Westgate Lakes Resort, Orlando
25 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in travel Tags: Disney World, hospitality, Orlando Florida, resorts, SeaWorld, timeshares, Westgate Lakes Resort, Westgate Resorts
On our trip to Orlando this summer we stayed a week at the Westgate Lakes Resort and Spa. It is one of 22 properties in the Westgate Resorts ownership club. Seven of their properties are located in the Orlando area. My mother-in-law is an owner in the Grand Crown vacation club and exchanged her points for us to have two units for our June vacation.
We were eager to get checked in to begin our vacation and take advantage of the great pools that are offered, so we were a bit taken aback by the amount of people and the noise level we experienced as we entered the lobby. The lobby was very large and with the tiled walls and floor it seemed to increase the noise level dramatically. We made our way to the registration desk and were checked in by a man who did not seem to enjoy his job very much. Once given our room number and keys one would think you would be shown to your room, however; this was not the case as we were taken to the desk where they convinced you to take the timeshare tour. You know, the one they say will take 90 minutes, but ends up being four hours. Now this is where I normally say immediately no thanks and asked to be shown my room. My mother-in-law on the other hand heard we could come to a buffet breakfast and get discounted Disney tickets and wanted to see what it was all about. Turns out that it had to be a couple to do the tour and since my father-in-law didn’t come along on this trip, my husband and I had to be “the couple.” I only agreed to this because we got a $300 cruise voucher and my mother-in-law who was buying our Disney tickets was getting a nice discount.
The next morning we went back to the same noisy lobby for this buffet breakfast, which was basically a continental breakfast and, after waiting for quite a while, were finally taken up stairs to an even noisier room where hundreds of more people were having breakfast with sales people. It was a very awkward meeting trying to hear what he was saying and wanting to make it get over as quick as possible. I hated every minute of it. The guy told us he had been doing this for five years, however; I asked him questions he did not know the answer to and then would quickly change the subject. The unit we were shown was nicer than the one we had rented, yet still was not impressive to me.
Before we left to tour the property the salesman told us he was a big boy and could take no for an answer if that is what we decided. As we arrived back at the noisy building he asked us what we thought our decision would be and we told him we were not interested in purchasing, but we were still led to a table for him to give us his sales pitch. After politely telling him no several times and then getting impatient with him, he finally got the hint and gave us the voucher to claim our incentives so we could finally leave.
The resort itself was not a bad place. The units, while very outdated and in desperate need of some new furniture and linens, were clean and comfortable. They just needed a bit of TLC. There were several pools on the grounds, one of which had activities going on throughout the day. The resort is located on a lake and at the marina there were small electric-powered boats and paddle boats to rent, along with fishing equipment. It is centrally located 5 minutes from SeaWorld and Discover Cove and 15 minutes from Walt Disney World. One of the things I liked most about this resort is the screened in balconies where you could sit out for morning coffee, midday meal, or a night cap without being bothered by bugs.
Bottom line….. Westgate Lakes Resort is not a bad property. Having said that, I will not stay there again. Their major downfall is the people you have to encounter from the front desk staff to the servers in the BBQ restaurant on the grounds. For a company that is in the hospitality business I have never seen a place with more inhospitable employees. Westgate Resorts is seriously lacking in hospitality where this property is concerned. I hope not all of their properties have the same hospitality as this property.
Something on the back burner.
20 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in travel Tags: Disney World, houseboating., Lake Powell, planning a trip, Travel
Me, being the big trip planner that I am, love to have something in the works all the time. As I have said previously, planning is half the fun for me, and it extends the vacation by the time you spend researching, planning, and organizing your trip. I always like to have at least one trip booked so I have something to look forward to, especially as another trip comes to a close. It lessens the let-down feeling.
Cruises are easy to have in the works because you can book them so far in advance, and the deposit is fully refundable usually until 70 days before your scheduled departure date. So if you decide you would rather not go on that cruise, you can cancel with no penalty. Often times you can find good sales that offer half price deposits and an additional on-board credit. You just have to watch for them. Many on-line travel sites like Vacationstogo.com and Crucon.com will allow you to subscribe to their newsletter so you can get email updates for all upcoming sales and deals. Just be aware that if you book with some of these on-line travel sites, there may be a service charge for cancellation of your reservation. Always read the fine print!
Currently, I have two trips planned for this next year. We are taking the family, along with in-laws to Disney World for a week and going to Lake Powell this summer with friends for a week on a houseboat. This will be the first time for Disney World for our family, and there is lots of research to do on what is offered there. There are many helpful sites, along with travel books with tons of information. That should keep me busy for quite a while. We have been to Lake Powell once before with the same friends we are going with this year. There is not much research that needs to be done for this trip; however, planning for the week takes a lot. We will have four families, including kids on a houseboat for a week, so preparation for meals alone is quite the undertaking.
You don’t have to have a vacation actually booked to begin planning for it. Just pick a place you want to go for one of your next trips and a ball-park date, and you can start researching your destination for the best restaurants, hotels, tours, attractions, etc. to see what you would want to do while you are there. Keep a paper file or computer file of the things you have found. Be sure to include the website, phone number, address, and a general description so you can reference it quickly. I keep this information even after the trip is completed because you never know when you may want to visit again or refer a friend.
So, do you like to have plans on the back burner? Do you feel like it extends your vacation like I do? And the best part is….. it’s absolutely free!
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