[ 2017 ] Harborside Atlantis Question [Occupancy change & rollaways gone]

[iluvwdw]

Hi all! Question...are we still allowed to have 5 people check into a 1 Bedroom PREMIUM Villa at Harborside? Owner Services told me that as of January 2018 that they are not allowing rollaways at the resort any longer! I called the front desk of Harborside directly and was given conflicting information...the guy who answered the phone said rollaways are still allowed in Premiums and 2 Bedroom Lockoffs ONLY. This has ALWAYS been the case...so I'm confused as to which information is correct!

When I try to book 5 people in a 1 Bedroom Premium on the Atlantis website, I am no longer able to do it. I know that Atlantis inventory is different from Owner inventory, which is why I didn't think anything of it until Owner Services told me that they are discontinuing rollaways in ALL Harborside villas. I asked if 5 people would still be allowed in the Premium, and she said 5 people have NEVER been allowed in a Premium and that maximum occupancy has always been 4. We ALL know that isn't true!

Oh, THIS IS WHAT APPEARS ON THE VISTANA WEBSITE WHEN I CLICK ON THE "IMPORTANT RESORT RESERVATION" LINK IN THE CONFIRMATION.

If you are traveling with children, we are happy to provide you with cribs and highchairs upon request. These items are limited in supply and therefore not guaranteed. Charges may apply. Rollaway beds are limited to one per villa and are available only in the One-Bedroom Premium and Two-Bedroom Lockoff villas. Rollaways may not be requested for the One-Bedroom, Two-Bedroom or Three-Bedroom Lockoff villas.

Effective January 1, 2018, rollaway beds will no longer be offered at Harborside Resort at Atlantis. This service is being discontinued due to space limitations and to ensure the comfort and safety of our Guests. Each villa is equipped with a sleeper sofa that may be utilized for Guests.

To make arrangements, please call Owner Services up to 24 hours in advance of your arrival. External exchange guests should contact the resort directly. The resort will make every effort to fulfill your requests, but requests are subject to availability and therefore not guaranteed.

ANYWAY...if anyone can shed any light on this, it would be much appreciated.

THANK YOU!

 

[DeniseM]

Rule changes that Vistana has put in writing trumps anything you hear verbally. Front desk personnel may not have been informed of the rule change yet, and Owner Services has always given out a lot of misinformation.

 

[iluvwdw]

I understand that, I always take what I hear from Owner Services wth a grain of salt. Have you heard of any rule changes Denise? Has anyone? I was not informed of this when I made my reservations, which is why I am asking.

There has been nothing "official" from Vistana at all, no emails, no letter notifications, nothing. I only saw this notation in the link on my email confirmation. Will they still allow 5 people in a 1 Bedroom Premium, even without the rollaway or are we going to have to book 2 Bedrooms from now on?

Thank you for your help.

 

[Helios]

I own at HRA and was not informed of any rule changes.

 

[komosatp]

I always thought the premiums had a 5 person capacity. Just found this in the ownership documents:

 

[PamMo]

Sleeping capacity has been noted as the number of people who can sleep in the existing beds in the unit. HRA has always allowed 5 guests in the larger premium 1BR villa (with or without a rollaway or crib), and 9 guests in the 2BR lockoff. That is also the number of Atlantis Aquaventure wristbands available per unit. There are a LOT of families with three kids that use that large 1BR, and it works great for them. This is horrible news, if true.

Sheeeeeesshhhhh....the Westin Ka'anapali resorts have always allowed 5 guests in the 1BR, or 9 guests in a 2BR lockoff. Has anyone seen a change to that, too?

 

[mariawolf]

When we bought back in 2000 we were told 10 in the lockoff--then 9 now 8--there is plenty of room for a rollaway in the premium bedroom which does not cause any type of hazard. ridiculous!

 

[PamMo]

It seems pretty ridiculous that they're giving "space limitations, safety, and comfort of our guests" as the reason to limit guests to four in the premium 1BR. The unit is ENORMOUS in comparison to the smaller 1BR side.

 

[suzannesimon]

It seems pretty ridiculous that they're giving "space limitations, safety, and comfort of our guests" as the reason to limit guests to four in the premium 1BR. The unit is ENORMOUS in comparison to the smaller 1BR side.

I wonder if Atlantis is cutting back on the number of passes that they are allowing for each unit.

 

[DeniseM]

They are:

Dear DENISE

I welcome the opportunity to assist you with your inquiry regarding Harborside Resort at Atlantis.

Due to fire code restrictions, the One Bedroom Premium Villa at this location sleeps a maximum of four guests, including infants and children. The number of wrist bands provided for amenity access at the Atlantis Hotel will be based on the amount of guests noted on your reservation. Should you confirm a One Bedroom Premium Villa and specify that the maximum occupancy of four guests will be occupying the villa, you will receive four admissions. ​

 

[tschwa2]

The size difference between a 1 bedroom premium (now sleeps 4) and a dedicated 2 bedroom (sleeps 6) is 26 square feet. I find it hard to believe that the fire code changed starting January 1, unless the resort actively pursued getting it changed. If the fire code change is strictly due to the lack of bedding for a 5th person and the HOA does not want the hassle of rollaways, the HOA should look into a single murphy bed or a convertible chair bed.

This significantly effects owners especially those that purchased a premium because they had 5 family members or a lock off due to the need for an occupancy of 9.

 

[Helios]

Well, I guess this is looking pretty definitive. Too bad. I own 3 2 BRLO. Realistically, our group is older now and kids will not want to sleep in a 9 people arrangement.

They each their own bedroom in our 3 BR Pool Villa and they love it. Too bad WSJ got hit hard by the hurricanes.

 

[tschwa2]

I had heard that rollaways were being discontinued at several resorts in 2018 including Sheraton Broadway Plantation but was under the impression it was because the HOA's didn't want to have to deal with storage and upkeep of the roll aways. I also assumed it was at resorts that didn't get regular requests for the additional bedding. At Harborside it is a big deal IMO and I am very disappointed. If nothing else having an occupancy listed for 5 on Redweek was an easy way to know which units are deluxe and which are premium without having to click on the ads, if the owner even bothered to list premium vs deluxe, in which case you would have to email to find out.

 

[Helios]

I had heard that rollaways were being discontinued at several resorts in 2018 including Sheraton Broadway Plantation but was under the impression it was because the HOA's didn't want to have to deal with storage and upkeep of the roll aways.

If this is the case, should this be reflected in the MFs then? One less thing to deal with.

If nothing else having an occupancy listed for 5 on Redweek was an easy way to know which units are deluxe and which are premium without having to click on the ads, if the owner even bothered to list premium vs deluxe, in which case you would have to email to find out.

I agree, all 2BR units will show as 8 people now.

 

[suzannesimon]

The deluxe 2 bedrooms only sleep 6 so you can still sort them out.

 

[Helios]

The deluxe 2 bedrooms only sleep 6 so you can still sort them out.

Really, did not know that. Don't they have 3 beds and a pullout couch?

 

[suzannesimon]

Really, did not know that. Don't they have 3 beds and a pullout couch?

No. They have a King, a queen and a sofa bed. We own a couple of 3 bedroom units. They consist of a deluxe 2 bedroom and an adjoining deluxe 1 bedroom. It’s about the same square footage of a premier 2 bedroom. They put the second bedroom where the dining room is in the premier one bedroom units.

 

[Helios]

wow, sounds like a tight fit.

 

[suzannesimon]

Not bad at all. We’d rather have an extra bedroom than a large dining area.

 

[Helios]

I like having both, that's why I love the WSJ Pool villas so much.

 

[jw0]

They are:

Dear DENISE

I welcome the opportunity to assist you with your inquiry regarding Harborside Resort at Atlantis.

Due to fire code restrictions, the One Bedroom Premium Villa at this location sleeps a maximum of four guests, including infants and children. The number of wrist bands provided for amenity access at the Atlantis Hotel will be based on the amount of guests noted on your reservation. Should you confirm a One Bedroom Premium Villa and specify that the maximum occupancy of four guests will be occupying the villa, you will receive four admissions. ​

Wow. This is huge news. This will have a huge effect on these owners, I'd expect (I'm lucky I'm not one of them).

The way this email is phrased make me think that MAYBE they won't enforce this rule retroactvely (i.e. If you already have a reservation with 5 names listed, they may still give you 5 bands) but on a going-foreward basis, you will no longer be able to list five names in the Premium villa. I guess we'll see.

-John.

 

[suzannesimon]

Wow. This is huge news. This will have a huge effect on these owners, I'd expect (I'm lucky I'm not one of them).

The way this email is phrased make me think that MAYBE they won't enforce this rule retroactvely (i.e. If you already have a reservation with 5 names listed, they may still give you 5 bands) but on a going-foreward basis, you will no longer be able to list five names in the Premium villa. I guess we'll see.

-John.

I’ve never listed names in my units beyond the owner. They may have asked how many people were staying there but I can’t remember. As I said, however, the 3 bedroom occupancy hasn’t changed. It still is at 10 since we never could have a rollaway.

 

[DeniseM]

They may have asked how many people were staying there but I can’t remember.

There is a link to HRA's pre-registration form - the "Diamond Lane form," on the confirmations, where they ask you to list the names of all of your guests and other info. This goes to the front desk - not owner services. It would be interesting to see if you get a response back if you list 5 guests and request a roll-away for a 1 bdm. premium.

 

[PamMo]

I read earlier on TUG about the Harborside HOA (corporate Vistana) decision to stop offering rollaway beds in the larger 1BR's at Harborside, but haven't been home long enough to really think much more about it. We just got this email from Judith Thompson today (below), and it got me thinking. We have never had an issue with the condition of the walls of the unit. Seriously??? Rollaways cause a maintenance issue with the walls? That's nothing compared to the common complaint about the condition of the bathrooms, which aren't anywhere near a rollaway bed in the unit. This unilateral decision to decrease the occupancy limit greatly devalues our units. We pay $3,000/yr in MF's. We can no longer bring our three grandchildren and use the larger 1BR side of our 2BR lockoff, and rent the smaller 1BR to defray costs. Now, we will have to use the entire 2BR. We are not happy with Vistana or our Harborside HOA for making this change, and worry that the same change will be made to our Westin Ka'anapali villas. I hope that other owners/Vistana members have expressed their displeasure with this decision.

In an effort to maintain the quality of our villas, Harborside Resort at Atlantis will no longer offer rollaway beds, as of January 1, 2018. The resort's homeowners association boards have opted to discontinue this service to avoid incurring related maintenance costs in keeping our villa walls and interiors in top condition for all of our Owners and Guests.

As you consider your sleeping accommodations, please note that this does not affect the maximum occupancy of the villas, including up to two adults on any sleeper sofa. Additionally, we will continue to provide cribs upon request when available.

Please refer to your reservation confirmation for the maximum occupancy of the villa you’ve selected for your upcoming stay. We look forward to welcoming you upon arrival for a fun, relaxing vacation on Paradise Island in The Bahamas.

Sincerely,
Judith Thompson
JUDITH THOMPSON
General Manager, Harborside Resort at Atlantis

​

 

[tomandrobin]

We never used the roll away beds. We always packed air mattresses for the kids. They preferred the air mattresses.