Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort?

Hi all,

I just booked a week in a 3BR unit here. I have 24 hours to cancel so I need your advice. I am reading HORRIBLE reviews on tripadvisor. Some are great but overall most are horrible.

I know a lot of the hatred stems from the timeshare tour, which I will not have to go on. But some are also saying the staff are rude.

Can anyone who has stayed here let me know if I should keep it or not?

Thanks!

I also was looking at this resort as a spring 2015 vacation trip now I am going to wait and hear from others Tuggers.

pressure cooker environment !

Westgate smoky mountains resort

In my personal experience westgate smoky mountains it's a very nice resort located between pigeon forge and gatlinburg. Resort has an indoor water park (Fee as in$$$ to use except for owners) a spa and an onsite restaurant. I used to own there and loved the resort but not the management company with their ever increasing resale restrictions.
Downsize it's most of the units have paper thin walls but if you are going to be in a three bdrm your room may big enough to not notice it.
it's a westgate and really dislike they bring you to your unit to try to sign you up for a sales meeting disguise as a survey or any other idea they come up. They will come with ways to send you to a tour sales meeting In a very sneaky way.
Not sure if they still charge for internet access as it was only free for owners.
Check on Google for pictures. Overall good resort with some pitfalls.

I loved Westgate Smokey Mts. The units were large and completely updated. They were clean and the water park is great for families. The location is the best part......perfect because its not right in Gatlinburg. The detour around Gatlinburg takes you right to the resort. So no waiting in traffic to get to your resort.
I would rate it a 9.

It would be a 10 except the sales staff. I own at an Orlando Westgate so I know how to say no. Be rude if you have to. If you are in the building behind the main building, that isn't so good. Your balcony looks down on the back of the main building and all the sales staff, etc are outside smoking and whatever. No scenery. I didn't think there were 3 bedrooms in that building but not sure. We were in that building and we just ignored the people below.

If there was a trade available when I needed it I would pick that resort.

talkamotta said:

They were clean and the water park is great for families.

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The water park is open to the public and an added expense for any non-owner/hotel style booking. It's over $20 for a day pass per person.

Saintsfanfl said:

The water park is open to the public and an added expense for any non-owner/hotel style booking. It's over $20 for a day pass per person.

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Didn't know that. I guess because we are owners in Orlando that never came up.

The location is what sold it for me. We went in October at the height of the colors and Gatlinburg town was a mess to drive thru. It would have got old fast.

Hello

I was there in mid August with my family-3 children ages 3, 11 and 15. The staff was extremely nice and we did attend the sales pitch. Once we said no they tried several times to change our minds but I have to say they were still very nice. We were very disappointed with the amenities at the resort and although it is attractive on the outside(the log cabin look) the room itself was a little outdated. I know they have a lot of plans for the resort but with only one/2 very small pools(not very resort like pools), no basketball courts or ping pong tables my kids were bored. I will not return but glad I saw it.

Take a look at Wyndham Great Smokies Lodge. No fee for water park use and it's not open to the non-staying public.

talkamotta said:

Didn't know that. I guess because we are owners in Orlando that never came up.

The location is what sold it for me. We went in October at the height of the colors and Gatlinburg town was a mess to drive thru. It would have got old fast.

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Did you book or exchange internally with Westgate? If you exchange within II I am fairly certain that you do not get free water park passes even if you are a WG owner, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

pbarager said:

Take a look at Wyndham Great Smokies Lodge. No fee for water park use and it's not open to the non-staying public.

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It would be a nice option but it is not an II resort.

I stayed here in '07? as a guest of an owner. We were in the lock-out portion, with the owners (of another Westgate resort, I should say) in the front 2-br. It was all new and one of the most beautiful resorts I've stayed in. The unit was very upscale. They enjoyed the front deck. It's hilly.
We would have had to pay a fee to use the water park. We considered it but didn't get around to it. I agree that it's a great location! I'd stay there again. We were not traveling with children and did not use any of the amenities. We ate elsewhere. We did hike up behind the property.

Don't trust Tripadvisor reviews for timeshare resorts.

Never trust the Tripadvisor reviews for timeshare resorts. You really have to read between the lines. Many of the worst reviews are from people who stayed on the tour packages, don't own timeshare and expect the hotel experience or simply have an axe to grind. Some downgrade the resort because they actually got the room they booked and aren't allowed to upgrade, even for a fee, because the resort is sold out. Some have complaints because they booked a tour deal on the cheap and were placed in a hotel room. Some write a bad review because they're on a timeshare exchange and didn't get a prime location (Westgate seems to typically relegate exchangers to the worst unit locations).

Read the reviews carefully. Most you can toss out as simply sour grapes because they're not owners, weren't treated as if they are owners or took the sales tour and felt the famous Westgate pressure. It's a nice resort. Most Westgates, despite their pitiful reputation, are nice resorts. We haven't stayed at the resort but have been by it when in Gatlinburg and it's on our list of resorts to exchange into should we ever go back to the area.

Westgate Smoky Mountains Resort

I used to own a two-bedroom unit there and never had any problems. The rooms are nice and fairly large. Yes, they are mostly all uphill and the walls are a bit thin, but we always enjoyed staying there. Even though they had a water park, I never used it, as we always purchased annual passes to Dollywood and Splash Country which is much larger and cheaper. I eventually exchanged and upgraded my ownership (I already owned two other timeshare units in Pigeon Forge and usually ended up trading my Smoky Mountain timeshare out for another property elsewhere) to a 4-bedroom unit EOY at Westgate Towncenter in Orlando. Cheaper maintenance fees since now only paying EOY, which was one of my goals. It was a good trade-up for me, since we have been going to Disney a lot in the last five years and the Towncenter is only about 1 mile from the back entrance to Disney. I have stayed in both the hotel units directly behind the check-in facility, as well as way up on the mountain top at Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort, in addition to the regular cabins down below. I found the one-bedroom cabin to be very nice, although not as big, but definitely better than a hotel unit somewhere!! Even the hotel units at the Smoky Mountain resort were nice and much larger (like an apartment) compared to many hotel rooms. It is true that the parking is a pain, and the view is non-existent in the hotel units, but they are close to the outside pool. I have never been disappointed when staying there. You can ride the trolley if you don't like to have to deal with the heavy traffic - they travel to Pigeon Forge and to Gatlinburg and there is a trolley stop on the property's edge. As far as the heavy traffic going into Gatlinburg this time of year, just take the bypass which is much quicker and will bring you out on the side of Gatilinburg. If you are wanting to go to Ripley's Aquarium, which is located at the first stoplight as you enter the main part of the town, then you will need to fight the traffic and/or ride the trolley which drops you off right at the aquarium. So, if you already have reservations to stay at the resort, don't let the other negative comments deter you. It really is a nice place to stay.

Has anyone stayed in a 3br? If so what is the layout? Thanks.

vacationlover2 said:

Has anyone stayed in a 3br? If so what is the layout? Thanks.

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You can see it here http://westgateresorts.com/smoky-mountain/accommodations/.

It is worth noting that this info contradicts Interval. All of the 3BR's available on II show a King in BR1 and fulls in BR2&3. II also shows the private as 12 which is definitely incorrect so I would go with what WG shows or call about the various possibilities.

It looks like three separate units doesn't it?

vacationlover2 said:

It looks like three separate units doesn't it?

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It is! They designed all the units to lock off into individual 1BR or Studio units. Even the 5BR breaks up into 5 pieces, which makes it a penta-lock-off. This gave them maximum sales and booking flexibility. No matter how much they sold they would never run out of any size unit until less than 5 units were left. This holds true for those type buildings. There are others that do not have the 3-5 bedroom lock-offs. Is it the best design plan? Not in a million years, but it was a pretty convenient sales strategy.

This format is also a reason why the sound carries so much. There are always either 2 or 3 doors for sound to come through in addition to windows and balconies. There are either 1 or 2 lock-off doors and the entry door for each unit "piece" of the 3 to 5 bedrooms.

I wonder where the sofa beds are in this 3 BR unit? In each living room?

At least there will be no shortage of dishes like at some timeshares.

vacationlover2 said:

I wonder where the sofa beds are in this 3 BR unit? In each living room?

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Ahh, yes they are. And this explains why II has the 3BR listed as sleeping 12 privately. I said that wasn't right but clearly I was wrong. There are actually 6 sleeping areas for 2 people each on the floor plan. The only discrepancy remaining is the bed type. Westgate says 2 Kings, 2 Fulls, and 3 Queen sleepers. II shows 1 King with the rest as full beds and full sleepers. I am not a big person but there is a huge difference between two adults in a King versus a Full. A full is not big enough for adult sleeper imho. I am betting the WG info is correct. II never updates their stuff with renovations and such.

Saintsfanfl said:

Ahh, yes they are. And this explains why II has the 3BR listed as sleeping 12 privately. I said that wasn't right but clearly I was wrong. There are actually 6 sleeping areas for 2 people each on the floor plan. The only discrepancy remaining is the bed type. Westgate says 2 Kings, 2 Fulls, and 3 Queen sleepers. II shows 1 King with the rest as full beds and full sleepers. I am not a big person but there is a huge difference between two adults in a King versus a Full. A full is not big enough for adult sleeper imho. I am betting the WG info is correct. II never updates their stuff with renovations and such.

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I don't see how the WG info could be right. It says 2 kings and 2 fulls, but if you look at the picture, there are only 3 beds. Do you agree or am I missing something?

vacationlover2 said:

I don't see how the WG info could be right. It says 2 kings and 2 fulls, but if you look at the picture, there are only 3 beds. Do you agree or am I missing something?

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You are right, but if you read the text it says "two king beds, one full bed and three queen sleeper sofas". The list below the text has to be wrong showing two fulls, which would then sleep 14 instead of 12. Also, the 3BR pic is nothing more than the right side of the 5BR pic, which says 5 Kings and 5 Queen Sleepers. It's probably either 2 or 3 Kings with 1 or 0 Fulls.

My parents own there and we enjoyed our stay at the resort.

Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort

I've seen lots of talk about Westgate on here. I own at WG Smoky, and would not want another place! We have put up with rude staff before, but being military, and at 78 yrs, I don't take crap anymore! Staff will back off.
We have family in area of East Tennessee who join us every year at Christmas time up there. We love it's location! I agree that the walls are thin and we hear lots of chairs dragging the floors, but things settle down during the week. We go shopping, site seeing, everything,etc. Traffic will always be there people! Find ways around it Tell your friends to check Smoky Mountain Resort out. You'll see I'm right! Best Wishes for Merry Christmas and a Happy New year 2015!

Saintsfanfl said:

Did you book or exchange internally with Westgate? If you exchange within II I am fairly certain that you do not get free water park passes even if you are a WG owner, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

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Sorry just saw your post.

I booked through RCI and told them I was an owner. They didnt charge me to go into the park.