When we priced the Atlantis, I originally priced out 5 nights in one room at the Beach Tower. This would mean that my husband and I would have to share a room with my parents. I realize this isn't ideal, but we have done it before, and it wasn't as bad as most people imagine. In the image here, the beach tower is clear on the bottom left. It is the most economical of the Atlantis hotel options.
For those looking for even more savings, there is a Comfort Suites on paradise Island that offers the least expensive Atlantis accessible option. It is just off Atlantis property, and guests at the Comfort Suites have full access to the Atlantis and it's amenities.
I briefly considered this option, but the reviews on Trip Advisor were very hit or miss, and my father has some difficulty with mobility, so I felt it was best that we stay a little closer to the action.
I also priced the Royal Tower so we would be even closer to Aquaventure and other main attractions at the Atlantis. It was a few hundred dollars extra, and I was considering it.
Then, I stumbled on a site advertising Atlantis timeshare rentals. I had read about Harborside at the Atlantis and had heard some favorable things about it, but when booking through the Atlantis website, it was booked. So I began my search of timeshare owners who were interested in renting out their timeshare this year, and with a little skill and a lot of luck, and probably some blessings from Above, I found a timeshare owner of a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo at Harborside who was willing to rent out his condo for the week we wanted to go!
His asking price was more than I was able to comfortably pay, so I made a lower offer. He came back and met me somewhere in the middle. The price we settled on was equivalent to one water view room at the Royal Towers for 5 nights, but we instead got a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo for an entire week. It was also about the same as 5 nights in a studio harbor view room at the Reef.
Harborside cannot be seen on the map above, but it is directly above the label on the top center of the map that says The Marina at Atlantis.
We won't be as close to the action as we would have at the Royal Tower or Reef, (but there is a shuttle that runs every 10 minutes that will take us from Harborside to the other hotels at the Atlantis) and we can also walk through marina village to get to the main resort. We feel that by staying another couple hundred yards from the main attractions we are gaining 3 times the space, and 2 extra days at the resort, so it is worth it to us. Also our condo has a full kitchen, so we'll be able to keep beverages there and have breakfast in the room in the mornings, which will save $30 per person per day! (Can you believe an adult breakfast buffet is $28 plus 15% gratuity???) We plan to eat our lunches at the snack bars near the pools ($7-10 for a lunch combo) and then we have various dinner options. We will splurge on dinners. So far we have a reservation at Mesa Grill (by Bobby Flay) and Bimini Road which has traditional Bahamian food. The other nights we plan to play it by ear. We do NOT plan to cook though :)
I will write about our experiences at Harborside when we get back from our trip. I'll weigh the pros and cons to staying a little farther away for the extra days at the resort, and space. Also if there is a rainy day while we are there, I will go to the various hotels on site and ask to see their rooms, so I can provide an informed opinion on the lodging options.
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