We have been owners since 1997, and like the Westgate Lakes very much. We realize that the taxes & maintenance go up every year, but that's to be expected.We have a 3 bedroom lockoff that sleeps 12, and have brought our grandchildren,and children. We particularly like being on the ground floor of a unit, first of all for our grandchildren, and now for my wife, who has health issues. Unfortunately, some of our friends balk at the word "timeshare". However, it has been great for us.Especially the mini-golf, shuffle board and tennis courts.!

My boyfriend and I stayed for 5 nights at West gate. The location is great; close to many restaurants and attractions, lots to do. Housekeeping came everyday, offering towels and other necessities. Call ahead if you'd like to make a shuttle reservation, as they fill up quickly. We loved the screened in porch as well as the size of the studio room. Reasonably priced.

I was thrilled to see the great deal I got on this beautiful-looking resort. The problem was the staff, service, and lack of all communication. I will say that the restaurant on site was great, and the 1 bdrm studio was fine too. But all staff there pay attention to the OWNERS not the renters like us. They gave us wrong, misleading information and never really made up for any of the huge mistakes made. Unfortunately, it ruined it for us both. Unless you plan on buying, stay away I say!

I got a great deal on this resort from Hotwire so let's get that out of the way first. Given the good value of my deal I scored the resort higher than I would have if I'd paid the rack rate.

Before I get into detail I'd like to sum up and say there isn't anything massively wrong with this place, it's just average compared to Floridays and The Fountains that I've stayed at on I Drive S.

So first the good things; the room was quite large with a safe, kitchenette with fridge, microwave, toaster and no coffee maker. If you are from the UK and get a studio room there will be no facility to boil water for tea. They only have stove kettles so be warned! There is a large corner bath, separate shower cubicle and a closet WC. The resort charges a resort fee of $9.95/day + tax for ALL guests. I was aware of this but many aren't so be aware. This gets you wifi and the like included. The bed is huge and could easily fit four people. The sheets were clean and it was comfortable. Overall the resort was clean and there are seven pool areas so finding a sun bed won't be a problem for you. We were located in block 2400 (room 2434B) and had a fantastic view of the lakes. The scenery is quite spectacular.

Now, on to the negatives. This resort is dated in every aspect. Some modernisation has gone on with replacement flat screen TVs and the like but not much else. Everything is in need of TLC. Our shower temperature was tepid warm and even after I reported it, it wasn't fixed for the duration of our stay. I reported it again on check out. Two wall outlets by the door were damaged in some way as plugging in things resulted in them falling out of the outlet. Towels were either fine or damaged and threadbare. This resort has 1900 rooms and maintenance costs must be an issue as they are not replacing things quickly enough.

The major problem with this resort is parking. Put simply, there is nowhere near enough space for the number of blocks here. If you come here during a peak time, forget about it. We had to park at Joe's Marketplace on three occasions because when we returned at night there was just no space anywhere. It was a regular occurrence to see cars circling looking for a spot. There is nothing the resort can do about this now, but be prepared to circle like a vulture.

Most of the staff are lovely however and really do the best they can for you. My safe wouldn't open and they sent security up within 10 minutes to fix it so that was fantastic. The thing is with Florida, you spend so much time outside the hotel that as long as it's clean it doesn't matter. And this place is clean, just suffering from a dated decor and lack of maintenance.

The location is on Turkey Lake Road so there's a Walmart, liquor store and loads of gas stations, food outlets and easy access to the parks, I Drive and the I4. You are not on I Drive so traffic isn't horrendous constantly which is lovely. To sum up, if you get a deal for this place it is worth it. Do not under any circumstances pay the rack rate on their website however. The resort has the potential to become a great resort but some serious money is required to bring the rooms up to spec first and that will take time.

If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line. I've tried to be as fair as possible in this review. Overall, would I return? No, as there is too much choice with better facilities. Should they upgrade, I may think about it.