At Harborside now...

[Bubbasgonefishin]

Here we are at Harborside.. I have a few observations:

1. It ain't no St John! lol Its nice but I think I do prefer STJ.

2. The food is so expensive!

3. There were 2 women at the front desk pitching a hissyfit about their room. One of the women told the desk, "we want the same room we were in last year! My husband made the reservations and He didn't know (unable to catch the rest of the sentence). She (referring to the other person) Bought at one of the premier resorts you know. We should get the best room! She paid over $90,000 for her place so we deserve it!" When bubba heard that he said to me "Hey lets sell her our St John for 1/2 what she paid for hers!" lol They were soooo loud.

4. After laughing about this scene, we got to our room...and whoops.. the waterfront view we had was a building view. We picked up the phone and kindly asked if they had anything else available. Honey gets more than vinegar and we were moved. lol


Ms. $90,000 timeshare... if you are reading this...... lower your voice and be nice. It goes a long way.... Also... check TUG Marketplace!!!! You could have saved about $85000!!!! LOL

 

[mecllap]

Are you talking about the resort or the island? What do you prefer about St. John (I wouldn't expect them to be similar in much of any way -- a different experience entirely).

Hope you will post some particulars about your room, locations, and what you like and don't like about the overall experience.

Have a great time!

 

[Bubbasgonefishin]

the room is nice.. the view is of the bridge and the waterway and to the left is the harbor in Nassau with 3 huge lighted cruise ships. It is a very pretty view. Especially when you consider the view in the previous room was of another building. I'm not quite sure but it seems the first one was a little bit bigger...which doesn't matter to us. When we asked for a different room we tried to "downgrade" (their words) to get a better view but they wouldn't let us. They said they had to give us a 2BR unless we changed our reservations through Starwoods. We are in a 2BR and the other couple had to cancel.

We like Bahamas..its totally different from St John. STJ is more laid back, Its like comparing apples and oranges. they both are great but in different ways.

I'll give a better update when we get home...

 

[clsmit]

Which building are you in? Some of the rooms have no view, I agree.

I had a similar experience when we checked in at Harborside couple years ago. The guy in front of me was really not happy with his room. He kept trying to say that he knew people in New York and should get a better room. We had a 3BR LO and had no view at all. And we are 5 star owners who reserved 12 months in advance at 9am. Had I known what room we were in when I got our keys I would have asked nicely for another room, but for the kids, their guests, and us it was fine.

Have a great time, Bubba!

 

[spencersmama]

I'm interested to hear what you pay for food prices in St. John and where you eat. I agree the restaurants at Atlantis/Harbourside are pricey, but I always heard St. John is even more expensive.

 

[jerseygirl]

In my experience, the prices are pretty comparable for a good meal (e.g. Mesa Grill at Atlantis vs. ZoZos on St John), but St John has a lot more inexpensive options (bars like Woody's, Beach Bar, etc.) with decent food and good atmosphere. At the end of a week or two, I'm going to guess we spend a lot less on St John. Different vacations altogether, IMO. One is like Disneyworld, one is pure relaxation. I love them both, but if had to choose one over the other, it would be St John ....

 

[tomandrobin]

Honey gets more than vinegar and we were moved.

I could not agree more....why people don't get that is beyond me.

There are times to be tough and there are times to ask, not demand.

 

[tomandrobin]

In my experience, the prices are pretty comparable for a good meal (e.g. Mesa Grill at Atlantis vs. ZoZos on St John), but St John has a lot more inexpensive options (bars like Woody's, Beach Bar, etc.) with decent food and good atmosphere. At the end of a week or two, I'm going to guess we spend a lot less on St John. Different vacations altogether, IMO. One is like Disneyworld, one is pure relaxation. I love them both, but if had to choose one over the other, it would be St John ....

Nice "quick" comparison of the two resorts/destinations.

 

[jarta]

Which building are you in? Some of the rooms have no view, I agree.

I had a similar experience when we checked in at Harborside couple years ago. The guy in front of me was really not happy with his room. He kept trying to say that he knew people in New York and should get a better room. We had a 3BR LO and had no view at all. And we are 5 star owners who reserved 12 months in advance at 9am. Had I known what room we were in when I got our keys I would have asked nicely for another room, but for the kids, their guests, and us it was fine.

Have a great time, Bubba!

clsmit, ... Look at the resort maps for HRA on TUG. The check-in day can make a big difference in the probability of getting a good view for the 3-br lockoff units. ... eom

 

[Ken555]

I could not agree more....why people don't get that is beyond me.

There are times to be tough and there are times to ask, not demand.

And some owners are from New York and others are not... :hysterical:

 

[Bubbasgonefishin]

Jersey Girl is exactly right. She said what I couldn't find words for. Thanks!!

Lets see.. in the room watching the Super Bowl. They are having tons of partys around here. We walked through the casino earlier and we could hear screaming. Guess someone dropped the ball or intercepted.

We beach'd it today. it was nice. Walked a little (as much as I can on 2 broken feet!!!!) Loved the walk through aquarium. As you can tell by my name... bubba (hubby) loves to fish and named all the fish for me. LOL Lazy River tommorrow.

To answer a few questions... We are in building 5. We have a water view and a bridge view. its pretty nice. Its not a prime view but it is fine, considering we aren't owners here, we aren't 5* or anything like that.

Food... WOWWEE.... it ain't cheap!!!!!! When we arrived our room wasn't ready. On the reccomendation of another website and the cab driver when we came in, we went to the Poop deck. $10 to cab over, $10 to cab back. I just can't see walking that far even with good feet!! The food was ok. not fantastic, not bad. Bubba had a burger, I wasn't hungry and had Crabcakes. (appetizer) the bill was $40ish. FOR LUNCH??!! EEK. That night since we were tired from travel and my feet were barking pretty bad, we went to THe Point. It was Excellent!!! We both had grilled Mahi, 1 drink, 1 diet coke. the bill was $70. Tonight we went to Murrays deli. ummm... well.... Bubba had meat loaf and I had a Ruben... Bubba wasn't happy with meatloaf and the ruben was ok.. the bill was $50ish. I had rather pay $20 more for good food.

We figured it was cheaper to eat round here than to have to pay for a taxi to downtown. Tommorrow we are going to Fish Fry for dinner.

I packed a suitcase full of snacks/breakfast stuff. Love the precooked bacon! Also packed a cooler with hotdogs, butter, cheese. We saved a lot of money doing this.


Like someone said earlier...in STJ you can find some great places to eat economically. We haven't seen that here, or found anyplace like Woody's........yet.

 

[readyalready]

Our favorite place to eat is Carmines, we love Italian food and if you order with restraint it can be relatively inexpensive for Atlantis. Our family of 5 could share Chicken Parm with a side of pasta and be good. It is family style, so you need to share or end up with a ton of leftovers.

 

[siesta]

Our favorite place to eat is Carmines, we love Italian food and if you order with restraint it can be relatively inexpensive for Atlantis. Our family of 5 could share Chicken Parm with a side of pasta and be good. It is family style, so you need to share or end up with a ton of leftovers.

i love carmines, especially the one here in Chicago. Our recent trip to Atlantis we had dinner for 2 and had spaghetti with calamari, veal parm, and a drink each and bill was over $100. Sure, we had leftovers.

 

[Bubbasgonefishin]

We ate at Twin Brothers last night. The bill was $70.01 considering ferry/bus over then taxi back it would have been cheaper to eat somewhere around here. It was good but service was horrible!!!! People around us were seated, served and gone before we were served. Also we were out of drinks when we got our food after about 10 minutes bubba went to the bar and ordered drinks. When we finished eating she brought our drinks. I know about island time but this was bad. Food was good though.

 

[GregT]

How is the weather?

I've heard that Jan/early Feb can be a little "cool" for swimming, is that the case?

Thx - and enjoy the trip!

Best,

Greg

 

[Bubbasgonefishin]

Yesterday we spent the morning in the Lazy River (slow one) then lazed on the beach. We walked down to the water and were surprised at how warm it was. So we splashed around for a while. The waves were high and a pretty strong undertow so we didn't get out past our waists. we watched the waves crash very hard down the other end of the beach. But the water was warm enough to get in.

 

[Bubbasgonefishin]

Oh...and the weather is partly cloudy. sun will peek out for a few minutes then go back behind the clouds. it sprinkled rain for about 4 minutes yesterday but thats it. At night I see some people wrapped up in long sleeved jackets and pants like it was going to snow... but I am in shorts and sleeveless shirts and sandals (ok so its orthopedic shoes for stress fractures but I pretend its cute sandals!!! lol) its warm.. its not hot or cold.

 

[bizaro86]

i love carmines, especially the one here in Chicago. Our recent trip to Atlantis we had dinner for 2 and had spaghetti with calamari, veal parm, and a drink each and bill was over $100. Sure, we had leftovers.

I loved the Carmine's in NYC, and didn't know there were other locations. However, I looked up the websites, and I don't think the Carmine's in Chicago is affiliated with the NYC/DC/Atlantis version.

 

[MichaelColey]

How is the weather?

I've heard that Jan/early Feb can be a little "cool" for swimming, is that the case?

We were there last week, and the weather was PERFECT for us. It was cool enough that you weren't burning up when you weren't in the water, yet warm enough that the water didn't feel cold after you were in it a minute or two. The ocean was a bit colder than the pools/water rides, but it felt comfortable after a few minutes. A couple days were pretty windy and felt cooler and one day was a bit warmer, but in general it was awesome.

 

[kathyg]

Is there a supermarket nearby?

We can't use our WSJ week this year and one option we're considering is going to Atlantis. You mentioned food prices. When we stay at WSJ, we usually eat in for most dinners -- with 2 kids (one picky eater and one with food allergies) it's tough to find someplace to eat where everyone is happy. How is Harborside for cooking in? Is there a market nearby as there is in St. John?

Thanks!

Kathy

 

[dlpearson]

We can't use our WSJ week this year and one option we're considering is going to Atlantis. You mentioned food prices. When we stay at WSJ, we usually eat in for most dinners -- with 2 kids (one picky eater and one with food allergies) it's tough to find someplace to eat where everyone is happy. How is Harborside for cooking in? Is there a market nearby as there is in St. John?

Thanks!

Kathy

There's a small market about a 5-10 minute walk away. A larger/full scale market is a few miles away in Nassau. Harborside arranges grocery runs on a van/shuttle (something like $8 pp for the shuttle). Most people don't rent cars at Atlantis. There is no traditional oven at Harborside--just a convection microwave and stovetop buners--you can cook some creative meals, just a little harder than what you'd normally do.

 

[MichaelColey]

Read my other thread and (once it is approved) my review of Harborside. Eating there is VERY expensive. Groceries there are expensive. Pack all the nonperishables you can.

There is a daily hotel shuttle to a grocery store for $7 (per person). I just walked to the grocery store with our stroller and brought back groceries (mainly gallons of water) in the stroller. It's about a mile and a half from the resort to the grocery store - about a 30 minute walk.

The kitchen is fully equipped with one big exception -- there is no oven. The microwave doubles as a convection oven, but it didn't do that well for us. Fortunately, six of the seven dinners (and all of the breakfasts) we planned were stovetop dinners and we just packed sandwiches for lunch. Also, there are no grills on the property, so I was jonesing for steak/ribs/BBQ by the time we got back.

 

[m61376]

You might consider packing a flat double burner stovetop grill pan for grilling steaks.

 

[Bubbasgonefishin]

Gorgeous weather today! It felt like summertime!!

We went by the front desk this morning to get change and I asked the clerk at the desk about the women who were so mad and rude over their room. She said they were in the same room and didn't move them.....then she smiled at me. LOL LOL!!!!! She said they demanded a pool view but didn't get it. She said they have the same view we do now.

ah well... thems the breaks!

 

[spencersmama]

he knew people in New York and should get a better room

The mafia?????:ignore:

Funny, I hated Carmine's and liked Murray's Deli. Italian is my least favorite food, but even my sister, who loves Italian, wasn't impressed. I don't remember what I got at Murray's, but I know it wasn't meatloaf (also picky about meatloaf) or a reuben. Breakfast stuff, maybe?

I really liked Bimini, the island themed place next to Murray's. They have some spicy and mojo flavored meats. I remember thinking $25ish for a steak was a bargain by that point in the trip! I really liked the restaurant that was downstairs from the main lobby in the towers. The tables were surrounded by the fish tanks. I don't think that is there any more. I think I was there 4 years ago now.