4-Star Hotel Stay Harrah's Resort Atlantic City in New Jersey

Uninvited guest…sheer disappointment! I booked Harrah’s for a birthday weekend for my teens 13th birthday. I had been at Harrah’s before and thought it to be a good hotel to go back to. Boy was I wrong. The hotel is beginning to show its age and poor maintenance. For starters, the machines to check in were useless. Be prepare to make the line and wait at least 15-20 minutes to check in. The staff however are very nice but it was obvious that they are over worked and underpaid. We checked in a little after 10pm after trying all 3 of the 4 checking machines in the lobby. The fourth was out of service. We were placed in the Bayview Tower on the 17th floor. Not only was the room at the end of the hallway, but there was such a bad stench in the hallway it was almost unbearable each time we walked to the room. The stench was still there on the 2nd day of out stay. It was unclear where it was coming from. The room itself is nicely put together. The cleanliness however is something else. The shelves in the bathroom appeared to have accumulated dust and dirt for some time, while the beds were not completely made. I did move to strip the beds and ensure that the sheets were clean and not just remade after previous guests left. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt that given the volume of guests that the housekeeping team was just in a rush, overwhelmed and underpaid. That being said the beds are comfortable and the room and bathroom are spacious. I loved that you could actually control the temperature in the room. The vending machine in the hallway is not only expensive but was malfunctioning. We had to unplug it from the wall after it took money but did not vend the product. Thankfully the information to get a refund was on the machine. The Coral Reef Family Pool in the Carousal Tower is another issue. We headed to the pool around 12:30-1:00pm. There are no clear signs of where to go. After walking in the wrong direction for about 10-15 minutes, we finally asked the staff and they were nice enough to head us in the right direction. When we finally made it to the pool we encountered a family that informed us that the pool was closed due to the staff not having coverage so that the life guard and others can take a lunch break. A group of families slowly kept coming up to the pool where they were met with a lock on the door that provided entry to the lounge and a lock on the door to the actual pool. In speaking to the staff, they informed us that this was a constant. They stated that many guests had complained and although the employees had complained as well, nothing had been done. Shortly after, one family at a time each came, were greeted by the lock on the door, and began to share the numerous complaints about the hotel, customer service, their room, etc. We all waited for about an hour for staff to return to let us into the pool. I will say they were gracious enough to allow us into the lounge area and not leave us sitting on the hallway floor waiting for the lifeguard to arrive. At the pool the music was ridiculously loud. The kids complained of being unable to hear each other. The parents could not have a conversation with the person sitting next to them. When complaining to the staff I was informed that the music system was malfunctioning and the volume does not go down despite several attempts. By this time I decided to leave. You can see that the frustration was as much with the employees as it was with the guests. The locker rooms were also dated and poorly maintained at the pool. I would suggest an upgrade. They do however provide towels, lounge chairs and the space around the pool is beautifully surrounded with floor to ceiling glass windows and doors. It was a nice space and the children enjoyed it, but for, again the maintenance of the place I would’ve given it higher remarks. Back to the room we went and to my surprise upon arriving to the room and despite seeing housekeeping on the floor prior to our departure that morning, our room was not made, the towels were not replaced and the room was exactly the same way we left it. I had to call housekeeping and in doing so was informed that rooms are cleaned upon request. You can imagine my shock. They did offer to send over clean towels but did not promise to have housekeeping around to freshen the room. It made me think of this being a sign of the times. For someone who consistently travels throughout the US I was surprised to see how the resort system worked or in this case did not work. If all that wasn’t a shock…It gets worse. After finally getting clean towels delivered and preparing for the evening, we decided to take a nap. Upon turning I noted a little friend and uninvited guest had join me…a roach walking fearlessly on one of the pillows. I had never jumped out of a bed so fast. I tried not to let the kids know what was happening as one of them is allergic to the little critters but it was obvious something was wrong. By the time I went looking for it to kill it and get rid of the evidence, it was too late and it had escaped somewhere. This is when I noticed how filthy the rug was, noted what appeared to be blood stains on the carpet and other stains that appeared to have made a home on the rug and paid rent or lived rent free. Overall I did not sleep a wink that night watching over the kids to ensure the roach did not crawl back into the sleeping space. Sheer disappointment does not begin to describe the poor experience at Harrah’s. It is unfortunate because for years it was my go to for family events such as birthdays and life milestones. Although we tried to make the best of the trip, it is safe to say that our stay at Harrah’s dampened the celebratory vibes and I will not be staying there again nor would I recommend staying there.

Smell of smoke Smelled of smoke in the building as you walked round. They have a smoking session but it is not enclosed and the non-smoking is not enclosed either. The room was nice. The Avalon conference hall was very nice.

Just OK. Its OK. Its not what is used to be. Everything of course is costlier. The checkin kiosks are a waste of time because i get directed to the front desk anyway. Most disagreeable is that the parking is charged now. Not only that but the cost is posted as $10 at the garage entrance but the cost is billed as $15 per day on your hotel folio. This is very deceptive. The bathrooms are noce but the shower is very slippery and there is no mat.