Spent a week at Harborside with my husband for the first time. Definitely had a good time but there are pluses and minuses to Harborside and the Atlantis Resort. I will start with the negatives and get those out of the way. Then state the positives and make a few suggestions.

Minuses:
EXPENSIVE! I know everyone talks about it but it is true and even when you are prepared for the cost of food and everything else you still feel a bit angry about paying $25 for some locally caught fish grilled for a few minutes.

Resort and Harborside employees aren't always the nicest. I would say 50/50 is the ratio to absolutely GREAT staff to some pretty darn mean and unhelpful ones. This is both at Harborside and at Atlantis. In addition, my husband and I went to eat at the Fish Fry, a local restaurant area and were treated very badly. We ordered 3 menu items and only received 2 after waiting over an hour and asking the waiter ten times about our food. When we finally got our bill we were still charged for all 3 items. This was at a place called Seafood Haven. We spoke to other people (nonlocals) and got the same kind of story. One thing to keep in mind is that on the resort a 15% gratuity is automatically added to your bill so at times I feel the staff KNOWS they are definitely getting 15% so why try hard.

Erros in marketing brochures. We found several resort related magazines/brochures in our room that had incorrect information. For example, the Aura club in the casino had a sign that stated it was open Tues-Saturday but in reality it wasn't open until Wednesday evening. Also, they were advertising a sunset bands at Cain at The Cove but not only did that not exist but Non-Cove guests weren't allowed to go there anyway. So, why put an ad about it in Harborside? Also, good idea to check out the straw market downtown but beware..we were told by several people it stayed open until 6:30-7 so we went at 5:30ish and they were closed up.

Cabs/Taxis are said to have a set rate but they do not. The ones called by the resort tend to be more accurate but if you grab a cab in town or somewhere else, just make sure you discuss cost BEFORE you get drive there. I had cab rates change on me constantly.

Pluses:
Beautiful!!! One can not deny the beauty of the islands. It's absolutely beautiful with wonderful waters, a gorgeous resort and tons of fun things to do. We were told to get off the resort and try some of the other restaurants and had some great food and experiences!

The shuttles at Harborside are fast and great! I highly recommend taking the shuttle to the Cove and walking to the beach from there. Much easier to do then go through Royal Towers.

Suggestions:
Here are a few places to eat which I highly recommend:
The Poopdeck. There are two locations and we tried the one closest to Paradise Island. The best local food we had. I had the Mama's Special grouper and it was DELICOUS! Still pricey but better than the resort prices.

Anthony's. Walking distance from Harborside and it serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Decent prices and good food.

Zio Gigi's I think this is an unknown gem. A lovely, wonderful Italian place in the Hurricane Hole Plaza..walking distance from Harborside. GREAT Italian food and wonderful service. Also, there is a breakfast spot next door called News Cafe to get a nice breakfast at.

Mesa Grill - this was the ONLY restaurant that my husband and I ate at on the resort which we thought was actually worth the prize. It's a Bobby Flay restaurant and boy is it GREAT! Had the pork tenderloin with a side of spinach and thought it was some of the best tasting food I have eaten in a very long time.

Few other suggestions: You can take drinks with you anywhere. Just put them in a plastic container and take them..on the shuttle bus..in the casino..on the beach. Anywhere. Also, drinks are FREE at the casino IF you are playing and order something like a beer or a basic mixed well drink. I even had the guys at Zio Gigi's give me a glass of Prosecco to go cause it was real good for the price.

I felt completely safe walking anywhere near or around the resort. I've been to Jamaica and didn't feel the same way but atleast on Paradise Island I felt very, very safe.

All in all we had an absolutely wonderful time! Would go back again.

I just got back from the Harborside Resort on Paradise Island. What an awesome place to rent or own. My wife and I took one of those time share tours two years ago, and because of it, we recived a great rate to return and stay for 6 days. Well, we finally went back last week, and met with the agents again and decided to buy. The place is great!! It is a residential setting that you can return to every night to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the "TOWERS." Yet, it is directly beside Atlantis in a gated community that is by itself with it's own pool, outdoor grill, and store for all the necessities. All units have kitchens, so you'll save tons of money cooking in your own place. Ofcourse you go out a few nights to splurge, but believe me, you save a lot on dining out. The Atlantis resort is second to none, and believe me, my wife and family have traveled a lot around the Carribean. Nothing, but nothing, compares to this place. Give it some serious thought when deciding where to take your family. Make sure to take the tour at Harborside too. It will save you a lot on
your trip back. Additionally, the Riu resort next to Atlantis is a nice comparably priced resort that has the "All Inclusive packages." Great food there too. Scott, Nashua, NH

We just returned from our vacation at Harborside Resort. We booked this vacation from an incentive program that they presented us with 2 years ago to entice us to purchase a "time-share" villa.

I have had this vacation booked since June 2007, I tell you this because we were very disappointed with the location of our villa. Our villa was situated on the corner of the entry toll booth to the island and the main road that leads to the Atlantis Resort (which tunnels under the water). Needless to say it was noisy day and night with traffic, and the noise from the tunnel echos - especially with motorcycles. When I booked this vacation I "requested" a quiet location specifically. I was told that they couldn't "promise" anything but would "try" to accommodate our request. I was optimistic that I would be granted my request since I booked so far in advance and - well, of course they were going to try and impress us so that we would buy property. This was obviously not the case.

On the lighter side, the villa itself was clean and well-equipped. We had a one bedroom premium villa, it had all of the amenities that we needed. Nothing special, our kids said that the pull-out bed was uncomfortable - lumpy. And our particular villa was in the shade all day.

The Harborside pool was quiet and secluded - very nice right at the waters edge. You could watch the yachts arriving and leaving the harbor. The "Point" poolside bar and restaurant had good food and service and a great view - down the harbor you could see the cruise ships docking.

I had all of our dinner reservations and excursions pre-booked - and all went perfectly. We saved some $$ by eating breakfast and lunch at the villa.

Grocery Shopping tip: a van picks up at Harborside every day at 10:00 am and will take you to a very nice grocery store for $7 per person. There is also a Starbucks, KFC, GNC, liquor store and other stores there as well. The driver is very professional and we never felt hurried.

Once we figured out that there was a shuttle to and from the various towers at Atlantis we used it daily. It was very convenient and came regularly days and evenings. Free.

Make sure that you experience all of the pools and slides at Atlantis - our whole family had great fun. The dolphin encounter was well worth the $$$. Fantastic!

We found the staff at Harborside kind and courteous.

We absolutely had a wonderful time in the sun at Harbourside, however, I am afraid that our villa placement was extremely unfortunate. This left us disappointed that our "vacation" location was noisier than we experience at home, and as our base location for 2 meals and sleeping we were "in the villa" a fair amount.

We declined the offer to purchase a time-share :)

Dates: 1/26 thru 2/2/08

Used Disney time share exchange and was not disappointed with the quality, amenities and activities on Paradise Island! Nassau, however, offers little more than tourist traps along the Cruise line piers. ( Could use much updating and vibrancy).
Inner tubes were my favorite and the Dolphin adventure OFF SITE! was a blast. Did bring snacks,etc at everyones suggestion and it works well. Dining very expensive, so decide what you want to spend. You are captured on the island not withstanding a cab ride. The other casino area is approx 10 miles to the West. Surprised at the families there, it must have cost them a fortune! Seen it , done it so we will move on to other interests but I do give it a two thumbs. Temps this time of year did not get out of the 70's, so keep that in mind. Enjoy!