DO NOT STAY HERE!! We were scammed as well! We arrived at the resort and were told they were "doing renovations." We booked this place 5 months ago. They even called a few weeks prior to our stay to check everything. Not once did they say anything about renovations. Actually, the csr I had booked it with said the place looked great because it had been totally renovated, as in, it was all done. These people are crooks! Their customer service is a joke. We ended up leaving and staying elsewhere. Only make a reservation if you want to stay at a hotel and not the resort!!. The sad part is they actually thought we'd tour their place to buy a timeshare with them. Unreal!!!

I made reservations five months in advance directly with the hotel. As this was going to be our families last vacation together before our oldest son goes off to college, we wanted it to be perfect. It turned out to be the worst vacation we have ever taken. I started with our reservations being made 5 months before our arrival. We paid for the stay at the time of our reservations, and called 10 days before our arrival to confirm our reservations. At this time we received directions on how to get to the resort from 95. After a 20 hour car ride from New Jersey, we arrived tired but eager to start our vacation. We choose this location becasue we wanted to be on the beach, in a condo, and with the boardwalk right in front of us so we could spend the entire week riding bikes and sitting by the ocean. It would have been perfect had we stayed there. Upon check in we were told by the rude front desk people that we would not be staying there because the resort was undergoing renovations. They told us that they would put us up in a hotel room in the port of miami, a 15 minute car ride to the beach and boardwalk. i called my friends who live in the area and they said where they wanted to put us was the worst area of town. We said this was not acceptable, at which time we wanted to speak to a manager, becasue at this time, good friday we had no place to stay, and they were not even attempting to help us. The manager refused to come out, they said he was out to lunch. After one hour of zero help from the staff we left with no place to stay, and not very much money. remember we had paid 5 months earlier, and were not planning on shelling out money for a place to stay. At no time when I confirmed my reservations did they mention we would not be staying there. To make a long story short t he whole resort was a scam, and they get your money, and place you somewhere else. PLEASE DO NOT EVER CONSIDER STAYING HERE. The staff could have cared less that we had no place to stay, and did not have the decency to even help us find a place, The Westgate Resort practices consumer fraud, and all should beware of this place.

We were so looking forward to this stay. Wow, what a dissapointment. Parking is a joke and almost non existant, staff are not friendly, no fitness facility, a cold pool with very little sun light. Ridiculous pictures of the owner (timeshare developer)posing with various celebrities and dignitaries seem to be the focus of this thing called a resort. Curious how they claim this to be a "5 Star Luxury Resort'. Save your sanity and stay elsewhere.

Although the hotel boasts "five star" status, it barely qualifies as a two-star. The suite we stayed in smelled as though someone had tried to mask the smell of vomit with bug killer spray even though we kept the windows open as much as possible. The carpet in the "suite" was so dirty we had to wear our shoes to avoid blackening the soles of our feet. There were patches of unpainted plaster on the walls of our suite and torn window screens, and the upholstered furniture was in generally shabby condition. We did have three televisions and a DVD player - but the abundance of TVs did not make up for the otherwise unacceptable condition of the suite.

The sun barely reaches the pool during end of February early March, but while we were there the smallish poolside patio was festively decorated by a yellow "CAUTION" tape ribbon warning of the unfinished border between the patio and the drop down to the narrow alley abutting the somewhat seedy adjacent building. The children's playground was a similar danger zone (minus the CAUTION tape), marked by rust and holes in the elevated play gym floor grating and steps. The hotel has no tuck shop or dining room/restaurant, and there are very few restaurants in the immediate area. Guests are forced to travel to the better end of Collins Avenue to find more dining selection.

The staff are not particularly courteous. When we walked into the lobby one day, one of the staff behind the front desk belched. During our weeklong stay, the hotel offered a complimentary lunch of barbecued hotdogs and hamburgers, but the staff ate while the guests were told to wait.

I would not recommend this hotel to anyone who requires a minimum of cleanliness in their accomodations and at least some convenient access to a reasonable selection of restaurants.