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[2008] What dinners did you cook at Harborside?

If you have a "Dream Dinner location" near you this is a great option. We took many of thosedinners in a collapsed cooler in a suitcase. They stayed frozen and we had great dinners every night for 8 people. The food was SOO expensive at Harborside. Our total bill was $120.00 for the 7 nights for 8 people. 4 adults and 4 teens. We took pasta for the kids, bought perishables at the grocery on the way in and ate like kings and queens for the week. It can be done. We then had money left over for the dolphin swim and the casino! Good luck
 
cvelasco said:
If you have a "Dream Dinner location" near you this is a great option. We took many of thosedinners in a collapsed cooler in a suitcase. They stayed frozen[...]
Click to expand...

Great idea! How long was your flight?

We've never been to a Dream Dinners but have always wanted to try it out. Thanks for the reminder - might get there this week!
 
our flight was about 4 hours time from NC. The cooler worked great and I was really surprised that things stayed frozen. Even if partially thawed you will eat the food that week so it is fine. It really made cooking easy and fun. Like a previous post, throw on the stove open a bottle of wine reax in your unit and save tons of money( to throw away at the casino!) Actually we won $600 at the casino so really even with eating out once we made money on our week!Awesome time. I wish it were easier to get there. We will try Cancun next spring break
 
Just an FYI here.


There are no regular ovens. There are microwaves with convection ovens and stove top smooth burners. I've never cooked with a convection oven and so what I brought didn't exactly turn out like it does at home in my gas oven.
Probably my lack of talent here, but I wish I had remembered this from my last mini-stay.


Otherwise, all was great. I am back today from the Harborside. Had a grand time in a Premium Villa - unit 4700+01. Was traded up due to a kind bell person (more on that later).
 
It would be helpful to hear status of open restaurants. Also word is that crowds are way down except for those from cruise ships==particularly that they are not as vigilant at checking wristbands==banking on folks getting in and spending money on food/drinks.
I hope this isn't true so any info would be great!
 
mariawolf said:
It would be helpful to hear status of open restaurants. Also word is that crowds are way down except for those from cruise ships==particularly that they are not as vigilant at checking wristbands==banking on folks getting in and spending money on food/drinks.
I hope this isn't true so any info would be great!
Click to expand...


Maria,
Very true.
Here's what the local folks (taxi drivers, porters, housekeeping, waitstaff, shopkeepers, etc.) said when I asked re: tourism.... it's down, but it's their slow season, however, visitors aren't spending cash as in heady days before. The radio reported that it was down 25%, but I heard that in passing while in a shop. I did notice that there was "added zeal" in the offers of taxi rides, hair braiding, t-shirts/beads/wares etc.
Atlantis had some sort of rotating restaurant closings. Carmines was closed for 2 or 3 nights as was ChopStix and the Bahamian Club and some others. SeaGrapes looked to be closed for the week I was there (just back this a.m.) or permanently ?
B.
 
We were there last month. We picked up a copy of the weekly restaurant schedule at the Concierge Desk. As stated above, they had a rotating restaurant closing. Some restuarants were closed for the whole week like Casa D'Angelo but most were on the rotating schedule. We just had to plan our dining around the rotating schedule. There were plenty of restaurants to choose from each day. We got to visit Mesa Grill, Mosaic, Seafire Steakhouse and Cafe Martinique. We thought about doing the Bahamian Club mid week but it was closed on the days we wanted to go so we chose Seafire Steakhouse instead. There is a thread on the restaurant closing at tripadvisor - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...ise_Island_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas.html.

Interestingly, the weekly restaurant schedule included the total daily occupancy percentage for the Atlantis resorts. I think the total occupancy ranged between 35% to 50% during our stay. I assuming this information was provided to help guest understand the reasoning behind the rotating restaurant schedule.

We tried to catch the junkanoo parade which was advertised in our room on the tube however according to a vendor in Marina Village, the parade is no longer running due to the low occupancy at Atlantis. The water activities near the Beach tower were also closed due to the Beach tower closing but there's still plenty of things to see and do at the resort.
 
alwysonvac said:
We were there last month. We picked up a copy of the weekly restaurant schedule at the Concierge Desk. As stated above, they had a rotating restaurant closing. Some restuarants were closed for the whole week like Casa D'Angelo but most were on the rotating schedule. We just had to plan our dining around the rotating schedule. There were plenty of restaurants to choose from each day. We got to visit Mesa Grill, Mosaic, Seafire Steakhouse and Cafe Martinique. We thought about doing the Bahamian Club mid week but it was closed on the days we wanted to go so we chose Seafire Steakhouse instead. There is a thread on the restaurant closing at tripadvisor - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...ise_Island_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas.html.

Interestingly, the weekly restaurant schedule included the total daily occupancy percentage for the Atlantis resorts. I think the total occupancy ranged between 35% to 50% during our stay. I assuming this information was provided to help guest understand the reasoning behind the rotating restaurant schedule.

We tried to catch the junkanoo parade which was advertised in our room on the tube however according to a vendor in Marina Village, the parade is no longer running due to the low occupancy at Atlantis. The water activities near the Beach tower were also closed due to the Beach tower closing but there's still plenty of things to see and do at the resort.
Click to expand...



Good info re: the restaurants.

Re: the Junkanoo, we stumbled into it on Sunday night at around 9 pm. I, too,
understood that it wouldn't be happening, but it did and it was fantastic.
There is a small one at the end of the 4 pm Dolphin show at Dolphin Cay, but the one at the Marina Village went on and on quite to the delight of all.
 
Beaglemom3 said:
Just an FYI here.


There are no regular ovens. There are microwaves with convection ovens and stove top smooth burners. I've never cooked with a convection oven and so what I brought didn't exactly turn out like it does at home in my gas oven.
Probably my lack of talent here, but I wish I had remembered this from my last mini-stay.


Otherwise, all was great. I am back today from the Harborside. Had a grand time in a Premium Villa - unit 4700+01. Was traded up due to a kind bell person (more on that later).
Click to expand...

In phase II, building # 6 Friday check-in, there were regular ranges with a conventional oven with a microwave above it in my 2BR L/O - in the smaller side, there was only a cook top and micro/convection combo
 
mariawolf said:
Also word is that crowds are way down except for those from cruise ships==particularly that they are not as vigilant at checking wristbands==banking on folks getting in and spending money on food/drinks. I hope this isn't true so any info would be great!
Click to expand...

I didn't witness this during our stay last month. There were at least two occasions that I recall where visitors were told that they could not enter the outside pool area due to the lack of wristbands.
 
alwysonvac said:
I didn't witness this during our stay last month. There were at least two occasions that I recall where visitors were told that they could not enter the outside pool area due to the lack of wristbands.
Click to expand...

Ditto here.
Most times when I left the casino or hotel areas to access the walkways facing the ocean, a security guard (or two) would ask to see my hotel card if I wasn't wearing a wristband.
There may have been a couple times when we weren't asked, but we were asked more times than not.
 
still struggling - coming from Canada

Hello, I appreciate all this talk about food to bring but I have had issues trying to reach the Canadian and US border people to find out exactly what we are permitted to bring from Canada.
We fly from Canada to the US for a one night stay over then we fly from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau.
Has anyone flown from Canada to the US then to the Bahamas and have they had any issues bringing any food with them or did they purchase it when they landed in the US or wait until we arrive in the Bahamas

I would prefer to bring it with me but do not want to be embarresed at the airport.

travelling with 2 adults and two children age 10 and 6

Harborside (Dec 12 - 19)
Vistana villages (Dec 19 - 26)
 
adanac1 said:
Hello, I appreciate all this talk about food to bring but I have had issues trying to reach the Canadian and US border people to find out exactly what we are permitted to bring from Canada.
We fly from Canada to the US for a one night stay over then we fly from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau.
Has anyone flown from Canada to the US then to the Bahamas and have they had any issues bringing any food with them or did they purchase it when they landed in the US or wait until we arrive in the Bahamas

I would prefer to bring it with me but do not want to be embarresed at the airport.

travelling with 2 adults and two children age 10 and 6

Harborside (Dec 12 - 19)
Vistana villages (Dec 19 - 26)
Click to expand...

If you want to play it safe, only packaged goods should be taken across the border into the U.S. Fruit, vegetables and meat can be an issue.
 
Two questions I haven't seen covered (probably because they aren't EXACTLY related to the thread title):

1) Do your Harborside Keys act as charge cards at all Atlantis locations?

2) How are the prices at the express locations? (Like Marina Pizzeria, Cave Grill, Dive-in)
 
mariawolf said:
We bought grouper under the bridge and my neighbor who came with us--who is Martha Stewart on our street--cooked it--we had it fried one night and baked another--bought salad and we were done.
Or go to Carmines and order too much and bring home the next night to reheat.
We have also gotten the mixed grill at the Bahamian club and it is way too much for the two of us to eat so it makes a great breakfast the next day--this is making me hungry to be there!
I always bring mac and cheese for my grandkids--it is their favorite no matter where we are and it is easy to transport--along with popcorn,peanut butter and fruit by the fruit for snacks.
But honestly without Martha around I would rather eat out!
I do bring a plastic type bottle for each of us and bring crystal light lemonade to add to the water and then freeze to take to the pool.
Click to expand...

Maria, when you say 'under the bridge' do you mean where you go to get the water taxi (Paradise Island side?) to the cruise ship dock????
Right next to building # 6 :D ?

Or do you mean on the Nassau side of the bridge?
 
Grayfal--the Nassau side of the bridge--there was also someone there who would do a variety of local fare--already cooked and we just brought back and ate it.
Yes your room key is used for food and lots of purchases except for a few of the pool side sundry shops--the nice thing is that when you check in that if you want separate billing that you set that up upon arrival and that way everyone gets their own bill--just make sure to sign the back of your card so you won't get confused and pick up the wrong one. We find that this works great when you are traveling with a group where everyone wants to pay their own bill.
 
The place under the bridge is Potter's Cay and it is under the bridge furthest from Harborside on the Nassau side of the water. Rows of shacks serving up conch and other seafood (We liked Bro B's--it's one of the first places on the left as you come over the bridge) and a series of produce vendors. If you continue further, there are several boats docked that sell fish that you can cook yourself. We got 5 snapper and a jack for $20 plus a buck each to clean and scale. They also had grouper while we were there. It's probably a 15-20 minute walk from Harborside at the most.
 
formerhater said:
The place under the bridge is Potter's Cay and it is under the bridge furthest from Harborside on the Nassau side of the water. Rows of shacks serving up conch and other seafood (We liked Bro B's--it's one of the first places on the left as you come over the bridge) and a series of produce vendors. If you continue further, there are several boats docked that sell fish that you can cook yourself. We got 5 snapper and a jack for $20 plus a buck each to clean and scale. They also had grouper while we were there. It's probably a 15-20 minute walk from Harborside at the most.
Click to expand...
mariawolf said:
Grayfal--the Nassau side of the bridge--there was also someone there who would do a variety of local fare--already cooked and we just brought back and ate it.
Yes your room key is used for food and lots of purchases except for a few of the pool side sundry shops--the nice thing is that when you check in that if you want separate billing that you set that up upon arrival and that way everyone gets their own bill--just make sure to sign the back of your card so you won't get confused and pick up the wrong one. We find that this works great when you are traveling with a group where everyone wants to pay their own bill.
Click to expand...

Thanks, when I go next year, I am bringing a wonderful cook with me- this will be great as we all love fresh seafood!
 
The fish fry at Arawak Cay is a good deal ($15-20) One entree can feed two just fine.
Lots of Grouper which I do not like, but other things like Conch salad, shrimp, etc.
Arawak is located between downtown Nassau and Cable beach. You can't miss the many restaurants.

Could not find a website for them, but did find this where they (and many other Nassau restaurants) are mentioned.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/352476
 
catwgirl said:
I brought a cooler full of frozen meat from Omaha steaks and a small George Foreman grill. It worked great! Love that lil George.
Click to expand...
Hail to the Cookin' Queen! :whoopie:
 
Using the Harborside Key as a Charge Card:
I was kinda of surprise that receipts weren't always available when requested. I personally was a little uncomfortable not having anything in writing just in case we had any discrepancies at checkout therefore my harborside key card usage was very limited. This was my first trip to Harborside.

Express Dining Locations:
I peeked into Marina Pizzeria & Murray's Deli to see what they had to offer. We didn't eat there so I can't coment on the food.

At Marina Pizzeria, the menu posted on the wall stated that a slice of pizza was $7.50 and a pie was about $30 to $40. I don't know if a plain slice or pie was cheaper. The prepared tossed salads were about $10 - $15. The food looked good.

At Murray's Deli, the sandwiches were about $15 to $20. I've read that they are large and can be shared by two. You can eat in or take out.

We basically had a big breakfast everyday in our villa and went out for dinner most nights. My husband and I shared a double burger and fries once at the pool area. I think he said it was about $20. We also shared nachos one late afternoon at Atlantis Bar & Grill in the casino which I think was around $20. The nachos were huge enough to share for two or more. We skipped dinner that night.
 
Marina Pizza -- Good pizza, some different flavors (not just pepperoni and plain cheese), whole pizzas are made to order. A pizza and large salad fed 2 adults and 2 kids (9 and 12) for dinner. Prices are high compared to the US but OK for the Bahamas. We ate there twice. I've also heard that Dominos delivers, but I have not used them.

Deli -- Huge portions, good food. We ate there for dinner once. They also have a deli counter if you want food to go.
 
Convection Ovens

We are leaving for Harborside on April 3rd and was thinking of taking some Dream Dinners with us. How difficult are the convection ovens to use? I have never used one.

Fran
 
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