I thought we'd get like-for-like. Not even close! WGV units are nasty. I wrote a review that I hope will get published. II has seriously disppointed me!
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Marriott to Westgate Vacation Villas trade
- Thread starter thickey
- Start date
- Joined
- May 20, 2006
- Messages
- 53,057
- Reaction score
- 24,633
- Location
- NE Florida
- Resorts Owned
- Marriott Grande Vista
Marriott Harbour Lake
Sheraton Vistana Villages
Club Wyndham CWA
Why didn't you trade in to another Marriott? Surprisingly a lot of Westgate properties have the golden pineapple in II. Proving that the designation is meaningless.
One of my pet peeves with II is the seeming total lack of consistency regarding their awarding of the quality awards. How nearly all the Westgates - mid to lower range resorts at best, run down dumps at worst - can get the same ranking as the Marriotts, DVC's (although they are a big step down in unit quality from Marriott & others & while they were still with II) and others does show that there can be any trust placed in those rankings.
RCI sems to be better, but also not perfect, in assigning rankings to resorts but never does it seem to be as developer rather than quality based as they are in II. I give at least some credence to the RCI ranks - ZERO to the II rankings. Too bad, they should tell you what level of quality to expect but the Pineapples, or whatever II is currently using, mean nothing. Gold & Silver crown still give you a good shot at an reasonably upscale resort experience in my experience.
RCI sems to be better, but also not perfect, in assigning rankings to resorts but never does it seem to be as developer rather than quality based as they are in II. I give at least some credence to the RCI ranks - ZERO to the II rankings. Too bad, they should tell you what level of quality to expect but the Pineapples, or whatever II is currently using, mean nothing. Gold & Silver crown still give you a good shot at an reasonably upscale resort experience in my experience.
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2005
- Messages
- 14,840
- Reaction score
- 3,714
- Location
- Kansas
- Resorts Owned
- Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
I honestly believe the rating system is strictly on amenities listed by the resort. I've stayed "premier" resorts that didn't have premier accomadations IMHO. What they did have was amenities such as a pool, fitness center (even if it only had three or four fitness machines), conceirge (sales person in disguise) et.....
Trade
The Vacation Villas are very old buildings . The Westgate Town Center is next door and is comparable to the two Marriott's I have visited in Florida .
The Vacation Villas are very old buildings . The Westgate Town Center is next door and is comparable to the two Marriott's I have visited in Florida .
I stayed at a Westgate once (over 10 years ago) and will never do it again. Marriott owners should not be allowed to trade into a Westgate property. It only leads to disappointment. In additon, their sales staff can be nasty. Your opinion of Westgate would be worse if you attended a presentation.
You should call II and let them know of your disappointment.
We had been to each of the Marriotts in Orlando, and also the HGVCs, and loved them all. We wanted to try the Westgates, as they seem to have decent reviews. I guess it is a matter of relativity - we are used to Marriott quality. I am not sure what the other reviewers are used to - I don't think I wanna know!
I wrote a large review on II online about this, and also wrote out a long paper review and mailed it! I don't expect to hear back.
We have learned a lesson here though. We'll just stick to what we know to be decent trades.
I wrote a large review on II online about this, and also wrote out a long paper review and mailed it! I don't expect to hear back.
We have learned a lesson here though. We'll just stick to what we know to be decent trades.
cbdmvci
TUG Member
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2010
- Messages
- 149
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- North Jersey
- Resorts Owned
- Marriott Beachplace Towers
Marriott Aruba Ocean Club
Westgate Planet Hollywood
Interesting that there are, by coincidence, two threads active at the same time: one on Westgate trades and one on Grand Chateau.
Earlier this fall, I used an AC at Westgate PH ... directly across the street from Grand Chateau. And Grand Chateau WAS available for my AC.
Why did I choose a mediocre-reputation Westgage unit over Grand Chateau? Because so many on TUG have remarked on the tiny pool at Grand Chateau. This particular vacation was at a time of year (and personal inclination) to be one of a lot of poolside reading for both my wife and myself.
The PH unit was exactly what TUG reviews had me expecting. Lots of square feet, raggedy, with broken and/or missing kitchen stuff, etc. (I didn't write a TUG review because I had nothing to add to what is already there.)
But the pool was great. TUG had warned me that the weekends at the pool are a zoo ... so we bought advance passes to the pools at Cosmpolitan and Palazzo for Saturday and Sunday. During the week, the pool was GREAT, so we were very happy with our decision to go Westgate over Marriott in Vegas.
And we liked being directly connected to the mall and casino on the one very rainy day we had. Also there is a free easy-access parking deck steps from the room elevators.
Interesting that there are, by coincidence, two threads active at the same time: one on Westgate trades and one on Grand Chateau.
Earlier this fall, I used an AC at Westgate PH ... directly across the street from Grand Chateau. And Grand Chateau WAS available for my AC.
Why did I choose a mediocre-reputation Westgage unit over Grand Chateau? Because so many on TUG have remarked on the tiny pool at Grand Chateau. This particular vacation was at a time of year (and personal inclination) to be one of a lot of poolside reading for both my wife and myself.
The PH unit was exactly what TUG reviews had me expecting. Lots of square feet, raggedy, with broken and/or missing kitchen stuff, etc. (I didn't write a TUG review because I had nothing to add to what is already there.)
But the pool was great. TUG had warned me that the weekends at the pool are a zoo ... so we bought advance passes to the pools at Cosmpolitan and Palazzo for Saturday and Sunday. During the week, the pool was GREAT, so we were very happy with our decision to go Westgate over Marriott in Vegas.
And we liked being directly connected to the mall and casino on the one very rainy day we had. Also there is a free easy-access parking deck steps from the room elevators.
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JeffW
TUG Member
I also believe that to be correct. In fact I thought I saw a sheet once for RCI that listed specifically what was needed to get Gold Crown, Silver Crown, and Hospitality awards. To a degree, it's easy to have a 'checklist' of requirements to meet to allow a particular award, even if combined, they don't necessarily make what might seem like a top resort.
Also, I'm sure there are some politics in play. Do any of the big chains (Marriott, Westgate, Disney, Diamond) not have the top awards for either RCI or II? I'd imagine there would be a lot of internal pressure from Westgate if II decided to downgrade one of it's resorts.
Jeff
We stayed at Westgate Town Center a few years ago they were very nice.
But the sale office called every day for seven days and nights for us to listen to their sales pitch. No way !!!
JeffW
TUG Member
WTG are high rises, so you more of an apartment (dense) feeling to them. WGV are 2 story low rise, lots of land around (to a degree, similar to Marriott Desert Springs Phase I).
WTG likely has more more modern accomodations. However if you want to car to door to be less that 50', or be able to walk out of onto your patio or balcony, WGV might be better.
I've heard Westgate is notorious for hounding people to attend sales presentations. I guess it's what they need to do to fill those high rises they keep building.
Jeff