Harborside Review - July 2022

[dioxide45]

Since there is only 2 of us, I am considering just doing day passes to Margaritaville Nassau. It's a 12 minute walk from the wharf and $79 per person wifi included. I can then decide if I want to walk back to the ship for lunch. I am not sure a Saturday during platinum season with an extra house keeping fee and the taxi rides are worth it.

We are going in Gold Plus season, so the lowest points. It is certainly harder to justify it for higher seasons and especially on weekends. We also had the option of doing it for a cruise later this fall which would have allowed us to book a weeknight instead and save about half the points, but we decided to do it now rather than that cruise when we will have a bunch of people traveling with us.

 

[Sv1plat52]

hospitality:
the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.

maybe you are trying to sell or rent your week, or you were just lucky.

To anybody else, avoid this place like the plague.

-AC stop working in the middle of the night.
-Hot water is a hit or miss
-Food poisoning is included in the menu
-Workers think that they are making you a favor
-If you have to take the kids to the splasher’s pool, give them a booster Tetanus Shot.
-Shuttle service…

I came back here thinking that it would be good to bring business so it would benefit the workers, but they do not deserve it.

Not worth the aggravation.

 

[DanCali]

maybe you are trying to sell or rent your week, or you were just lucky.

I am not trying to sell our weeks. We own the 2BR non-lockoff units (sleep 6) in Gold and Platinum season which are extremely hard to find (none are available on RedWeek as of today out of 43 resales) and I have no desire to part with them. We bought these because getting a 2BR at 8 months out used to be outrageously hard pre-covid and will likely be that way again, IMO, now that travel restrictions are mostly gone.

I do rent them out when we don't use them. But, fortunately, there is plenty of demand to rent them at well over MFs without my having to leave fake reviews on a bbs most renters don't even read... The rental value of our weeks has actually increased since they eliminated rollaway beds in the larger 1BR units back around 2018 because families with 3 kids need a 2BR now.

It sounds like you had more than one bad experience there - as an owner I am sorry to hear that. It's been more hit and miss for us. The latest trip was extremely enjoyable, and we'll be returning again sooner rather than later - it takes us less time to fly there than we spend in the immigration line... beats flying 12-14 hours to Hawaii each way. YMMV.

 

[SteveS1]

We’re here now at Harborside.
Free internet = YES

It’s a pleasant surprise after paying the ~$25/day on my six prior trips. I see it mentioned earlier in this thread and missed it when I read the review before leaving. It lets us keep the $10/day per person intl passport off most days.

 

[DanCali]

We’re here now at Harborside.
Free internet = YES

It’s a pleasant surprise after paying the ~$25/day on my six prior trips. I see it mentioned earlier in this thread and missed it when I read the review before leaving. It lets us keep the $10/day per person intl passport off most days.

That's great to hear! I wish I bothered to check when we were there...

Please let us know if you had a nice, relaxing and enjoyable stay or, alternatively, if there are any AC stoppages, lack of hot water in the shower, food poisoning incidents, rude workers or anything else that may be cause for concern!

 

[Sv1plat52]

I am not trying to sell our weeks. We own the 2BR non-lockoff units (sleep 6) in Gold and Platinum season which are extremely hard to find (none are available on RedWeek as of today out of 43 resales) and I have no desire to part with them. We bought these because getting a 2BR at 8 months out used to be outrageously hard pre-covid and will likely be that way again, IMO, now that travel restrictions are mostly gone.

I do rent them out when we don't use them. But, fortunately, there is plenty of demand to rent them at well over MFs without my having to leave fake reviews on a bbs most renters don't even read... The rental value of our weeks has actually increased since they eliminated rollaway beds in the larger 1BR units back around 2018 because families with 3 kids need a 2BR now.

It sounds like you had more than one bad experience there - as an owner I am sorry to hear that. It's been more hit and miss for us. The latest trip was extremely enjoyable, and we'll be returning again sooner rather than later - it takes us less time to fly there than we spend in the immigration line... beats flying 12-14 hours to Hawaii each way. YMMV.

As an owner you may have more leverage in which rooms they assign to you. We booked using our staroptions.

We basically only enjoy the beach, and the fact that the rooms are big. (2br lock off). But there are too many issues that need to be addressed. Even the workers there kept mentioning about Bahamar almost hinting we should go there.

I think people that go to Atlantis and harborside contribute to the bad environment. People do not tip. This makes workers less likely to want to work. Even in areas like the Cove you do not see people giving tips.( also do to the cashless policy). This then becomes a vicious cycle: people do not tip, workers do not work, people that wanted to tip do not tip because they do not get the right service.

The room look painted and clean as opposed to last year, but the hot water was intermittent or just plain cold. The ac in the small lock off did not work.

They should really get their S together. You guys pay a lot of money in yearly fees for this place to be in this condition.

 

[Red elephant]

As an owner you may have more leverage in which rooms they assign to you. We booked using our staroptions.

We basically only enjoy the beach, and the fact that the rooms are big. (2br lock off). But there are too many issues that need to be addressed. Even the workers there kept mentioning about Bahamar almost hinting we should go there.

I think people that go to Atlantis and harborside contribute to the bad environment. People do not tip. This makes workers less likely to want to work. Even in areas like the Cove you do not see people giving tips.( also do to the cashless policy). This then becomes a vicious cycle: people do not tip, workers do not work, people that wanted to tip do not tip because they do not get the right service.

The room look painted and clean as opposed to last year, but the hot water was intermittent or just plain cold. The ac in the small lock off did not work.

They should really get their S together. You guys pay a lot of money in yearly fees for this place to be in this condition.

Wow this is quite unfortunate . I have EOY platinum fixed week in phase 1 and have not gone back since I bought. I was planning to go back as we extend out trip and go to Eleuthera which is amazing. Hopefully the abound conversion will work out well in relation to the maintenance fees we pay.

 

[DanCali]

Even the workers there kept mentioning about Bahamar almost hinting we should go there.

I am pretty sure Baha Mar is hurting Atlantis business quite a bit and taking a lot of the higher end Cove-staying Casino-gambling clientele. That place does look awesome, but it costs $5000+ to stay there for a week in a tiny hotel room during peak times.

 

[heckp]

Any information on the current status of the wifi. I had a renter there in late June that said he used the "Atlantis-guest" wifi on his phone, Ipad, and computer the whole week. Did not pay any wifi fees and the quality was good. He did not do any streaming TV. But said he could do short videos. His two sons used phones and ipads for tiktok and the like with no problem.

Any other reports on the current status.

It was free wifi everywhere the resort. It was ok but I only used it for social media and emails. My husband was "working from home" some mornings and he didn't seem to have problems. We were there last month

 

[SandyPGravel]

In case you're wondering... yes, I do carry two small waffle makers with me to make waffles in the room (1.3 lbs each). Just have to buy syrup and Nutella to put on them. The kids love it, especially this one that can be a pancake or waffle, depending on which side is up!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V6M95F2/

I had a waffle maker shipped to us in Hawaii and I've never lived it down from our friends that came along. He teases me about it whenever he can. (Although, he ate the waffles!!)

 

[SteveS1]

Just checked out of Harborside.
Free Internet = NO!

it was free when we arrived on Friday. It was free all weekend. Then last night we started getting the usual prompt to pay. I accepted it and figured I’d have it reversed when I checked out, if the charge was there.

The charge was there .. so I asked why it was free for 3 days then I got charged the 4th day. They told me the system was “open” for the weekend.because they were doing “maintenance” for an “upgrade”.. and I was lucky to be charged just one day. So same as before ;(

Beside that it was a nice stay — the 2 bedroom was first floor building 4, on the road. Definitely no preferred location despite my 4* status. The room was very clean. Hot water and water pressure was spotty but not a huge issue for us. Atlantis is showing its age in some spots but generally well kept.

We never noticed the $5 drinks at happy hour (Bahama Mamas and a few others) and Friday nights before at the Poiint, that was nice!

Harborside is a terrific location .. Cant beat its pool .. Paradise island beaches , ferry to Nassau, Fish Fry..it will keep me coming back. We’ve found 4 nights (coming from NY) is a good amount of time.

 

[sharr7]

Anyone have a positive experience on the Paradise Island to Nassau ferry? Took it years ago and was ok, though I remember being annoyed at them waiting a while to fill the boat. But see comments on this thread making me think it's a no-go these days. Where does it dock in Nassau with the cruise ship port expansion taking up where it used to be (I think)?

Also can anyone there or recently there confirm if Splashers is indeed closed (and know when it closed?) - had been worried it would go for renovations but was hoping they'd wait until end of summer and kids back in school. From the looks of the website, they didn't wait. Kids are going to be very disappointed.

Thanks!

 

[DanCali]

Also can anyone there or recently there confirm if Splashers is indeed closed (and know when it closed?) - had been worried it would go for renovations but was hoping they'd wait until end of summer and kids back in school. From the looks of the website, they didn't wait. Kids are going to be very disappointed.

Thanks!

Splashers was open when we were there a couple of weeks ago.

 

[mscheetz33]

In my opion, the reason to go to Harborside is for Aquaventure. My husband and I took 8 family members to Harborside in June 2022 and loved it for Aquaventure. Fun fact, Harborside Aquaventure has the 2nd longest lazy river in the world (takes 25 minutes to complete); the 1st is Aquaventure in Dubai. We got 3 villas. They were clean and updated. Nothing too exciting, but for free Aquaventure passes for each guest, well worth it.

 

[mscheetz33]

BTW, wifi was just fine. No problems.

 

[DanCali]

In my opion, the reason to go to Harborside is for Aquaventure. My husband and I took 8 family members to Harborside in June 2022 and loved it for Aquaventure. Fun fact, Harborside Aquaventure has the 2nd longest lazy river in the world (takes 25 minutes to complete); the 1st is Aquaventure in Dubai. We got 3 villas. They were clean and updated. Nothing too exciting, but for free Aquaventure passes for each guest, well worth it.

No doubt that is the main attraction while there. Some grown-ups love and just as much as the kids... Owners actually so pay for that in part via the "Atlantis Facilities Fee" line item in the annual MFs (about $350 per week in my case - not sure if it varies by unit size).

But it's one of those things that is hard to quantify. You can say it's worth $150/person/day (fair assessment) which is $1200/day for a party of 8 and $9600 for 8 days, which is technically what you get if you are there for 7 nights.

But would you actually get it for 8 days if you had to pay for it out of pocket? Or would you just find other things to do instead like visit Nassau attractions, Nassau beaches, swim with pigs, Blue Lagoon Island etc?

 

[jw0]

Just enjoyed a week at Harborside.

I can confirm that wifi is free in the hotel lobbies and works well. Not a bad way to go to save money - just stop off there to reconnect, check messages, email, etc. if you don't need to be connected 24/7.

I can also confirm that Splashers is indeed undergoing renovations. The signs said it will be back later this Fall (I can't remember, October? November?) with a "new" experience. It was nice to see they are trying something new!

The room was similar to before, many things need work, but hey, in my opinion, you're not there for the room.

 

[sharr7]

Yes we went 8/20-27 and Splashers was already torn down. I was pretty disappointed they didn't wait a couple weeks until most schools were back in session and I would assume less primary-school-aged kids on resort. Everyone still had a good time though. Until Splashers is back (signs said November and to their credit they were actively working but it wasn't too noisy or disruptive), it's hard for ~5-8 year olds who want a little more than just playing in pools but aren't 48 inches tall yet to do the bigger slides.

Internet was free again that week, which was nice. Rooms were fine - clean, stocked, and I like the 2BR layout. AC in our unit struggled a bit more than the other units our guests who joined us stayed in, but never uncomfortable. I think the bathrooms are about ready for an update but again everything worked fine and was clean, just showing some age. The property was nice as usual. Food at The Point was pretty good too.

Couple things new or new to me I learned this visit:
-Happy hour 5-7 daily at the Point, 3 of the fruity rum drinks are $5 (normally 13 I think, pretty awesome deal).
-They did a Summer Friday Bahamian BBQ outside the Point that I missed because it wasn't advertised very well. Smelled great though, hopefully they continue that tradition and I get another chance.
-Coral Pool is back open (was closed in 2021) and it's heated, which was pretty weird. Had to be 96-98 degrees. Normal pools were warm after baking in the hot summer sun, probably 88 degrees.
-Still a lot closed though they do a decent job not calling attention to those things so it seems fully open. Whole Beach tower side boarded off; restaurants like Mosaic, Virgils, some of the fancy ones still closed
-The new combined shuttle system was generally good but bookended with bad experiences - our first full day we waited forever at the Royal for a Shuttle, which left me scared for the rest of the week. But that was the longest we waited. Then on the last day from the Coral after a medium wait, two pulled up and one went the wrong way for us and one said it was going the right way but the driver said Harborside was last even though his sign said otherwise, the only 5 of us on the bus wanted to get to Harborside, and going the way he said was basically just driving behind the other shuttle. We asked and he ignored us and drove right by Harborside. I was pretty annoyed.

Still A+ vacation destination especially for families. The kids had the best time. If all you're interested in is sitting on a beach, I can see why this might not be the place for you.

 

[Red elephant]

I am hoping they allocate a great number of club points to Harborside as the maintenance fees are just too high.

 

[sharr7]

I wouldn't expect anything incredible. Someone did post this scan on a different thread. Likely not official/final since it's not technically in the program yet, but doubt it would change too much. Points are based much more off demand than MFs it seems. High season will do fairly well with points allocation it seems.

 

[emeryjre]

I think the chart above is for amount of club points required to book a unit through the abound system. I could be wrong, as I have not followed the abound system changes closely. If and when Harborside is part of the abound system, I will be much more interested.

 

[dioxide45]

I think @DanCali did some speculation as to how many Club Points HRA owners would be allocated for their weeks;

CLOSED: Thread Dedicated to the Upcoming/Anticipated Integration of Vistana & Marriott Ownerships (Marriott Link + Vistana Discussion)

I logged in today, and don't see anything different on my reservations or on what I own.

tugbbs.com

 

[sharr7]

I think the chart above is for amount of club points required to book a unit through the abound system. I could be wrong, as I have not followed the abound system changes closely. If and when Harborside is part of the abound system, I will be much more interested.

That's correct. But the point allocation is closely related (minus skim).

 

[Rinse82]

Thanks for the review, I luckily found a 2 bedroom lockoff for Mar11-18 during Canadian Spring Break and booked it using our SVV staroptions (had some carried over)

We are also going to Baha Mar over Christmas this year (took advantage of a price error), so will be seeing a lot of the Bahamas. With 3 kids 8 and under, Nassau is our favorite place to visit right now.

 

[dioxide45]

We were just at Harborside on Friday for a day while in port on a cruise stop. We booked on night with StarOptions to also be able to visit Atlantis. We booked a small 1BR and the unit seemed to be in pretty good shape. Other than the strong must smelll, it seemed fine. The smell reminded us of when we stay in Sheraton Vistana Villages. The pool at Harborside was much bigger than I expected, but the walk to Atlantis was further. The property seemed to be in good shape and Atlantis seemed to be pretty good, at least based on some of the reviews/feedback we had read about it. We would certainly go back for a longer stay. Best of all, it is just a short flight from Florida. We would probably have to drive longer to FLL than the flight would take.