Atlantis For the Average Joe -- The Truth About Travel
Written: Jul 30 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Marine Habitats, Ability to accommodate the needs of every family member
Cons: A lot of money for mediocre service, a day pass would serve you better
The Bottom Line: Atlantis is a great sight to see, but not a wonderful place to stay. Day passes are available and are recommended by this reviewer.
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| Blacksky86's Full Review: Atlantis, Paradise Island Resort |
Upon the idea of a trip to the Caribbean, the choice of a hotel seemed simple. We had heard amazing things about the Hotel Atlantis, and upon viewing the resort's website, these exciting rumors seemed to cement themselves into reality. Of course, Atlantis has a lot to boast about: beautiful grounds complete with sting ray and shark pools, an underground "dig" with piranha and jumbo-carribean-lobster tank, a spa, and several pools and water slides. However, there are a few things that Atlantis does NOT boast about on their website -- Yes, sadly, there is both good AND bad news.
The cons:
The reason that Atlantis has so many things to offer, is because it is such a large resort. The fact that it IS so large, however, reflects on many aspects of a travelers stay. We shall start with check in... and BOY do you ever check in. An hour worth of standing in line at the front desk is what greets you upon your arrival. After this, you can go to your room. Sadly, there is no fridge or microwave (so don't plan on bringing any perishable items) but there IS a blow dryer and very nice shampoo and conditioner which doesn't dry out ones hair as many hotel cleansers do.
Another main problem that you may run into as a guest is getting serve... ANY service. For some inexplicable reason, most of the workers at Atlantis have a very unagreeable attitude attributed to some miscellaneous problem (the beautiful weather, maybe? The crystal clear beaches? And also inexplicably, this attitude disappears once you have gone out of a one-mile radius of the resort). Upon calling room-service (because there was no menu in the room) and asking them to read off the dessert items, they signed angrily. Upon calling the spa and asking for a brochure of treatments to be sent to the room, surprisingly, they agreed. Less surprisingly, an hour later, the brochure still hadn't arrived, and upon calling back, I was told to go down to the lobby (only ten miles away...) and "get it myself". My last complaint about service stems from the experience of getting locked out of my room. Now, this was no fault of mine. Simply, the battery in the card-key door died and it took the Atlantis staff an hour to arrive at our room and let us in. We were promised benefits for the inconvenience which never came. Now, THAT is what I paid my big bucks for.
Fine-dining at this resort can also be tricky. While the food and service at the restaurants are wonderful, getting a table is quite a challenging experience. Here is a list of restaurants at which you should book your table at, at least THREE DAYS ahead of time:
Villa D'Este
Bahamian Club ** (recommended)
Mama Loo's
Fathoms
Five Twins
Lastly, I should like to inform any prospective overnighters of the strange stench of sulfur that can be found in several regions of Atlantis' Grounds and of the construction going on directly across from the Atlantis. This area will be under construction until November, 2005.
The Pros:
As I mentioned, Atlantis has a very impressive list of accessories. The aquariums and wildlife pools all around the property are amazing. You can walk by the unfenced baby hammer head and stingray pool (parents, watch your children!) and see the sea turtles right outside the beach tower doors. You might also want to cross over the rope bridge which sits over the full-grown hammer head and saw fish pool and which gives an impressive view of the main towers and of a waterfall less than 10 feet away. An underground tunnel, accessed through the outdoor bar 'n grill, runs underneath this pool to give visitors an even better look. Simply, the grounds of Atlantis are so large and have so many interesting things to see, that a whole day should be reserved to wander and explore new areas.
Another nice addition to the services at Atlantis is the complimentary paper left outside every hotel-room's door. In this way, guests are able to keep up with the world around them without having to pay an extra fee.
The water slides at Atlantis are wonderful attractions.
The Mayan Temple offers two slides: One for the daring called the "Leap of Faith", a six story drop that shoots the rider through a shark tank in a clear tube, and one for the weary ("The Serpent Slide"): an inner-tube ride that winds it's way down the temple and through a slow moving, clear tube, giving it's riders plenty of time to view the sea-life. The challenger slides are also offered. These allow two people to race one another to the bottom. The last two, the Lazy River and the Jungle Slide, are much easier to stomach. They are more moderate rides.
Lastly, this Hotel can keep everyone content. For instance, it has an amazing spa which offers several wonderful treatments and a hot, outdoor therapy pool for parents, while the discovery camp can keep kids happy during the day. At night, Club Rush is a cool hang out that accommodates preteens (7-12 years) from 4-7 PM and teens (13-17 years of age) from 8:30pm-12:00 am. There is a cover charge of $15.00 and kids are able to dance, play on the X-box, playstation, or gamecube, use the Internet, or watch new releases on the big screen.
Inside Tips:
--At the library guests get 15 minutes of free Internet access every day and, the wait isn't horrible to use a computer.
--Carry your room key to places like the library, water slides, and spa, you will need it to gain access to these areas
--Instead of renting wave runners from Atlantis where you don't get to drive them yourself, check out some of the options down the beach where the price is better and you get to self-navigate your ride.
--Try to the Exuma Powerboat Adventure which is not advertised at the Hotel. It is an amazing experience and if you book online, you get 10 percent off.
--If you cross over the bridge closest to the beach tower, there are some wonderful shack restaurants which serve fresh conch salad, peas and rice, and crab and rice (all specialties of the Bahamas) for very reasonable prices. You will find them if you look right right before the stop light at the end of the bridge into Nassau.
--Do not eat Barracuda while in the Bahamas, some of the meat is poison and eating it is like a game of Russian Roulette.
--Liquor and cigars are cheaper in the shopping area catty corner to the Corral Tower of Atlantis. The prices are the same there as they are in any part of Nassau so bargain hunting is unnecessary.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Blacksky86
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Member: Megan Morrison
Location: Fresno
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 3 members
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