As far as entertainment goes we had fun and there is plenty to do for a short stay. A few things to watch out for and know up front. Once you’re on property they know there is nothing close by so prices on everything are premium. When we showed up we were told we were VIP and we would get a free golf cart or tickets to the rodeo. However, there’s a catch you have to attend a 90 min sales presentation for Westgate time share sales. When I showed up for the tour my wife was attending church (Sunday morning at 9 am) and we had plans for the rest of the day, they did try to find another time, but our schedule did not allow it. I offered to stay and take the tour/sales pitch (I was actually interested) they immediately used the free golf cart as collateral to get both of us in the presentation. Long story short, attitudes turned sour really quick. I never asked for the free golf cart and didn’t mind paying for it but the way it was handled could use a little work. The paperwork did say we both had to be there in their defense, but it could have been handled a bit friendlier, I also noticed that a lot of the workers were indifferent and didn’t have the best attitudes, although there was a few folks that showed some real enthusiasm (most of the tour guides were great). I would say to Westgate they need to work on training their employees, we are paying a premium so service with a smile is expected. They did end up billing me for the golf cart.

This could have been an easy 5-star review. The farm/location is great, offering many activities for kids. However, the staff was terrible, constantly instructing us not to sit on the grass or in common areas, creating a hostile atmosphere. Our group of four families with approximately ten kids felt unwelcome. We were sold expensive firewood for $120, only to be told fires were restricted to a distant marina area, a 4-minute drive from our rooms, and we couldn't return the wood. Despite being informed of a BBQ area near the rooms, we discovered it's only available in specific rooms or in a less desirable location by the marina parking lot, surrounded by trash. Additionally, the resort fees didn't cover much, as almost every activity incurred extra costs, including access to the basic farm area, which was $25 per adult and $20 per child. For a family of four, this meant $100 just to use the playground, inclusive of taxes. The rooms, priced at $200 per night after fees and taxes, were satisfactory but lacked amenities like a BBQ area or fire pit. We were relegated to sitting on the grass near the parking lot. Given these restrictions, one might consider staying elsewhere unless willing to pay $700 per night for a "luxury" tent to fully enjoy the natural setting. The petting farm was a highlight, yet it was understaffed, and feeding the animals wasn't an option. I won't be returning and find this experience to be of extremely low value for money. I do not recommend this farm to families seeking a camping experience in nature.

Rooms could be clean and updated. Staff was not wanted to work and Rodeo show was very good. Rooms and bathrooms were old it needs to be updated also prices are high it does not deserve to spend your money for this resort. For family and outdoor vacation, this resort is good option but get ready for long waiting times in front of the stores. I never come back again

Everything on this resort cost money. I’ve been to resorts and the same thing was true. But not at these prices. It’s a nice resort and a clean resort but not a whole lot to do if you’re not willing to spend a couple hundred dollars every few hours. Particularly the swamp buggy ride. Between two families we spent $400. Only to find out they don’t guarantee any swamp. So you’re basically taking a ride around a whole bunch of grasslands that are dry. It is the most ridiculous activity I have ever been on. When I asked for some type of compensation Lisa the manager refused to acknowledge that we never were aware there was no water involved in the swamp ride. She continued to talk about the vehicle is used in other excursions like mountain rides. We had no idea that we were in charge of doing our own research when deciding to spend money to go on a swamp ride where you’re not actually in a swamp. It’s really less about the activity and more about how management handled it. Lisa was super condescending and snarky. Soon, there will be no customers because of our economy, so you would think it is important to keep who you have happy.

We went for Thanksgiving break. The grounds have a lot of fun things for kids. My son enjoyed being able to bike, fish, see the animals, and play in the adventure park (especially the climbing wall). The pool was heated and had a hot tub we enjoyed. It was nice to have the general store and little shops. We had a little trouble with getting lunch due to limited staff and it happened to be the only place open that day. We were able to get stuff to make lunch from the general store. I spoke with the food and service manager named Cabot and he more than made up for the inconvenience at dinner. It was very refreshing to have someone care about customer satisfaction and service. We had an excellent server named Debbie who was very attentive and sweet. Overall, we had a wonderful time and next time would just come with snacks in case of any snags in plans. We understand staffing has been problems on many of our recent trips all over the place. It was decorated very nicely for the holidays as well :)

We were so excited for our rodeo experience and pffffff, front desk lady not friendly, the room they gave us wasn’t ready for us, (they give us another very fast), everything was closed until Thursday’s, I which I would know that before …if you are going with kids please check the schedule and time for the activities. The best thing we did was the horse riding. At the end we decided to do an early check out, very boring for us.

We had our first family camping experience here at Westgate River Ranch with our 1 y/o son. This review is for anyone considering camping with a toddler. We chose the platform camping which was great. The tent was big enough for a queen size air mattress and his pack & play and a bunch of space to spare. Plenty of activities for us to fill our day with which was great. Other campers were (for the majority) all great. My complaint is the location of the platform camping is so close to the main road going through the property. This was a weekend experience and it seems there is quite a party atmosphere going on which does not seem to be regulated at all. There were people being loud late into the night / early into the morning. Car lights constantly shining into the tent. There was some sort of crash on the road at some point and people hollering. This occurred both nights we spent here. I would say it is not a family friendly camping atmosphere for this reason. Our friends who chose to stay in rooms had similar issues with people coming to and from the saloon bar/restaurant. It was a fun weekend but, we had to endure hardships at night which if I can help anyone be prepared for then the review served its purpose.

Immaculately kept. Beautiful country surroundings with a dude ranch atmosphere. Huge pool that is heated in winter! The staff couldn’t be nicer. Great place to ride bikes. We took a 17 mile ride along the river without ever having to ride on public street. Of course being a dude ranch there’s a rodeo every Saturday, beautiful horses everywhere you look, cattle, a petting zoo, multiple restaurants, lots for children to do and even a stocked fishing pond. We stayed a month and will come back next winter!

So disappointed when we went to the Ranch this past weekend. The Rodeo has been turned into a one man show in a 3 piece suit. He didn’t belong there. He was so unorganized and literally danced through the rodeo in the arena the entire time. No one came to see him act that way. He told people to not stand up during the opening and just observe. The man that normally does the rodeo is amazing. This guy didn’t talk about the Florida cowboy one time, didn’t tell you the history of the ranch. He just tooted his own horn with every word out of his mouth. and danced around like he owned the place. He at one point danced very inappropriately. I understand that things changed but this is not a good look for WestGate or the Ranch. My family has been coming there for the last 8 years and this was the worst rodeo show we have ever seen. Very disappointed. As for the new restaurant it was a huge letdown as well. We have been there 7 times since June and the food was amazing every single time. The service has always been slow. But when you’re waiting for amazing food it’s worth it. They changed the entire menu and removed all of the amazing entrees. They removed the signature drink and they lost our reservation after we confirmed it though open table. They still have the old menu on Open table as well. I hope they can get their act together because this is one of our favorite places to go. Very rude customer service in the lobby to buy rodeo tickets Saturday morning. Tori in the Marina was amazing and incredibly helpful. Angel and Chanel in the Smokehouse restaurant were so friendly and very helpful as well. The breakfast buffet on Sunday morning was delicious. And the air it captain was full of knowledge and gave us a great ride!!

This place is a total rip off. They nickel and dime you for EVERYTHING once you arrive. They're understaffed, and the staff they do have act like they'd rather be literally anywhere else, and aren't knowledgeable about the resort they work at. And to top it off, our room was pathetic. We paid $900/night for what looked like a run down college apartment. One of the beds was broken and had to be replaced while we were there, the toilets didn't flush, dryer didn't work, and just over all - the unit looked like it hadn't been updated since 1992. Nothing was included in our stay, except the most low rent petting zoo I've ever seen. I felt sorry for the animals there. Will never be going back. Next time I'll just fly to Montana and go to a real ranch -- would probably be cheaper!

Beautiful place to visit, common areas were well maintained and very relaxing environment. The Deluxe cabins were a bit on the outdated side, but it made up in charm of other areas. The staff very friendly, BUT,big but... they were EXTREMELY short staffed. Restaurants were at 10% capacity if that and waits still were 1-2h long for reservations. It was our first time and we were dependent on the food on site ( very good food ) mind you, next visit we would plan for meals instead of on site food. Entertainment was great, but make sure you schedule way ahead of time. Having very long wait times for meals, made it very hard to schedule activities ahead of time. Rodeo was amazing and fireworks were extremely well done. Overall a good experience, kids had a amazing time, could have been made excellent by having more staff assistance at restaurants and bars.

We came to do the haunted hayride. We enjoyed it. The decorations were fantastic and beautiful. Other than the hayride the rest was really for very small kids (and way too many of them). We were going to go to the saloon, but walked out ( majority of the people in there were under the age of 5 , and were let to run wild). It was very nice and staff was very friendly but this is not for adults.

Why would anyone ever come here and stay? The staff is so rude and not wanting to answer questions. The paid amenities are so over-priced and only open or available typically during the weekends only. The shops, coffee bar, ice cream again weekends only and only till 3pm. Their print outs, flyers, and website all contradict each other. The game room has some arcade games in their that are $1 each to play and the pool table is missing balls. Fishing is during the heat of the day only. Lots of golf carts on property that the drivers are either drunk at night and/or never obey stop signs. The trash is over-flowing at the dumpsters and the trash compactors are full. This would be a decent resort IF things were open 7 days a week and at least till 8pm or later. IF you need help with anything good luck their emergency line is voicemail that doesn't get answered. Only positive thing about this place is the owner lots are nicely maintained. If you are coming here with kids bring LOTS & LOTS of cash and access to lots more. The rodeo is amateur hour at $30 ticket for maybe 90 minutes. When we booked months ago they advertised on their website 4th of July fireworks, activities, etc. NOTHING! They did have fireworks on Saturday night after rodeo but that was it and everything was closed thereafter-even the activities for the kids on a holiday weekend/week. This place is a total waste of money!

I liked the room but thought it would be a little different for some reason. We stayed in the hotel part, perhaps the wagons or railcar would have been more interesting. When you check in, be prepared to wait, seemed to be a little short staffed there. Concierge was on it, we left a toothbrush at home, they delivered right to our room. They also brought us more coffee. That part of service was 5 star for sure!!! The location is great as long as you are prepared. They have 2 restaurants and the variety of food was not the greatest. I would say bring food you can microwave or can cook on a grill. They are out of the way so, if you are looking to get away from the city, this is where you need to go. Just remember, the nearest town is 26 miles, nearest gas station is 23 miles. Keep that in mind!! All in all, we had a really good time, if we go again, I will not go in July (too hot) and will bring more food with me!!

Very impressed with this beautiful RV Resort. What a hidden gem. This was our maiden voyage with our RV. We visited during the week which worked out perfect for this trip. We had a great RV site #2 under a tree. The property is very well maintained. For young families the activities are endless. For us elders, lots to do also. We brought our electric bikes. Lots of places to ride. Beautiful scenery. Very nice Chophouse on premises too!

It’s our happy place! Beautiful! Relaxed! Fun! We love visiting all of our favorite little animal friends at the petting zoo! Also had a blast in the escape room! Highly recommend as an alternative to the crowded, exhausting, fast paced theme parks!

For primitive camping: Although the grounds are nicely kept and the staff was friendly, my camping experience was disappointing. The primitive camping field was extremely crowded, and more of a party scene than a camping getaway. Cars and golf carts drove very closely to my tent at all hours of the night, several drunk people wandered close by, and lots of loud music even after the 10pm “quiet time”. My husband even called security to file a noise complaint, but as far as we know nothing was done and the music continued for several hours. Perhaps the camping experience might be better during the week instead of a weekend, but our weekend getaway here was not what we had hoped for. We will not be returning.

This is a place for family, fun and memories. We have been coming here for years and in the state of Florida it’s one of our favorite things to do. There are horses and animals everywhere. We have stayed in most of the tents, the teepees, and the hotel rooms. We absolutely loved all of them. The food there is great and my favorite part is that they have a Starbucks. There’s also a general store for you to get firewood and anything else you may forget. We didn’t leave the property the whole time, and we even brought my husband shotgun to do skeet shooting. My daughter loves the archery and especially riding the mechanical ball. This is such a fun experience and it’s good all year round.

We are extremely happy with our stay. Our tour guide Milton and Yaritza made it a great experience. Definitely recommend this place. It’s very homey and customer service is great from the moment your drive in to the moment you drive out. I would recommend renting a golf cart , gets you around pretty easy. The rodeo is also amazing. And horseback riding is a must ! Thank you West Gate. We hope to be back soon 😊

What a great resort to stay at. Went with a group of girlfriends for the weekend and had an amazing time. The Westgate Resort and ranch rodeo was such a great experience. Various ages were at the resort you can see all guests looked so happy having a great time. From the professionalism , cleanliness, amazingly fresh food, and service of the resort. I would highly recommend staying here. 'With the help of Dom at the stables and horseback riding, to Shay with hospitality, to Al at the range and the countless staff that went above and beyond helped make the weekend special. We stayed at a glam tepee it was so spacious and really comfortable. Also the rodeo was so professional and what a great show for us spectators. What a great event and dancing in the saloon gave us a fun evening on Saturday night. You can be busy all day or do just a few things. I rate this 5 stars. You wont be sorry.

We had a great time at Westgate River Ranch! The staff is super friendly and helpful. We did airboat, swamp buggy, horse riding, petting zoo, skeet shooting and the Saturday night Rodeo and would recommend to everyone. Great escape from the city! We've gone for years and this year the food was the best it has ever been. They have raised the bar as everything we ate was delicious.

Tonight is our last night, and we wish we could stay longer. We will be back for sure! From the moment we arrived, the receptionist, Tatyana, took care of us and provided us with excellent customer service. Then the staff from River Ranch Cattle Co. made the exception and took us in after closing so that our kids could eat. Debbie our server went above and beyond, even when we were not seating in her section. Andrew, from the golf cart rental was awesome! The ladies from the general store, and everyone who took care of us during our stay, did an amazing job! My family and I could not be happier with the service we received. Thanks for everything!

We went here for “Mothers Day weekend” This is a very unique place with a western vibe. We attended the rode which was really fun and entertaining. We stayed in a “Lodge guest room.” The room was decent for 4 people (3 adults and a 9 year old). There were plenty of things to do that were complimentary for owners such as bicycles to use as transportation for the during the day, Archery, petting zoo, and a catch and release pond. Just be alert while at the catch and release pond because there are some alligators that will come up and out of the water if you catch a fish. They are wanting you to give them what you catch. The one thing we did not like about this spot was the fact that most of the restaurants seems to closed during the week with the exception of the general store and the steakhouse. We stayed from “Friday to Tuesday” and there were a couple of times on Monday following Mother’s Day, that the look on some of the staff peoples face was that of “why are yall still here?” LOL. All in All, we had a great time. Not sure if we would return. We recommend that anyone who goes, to make sure to stop by a store and get a little grocery to stock your room with plenty of snacks, water, and juice.

Where is the shade Westgate??? It's a feels like of 105° right now. (July 2023) Fishing hole= no shade, Archery= no shade, Skeet and Airgun shooting - yep, baking in the sun for a lot of money. I've never been to a range that didn't offer shade where you stand to shoot. There's only one restaurant so bring ALL of the food you need for your stay if you are camping, a grocery store is 35 minutes away. *The River Ranch campground that is not near the church is very nice and shaded. The rodeo is great! Get there early! It seems like everything is only open on Saturday though. (?)

We went in the low season. They only had 2 servers for an entire restaurant, and it took over an hour hour get our food. Our appetizer was close to cold, and it was a fried deviled eggs. I do not blame the servers. This was clearly a managerial problem. They were out of croissants for breakfast, so we were left with biscuit sandwiches for breakfast and no butter. This is supposed to be a high-level ranch, but the way it was run shows the opposite. I have had more options and care from a motel. Again, the hotel staff was nice and accommodating, but there is a disconnect between management and the operational side. When you have nothing around you for a minimum 25-30 minute drive, the hotel has to run well. The tent was great and very clean. The amenities were well run and friendly, knowledgeable staff. Cody at archery was great.

Great place if you’re looking to get away from your everyday life and take a break in the country. The rooms are great and if you request room service they are always excellent! And if you need to get a hold of anyone they are always ready to answer. It’s beautiful large property and I highly recommend staying here and considering becoming an owner if you are into great deals and traveling!

My friends and made a day trip to have dinner and watch the rodeo this past Saturday night. Such a great time!! We got there early and had a couple of drinks at the Saloon, where everyone was super nice. While having our drinks it began to downpour rain and we were going to be late for our reservations. Enter Danielle for the rescue!! She said she would take care of it for us. Little did we know she draped herself in a trash bag and ran to the lodge to push our reservation a bit, giving time for the rain to pass and for us to stay dry. It's rare to have that kind of customer service these days and we truly appreciated it!! Dinner was fantastic, amazing steaks, and the rodeo was so much fun! We'll be back and may just stay over next time!

Came here for a long weekend and stayed in the Glamping tents with my wife, and two adult sons. While the tent was spacious, and the bedding was comfortable, the rooms were not quite as they are depicted on the website. Everything was extremely old and much of it was falling apart. There were gaps in the tent that allowed bugs to get in and the lot we were on was primarily taken up by the tent and porch area. The air conditioner did work very well though, and we slept comfortably from a temperature standpoint. The amenities that were offered were fun, but also dated. We rode bicycles one morning, and I had to go back three times to get one in which the chain did not fall off and the tires did not go flat. Archery was fun, but also very limited, and the cowboy activity area is basically just for kids. We did have fun riding the mechanical bull and we had a blast playing pickle ball. We also hung out by the pool for a couple of hours and enjoyed that as it was not very busy. I read many reviews about the food, not being great, but I will tell you we had a fantastic experience every place we ate. We dined at the Smokehouse on the river, the steakhouse, and the newly opened pizza place. The pulled pork sandwich at the smokehouse cannot be missed! It was delicious and our favorite of the trip. Breakfast at the main restaurant (the steakhouse where you check in) was also very good and reasonably priced. The staff was pretty good and mostly friendly. They were quick to respond to requests and did so with a smile. While I think the price does not match the accommodations, nor the amenities, we probably would entertain coming back and staying in one of the teepees or wagon cars, which seem to be a bit more private. Only problem is they are extremely expensive; well over $500 per night. That’s a tough sell when you can at a luxury resort for the same price.

PROS: Employees are very nice. Nice scenery, Has much potential. I imagine it's good on weekends. CONS: Monday through Thursday there is nothing to do (a ghost town.) Picture breakfast club in an outdoors "resort" you're better off just going to any local park. They charge for everything, ridiculous amounts and I'm not cheap. For example I came with my wife and 5 children (ages 12-19) and a golf cart is $128 for 24 hrs (it's needed) the swamp buggy ride was $420 😂 and Horse back riding was $525 Trap and skeet shooting ($75 person) I skipped that. BB gun range (Skipped $45 per person) Escape room ($45 per person 🤣) I'm scared to add up what this casual summer glamping trip cost us. I could have stayed in a resort in Dominican Republic or Mexico for almost the same price and had 10x more fun.. Best part of this entire experience was being with my family but I could have stayed home for that and probably would have enjoyed more. NOTE: I stayed Monday through Thursday and it's possible that it's more fun with people around. if that's the case I would say it's 3 stars.

Beautiful resort and some really great employees that made the experience AMAZING. Specifically want to thank Dorilee from the coffee shop who made us feel welcomed and Mr Roderick from the maintenance team who went above and beyond with showing us all the resort amenities and patiently fixing our television on multiple occasions as well as handling room lockouts. Y'all are both AWESOME and made this trip truly SPECIAL, thank you! 💗

The camping area is extremely noisy and rowdy until early morning hours. We stayed in a tent and loud gas golf carts wizzed by our tent all night long... We were even under a tree out of the way. Parents let their children yell all night long with no courtesy to other campers and loud music blasted from the platform tents until midnight. The ‘camping area’ is more like pitching a tent at Woodstock in a field than a camping area and cars and golf carts drive all over the field so it’s not safe for kids to play in the grassy areas. I will not be camping here again. The petting zoo is not a petting zoo at all. And I felt terrible for the animals. We left the property for the day to just get away from the people and the noise. I would not recommend. Expensive, crowded and loud. 2 stars because the staff was courteous, and the other accommodations looked like they could be nice but the camping area is not.

We love our stays here the past four years. The only complaint I have is up grading the bathroom doors for privacy, you can right in all them plan as day a little piece of metal hemmed on both sides screwed to each opening would work. Wouldn't cost but couple hundred dollars. You have kids staring in, it's a huge gap you can see Everything!! I'd attach a picture but I can not here.

I really enjoyed my time here; we did have a little room problem at the beginning, but they were able to fix that. The amenities were great, it was my first time attending a rodeo and I loved it. They have this wonderful bike trial that my family went on. Two of our bikes did have a problem, one of the chains kept coming off and then the other had a flat tire. But it was still an enjoyable experience. We also went fishing and My brother and I each got one, on top of that we saw a baby gator that came pretty close before leaving and a deer. It was a really calm and peaceful trip; you connect with nature a little while your there.

This place is so much fun to go in a group. We went with a huge group and laughed a lot. The only problem is the weather. If you have bad weather, then you’re bound to be inside your tent or your camping area. So if that’s the case, I highly suggest you stay in a rail/saddle car or one of the cottages that they have the Glamping tents make for a messy and wild time. If you’re into that then you’re gonna love it as well. There’s so much to do there there’s activities roasting marshmallows, hanging out with your friends and family. There’s tours and rodeos and petting zoos I can go on and on the place is awesome. We definitely will be back. Unfortunately we got bad weather so it was a difficult time for some people but luckily we stayed in the rail cars and had a bathroom to ourselves and an area to stay dry. We will definitely be back soon and excited to do so.

This place is amazing. It was my husbands and I first time at any Ranch. The food was great, The staff was the best and the activities were awesome. I recommend this place to everyone, especially family. I do suggest that you rent a golf cart to move around and please go visit Corky at the Western Store. She's the best.

Very nice hotel, unique and fancy. My kids love it. You can do you vacation in one place. Guests service is the best! Clean rooms, very friendly and helpful staff- just love it everything! Nice restaurants and great food. We will back soon.

Loud music until late. Activities are additional and very expensive. We came here with kids. The rooms are next to the saloon. Loud music until late. Not a great experience for us but if you stay in the nicer suites I assume it is a great experience. The kids had a blast being outside, horse riding and trying archery. Staff for the most part is very focused in making you feel at home.