Westgate Blue Tree Resort — Hotel in Dr. Phillips

We were in a 2-bedroom owners condo and enjoyed ourselves. Definitely roomier than the 1-bedroom and has a lot more storage options.

Resort Pros: Lots to do. Several pools to choose from, all within easy walking distance. Daily scheduled activities (some free, some cheap). Putput & other activities that are great for kids (you only need to leave your ID at the front to get the equipment). Kitchen has the basics that make it easy to cook in the unit instead of going out all the time. We were offered a pack and play for our toddler (who can sleep in a toddler bed but not a full-size one yet, esp not with a tile floor), so that was one less thing we had to pack. The staff was incredibly helpful and made a lot of aspects of our trip go smoother than they would have otherwise. For quicker questions, we just dialed 0 on the room phone to call the front desk, and for bigger ones, we went to the front office. Even with the construction, it was easy to get to once we knew the lay of the land and the staff were always happy to help. The resort is also close to a lot of the fun attractions that Orlando has to offer.

Resort Cons: Wi-Fi was REALLY iffy and it was in a cellular deadzone for us; often the Wi-Fi wouldn't even show up under discoverable connections. It wasn't a massive problem at first, but as we tried to buy attraction tickets, research beach conditions, etc it became a real nuissance. I'm really glad I didn't have any work to do during my stay else it would have been impossible. They also don't include enough dishes for the unit. There were only enough dishes for 5-6 so we had to make sure to wash dishes between each meal; there were only 5 of us so it ended up ok but would have been unmanageable if we had had a full unit. The normal activities were well-advertised but we only found out about the special 4th of July activities going on at the end of our stay because we stumbled upon a posting of them. There also wasn't a huge discount on the paid activities for owners (only $1-3 and we really thought the discount would have been more for owners vs guests).

Still though, a great resort. We are already planning out our trip...

My parents have owned a time share here for more than 2 decades. Sometimes it can be nice vacationing at a place one is familiar with. A) there are 2 separate bedrooms and bathrooms, a decent kitchen and dining area b) a washing machine and dryer in your unit c) they have cribs and high chairs that you can loan. D) plentiful parking near your unit. However there are some severe shortcomings that make me consider pushing my parents to sell and travel/stay elsewhere. A) there are no elevators so you have to hull your luggage and bags up the stairs. While it's only 2 stories when you have children and luggage, this gets annoying quick. The most annoying shortcoming is that check out time is 10 am and they are quite rude about it. Most hotels have a 12 pm (noon) check out but not here. Here at Blue tree they called 4 times and had someone come by to talk to us. The guy who came by was very nice about it but the woman on the phone began by yelling at us to get out and was threatening to charge us..." umm okay, we cant get out the door any quicker. We are packing as quickly as we can. Then charge us." We know we are in the wrong but we seriously can not go faster while carrying a crawling toddler. Maybe give guests the option of later check out times. For $20 -$40 more I'll happily pay that so your staff don't harass me. I'm on vacation. Don't let guests last impression be that they were harassed. We ended up checking out at 10:38 am keys dropped off and receipt printed. Late but not crazy late.

The only reason they have a 10 am check out time is because they structure all their check outs on Saturday so they have limited time to clean and turn over all the suites. Why can't you allow bookings on whatever days people want, that way your cleaning staff aren't so stressed every Saturday. Considering the yearly maintenance fees I can get a 2 bedroom suite elsewhere for the same price or less that has a 12...

I primarily stay at Westgate resorts for vacations. Westgate Blue Tree advertised updated rooms with immaculate bathrooms. I stayed 2 nights in February and 2 nights in March. On our first trip, we were greeted to a dead roach in the kitchen. Upon further inspection there are roach traps under the oven. There are dips in the tiled floor in the hallways and cracked grout. Chairs are stained, though it doesn't really bother me. Patio is filthy dirty. But the worst part is that the hot water just didn't get hot enough in the shower. The bathroom was very nice and the tub was immaculate, but more warm than hot showers really bothered me. I like taking hot showers on vacation. On my second visit, similar problems arised. Stained chairs. The same dip in same place in the hallway with cracked grout, that made me laugh. The water did get hot, but it would run out. The immaculate tub, which we paid an extra $50/night to have, had a slow leak. You couldn't actually fill the tub up all the way. And the hot water would run out while you were filling the tub. I ended up using some laminate paper and a small pot lid to cover the drain completely so that I could fill the tub. And then I boiled some water to add to make it hot. I know this all sounds so ridiculous but I was doing my best to enjoy time off work. Repacking and moving to a new room to unpack again to who knows - I didn't care for the game. The arcade is pretty terrible and I don't think you could actually win the crane games. One just took my money and reset itself and the other I tried to win a Paw Patrol plush but I put in $15 and the crane was still limp and wouldn't grab anything. Staff is nice and they accommodated late check out both visits. All in all, I will continue to visit Westgate Lakes and the others, but I am embarrassed about the money I spent here and couldn't imagine...