Westgate Resorts Do not waste your time no matter what they offer Gatlinburg Tennessee

The employee posting above was right. Use your brain. Use your brain to figure out that Westgate is totally not worth the money or anywhere near what they charge. Use your brain and do the math. For $600 a month, I could get a week at a 4 star hotel EVERY MONTH but they want you to pay that for 1 week out of the year if that. You NEVER own it, and comparing the expenses of a house to the expenses of a hotel room once a year is insulting at best.

Here are all the problems with Westgate:

THEY SAY IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT YOU DON'T GET TO USE IT ON THE TIMES PROMISED BECAUSE YOU DON'T "LEARN" IT:

It should not be brain surgery to use a room you're paying 5 figures for. As much money as they make 'renting time', you should not have a million problems trying to book. They also tell you that it will be "totally simple" to book elsewhere, on different dates, etc., and it is far from simple. If it's so "simple", then why do you have to "learn" the system?


YOU NEVER OWN IT!

Their biggest claim is that once you pay for it you own it. YOU DON'T OWN IT! IF you owned it you could go there when you want, not on the rare occasion they give you permission. Also, it's never paid off. You always have those maintenance fees, which are constantly increasing. So they say, 'well, don't you have maintenance and taxes on your house?' DUH! You LIVE there. Why would maintenance and taxes be the same on a place you go for one week out of the year, as it is on a place you LIVE in!


LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The problem is, salespeople try to manipulate buyers rather than being upfront. I remember going on the tour and they made verbal promises that they wouldn't let me write into the contract, then had the nerve to say 'You just think everything has to be in writing because you're a lawyer, but it doesn't. We still have to honor everything we say...' WHAT?! That kind of nonsense is why they have so many unhappy customers. They lie nonstop. If they just said, 'You will have extreme difficulty booking your vacation, the maintenance fees will go up every year, by ALOT and will probably triple within 5 years, and we will only do the bare minimum when it comes to maintaining your unit' they probably would have less sales, so I guess that's why they feel the need to lie. Then they get huge attitudes when you don't buy! Get real.

I posted this elsewhere after staying at a Westgate in Orlando but since employees claim they never lie it is worth repeating.

After 3 stays at Westgate Lakes I have yet to stay there when at least 3 lies weren't told.

Lie #1: We went on the timeshare tour in 2007 and they said a waterpark would be built by the end of the year and ready when we returned in 2008. 2008 comes - no sign of a waterpark and they claim it will be ready next year (2009).

Lie #2: My cousin and his wife went on the tour and they told them that if they became owners they would be allowed to check in any time during the day if they arrived early. We arrived at 11am and were not able to check in until 4:15, after giving us specific times to come back 3 times, and it was not ready either time, including at the official check-in time.

Lie #3: They told us they wanted to meet with us to take a survey about our stay and make sure everything was ok. When I came down for the 'meeting' and 'survey' they tried to take me on another time share tour. I told them I had already been and they left me there without a survey or anything and got major attitude. They introduce themselves as our 'vip representative' and say they are just there to make sure we have a great stay and to call them if we need anything during our stay, yet if you do not go on the tour or do not buy/upgrade, then they say they will not help you and not to call them for the rest of the stay. I could go on and on but they just lie and lie and lie constantly.

If you go on the tour don't give them a penny. They try to get you to pay like $600 a month for 1 week a year. Maintenance fees are like $800 for the year alone. Why would you pay that when you can book online to stay there a week for less than $700??? They try to get you to pay $1295 to stay there one week. Give me a break! Don't fall for all their circle talk. It's a bunch of lies and they won't put any of the promises in writing. So let's think about this - at $600 a month, you are paying $7200 for 1 week in something no better than a hilton. Would you pay $7200 for 1 week in a hilton? I certainly hope not. And that's not even including the cost of the condo. That's JUST the maintenance!

Lie #4: When it is time to sign on the bottom line, they make verbal promises and say they will be honored, but don't let you write them in the contract. Fortunately I am an attorney and know better. It's sad that people actually fall for that. It was so crazy. They said, 'You can do this and that' and I said, 'Ok I will just write it in here so that it is in the contract' and they actually had the nerve to say, ''We have to honor what we tell you. It doesn't have to be in writing. Just because you are an attorney you think that everything has to be in writing.' Of course they would not let me write it in. So basically they play on people being complete morons, which apparently some are.

I also have yet to meet someone who could exchange as easily as they say. I met at least 5 people down there who said they tried to exchange at other locations but were told 'We're all booked' even though expedia and other sites show that the resorts have availability. If you bought a timeshare within the past week, read the cancellation clause - I believe mine said that you have 10 days to cancel IN WRITING. You will regret it if you don't cancel! You can buy these things dirt cheap online. A guy down there offered to sell me his week for $3000, even though westage tried for $16,000 telling me that was a 'special deal' and worked there way down to $8000 which they claimed was a 'steal'. Spare me!

Fortunately I was not stupid enough to buy, knowing that they lie so often.

My advice, don't buy! You'll be stuck with it, and NONE of the companies are worth what you pay. So think about it. 52 weeks in a year. They sell those 52 weeks. That's 52 people paying $1000 or so a year to maintain ONE ROOM! What the hell do they need $52000 per room for?! And that doesnt even count what you pay to buy it, which after interest is always over $10K! get real people!

So you want to pay $10,000 and stay in a luxury unit any time you want to? You are joking right? Well if that's the case, why not pay $10,000 and just stay in it the whole 52 weeks every year? Yeah, that's what you should do, just move in. After all, you can go out on any street in the country and buy a house for $10,000 and live forever. Seriously, is this your way of thinking. This is why there are complaints. Because people don't use their brain. Give me a break. Did you even go to school. I had a couple that made it all the way into deeding, which is the contracts office after purchase, thing that they could use it 2 to 3 weeks a year and then let their 5 children use a bunch of the other weeks. What?????? Everything WAS explained clearly and they still thought that. Here's a hint, if you pay $10,000, YOU CAN NOT MOVE IN! That is for ONE WEEK A YEAR OR EVERY OTHER YEAR FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! If you vacation on a regular basis and don't like the game of hotel roulette that you play each year, then timeshare is for you. If you only vacation once every 5 years and you can't afford to pay more than $35 a night at a discount hotel and get 3 nights free for taking a timeshare tour, then you really shouldn't be buying. I mean, at some point, you do have to use your brain...