califgal
newbie
We were at Harborside for nearly 2 weeks. I exchanged our studio side of Maui and got the premium 1 bdrm, stayed an extra 5 nights in the same unit and then moved to Atlantis for the last 2 nights.
When we checked in I politely asked for a high floor and was surprised to recieve the request! We were on the 4th floor of bldg 3. The unit seemed to have more storage than the Maui units and I liked the decor-- nice colors and patterns of the fabrics, the unit was new and fresh. The bed was very uncomfortable as well as the pillows, we felt like we were sleeping on a rock!
We had been to Atlantis 7 years ago so we are familiar with the high prices at the restaurants. We had breakfast in every day. The shuttle service to and from Atlantis and Harborside is geat. However because of the distance we hardly went back to the room for lunch, but did bring our own sodas.
While Atlantis is fantastic, we did feel somewhat trapped. We took the ferry into Nassau one day and shopped around a bit, went to the pirate museum which was pretty good, and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. The next week we rented a car for one day and drove around did a bit more sight seeing. We felt Nassau had lost its charm. There are less variety of shops. We remembered seeing more art gallery types of shops before, I don't think I saw one in the few main blocks of Bay St.
In Nassau are lots of buildings that are falling apart , deserted , and most of the buildings could use paint, maybe this was due to recent hurricanes? But I don't remember hearing about the Bahamas being hit in the last couple of years. Also it looked like there was far more poverty and creepy characters on the streets. This was very sad to see.
We were also surprised at the 15% gratuity added the EVERYTHING!! at Atlantis, even a candy bar ! I doubt the poor workers see the whole 15%. Also at restaurants it has diminished the service. I should say that we only went to the "cheaper" family places like Bimini Road at the Marina Village etc.
The day we had our car, we went to the Out Back Steak House at the end of the bridge. The food was good compared to Bimini Road and Murrary's Deli etc. Once you go over that bridge it is vastly different. When we came out of Out Back, before dark, like 8-8:30 there were already drunk sacry men walking around the streets. There also was a security guard inside the door at Out Back. We live near San Francisco, so we're around all walks of life here in the bay area. My husband was even a bit alarmed in Nassau.
In the local paper there was a letter to the editor from a native Nassau resident who had gone to college in the U.S. and worked here the last 10 years and then decided to come back home to Nassau. He wrote that he was shocked at the decline of Nassau and the poor attitude of people in the work force. So, it confirmed to my husband and myself that our perceptions were really valid.
The water slides were fun and ocean is fabulous,and we love the way the lost world of Atlantis is recreated, but we won't be back any time soon. For us when you consider 2 flights from California, the outragous costs at Atlantis, the decline of Nassau, and the non practicality of renting a car we decided we prefer Hawaii.
When we checked in I politely asked for a high floor and was surprised to recieve the request! We were on the 4th floor of bldg 3. The unit seemed to have more storage than the Maui units and I liked the decor-- nice colors and patterns of the fabrics, the unit was new and fresh. The bed was very uncomfortable as well as the pillows, we felt like we were sleeping on a rock!
We had been to Atlantis 7 years ago so we are familiar with the high prices at the restaurants. We had breakfast in every day. The shuttle service to and from Atlantis and Harborside is geat. However because of the distance we hardly went back to the room for lunch, but did bring our own sodas.
While Atlantis is fantastic, we did feel somewhat trapped. We took the ferry into Nassau one day and shopped around a bit, went to the pirate museum which was pretty good, and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. The next week we rented a car for one day and drove around did a bit more sight seeing. We felt Nassau had lost its charm. There are less variety of shops. We remembered seeing more art gallery types of shops before, I don't think I saw one in the few main blocks of Bay St.
In Nassau are lots of buildings that are falling apart , deserted , and most of the buildings could use paint, maybe this was due to recent hurricanes? But I don't remember hearing about the Bahamas being hit in the last couple of years. Also it looked like there was far more poverty and creepy characters on the streets. This was very sad to see.
We were also surprised at the 15% gratuity added the EVERYTHING!! at Atlantis, even a candy bar ! I doubt the poor workers see the whole 15%. Also at restaurants it has diminished the service. I should say that we only went to the "cheaper" family places like Bimini Road at the Marina Village etc.
The day we had our car, we went to the Out Back Steak House at the end of the bridge. The food was good compared to Bimini Road and Murrary's Deli etc. Once you go over that bridge it is vastly different. When we came out of Out Back, before dark, like 8-8:30 there were already drunk sacry men walking around the streets. There also was a security guard inside the door at Out Back. We live near San Francisco, so we're around all walks of life here in the bay area. My husband was even a bit alarmed in Nassau.
In the local paper there was a letter to the editor from a native Nassau resident who had gone to college in the U.S. and worked here the last 10 years and then decided to come back home to Nassau. He wrote that he was shocked at the decline of Nassau and the poor attitude of people in the work force. So, it confirmed to my husband and myself that our perceptions were really valid.
The water slides were fun and ocean is fabulous,and we love the way the lost world of Atlantis is recreated, but we won't be back any time soon. For us when you consider 2 flights from California, the outragous costs at Atlantis, the decline of Nassau, and the non practicality of renting a car we decided we prefer Hawaii.