Orlando Tripadvisor Reviews

The following is the byproduct of a slow, but beautiful, Easter day at the lake.

The following list is the numbers, and percentages, of Tripadvisor reviews for Orlando resorts that rated the resort the lowest possible rating, 1. In other words, the higher on this list the higher the percentage of reviews absolutely hated the place. The lower on the list the better.

The next time I have a slow day, I will do the opposite ranking, the percentage at each resort that gives the highest rating.

Comparing Tripadvisor Reviews for Orlando Resorts
How Many 1 Ratings at Each Resort (10 or more reviews)4/16/06

Celebrity Resorts Lake Buena Vista~~~5 of 10~~~50%
Westgate Towers~~~9 of 24~~~38%
Celebration World Resort~~~16 of 43~~~37%
Westgate Vacation Villas~~~55 of 166~~~33%
Universal Resort~~~4 of 13~~~31%
Westgate Palace~~~7 of 25~~~28%
Westgate Lakes~~~60 of 234~~~26%
Grand Lake Resort~~~3 of 12~~~25%
Celebrity Resorts Orlando~~~11 of 50~~~22%
Summer Bay Resort~~~15 of 71~~~21%
Westgate Blue Tree Resort~~~7 of 40~~~18%
Star Island Resort and Club~~~14 of 82~~~17%
Lake Marion Golf Resort~~~3 of 19~~~16%
Silver Lake Resort~~~8 of 49~~~16%
Magic Tree Resort~~~2 of 13~~~15%
Fairfield Star Island Resort~~~2 of 13~~~15%
Marriott’s Sabal Palms~~~2 of 15~~~13%
Wyndham Palms Resort and Country Club~~~18 of 142~~~13%
Orange Lake Resort and Country Club~~~21 of 174~~~12%
Club Sunterra Cypress Pointe~~~13 of 114~~~11%
Liki Tiki Village~~~14 of 124~~~11%
Marriott’s Imperial Palm Villas~~~1 of 10~~~10%
Oak Plantation~~~11 of 121~~~9%
Oasis Lakes~~~1 of 11~~~9%
Disney’s Boardwalk Villas~~~3 of 35~~~9%
Vacation Village at Parkway~~~5 of 65~~~8%
Parkway International Resort~~~2 of 29~~~7%
HGVC at Seaworld~~~6 of 91~~~7%
Crowne Plaza Resort~~~1 of 14~~~7%
Disney’s Beach Club Villas~~~2 of 30~~~7%
Sheraton Vistana Resort~~~18 of 383~~~5%
HGVC on International Drive~~~3 of 59~~~5%
Horizons by Marriott~~~2 of 47~~~4%
Marriott’s Grande Vista~~~9 of 211~~~4%
Disney’s Old Key West ~~~3 of 76~~~4%
Sheraton Vistana Villages~~~10 of 253~~~4%
Grand Beach Vacation Resort~~~1 of 29~~~3%
Marriott’s Cypress Harbour~~~2 of 81~~~2%
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa~~~1 of 42~~~2%
Fairfield at Cypress Palms~~~0 for 39~~~0%
Sunterra Polynesian Isles Resort~~~0 of 17~~~0%
Orbit One Vacation Villas~~~0 of 11~~~0%
Fairfield Orlando at Bonnet Creek~~~0 of 11~~~0%
The Fountains~~~0 of 18~~~0%
Marriott’s Royal Palms~~~0 of 29~~~0%

Results just show that no resort will please everybody which is not a surprise.

I went to the tripadvisor site and read one of the reviews that gave a rating of 1. The review was positive (liked the grounds, the pools, the size of the unit, the service) but hated the sales staff because they felt they were a very high pressure staff. After all the positives, they gave their review a rating of 1. Go figure

Good job JLB.

frenchieineme

gjw007 said:

Results just show that no resort will please everybody which is not a surprise.

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Gary, once again your comments "hit the nail on the head".

39 days, 10 hours and 33 minutes till OLCC.:whoopie:

Yes, in a number of Westgate reviews, even those with higher than one ratings, what pulled the resort down is the marketing effort.

We all know that that is a long-running complaint, one that Westgate is either oblivious to or does not care about.

As a former owner, and guest, I feel it is the latter, that they just don't care what people say. They have a way of doing things and it is the only way they will ever do things.

frenchieinme said:

I went to the tripadvisor site and read one of the reviews that gave a rating of 1. The review was positive (liked the grounds, the pools, the size of the unit, the service) but hated the sales staff because they felt they were a very high pressure staff. After all the positives, they gave their review a rating of 1. Go figure

Good job JLB.

frenchieineme

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As to Gary and Tony, one of the reasons I did this was because of their, and others', previous comments that no resort can please all the people all the time. I thought maybe by doing this that it may temper some of my previous comments in their minds. You know, by showing I can be fair, putting things into perspective.

Actually, I thought it did that since it put their resort well down the list of least-liked.

But even with the evidence before them that that may, in fact, be possible, that a resort can please all the people all the time, they still say one can't please all the people all the time.

Six resorts do appear to please all the people, at least the people who took the time to do a review, all the time. Another 15 only had 1, 2 or 3 dissatisfied enough to give the resorts the lowest rating.

Some resorts are coming closer than others.

Another thing this did for me is that it opened my mind to resorts that never get discussed, likely because the lack of presence of owners from those resorts on this forum, but resorts that we may be overlooking when it comes to recommending a quality Orlando Vacation.

Another thing the reviews point out, something I think we as timeshare owners are blind to, is the lower level of service you receive timesharing as compared to a quality non-timeshare resort or hotel experience.

Since timeshare resorts are now more open to the public, some guests are surprised that they are expected to use the same towels for several days, that they may even need to wash and dry their own in order to have fresh ones, that they have to clean their units if they are going to be cleaned, they have to take out the trash, and that folks don't quickly appear at your unit when you summon them.

We have one extended family member who has to have a fresh towel every time she uses a towel, several a day!!! So we just say, there's the washer and dryer!

They miss the pampering, not having to do stuff they have to do at home, what makes vacation a vacation for them. They did not expect to just get an apartment for the week, and in some cases a run-down one.

Of course, they never had the sales pressure at hotels either.

JLB;

I think you're reading more into this. If you look at your list, you will find that vast majority of the resorts have some negative comments. I also don't think that with only 11 or 39 or 100 responses, you can categorically state that since there has been no negative comments for that resort given the number of guests that each resort sees each year, that it pleases everybody; that is too much a leap of faith. Alhambra Villas is not on your list and thus by extension since it has no negatives, it pleases everybody. As an unscientific sample, the list doesn't support the contention that there is a resort that pleases everybody. If you choose to believe it does, that is your choice. The list presents no surprise because there has been negatives for almost all the resorts even those I consider very nice such as Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, HGVC Seaworld, Disney Boardwalk, some Marriott's, etc. For those resorts that don't have the negative 1 ratings, the sample is too small to state that they do not have any negative ratings as well. It does show, however, that some resorts may be more prone to negative reviews than others but it doesn't provide an indication of why that may be.

I'm not sure when this became an issue about where OLCC (the resort that Tony and I own) is placed on the list and why you brought it up as I didn't know this discussion was about OLCC. I'm going to treat this comment as coming from left field and immaterial to the overall discussions of the list. This discussion shouldn't be about a specific resort although I'm afraid that it may degenerate into that type of discussion. It may be interesting where a resort is on the list as those that you would expect to get more negative reviews seem to get the negative ratings and those which you expect to get little negative ratings also get get few negative ratings.

I also think you are right about non-timeshare people staying at a resort and expecting a certain level of services. This is also true with timeshare owners whose home resorts provide midweek trash-and-towel who stay at a resort that doesn't provide this service. While some people think of this as a negative, I think of it has a positive as it means that I know nobody should be entering my unit and I don't need to worry about missing material or being woke up by somebody knocking on the door. So while some may consider something a negative, it may be a positive for somebody else.

Since the information I posted came from another, independent source, has nothing to do with any personal opinions I may or may not have, and I don't have a dog in this fight, I don't have anything to defend.

So I won't.

I believe any free thinker can look at the two Tripadvisor lists I have compiled, see some consistencies, and draw their own conclusions.

I am glad I compiled them because it has opened my mind to resorts that get very little play here, resorts that likely deserve more credit than we give them.

Well.....well....well.....some pots just can't simmer. They have to be stirred!:hysterical:

Excellent comments Gary.
Tony.....a thousand feathers tickling the end of your nose!!!!

Tripadvisor reviews can be so skewed. Especially when there are only a few responses.

We must not lose sight of the fact reviews are indicators of someone's exposure to a certain set of condiotns. People may react differently and in turn evaluate differently. One needs to take the reviews with a grain of salt and make up one's own mind.

I read some of the reviews for different timeshares and how 30% of respondents can rate timeshare A with a tripadvisor rating of 1 and 30% more a 5 is darn near unexplainable. Can these 60% have been staying in different resorts?

Bottom line, one needs to make up one's own mind. As I mentioned before had I listened to the negative webpage on Norwegian Cruise Lines, my wife and I along with 26 friends would have missed out on probably one of our lifetimes most memorable experiences, a 7 day Hawaiian islands cruise. Our NCL cruise was the furthest thing away from the NCL's negative webpage site as could be. Go figure!!!

frenchieinme

Well, I'm not at all involved in what looks like a personal issue between some folks, but I will say that I take a look at Tripadvisor reviews before I go to a hotel I've never stayed at, just as I look at TUG reviews before staying at timeshares...they don't reflect everyone's opinions, but it gives me something to consider.
BTW, I've never stayed at OLCC, but have stayed at Westgate VV. Found the unit to be nice enough other than those more than pesky salespeople.
Connie

http://www.timeshareforums.com/showthread.php?p=39213#post39213

. . . It appears I view Reviews and Ratings differently than others. I look for generalities rather than specifics. I use them to get a feeling for the resort or the resort company, either warm or not-so-warm. In that context I see Cypress Pointe and most of the Marriotts, as warms, and Marriott as a company as favorable.

So, I would not hesitate to stay at Cypress Pointe or a Marriott, the same as I would not hesitate to stay at Disney, another company that gives off good vibes.

Tripadvisor has not been mentioned much on these timeshare forums, and I offer it merely as another tool we can use. . .

JLB: 'former' owner at Westgate?
Any tips on how you managed to sell?
I'd love to get rid of mine.

I'm laughing because I've been asked that more than a few times before!

I listed them on the Internet and had Susan Gale at Timeshare Transfer handle the details. Strange . . . I have not mentioned that in a long time, and just posted the same thing on another thread a few minutes ago, someone wanting to know how to sell their timeshare.

I sold two weeks 28 and 29 to an Alabama family and an EOY Week 23 to a Hong Kong couple. Those sale were through Redweek before they changed their business model. As soon as they did all inquiries for my other EOY week stopped.

Google Orlando Timeshares for Sale and pick out some sites where you want to advertise. Then be the lowest price.

Email me if you like.

Jollyhols said:

JLB: 'former' owner at Westgate?
Any tips on how you managed to sell?
I'd love to get rid of mine.

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I have listed the resorts in the order of both the percentage of lowest and the percentage of highest ratings.

Someone Over There asked something like if there is a norm or mean, or whatever. In fact there is a whatever. For each hotel it lists their Popularity Index relative to the other hotels in the area. It does it by Orlando and by Kissimmee, separately.

Using the same resorts as in the first two lists I have compiled, I will do the Popularity Index lists sometime in the near future also.

If anyone wants to save them they can.

I am surprised by Orbit One. It is an RCI Hospitality resort, not Silver or Gold Crown, nor does it deserve that distinction. Yet no complaints? I would guess that owners posted their opinions, not exchangers.

I am not surprised by the Marriott ratings. They really do a great job of customer service, plus their sales presentation is not hard-sell or pushy. If the people that complained were merely upset over the sales presentations, then Orbit One ratings would make sense, because they are not selling anymore. Although, they are in partnership with VV at Parkway and we did get one call from their sales staff.

Westgate Lakes was a great place to stay, except for the parking shortage. We did not attend the sales presentation there, either. I would have to sit through that one with my eyes glazed over and my mouth shut. :ignore:

Ours is not to wonder why, ours is but to . . .

Oh yeah, ours is to wonder why.

Too many goggle-eye biting today, so I didn't get the Popularity Index list assembled. Maybe tomorrow.

rickandcindy23 said:

I am surprised by Orbit One. It is an RCI Hospitality resort, not Silver or Gold Crown, nor does it deserve that distinction. Yet no complaints? I would guess that owners posted their opinions, not exchangers.

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