Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City Bayview Tower Review
Atlantic City is a strange town. Most of the action is along the Boardwalk where you will find six of the nine casino resorts (Ocean, Resorts, Hard Rock, Ballys, Caesars and Tropicana) and the Steel Pier amusement area. The outlet mall is just a few blocks off the Boardwalk. There are three additional casino resorts in Atlantic City not on the Boardwalk: Borgata, Golden Nugget, and Harrah’s.
Built in 1980 (with additions added in ’86, ’97, ’02, and ’08), the property has a comparable feel to the Harrah’s Las Vegas. It seems targeted to low to mid-tier guests. It is not a luxury property. The more luxury properties in Atlantic City are Borgata, Ocean, and Hard Rock.
Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City is isolated, there is nothing to walk to from the property so you will either need to drive or take the Caesars Shuttle (must have a players club and have earned 10 tier credits) to visit the Boardwalk or any of the other properties.
Check In
I was visiting Harrah’s as a part of the Millionaire Matchmaker slot tournament so I arrived by shuttle bus and was dropped off on the opposite side of the resort from the hotel front desk. There were three employees working the front desk for a hotel of over 2,500 rooms during a large event and a conference. Fortunately they have some check in kiosks so I used that option rather than wait for a human.
Unless you have Caesars Rewards Diamond status (or higher), there is a daily $29+ tax resort fee and additional daily $20 fee to use the pool. If you are in a comped room, the resort fee is $50 per day. If you are a Caesar Diamond or higher, you pay $15 per day for internet (but not the $29 resort fee). I was able to get this fee waived when I checked out, so your experience may vary. Everyone also pays a $3 per night local tax.
Room
I was assigned to a room on the 14th floor of the Bayview Tower. The Bayview Tower, built in 2002, and the Waterfront Tower are connected up to floor 24 (built in 2008, the Waterfront Tower is significantly taller). Room 14053 is three doors down from the elevator bank.
The rooms in the Bayview Tower were renovated in 2017 (4 years prior to my visit) and have a similar look to Harrah’s Las Vegas.
As you enter the room, the bathroom is to the left and main room straight ahead. My room had two queen beds as I was traveling with a friend. The beds are against one wall facing a wall mounted TV, makeup table, and desk with built in (empty) mini-fridge.
The window is large but not floor to ceiling. Under the window is a lounge chair. The light next to the window is for looks only as there are no outlets along the window wall. The curtains do a good job of blocking the light.
The view from the room looks out to a bay and the Golden Nugget with the Boardwalk in the distance.
Just off the entry door is a closet with a safe.
The room had a good amount of wear and tear. It also had not been very well cleaned; the walls were dirty and there was clear packing tape on the wall from a previous guest (which you can see in some of the above photos).
My biggest complaints about the room were not related to the hard product, but regrading wifi and housekeeping. The wifi was terrible (if not unusable most of the time). About 75% of the time I tried to access a website, my computer said that it couldn’t connect to the internet (even though it was connected to the wifi network). If it was able to connect to anything, it was extremely slow. It was not possible to stream any video but could probably work somewhat for emails if you really needed. While the internet is included with the $29 daily resort fee, Caesars Rewards Diamond members that have the resort fee waived pay $15 per day for internet.
The other big issue was that the hotel did not offer any housekeeping. This was November, 2021, and the blame was on inability to hire enough staff to clean the rooms. So rooms were only cleaned between guests. You could request no more than two towels per day to be delivered to your room according to the info given at check in. But no other housekeeping was available.
Bathroom
The bathroom is large and would have been luxurious upon opening 20 years ago. There is a separate shower and soaking tub, single vanity, and separate toilet area.
The floor is marble (or something similar) and the doors are a hefty wood that feels secure. However the water pressure was extremely low.
Unlike many Caesars properties in Las Vegas, Harrah’s Atlantic City provides individual shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and two bars of soap.
Pool & Spa
The indoor pool with a large glass dome is probably the best feature of the hotel but there are a few things to note. First, it is only open to guests 21+. Second, even if you are guest of the hotel, you have to pay to access the pool. For guests, the charge is $20 per day for up to two people (and $10 for each additional guest registered to the room). This is on top of the daily resort fee of $29+ tax ($50 for complimentary rooms if not a Diamond). Caesars Rewards Diamond elites and higher can access the pool for free and bring in one guest.
The vibe is more like a day club in Vegas; when I visited on a Saturday there was a DJ and groups looking for a party had rented out the cabanas. At night the pool turns in to a night club.
The spa is next to the pool and rates are what you would expect at a similar property in Vegas. Day passes are available for $40 (free for Seven Star elites only).
There is also a 24 hour gym between the spa and pool.
Restaurants
There are a number of restaurants at Harrah’s, all of which are over priced. During my stay, I tried AC Burger and Guy Fieri’s Sandwich Shop. I can’t say that I would recommend either. There is also a Gordon Ramsay Steak, a McCormick & Schmicks, a seafood restaurant, sushi, and Martorano’s Italian Restaurant. The more casual options include a pizza place and two cafes. There may be other options in the summer but they were closed during my visit.
The property has turned the buffet into the Laurel Lounge which is accessible to Diamond elites and higher. A menu is offered each day with three main entree options plus salad, soup and dessert. If you are a base level Diamond, it is 1,000 Reward points per person for entry. Diamond Plus and above are free for the player and a guest.
Overall
The lack of reliable wifi and housekeeping are dealbreakers for me. Those are available at a Motel 6, so to not have those at a “resort” is a non-starter for me. For most people paying an additional $49 per day for mandatory resort fee and use of the pool, which should be included with every room, combined with no housekeeping or usable wifi, is going to leave a bad taste in their mouth.
When I tried to contact someone about an error in my bill, I waited on hold for about 15 minutes before being disconnected with no resolution. It is clear that the hotel is understaffed which is common right now in the hospitality industry. But then the property management should limit the number of rooms for the level of staffing.
The rooms are fine (if in need of some repairs and cleaning). If you have a car, the location isn’t bad but for those without, it is annoying to have to take the shuttle (only available for gamblers).
I don’t think I’ll ever be back in Atlantic City, but if I do, I won’t stay at Harrah’s.