Westgate Lakes Resort & Spa Universal Studios Area

785 reviews

• 1

  156uncles

  Family · Apr 2026

  2/10

  DO NOT BOOK BEFORE READING THIS REVIEW!

  As a business owner myself, I don’t like leaving bad reviews at all. However, I do think I would be doing an injustice to families who are considering coming here and spending their hard-earned money on a vacation they’ve been waiting all year for. Sometimes a family only gets one vacation every couple of years because times are tough, so I want to make sure I share my experience. I’ll start with the positives. The check-in process was smooth, and the attendant was nice. The bellmen were also friendly and brought our bags to the room and shuttled us to our building. They also have a nice gym, which I used every day. Now onto the negatives. When we first checked in, we told the front desk that it was just me and my wife and asked if we could be placed in a quieter area. The first room we were given was actually very nice. It had wooden furniture, was clean, and felt spacious. However, it had a connecting door, and before we could even unpack, there was a child in the next room screaming extremely loudly. It was so loud that it sounded like he was in our room. I knew immediately that this would be an issue, so since we hadn’t touched anything yet, I called the front desk and asked to be relocated. They did accommodate us, which is another positive, but the next room was not as nice. You could tell from the layout that it used to be one room that was split into two. It was smaller, the furniture was lower quality, and the AC vent was extremely loud (more on that later). This was room 2233B. There was also coffee in the room but no coffee maker, and oddly enough, there was an empty coffee box outside the room. About three days into our stay, we got new neighbors who were smoking marijuana at night. To try and hide it, they were spraying a very strong citrus-scented chemical. That smell made its way through the vent system into our room. It was so potent that we could barely breathe, and at first we had no idea what was going on. We called the front desk the next day after losing a night of sleep. They told us to call again if it happened, which we did the following night. Security came and acknowledged the smell, but since it wasn’t technically smoke, the only solution offered was to move us again. We didn’t want to move, but we had no choice since we needed rest before traveling the next day. This leads me to the type of clientele this resort tends to attract, likely due to the discounted rates compared to other resorts in the area. There were a lot of guests who were loud, used profanity freely, and showed little regard for others. Marijuana use seemed common throughout the property. While there were certainly normal, respectful guests as well, the disruptive behavior was frequent enough to noticeably impact the experience. Now let’s talk about the Wi-Fi. There basically isn’t any. I contacted the front desk about poor reception, and they gave me a tech support number. I ended up opening three service tickets with their provider. Twice, I was told a service manager would call me back, and that never happened. If you need reliable Wi-Fi, you should strongly reconsider booking here. That alone would be enough for me to give this place a one-star rating. The washing machine on our floor also didn’t work properly. At the end of the cycle, our clothes were still soaking wet. We had to wring them out by hand and then run the dryer for about three hours. In addition to the constant marijuana smell, there was also a foul, sewer-like odor in certain areas of the property. I later saw that other guests mentioned this in their reviews as well. The fuse for our refrigerator outlet also blew, which caused us to lose our leftovers. To their credit, maintenance was responsive and sent an electrician the next day, who determined it was a blown GFCI. There is an adults-only pool, which was a bit of a walk from our room. We didn’t mind the walk, although there is a shuttle that runs about every 20 minutes. However, there is no enforcement of the “adults-only” policy. We saw children in that pool as well. There are also no lifeguards on the property, so keep that in mind if you have kids. They have a café called Sid’s Bistro, but it is severely understaffed. If you want coffee, expect to wait at least an hour. I thought it might have just been busy on the first day, but it was like that every single day. I felt bad for the few employees working because they were clearly overwhelmed. The demand is there, but many people end up leaving the line because of the wait. It would honestly be faster to make coffee in your room (if you have a coffee maker, which we didn’t) or take an Uber to a nearby coffee shop. Also, after 12 PM, you can’t even order a bagel because they consider that breakfast only. Next to Sid’s is the main lobby, which is constantly filled with salespeople trying to sell timeshares. If you’re into people-watching, it’s actually interesting to see the different sales styles, but it also adds to the overall atmosphere. Watching them pitch the property while there’s chaos happening around them is, at times, hard to take seriously. I wish I had more positive things to say, but the reality is this: if you’re considering this place because the price looks attractive, think twice. You’re likely better off staying at a simple business hotel with a pool. This property is extremely crowded, and if what you’re looking for is rest and relaxation, this is not the place to find it.

• 6

  680ryand

  Family · Apr 2026

  8/10

  Don't listen to bad reviews

  While reading many negative reviews leading up to this trip I got worried. So now let me give my review. I'm a human not a bot. Lets address some prior listed concerns....cleanliness? Its a beautiful resort. The grounds are well kept and my room (Deluxe Villa 1 Bedroom) was perfectly clean. A little outdated yes, but irrelevant. Lots of space in the room. I mean LOTS. Location was 12-25 mins from Universal/Disney Seaworld PENDING TIME AND TRAFFIC. Parking, yes after 9/10pm it is BRUTAL. There just is not enough parking near the buildings your room is in. That is one of my only 2 complaints. The other being getting around the resort. Yes there are shuttles but hard to find and appears to not have a real set schedule. Mini mart is very expensive but there is a publix down the street. The sports bar Drafts has REALLY good food. Arcade is expensive and the free cards they give you are enough for ONE swipe of the cheapest game so don't get excited lol. Waterpark is a good value for the money. Small but clean. Get there early if you want a chair. Staff is friendly. I did have to call maintenance once as there were ants on the porch but its Florida so deal with it. Overall i enjoyed the resort and would return

• W

  Wanderer43345143625

  Family · Apr 2026

  2/10

  Awful before we’re even checked in

  Awful and dishonest customer service before we’re even checked in. Don’t come here expecting you’re actually going to get your room at check in time. Waiting indefinitely at this point after a 20 hour car drive.

• 3

  392vika

  Family · Mar 2026

  2/10

  Do not trust them - they are dishonest and disappointing!!

  Paid in advance for a 2-day Universal package, including Park-to-Park Hopper and Epic Universe tickets, and provided all required guest details upfront. We were told the tickets would be ready when payment was received, but on arrival we were made to wait until the next day. Then a “90-minute” timeshare presentation dragged on for nearly 4 hours. When we finally got our tickets, they gave us base tickets instead of hopper tickets and said they didn’t have what we paid for. The only option offered was a refund. We came to Orlando for the parks and were completely cheated out of our time and money. DO NOT TRUST THEM!!

• G

  Global33374341416

  Family · Mar 2026

  2/10

  No room access

  Could not access room for the entire time we were there key cars were given, but didn’t work, had to wait until about 2:30 in the morning to actually have someone come to open the door for us, change the keys once again still did not work, manager was right there front of us, but was too busy trying to sell property instead of helping us, requested a refund which I normally never do and was denied completely, even though we technically had a pretty much sleep outside instead of the room