We are considering staying at the Harborside Villas in August (how is the weather there in August?). Are the villas nice? Can anyone tell me about the distance to Atlantis? Is it close enough to walk or must you take the shuttle?

Looking for Paradise..I have the same questions regarding the Harborside. Deciding between the villas and Comfort Suites. Harborside is more money but we would have the full kitchen and be able to dine in more comfortably if we wished. This would save money, I'm sure. I've heard that Comfort Suites is more convenient to Atlantis than Harborside though. The shuttle from Harborside must make Atlantis easier to get to though....comments welcome!

I have stayed at the Comfort Inn Suites and I own a lockoff unit at Harborside so I have experience with both. <BR><BR>As far as hotel accomodations, I always recommend the Comfort Inn Suites over the Atlantis to those who want to save some money. The Comfort Inn is across the street from the Atlantis and guests are allowed to use the Atlantis facilities. They also have a free continental breakfast which will save you about $10-15 pp/day.<BR><BR>Harborside is in a different league than the CI Suites, however. Regarding the distance to the Atlantis, it is about a 3-4 minute walk (max.) to the Atlantis. You walk around the Atlantis harbor where all the rich folks moor their 80' yachts It is impressive. As indicated there is also a free shuttle that runs between Harborside and the Atlantis. Now in comparison to the Comfort Inn, the downside of Harborside is the price. A premium unit runs $385-415 per night and a Deluxe is $285-315 per night. Unfortunately, I have some more bad news for you. Unless you find someone who wants to rent you their Aug time slot, I do not believe that you will get in. The reason I know this is that I have a lockoff unit (i.e., two one-bedroom units) and I have swapped part of my time at Harborside for the oportunity to go to St. John. This has left me with a week in a Premium unit in the Summer or Fall. This past week, I called Owner Services about reserving a week in July or Aug (as a colleague was possibly interested in renting it) and I found out that there was no availability except for the end of May but then nothing (at least in a Premium unit) until the end of Sept.<BR><BR>If you are interested, I have been working on posting some of my Paradise Island/Atlantis/Harborside pictures on an MSN communities web site. If you are interested in the URL, please send me an email and I will send you the link.<BR><BR><BR>

Glen, thank you for your reply. All of the information you provided was helpful. I am able to get a room at the Comfort Suites in mid-July and would be able to get a deluxe one bedroom at Harborside in late August. For a week at Harborside, the cost would be approximately $750 more than the price I got for Comfort Suites (with no continental breakfast at Harborside). We would, however, have the full kitchen at Harborside so I believe if we ate breakfast and lunch in I could save some money there. I am prepared to bring some food with us, as suggested by other posts so I'm thinking our PI grocery bill would be somewhat less than if I were to purchase all of our groceries on PI. <BR><BR>We aren't rich people, so the extra money for Harborside is definitely a big consideration. I have also read good and bad (and some really bad) posts on this site and on Bahamas-mon about Comfort Suites....roaches, unfriendly staff, run-down rooms in the old section (I have requested a room in the newer section but they refuse to guarantee anything). Thinking that the extra money would also give me piece of mind! Is there any truth to the posts concerning the condition of Comfort Suites. My travel agent claims that she has sent people there and has never gotten a complaint.<BR><BR>My other concern is the weather. What is the difference in the weather between mid-July and late August. I know hurricane season is June through October...is it more rainy in August than in July? I don't mind an occasional tropical storm that passes but I don't want to pay all this money and sit in my room all week.<BR><BR>Would appreciate any guidance that you can provide. I would like to make a decision by tomorrow and put this behind me.<BR><BR>

We were at the Harborside in February, the weather was so/so, but we loved the place. We own in Vistana in Orlando and traded in. We had a deluxe one bedroom which was plenty big for 2 adults and 2 kids, they slept on the coach. Full kitchen washer/dryer, vcr in living room. If I would go back to the Atlantis, this is where I would stay, it gets crazy at the Atlantis and when you want to unwind the pool at the Harborside is fun and relaxing. They have a restaurant serving lunch and dinner and a bar. You canget your bracelets for the Atlantis at the pool so none of the Kaos!!! Short 10 minute walk to the Atlantis through the Marina, but you can take the shuttle bus also. Felt very comfortable there. Yes the comfort suites are closer by 5 mintues, but if I had the choice, its worth it at the Harborside, plus if you have kids, eating out can become quite the expense, we brought alot of food with us and mostly ate breakfast and lunch in the room and dinner out.

topper for the person interested in harborside, go for it, it is wonderful. Rather stay there and visit atlantis. Short walk or shuttle ride........

Just returned from Harborside on 6/1. It was wonderfull. We had a 1 bedroom premium which we found very spacious. The kitchen is a definite benefit and we plan on taking advantage of it more fully when we go down again. Bring as much with you as possible because the grocery store prices are about twice as high as in the U.S. We alos enjoyed the food at the Point Restaurant at Harborside and founde it relatively reasonable. The walk to Atlantis is relatively short. Since the free transport comes by every 10 minutes between 8 AM & 12 midnight, you really don't have to make the walk unless you desire to. Although most of our time was spent at Atlantis, the pool area at harbouside was much less crowded and less noisy when you just want to relax. The weather was O.K. Mostly Cloudy with a day of showers. The good news was that even on cloudy days we got plenty of sun.

I've stayed at the Atlantis three times. The Harborside is annoyingly far from the beach, gym, etc. It's more like a solid 7 minute walk. The only positive about Harborside is that it has it's own pool--which is a plus. All and all, I would recommend staying at the main hotel and if you want luxury--The Royal Tower.