I want to start off by saying “thank you” to all the posts from individuals on this forum regarding advice and tips when traveling to the Atlantis/Harborside Resort. They were excellent. We usually go to Cancun every year and know what to expect, so I wanted to know what to expect going to the Bahamas. If you are a Harborside owner and this is your favorite destination, then please do not read the rest of this review. We all have our favorite places and the Bahamas, especially Atlantis/Harborside are not for us.

Last year we stayed at the RIU and went to the Atlantis Timeshare presentation. Needless to say we did NOT purchase a timeshare, however they offered us the “Explorer Package” and we thought that this would be the only way we could bring our children on a great tropical vacation.

All 6 of us ages, 44 – 17 stayed at Harborside from July 2-9th. I upgraded my Explorer Package from a one bedroom lock out to a two bedroom lock out and paid the extra money. Our vacation did not start off very well as we left San Jose at 6:00 a.m. to LAX to Miami to Nassau. There was a bomb scar at LAX and we sat on the plane at the gate for 2 hours before taking off. This was a blessing in disguise because during that time Miami had sever thunderstorms and shut the airport down for 1 ½ hours. As we were given the approval to take off, Miami opened the airport back up. We were worried that we were not going to make our connecting flight. However we did make the flight at 10:45 p.m., however our luggage didn’t. I should have booked Fergie’s Taxie but didn’t because I thought there would be all kinds of taxi’s at the airport. Well, there were NO taxi’s that late at night but there was a tour bus there to pick up people who were late as well and it was part of their package. We were able to hitch a ride with them because they were going to the Reef. Upon arriving at Harborside at midnight, we checked in. We found out the only place to eat that is open at that hour is the Lagoon Bar and Grill and the last shuttle back to Harborside is at 2:00 a.m. So we roamed around the dark to find Building 5. We went into the room and it was a one bedroom. I was very upset, as we had traveled all day, and our luggage did not make it and now not the room I paid for. We went back down to the check in area, gave them my reservation (which stated two bedroom lock out) and he told me he didn’t think they had any. I told him, that we were going to get something to eat and we would be back by 2:00 and that he had better have my two bedroom lock out for me. He said “he would try”. By now it’s 1:00 a.m. and this Island could care less about helping anyone get something to eat fast. I finally got the waitress to get our order and deliver our food so that we could eat and get to the shuttle before 2:00 am. I am not going to complain about how much it cost the 6 of us to eat because I already knew (from the forum) things were very expensive. I did give the waitress an extra tip on top of the gratuity that they always add because she did get us out of there quickly. Back at Harborside, we went back to the check in and guess what? They found our room. Finally hit the bed at 3:00 a.m.

My husband and I got up at 8 and went down to the Harborside store for some breakfast for the family. We checked on our luggage, they cannot find it and maybe it will be delivered at the end of the day. (Really regret not packing swim suit and other items in our carry on bags. Went back down at 10 to catch the shuttle to the City Market. We were given a tip from one of the other people staying at Harborside about taking a taxi there and then letting them leave and then getting one at the market because it is cheaper than $7 per person through Harborside and it was. And you can go whenever you want. I have to say that their groceries are not any more expensive than they are in Northern California, so that was not really a sticker shock to us. The liquor was more, but hey we’re on vacation.

Went back to Harborside, put the groceries away and took the shuttle to the Royal Towers and went through the dig. It was very beautiful and lots to see. Went back to Harborside and our luggage finally showed up at 3. We ran back to the villa with our luggage, changed, made our mixed drinks and went back to the Royal Towers. Husband and my 21 year old went down the Mayan slide. Then all of us went to the Power Tower, went to the top and went down the slide. We ended up having a fun day.

On July 4th we went to the Big Beach Party. The band was good and the fire works were nice until it started to rain and they stopped shooting them off. The rest of the week we tried to visit each of the hotels and see what they had to offer. The Marina is very nice and is beautiful at night with all the gorgeous yachts. We had a nice week even though it didn’t start off so well. We had to attend the timeshare presentation “per our Explorer Package Agreement” and we declined purchasing one. Once we did that, they were very rude to us. Don’t get me wrong, they were rude to begin with, however after declining to purchase we were doomed.

Then we went to check out. An extra $358.75 on our bill for Harborside Gratuity. Apparently they charge $51.25 per day for maid service according to the manager of Harborside. When we purchased the Explorer Package we were told that maid service was $25 per day and if you decline the services then you do NOT have to pay. Guess what – WRONG!!!!! So all week we had been declining maid service for this very reason. If I would have known I had to pay for it anyway, I would not have washed all the sheets nor washed the towels everyday. I was trying to save us some money.

We tried to talk to the manager at Harborside about it and he told us we were lying.

Lesson #1 – book a taxi if you are flying in late.
Lesson #2 – I should have listen to people whom said, pack a swim suit, tanning lotion and a change of clothes just in case your luggage does not make it.
Lesson #3 – let the maids take care of the housekeeping
Lesson #4 – Don’t ever go back to the Bahamas!

These people on this Island are rude, they don’t care that you are there spending your hard earned money that gives them a job! We will continue to go to Cancun because of the beauty of the Island, the wonderful customer service and friendly atmosphere we receive every time we go. The Bahamas are not for us.

We have just returned from a week at Harborside Atlantis. After reading so many reviews and the negative comments and etc., we were expecting the worst.

We rented the timeshare from our friend who bought in bldg 3. 4 adults and 3 kids were in a two bedroom lockoff. During the week another friend our decided to join us for a couple of days. There was plenty of room.

Check in was uneventful. We had requested a crib and high chair for our 18 month old but they were not in the room when we arrived. We had to ask for it and it arrived 20 minutes later. The room floors appeared to be clean but they were not. I had to wipe them. There were ants if you left food out so I advise that no food be left out on the counter.

We arrived on a Saturday and was not able to go to the grocery store until Sunday morning. So we just bought milk and juice at the store int he lobby. The next morning, the guys went and bought water, juice, english muffins, eggs, cold cuts, chips, bread and milk for $150. We packed instant noddles, instant coffee, tea bags, cereal, crackers. We had breakfast everyday in the room. Lunch at the beach and dinner out. We made dinner reservations a month ahead for Carmines and the Cafe at the Great Hall of Waters. We also ate at Johnny Rockets and the Market Place Buffet. One rainy night we ordered chinese food for delivery and it took an hour. Our last night we had Marina Pizza.
The most expensive dinner were the buffet and the cafe. All the others were NYC prices that we are used to.

Atlantis is amazingly beautiful. The grounds were nice and well kept. The service was good at the restaurants and throughout the resort. They even remembered how many towels we needed everyday.

This was our first family trip together and it was most enjoyable. It was our son's first time at the beach and he loved it. We went to the Cove Beach everyday by the Power Tower so we can go on the water slides and lazy river nearby while the kids took their naps on the beach. It did rain one afternoon and one evening. The weather was great. It was hot but towards late afternoon we would all go over to the Splashers pool where the kids enjoyed the zero entry pool. Harborside also has a zero entry pool but we were always at the Atlantis.

At night, the guys went to the casino every night. If you clock at least 4 straight hours, you may get some of your room charges 'comped'. The girls went to get a 50 minute swedish massage at the spa. It was good but too short. We should have gotten the 240 minute one. LOL.

We have already discussed going back to Harborside in December 2009 if the timeshare is available but we are going to Marriott Timeshare at Myrtle Beach next summer first.

HarborSide Explorer Package WARNING !!

The Explorer Package is the package they offer you when you decline your first timeshare presentation.
In July 2007, we stayed at the Atlantis Comfort Suites and did the time share presentation for HarborSide.
We turned it down so they offered us what we thought was a good deal to come back in July of 2008 to stay at a Premium Phase 2 1 bedroom villa.
We had to prepay the package monthly, which came to about $400 a night. Because we had 5 people and because of the full kitchen we though it was worth it.
WRONG. As the economy has turned sour, we would not have taken such a vacation this year, but as the Atlantis Harbor side was pre-paid it would be OK. We were prepared to deal with the high food prices by using the fridge/kitchen in the room.
Problem: when we got there, they told us we had to pay an extra $19.25 per person per night for maid and energy fee. We had never been told this when we signed the deal last year. This was an almost $100 extra a night for our room. So much for thinking that we had pre-paid for our hotel stay.
What a RIPOFF. Needless to say, I turned them down on the time share offer. Though it is a great resort, one that I was considering as a good time share option, there was no way I wanted to deal with a company that treated their prospective owners this way. What other surprise charges would they have for us in the future once we purchased.
So be warned, if you signed a deal for the explorer package and were not warned of these costs. You do have 3 days to cancel. The fee of 19.25 daily per person may of course go up even higher next year if gas prices keep going up.
I was so upset the first 2 days I was there. Eventually I dealt with it to not ruin my vacation and had a great time.
I love the Pegasus Sports book.

The Dominoes Summer deal is the best in town – 2 large pizzas and a 2 liter bottle of coke for $27 delivered to the Harborside. Cheapest meal we had.

Take at least 1 pair of resort elegant clothes so that you can go to Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill restaurant at the cove. Make reservations.

Just returned from 7 days in Paradise and the trip was awesome.

I would like to begin by saying that I am an owner of a 2 bedroom lockoff unit in Building 2 and was quite concerned as to what we were going to find after reading all the reviews on this site. We have been to Harborside as a family four times prior to this visit, with our last visit in June 2006.Fortunately, our fears were unfounded.

Travelled with a party of 4 adults( 50ish) and two twenty somethings and stayed in the actual unit that we own. (3726/3727).
From one of the earlier reviews, I found the name of Trevor Ferguson, owner of a fleet of transportation vehicles, who met us promptly at the airport, picked us up in a white stretch limo, brought us to the supermarket and then off to Harborside. Much cheaper than arranging the transportaiton through Atlantis. He then returned mid week to take our daughters to the airport and then end of week to take us back to the airport. On the trip back to the airport he went a scenic route and even pointed out the cemetery where Anna Nicole Smith is buried.
If interested you can contact him at royality65@aol.com. Great guy and great price.
We arrived at Harbordside at 1:00 PM and our room was not ready. The checkin process went very smoothly and we set up the separate room charge accounts and all worked out fine,
I had brought one of those hot/cold bags from home and had put the refrigerated items that we bought in the supermarket in that bag. Lovardo, who took our luggage, took the cold bag and put the groceries in the refrigerator in our unit at checkin. We were now free to roam the grounds. We had lunch at the Point which was very good. The pool area was beautiful, not crowded at all and the new buildings (3,4,5,6) looked nice. I was concerned that with the new phase completed, the pool area would be overcrowded but that was not the case for the full 7 days we were there.
Since we had some time before checkin we took the shuttle over to the Cove and the Reef. Absolutely Stunning. More about those resorts later.
We were able to checkin to our rooms at 3:30 and all the luggage was already in the room. I was very curious about the wear and tear that everyone has been talking about so I went around the unit very carefully. Our unit looked great. The walls had not a scratch, my feet did not turn black after walking around the unit and the bathrooms were immaculate. The problems we encountered were there were no blankets for the pullout sofa bed. I called houskeeping and they were delivered in 20 minutes. The metal fram of the sofa bed was mangled in the corner and it was difficult to set up the bed. I called front desk the next morning and they directed the call to engineering. A man showed up that afternoon and repaired the frame. There were no placemats and no frying pan in the larger unit. I can live with these type of problems on vacation. The sofa definitely looked worn and needed to be replaced
At our owners update, I was told that beginning about October 2008, the units in Building 1,2 and 3 are going to be gutted and totally refurbised and redecorated. Also told that Harborside is going to build another phase the other side of the harbor where the silos now stand.

We made good use of the washer/dryer and the dish washer and they performed perfectly.

The jitneys at Harborside do not run frequently enough in the AM and later in the day. There is a large group waiting when going to the beach in the morning and then returning from the beach at 5. They need to improve that system.

Now for some dining and recreation experiences.
Dining ;
Carmines; food and service was great. Big fan of Carmines in NY and Atlantic City. Found the food here just as good. The baked clams were tiny compared to back in the states but delicious.
Market Place Buffet - pricey $52 but nice variety. Enjoyed the sushi and the Mongolian cooking stone. They have a great group that sings Happy Birthday to a Caribbean beat. My 20 something got up with our waiter and joined the group. It was a blast.
Bimini Road - Since we are a party of 6 we had to wait about an hour for a table. They then squezzed us around a round banquet table that was entirely too small. I noticed any party over 4 was seated in tight quarters. The air conditioning did not seem like it was working. The food was good but the wait and seating experience was not.
Johnny Rockets - went in for a Vanillaa Shake which was delicious. Lots of families with kids running around.
Anthony's - found this to be the best priced restaurant with delicious food. Have eaten here on an earlier visit and would certainly go again.
Chop Stix - food pretty good but way over priced. Party of 4 adults, 2 appetizers, 4 main meals 2 drinks ($350). Yikes!!
Murrays Deli - I was not impressed but the other 3 adults enjoyed their corned beef and pastrami sandwiches.
Waters Edge Buffet - fish is main entree at this buffet. Food was good and the setting is nice.
During the day at the pools we had lunch which was pretty good
Greek Salad $10/Hamburger $8.50/Fries $3.50. Since we had the unit, we had lunch several times back at home. We did pick up botttled water at the supermarket that we would freeze the nite before and then take to the beach/pool in a zip lock bag and it worked out great.
Trips:
Andastara Gardens - Flamingo show was fun. Ate at Conch Fritters in town and then did some window shopping.
Majestic Tours Rose Island for a picnic and snorkeling- Very disappointed. $55- very few fish, reef looked dead, food very disappointing - facilities for changing non-existant. Did this trip 6 years ago and it certainly has gone down hill. Did Blue Lagoon Island 2 years ago and found it very very difficult to get into the water with all the rock formations. Probably best to try a snorkeling trip where they take you out and you jump off the boat.
Grounds of Atlantis
River Pool by the Beach tower was great. You can easily access Paradise Beach from here. The lazy river here is still a favorite.
Royal Tower Pool - nice large pool and can enter the new water rapid ride from this area.
The Baths Pool - this is a new pool over by Cove Beach and it is large and beautiful. You also have easy access to Cove Beach. This is a great area for the beach and the rapids and Tower of Power.
Went out walking early every morning from 7-8:30 and did not see towels on chairs . Went to the Fitness Center over by Royal Tower 3 days/$40 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Center at Harborside too small. Walked over by the Cove in the morning and could see the dolphins at Dolphin Cay jumping around. Truly beautiful.
Checkout was fine with no unauthorized charges to the room.

Had fun in the Casino at the penny slots and had a great time in Marina Village. I miss my morning walk around the marina into the Village and then a Starbucks Venti Black Iced Tea sweetened($3.45).
I hope you found this information helpful and I can't wait to return to see what the new renovation will look like.