Westgate Town Center Resort, Kissimmee, FL

I had long looked forward to our vacation last week at the Westgate Town Center Resort in Kissimmee, Florida, with the lovely Robin and our daughter, son-in-law, and three of our five grandchildren. We arrived a week ago Saturday and found the main building (see photos above and below) and check-in process to be what we have come to expect of Westgate, based on our experience at our "home resort" in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Our two-bedroom unit (see photos below) was spacious and Calleigh and Ryder ran through every room with the excitement of a kid at Christmas.

Unfortunately, our experience at this resort was not up to par with what we've come to expect from our regular vacations in Gatlinburg. We found out from our eight-month-old granddaughter's dirty feet and legs that the floors weren't clean.  And when we called to ask for someone to clean our floors, we were told there would be a charge if they came to do so before midweek. So we waited until midweek, and even then, had to call them back later in the day to insist that the floors be mopped.

We discovered at the end of our second day that the hundreds of dollars of groceries we'd put in the refrigerator were frozen solid, and most had to be thrown out (and the control indicator light was broken). Though that was soon repaired, the freezer failed to keep our ice cream from melting. A few other things mitigated our comfort and enjoyment of the week.

Still, I enjoyed my breakfasts on the balcony (above), and we rested well and the trip to Disney World was short. And the grandkids loved the pool where they spent most of Wednesday (while their Mom and Dad visited the Universal theme park).

Maybe I've just been spoiled by the excellence of the Westgate experience in Gatlinburg. Or maybe the demand for the Kissimmee resort is such that they don't have to achieve or maintain the same standards. In any case, we had a wonderful week with the eastern branch of our family, one that makes us look forward even more to a similar week someday (at Disneyland, maybe?) with our western contingent.