At HRA now

Hubby and I are at HRA right now. It's probably our last trip as VSE owners as we are selling SVV. HRA was the last of the Big 3 resorts we've visited in the network. Pretty sure that my gut was correct and that this will be my least favorite destination, just because we are not Disney kind of people. But I think we'll be fine as long as we stick to the plan of spending most of our time away from the water parks. FTR I'd go to Vegas and stay out of the casinos, too.

My first impressions:

Bahamians are, hands down, the nicest locals we have met during our travels. They work hard, they're friendly and they'll converse with you about anything. St. Maarten locals were nice enough, but Bahamians are in a class by themselves. Like night and day compared to St Johnians, who are like surly cousins in comparison.

Condition of the HRA resort is on par with the older phase of WSJ and SDO. Facilities are in good shape and the villas are roomy, but much is in need of some paint and Tilex. I'm sure the room updates will be sweet.

We were placed in first floor rooms. Terrible view and I really miss a nice lanai. And the grills! Ah well. Exchangers can't be choosers.

Food2go was very prompt and they delivered during the requested time. Big downside is the food prices are lot higher than you'd pay in the store on your own + a $10 delivery fee. Example. Onion was 2.20 vs .95. 6 pack of bagels was 5.99 v $1.89. So they get you coming and going. If I did it again, I'd stop at the Quality Market on my own and forget the delivery service.

Sandra's taxi was prompt. Driver, Philip, was a delight. Very friendly and pointed out some local dives for us to check out. We opted to stop at the market to get lunch items since delivery was rot scheduled til 7pm and we were ready to eat off our arm. Met sexy Sandra in the parking lot of the market. She was super nice. Driver said that everyone loves her because she is hard working and loyal. He said a lot of people call her Santa cause she takes care of a lot of kids at Christmas time. Aww.

Pocket wifi Bahamas has been a disaster. We received the device on time but the box was cut and there is no return envelope. I emailed the owner on Thursday and there is still no response. I prepaid for a return envelope and I don't have a return address. He'd better respond soon or I'm just going to keep it until he responds to me.

Also after .75 days of use, it has cut us off. It said we used our 1 gb of included data and we still have 6 days to go. I can't find anything on the site that say there is a data cap. In any event, I prepaid $135 for the device plus two day shipping, which gave me less than one full day of service. Yippee. Now I'm on HRA Internet so I'll spend close to $300 for Internet between the two devices.

Atlantis is crazy. It's like a water park on steroids. It's rained like cats and dogs since we arrived so we haven't gotten to use the pools, but the hot tub at HRA is nice!

I brought along a lot of food and also had some delivered so we've only eaten out once, at Margaritaville. It was $75 for two entrees, two Kalik beers and one frozen drink for me. So pretty typical of what we pay at home.

Hoping that tomorrow the sun will come out!

PS I don't mind the bed but my husband's back is killing him. He woke up and said, "This bed sucks."

You summed up Atlantis fairly well, in my experience. I've been several times, enjoyed myself, but haven't been in 5-6 years and don't miss it.


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We just left Harborside yesterday. Only rained once during our week long stay. Agree with your husband ..... the bed and pillows are awful. My back still hurts. Also agree with your assessment of the Bahamian people, they are extremely friendly! We were told that it is their custom to speak and say hello if you make eye contact. Enjoy your stay!

Just beginning Day 4 at HRA. Yesterday, we took the shuttle over to the Royal tower and walked to the public beach behind the lagoon. Love their complimentary shuttle system! Our first stop was to buy a straw hat, which we overpaid for because we're lousy at the bartering game. Oh well, it was still cheaper than the C store inside the Royal tower.

I was surprised to find that beach chairs were free for Atlantis guests, even those with covers on them. The dude said that they worked for tips only. So $20 later, we plopped down in two covered chairs, ready to enjoy the beautiful beach. ...And twenty seconds later the first beach vendor swooped down and asked if we wanted a coconut drink. It was 8:30.

Thus began a long and non-stop train of vendors asking us if we wanted our hair braided, a coconut drink, jet ski ride, parasail, booze cruise, sarongs, waters, Cokes, shirts, jewelry, wooden turtles, wooded flutes, Cuban cigars...I'd have gladly paid $20 for some flipping peace.

Now I get that people have to make a living, and I get the fact that tourists are an easy target. But there's a point where it's too much, and I definitely reached that point. Pushy beach vendors are actually one of the things I hate about the Caribbean. I've seen it to a lesser degree on on St. Maarten and St. Thomas, where an occasional vendor would stroll by, but yesterday was ridiculous. (Yes, I know I'd probably have better luck at a non-tourist trap beach, but we didn't want to pay for a cab to a beach on Nassau because rain was threatening.)

PS. Beach vendors aren't around on St. John, where apparently they are driven away by Uncle Sam?)

Anywho, We ate lunch in our beach chairs, including $5 pina colada from the beach vendor behind me who promised to leave us alone if we had one with lunch. They were actually quite good though I didn't taste any of the promised alcohol. Still worth $5 cause It was made with fresh coconut.

We bought our sandwiches from one of the kiosks at the Royal tower. Mine was turkey and cheese and my husband had tuna. With chips and waters, he thinks it was around $20. (I'm telling the cost for things in part because I've seen so many complaints about the cost of food at HRA.). Next time we head over that way, I'll probably pack a lunch cause the sandwich wasn't that great.

After lunch, the promised rain arrived and we headed back to our villa.

Dinner was at home: steaks, mushrooms, baked taters, fresh fruit and bottle of Alamos Steaks were cooked on a pan since there were no grills, and they turned out just fine. We've actually been cooking steaks in a cast iron skillet a lot lately, so it wasn't so very different. It was definitely the best meal we've had on the island so far, though.

We take the shuttle to the Cove and go to the Cove beach (to the right of the Cove Tower)
I was there two weeks ago and never saw a vendor. It is peaceful and serene. Some days we heard music from the pool area but it is distant.
On 6 trips to Harborside we have always gone there without issue.
Because of the shape of the beach (check your map) no motorized watercraft can access it so it keeps all the noisy vendors away as well JMHO.

When you go to the grocery stores (not mimi-mart near resort) keep in mind that these are the same prices that the local people pay. Our taxi driver pointed out to us how grateful the cleaning personnel are when tourist leave their leftovers in the refrigerator.
It is an expensive island for all.

Go to Cove Beach

I believe Atlantis Beach is open to the public. You want to head over to Cove Beach. Cove Beach is near the Baths Pool (see section C4 on the map).
No vendors at Cove Beach.

Atlantis resort map - http://www.atlantis.com/content/pdf/map.pdf

As Grayfal stated you can take the shuttle directly to the Cove Tower and walk from there.

Great info. Thanks! PS. I thought that only Cove guests could use the Cove facilities...?

Cove Beach is open to all Atlantis guests.
The Cove Tower & Reef tower pool areas are restricted to Cove Tower guests only (see #59 and #60 in section B on the resort map).

GrayFal said:

When you go to the grocery stores (not mimi-mart near resort) keep in mind that these are the same prices that the local people pay. Our taxi driver pointed out to us how grateful the cleaning personnel are when tourist leave their leftovers in the refrigerator.
It is an expensive island for all.

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Thx. I hate not knowing whether it's more appreciated to throw leftovers away or clean everything. Lately, I clean out the fridge and pitch all perishables, then separately bag up my unopened items or non-perishables such as soda, beer, laundry detergent, etc and then leave it on the counter or fridge. That way they can take it if they want or just toss it in the trash.

I actually didn't think that the grocery prices were horrific. It was only when you ordered griceries from the Food2go delivery service that they became gasp worth. I don't know if people realize that they easily double or triple the price and then add $10 delivery fee + gratuity. So my advice if you want to save money would be to pay the $10 to go to the store yourself v a delivery service.

Yes, the Cove Beach had no vendors when we were there last week. The Atlantis beach does have vendors, but they did not bother us last week after we initially said no. The cove beach didn't have many people on it I think because the Baths pool is closed. They are both very nice beaches.

The only food we paid for other than at the grocery store was a dinner at Margaretaville across the street. We tried Carmine's but it was closed every time we walked by.

We splurged and went for dinner at the One and Only Ocean Club at Dune. The shuttle to O & O leaves from the Coral Tower. Every 20-30 minutes. The property there is so beautiful, we go early and enjoy a cocktail at the bar. The service and the food are outstanding, a very special experience. Dinner, drinks for two was around $180 but well worth it.

GrayFal said:

We splurged and went for dinner at the One and Only Ocean Club at Dune. The shuttle to O & O leaves from the Coral Tower. Every 20-30 minutes. The property there is so beautiful, we go early and enjoy a cocktail at the bar. The service and the food are outstanding, a very special experience. Dinner, drinks for two was around $180 but well worth it.

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DW and I went to Dune in Jan 2014 and Nov 2014 and it was fantastic both times. However, we went again in June 2015 and it was memorable for being by far the worst meal of the trip (losing out to Nobu and Mesa Grill).

Beach vendors

Cabo (Medano Beach specifically) has a ton of beach vendors. I have a friend who swears by this technique: On the first day of her week, she tells them that she will be shopping on Wednesday. She spends $100 on Wednesday (she considers it the price of using the beach - ymmv). She is not bothered by the vendors on the other days. I haven't tried it yet because we haven't stayed on Medano recently, but you never know, it may work.

okwiater said:

DW and I went to Dune in Jan 2014 and Nov 2014 and it was fantastic both times. However, we went again in June 2015 and it was memorable for being by far the worst meal of the trip (losing out to Nobu and Mesa Grill).

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I really miss Mesa Grill, I can go there in NY but enjoyed it as part of my Harborside visit. Hopefully your last visit was a fluke as two weeks ago it was just as good as remembered.

Had a great day. The sun finally came out for the entire day and we hit the pool at the Royal tower because we had a 1pm booking to snorkel The Dig. We have snorkeled a lot but this was the first time snorkeling an aquarium. We literally swam through schools of fish. Weee!

Didn't like that they made you wear a foam life vest. I'm used to swimming in the open ocean without a life vest, for pete's sake. If I drown in an aquarium, it was meant to be. I get motion sick and floating like that makes it worse. I'm still reeling a bit from it.

The experience was different and fun but it's hard for me to recommend it at $100 a pop.

Had lunch at one of the restaurants near the pool. I got a nice salad with 4 huge shrimp. The dressing was homemade and worked well with the salad, fruit, and shrimp. That's hard to do. My husband has fried chicken sandwich and seasoned fries. It was deeelish. Cost about $70 with one soda and two beers.

So a good day overall. Big downside is that the a/c has been struggling for two days. It's gotten as high as 78 degrees in the room. After 4 calls, I'm hoping it will be repaired soon or I'm going to have to demand a new room. Hate doing that but with more rain in he forecast, I have to be in a comfortable room

GrayFal said:

I really miss Mesa Grill, I can go there in NY but enjoyed it as part of my Harborside visit. Hopefully your last visit was a fluke as two weeks ago it was just as good as remembered.

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The replacement restaurant "77 West" seems like it's almost the same as Mesa Grill, no?

blondietink said:

Yes, the Cove Beach had no vendors when we were there last week. The Atlantis beach does have vendors, but they did not bother us last week after we initially said no. The cove beach didn't have many people on it I think because the Baths pool is closed. They are both very nice beaches.

The only food we paid for other than at the grocery store was a dinner at Margaretaville across the street. We tried Carmine's but it was closed every time we walked by.

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I see that the website states that the Baths pool is closed for maintenance.

"Please be aware The Baths Colonnade Pool will be undergoing maintenance and will be closed September 14 - November 8, 2016. During this time, guests of Atlantis are welcome to enjoy Aquaventure, our 141-acre water park, 8 refreshing pools plus additional swimming areas, and our white sand beaches."

okwiater said:

The replacement restaurant "77 West" seems like it's almost the same as Mesa Grill, no?

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Don't know, didn't go!

alwysonvac said:

I see that the website states that the Baths pool is closed for maintenance.

"Please be aware The Baths Colonnade Pool will be undergoing maintenance and will be closed September 14 - November 8, 2016. During this time, guests of Atlantis are welcome to enjoy Aquaventure, our 141-acre water park, 8 refreshing pools plus additional swimming areas, and our white sand beaches."

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The Blu pool is also closed and drained of water.

Looks like hurricane Matthew is heading your way.

GrayFal said:

I really miss Mesa Grill, I can go there in NY but enjoyed it as part of my Harborside visit.

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I wonder if Bobby Flay ever set foot in the place.

Sea Six said:

I wonder if Bobby Flay ever set foot in the place.

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Maybe he did and that's why it got shut down? :ignore:

Sea Six said:

Looks like hurricane Matthew is heading your way.

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Yes, but we are leaving Sat morning so we should be fine. People who are arriving next week need to keep an eye on it.

LisaRex said:

Yes, but we are leaving Sat morning so we should be fine. People who are arriving next week need to keep an eye on it.

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A few years ago a hurricane came close to Harborside and they evacuated all the people into the convention center. NOBODY was allowed to stay in their HRA rooms.

Sea Six said:

I wonder if Bobby Flay ever set foot in the place.

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There was some TV episode where he was cooking on the beach at Atlantis...

While the food was nice, it didn't live up to the hyped expectations.