Westgate Flamingo Bay Resort — Hotel in Spring Valley

Absolutely frightful! My children and I are owners of a two bedroom deluxe with a loft villa at Westgate Vacation Villas Resorts in Orlando, Florida. I traded our larger unit for what they call a two bedroom deluxe at Westgate Flamingo Bay Resort. When my son and I checked in, the staff immediately tried to schedule us for a presentation. This trip was my son's birthday present. And we did not fly across country to sit through any presentation wasting our and their time.

The gentleman who escorted us to the unit was nice and informative. He was my point of contact throughout our stay for our filthy unit and my SCORPION bite. I would like to say that the resort is located on a busy main street. Since our unit was located on the front of the resort, the traffic noise was unbearable especially for a light sleeper.

Upon entry to our unit it looked clean and fairly recently remodeled. However, as we started looking around the unit it had not been throughly cleaned or vacuumed. Someone previously had a party in there and attached double-sided tape on the overhead light fixtures and curtain rods. Black circular confetti was everywhere. There were straggler ants crawling along the wall by the thermostat. My son has OCD and immediately investigated the source. Behind the dryer beside the water heater was a pile of garbage... An empty family size Nabisco Chips Ahoy! Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies empty wrapper, miscellaneous junk, dust and dirt balls, and utensils. As we continued to walk through the unit, the oven was filthy so I decided to clean it with the self clean mode. Mistake! Our eyes burned and watered for several hours. The washing machine and the dishwasher had a permanent dirty residue. No one had ever cleaned either appliance. And their laundry and dishwasher soap were useless.

We wiped everything... all of the furniture in the kitchen, dining area, living room, bedrooms, especially the dirty phones. Yuck! There was no vacuum cleaner available and the dirty rugs needed vacuuming. We thoroughly cleaned the bathroom. Surprisingly, the whirlpool tub was cleaner than expected but it was thoroughly cleaned again. The frame of the bed had a collection of dust, plastic drink tops, broken clear/white plastic barbs (fasteners to hold item's price tags), coins, and anything lost. The TVs were antiquated with no built-in apps or AirPlay. They were wall mounted. However, there was no way to access the HDMI ports to use an external device. Next to the TV there were glass shelves with wall outlets with USB ports which was accessible and convenient. However, there was no HDMI Hub.

Five days into our week's vacation, I decided not to wear my sneakers. I picked up one of my black boots, shook it out as always, and put it on my foot. As I pick up my other boot, there was intense pain, numbness, and slight swelling. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? I dropped the boot and ran to the sink to rinse the blood and venom off my finger. My son saw the scorpion crawling towards the curtain in the master bedroom and stomped it. We left the dead scorpion in place so the housekeeper could see it. My son drove me to the urgent care down the street. They sent me to the Health Department. They sent me to UMC Hospital. A wasted day! I called the gentlemen who escorted us to the unit to inform him about the incident. Not once did he tell me to report it to security to make an incident report. He was still trying to get me to sit through a presentation.

On Friday morning we had planned to check out early and drive to Southern CA. However, it snowed in SoCal and Interstate 15 was shut down. We ended up staying for two additional night at the owners' rate of $338.16 per night for the same unit! A ripoff because we cleaned that unit and didn't want to chance cleaning another...

If I could give this a 0 star I would. If you are looking for the opulence and glam of Vegas, SEARCH ELSEWHERE. At the very least, don't allow them to stick you in a unit that hasn't been renovated. Not only were we in an old and outdated unit, but it wasn't even clean.

This place is not close to the strip. Definitely not within walking distance. If you enjoy moving about without having to rely on Uber, their courtesy shuttle, etc; my suggestion would be to rent a vehicle.

When you first check in they will present this 90 minute tour of their new Westgate Casino hotel downtown in a manner where it almost appears mandatory. The reward will be a choice of shows you can pick through. If they mention this, RUN!

If I could do it over again, I would have immediately taken myself to a hotel. If one weren't available, I would have strongly considered a homeless shelter or a few days living in a car. The tour is MORE than 90 minutes. The breakfast they give you is crummy. Don't expect to eat these powdered eggs in peace. They will immediately begin to sell you a timeshare. Keep in mind that while listening to his presentation, all we can think about is the awful, despicable, and filthy unit that we're currently in. So we have proof already that their claims of always having top quality have been nowhere near our experience. I mean, who turns on a faucet with the expectation that a knob should fall off, or come back from a long day of sightseeing or travel to flip back the covers on the bed to find dirty, stained sheets?

As the wretched and long tour comes to a close, I mention the aforementioned reasons as to why I would NEVER purchase this new timeshare. Our initial tour guide Juan was decent. Things took a downhill spin when he brought Cedric over. Not only was he rude and lacing in how to formulate a basic argument, but he attempted to be demeaning as well. If you read further, you will probably understand why I left the table in the middle of him arguing back at me.

After recounting my experience in their property a second time to Cedric, he proceeds to tell us there is a difference between coach and first class. And our experience is what we could expect for the timeshare we chose. Me: Are you saying it is Westgate's position that their properties, regardless of cost, shouldn't even be clean? Cedric: There's a difference between coach and first class. Me: You don't work for the airlines--- Cedric: I work for the world Me: But your shirt says Westgate Concierge. And even in a coach seat, at the very minimum there is no trash in the seats and the seatbelts work because there is a minimum standard of care.

He never answered the question, but rather went into false equivalent based arguments using fallacious ad hominem tactics. Nevertheless, it was at this point that he turns toward Juan and says, "Oh, they're here for the free tickets right." I got up from my seat right then and immediately went to see his manager. For someone who is, by his own admission, making an hourly rate, it is hardly becoming that he would attempt to shame potential buyers and current guests of Westgate.

Even after telling these people that you're not interested, they will force you to choose an option to give you numbers of how much it would cost. They will then bring over yet another person to try to talk to you. It just got ridiculous. NEVER AGAIN! The whole thing was a sham and has cast such a tarnished image...

So for our 20 year anniversary (July) we planned a trip a little further than driving distance from our home in SC. We chose Westgate Flamingo Bay in Las Vegas, NV after asking on here for opinions of the 2 options in Vegas…..from a Westgate FB page. thanks. By far it was the right fit for us. It is a small resort off strip that is gated. Rooms were clean and nice. Furniture was not worn out or broke like we often find in Gatlinburg. Grounds were super nice with basic amenities. There was one pool and hot tub that was extremely clean unlike many of the other resorts we have stayed at. We rented a car so we were able to travel to areas other than the the strip and Fremont st. There is a shuttle which can be a little confusing and you have to sign up due to limiting seating but we had no issues getting the times we wanted. Pick up times were spaced every 2 hours and they leave promptly. We are not gamblers so our time was spent sight seeing. Red rock canyon was 20 minutes away we spent better part of the day hiking there and driving the loop. We went to the Westgate casino and checked out some of that resort and watched a magic show. The show was pretty cheap due to being on Westgate property. We have seen better magic acts but she did use a lot of audience participation. The west rim Grand Canyon was pricey but we loved it. We were there for the views and not the post and likes so it was right up our ally of things to do. It’s a ride if driving but there are several tours from Las Vegas if you don’t have a rental. On the way we stopped at Lake Mead overlook and it’s impressive how low it is. Hoover Dam was a stop that we did. It was neat but chose not to do the tour . So to food , our love lol. First day we were beat so after checking in found Spice Indian Cuisine which was a buffet and very good and right down the street and next to Smiths grocery. Sakana Sushi was another place we tried, had to go twice just to insure we liked it so much the first time. It’s an all you can eat off the menu in a 90 minute span at a reasonable price. There are rules to ordering and they will let you know all that upon ordering. On the strip we had to do In & Out Burger. It was inexpensive and good. Food possibilities are endless without breaking the bank and I suggest doing research before coming. We really wanted to the Sugar Factory but it was just too long of a walk on the strip and several locations were closed permanently. Last but not least , we are from the south where southern hospitality is our specialty, but everyone we met here was over the top nice and accommodating. Especially at the resort. This is something that has dwindled to almost non existent at WGSM. Everyone here at Flamingo Bay were proud to be here and it showed. We were poked and prodded by the concierge at check in and she was persistent about scheduling us although we told her several times no. We notified her again the morning of that we wouldn’t be showing. Overall, if you want more laid back choose Flamingo Bay. If you want gambling and crowds choose Westgate Casino. Choose Fremont St over the strip ANY DAY….trust me, you will thank me for that tidbit of info!!!! Don’t limit yourself to experiencing just the overpriced strip , venture out . Last but not least, Vegas has more to offer than just Gambling. A week was not enough time to take it all in. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, experience...