Westgate Resorts

A Westgate Resorts timeshare is usually a deeded, fixed-week ownership: you buy a recorded real estate interest in a specific unit for the same week each year, then pay an annual maintenance fee for as long as you hold it. You can use the week, exchange it, or pass it to an heir.

How does a Westgate timeshare work?

Westgate Resorts is a timeshare developer headquartered in Orlando, Florida, founded in 1982 by David Siegel and operated as part of Central Florida Investments. On its official site, the company describes itself as the largest privately held timeshare resort club in the world, with a portfolio of more than 60 resort properties. Most of what Westgate sells is vacation ownership at those resorts, sold to consumers through on-site sales presentations and the company's marketing channels.

When you buy, you receive a long-term right to vacation time at a resort. Westgate's traditional product is a deeded interest, which works like other real property: it is recorded in your name, it carries an annual maintenance obligation, and it can be sold, gifted, or left in a will. To understand how this differs from a use-rights or club structure, see our explainers on buying a timeshare and how timeshare points work.

What is Westgate's fixed-week model?

A fixed week means your ownership is tied to one numbered week of the calendar year at one resort, and that is the week you have the right to use each year. This is different from a floating week, where you reserve within a season subject to availability, and from a pure points program, where you draw on an annual allotment to book stays. Westgate's deeded fixed-week interest is the core of its traditional offering, and the company has more recently added a points-based vacation club, VI Resorts by Westgate, to its portfolio. Because a fixed week is recorded as a real property interest, it stays in your name until you sell it, give it away, or otherwise transfer it.

What does a Westgate timeshare cost?

The cost of any timeshare has two parts: an upfront purchase price paid to the developer, and a recurring annual maintenance fee. Industry-wide, the upfront figure is large: $23,160 average timeshare purchase price in 2024. The yearly fee is the part owners carry for the life of the ownership: $1,480 average annual maintenance fee in 2024, up 17.5% in one year. Westgate's own published materials note that maintenance fees fund resort operations, staffing, insurance, and upkeep, and like most developers it bills the fee every year whether or not you use the resort. Your specific Westgate figures depend on the resort, the unit size, the season, and your financing, so confirm them on your own contract and current statement. The general picture is in our guides to timeshare cost and timeshare maintenance fees.

What documented complaints and disputes exist?

Large timeshare developers commonly attract consumer disputes, and Westgate is no exception, but the standard for naming one on this page is a primary public record. In a Federal Trade Commission enforcement action announced in January 2009, the Department of Justice, acting for the FTC, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, against Central Florida Investments, Inc., Westgate Resorts, Ltd., and CFI Sales & Marketing, LLC. The FTC alleged the companies called consumers whose numbers were on the National Do Not Call Registry without the required consent or established business relationship. Under the settlement, the defendants agreed to pay a civil penalty of $900,000. That is the documented record we report here.

Beyond a specific record like that, consumer reviews and complaint volumes on third-party sites are not, by themselves, proof of wrongdoing, so we do not present them as such. If you have a concern about your own purchase, the most reliable next step is to read your contract and, where applicable, your state's protections, then act on the rights you actually have rather than on a review you read.

How do you get out of a Westgate timeshare?

Exiting a deeded timeshare generally means a transfer back to the developer, a resale, or another lawful relinquishment, and the right path depends on your loan balance and whether your account is current. We do not cover the full process here. For every legitimate option, how each one affects your credit, and how to vet any company before paying a fee, see our complete guide to getting out of a timeshare.

What are your rights if you were misled?

If you believe a sale involved misrepresentation, you may have remedies under your contract and under state and federal consumer-protection law, including the rescission period that lets you cancel a new timeshare contract within a state-set window. The specifics, and how to document a claim, are covered in our guide to timeshare contract fraud and your rights. You can also compare timeshare brands to see where Westgate sits among major developers.

Sources

Westgate Resorts, official company information on its ownership model, founding (1982, David Siegel), parent company Central Florida Investments, and portfolio of more than 60 resort properties (westgateresorts.com/about), reviewed June 2026. Resort counts, the ownership model, and current fees can change, so confirm details on your own contract and statement and on the official site. U.S. Federal Trade Commission, announcement of Do Not Call settlements, January 2009, naming Central Florida Investments, Inc., Westgate Resorts, Ltd., and CFI Sales & Marketing, LLC, with a $900,000 civil penalty; complaint filed by the Department of Justice for the FTC in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, on January 15, 2009 (ftc.gov), reviewed June 2026. ARDA, State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry (2025 edition, 2024 data), for the industry-wide average purchase price and average annual maintenance fee (arda.org), reviewed June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.