Thank you!

[dkazanji1]

Before our first visit to Harborside, we checked the TUG Bulletin Board to find suggestions and recommendations made by TUG members in past posts. Thanks to TUG, we had an incredible week. Some of the tips made it easier for us. For example, we knew to tip a porter to quickly get us through the airport on arrival. Some recommendations helped us save money on restaurants. For example, we dined at the Point, Anthony's, etc. Best of all, we booked a one bedroom deluxe unit, but thanks to TUG, we knew to ask for a corner unit which is larger than a standard one bedroom deluxe unit and has a very nice balcony. (For anyone who has yet to visit Harborside, standard one bedroom units have a sliding glass door at the end of the living room, but the railing outside is less than a foot away, so it is not a balcony in the true sense of the word.) We also got lucky because our unit was on the third floor overlooking the harbor, so we had a wonderful view. We also knew, thanks to TUG, that Atlantis is an incredibly fun resort, and we can't wait to go back!

(We also met neighbors who are members of TUG, but we forgot to give you our e-mail address so we can stay in touch, so if Bill happens to read this message, please send us a PM.)

Thank you again, TUG!

Donna and George

 

[rickandcindy23]

You might be talking about billymach! He was there very recently, and I remember he said he just got back from Harborside.

 

[mariawolf]

Glad you had a great time--that balcony makes a big difference in the deluxe unit--and you were lucky to get one as there aren't that many in each building==we own a two bedroom lockoff and a one bedroom deluxe which is week 52 so we feel we can go to that unit with our grandkids and not feel crowded.
Did you stay in the reception building?? If so did you notice any renovations?? I have gotten mixed reports on whether anything has started. Since we will use our two bedroom lockoff the first week in January I hope we won't be affected by the renovations as I love my 4th floor marina view!

 

[mariawolf]

I just noticed you said you had a harbor view so I am guessing that means you were in phase 2--the newer section so you likely didn't see anything going on in phase 1.
But if you did any info would be helpful!

 

[dkazanji1]

Thank you, rickandcindy23, BillyMach is our friend's TUG BBS user name.

Mariawolf, Anticipating that our friends in TUG might be interested, we asked about Section One renovations and were told they would start January 2009. We stayed in Building 6 which is in Section Two, and our unit was in very good condition. Building 6 is the one closest to the bridge, and it is the building where Harborside puts Friday arrivals. We were in unit 3781. We made our reservations at 9:00 AM Eastern Standard Time exactly eight months before our stay date. Though we requested a corner unit at that time, the lady at the front desk did not seem aware of that request when we checked in. Fortunately, she was very nice and very persistent because it took her nearly ten minutes of non-stop typing before she found our unit. We may have gotten lucky because we arrived early (a little before noon), and the corner units had not been given away yet. We were also very lucky because housekeeping had our unit ready by 2:00 PM.

Mariawolf, we got to see a two bedroom lockoff while we were there, and they are beautiful! It must be wonderful to share the holidays in Atlantis with your family. We hope to bring our family to Harborside some day. We had our first grandchild last month, and everywhere we went George and I kept saying Daniel will have fun doing that when he get big enough.

Donna and George

 

[SDKath]

Do you guys think an almost 5 year old girl would have fun too? Or are the activities more for older children?

Thanks! Katherine

 

[clsmit]

Katherine -- Your almost 5 year old will have a ton of fun. At Harborside there's a zero entry pool that has a shower thingy that drops water. So she can play there easily. In the Myan Temple section of the waterslides at Atlantis there are a series of smaller slides that she can play on. The older lazy river (between the Beach and Coral) is also calm. It's a lot like the river at WKV in the hotel section. The Cove beach is calm, too (the Paradise beach is the one we can't go to). If she loves water the bigger lazy river will also be fun -- there's just one section where she'll need more supervision since the waves can get a little high.

 

[dkazanji1]

I agree that a child of almost four will have a wonderful time at Harborside and Atlantis, and we say many happy children while we were there. As already mentioned, one side of the Harborside pool is zero entry and very shallow with a water feature (the best way to describe it is water comes out of pipes), and many of the children loved that. The Atlantis has a special play pool for children that looked like great fun. We also saw Atlantis staff members leading the children in non-water games near the play pool. For a fee, Atlantis also offers a special program for children. George and I kept saying that we can't wait to bring our grandson there when he gets big enough. (He's one month old.)

Donna and George

 

[tomandrobin]

I think younger children will just fine. As mentioned above, there are a lot of pools and activities gear for younger kids. Even the aquaventure is fine with younger kids. Use a double tube, use a life vest (available at the aquaventure).

 

[mariawolf]

UGH! Hearing that the renovations will start January 2009 is right when we are going so I will be sorely disappointed to be in another location as we own 4th floor marina view in the reception building--hopefully since we go the first week of January they will be on island time and start late
As to a 4 to 5 year old we have been going since our oldest grandchild now almost 10 was 2 and he has always had a ball--it is his favorite vacation--the aquariums are awesome and we almost always walk through the dig either coming or going to Harborside. And as other posters mentioned there are the slides on the back side of the Mayan Temple along with a newer jungle gym type climbing area there also.
I wouldn't hesitate taking younger kids at all!

 

[billymach4]

Before our first visit to Harborside, we checked the TUG Bulletin Board to find suggestions and recommendations made by TUG members in past posts. Thanks to TUG, we had an incredible week. Some of the tips made it easier for us. For example, we knew to tip a porter to quickly get us through the airport on arrival. Some recommendations helped us save money on restaurants. For example, we dined at the Point, Anthony's, etc. Best of all, we booked a one bedroom deluxe unit, but thanks to TUG, we knew to ask for a corner unit which is larger than a standard one bedroom deluxe unit and has a very nice balcony. (For anyone who has yet to visit Harborside, standard one bedroom units have a sliding glass door at the end of the living room, but the railing outside is less than a foot away, so it is not a balcony in the true sense of the word.) We also got lucky because our unit was on the third floor overlooking the harbor, so we had a wonderful view. We also knew, thanks to TUG, that Atlantis is an incredibly fun resort, and we can't wait to go back!

(We also met neighbors who are members of TUG, but we forgot to give you our e-mail address so we can stay in touch, so if Bill happens to read this message, please send us a PM.)

Thank you again, TUG!

Donna and George

I also must thank all of the wonderful tuggers for the great advice.

Yes Donna and George I was happy to meet both of you in Paradise. The 3 of us had a wonderful time. Hello again.

Will send you a PM.