Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Spa

Booked a room for 4 and arrived in a room with one full size bed. An attendant named JOSH told us there was nothing he could do about it. Extremely rude and unaccommodating. The room next door paid same exact price and had 3 bedrooms to themselves. Awful.

I can not imagine staying here again.
1. 30 minutes to check in as the only guests checking in at 9pm on a Thursday
2. Bell hop who is required to escort to the room stands in the room with hand out waiting for a tip after having done nothing but open the door to the room.
3. I was concerned that, at any moment, Noah’s family may come to reclaim the television and sofa bed, as they both clearly came off of the ark and have been here since then. While the flatness of the screen was impressive, as bragged about in every medium, the quality of the picture was virtually unwatchable. The sofa bed was a sagging mess of wires.
4. We had some friends join us for the water park. Nothing like being asked to pay $ 80 for a water part and being told that you need to park a ¼ mile away because the 30 or so spaces in front of the water park are for checkins. Considering a check-​in when no one else is there takes 30 minutes, I can understand why so many spaces are needed for checking guests in.
5. The pools in the water park were cold. Not tepid, not warm, not below average, cold.
6. Being a Disney Vacation Club owner, it’s hard not to compare Disney to Westgate. Don’t. You will just hurt yourself. The most important contrast I saw as a parent was that the life guards at the water park seemed very engaged in keeping kids from climbing out of the pool in the wrong location and running, but highly unengaged in making sure children were safe. There are a number of places in the pools where there is no vantage point.
7. The room smelled like mold, the entry way smelled like mold.
8. We shared a washer, dryer, and entry way with a family of 30 that clearly doubled down on their vacation savings by cooking in the room. There is no ventilation, so we were treated to a day and a half of strong-​smelling haze that could best be compared to a trash can at a taco bell.
9. We had two nights of listening to the neighbors come and go loudly at all hours of the night while also banging around doing laundry till 4am.
10. The parking, in general, is terrible.
11. One of the two stove eyes didn’t work and there was a leak in the bathroom under the sink where all of the clean towels are stored.
12. If you order food for delivery, you have to hike or drive to the guard station, which kind of defeats the purpose of ordering food for delivery.
13. We finally left a day early after 3 hours of listening to a noise upstairs that was either construction, deconstruction, or elephants in platform shoes bowling.
From the moment we arrived I regretted having booked this place.

I’m not sure why this place has such a low rating, I stayed here for a weekend and it was perfect!
Upon check in you’re greeted warmly from staff and the front desk clerk. Fresh cookies and popcorn are available too. It felt like I was walking into a cozy, mountain retreat– with the wood accents, roaring fireplace and the mountain ranger outfits the staff has to wear.
Since we were checked-​in early, we headed into town for dinner and drinks. About an hour later we were called to let us know our room was ready, but we were still exploring Gatlinburg.
At about 9 o’clock when we were heading back to the resort, the front desk staff called to remind us that our room was ready — so nice of them!
As with a typical timeshare property, we were asked to do the sales pitch, to which our group graciously said no – and we weren’t treated any differently.
Once we had our room reservation, we got a concierge bellman to show us to our villa and help us unload our bags and show us around the room.
I was blown away by how nice it was! I was expecting just a typical room, but our villa was nice, roomy, and spacious and had all the amenities that you would expect with renting a condo.
While at the resort, we stopped many times at the coffee shop in the main check-​in area and the coffee and service is prompt!
The only complaint I had – is there wasn’t enough towels for the three of us, but a simple call to the front desk and it was fixed.
Make sure to check out the water park! It was so much fun. This is definitely a place I would come back to with family and kids – they have an activity calendar filled with events!
Check out was a breeze, I used the speedy checkout since we were leaving early Sunday morning, simply drop your room keys and your parking pass in the slot by the guard gate!
I have no complaints with Westgate and I plan on going back soon!

We drove approximately 3.5 hrs to stay at Westgate. Since I worked until 3pm the day of arrival was going to be fairly late at 11:30−12 at night. Upon arrival nobody was there it was dead, we checked in got a small package that had an old map and a ton of brochures to local attractions. We get all our luggage on the cart at our place on the 5^th floor. the highest you can go and our room keys blink red. We call the front desk and after waiting 33 mins my fiancé walks down and gets a new key since they never came. He comes back finally 20 mins later with 2 new keys and they don’t work. After standing at the door and calling the front desk waiting another 20 minutes with a 2 yr old I decided to get security involved where he knew exactly the issue and addressed it promptly. Now that could have been handled way better. Our entire stay, 4 days, we could never gain access to the net. We would put in our information exactly as it ask and it tells me it’s wrong and resets back to the window for login credentials to be rekeyed. It took 5 hrs to dry a small load of clothes. We didn’t even know til the last day that the property had other activities like the park and golf/​pool up top. The map we were given showed 1 road that went up with nothing on it but cabins. The waterpark has nothing on the Wilderness in Sevierville. The water park has 2 slides, a hot tub, and a lazy river. A small water park for 10 and under folks. The space is just not used efficiently. The computer in the main lobby rarely loads a webpage. I tried to load my email which can be accessed online through my cable provider and it wouldn’t load. Hints my room net not working either. I can only imagine how many others are running mobile spots blowing their data. I can’t imagine owning a piece of Westgate by my first view. I would stay elsewhere before here.

Love this resort and yea we are owners of a timeshare and love it. Only negative part was Valerie from the ticket sales. She is incredibly rude and laughed at us about wanting to speak with someone higher up. We purchased outer timeshare through Mikayla. She is absolutely amazing and went over and beyond for us even when Valerie screwed up on our tickets. Can’t wait to go back!!!

We absolutely loved our stay! Will definitely be back! Our room, view, pool, and dinner was jut perfectly on point!!!

Not the first time staying here and probably not the last since related to owner’s who bought way too many weeks. Even with all the weeks, the pressure to buy more is unreal. If you are hosting a non-​owner and giving them a deal or incentives, I understand the pressure sales tactics, but to already be an owner with the same lines is over the top.
Most reviews are pretty accurate here, but I will start with the positives. The décor and room set ups are nice. Even the smaller units had decent space to spread out. The location is great too with a quick drive (depending on traffic) in either direction to wherever you want to go.
Now, the bad in my opinion. Biggest problem for me was the parking. Don’t plan on parking anywhere close to your unit unless you want to be in by 4:00 PM. I came back later one night and drove all the way to the top units with no luck finding a parking space. I was probably ½ mile away from our room with no spot in sight. Luckily, we had two vehicles parked next to each other so I just parked them in until morning. Next, the pool has a great parking lot right next to it, just don’t expect to park there for the pool. We were told it was for check-​in, so go across the road to that lot (wait, not spots there), so he said go to another lot (you guessed it, no spots there), so he said just park up on the hill. Now I get to hike up a hill after swimming in 30 degree weather to get my car. Maybe less units with more parking? Oh wait, parking doesn’t pay the bills.
The units were decent looking, but had some issues with non-​locking doors to the deck (great when you have toddlers), which is ok, we can watch our kids, but when we gave them the list of what was wrong, they just basically rolled their eyes. Thanks Dudley.
The pool itself is pretty good size for an indoor water park in that area, but the biggest complaint was temperature. My kids were shivering before entering the water then at 75 degrees makes it worse. Can it be a lazy river at that temp?
Don’t you want to leave something for your kids? Nah, I love them too much for this burden.

The resort is nice. The check in staff is horrible. Then they try to sell u time in share after u check in. But the biggest probably is I asked for a ground floor room due to my 86 year old grandpa had a heart back in June and is not suppose to climb stairs. The guy said he would put him on the ground floor. When we got to the room he put him on the second floor with lots of stairs to climb. Not very handicap friendly at all when requested. Another probably they say they r pet friendly ya pet friendly will cost extra 179 for a one night stay

I am an owner with Westgate my complaint is not about the resort itself but more about the staff. This was the worst experience as an owner I have ever had!
1. First issue were the folks below us were smoking pot and management did nothing! No enforcement and no offer to move us so our ability to enjoy the fresh mountain air was impossible.
2. The asked us if we had 30 minutes to look at new additions to the complex and provide feedback. This turned into a 4 hour mess. I was irritated! And it just kept dragging on and on. The folks we were traveling with were irritated and on and on.
So if want my opinion fine. If you want to sell something just say it you already sold us.
Worst part No apologies no nothing they said I asked for it! It was if my vacation time was insignificant to them.
How about all them while on vacation spend 4 hours at a used car lot listening to a sales person like themselves!

The complex I very large. The 1 bedroom suites are cozy and well designed. The décor is nice.
Generally the kitchen supplies are lacking compared to most timeshare units. The towels and barroom supplies are in over abundance.
The bed is very comfortable and the pillows are fabulous.
The office staff is not very helpful, although one person did try to solve our issues.
There are no sunrise/​sunset opportunities within the complex.
I would come here again based on location and room, but not based on service or hospitality.

My family & I had an amazing stay. There were 12 of us all together, and we all had nothing but great things to say. The resort is in an amazing location, and rooms are beautiful too. The rooms were clean, and staff were all very friendly. I can’t wait to come back!

We have been vacationing in Gatlinburg for a few days and decided to splurge on our last night and stay at this resort. We found a really good deal and loved the idea of the indoor waterpark.
The huge, sprawling grounds are beautiful and have some breathtaking views. The buildings look like log cabins, so even if some of them are in your view, it just adds to the scenery.
We chose the «One Bedroom King Villa» for it’s size and seperate room. The King bed is amazingly comfy and the room looks more like an apartment than a hotel. VERY high ceilings; absolutely gorgeous. There is also a full kitchen.
The bathroom is massive, as well, with an amazing shower and a washer/​dryer combo machine (we did not use).
The arcade is a lot of fun but the prizes are a bit lacking and ¼ of the games didn’t work.
The Smokehouse restaurant is okay. We ordered the family style Alfredo (very over priced. $ 32 for 1 pan of bland alfredo and 6 rolls). We had to go back to The lobby to get some salt and pepper to make it edible.
The price tag for the room could scare some people away, but I would never pay full price for it. If you’re going to stay here, make sure you’re rate is at it’s lowest.
Here’s a few reasons why:
— Waterpark admission ($ 18+tax/person) is not included in the price.
— Weekend rates are $ 30-​$ 50 more.
— You can hear EVERY SOUND from your upstairs neighbor.
— No vending machines means you have to drive all the way back down to the lobby to get drinks/​snacks/​etc.
— The room is not stocked with coffee packets, although they do give you 1 free one in the store.
— Hot water only lasts about 30 minutes.
–The Marketplace is extremely overpriced so if you plan on making your meals, bring your food with you.
THIS HOTEL IS A TIMESHARE. I would not invest in it, but that’s just me. If you have the time, drop the kids off at the SUPERVISED children’s area and sit through the 90 minute presentation. Why? Free breakfast/​lunch, free waterpark tickets for your family, and a free 3 day, 2 night vacation at any of their locations.
My review is more like 3 ½ stars, but Unilocal doesn’t do half stars and they deserve a little more than 3 stars.
My rating is based on what we recieved with the price. At $ 189/​night, I expected a little more.
We were put at the top of the mountain, next to some construction. Beautiful views, obnoxious neighbors. The construction wasn’t a bother at all. It seems that they wait till later morning to start work and end around dusk.
PS: After looking at all the hotel sites (Priceline/​Expedia/​Hotels) we found the best rate on the Westgate Resort website. It was $ 50 cheaper than Expedia’s prices.

Been on grounds for 1 hour and still waiting to check in. Although there was a cruise line checking in before me, no excuse to take an hour or more. We did online booking thinking it would speed things up, but the online check in line was 5 time longer than direct booking. Such a waist of time. I’ll report back on the room if we ever get to it.
Once we arrive at the restaurant on resort campus, the computers were down for over 2hr & then we saw the closed sign. Afterwards we walked down to the trolley stop to be greeted by drunk loud folk. To top it off, it started to poor down rain. Needless to say, we took the shuttle back up the hill to get our car and to a super market. It was a long day and we were so sorry we picked this place to stay. I think it is a far throw from being considered a resort.

This was our first time staying at Westgate Resort. I discovered this resort via Groupon for a low rate. I was a little bummed that my Groupon deal didn’t include water park passes, but we were able to purchase them at the resort. This was a one night stay for us, we were just looking for a night out of town.
I would like to start by saying how friendly the staff was to not only us but to each other! My husband and I spoke frequently about how friendly all the staff was to each other. Always waving and speaking kindly to one another. I’m not joking! It is sadly shocking when you notice how nice others are to one another like it’s unnatural. Lol
Lorna Dennis @ the front desk took excellent care of us at the front desk check-​in. She was very personable, genuine and real! We appreciate that, thank you Lorna!
Anthony– The Train-​Tram Master, was such a pleasure to speak with. He made sure to greet everyone entering, exiting, driving or walking past the tram. He asked us about our stay, made suggestions and on our second encounter asked how our experiences were. Way to go Anthony!
We stayed in a one-​bedroom villa up in the 5000 location. The views were absolutely breathtaking!!! The unit we stayed in was fairly new and was very clean and the layout of the room was great!
The water park was great for our 2 kids. (8 & 4) not crowded at all.
Now to the reason I only gave it 4 stars.
This is a small nuisance but really bugged the crap out of me. The soap, shampoo and conditioner were from their spa. So I thought ok this must be some good quality stuff right?! NOPE! I put the shampoo in my hair and no lather at all. As I started inspecting the bottle and notice the shampoo and conditioner both Expired in Nov 2014, it’s May 2015. 7 months! So I then preceded to check the soap pack, it expired in 2010!!! 5 YEARS AGO! Ok so it may not matter with soap and shampoos but I didn’t feel comfortable using it and if this is any indication of what the Spa would be using, no thank you! It doesn’t make me feel very confident in their Spa products.
Second and this ruined my departure morning! Beware of the washer/​dryer combo in the room. The kids has spilled a drink on my personal pillow and so the night before we left I washed the pillow. I figured it would only take about 30 mins to dry in the am because it was a feather pillow. As I put the machine on dry and the screen showed 3 hours to dry! WHAT?!? Oh well so I started thinking well I’ll take it out in 30 mins. NOPE, the dryer kept my pillow hostage! I could not get the door open. After doing some googling I found that it’s a safety feature that when the dryer heats up it has a cool down phase of God only knows how long before it will release the door lock. After calling Maintenance and he coming in to tell me that they have had several problems with the doors not opening even after this cool down phase (it had been «cooling down» for at least 20 mins) and in several instances have had to break open the door! So after waiting an hour and 2 visits from the maintenance man and no pillow I decided to leave and join my family for breakfast. I had to come back later that morning to retrieve my pillow from the guard shack, which was still NOT dry!
Note to management: please place some instructions and general information concerning the use and time usage of this machine.
All and all we had a wonderful time and I would definitely stay her again! But I will not use the washer/​dryer and I will be bringing my own soap and shampoo!

I have come to the conclusion the pre reading Unilocal reviews is a must before traveling to a destination. I was able to put on my dance moves as peddlers attacked me to provide me a free show in return for the time share here at Westgate. Just tell them you have crappy credit and they will run faster than you.
Checking in was longer than a ride at Disney world. It wouldn’t have bothered me if I hadn’t been stuck In pigeon forge traffic hell. Check I took close to 45 minutes.
While the rooms are decent. The water park is something to avoid. I’ll give that place its own review shortly. Stay tuned.
all in all if you can avoid the shark peddlers you can enjoy your self. Oh and bring a sandwich. Waiting that long makes you hungry.

Overall, this place is amazing. The grounds are fabulous and the views are spectacular. Very well maintained resort that is seems extremely popular in Gatlinburg. I loved the cabins, with minor exceptions, (see exceptions below) and my kids loved the waterpark. The scheduled trolley is an absolute bonus and we used it several times to get up and down the mountain and to connect to Gatlinburg nightlife.
Now all that being said, I do have a few minor complaints: 1) there is no soap tray in the master shower — where they do that at — taking a shower was a struggle without somewhere to rest your soap. That was a little troubling and bizarre at the same time — please fix it — thank you. 2) Wi-​fi sucks — you pay $ 24.99 for three days — one would hope that it would be faster than dial-​up and you can connect more than 1 device at the time — that hurt…3)can express checkout be more express? It would be nice if I could just call down and tell you I’m leaving and give the keys to the guard since parking is not customer-​friendly at the bottom and 4) lastly — the shared washer/​dryer is an epic fail — it took an hour and a half for my clothes to dry — I got three words for that…“what the h-​ll?“
While management has no control over my last complaint — it caused me the most angst. There had to be about 15 ppl in the top unit because they had traffic up and down like a Vegas strip. It was annoying as hell to hear all that ruckus and people going up and down the stairs, moving furniture, what-​the-​hell-​ever they were doing… but if you decide to visit Westgate — ask for the top unit if it accommodates you because the walls are paper thin and that shit ain’t fun when people run in and out and up and down when you are trying to relax. (This is what I wanted to say to them: «Sit the hell down people and stop running — you on vacation — why you in a hurry? Dayum ppl.» But I didn’t since it was Easter weekend… lol)
Nonetheless, enjoy your vacation here… you’re gonna love it. No other place in Gatlinburg compares to this experience. The staff here is very responsive. I stayed three nights as part of a timeshare promotion but I could’ve stayed another week and been completely content. I would visit it over and over again!!!

We travel a bit, and I liken myself to be a semiprofessional amateur travel planner. When we decided to visit Gatlinburg, I remembered hearing not to stay at Wilderness at the Smokies, because the water park was very loud. I chose the next nicest resort that could fit our needs, based off Orbitz reviews. Our 2 BR, 2 BA villa isn’t terrible, except for the thin walls, floors, and ceilings. You see, thrice this week I’ve had to meet the neighbors above us and request that they stop walking on their heels at night. Tonigh, on our last night here, a family rolled in around 12:45, loudly unloading into the room and proceeded to do 2 loads of laundry and throw what spunded like a dance party. Here it is, nearly 2a.m. and I can’t sleep. If I fall asleep at the wheel tomorrow, I hope this lady and her kids feel bad for keeping us up.
You wanted a hotel review so let’s discuss. First, Westgate is a time share property with pushy sales staff. If you simply request not to be solicited upon check in, they wont. The staff is eveywhere, in their golf carts, wearing their Ranger Rick uniforms. If you dial 1234, the concierge staff will answ we any questions you have. If your phone blinks incessantly, press #0 to hear a message about some in campus activity uou may attend for a low price. Press 2 to delete.
The bathrooms come with starchy white towels and this lime — concentrate scented shampoo and conditioner. Bring your own.
The rooms do come with lots of TVs, but few channels that work, and none in HD. WiFi is a joke. Free of charge, however what you get is just an extender and even those don’t work. Certain websites are blocked, like
, which I find inappropriate on their part.
The sofas are comfy. The beds are alright, with good soft pillows.
We enjoyed the water park, 3 of our 5 days here, as well as the hot tub and pool outdoors. The pool and Wild Bear Falls water park give it 2 stars. The food is too fatty and carbohydrate laden, true tobthe region but horible for our health and energy levels. Overpriced for what it was. Even my kids asked what was wrong with the microwaved grilled chicken in their sandwiches.
Leave the hotel to have the most fun. Try Foxfire Mountain and their friendly staff for an outdoor adventure in the mountains.
Some advice to hotel owners and management: stay at other fine hotel chains and see how they do it. You may learn something.

So, we come to Gatlinburg for our anniversary and after our first night we go to breakfast. We get approached by a woman with brownish-​black teeth, asking if we’d like to go to a presentation for about an hour and a half for free tickets so a show. I politely declined and headed to the next store.
Upon entering this store, another woman seemed friendly enough, she offered to take a few pictures of Jabari & I. told us what to make sure we saw… then she pounced on us like a tiger would its prey. I was tempted to tell her I wasn’t interested again until she mentioned a free couple’s massage or $ 100 with a certificate for 3 days and 2 nights stay of our choosing from their list of options.
We decided to go just for the incentives. After, the hour presentation, Renee told us the cabin was $ 856+ a month and we declined. So, they brought out the sales manager who found out I was in the army and gave me this bottom deal that costed $ 134 a month. I dont need to add another bill but it almost sounded worth getting. Then… I get on Unilocal!These reviews are horrible. Plus, we Googled the business and their overall rating after hundreds of reviews was 1 star.
No way, Jose! So, after her telling us they don’t do high pressure sales and she gets paid either way, she becomes extra pushy and mad when we decline the offer and politely ask for our $ 100 and the gift certificate for our future stay.
Then, another man comes out with another deal and by now, I’m annoyed. Vultures! I said NO. Plus, I just wanted the incentives. Never sit through West Gate presentation. The incentives were good but hell… lol.
DON’T LET THESE FOLKS SCAM YOU! Say, «No!» from the gate, grab the $ 100 & run!

I’m not an owner and unlike a lot of the other reviews from non-​owners I wasn’t bombarded with pitches and hoaxes to join the ranks.
The room was comfortable, very clean and well stocked with cooking items and the bed was fantastic. The noise from the highway was subdued and I didn’t hear anything from neighboring rooms and the place was booked full (Thanksgiving weekend). The staff was EVERYWHERE and very helpful/​accommodating. The views were outstanding but the walks to the pools were long and cold as its not the type of resort that is all connected. We had our three boys with us and they greatly enjoyed the heated outdoor pool and the indoor water park. The food in the primary restaurant was very good and ordered a lot of it. The price of the water park should really be included in the price of the rooms at $ 250 a night (a little pricey).
To those that reviewed and had a hard time with the time share sales pitch… Jesus…grow a pair and say NO!

We arrived 2014-​09-​29 06:01 update. This review will be edited throughout the week based on our experience. So far the below is based on 2.5 days.
There seem to be two classes of Citizens here. Owners, and Non-​Owners. Owners are prioritized, get the best rooms, the best service, and are at the top of every list. Then the non-​owners you get the bad rooms, face an hours long wait for any request, and have to pay fees.
The staff, which there is a lot of, will always be friendly to your face, but seems to use the above as their guiding principle. It’s easy to say something, but wait and see what they actually do, and how long it takes.
If you are interested in an owner experience, you’ll have to read one of the other 2 reviews by owners. This is another non-​owner review. If you are considering coming here via timeshare exchange, or internet booking, this review will be for you.
The WiFi is free (maybe because we are a timeshare exchange), but about 300baud. It’s faster to use whatever internet you have on your cell phone. I confirm the walls are paper thin. If you want to be able to sleep, this is not the location for you. You are a slave to the schedules of all the adjoining units.
As far as cell coverage, T-​Mobile & AT&T barely make it here, but both are LTE, at least in the front of our unit. In the back, we lost signal.
The safe in our unit was near end of life, and there were no directions. We had to call, and they had to send someone out to show us, they couldn’t just give us directions. After two tries, someone did come, and they determined it wasn’t working right, it was end of life, but did show us a work around. We have to SLAM the door very hard to get it to lock.
Work in progress