finally gave in to the smallest down payment because we believed it was the only way out. They rushed us through the contract so fast that we were never told the interest rate on the loan, shown the true cost of ownership, or told about the cancellation period. Now we know the truth and Westgate is ignoring our requests to cancel this. Stay away from them!!! The discount isn’t worth it!

No matter how many times we said that we could not afford this, they continued to push until we had no choice but to make a purchase so that we could leave. At no point we were told that we would pay nearly THREE TIMES the quoted price by the time the loan was complete or that this debt would be passed on to our children in the future. I am absolutely sickened by the way that this company treated us, and I am sure other people as well. Stay FAR AWAY!!!

The value would always increase, yet there is no property and no monetary value attached as we later discovered. There was also a promise of making a profit from the timeshare by renting out the unit but that never happened, due to lack of availability. Also, no matter how many times we told them we needed time to process the information, the reps pushed harder by telling us these were one-time deals being offered. In hindsight, that’s an obvious sales tactic. DO NOT FALL FOR IT. In fact, don’t give Westgate the time of day!

We put down a $300 deposit to stay in a 1-bedroom unit in Kissimmee but later were told we weren’t eligible to use it until December 2020 and after 3 additional deposits. Really??? We paid all this money and had to wait 23 months to use it! We have experienced extreme financial hardships due to covid and when we asked for deferred payments on their extremely high maintenance fees, we were told none would be offered. BEWARE of Westgate Resorts and their shady tactics to try and get you to buy their bogus timeshare. They will hang you out to dry!

The maintenance fees have gone up EVERY YEAR. The deal was we could vacation in Myrtle Beach each year because it’s close to our home and we are not at an age we can travel too far. We couldn’t use our weeks in Myrtle Beach, so we had to settle for Turkey Lake, FL. We pay $1,354 per year in maintenance fees but you’ve closed all the amenities and you most certainly are not doing any upkeep on the resorts. Westgate misrepresents what they offer and commits ELDER ABUSE. Our health is diminishing, and you have stolen our Golden Years and dreams of vacationing in Myrtle Beach which is what you promised us!

When we finally agreed, we had to come back to sign the papers and once we got there, we were introduced to the most unprofessional closing agent. She clearly was unprepared and then rushed us through the signing process and not explaining crucial details that would have had us running out the door. Since owning, we’ve been plagued by issue after issue. Lack of reservations, terrible customer service, not getting the vacation time that was promised, reps not getting back to us, the list of problems have been endless!

One thing I was impressed with was the location and the view I had at the resort in Orlando. The rooms were set up a studio (no full kitchen), and a two-bedroom that had a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a jacuzzi in it, along with a nice balcony View. So I was taking back and of course they only said this will take 90 minutes, but really you are looking at three to four hours. So they offered a timeshare every other year for a price and I told him that I can't afford that!!!

One, I was having problems especially with my operation a couple months ago. Two, that I was on FMLA leave at the time. Then they they get another salesman or lead saleman, and bring back another offer. He said, "We could give you a used one that a guy upgraded from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom and you can take the two-bedroom over for a certain price." I should have had red flags right there. But after being so poed about my Universal hotel stay, it looked good to me. My thinking was that I have the best of both worlds and come down here to visit my siblings, and go to all the Disney attractions. The biggest thing that really got me when they were doing the figures is they were offering 17.99 percent financing. Do not do that folks, and did what I did. I offered to pay in two years with no interest payments and they agreed. That is how they really make their money!!!

The other thing is of course the maintenance fees which to me I was getting lousy vacations before I even had a universal Hotel that charge you for a microwave per day. They even charged you parking per day. Hardly any vending machines and they did have a place that was open that their breakfast sandwich was three times higher than a normal breakfast sandwich. I even bought a meal plan for three people 55 dollars per person, and in four days, it was over $800 dollars. So I thought this was a good deal. Because with a full kitchen I could now go to down the street to Walmart get all I need and save on a lot of meals but not eaten out. We do go out some days but we mostly like to veg by the pool and take it easy.

Now I admit that I really did like the accommodations and all the resort had to offer. What I do not like about it is that if you become an owner that you were subject to having a meeting every time you stay at one of their resorts. At first I didn't mind because I wanted to come every year and upgrade the unit. Buyer beware just remember that they will try everything for you to get the sale. So the first upgrade was really great for me because they offered second half of the deed for the same price I paid for the first. Little did I know that they were timeshares on eBay that people couldn't give away.

I upgraded last year in January 2020 that would give us multiple weeks and rooms depending on how I use it. This deal didn't go well as planned as I was needing more and not thinking about resisting to the last possible moment. So I kind of felt that we bought too much. So here's the real kicker now even though I have flexibility with my upgrade, they still try to get me to buy more!!! So every visit I have to be subjected to a meeting at breakfast time and an owner's dinner which isn't really that fancy.

Well, they switched the salesman from last time to this woman who promised the world who would help us if we had a problem with one of stays and needed also to advertise on Airbnb for a room that we couldn't use that year and to call her directly for advice on how to do it. We even had buyer's remorse, but I was looking at the bigger picture as this was a good deal. I would come at least once a year to this Resort and once at another resort. Example: Myrtle Beach, which I've been to. Well when I tried to call her months down the road to help with us set things up through Airbnb she immediately hung up the phone.

My wife was not happy with this last deal. The good thing is that we were on the end of the resort and not stuffed in the middle lots of buildings. We had a newer building with a great View, multiple weeks, and multiple rooms per year. I should have probably done it different. I do not recommend to do a $100 stay at Westgate Resorts for the weekend. I would suggest that you rent from Airbnb from an owner and get a full kitchen washer and dryer and possibly a balcony View if available at the resort first before you get suckered into this. If I had to do things different I would have probably done this in the first place, but I did not know at the time, and I did not do my research.

There are a lot of bad reviews about Westgate Resorts. However, except for the high pressure salesman every time I stay, I had some of the best vacations since becoming an owner. Make it work for you. There are things you have to beware of that some of the resorts that you try to go to might not have the flexibility of going when you want to. Another word sum resource you actually have to have a timeshare to get the premium weeks or peak weeks. That is a big downside of these resorts. It depends on the availability which sometimes you may hardly be able to get a week when you want to. Yearly maintenance fees go up, and you can get that salesman pitch every time. Just be prepared to sit in for three or four hours, and just keep on saying no.

As far as people treating me rude, I have not experienced a lot of rudeness when I go to the Westgate Resorts. Sometimes salesman's presentation meeting they get pushy and rude. Some meetings were okay. I have to tell you in Myrtle Beach SC, I've had Oceanfront balcony View and I've also had a ocean side view which was breathtaking. Down at my home Resort in Florida, I have an excellent view of the lake, I'm in a newer building which is a certain layout that they can't offer me another building that's different unless I consent to it. Like I said, if I had to redo it again I probably the money that I invested in the wealth management Market, I probably could have just taken out per year and spent it on a better quality stay other than a cheap hotel.

I do though really like the resort atmosphere. So I'm only giving it three stars because of the hassle of each time I go on vacation I get subjected to going to these meetings, and they seem to always want you to buy more. The other thing that I really get upset about is that they don't seem like they really inspect the rooms after each stay, and there's always something that you have to call maintenance for to get repaired. The covid has hit hard, and it's hard for them to get help. I've put in surveys and suggested what they should do. I hope they do Crackdown on these timeshares and make them pay for scamming people. If you're the type of person that always wants to go out see the sights and always eat out then this isn't really the place for you.

When we signed, there was a $300.00 down payment and we thought we would have this paid off in no time! Our payments in the beginning were high and have been different each month. August 2015 our payments was $390.00. September and October 2015 our payments was $388.00 on both months. From November 2015 to present day, our payment have been $188.26 monthly. Between January 2016 and December 2020, a total of $11,040.00 had been paid on what was supposed to be $10,200.00. That does not include the annual maintenance fee, or any payment made in 2021.

In the five years we have "owned" this timeshare, we have never received an actual contract with details regarding additional terms or fees. There was no provided Truth in Lending statement, nor advisement of our right to cancel the contract with a recession period. We were told this was investment and quite frankly it is quite the opposite. This has become a total financial burden after learning about all the hidden fees!

We finally just agreed to one of their continuous offers so that we could leave, and our kids could rest. The staff went through the contract as fast as possible, never showing us any truth in lending documents, told us the interest rate on the loan, or told us that there was a cancellation period. Had we known there was one, we DEFINITELY would have used it! Since we returned home, we have been upset and unsettled about this purchase and now we are stuck, and Westgate will do nothing to help us!!

- (1) Space - There is considerable space available for families and guests.

- (2) Amenities - Having a kitchen with appliances (fridge, dishwasher, micro, oven, laundry, coffee, AC) and a granite countertop for cooking is great, keep that going.

- (3) Aesthetics - You guys do a wonderful job at presentation (in context of room atmosphere). Plenty of lights, mirrors, a king-size bed, a bathtub with water jets, tile floors, a dinner table, a sunroom, and paintings all make the stay a bit more homey.

- (4) Discount/Gift Card - For attending the 2-hour presentation on the 2nd floor of the lobby.

Cons:

- (1) - 1.5 stars for Maintenance

- (2) - 2.5 stars for the Discount/Timeshare Presentation with Mr. Z. **

Explanation:

- (1) Maintenance:

(a) We booked a room months in advance for 6 days and 5 nights, but when we arrived the shower didn’t work at all. A phone call was made to the front desk in the lobby and they assured that the shower would be attended to. The shower never worked during the entirety of our stay so my wife and I had to use the bathtub for bathing purposes. Messages on our resort phone were checked, but the phone wouldn’t play back the messages. My mind is blown that a resort would allow guests to stay without making sure the room was operational first. (-1 star)

(b) So this is going to be a bit of a laundry list, but legitimate arguments (-0.5 star);

(i) Having guests sign a waiver stating that during their term of occupancy, they can be videotaped or have photos taken of them at any time without consent for whatever reason is extremely invasive and although you may defend yourself with, “we do it for security”, we know you also do it for marketing.

(ii) Entertainment - The TV/cable package selection is terrible. We never even got a TV spreadsheet to navigate through channels for a particular network.

(iii) Atmosphere/Wear & Tear - Scrapes and spills are painted over, scuff marks from shoes on the interior wall frame are left visible, some pullout drawers have no knobs, spring door stoppers are missing, paint chipping off the wall(s), squeaky cabinetry could use some WD-40, and the kitchen drain could use some cleaner because every time you run the water that sewage smell fills the kitchen.

(iv) Conclusion - It appears as though the focal point of this resort is that “appearance is everything” (just like flipping houses) and I agree that first impressions are important, but functionality is another story. Thus, these rooms don’t appear to be maintained or sanitized as well as they could be.

- (2) Discount/Timeshare Presentation with Mr. Z. **

(a) First off, Mr. ** knows what he’s doing. He’s very well organized, easy to follow and understand, well dressed/groomed, seemingly a guy you could have a friendly conversation with, and made mention twice that no matter what we choose we’ll still be friends. So what could go wrong? Well let’s begin;

(i) Blindside - When my wife and I booked our room, we were offered the room at a discount and the promise of a gift card if we attended a 2-hour presentation. No additional information about the presentation was provided which is extraordinarily vague, but we kept an open mind and listened the entire time.

(ii) Time Quoted - The agreement we had for attending stated that the presentation was 2 hours, Mr. Z. ** quoted us 90 minutes, and the overall time it took to complete the presentation was roughly 5 hours.

(iii) Rejection & Pitting My Wife Against Me - Over the course of our presentation with Mr. ** I had kindly and politely said, “no thank you, I’m out” five or so times and you could tell that Z.’s attitude and tone had flipped 180 degrees. The guy just wasn’t happy being rejected. Every time I said no, Z. would leave the table and then come back with a lower offer and at which point he focused on my wife because she seemed more into it. Considering the pictures that he was sharing from his tablet I’m honestly not surprised because they would grab most people’s attention (traveling and luxury).

Mr. ** had expressed his view that my ability to communicate with my wife is poor and I should discuss with her first before making a decision for the both of us, but the thing was that I never decided for both parties, just myself and I made that clear. My wife has opinions of her own that I’m open to, we have exceptional communication and as far as I can tell, little to no secrets. Mr. ** just wouldn’t accept no, and he either fired back with a lower offer for the sake of affordability or targeted my wife with questions... baiting her with fantasies of traveling all over the world, generating wealth, and living the dream. Also, Mr. ** made the joke that my wife has a secret stash and every woman does, which I didn’t care for mainly because “trust” is pertinent to a successful marriage. Therefore, Mr. ** was unnecessarily aggressive. Needless to say WE didn’t appreciate this.

(iv) Condescending/Belittling Remarks - Ok, as I was kindly and consecutively rejecting the idea of investing into a condominium on account of my current financial situation and requiring additional time to research the investment, you could see that Mr. ** was getting a little more loose with his mouth. For anyone familiar with business and law, you never sign on the spot.

But without really knowing anything about me (goals, finances, occupation, dreams, etc.) Mr. ** had no problem sharing his views of me which were; that I’m close-minded, I’ll never get to where I want to be in life with the way I’m living at the moment, and that I’m going to die in a bed (just like that photo he shared with me) wishing I had lived... which is just despicable. The bottom line is that Mr. ** didn’t get what he wanted (a sale) and so he responded like a child. Honestly, it felt like he was trying to get a rise out of me to have me escorted out and contrary to what he said in the beginning of the presentation, we clearly aren’t friends.

(v) Pressure Tactics - Pushing my wife and I to sign on a condominium within 90 minutes to 2 hours with the promise that our property would not depreciate over time, we could go anywhere at any time (exchange), touring us through a VIP display room at the top with a balcony and a fake cleaning lady, showing us pictures of money in our pockets as well as a suitcase full of money projecting the notion that our immediate decision would equate to wealth in the near future, and that it was a “now or never” type deal because laws prohibit Mr. ** from handing out his card until further research is done and that if we didn’t invest into real-estate now then we never would... c’mon, this is borderline illegal or just flat out illegal. Not to mention, our conversation was interrupted “4” times so that we could clap on account that someone near us bought their deed to one of your condominiums.

Additionally, we were told by Mr. ** that the reason timeshare salesmen publicly announce and clap is so that no other salesman talks to them again, which doesn’t make sense and here’s why; 1) you have to sign in at the front desk and fill out paperwork to be called, and 2) they’re in the network (computer) so you wouldn’t make the mistake because of the law right? Because that was the first thing Mr. ** brought up (being fined/jailed for seeing someone more than once after the initial presentation). So honestly, it sounds like you plant people in the audience to project the vibe, “hey, they’re doing it, and you should too”, which coincidently coincides with some of our conversation when it came to “influence.”

I would also like to add that even a typical mortgage would give you “3” days to consider an agreement before signing, not 90 minutes to 2 hours. And lastly, if Mr. ** was happy to share how long he’s been with the company and his 100+ cliental, then why is he still working? Needless to say, you may be investigated in the near future by the CFPB, FTC and or the State Attorney General.

(vi) Disbanding - After the final offer was pitched and rejected with Mr. **, he said he would be back in a moment, but never came back. So the fact that my wife and I kept an open mind, listened to what he had to say, tossed around some questions for interactivity/relativity, and gave up “5” hours of our time equated to Mr. ** abandoning us, which was very rude and unprofessional. He could have easily and cordially expressed something like, “I appreciate you guys taking the time to meet with me. I’m sorry things didn’t work out, but maybe I’ll see you in the future. You two enjoy the rest of your day.” Nope, nothing... poof, and he was gone.

(vii) Final Offer - I had already kindly rejected the offer five or more times, my wife agreed with me, and Mr. ** was gone at this point... but we were approached by another individual with another proposition and my wife was the target once again with a “final offer”. As enticing as it sounded, my wife and I consensually agreed not to invest and the individual respected it (thankfully). Contrary to what we wrote on our survey, we just wanted out! Thus, we left to enjoy what was left of our day.

Final Thoughts:

The -1.5 stars on Maintenance in contrast to the -2.5 stars on the Timeshare Presentation should really emphasize how damaging the experience was. After further research it sounds like Westgate's goal is to make a person feel special, put their minds at ease by telling lies and showcasing pictures of bliss, get them to sign, and then blacklist them. So instead of copy/pasting empty promises and apologies to former occupants, try focusing on what it takes to gain a person’s trust because excellent service promotes itself.

Our salesperson also told us that we could sell it if we wanted. This was completely believable at the time because they said they were selling us a traded in unit from someone who no longer wanted to be an owner. We’ve recently learned that timeshares have no resale value and there is no buyback program through Westgate, hence this negative review. The salespeople were aggressive, unrelenting, and untruthful. We never planned on buying in to a timeshare and haven’t even booked a single vacation yet BECAUSE NOTHING IS EVER AVAILABLE. Don’t believe anything they tell you. Everything we were told was a lie!

Those salespeople really know how to take advantage of you. I eventually did travel to Turkey and called Westgate to request an exchange like the salespeople said I could. I had to pay more for the Interval program and then found out there wasn’t any availability! I even checked other countries… NOTHING is available. They preyed on me because of my limited English at the time. It’s been a couple years and I understand much more now. I will not sit by and let them continue to take advantage of me or anyone else. Beware of Westgate Resorts!!!

When your salesperson or direct contact realizes the lie, they never call back. They wait days and months after til where you are just stuck. Their excuse is you can always sell back. If you are eager to travel note there's other options. The rep Rick even said, "Why would you pay half of it off, they want you to accumulate the interest." Oh yea the food was hard sandwiches btw, so the restaurant was a no go. Run as fast as you can.

We were shown a unit that we really liked but were still very unsure. We wanted time to speak to a relative of ours who is in real estate, as the rep kept referring to it as a real estate investment. When we mentioned this, the rep all but called us STUPID for not taking the one time deal they were only able to offer that day! Tired of debating and going back and forth we FINALLY purchased. We were not informed of our right to cancel in 10 days, therefore by the time we were able to get some advice on our purchase we were already locked in.

They played us into this purchase and since then, we have been put in nasty, dirty, rusted rooms. When we called to complain there was NEVER any resolution, except to upgrade our timeshare. They want your money, but you don’t get the quality! DON’T ALLOW THEM TO WOO YOU WITH THE MODEL UNIT, IT'S THERE TO GET YOU EXCITED! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU’RE PAYING FOR!

We spent close to 6 hours with 4 different salespeople. Each one applied more pressure to buy than the last. I felt the only way out was to buy the cheapest they had. That was the worst mistake I could have made because they did not tell me about all the fees attached to owning their timeshare. Not only that but these fees get increase every single year with no justification! Not a single person on that sales team mentioned this. Be advised, Westgate will scam anyone they can break down during their “seminars”. Do not attend these!

When we FINALLY left, we felt very uneasy. We tried to contact the salesperson MULTIPLE TIMES with no success, to later find out the person didn’t work there anymore, at least that’s what we're told. When were finally able to get some real details, it was too late. They wore us down until we said yes and then disappeared conveniently during the cancellation period, so we were locked in with no way out.

When we started this in 2008, we had 3 weeks with maintenance fees at $700 a year and now with 5 weeks EVERY OTHER YEAR our fees have skyrocketed to over $1,700 a year plus a $100 surcharge if you want to break up your years. No such fee was EVER brought up during the sales pitch. I am appalled at the amount of unprofessionalism this company displays! WARNING WESTGATE DOES NOT KNOW THE DEFINITION OF MORALS OR ETHICS!

We ended up making the purchase as we saw that as our only way out the door. We liked the room they sold us and again they made it seem like were going to have all these perks and amenities no one else was going to have access to unless they were VIP. That was the second LIE!! When we FINALLY were able to book our stay after several failed attempts, we were given a subpar room that was not as nice as the room they sold us at the presentation. That was the third LIE!!! We purchased our timeshare unit from someone that had “sold theirs back” to Westgate, so when we asked if we could sell ours back, they said that wasn’t possible. That was the fourth LIE!!!! They lied to me about the EVERYTHING! The whole purchase process was grueling, misleading and outright torture and now we’re stuck with it!

She asked me, "Before I transfer you back over to timeshare" she wanted to make sure I meet the requirements and was also ask why I wasn’t asked this question before I was transferred over to her which I told her I do not know. We went through each question she asked. She said, "You “do qualify” then I was transferred back over.

I was in contact with a lady name Natalie which she consistently states she’s been working there for 14 years and she works for corporate. I mentioned to her the previous conversation that transpired from the beginning of the conversation. I can sense hostility and I said to her that I am interested in the 3 day 2 night for $300 gift card. She said she does not have that special on the website with an attitude. I mentioned I'm looking at it. So immediately wants I got the sense she wanted to deny me so she jumped right into it and asked ”Do you make more than $100,000 a year." I said, "Yes. I make way more than that." With that she asked me questions which I answered regards to age and major credit cards etc. I guess I passed those so we went back to my finances and in detail.

I mentioned to her I have a full-time job thats over 93k. Also I am an owner of homes that I rent which is way over 100k. She told me that I do not qualify. She had me go through the terms and conditions while being extremely rude mentioning she’s been doing this for 14 years repeatedly and I do not qualify that owning real estate and renting is not a job. It's a commission. Huh? And that amount is not incorporated in the minimum of 100,000 a year. So we went to the terms and conditions. There was nothing stating that Owning a building and renting units is not a reason to be denied qualifications but so she rushed me off the phone. Said she has many of calls.

I got off the phone with her. Called back two hours later. I spoke to a young lady. Very nice young lady, all of a sudden “I qualify”. Very interesting so we went through the process. Got my information and my email and at the end of the day I decided not to take the offer because it’s a $369 for 3 days and 2 nights and it ended up to $792 because they added water parks and only $100 gift card. She also said she didn’t see a $300 visa gift card on the website so I posted it on this review to show the credibility of the people working there especially NATALIE “who works in corporate and working for 14 years.” NOW it’s clear why she’s been working there for 14 years. Enough said.

After lunch, we toured the property, and at the end of the tour the sales rep gets a call about her son being taken across state line by her ex-in-laws. Once back, she asked us to hold on and walked away to make a phone call, her boss walks over to finish the pitch with an outrageous price that we respectfully declined. There were 3 more offers before I caved because that was the only way I could get back to my son. I FINALLY SAID YES AND THEY STILL DIDN’T TAKE ME BACK TO MY SON. They took us to another room to do paperwork, still not allowing me to see my son! The presentation took 5 hours, and they held my son hostage, and the ransom was buying into the scam! My husband is active-duty military, and he is constantly stationed all over the country. He risks his life to defend these scumbags, so they are free to rip people off!!!

Next, instead of giving you paper with the terms, they sent us away with an SD drive. So we weren't able to see the contract until we got home from the vacation. Again, another reason why they don't give a paper contract. Next, they told us that we could use the week ANY week of the year. Once again, I never saw anything on the tablet that mentioned week limitations. I'm a formal paralegal, so I pay attention to what I'm signing. They literally hid this. So people, be aware that they will lie and do not sign anything digitally.

When we finally visited the resort for the first time, we were shocked at the quality. It was NOWHERE near what we were shown during the tour and was much closer to a motel feel than a luxury resort! When we expressed our concerns, we were told that we needed to purchase more points in order to stay in nicer rooms. Even though we agreed and upgraded for nicer rooms, NOTHING CHANGED! EVERY TIME we have visited it’s the exact same experience. We are paying astronomical rates and could stay at a better-quality hotel for the price. Westgate is the worst company I have ever dealt with!

What was most important for us in buying a Westgate timeshare was the ability to bring our emotional support dog with us and the ability to smoke in the rooms. The financial representative assured us that we were able to do the things that we asked but the contract we signed said otherwise. It said no to smoking, no to dogs, no free getaways, no ability to sell, and much more. This rendered our purchase as useless!

My husband was told that we could travel every year with our timeshare and my husband thought he had got a great deal because he negotiated 0% financing, but what we later found out was because of the 0%, they changed our usage to every other year and totally SCAMMED us! I later found out we could book these rooms on Expedia for $58 per night, but we paid over $7,000, plus the maintenance fees that they didn’t disclose of $869. I was miserable during this whole process; in pain, exhausted, and desperate to get out of this nightmare, a nightmare that felt like it would never end!

After my husband and I left we decided to review the resort more. We haven't found one hotel that actually provides the condo. The resorts are just nice hotel rooms. We were just lied to. And the 90 minute presentation turned into a 3 hour appointment. After speaking with the first rep we had to sit with a 2nd rep to get our $100 and 3-nights free. The 2nd rep was arrogant and kept snapping at me because I asked if we can just get our gifts and go. She knew she had power in her hands and started pushing her product on us.

Last year when trying to go on vacation, I called Westgate to make my reservation after seeing an ad special, I was told that I was picked to receive a special rate and that the only requirement was to attend a tour. I was asked several times what my income was and when I arrived at the vacation resort and attended the so-called tour, it wasn't a tour at all, it was a sales pitch to be an owner of a timeshare. I was not allowed to leave the sales pitch except after I said I had to go to the bathroom. I was told that I had to stay throughout the duration of the sales pitch, which took several hours from our two day vacation.

How much of my mortgage payment goes to principal and how much goes to interest? How much of payment goes to principal: 57.00. interest: 290. Maintenance fee frequency? Yearly. Maintenance fee amount? $1096.

I am even charged maintenance fees on the odd year in which I am not eligible to take the vacation. I was told it was an investment but am not getting any benefit from it, I can't resell it, I am not getting any return, I can't even take the vacation on odd years, I have heard some people can't even book a reservation during an even year. I also wanted to add that Westgate has not recorded my deed in Horry County as of yet.

On 4/9/2021, I called to make a Westgate reservation and I was told that I could not use the Bonus week (see attached, front and back) which I was given at the time of sale and told I could use until it expires on November 9, 2021. This is not true. When I called to book a reservation, I was informed by Westgate that I cannot use this bonus week at Williamsburg VA because I can only use the bonus week at this location for the first 9 weeks of the 2021 year. This was the first time I ever heard of this. I have decided not to use this timeshare at all because they are so dishonest and new charges are always invented that are unexpected so I decided not to use it at all.

I also discovered new locations that Westgate lied about through the attached brochure. I was informed when attempting to make a reservation that there are no Westgate resorts at Destin, Charleston, SC, Aruba, Palm Beach and several other locations. I was told during the time of the sale that I could use these locations to take my vacation for my bonus week and was handled a pamphlet with these destinations. Westgate have lied consistently about so many things and I was misled into purchasing this timeshare. I am now required to pay almost $1400 for something I can't use. I am very upset. Westgate has drained me and robbed me.

This is not the first issue we have encountered with Westgate Resorts. What we purchased was based on an updated unit, but when we went back the following year, we were placed in an older, dated unit. Again, unacceptable. I'll admit I am a bit of a "hotel snob", which is why I would not have agreed to purchase the "week" in an outdated building/unit.

When visiting resorts that sell/push timeshares and/or vacation clubs, tread lightly. While it sounds like a GREAT plan initially, as it unfolds, it rarely stands the test of time (even within the next scheduled vacation). I had always heard about these types of issues, but I was caught up in the moment with immense pressure in order to get on with our vacation with our children. With AirBnBs today, you can get a week-long vacation in most vacation spots around the states for less than $1,000, which is the minimum annual HOA fees you will be expected to pay for life.

The tour was supposed to last 90 minutes. We ended up being there 4 hours! We were lied to many different times. For example, did you know that Dave Ramsey has 2 timeshares at just that resort? No, no he doesn't. 3 adults told them "No!", and that we were not interested more than 10x, but they kept on and on and were extremely rude! They offended all of us at different times during the session multiple times! I am most upset about the time they took up for my daughter to experience and enjoy Gatlinburg!

I finally explained I don’t want to impact my debt to income ratio on my credit and they said no one asked for those details after literally they kept asking for details and I advised them it’s rude how they want my personal financial information. I was literally told I’m close minded and they’re just trying to open my mind because I didn’t want to buy. If you continue to say you aren’t buying no matter what they say you’re not being compliant with the presentation because you’re mind isn’t open. I told them up front they don’t need to do the dance of sending additional people who magically have an amazing one time offer. I was told that wouldn’t happen. So by the time we hit manager 3 Brad I pointed out that’s what is happening.

So my boyfriend was there and wearing sunglasses and Brad came over and forcefully asked to see his eyes. Why? So then Brad says he can’t focus because he’s too curious what color eyes my bf has. I’m completely serious. So Brad starts doodling on the sheet of numbers they write to try and sell you. He was doodling eyeballs. He was basically there to waste our time because they were pouting about me not buying. Finally my bf revealed his eyes including his lazy eye. Brad continued his discussion on eyes. Brad then said he doesn’t know why he’s there. He was supposed to be signing off on us completing the presentation and not buying so we could leave. Brad kept saying we could leave as a veiled threat that I’d be out of compliance with the presentation.

So finally Brad says he can sign off saying I am not buying and the offer I had will be gone which is what I wanted but they could not provide me with a copy of this paperwork. There were several other times it was clear Brad was just messing with us and we pointed those out to him. As we were leaving he says to us, "I’m going to sit at this table for a while if that’s alright." It’s their table so again Brad just was being a jerk. But then he looked right at my bf and says, "I’ll be seeing you around." Why? We’re not doing another presentation. So my boyfriend says why and Brad says, "I’ll be seeing you and I am being completely honest." Brad then does the thing where you put your fingers to your eyes and pointed to my bf. This man is a manager and knows my bf has an eye disability.

The next day my happy butt made a $4.87 purchase at a bakery and the cashier informed me that the balance is $1.00. I checked online and just had me going back and forth with putting the Info and my name. Called the Resort and the receptionist left a message for the manager. Been 2 days and still waiting. Called the number on the card and two days after we got the card there were two purchases that I know we didn’t make. But my purchase from the bakery was not listed which was made the next day we got the card. Doesn’t add up. NEVER AGAIN will I attend a timeshare session. NOT WORTH IT.

Original review: My husband and I purchased a timeshare in 2010 at the Westgate Resorts of the Smoky Mountains. At our next visit the following year we were told they were missing signatures on our contract. That was not true, it was another sales pitch and we were told a 2nd timeshare could be rented out and would pay our maintenance fees. We were lied to about what amenities would be offered in the future, the rental potential, and the ease of selling if we ever decided we needed to. We tried to rent and tried to sell, we could not give the timeshares away. So in Nov 2020, we attempted to voluntarily deed back our timeshares but Westgate denied.

One would think they would not hesitate to allow us to volunteer the deed back so they could re-sell. However, they resell (over-sell) to the point we have problems renting our own unit. Of course, they deny- they get to re-sell and continue to get our maintenance fees. There is no way out and non-timeshare owners get preferential treatment because that is potential money. Do the research and google Westgate Resort lawsuits, Queen of Versailles, and the Westgate Sales video that is on youtube.

Original Review: Oct. 18, 2020

I went to review their resort because a young man literally begged me while I was in Orlando. When I got there I told them I didn't make that much money.. They found a package for me anyway. Took 600 from my credit card, and when I got home I realized that I had been coerced into buying.. I canceled, but they only refunded 450 kept 150 for a tablet that they gave me. I sent the tablet back but they lied even after I showed my credit card company the receipt from UPS showing it was returned to them.. That should be considered elderly abuse for taking my money during a pandemic.. I returned it brand new in the box.. Senior Abuse and they should be ashamed of themselves for taking my 150, Since my credit card company doesn't have any other proof other than my receipt it's my word against theirs and they are lying and saying that they didn't get the tablet..

Elderly abuse and they stole my money.. 150 dollars from a Senior Citizen.. Don't buy anything from them, they aren't right, and they are thieves, and they prey on the elderly and harass you into buying time share.. They should be ashamed to take my money like that during hard times and I am on a fixed income.. It really hurts to know that no one can be trusted these days.. NO ONE.

Their sales person and manager messed this up so bad and I had no recourse to get out of either contract. This started at 7000. My accounts are now over 32,000 dollars due to me having to get a third account just to merge the two other accounts that Westgate messed up. Westgate is refusing to take responsibility for their own employees' mistakes and don't care one bit about the customer. Do yourself a favor and save yourself some money and stress and do not go with this company. Check out the BBB and other sites and just look at the complaints.

When I spoke to Westgate Resorts about this issue I was told that the week (39) that is on my contract is for deed purposes only. { :( } When I was sold this TimeShare Jill ** (My sales prep) & Rachal ** the contract closer for Westgate told me that they would put that week on the contract which they did but as I mentioned above this is for deed purposes only. So the bottom line here is I was conned into this tine share. I should have read it more thoroughly than I did but if the Jill & Rachel would have been honest with us we would not have purchased this timeshare from Westgate. Purchased in 2002 now it is 2020 I own the deed & have always paid the tax & maintenance fee's on time. My name is David **. Thanks for reading this. I hope you read this before you buy from Westgate. Have a great day.

I will post this message everywhere on the internet and I will get it translate in different languages. Only Evil people are able to live from someone else's struggle. I will do my best to keep people inform about of this liars. Even the rep I spoke with let a word slip out of his mouth. "We are robbing" and then went to correct himself, I work hard for my money and That's money that my kids won't ever see.

In the middle, there are new undeclared charges (that were supposed to be included in the first payment as they told us) and nobody else gives us any feedback: no more replying emails, not answering Whatsapp messages... All the people that was in touch with us when purchasing the timeshare suddenly stopped responding. Even emails are now bouncing! The most annoying fact: even before having our Interval membership, we started receiving many calls in our home phone offering us for re-selling our remaining Interval weeks. That leads me to the fact that either they sold my personal info to these 'phantom' companies (they seem to be scammers as far as I have seen in many BBB reviews and Google searches) or themselves are trying to scam the owners by using other companies.

I have a contract that one company send to me, I've asked the sales person from Westgate about it and herself said that it was a scam. I have it all on my email. We have called Interval many times about it and they said that they don't even have any request from Westgate to set up our membership, they didn't knew anything about us then it has to be Westgate. Is pretty annoying and disappointing, I keep paying for it but they don't even give me an answer. I have started complaining about it several MONTHS ago. They said that there is no way for me to get rid of the timeshare except for selling it to somebody else (that would convert myself on a scammer and I don't want to be a part on this fraud). The only answer I get from them is that they are 'still working on my concerns'.

Is unacceptable that they take that much time for giving an answer, I don't want to have anything to do with these people, they are not serious and the way they manage the claims is terrible. It became our worst nightmare instead of our dreamed vacation plan, we are too disappointed and with a hard powerless feeling. We are losing all our savings from our entire life in a terrible scam and we don't have any answers, we cannot even use the service we are paying for.

I spoke with someone name Jessy via instant messenger and was told it’s part of the contact. They should let their customers know that it’s only good for 27 months. When calling the representative today and speaking with them they stated a letter was sent in August in which we never received and the vacation package expired in November and they sent the expiration letter in April in which that timeline of notification is lengthy. Then to receive a letter asking for more money to extend. They really ripped my husband and I off. They do not compromise the just want to collect your money. Now I understand why so many of my bankruptcy clients add this company to their bankruptcy because this company is nothing but a ripoff and don’t even show any remorse. This company integrity is awful.

Initially, I was told that I would be able to book any week thru Leisure Time Passport. After she cancelled my vacation Lashaun informed me that I had to use Dream Vacations. I logged in while still on the phone with her and informed her that this is not what we discussed. She was very anxious to get me off the phone. Lashaun offered to transfer me to customer service. I requested that she reach out and I stay on hold until she reached a person. In fact, she did not transfer me to customer service. I was transferred to an advisor named Carmen (ID# **). Carmen told me that she did not have a supervisor that would speak with me and they are all instructed to not allow customers to go up the chain of command, but instead only email this address.

In addition, Lashaun assured me that the notes in my file would summarize everything that happened. Yet, when I asked Carmen to read me the previous notes, Lashaun did not document any of the details regarding misinforming me and withholding the fact that the certificate would have to be used on a separate site called dream vacations. I asked Carmen to contact Lashaun and request updated notes. Carmen informed me that it was not possible. Carman insisted that there is no possible way to contact the individual (Lashaun) that had transferred me to her (Carmen). At that point, Carmen said I will not speak any more do you want the email address or not.

I am extremely frustrated and have been treated very unethically. Somehow they cancelled my $2000 vacation and provided me a certificate that is close to worthless. Not only are the places listed subpar, but I was told I could travel any time as long as I booked by May 9, 2021. The dream vacation website says I have to travel by November 16, 2020.

The only way you really get the most bang out of your buck however, is if you happen to already have a lot of money to burn and a hefty amount of free time. For the everyday working person, it’s not financially feasible. You will never be on vacation as often as you think you will unless your budget is ironclad, and perfectly managed. Westgate is the whole concept of Timeshare at its most stereotypical, worst, and finest degree. By the time you realize just how much they fooled you, you’ve already signed your “deed” and they’re laughing uproariously at you. It’s not true real estate because you aren’t actually buying anything. That’s why true real estate agents won’t even touch timeshare. You are buying a pre arranged time to stay at a resort, not an actual room. They say it’s YOUR ROOM but it’s really YOUR TIME to use whatever room they have available.

And there are more variables that determine even that depending on what you agreed on. It could be odd years only, floating time, or even years only, fixed time etc. I got “lucky” and only bought into a timeshare worth $5,000. But I pay interest with every $100 I send in a month, plus “maintenance fees” of $1000 every two years. And the maintenance fees stick around even if I were to finish paying off my $5000 balance. They also increase over time. So unless you take a big vacation every other year, you aren’t really saving anything. You’re actually spending more. I can’t imagine what the poor people who got duped into buying $35,000 dollar timeshares must be going through. I know Disney and Universal resorts aren’t cheap, but they will at least work with you, or offer cheaper options like Disney’s All-Star Resorts.

Westgate does not let you have second thoughts, they don’t release you from what you owe if your financial situation degrades, they don’t offer to cut the balance in half, they do absolutely nothing. You are stuck unless you can somehow pay off your balance all at once. Once the balance is paid, they will agree to release you from your agreement, and therefore the maintenance fees. Also, say if I were to catch the Coronavirus and die, the obligation to pay off the balance then transfers to either my children or next of kin. That’s ridiculous. As long as they get their precious money, they don’t care about you, or your family. It’s plain as day to see that they don’t care just from trying to contact them. They play hot potato with you on the phone, passing you from one associate to the next until you’ve had enough and throw your phone at the wall in frustration. Once you sign that paper that’s it.

You could say it’s my fault for signing and agreeing to it, and you’re correct about that, but they literally did everything aside from physically restraining me to keep me in that chair until I signed something. I should’ve just got up and left. Remember that you CAN just leave. They cannot keep you there against your will. Don’t be like me dear reader, just get up and leave. I also didn’t give them my social security number, but somehow they were able to attain it. That means I can’t even decide to just not pay them because if they have my social, they can report me to a collection agency which will ruin my credit. So I’m stuck paying for something I don’t really want, they won’t work with me or give me a payoff quote, and they’re holding my credit hostage. And beware of companies that offer to sell your timeshare, because most of them really are outright scams.

The bottom line is that timeshares aren’t worth anything. They aren’t real properties. You will never sell them for what they are “worth” because they aren’t worth anything at all. I hate this. I hate the thought of my hard earned money going towards something I’m not really going to use! I hate the fact that they won’t do anything about it, or work with me! I hate the fact that Miss Faye ** was so convincing at the initial meeting! But I mostly hate the fact that I swallowed the bait hook line and sinker, just because I thought I was getting a good deal. I feel profoundly stupid in the extreme for having agreed to this exasperating situation.

If you are reading this, and considering investing in Westgate or any kind of timeshare company, please do yourself a favor and don’t sign anything! If you hear the name Westgate, say “No” immediately. Do not be like me. Do not dare to hope you found a good deal. The reality of it all will hit you right in your wallet in due time. I truly regret making this huge mistake. My advice to anybody who finds themselves at a timeshare meeting is this. Just get up and leave!

I called corporate office of travel partners yesterday. Apparently they didn't even have a plan to make a refund. Lady said she will forward request to upper management. Whatever it means. I think it's very unprofessional. I own my own business. And I know the rules. Good thing we didn't sign up for time share. If they do their operation based only on getting money from you it's not good. Anyway my account number at travel partners was ** And my name is Mikhail.

Maintenance dues were $524 and are now $989 an increase of 89%. We have never received a contract from Westgate Resorts. We did receive a deed from the seller and have used this property and others for many years. We have not used the property for the last 4 years due to health as my wife has had 2 surgeries on her neck and 4 surgeries on her back. Also I have recently had shoulder and knee replacements and a pacemaker. We are in our late 70's. We have tried to terminate the timeshare and have Westgate take the timeshare back but they refused and have many policies in place to make it extremely difficult. One policy is their "Right of First Refusal" for any buyer who might want to buy the timeshare from us.

We have dealt with timeshare exit companies like Immediate Acquisitions (convicted of fraud and sentenced) and with Resorts Release (recently 2019 went bankrupt) paying each about $4500 to get us out of the timeshare. Many of these companies promise positive results but in our case they were frauds. They promise to refund all money but fail to do. We were not aware that most timeshare companies like Westgate have wording in their contracts indicating the purchase of the timeshare and the on-going maintenance fees are for LIFE. Upon death they transfer to your children and are FOREVER. Again we never received a copy of the contract and certainly not aware of the clause until the last few years when trying to get out of the timeshare.

We have stayed at many of the Westgate properties in Orlando and Vegas multiple times. We have attended many timeshare presentations (about 20) over the past years and at no time did the sales rep ever mention the timeshare was forever. Westgate has also significantly raised the maintenance dues each year - from $524 in 2003 to $989 in 2020. Westgate recently also have instituted a policy to penalize owners like us with huge fees directed only for owners that purchase outside of their resorts. It is called "Non-Developer Sold Timeshare Interests". Some fees like banking our week with Westgate increased from $150 to $600. Another one is for Lock-off properties which our unit is the fee goes from $80 to $600. Many other fees are designed to hurt owners buying outside of their resorts. There are 10 of these discriminating fees.

I visited Westgate Town Center on January 16, 2018 to get a copy of the contract. There was not a copy in our files so basically we do not have a copy and never signed a contract. Based on this information we are giving the timeshare back to Westgate and will not use the timeshare or pay any fees in the future. New Westgate Fees to punish 3rd party purchases! Another “rip off” by Westgate!!!

Resale Owners are those owners that have purchased their Timeshare week(s) from any 3rd party and not directly from Westgate itself. Due to this different type of ownership, Westgate is unable to offer all of the same promotional benefits to those owners. The following benefits do not apply to Resale Owners: 1) Developer Exchange Fee Waived more than 90 days of arrival, if their home resort is unavailable, 2) Reduced Lock Off Fee, and 3) Wait list for in-demand resorts. Resale Owners Terms and Benefits apply as follows: 1) Rollover Split Weeks: $600 Exchange Fee + $200 Split Week Fee, 2) Expired Usage Rights: appropriate fees apply, 3) Rebooking Fees: $200 for Resale Owners within 60 days, 4) Reinstate Usage Rights: $700 for Resale Owners.

The offer was a 2 unit for one week a year for $24,000 plus $888 taxes a year, $99 fee for our travel package and $50 per year for our real estate license to refer prospective tenants to come stay. We got $75 for each referral that came down and $600 for each that bought a package. The 1 bed unit was $15,800 with the same annual costs. Then they offered an every other week for $10,000 and pay same annual costs every other year. We signed paperwork for the deed, etc. and went upstairs to finalize “the deal”! Just after signing all documents and receiving our portfolio of brochures for all our amazing travel deals and just as they were downloading our packages on our new tablet, I decided to look on consumer reports for reviews of Westgate. They were consistently 1 star reviews. I got worried and told the guy I did not want to go through with this. He called up Josh and his manager that we dealt with downstairs.

They said consumer reports was not reputable source and I asked him for a list of good reviews from happy customers. He showed me their A+ rating and I said that means you run a successful business but where are the happy customers and leaned in to press their reviews on that site. Again, all 1 star reviews! He was done and called for paperwork to void our package. Smother top dog came in all smiles and gave a voided sheet and invited us to come back for a free meal anytime. It appears they have taken charges off my credit card but feel like I dodged a big bullet.

Two months went by and I called about the login and they told me that the login is sent AFTER we make our third payment! ANOTHER SHOCKER! GASP!!! So we made out third payment, received the login info another 30 (120 days total) days later, logged in and SANDALS IS NOT PART OF THE PROGRAM! WE WERE IN SHOCK!!!! The recision period was over within days of our signing the paperwork. It took over 90 days for us to get all of our log in information. Angry, we did not make a payment this month and we have no plans of making a payment ever again! We did not get what we paid for. They told us:

• That the timeshare interest purchased would appreciate and increase resale price and value over time. We found out later this was a lie!

• That the timeshare interest purchased could be freely exchanged, transferred and sold. We called an attempted to do this to no avail. Another lie.

• That the timeshare interest purchased was a financial investment. This was another lie!

• That the timeshare interest purchased would result in the purchaser receiving booking priority over non – purchasing vacationers wishing to stay at one or more of the properties owned and/or maintained by the defendant. We purchased the timeshare in July 2019 and were not allowed to use it until 2020. We called to just test it after all the lies we found out and they told us there was no availability for the dates we chose which was the week of 2/20/2020.

• That the timeshare purchase would allow for us to travel internationally to Sandals properties. Again this was the FIRST lie we discovered AFTER the recision period of course! Please note: The Recision period was just a few days and did not allow us the time to double-check if Sandals was included in the deal. We are not getting what we paid for.

Resolve: We want out. Westgate can keep the payments and monies we have paid thus far, but we want out of the contract for the fact that they were deceptive from the start. :(

When we arrived at the location, my wife went to register while I went to pick up our daughter. The "Welcome Staff" became very difficult because they said she did not have the documentation to prove our residential address. They would not wait for me to come and provide the documentation. My wife then went to look for a manager to get the situation resolved. The "Welcome Center" staff then sent information to my wife that our registration had been cancelled, and that we were no longer qualified for the promotional rate to stay in the property. My wife talked to a manager and he was good enough to say that we could stay with the promotional amount that we already paid. He was a gentleman. But the "Welcome Center" staff later told us that we need to call the Corporate Office.

We called them to make sure that we were not going to be charged more and would be willing to attend the presenation if necessary and had all the documents needed to verify the address. Corporate refused to move their position and said that we would be charged hundreds of dollars more. This is despite the fact that I said I have all the documents to prove our residential address. IT APPEARS THAT WESTGATE HAS A SCAM GOING TO GET THE MOST MONEY OUT OF THE PEOPLE THAT ATTEND, and they manipulate the situation if they realize the customer may not buy.

My issue with Westgate is their timeshare presenters. We had the liberty of having Julia **. In the beginning she seemed to be okay then she became rude, she had the nerve to get rude with my husband because he wasn’t paying her any attention. My husband is 37 not 7. We are business owners. My husband conducts the physical duties and I do all administrative duties. I’m use to reading contracts and asking a lot of questions before signing and submitting documents. Long story short Westgate should be ashamed of themselves hiring people that have NO people or customer service skills to sell timeshare properties. I don’t see the problem with telling someone to give you a chance to review things and look over documents.

When buying a home or automobile you are given time to review and discuss your purchase before finalizing the deal. This doesn’t mean you can’t afford what you are trying to buy. A sensible person would make sure a purchase that ties you in for 3 years or more makes sense today, tomorrow, and here after. Under no circumstance should you be told you have to spend $30,000 or more right now. That BS!!! And shame on them for the BS. I left there mad as hell. No one disrespects my husband or tries to belittle me because I did not purchase something at the drop of their hat. She sat there with her face tuned and rolling her eyes (unprofessional) because she did not like the fact me and my husband wanted to discuss things with our team before making a purchase.

I’m not sure if these people are trained to be ignoring, disrespectful or aggressive. They should be advised to be mindful of the person sitting in front of them, sometimes you have no clue who (Business owners etc) you are dealing with. I feel this resort care less about how things are pitched to their guest if so they cared they would hire people with real customer service and people skills. I’m going to speak with Florida Attorney General Office to see if this behavior towards guest is permitted. Julia really disrespected the wrong people we really wanted to buy with our experience we will not be returning to Westgate and we will not refer anyone. I’m highly disappointed.

When we got to the resort, we were met by the tour guide who told us it would take an hour and a half. He asked a lot of personal questions like how much we were paying for our hotel room, what would we do with the extra money if we had it. I went along and answered the questions. We went on the tour, when we got to the bedroom, the guide asked my husband to sit on the bed and then put some music on his phone and told my husband, “now imagine your wife getting out of the hot tub dripping wet and coming to this plushly bed with just the right amount of bounce....if you know what I mean”. Keep in mind, my husband and I are 60 years old!

We then went to discuss terms and to make a long, long story really short, 4 hours later we were still there. We were presented with an original purchase price of > $50,000, down payment of 13,000 (that day) and interest rate of 17%. My husband, who owns his own business, immediately said no. That’s when the nightmare really began. We were approached by his supervisor who lowered the prices, we still said no. He left and returned with lower offers, to which we said no. He left again and said he was going to get our attraction tickets. My husband stood up because his hip was hurting, and he was commanded to sit down. He refused and the tour guide told him, "If you don’t sit down, you will get us in trouble."

The resort manager came and again asked us why we didn’t want it. Another 20 minutes of saying no. When he left, the supervisor came back with more prices, which BTW, had been lowered from $50,000.00 to $6000.00. During this visit from the supervisor, I was accused of lying, I was basically called dumb because I was passing up the deal. I stood up and said I wanted to get my tickets and leave. When I turned around, there were literally two tables of resort personnel, including the manager, staring at us to the point that it was uncomfortable. I asked, "Why are they staring at us?" I was commanded to sit down. By this time my anxiety was rising and I told them that I needed my tickets and I needed to leave. They told me that the corporate person had to talk to us.

The fourth person came over and I have to say, he was no nonsense. I told him I was not giving anyone any money and he said, "Fine. We will go get your tickets and he escorted us out." Attempting to be the nice person, I spoke to my tour guide and supervisor telling them thank you and goodbye—twice and they both refused to acknowledge me. Got my tickets and left. I’m not exaggerating when I say I felt like I was being held hostage because I didn’t know how to get out of the facility, with or without my tickets. The worst experience ever. I will spend the next several days attempting to file a complaint with corporate, although I doubt it will do any good. STAY AWAY FROM WESTGATE!

This past May my husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. When Westgate called I again told them about not being able to pay back fees as we were both ill and in our 70s and could no longer afford the timeshare. I offered to sign over the timeshare back to Westgate and they could resell it. It seems they can't do that. My husband died three weeks ago. As far as I am concerned they can take me to court. My advice to everyone is never buy a timeshare from Westgate. They are heartless and don't think for a minute that they care about owners...they care about money. I am not going to listen to their threats anymore.

Save yourself the time and aggravation, you will NOT get what they tell you. It is nothing but a very high pressured presentation. They don't take no for an answer, and it definitely takes more than the one hour they promise. The food they feed you is absolutely disgusting and outside of the visa gift card the give, nothing is as it seems - NOTHING. If I can save just one family from the misery we have dealt with, then I feel good about this review. Unlike Westgate, all of the above is 100% true and accurate. I don't know how they continue to remain in business.

Upon arrival at the resort, the room wasn’t very clean, as there was a moldy smell, plus dog/cat hair in the room, so I asked for another room. They were nice enough to grant my request. The tour was the next morning at 8 am. After I arrived & waited for over an hour, a salesman approached me & I was asked about a previous tour once again. Told him I have never been on tour with Westgate or anyone else for that matter. They pretty much said I was lying, & said I would be charged full price to my credit card & refused to do the tour, which I was fine not doing it due to I wasn’t impressed at all with the room being filled with pet hair & smelly at that, but I shouldn’t be charged for a tour that I never took. I was told to call corporate.

I called & they took my information/reservation #. Said I would receive a call back in 20 mins once they review. An hour later still no callback. So I called them back, the rep stated that they tried to call me back but was told it was the wrong #, which is a lie because no one called me. The rep proceeded to inform me that the decision to charge me an additional $300 stands! I could not believe this was happening. I feel like I was scammed & they knew when they made the reservation that they were gonna hit me with additional fees the entire time. I drove over 6 hrs just to be charged/scammed for more $$. All this on top of having a dirty room!! I will never deal with Westgate Resort again & I advise anyone not to!!! Taking advantage of someone like this should be against the law!!! SCAMMERS.

The harassment started around 9 AM on our first day at the resort where the timeshare rep called our room number early in the morning. We ignored it, moved on. The next morning, we got a call again early in the morning to our hotel room. We ignored it - never answered it. We ended up unplugging the room phones to stop them from calling. Then I get a text from the rep to my personal cell phone. I check with the front desk to see if this person was actually from their company or not - and they confirmed it was but that I wouldn't need to do anything and I should be fine from then on out.

Finally push comes to shove and I get on the phone with the rep who was incredibly rude and gave me excuses about the resort, and acted like I didn't know how "timeshares worked." She told me I HAD to go to a presentation because our $600 funds were in escrow and couldn't be released unless we agreed to buy a timeshare or give it up. This was nearly the end of our stay so I asked when we could do it.

Lie 1: "Our offices are closed today, but I can meet with you tomorrow." After I got off the phone with her, I was extremely upset with how rude she was to me, so I went to the front desk and asked to speak with a manager about switching which rep I'd be doing the presentation with. Lo and behold, their office was -full- of people, and not only did I talk to a manager right away (on the day she said their offices were closed), but I got switched to another rep who did the presentation right there. Lie 2: "We don't do these packages anymore." I was told that our vacation package we bought wasn't something they did anymore. At the end of the presentation after we told them we were not interested in buying a timeshare - they offered to sell us the vacation package for another 2 year "trial" again.

Suspected Lie 3: I can't confirm the validity of this, but I was told the pricing we were given was a "mistake" and that the person in Vegas who originally wrote down our "locked in price for the time share" was likely going to be fired for writing it down "wrong" because the price of the timeshare I was offered was supposed to be around 43k, but it had been written down for 12k and they had to honor it because that's what the Vegas rep had written down. Based on the very scripted "oooo, WOW" the sales rep gave when the "manager" came out to give us that price, - coupled with the fact that if you look to buy these timeshares from other people who have bought them tend to be around the same price - I have my suspicions that this was yet another lie.

The Reality of Dishonest Business: Just google it for yourself. After being so upset with my experience with them (and again, I've been to many timeshare presentations, so I am not unfamiliar with the process), I looked into it and found so many people who have been scammed by this company, and information on lawsuits Westgate has lost due to unlawful business practices. I do not have personal experience with how horrible it is to be locked into a timeshare with them and having to deal with their maintenance fees etc because I did not buy one, but the reviews are there enough for anyone to find them if you google it - there is a reason this company has been sued multiple times.

Do not do business with this company. It angers me so much that a company of this size runs on such a business model of lies and robbery of people. I feel like they are preying off people who do not have the knowledge to know any better and it hurts me to see these people get screwed over by this crooked company.

I went to the desk explained my situation to Tracie and she said she fully understood. I left to call 8006204857. I requested a manager. NO MANAGER WAS AVAILABLE! I was told no other accommodations available BUT a manager would call back. It is currently 11:01 pm. I have received NO CALL! I have called back THREE additional times and NO MANAGER WAS EVER AVAILABLE! I called Westgate and they claimed it was nothing they could do.

I typed up my letter, and headed straight to UPS, and they should have it Thursday. I wanted to fax over a copy to WEstgate, and got pushed back in just getting a FAX NUMBER. The girl kept going on and on about I haven't even tried it yet. Saying, "It seems like it's just one trip that you have an issue with." I said, "Mam, I do have a right to cancel and I do have a right to go where I want to go." The meal plan to go to Jamaica HAS TO BE PURCHASED. When I googled, that 7 day meal plan is over $3500.00. I told that girl, "This conversation with you back and forward lets me know that I don't even want to be fooled with this company." I said, "I have already gone to UPS, let Hector know that since you do not want to provide me with a fax number." People please read your contract if you get sucked in, and get that letter to them about cancelling before you are stuck.

Any time that we would check into maybe at least getting our money worth out of it, the units are booked (but they yet find miraculously room for non-owners for these dates to sucker their poor souls into a deal like this). The longer we had it and wanted to utilize it, the more we found how how many lies we were told. We get a week every other year (even years) and these are also the years the HOA's will be due.

For one, the HOA fees are a lot higher than what we were being told, the unit we purchased was sold to us as a unit that has no blackout periods and we can utilize it "whenever we would like" (my husband is a police officer with rotating shifts, we cannot plan months or years ahead), told us we had a lot of flexibility, the unit was worth much more than what we are paying, it is an asset (more like a liability), the property value will increase, we can rent it out and make our money back, sell it to another party (can't do that as there are so many scammers out there and units are NOT even worth a fraction of what we paid), and the story goes on and on. I contacted Westgate in the past about exercising a early termination, which they do not accept. I also inquired about deed in lieu just to get out of it. We don't want our money back or sell it. We just simply do not want to own it anymore.

If we try to sell, Westgate has a crazy amount of restrictions and reserves the right to deny the transfer of owners. We cannot rent it out as the reputation of the rooms and hotels are way below what people except for the market price (and again, because it is constantly booked). But what the worse thing is that is starting to sink in with me is this; in the beginning, lifetime vacations, family time and being able to pass this on to our children in the future sounded like a gift. We are starting to realize more and more what a nightmare we created for our children should we not be able to get rid of this piece of junk we were sold. What we did not know that if we pass away, our children assume all the debt, HOA fees, and the nightmare in general that we created. What parent wants to leave something like this to their children? If I ever thought I failed my kids, this sure makes my husband and I feel as we have.

Please, I am begging you, something needs to be done about Westgate. We are not the only ones that have been scammed and many people are trying to seek help. Tennessee is trying to gather a class action lawsuit against them as the supreme court already denied Westgate's appeal of the lawsuit they have lost. Please look into this matter. This deceiving company is hurting people. This should never be a legal thing to happen in our country!

We called security, lost and found, housekeeping and the front desk maybe 3 times a day and they kept saying there was nothing turned in and logged in from that room. Finally came home yesterday and filled out a lost and found report to the Westgate folks online and within 3 hours lost and found suddenly found my items. Now I have to pay them $20.35 to ship it back to me. These people don't care.

First we were told they would sell us a timeshare for some outstanding amount which I don’t quite remember now, however by the end of the discussion they said they would sell it to us for $4500.00. Again I told them that I would not buy from Westgate due to the way we were treated. I was told that if we paid for another week which was $800.00 and if we decided to purchase the timeshare the $800.00 would be added to the purchase of the timeshare if not my money would be refunded because again they said they wanted to make up for the way we were treated.

Today I was to meet a representative from the resort at 9:30 who did not arrive until 9:50 after I had called them 3 times to tell me because I didn’t purchase the timeshare the money I paid was held in escrow and paid for this week. I explain to the representative what I was told at my previous visit. He then confirmed that, "That was the travel club and we have nothing to do with that." So my question was, "Why did I need to see you if this was through the travel club?" This is how I discovered that the two are one entity and not two separate entities.

This is truly a SCAM and now I have to get my lawyer involved to get my money back. I suggest if you do want to get a timeshare go with Diamond. I have been with Diamond for several years. Have attended a number of presentations and they do not get upset if you do not purchase or upgrade. Westgate is a scam and the room are old and outdated. I had to clean the shower before I could use it. Again do not purchase from Westgate. It is truly a SCAM. The travel club and the resort are the same company.

We proceeded to go to dinner in the interim. When we returned, we to found garbage bags with towels and toiletries on the dining room table. The bed in the bedroom had been made. We made the best of it by putting away the towels, etc. The next morning, we had an 8:00 tour scheduled. We arrived to the Welcome Center promptly at 8 am and was not called to meet with a Tour Guide for approximately 45 min. At 8:45am, I inquired as to why we had not yet been called. We were then escorted upstairs to have a light breakfast and meet with someone. The Tour Guide arrived to our table ready to share all the wonderful offerings of the resort to realize that she had been given the wrong customer information. It took about 15-20 min for her to track down our information.

In the meantime, we received several calls from the resort during the presentation as to why we were a no show. By that time, we had spent almost 90 minutes with no tour. We had planned our day and was very displeased at the lack of consideration for our time. The Managers on Duty at the Front Desk and at the Welcome Center were both shocked at the service we had received. We shared pictures of the experience with both managers. We left the escort at 10:35 complimentary shuttle to go to Universal Studios. We did however have a great time at Universal Studios on Saturday. On Sunday, we decided to enjoy the amenities at the resort before departing. We woke up early to go fishing. We checked in, got our reels only to be informed that the ONLY person with keys was not available. The gatekeeper arrived 30 minutes late and offered the waiting customers no apology. This was one of the worst experiences ever.

Finally after getting upset at us for declining, he told the salesman, “Just get them out of here brother.” To make matters worse, when we tried to inform someone of his attitude towards us, they just kept trying to sell. Very poor business etiquette. Is this the type of people you want to spend vacations with? Are you interested in purchasing something for an amount that would buy a house and use it when they let you? If you answered no, then Westgate is not for you.