Atlantis Paradise Island - An AMAZING VACATION!
Written: Oct 14 '09 (Updated Oct 15 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful grounds, amazing marine life, AWESOME POOLS.
Cons: Costly!
The Bottom Line: A luxurious vacation packed with FUN water rides, beautiful weather, amazing aquariums, and FUN.
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| deenaf's Full Review: Atlantis, Paradise Island Resort |
My family and I visited the Atlantis, Paradise Island as a port stop on a RCCL cruise many years ago. We loved it so much that I distinctly remember telling my husband that we must come back here for a full vacation. I’m happy to report that we did! Our trip was the last week of August, 2009. We traveled on Jet Blue for a 6 day 5 night vacation in paradise, literally.
Before I begin, I will say that I researched whatever I could find online and made many phone calls to Atlantis with questions. I wanted to be well versed on what I was getting for my money and what options were available to me. This included information on the pools, the water park, and meals. I was mainly concerned with the meals and the cost of eating on property and teetered between getting a meal plan and not getting a meal plan for literally a month before! I will write more on this in my review.
Suffice to say, we booked Atlantis based on an internet advertisement saying that if you stay three nights, your fourth night is free. This was the case for us and we booked 5 nights because of it…. Four just didn’t seem enough and we are glad we added a night. I booked directly through Atlantis, including my airfare, which saved us no money but was convenient. The air I paid via Atlantis was the going rate on Jet Blue’s website so I felt confident I wasn’t overpaying.
The Atlantis is a very large resort. The main (and always pictured in ads) hotel is called the Royal Towers. It is very grand, upscale, and beautiful. It looks larger than life and feels that way too. It is the heart of the resort and it houses the casino, indoor aquariums, restaurants, and is closest to the water rides and the majority of the pools. There are two outer buildings, connected by shopping corridors and walkways, called the Coral Tower and Beach Tower. These buildings are older, less glamorous, a bit further in proximity to the casino and water rides, but is also a bit less expensive than the rooms in the Royal Towers. The Atlantis also houses a timeshare community and two additional hi-rise buildings called The Cove and The Reef. These buildings are freestanding and close to the private beaches and include all the amenities of Atlantis. These two buildings are more expensive than the Royal Towers. We stayed in the Royal Towers.
The Royal Towers is comprised of an East Tower and a West Tower, with the West Tower being furthest from the casino and check-in but closest to the water rides. One thing is for sure, this is a walking vacation. It is a hike to the pool area from the hotel, and a hike to the restaurants. The resort property is huge and you can walk everywhere but there are many steps and inclines. The East Tower holds all the shops and restaurants in Royal Towers and the West Tower has only rooms. It would have been nice to have a small sundries shop, a snack shop, or coffee bar in West Tower but there isn’t one. You have to walk (5 minutes) to the East Tower for your morning cup of joe (although there are coffee makers in the room).
Let me start at the beginning….
We flew into Nassau and made our way to the Majestic Tours bus that we prepaid for on our reservation booking. This bus took us directly to Atlantis and it took about 40 minutes. We were dropped off at the front of Royal Towers and walked through the grand entry (with our bags, we declined help) and walked right up to the check in desk. They call the lobby the Great Hall of Waters and it is vast, high-ceilinged, and gilded to the hilt. Very beautiful and very grand. We were checked right in (even though they advertise that check-in is not until 4 and rooms are not ready early) and our room was ready. The desk clerk directed us on our way and we were STUNNED at how far our room was. We were not prepared for the hike with all of our luggage so suffice to say, let the bellmen deliver your bags! The entrance to the West Tower is through the entire East Tower, outside, through a breezeway and again outside.
Our room was a standard harbor view (less money than a ocean view) with a clear view of the daily arrival/departure of the cruise ships, both the Cove and Reef buildings, the pools, and some ocean/beach. We had a lovely view and I’m glad we chose it. Our room contained two queen beds, a club chair and lamp, a table with two chairs, and a large chest of drawers. Atop the chest was a flat screen television. Our room had a spacious closet with a safe and a large bathroom with a toilet room (door provided for privacy so others could use the sinks/shower). Our room had something called a french balcony, which is a sliding door and just enough room for your feet on a terrace. We hung towels out and such but there is no room for sitting. It is to enjoy a view from a standing position and it allows you to arch your head out and around the building to stretch your view.
Our room was equipped with a hair dryer, so leave yours at home! We also had a min-bar in the room but didn’t use it. There is no room in it to store your own items and if you want an empty refrigerator in your room, you have to pay an additional $15 a day for it. Lastly, we ordered a cot for extra sleeping space and it was promptly delivered and marginally comfortable. Not as comfy as the fluffy, soft beds, but adequate. I loved the beds, but my husband thought that they were too soft. I felt that the pillows were too soft though, if that matters to you.
Fifteen minutes after entering our room, we exited and went directly to the water rides and pools! All guests must go to one of the many towel stands and get a wristband for pool/park entry. The color of the band changes daily (kids like to wear them all and collect them day after day…. Cute) and you have to get yours each morning. The towels are also supplied daily and there is no limit to how many you can use or get. That was nice.
THE POOLS
One of the greatest attractions is the vast pool area….or better, areas. There are a few free standing pools with no slides, waterfalls, or floats and these tended to be filled with adults since there were no wild attractions. One such pool was the Royal Baths Pool. This pool was very pretty and very sedate. Encircled with canvas lounge chairs, this Royal Towers pool area played host to the people who wanted to relax. The Cove and the Reef Towers had their own private pools that were for Cove and Reef guests only. Also, the Coral and Beach Towers had their own set of pools connected by a Lazy River Ride. We did not venture to those pools as the main pools at the Royal Towers kept us busy for 5 days.
The main thrust of the Royal Towers pool area is the Aquaventure complex (also called The Power Tower). This is a very high structure that houses four different water slides. Two are accessible by inflatable tubes (via The Current) and 2 were accessible by climbing. These slides are called The Drop, The Surge, The Falls, and the Abyss. I did three of these, chickening out of the Abyss.
There is a never-ending circle of river called The Current. It is similar in nature to a Lazy River but areas of the river are rapids, drops, waves, and waterfalls. It is so much fun to sit on the inner tube and flow around. I believe it is 1 mile in length. As you sit in the tubes and float around, you are led to the Power Tower and you queue up in line IN YOUR TUBE. Then, you are hoisted up onto a conveyor belt and moved up to the top so that you can slide down one of the 2 tube rides. Both of these are like water roller coasters. You don’t stand, you stay in your inner tube. This is so great and never gets tiring! The Current then picks you up after your ride and continues on endlessly. There are openings where you can get out/get in at each pool area.
Another slide attraction is the Mayan Temple. This looks humongous and feels humongous when you climb it. There are 4 slides off of this as well. Three are body slides and one is a tube slide. The main attraction here is the Leap of Faith, which is 60 feet high and almost a straight plummet down. My 8 year old did it but NOT ME! At the bottom of the body slide, you rush through a tube that is housed in the shark tank. The Leap goes so fast you can’t even see the sharks but the Serpent Slide on the Mayan Temple also goes through the shark tank at a much slower pace. You see the sharks right next to you so it is really cool.
THE RESTAURANTS and DINING PLAN
There are several restaurants from which to choose at Atlantis. You also have the choice of taking their Dining Plan or venturing to the restaurants you want. There are two plans from which to pick, a basic plan and an upscale plan. We decided NOT to take the dining plan because there were so many hidden charges that we felt we’d fare better on our own. We were right. We had no limitations as to what restaurants we can eat at so we were happy. Plus, the dining plans only allow for breakfast and dinner so we knew we’d want a lunch or two. We were more than satisfied. All the restaurants are listed on the website so I will only cover the ones in which we ate.
For breakfast on most mornings, we chose the Marketplace. This is a very grand buffet located in the Royal Towers. It is vast in size, seating, and selection. Adults are $25 and children are half of that so breakfast cost $75 plus gratuity (I believe it was $88 total). We also ate here for dinner one night and were satisfied but we preferred the full service restaurants for dinner.
For breakfast, the choices are typical with a few perks… this is the one restaurant in Atlantis that includes soft drinks and juices in the price. PLUS it is unlimited. When you have children, this is a plus. There was an entire area set aside for sugar free items, there were hot and cold foods, LOX (yummy!), and breakfast pizzas. Of course, the omelet station was always busy but it was worth the wait. We found that even though the gratuity was included, our servers were always available and pleasant.
One night for dinner we ate at Bimini Road. This is a carribean flavored restaurant in the Marina Village. It is a lovely walk through the marina to get there and the restaurant is very much like a bar/restaurant combo. We ordered the conch fritters, as it is a local fare, and continued on with hamburgers. All in all, this was a good meal and cost our family of 4 around $150. My husband and I ordered beer and the kids had soda. The initial service was slow (slow to be seated and slow to be greeted) and it seemed like it took quite a while for our burgers to come but overall, it wasn’t bad. We did not have dessert there because a few stores down is a Ben & Jerry’s….. Avoid Ben & Jerrys at all costs! There is nothing special there and you will pay an enormous amount for the ice cream!
On our last night, we dined at Carmines and although this is a hugely popular chain restaurant that we have eaten in while in New York City on any given day, we still opted for it here in Atlantis. It was exactly the same as any other Carmine’s. As a matter of fact, when compared to the cost of eating at some of the other on-site restaurants, this was a rather cost-effective choice since they serve their food family style. For the four of us, we shared a meat entrée (yummy chicken parm), a pasta dish (yummy rigatoni with vodka sauce), and a Carmine’s salad. We added an appetizer and drinks and we paid around $180 but we were MORE than satisfied….quite full actually!
ATTRACTIONS
Now, there are plenty of things to do at Atlantis that are included in your trip, such as the massive marine life on display all over the grounds. Some of the grounds are off limits to non-guests (shark lagoon for instance) but being a guest unlocked the most beautiful aquariums that we had ever seen! One such attraction was The Dig. This is a mock underground cave that you walk through that is meant to mimic an underwater facility. This attraction is free to guests and is so uniquely built that we went through three or four times. There is even a touch tank for the kids. You can view lobsters, sharks, manta rays, dozens and dozens of different fish and marine life. This is really awesome! There are guest-friendly things to do also, like pretend to wear deep sea gear of olde and view navigation charts. Like I said, really awesome!
There are plenty of viewing areas – this is a complete list from their website: Dolphin Cay, The Dig, Ruins Lagoon, Predator Lagoon, Mayan Temple Lagoon, Cenote, Estuary Lagoon, Reef Lagoon, Hibiscus Lagoon, Seagrapes Lagoon, Stingray Lagoon, Royal Ray Lagoon, and Water's Edge. There is a lot to see. Do NOT miss the Predator Lagoon and the rope bridge across the shark’s rapids. TOTALLY GREAT!
FOR KIDS
Atlantis has a Discovery Kids Club that is their collective babysitting and child activity center. This is VERY costly and we did NOT use it. It is something like $25 per child per hour and it adds up! We were unaware of anything else until a friendly guest told us about CLUB RUSH. This is a “club” in the sense that it is for kids only and has music, dancing, video games (Wii, Xbox), apple computers, a snack bar and lots of activities. It is child-guided and you simply drop your child off. There are specific times for specific ages. We used the Preteen ages (4:00 PM – 7:00 PM for ages 9-12 years old and 8:30 PM – 12:00 AM for ages 13-17 years old. This is a nominal cost - $5 per hour per child – and you allot money for them to spend in the snack shop. We allotted them each an additional $10 to spend for snacks and drinks and it gets charged to your room. The kids LOVED this and we loved the three hours to ourselves. The only negative? Club Rush is located in Beach Tower, a very long walk from our room at the Royal Towers. You can take the shuttle, however.
There are lots more kids’ activities at Atlantis, besides the waterpark. There is a game room, a pottery making place, a pseudo Build a Bear, and the Atlantis Speedway.
Another free activity was the Atlantis Theater. Here they show free movies in a movie theater setting with a big screen and theater seating. This was awesome! They showed newly released to video movies (not currently in theaters anymore). We saw “17 Again”. They show appropriate movies at appropriate times, so R rated movies are late night showings. There is a concession stand inside the theater too, but that is NOT free! We thought that this was TERRIFIC!
FINALLY
Our 6 day 5 night vacation, including airfare AND insurance for four, cost us $3700 paid months in advance. That did not include food or activities, which cost us an additional approximately $1400 while we were there. If we were to return, we could probably save about $500 from what we learned over our vacation. And there are ways you can save too, with a little research and conversation with people who have been there. And you can always email me! I’d be happy to give you advice on what we did and what we’d avoid next time. And if we can afford to go again, we definitely would!
IMPORTANT ADDITION TO MY REVIEW~~
You must must must must bring water shoes or flip flops with you because the concrete around the entire waterpark gets flaming hot from the blazing sun. By noon, you will be UNABLE to walk more than 20 bare feet. You can buy flip flops there but why pay $20 for $5 flip flops? Stop at your local CVS or Walgreens and pick up a cheap pair, one for each member of your family. Better yet, for the kiddies get water shoes from Target. This is the BEST ADVICE EVER, trust me!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
deenaf
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Member: Deena
Location: Merrick, NY USA
Reviews written: 277
Trusted by: 70 members
About Me:
Mother, wife, teacher..... aren't they all the same?
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