I am presently here for a two week stay and find these older reviews inaccurate. The units have now been refurbished - new carpets etc.
Our one bedroom unit is very comfortable. Maintenance is being done constantly. Rooms and lobby are clean and well appointed. Staff has been very helpful. Location at the Boardwalk to go to the beach is fabulous - you can walk almost 2 miles on it.
Feel very safe in the area.
Biggest disadvantage is the parking which Westgate has no control over. It is a municipal lot and if you are driving, expect to pay for parking.

My husband and I are seasoned travelers. We used a
"getaway" from Interval international. We arrived and the place looked like a welfare hotel. The lobby, elevators and hallways were dirty. The room was dirty. Marks on walls, dirty bedspread, dirty rug. My husband went to open up a cabinet and it fell off in his hand. We asked to change our room. They put us in a newer room. It was more spacious but the halls were still dirty. The room had a leaky toilet and leaky air conditioning unit.
We left after one night.

I went to Westgate Miami Beach on a really great travel deal for a very good price, and I had never been to the Miami FL area before so I was glad to have what I got and thoroughly enjoyed the experience but ...

What you need to know is ... this property is part of the Westgate chain of hotels/timeshares. It's located on a very beautiful beach and the property is nice. The pool is good and the hotel has most amenities that might be needed, good breakfast! But this property is very obviously an older hotel that is/has been "transformed" into some semblence of a condo type facility. Don't get me wrong, it is clean and very comfortable .. no real complaints here about the facility .. staff was great .. and it's not really a bad location ... but if you are looking for a "Miami experience" this isn't it ... unless you are willing to drive. Also, if you are into nude beaches ... just walk a little way south on the beach and you will see all the nudies you might want to!

This hotel is quite a way from the heart of Miami, really .. although if you don't mind driving and have a rental car it's ok. One benefit to the location is that if you want to visit Fort Lauderdale, this hotel is right in the middle between the two cities and Fort Lauderdale has a really great beach and a really fun "downtown scene" with great beachside eateries etc.

All in all ... I would go to this hotel again if I had a good price ... I really have no complaints about it. If you are looking for a good value in the Miami area it's probably great for you ... there was a mini kitchen, fridge, the room and beds were very comfortable, etc. and there are many great places to eat etc. within walking distance. Also, although I mention the need to "drive" etc. in this review ... I didn't mind the driving .. it was kind of fun and while driving around you find yourself zipping back and forth over the intercoastal waterway and all and it's quite interesting and really a great way to see another part of the world that might be different from where you live. I live in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. so it was very different and neat to see.

And the location is great if you want to visit Lauderdale. But if you want a true "Miami FL" experience .. complete with the night life and South Beach stuff .. you have to be prepared to drive. And STAY UP LATE! I'm only 40 and pretty healthy ... but the Miami scene ... especially South Beach does not even GET STARTED until 11 o'clock or so. We went into Miami one night at 9:30 - ate dinner and started walking around .. and at 11 there were places that were just starting to set up outside tables etc. to get ready for the night. The South Beach scene is really fun .. the art deco and outside bar tables and all are really neat ... but if you stay at Westgate Miami just please understand that it's not IN MIAMI.

All in all ... I have no qualms about recommending this location ... I had a great time .. but I think people need to know that it is not IN MIAMI.

We,a party of four, went to the Wesgate in Nov. 2006 through Sunterra. NEVER AGAIN!!! Although the 2 bedroom apartments were roomy,during the 2 weeks we were there the bed linen was not changed and the rooms were not cleaned.The carpets were so dirty the soles of our slippers were black. Thankfully we went to the Keys for 4 nights and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The only advantage to the resort was the beach. Beautiful! There is only one place to eat out close by otherwise you need a taxi to get to South Beach. The whole of the area was one massive building site. Mother found walking difficult and used a wheelchair ( loaned by the resort and the only good thing about the place), but it was not easy to get around. Don't book any trips through the resort, they are a rip off! We went to the Everglades.It took over an hour to pick up everyone, then the airboat ride was taken up by the driver/pilot taking photos of all the occupants (with their cameras) from outside the boat, and then back to the landing stage. We saw 1 alligator and an escaped iguana. The ride was followed by a wild life show with a few small alligators, a toad, a scorpion, a skunk and a puma cub. The snack bar/shop had exhorbitant prices-$2.50 for a bottle of water.