Harborside - who's been there in the last month or so? [merged]

[cherrysaw]

Hi all,
I am leaving in two weeks for Harborside & I CAN"T WAIT!!!
I have read up on everything here & have gotten some GREAT advice.
We booked Sandra Ferguson for our taxi service... we plan to bring alot of breakfast, lunch, & snack food options with us too. I'd love to hear from those of you that have just been there recently. Did you find things closed, if so, was it a problem for you. What were your favorite restaurants of those that were actually open? Do they still give really large portions as I've heard? I am wondering if we should skip appetizers to save money if the meal is so large. Is there still free mid-week maid service? I assume still no free internet in villas... if I pay the daily rate do I have to get it for all 7 days & how do I connect? Do I have to bring my own ethernet cord or is there one there? How do you all think the crowds will be in two weeks from past experience in October? Oh so many questions- sorry to go on but I booked this in February & now it is so close I can smell the ocean!!!!
Thanks everyone!
Sue

 

[tomandrobin]

We were at Harborside 8/1-8/8. During our stay, most of the restaurants were open. I only saw two that were closed, the one at the beginning and the end of "The Dig". We used Sandy, she was great and on time. Maid service was mid-week, no free internet. I would take your own cord as a back up. Crowds should be light, water will be warm......Have a great time.

Take a collapsible cooler and a couple of insulated travel mugs.

 

[WINSLOW]

We just got back last night. Great Great Great Resort!!! It was our first time, and we loved it.

A lot of rest. were closed. the one tomandrobin mentioned, Fathoms was closed all week, the one at the beginning of the Dig saw opened once. Cafe Martinique, Bahamian Club never saw open. Saw Seafire Steakhouse and Chop Stix open once. Even Bimini Road was closed a couple of times. Some poolside rest. were closed on certain days. Lagoon Bar & Grill was never open and looked like it hadn't been in a long time, with rust on all of the equipment.

The lazy river over by the Beach Tower and pools and grills/bars next to it were all closed and blocked off. The rock climbing wall was closed on Thurs. The Challenger slides were closed once that we saw. The pools that were open had plenty of chairs(very empty).

The place is so huge, being our first time even with things closed we still had a great time.

Can't wait to go back maybe in a little busier season when more is open, just don't want it to be too crowded because it was nice finding a seat no matter what time you went over to the pools.

Have a great time!
Crystal

 

[cherrysaw]

Harborside Internet

I asked via email about the internet service at Harborside & Atlantis & this is the response I received:


Enjoy the freedom of wireless internet access. Service is available at the Beach Tower lobby, Coral Lounge in the Coral Towers lobby, Plato?s Lounge in the Royal Towers lobby and all pool decks at Atlantis and Harborside. Internet fees are as follows:

24 hours-$14.95
72 hours-$29.90
96 hours-$49.90
120 hours-$59.90
144 hours-$68.90
168 hours-$80.40

All guest rooms offer two options for visitors who prefer to access the internet in the privacy of their rooms. A wired data port is available for those who bring their laptop and wireless internet is available via the NXTV interactive menu. Wireless keyboards are provided in each room and the pricing for these two options is the same as listed above.

Complimentary Internet Access is available for 15 minutes per day, per person at 4 Stations in the Coral Towers Library.

* All prices, features, options and availability of Atlantis Internet Services are subject to change and availability at anytime without notice.

Atlantis.com is where the exploration begins. There we have detailed accounts of the Lost City with photos and videos for you to enjoy. Our website offers vacation package options, nightly room rates, restaurant details, entertainment information and so much more.

We look forward to helping you plan your Journey.

Your guide to Atlantis,
Max


Has anyone used these options? What does he mean wireless at the Harborside Pool Deck? Can you just go sit outside with your laptop & get the wireless or do you have to pay 1st the prices listed above?
Can you pay for internet say every other day or do you have to pay for say three days & it would automatically be 3 in a row??
I am thinking I am totally going to be stuck paying the $80 as I see this as really the only way to stay in touch at home as our kids are staying home & we also have a small business as well so I need communication it just really irks me to have to pay this much for it!!
Sue

 

[cherrysaw]

calling cards/phone service at Harborside

I just had another thought... I know my cell service does not work in the Bahamas & even if it did I am sure it would be very expensive over the course of the week. For those of you that have been there... which calling card service did you use to call the US? I don't want to buy something & then find out it doesn't work.
Sue

 

[Pedro]

24 hours-$14.95
72 hours-$29.90
96 hours-$49.90
120 hours-$59.90
144 hours-$68.90
168 hours-$80.40

I am thinking I am totally going to be stuck paying the $80 as I see this as really the only way to stay in touch at home as our kids are staying home & we also have a small business as well so I need communication it just really irks me to have to pay this much for it!!
Sue

If 3 days (72 hours) cost $29.90, you might be better off paying the fee for 2 3-day access, and for less than $60 you'd have access to the internet for just about all week.

 

[cherrysaw]

So you're saying get the the resort on Saturday- pay for 3 day service starting say Sunday morning which should cover Sunday-Monday-Tuesday... then go back on Wed & pay for 3 more days Wed-Thurs-Fri... don't really need it Sat again cus we'll be coming home! Hmmm.... interesting to see if that would work. Thanks for the great idea!

 

[Ken555]

So you're saying get the the resort on Saturday- pay for 3 day service starting say Sunday morning which should cover Sunday-Monday-Tuesday... then go back on Wed & pay for 3 more days Wed-Thurs-Fri... don't really need it Sat again cus we'll be coming home! Hmmm.... interesting to see if that would work. Thanks for the great idea!

Yes, that works. I did something similar during my last stay there. Be aware that if you pay for wireless you cannot switch to wired without another fee. I used the wired access in the unit the entire time since the wireless doesn't cover all the units.

 

[cherrysaw]

Is the wire already in the unit to hook into or do I have to bring a cord? Where in the unit it the cord if one is already there?

 

[mariawolf]

Just FYI==Fathoms has been closed for years.
Wired internet is behind the sofa in the living room--so bring a cord if you want to use it anywhere except the couch.
Would love any info when you get back about renovations.
We do the same thing as poster above--by playing around with times you can get a full week of use without paying a full week. Still don't understand why resorts like St John get free internet and Harborside doesn't==particularly with the high fees!

 

[hefleycatz]

I just had another thought... I know my cell service does not work in the Bahamas & even if it did I am sure it would be very expensive over the course of the week. For those of you that have been there... which calling card service did you use to call the US? I don't want to buy something & then find out it doesn't work.
Sue

Buy Calling cards at the HarborMasters office in the Marina, or at the little shops across the street from the entrance. Different prices for different amounts of minutes. We used them and didn't have any problems.

 

[esk444]

Buy Calling cards at the HarborMasters office in the Marina, or at the little shops across the street from the entrance. Different prices for different amounts of minutes. We used them and didn't have any problems.

They sell $5 or $10 local calling cards at various locations. Mine was from a company called Indigo. You received about 12 minutes per $5, about 40 cent per minute. The access number is a local phone number, so you can call from your room for free to connect (local calls are free).

If you are getting internet service, you could always sign up for a Skype account. I think phone calls through your computer to the U.S. are like 6 to 8 cents a minute, but you have to put a minimum of $10 on your account to start out with. Before you pay, you can make a test phone call to make sure your microphone works on your computer.

As for the internet, ethernet cables are in your room. You basically just plug it in your computer, open your web browser, and a screen will pop up for payment info. Once you pay, you get a password that works for the time period you bought. I never bothered with wireless by the pool, as I didn't want to risk my computer getting wet.

FYI, Fathoms was open last week, but only for private dinner parties. It seems a lot of wedding receptions are held there, but the restaurant is closed for the public.

 

[catwgirl]

I just used my free minutes in the library. There was never much of a wait.

 

[Scotten]

Any idea why so many restaurants are closed? Summer is busy season, right? Or are they going to remodel some of them?

 

[Chilbear]

The numbers of visitor are way down and they are rotating the closure of restaurants when we were there in first week of September. There is a rumour that Beach Tower was closing till Christmas rush. The pools and events around Beach Tower were closed down when we were there. There is an internet station in the lobby of Harbourside and the 15 minutes applies there.

 

[Ken555]

Wired internet is behind the sofa in the living room--so bring a cord if you want to use it anywhere except the couch.

Yes, I've found I have to physically move the couch to find the cable. Every time (all two of them) that I've been to Harborside, it's been hidden behind the couch.

I bring with a small Apple Airport Express unit to connect to the ethernet. This gives me a secure, private, wireless network so I can use the laptop anywhere in the unit. The Apple Airport (about $99) is among the easiest to use and configure, but there are other less expensive and very similar devices as well. And yes, it works on Macs and Windows. I travel with it everywhere!

 

[mariawolf]

chillbear--internet station in lobby--that must be new! In the past the only place was in the library--thanks for posting that! Was it busy most of the time and is it available 24 hours a day? if you know?

 

[esk444]

chillbear--internet station in lobby--that must be new! In the past the only place was in the library--thanks for posting that! Was it busy most of the time and is it available 24 hours a day? if you know?

It's available 8:30am to 8pm. During the day it's mostly empty, but when I tried to get on after 5pm there was always a wait. On checkout days, you could have 5 or more people waiting to check in their flights. It's two computers, but one seemed to be down about half the time.

You're supposed to sign in at the concierage, but I'm not sure everyone does it. People seem to know who is up next.

 

[esk444]

Any idea why so many restaurants are closed? Summer is busy season, right? Or are they going to remodel some of them?

It's fall right now and hurricane season, which is about the slowest time. Other than Harborside, I really doubt Atlantis or any hotel on the island is more than 25% full.

Summer is not really busy season, more like moderate season. It's just a lot of families like to go then because of the water parks and school vacation. The water park and pools might be busy during this time, but the rest of the island or the restaurants aren't that crowded.

Plus much of the restaurants that are closed in rotation are upscale dining places that families typically don't go to very often. Carmine's, the family-style Italian restaurant, was open every day, except for Sunday. Similarly Marketplace Buffet, another family friendly restaurant, was open almost every day. Seagrapes Buffet was closed for renovations. Even with the closures, all of the restaurants were pretty much empty and didn't require a reservation at all. They also didn't seem to strict on the dress code either.

The Bahamas' high season, like south Florida, is really February to April, because all of the snowbirds that come from North America for some warmer weather.

 

[Ken555]

Plus much of the restaurants that are closed in rotation are upscale dining places that families typically don't go to very often.

Murry's Deli also was closed on occasion, and that's definitely not an "upscale" restaurant.

 

[cherrysaw]

cigarette prices in Bahamas

Just curious if anyone knows the cost of a pack of cigarettes in Nassua? Didn't know if they were really expensive or cheaper compared to the price of a pack in PA with the high taxes we pay here...
Thanks!

 

[tomandrobin]

Just curious if anyone knows the cost of a pack of cigarettes in Nassua? Didn't know if they were really expensive or cheaper compared to the price of a pack in PA with the high taxes we pay here...
Thanks!

I don't recall off the top of my head, but they are cheaper since they don't hava all the federal and state sales taxes.

 

[hefleycatz]

I know at the little sundry shop at Harborside, they were around $7. DD was happy she brought her own stash from home. Not sure what they would be across the street.

 

[cherrysaw]

harborside... outside grills???

Does anyone know if there are any outside grills to cook on at Harborside? I think inside there is only a cooktop so we can't grill anything in a broiler in the villa I am assuming...
Thanks- Sue

 

[esk444]

Does anyone know if there are any outside grills to cook on at Harborside? I think inside there is only a cooktop so we can't grill anything in a broiler in the villa I am assuming...
Thanks- Sue

No grills. You can attempt to bake/broil using the convection oven or pan sear your meat on the stove.