Just got back from a family vacation at Atlantis with my husband and 2 boys (7 and 9). Stayed at the Harborside building 2 (room #4730) in a Premium 1 bedroom. I do NOT recommend staying in the unit we had – no view, very dark inside (had to turn on lights even during the day).

Now for my novella on Atlantis:

I. HARBORSIDE, MISC.:

A. VIEW vs. NOISE
Many reviewers recommend requesting a quiet room, but I say try for a room with a VIEW! Late-night returning revelers can make ANY room ‘noisy’. What’s the sense in going all the way to the Bahamas just to get a “quiet” room with a view of nothing? Ask for a room overlooking the water (either Atlantis Marina with its fantastic yachts, the lovely Harborside pool area, or Nassau Harbor and the bridge). We got our “quiet” room which overlooked the balconies of another Harborside building and regretted not being able to sit out and watch the boats or swimmers or SOMEthing.

B. TV:
Check out the resort’s own television station on your TV. It has a fascinating and informative show on the history of the resort. Watching it gives you a much greater appreciation for all that you will see as you tour the grounds.

II. AQUAVENTURE & POOLS, ETC.

A. CHAIRS
Don’t bother sending someone out at the crack of dawn to ‘stake out’ lounge chairs unless you are incredibly picky about where you sit. There were chairs available every day of our stay at every pool. Since very little of our time was spent sitting down, we weren’t all that worried about where our stuff was stationed.

B. POWER TOWER
At Aquaventure, there is one point where you can float left to continue riding The Current or go right to The Power Tower and ride down The Falls, The Drop or The Surge tube slides. Day after day, when we chose the Power Tower, we were squished together with hordes of other guests in our tubes waiting in the interminably long ‘line’ for the conveyor up to the Tower. It wasn’t until our 4th day that we realized you could take your tube and simply walk up the stairs to slide down. If you don’t mind taking the stairs, doing this will save you about 15-30 minutes PER SLIDE (seriously!) depending on how long the queue is!


III. COST:
I echo all of the other comments about how expensive EVERYTHING there is, but want to add a few specifics I didn’t see mentioned here previously:

A. Be forewarned that a gratuity is added onto pretty much EVERYTHING at Atlantis – not just your sit-down restaurant bill! We were charged $20.50 every day of our stay for the room gratuity. Also, 15% was added onto the cost of our ice cream cones at the Creamery and onto all of our food purchases… even the $9.00 (!!!) Ziploc sandwich baggie of fruit we grabbed at the makeshift outdoor barbecue by the Splashers pool.

B. Practically NOTHING at Atlantis (other than use of the pools and water slides) is included in the cost of your stay. Be prepared to pay extra for things like: all non-motorized water sports ($30-45 per ½ hr.); a quick, one-time try of the climbing wall ($15 for about 8 minutes); entry to Club Rush for the kids ($15 per child); fitness classes; etc.

C. Since so few activities are complimentary, take advantage of the ones that are, including:

1. Movies at Atlantis Theatre (about 4 different movies each day) While we were there, family films playing included: The Water Horse, Nancy Drew, Bee Movie and August Rush among others. Your best bet with a family is checking out one around 7:00ish AFTER the pools have closed.
2. “Seakeepers Sanctuary” – These narrated and/or interactive marine-life feedings take place throughout the resort. Check the daily schedule for times and locations. We enjoyed the narrated nurse shark feeding at the Mayan Temple.
3. The Junkanoo entertainers (each Friday and Saturday at 9:30, I think). Very Bahamian and a great photo op! The dancers parade s-l-o-w-l-y through Marina Village and will stop to dance and take photos with onlookers.
4. Various games around the resort – None of these were convenient for our schedule, but we noticed things like BINGO for prizes, complimentary arts & crafts, a pilates class, and a basketball skills challenge.
5. Guided Group Tours (OTHER people’s) – If you are checking out the marine habitats and a guided tour passes by, stop to listen! We learned a lot about things we never would have otherwise were it not for crossing paths with a narrated group tour.
6. The Beach – This may seem obvious, but so much emphasis is placed on the water park activities, that the spectacular Atlantis Beach seems overlooked. When pools & rides closed at 6 pm, we made our way over to the beach and enjoyed playing in the sand and surf. We practically had the place to ourselves and the lighting at that time of day was simply GAWgeous!

IV. CLUB RUSH
Our boys were dying to try out this seemingly ‘cool’ pre-teen club, but ended up hating it. We paid for them to check it out one evening ($15 ‘cover charge’; open 4-7pm for 6 to 12 year olds) and they said it was incredibly boring. The ‘disco’ was completely empty and some of the video games weren’t working properly. What they disliked the most was that the “club” closed at 6:50 that evening (we’re not sure why) so they had to leave the club area and sit in a small reception area waiting for us to come pick them up for 10 minutes (which felt like an eternity to them).

V. STAFF
For the most part, everyone we encountered at the resort (and on the island in general) was extremely friendly, attentive and helpful. There were a few exceptions (as there are ANYwhere), but one worth noting was a couple of the lifeguard staff. Two of the lifeguards stationed at the Baths Pool were flirting so heavily and for so long with some female guests, that they barely glanced at the swimmers in the waters around them. Having 2 kids who are not the strongest swimmers, I was not able to relax and simply enjoy my surroundings whenever my boys were swimming in this area that day.


VI. FOOD & DRINK

A. BRING IT WITH YOU!
As others have recommended, bring as much food & snacks as you can from home! Bringing a big, collapsible cooler FULL of stuff from home saved us SO much money and was NOT an inconvenience given the kitchen in our suite. [NOTE: A 4-cup packet of coffee was provided in the unit but was not replenished after the first day. The coffee maker in our unit used the bucket-type filter, not cone-shaped. However, our #4 cone-shaped filters from home still worked fine in it.]

Freeze juice boxes or bottles of lemonade or iced tea overnight. Pack them with your snacks/sandwiches for the day. They’ll keep everything cold throughout the day and will be melted & ready to drink by late afternoon. At lunch time by the pool, my kids especially liked having “Uncrustables” peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (frozen and individually wrapped) and frozen tubes of Go-Gurt.

Easy dinners from home included: Macaroni & Cheese with a side of frozen broccoli, a ham steak with side dish of mashed potatoes (both frozen), and ravioli with homemade marinara (we brought a small container of frozen sauce). Just three evenings of eating in saved us a lot (dinner & drinks for 4 at the Marketplace Buffet was $200… hard to stomach when your kid only eats a slice of pizza and two cookies!).

B. BUY OFF RESORT
We didn’t bother wasting the $7 per person to schlepp back across the bridge to Nassau for groceries. We just bought a few items across the street from Marina Village at the Paradise Village Shopping Center. Along with Anthony’s Restaurant and your typical gift shops, the center has a mini mart with some basic groceries and a couple of duty-free liquor stores. [The Pina Colada Bacardi Breezers made a tasty tropical treat by the pool during the day.]

C. WATER
The tap water at Atlantis is completely safe and drinkable. We had no issues whatsoever drinking it. Unless you are extremely sensitive, don’t bother spending the money to buy bottled water.

VII. MISC.

A. DRESS CODE
While swimsuits, cover-ups, shorts and other beach attire are entirely appropriate, be aware that many, MANY people dress to the NINES in the eves. around Atlantis. You may want to bring something a bit dressier to wear at least ONE evening, even if you don’t plan to go clubbing or gourmet dining.

B. EXPLORE!
The resort is enormous and it’ll take a little while to get your bearings. Once you do, however, resist the urge to go the same way to the same ‘spot’ each day. We kept discovering new things every day we were there and were so glad we took different pathways to get places. Refer to the Resort Map (available at the guest services desk at Harborside and each of the hotel towers) and try to check out all of Atlantis’ amazing nooks and crannies. There are new and interesting sights around every corner.

C. CATS
Have the animal lovers in your family look out for the many stray cats that roam the Atlantis property.

We had a great time at Harborside with our 8 month-old little guy. The room set-up was great, the Harborside was by far the best option with a baby.

My take on prices: First of all, other than time-share owners, if you are going to Atlantis and staying in Royal, Reef, Cove or Harborside, you are paying quite a bit for the vacation. So that being the case, get over the price of things. I can understand the complaint if you are a family of 5 staying in one of the more budget towers (Beach or Coral) and trying to control your costs. Then the prices would be unbearable. But if you are ponying up for the higher end rooms, the prices are inline. We had 3 nice dinners in places that required reseravtions, but otherwise ate pretty reasonably.

Pros of Harborside:
Location. I've heard others complain about ythe distance to the rest of Atlantis, but I thought it was great to be slightly out of the mainstream areas, which were bustling to say the least. Maybe a 10 min walk to the main areas, which we enjoyed. We used shuttle to get to Cove which would have been long walk.

Room Set-up.
We like to have the little guy sleep in a bedroom while we sleep on the pull out in the living room. We try and get this set up wherever we go. This was perfect. Bedroom was very seperated from living room. He never woke up from our noise. Sofa bed was comfy.
Having a kitchen to make his cereal was great. Also having fridge for our beer, sodas, snacks was great.

Pool.
The pool at Harborside was not opulent, but NEVER crowded and still quite nice. Was a great retreat.

Cons of Harborside.
Timeshare.
They kept leaving messages to try and talk to me. When I finally answered I was stern and said I would not be using my vacation time to sit in a seminar, and they respected that.

Noise.
We had room by elevator (try and avoid this) and people were loud at elevator.

Tips with Baby at Harborside!!!!!

Pooling with Baby: Bring a full stroller so he can join you at pool. he loved being out all day and even took some naps in his bugaboo so we got stay lomnger at pool.

Pool Choices: We found this combo worked best. Morning at the "Current" pool by the rock climbing wall. It has the entrance to the current wave ricer and a very shallow little pool that is a boarding area for the river. Perfect to sit down in pool with baby. he loved it. then when you take your little one back in afternoon for nap, finish pooling in pm at Harborside pool. You'll have pick of chairs and the pool almost to yourself.

Mornings: Use the baby's early wake up to your advantage. Our little guy awoke at 6:30 so every morning we left our room at 5 to 7:00. The Starbucks in the Marina opened at 7, so we would walk along the marina and be one of the first to Starbucks, which was always lined up by 8. The we'd head somewhere for breakfast (Buffett a couple of days, or lobby snack bars when we felt like not spending $50 for 2). Again, we were ahead of everyone. Then we'd head to pool area and get chairs and towels and were near first choice.

Afternoon Restless Periods: Everyday I took him for walk throught he Dig to see all the fish. He was entertained each time.

Crib: Was a little strange. Could barely reach mattress bc sides were so high. One mother told us on our last day she asked for extra mattress which is great idea to raise height of mattress.

Baby Supplies: Bring all you want with you, grocery stores were sketchy with little options. Atlantis supplies bath supplies in all rooms except Harborside (timeshare).

Airport Transfer: We rented a limo ahead of time, and it was the best idea. Curbside service so getting stroller and bags into car was a breeze. Well worth money with a baby.

Overall, this was our best baby vacation ever. Don't let little things or prices get to you. Very few places would be this good with baby.

Just got back from Harborside Atlantis! We had a two bedroom lock out with 4 adults and 4 teens. Plenty of room! This is the way to go with kids. Just as others suggested we packed 2 full large suitcases full of food. We ate most meals in the room and went to the MESA grill in the Cove one night. The meal was fabulous but the service was just ok. I think because they add 15% to the bill the wait staff does not go the extra mile. Be prepared for big bucks when you eat out. The reviews from this site were accurate everything was so expensive. A large bottled water poolside was $9.75!!! The burgers were $10 and drinks are $12.00 for alcoholic drinks. (plus15%). The water park was awesome. The kids had so much fun they now prefer Atlantis over Disney(huge for our kids!)
Our villa was nice and had all of the things needed to cook. I would suggest bringing extra trash bags and a sponge(scrub side). Bring lots of zip locks and maybe one tupperware for leftovers. They only give you 2 bars of soap so maybe one extra for the week. Also, get extra towells at the pool or bring a few for the room. The resort is really beautiful and we had fun just walking through all of the aquariums. If you have kids get a schedule of activities at the front desk and take advantage of the free activites and games pool side. They are fun and you get some cute prizes. We actually won the bocce ball tourney. The service was pretty good. I would say about 50% of the people love their jobs and give great service the others seem indifferent. The taxi driver told us that the resort keeps most of the 15% added tip so the wait staff really does not get their tip. SO if you do get great service you might want to give a little extra. We prebook our cab with Trevor Ferguson - Royality limo (yes spelled this way) . He was very honest and personable and took us to the grocery store. He was on time for all pick ups and had some great stories. His number is US 1-646-217-4960. Email is royality65@hotmail.com. All in all a great trip- we shall return!!!

We arrived at 2 a.m. on Saturday March 22, 2008. We were delayed from a very bad snow storm in the Chicago/Milwaukee area, Needless to say that there was only 1 person ahead of us at check in. After a very long & horrible traveling experience, we were pleasantly surprised as we entered the 1 bedroom deluxe villa at 2 a.m. Harborside staff was very pleasant and helpful. Only complaint is that we were missing a couples of items like a hairdryer and blanket and it took about 30 minutes to get them each time we called. Concierge at Harborside was extremely helpful for dinner reservations, directions for walking to places, and general questions about resort. Our villa was is the phase 2 bldg #6 and we overlooked the bay where the cruise ships docked in Nassau. We liked seeing the activity daily,. Our room was clean and we were alotted1 midweek cleaning from Harborside. Only comment is that our feet were black when we walked barefoot in the villa. Floors could use more cleaning on a regular basis, tile and carpet. Loved having the washer/dryer and kitchenette. If you can get the taxi driver to stop on the way to the resort when you arrive to buy a few key groceries. We could not do that due to getting in at such a late time. Did purchase bottled water/soda and snacks/cereal off Atlantis property and had them at our villa.

Yes, Atlantis is very expensive, but we have been there 3 times and knew that going in. It is however, a dynamic resort. You can literally spend each day in a different part of the resort for variety. We were NEVER bored like at some all-inclusives. We are walkers in our family so we loved the walks along the harbor and the Marina Village.

However, the shuttles do come very often and we never waited more than
a couple of minutes ever and that is at Easter week.

The resort was very crowded and busy and you felt that at the restaurants mostly. The Harborside was like great because if you wanted to quiet relaxing poolside day you could stay there. The Point Restaurant was good too. We ate at Carmine's (good), Seafire Steakhouse (great), Chopstix (great), the Marketplace buffet (good), Murray's Deli (good), Marina Pizza (ok), Anthony's(good place for breakfast, free WiFi), Zio Gigi's (good, but closing soon as the whole plaza was bought by Atlantis), and Johnny Rockets (ok), I did make dinner reservations from home before we left and that it a must on a holiday week,

Bottom line is that Harborside is a nice way to spend a vacation and have a home away from home feel. It was quiet and that's what you want when it's nighttime to get a good night's sleep. Will definitely go and stay there again. We rented directly from the owner at a timeshare rental website.