Harborside Resort at Atlantis

This is our second time we have stayed at the Harborside. The last time we stayed there was seven years ago.was Check-in took about 15 minutes. The staff at the front desk were somewhat pleasant, but not as much as one would hope and expect. We arrived right at 4:00pm and were assigned a second two bedroom timeshare in building #4.

We were happy to see that the accomodations were very clean, and very spacious. It was the largest two bedroom I've stayed in. Normally a two bedroom consists of a one bedroom attached to a studio. However, this one had a larger one bedroom attached to a smaller one bedroom. The beds were nice and firm. It had a nice large eating area/dining table for our three kids, ages 8, 5, and 3.

We stayed for a week in mid-October. Unfortunately, we never saw the sun all week! It was 80-82 degrees and cloudy every day, with multiple rain showers. The weather can't be helped, but what was irritating was the non-functioning hot tubs over at the main resort. Without the sun, my kids tended to get cold, and the hot tubs were not working the entire week! Come on Atlantis! This is simply unsat for a resort of this caliber and expense. The only functioning hot tub was at the Harborside pool! Twice we had to leave the Atlantis water park just to go warm up over at the Harborside. Thank goodness for the efficient shuttles!

Speaking of the water park at the Atlantis--it is simply amazing. We thought it was awesome seven years ago when we visited, and it has been built up quite a bit since then--with several new slides and an AWESOME lazy river ride complete with rapids and tunnels. The waterpark is enjoyable for kids of all ages, and adults alike. We pretty much stayed at the resort the entire week, and never got bored. There is so much to do there. We even watched a movie for free (Tangled) one day at their movie theater when it was raining.

Besides the hot tubs, the other major negative of this resort is the lack of free wi-fi. The Harborside allows guests to sign up for 15 minutes of free internet at one of only two computers located in the lobby. First of all, the computers went down several times. Second, it was not always easy to get on one, as there were often lines to use them. Third, the computers were closed too early, at 7:00 pm.

A couple tips for your trip: Bring as much food as you can. Food at the small sundry shop at the Harborside is four times the prices in the U.S.! Food at the grocery store is twice our prices! We checked a suitcase with two gallons of frozen milk (which kept the suitcase cool), frozen bread, cold cuts, cheese, butter, peanut butter and jelly, donuts, crystal light, and snacks. It saved us quite a bit of money--even counting the $25 each way cost to check a suitcase.

Downtown Nassau is dirty and not much too see. However,it is worth it for the straw market where you can haggle with the locals for lots of souvenirs, and for the Fish Fry, which is close by. The Fish Fry is 1/2 the price of the restaurants on Paradise Island, and tastes much better. The Fish Fry consists of several restaurants right next to each other, where all the locals eat. We ate at one called something like "Mama's Fish Fry". It was delicious!

We didn't scuba dive this time, unfortuately, but the last two times we were here, we thought Stuart's Cove diving was the best-run diving operator with the best selection of diving sites. It is a long drive from the Harborside, however (They provided shuttle service).

The other activity I would highly, highly recommend, is the Powerboat Adventures tour. They take you on a very large and fast speed boat to two different private islands. They feed you and show you large iguanas, and lots of sharks and marine life. You can snorkel and hang out on this private island for the whole day. It's absolutely beautiful, with amazing turquoise green waters. The prices are $150-$199 per person--expensive but worth it!

Would I return to the Harborside? Definitely--however, it will be a few years before we come back, as this is an expensive vacation.

UPDATE: August 2011. Just Made 4th visit in the past 3 years. Great trip. www.foodstore2go.com is the new trend. Groceries delivered to Harborside for you. Did not know about it before hand, so did not try it. Will next time. Staff doing a great job keeping cruise passangers from sneaking in. Checking for room key or wristband at every turn. Going two more times this year! LOVE IT! Rooms are updated. New carpet, new flat screen TV's in BR and living room. Bus service was very good this time. Fast. Table min's at blackjack $10 when not a ton of cruise passangers in casino, $15 when they are. Packed suitcase of frozen prepared food (cooked at home, brought frozen). Had cabbie stop and wait for us at gracery store. Spent $225 at grocery store on milk, soda, juice, butter, fruits, veggies, and lots of other foods. Only ate out once the whole week, a large pizza at the marina for $35 plus. For first time ever, needed to call security this trip. A Mom went crazy on her kids right outside my room in courtyard. Screaming the f-bomb and saying she was leaving them and flying home. Throwing stuff, etc. Security guy showed in in less than 4 min and got her under wraps. Was pleased. I really should just BUY here since we are staying at Harborside 2 times per year, but good for you guys that are renting out your weeks on redweek. I'll be back again!! LOL. See older reviews below....

Harborside Trip Report – Thanksgiving 2009

I am not an owner. I rented from an owner contacted via Redweek.com. Used the escrow service that Redweek recommends on the site. Kept things very painless and easy, and helps to make both sides feel secure.

Had a 1 BR premium in building 7. 4th floor with balcony facing the Harbor/Atlantis Royal Tower. Building 7 is in a great location. It is the same building as check-in, meaning you are at the free shuttles to Atlantis towers, the sundry, the concierge, and the computers for public use.

Weather was great. Mid-low 80’s. 70’s at night. My family at home was fighting 30/40 degree temps and rain, so we were pleased!

Caught a taxi from airport. $40 one way. That was 3 persons with two large suitcases, a stroller, and 3 or 4 smaller bags. It is a solid 25-35 minute trip depending on traffic.

Check in was a breeze. Staff at the desk is kind and helpful. This is our 3rd stay in the past year or so at Harborside and they are pretty consistent in not getting you into your room until 3:30 or so (check-in was technically 4). We always fly in on the same flight and we are at the front desk by noon, and we everyone checking in at that time hears that the room will be ready about 4 PM and to check back at 3:30ish. At check-in I was pleased to hear of two nice improvements since our last week stay 3 months ago …. Now you do NOT have to get your Atlantis wristband at the Harborside pool before heading to the main pools and water park. You can now get your band at ANY towel hut with your Harborside room key. This is GREAT, especially for those in building 7 which are very close to the shuttle but not-so-close to the Harborside towel hut. Secondly, there are now 2 computers in the Harborside lobby for guest use. Each person gets 15 minutes free use per day. You sign up at the concierge who tracks the time usage. This is a big improvement over lugging your way all the way to the Atlantis library to check email. Printing of boarding passes is free for Harborside guests. Very nice.

Building 7 is starting to show some wear, in my opinion. The décor has a late 1980’s or early 90’s feel with the blue carpet, glass dining table top with a faux stone base, aqua blue trim, blue sofa bed, etc. Many little touches were missing in my room. No doorstop on the bathroom door, so there was a nice-sized whole in the wall where the bathroom door handle had hit the wall over the years. Light bulbs missing. Balcony door that slid loudly and needed effort to pull. Deep scrapes in the countertops of kitchen. In the corridors there were light fixtures with exposed wires. I don’t want to paint a bad picture, as it is still a great building to stay in. But based on the very high maintenance fees owners pay annually, I’d expect 4/5 star maintenance and upkeep on the building. My last stay was in a newer phase room and was very sharp all around. I feel that building 7 is still very nice, but is due for a facelift.

Grounds were perfect. Landscaping is amazing. All pools were in working order. One hot tub at Atlantis was down, but the hot tub and pools at Harborside were all up and running all week (including the water feature that is in the HS main pool, which only had 1-2 “arms” working my last stay).

Shuttle service was spotty. Everything seems empty and sleepy the Sat-Tues before Thanksgiving. Shuttles were empty and timely. As the week picked up at the holiday, shuttles were slow and often filled to complete capacity (including the jump seats). Two drivers chose to crank their music at high levels, which annoyed me with my 1 year old in tow. Also, while most busses are clearly marked with signs that read something like To/from Coral & Beach Towers, two of the busses had no signage on the side. Put a magnet on there, for pity sake. Every time it pulls up you have to climb to the first step and ask where they are heading. A few times it was a double whammy.. the driver with the radio at volume 100 had no signage on the bus. Folks could not even hear him when he tried to scream out where he was going ... Coral Tower and Royal Tower sound very much alike when screamed in a Bahamian accent muttered beneath Jay-Z playing at full blast. Overall, though, the drivers were friendly and the shuttles were pretty good as far as timeliness. They did need to add a bus or two at the busy times after Thanksgiving.

Got the hang of the convection oven on the microwave this trip. We cooked and froze meals before we left, re-heated them using the convection setting. Worked swimmingly. The only complaint is the cheap pots and pans. You can use a ½ can of PAM spray and the food STILL sticks to them. Does not feel like vacation when you need to scrub your arm off with an SOS pad due to cheap pans. Of our two checked bags 1 and ½ was food. Saved us a TON of money. Food and drink on the resort and at the sundry is worse than ever. Murry’s Deli and the Pizza place … $7 for one slice of pizza? $3 for one 12 oz can of soda? $5.50 for one bowl of cereal and one cup of milk? $15 for a tuna melt sandwich? $9.50 for a cheeseburger by the pool? $7 for a can of beer? And places like MESA and NOBU look great but we can’t stomach the price tag, personally. If you are on a budget, pack a ton of food and ask your taxi driver to stop at the grocery on the ride in (or take the Harborside shuttle to the grocery).

The new Kid’s Club is under construction. The ads make it look GREAT. Really can’t wait for that for the little ones.

Used the Cove beach as our main stomping ground for beach. The water was not quite as clear on this trip as in previous visits. Turns out that they are digging up the harbor to fit the new Oasis cruise ship into Nassau (6000 passengers or something?). They need to dig down 40 extra feet from the current harbor depth to fit in this big old ship. That digging is temporarily causing some murkier waters. We’ve hit all Atlantis beaches and the Cove beach is our favorite. Light waves, not crowded, usually lots of open chairs, etc. You can get some interesting situations at the far end of the beach near the adults only private Cove pool, though. Some loud music and some partygoers down there. On the opposite end, though, it is very quiet and usually darn near empty of people.

Splashers is a blast. My son could spend all week there at that one pool area. The lifeguards there do a nice job in keeping the older kids under wraps when their parents do not. Rode every thrill slide in the park, most of them multiple times. Great fun. The Dig and all aquarium areas are perfect. You see new sea life every time, it seems.

Harborside is simply great. As a renter, I pay less than I would for a regular room at the Beach towers. Rather than getting a small and run-down single room, you get a spacious area with a kitchen and balcony. Perfect place to stay for families. This time we had longer than 1 week off of work, so we stayed a few days at the Wyndam Crystal Palace after checking out of Harborside. While the room and resort there at the Crystal Palace is nice, it is just that .. a room. We were so spoiled by the space and amenities at Harborside. It really makes it tough to go back to hotel living.

Trip report for our Harborside Atlantis week, July 11-18, 2009.

I am not an owner. I rented from an owner via Redweek.

Check-in was a breeze. Room was not ready until check-in time of 4 PM, though, and we were there at 11:30 AM or so. Ate a lunch at the poolside restaurant at Harborside and walked the harbor to pass some time. What amazing yachts docked there, huh? Assigned to building 3, the 4th floor. Room was just what we had hoped. Crib and high chair for the baby were delivered just after we arrived. Crib mattress was very flimsy, but the baby was so tired each night from the go-go-go that he slept fine in it. Tuesday night our A/C broke. Being 92 during the day and 82 as an overnight low, the room quickly warmed up to the 80’s and was sticky as heck. We were moved to building 5, upgraded to a larger room w/ balcony with pool view (2nd floor). Even more pleased with this room. More floor space for the baby’s trucks and toys, plus the balcony to relax and eat on. Stunk to have to pack up, move, and unpack again in the new room, but worth it thanks to the comped upgrade.

Packed too many clothes and not quite enough food. With the washer/dryer, we did a small load per night of wet/sandy clothes. We spent most of our time in bathing suits during the trip. Next time we’ll use the luggage space/weight for even more food.

We packed a soft-sided zip-up cooler with lots of lunch meat, frozen chicken, pasta, and the like. Also took along thing like Stove Top Stuffing, cereal, snacks, Pam spray, Skillet Sensations, frozen shrimp pasta meal, peanut butter and jelly, cheese, and much more. Still ended up dropping over $100 fast on items like bottled water, soda, butter, bread, and milk at the grocery. The sundry shop at the resort must be avoided. It was $8 for 32 oz of milk there, $7 for a loaf of bread. Items are usually about double what they are in the states, with some items much more than double. Restaurants on the resort are very high. Pizza is $7 a slice, a Rueben sandwich at Murry's deli was $16, a can of soda is $3.50, etc. Plus, the baby is not great at sitting and waiting quietly at slow-service eateries, so it is best for us right now to cook for ourselves. Since there was no issue with customs (Bahamas customs is only an issue if you are bringing in enough food for commercial use), we’ll pack more of our own favorites to cook next time. Two small burners and a microwave. We tried the convection oven on the micro to not great results. I guess using a micro convection oven is an art form we’ve not mastered.

Resort is not very handicap/stroller friendly. Lots of places that the wife and I had to carry the stroller down flights of steps with no ramps or elevators in sight. No doubt that the Bahamian laws on handicap accessibility is not as strict as US laws. We had no problem with it, and in the few cases that the wife or I were pushing solo here usually was an Atlantis staff member nearby who’d offer to help carry the stroller & baby.

Speaking of staff, they were great. From shuttle drivers to housekeepers to blackjack dealers and more, everyone was kind and helpful. They seem to understand that their island and job depends on tourist dollars, and they value the visitors.

Ferry to Nassau is the best value in town. $3 per way for a lovely boat ride with a great information piece from a tour guide. Took a horse and buggy ride for $20 plus tip for the three of us. The baby loved petting the horse and riding the carriage. When the baby’s hat flew off in the wind, a local scooped it up and sprinted to catch up to us in the buggy. Great people at every turn, I found.

Pools are great. Splashers pool is heaven for kids. My son loved every second of it. The slides, the water cannons, the nets to climb .. and for parents there are even spots that are shaded in and under the huge playset. Wonderful. Sampled the adult slides, which are all a blast. Slides and pools are there for the taste of a 100 year old Grandma to a 1 year old toddler, and everyone in between.

Played daily at the casino. Wife and I used to be Vegas regulars (before the baby), so we are knowledgeable gamblers. The blackjack rules are not ideal for the player (dealer stands on soft 17, split aces only once, no surrender) but still a good time. Wife and I took turns playing during baby nap time or after baby bed time. Played all week and left up $70. Tables can get crowded at night and when a bunch of cruise ships are in port, but overall a very nice casino.

Did the Cove Beach daily, usually late afternoon as the sun’s rays were lighter. Found this to be the least crowded and nicest beach. Water is crystal clear. Fish swim right around your legs. Surf is very light and safe. Wonderful beach.

The baby loved the aquariums, as expected. We hit the Baltimore Aquarium often, so we knew he’d love it. This was even better than Baltimore due to the way they present the fishes in such a dramatic fashion. The dig is great for kids, the underwater tunnels, etc. We spent a goodly portion of time daily taking it all in. The Manta Rays are breathtaking. The baby also loved the rope bridge. He could have scooted back and forth all day on it. He is so light that when he walks on it it barely wiggles, and he just thought he was the king up there on it.

We’ll have to wait a few years before my son can do the Dolphin/Sea Lion experience, climbing wall, power tower, etc .. but I know he’ll love them all when he’s old enough.

Transportation was easy. Folded up the stroller and used the Harborside busses all of the time. They are quick and easy.

Filled up my 2 gig memory card with photos before the last day of the trip! My son did not stop giggling and smiling the whole week, so it was easy to load it up with great snapshots. It is great fun for him, but also great learning. On the trip he learned to say fish, bus, blue, and yellow (well, his versions are ba-boo and yell-yo)… not bad for 14 months. He got to see the ocean for the first time, hear steel drums for the first time, and was sliding down the baby slides solo by the end of the week.

So, we had him at Disney World at Christmas and Atlantis in July. I must say that Atlantis ranks right up there with Diz in terms of a great family location. In fact, we just might give Atlantis a slight edge due to the beach and aquariums.

We had a glorious time and will be back.

Very few complaints: Food prices (knew that coming in), pools technically close at 7 (although it is not really enforced, folks are usually back in the water at 7:10PM and stay late), Splashers playset does not start operating until 10 AM (when kids tend to be up at 6-7 AM, it could be open earlier), taking the Harborside timeshare tour when you are a Harborside guest (but not yet owner) only nets you $50 while guests at other towers or resorts get $125 for their time, only 2 of the 5 “arms” that spit out water at the Harborside pool were working all week (kids love that thing), not stroller friendly.

Was there this aug 19-26-11 great weather until Hurricane Irene -storm lasted 1 day and Harborside took care of its people..evacuated everyone to Atlantis..conference room provided to sleep in with sheets and pillow..free dinner buffet 8/24 and following day free breakfast lunch and dinner ..plenty of concern and help by Atlantis employees. They all should be applauded for there assistance and care. Was back in timeshare next night and went swimming in pool Friday morning before heading home Friday night.Excellent job by staff and management.

We stayed there over Spring Break 2011 (family of 4 with 2 boys 9 and 10). Resort was great and our room had a nice view of the harbor and the ships coming and going. The rooms are in good shape but in no way new feeling. The resort has full access to Atlantis so Haborside is a nice get-away from the comotion of the hotels. The restaurant on site was good but the service was extremely slow one time. We complained about the wait for food (it took over 1 hour to get our meals) and the manager comp'd us some drinks. Shuttle to the grocery store in the mornings is a must if you want your own food and drinks at a reasonable price.

We had a great time and I'd recommend it for families that want to get into Atlantis and take a break from time to time.