DanCali
TUG Member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2009
- Messages
- 4,492
- Reaction score
- 1,790
- Points
- 398
- Resorts Owned
- Vistana, Marriott, DVC
We were recently at HRA and stayed in a 2BR unit Phase II. The resort actually was in better condition than I recalled from my visit last year - the overall furnishings and amenities were about on par with Marriotts'. For some reason and recalled and expected less. The front desk people did their best to accommodate our view request and we got a building 5 south view, which is a very nice view for Phase II. Not sure how much time stamps matter here but we did book at 12 months out and being 5-star elite may have also helped.
Everything in the room seemed functional and the one housekeeping request we had (extra sheets and blankets for the sleeper couch) was filled quickly, especially for a checkin day. The biggest peeve I have is that the amenity pack they provided included only 2 dishwasher tabs, and they actually sell more at the lobby convenience store for $1-$2 a piece. That seems kind of petty for the maintenance fees owners pay and I'm sure lots of people leave a bunch of dirty dishes on the last day to save money on that extra tab... I wish the balconies had 4 chairs (like the 1BR premiums) and they also should find a way to include free wifi for owner stays. The lobby now does have high speed free wifi, instead of the free desktop stations, which I used to do some work on one of the nights on my own laptop - and it's also convenient to check emails before and after the water park (although we did use the AT&T Intl Day Pass).
The shuttles are no longer the dedicated Harborside shuttles - they now use the Atlantis resort shuttles. That does create some weird longer routes like HRA->Coral->HRA->Cove->Royal but the driving distances are pretty short so it wasn't a big deal. But if you like going to the Royal, you should take that into account.
Atlantis was busy but not overly crowded. We could get chairs with umbrellas reliably before 10:30am. It got busier later in the day with the cruise ship crowds. Some of the towel huts seemed permanently closed and some rides were occasionally closed on some days (challenger and jungle slides) allegedly due to lack of lifeguards. Some of the towel huts ran out of towels on occasion - not sure why.
Regarding dining, I'll just say that Frankie Gone Bananas (I think that's formerly Bimini Road) is a bit pricy for what it is, and the chicken parmesan at Carmine's seemed precooked and not freshly made (center of patty was cold).
Below are some photos of the unit. Happy to respond to questions.
Everything in the room seemed functional and the one housekeeping request we had (extra sheets and blankets for the sleeper couch) was filled quickly, especially for a checkin day. The biggest peeve I have is that the amenity pack they provided included only 2 dishwasher tabs, and they actually sell more at the lobby convenience store for $1-$2 a piece. That seems kind of petty for the maintenance fees owners pay and I'm sure lots of people leave a bunch of dirty dishes on the last day to save money on that extra tab... I wish the balconies had 4 chairs (like the 1BR premiums) and they also should find a way to include free wifi for owner stays. The lobby now does have high speed free wifi, instead of the free desktop stations, which I used to do some work on one of the nights on my own laptop - and it's also convenient to check emails before and after the water park (although we did use the AT&T Intl Day Pass).
The shuttles are no longer the dedicated Harborside shuttles - they now use the Atlantis resort shuttles. That does create some weird longer routes like HRA->Coral->HRA->Cove->Royal but the driving distances are pretty short so it wasn't a big deal. But if you like going to the Royal, you should take that into account.
Atlantis was busy but not overly crowded. We could get chairs with umbrellas reliably before 10:30am. It got busier later in the day with the cruise ship crowds. Some of the towel huts seemed permanently closed and some rides were occasionally closed on some days (challenger and jungle slides) allegedly due to lack of lifeguards. Some of the towel huts ran out of towels on occasion - not sure why.
Regarding dining, I'll just say that Frankie Gone Bananas (I think that's formerly Bimini Road) is a bit pricy for what it is, and the chicken parmesan at Carmine's seemed precooked and not freshly made (center of patty was cold).
Below are some photos of the unit. Happy to respond to questions.
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