Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Water Park

I had an issue with my unit and Westgate took care of us. We have been owners at Westgate Smokey Mountains for 19 years this was the first time we had an issue and they took care of us. I have been in the Westgate family since 1998. People would say I can stay on a hotel for what you pay in maintenance fee but that's what you get a hotel not bedrooms and a chance to separate for a while. Love timeshare ownership.

I want to start by saying we are Elite owners through the Westgate Branson Woods Resort and we love this resort and our concierge. We had always heard Gatlinburg was a wonderful resort and we really needed to check it out, we did and we were not impressed at all. Yes the mountains are beautiful. The entrance to the resort is hard to get into when it's busy season since traffic is crazy.
As far as the rooms or units conditions they get a 5 out of 10. The pictures are of long dark hair that was left in the shower we are gray and blonde. The dryer had lots of mouse poop in it. My white sock got thrown away since they got so dirty wearing them around the unit.
We didn't use any of the amenities but did receive text often that certain pools and restaurants would be closed for some reason that they would state.
Then when it came time for our "Owners Meeting" they said to make sure we understood how everything worked with trading out some of our weeks etc. . Our concierge at this resort was Michael Mitchell. We told him from the start that we Were Not switching resorts or concierges. So they had a " wonderful deal" for us at our 90 min meeting (hahahaha) so we agreed to upgrade as long as they agreed to keeping Branson Woods our home resort and Courtney our concierge. So when we went to Branson a couple of weeks later and to our surprise when we had our concierge check what we had done sure enough the sales team at the Gatlinburg Westgate Smokey Mountain Resort had changed our concierge to them. So just beware they are liars!!! And then won't return any calls! Don't stay here

The over priced amount to stay here is unbelievable. They don't keep them up, they are not child friendly, the water park is over priced and small to say the least. Extremely disappointed and won't be back

The reason why it gets 2 stars is because of the gorgeous views, but besides that, there's so many things wrong. The rooms we were given was so dirty, the drains were clogged, bed was beyond uncomfortable, and the walls super thin. Housekeeping was non existent. The only reason we got new towels was because of our tour host dropped off bags outside our room.

Fire pit- signs stated no food. Why have a fire pit that doesn't allow roasting marshmallows. Did I see people do it, yes, but I tend to follow rules and didn't. My kids were quite disappointed .

We also did the tour and found out everything used was Styrofoam! For a company that stated they give so much and protect environment, you would.think they would start in house.

Waterpark- closed half the time because of thunder. It's indoors!! I don't understand why you're closed.

I would never be coming back to this resort

Our first impression at the Westgate was awful. We arrived around 7pm on Thanksgiving Day, ready to check in. We are a biracial couple. The receptionist (Angela or Andrea) was super nice to me but totally ignored my husband. She wouldn't even look at him. He asked questions - she ignored him and answered me instead. He tried to get her attention, but instead of even giving him as much as a glance, she continued to ignore him completely. It was clear that she didn't want to talk to an African American man.

As far as the resort:
Buildings are basically on top of each other. Parking is very narrow. Especially when having a bigger car. There is little to no green space between buildings.
The developer is squeezing buildings in wherever there is a bit of space. We went on top of the resort's mountain, more buildings are being build up there as well, leaving no woods or any nature remaining.
Cabin apartment:
The cabin apartments are spacious with outdated furniture. Our living room had a large first generation flat screen that sounded very muffled. We tried to watch a movie but it was hard to understand since it sounded like being under water. Fireplace was not working right either and only gave our a little blue flame.

Our kitchen was equipped nicely- no complaints there.

Bathrooms: I liked the walk in showers with rain shower head but hates how cool the water actually was. It didn't get hot- just warm.
Our cabin apartment had a jet tub - but it was nearly impossible to use it since it only filled up half way with warm water and then turning cold.

Bedroom:
The bed was comfortable but the pillows where pure horror! Old and lumpy, hard like a rock, giving you a headache. We went to Walmart the next day and purchased our own.

Washer & Dryer:
One washer & dryer shared between 6 apartments. Washer runs for over an hour for one cycle, dryer doesn't actually dry and leaves your laundry clammy wet.
We heard other families complaining about it as well.

Convenient store:
Nice but overpriced store on the resort- but good for last minute shopping. Gas station prices. Has Starbucks - but doesn't accept the Starbucks pay app...

Time share tour:
We had to attend a presentation.. they try all kind of sales tactics - first getting to know you - "I am your friend", being surprised if you are a service member and pulling an "amazing" deal out of their sleeves.. and becoming very! pushy if you say no.
They keep you there for at least 4 hours... trying desperately to seal a deal.

Waterpark and Zipline.

The waterpark looks nice - especially when visiting with your little ones.
Don't expect too much out of zip lining. It's maybe 100 feet long and is more of a zippy line...

We expressed our concerns about the check in experience and apartment at the presentation but we doubt that anything comes out of it.
I don't think I would go back to the Westgate. There are better places to stay in the area.

NEVER AGAIN. We paid for a full week, and ended up leaving after five days. This resort cares about one thing and one thing only, timeshares. If you are a guest, they want to sell you one. If you already own they want you to upgrade.
Our room situation was a disaster and we asked to move... the Conceirge assigned to us literally said "Management is the only one who can switch your room, and they are too busy to see you. There are 1100 guest on property and they don't have time for you."
As you can imagine, I hung the phone up, went straight to the front desk, and handled this with management myself. They did switch our room, and assigned us a new concierge. But that concierge was only concerned with selling us some thing as well.
We were there as "owners" because we bought someone's week, so the water park is included. HOWEVER after spending $400 on groceries for our room that had a full kitchen, we were told we couldn't take anything in to the park!
The park is hot inside and the chairs are insanely uncomfortable. The water is disgusting and my kids constantly had what looked like mud on their suits and towels.
I could not wait to get the hell out of there and I will make it my mission to ensure that no one I know or loves wastes their money on this hole they like to call a resort.
Unless you have $50K-$80K burning a hole in your pocket stay away.

Horrifyingly awful experience. It's a timeshare scam. I have never felt so bullied by a "hospitality" staff in my life. Our vacation was cut short abruptly due to our experience.
When we tried to speak to management they refused to help, threatened us with astronomical fees and told us to deal with corporate who was closed for the weekend.
Read the hundreds of bad reviews and do your self and your family a favor and go elsewhere.
I still cannot believe how upsetting, frustrating and traumatic our experience was with this establishment.

I wish I could give this place 0 stars. When we get to the resort they notify us that our room has been canceled. They find us a place and tell us we will have a room tomorrow. Now this room is unavailable and we must find somewhere for our family stay. They have not been helpful. I don't think my review will change them or anything. They seem not to care about anything.

My wife has been on the phone with the reservation/sales people for over an hour. They called to change the terms of the sales job that they did the night before. They refuse to let her speak to a supervisor. They say a supervisor is not available. They repeatedly put her on hold. We've requested a refund. They aren't cooperating.

Everybody we talk with must have English as a second language. They are very hard to understand.

This doesn't look very good.

Heated pool? Need I say more? No but I will. The staff here is EXTRAORDINARY. They are the nicest most welcoming people I have ever met. Westgate is conveniently located close to Gatlinburg but right outside of it so it's secluded enough to feel like you're truly getting away from city life (I'm from Chicago)
You can get to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge & trails in the mountains easy. So many amenities here as well (archery, indoor water park, guided hikes, tie dye, parrot experience etc)