Westgate Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort

Westgate Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort

I am an owner at Westgate …

We are an owner at Westgate Gatlinburg and decided to trade into this resort because of our last experience and visit there in 2013. We own a Studio in Gatlinburg. We decided to spend our vacation here in Myrtle Beach this September 2015.

We wanted the same room that we had on our last visit there, an Oceanfront Villa.

We paid an extra $451 to upgrade to the Oceanfront Villa as opposed to the Oceanfront Studio. This reservation was made on January 2, 2015. When we checked in, we were escorted by our concierge to the room. It was an Oceanfront Studio. I thought maybe I had booked that instead of a Villa and since it was only my wife and I vacationed there, it wasn’t that big of a deal. The next morning while getting ready for our day there, I heard a buzzing sound coming from the light switch in the bathroom. It was the switch that controlled the light above the tub. I then noticed that the jacuzzi tub’s switch was not working as well. I called the switchboard operator and informed them (as a former firefighter, arson investigator and fire inspector, I knew this to be a serious hazard). I also informed them that we had no spatula to use to prepare our breakfast, they said they were coming up with one right away.

We waited fifteen minutes before I went down to the front desk to see about obtaining one. They said they would send one up right away, as I walked out of the elevator to enter our room, I met a young man with the spatula finally (about a half hour later). When checking out, I noticed that we were indeed charged for a Villa upgrade and should have been in one, instead of a Studio. I double checked our Westgate Rewards credit card and was indeed charged the same amount.

I contacted Westgate about this and was told because my Studio did not have a double burner stove top and a separate sleeping area that the Studio we were put into was better. I pointed out that only my wife and I were vacationing there, so we had no need of a separate sleeping area (we never slid the sliding door to while we stayed there). I also pointed out that both the Smoky Mountain and Myrtle Beach Studios were the same square footage. I also informed them that Smoky Mountain Resort has a washer and dryer available to the Studio and a much larger bathroom to no avail. Then they had the audacity to try to sell us a timeshare thereafter swindling us on the Studio/Villa switch up. I got a half refund.

I WILL not ever trade my timeshare into this Westgate Resort ever again.

If I come back again, I will book through their site and pay for it either using my owner’s discount or AAA and I will go through their sales tour and pitch to save up to 40% and decline them once again.

I have never been so disappointed with Westgate and in the past have HIGHLY recommended them as a great place to stay and a great value for the money. NEVER AGAIN! We stayed from September 12 -17, 2015.