All year long we have been treated to exciting commercials about Atlantis on tv and when my husband told us his team had won an award and the company was paying for him and me to go there, we decided to take the kids too, as this would be a once in a lifetime chance to experience that expensive resort at a discount.

We left Friday, the 15th of November and took a connecting flight through Charlotte, NC (great transfer airport!) to Nassau. We arrived at around 3pm and the first thing I noticed was that there was no Atlantis shuttle. One would think that with a hotel of that caliber, there would be a great reception at the airport.

We quickly were assigned a cab, an old (I mean *old*!) stretch limousine that could easily hold the 5 of us and our luggage (though the trunk didn't close and had to be roped down). The cab ride took over an hour and just before arrival at the hotel, the limo got a flat tire, we were so glad it happened so close to the hotel, as downtown Nassau was extremely crowded and being stranded there would have been a major delay.

Our first 2 nights were at the Beach Tower at Atlantis, so the cab driver dropped us off there and we paid the steep $50 for the ride.

It's important to note that Atlantis basically consists of 3 separate hotels, interconnected by a long walkway with stores and restaurants and the casino. Prepare to walk!

The Beach Tower is on the south side of the resort and the closest to the beach (as the name suggests). It's also, from what we could see, the oldest part.

Check in is in the lobby of the Coral Tower, which, from the accounts of our travel companions, is slightly more upscale.

The most luxurious and what gives the resort its good name, I'm sure, are the Royal Towers, at the north side of the resort and closest to everything "important" (casino, spa, sport center, slides).

After checking in, we made our way to our room in the Beach Tower and I have to admit, not wanting to come across spoiled, that I was majorly disappointed when we walked in. Which takes me to:

ACCOMMODATIONS:

Beach Tower: The hotel seems old, though well maintained. Our room, though, had a view of the roof of the grand ballroom and was really no better than your average mid-level hotel room. With the possible exception of the hair dryer there was absolutely nothing luxurious or special about that room! A great disappointment when you expect to go to the most special resort you'll ever visit. We were told the hotel was sold out and 2 nights later we would move to the Royal Towers (company's dime). This room though, in my opinion, was not by any means worth the cost!

Royal Towers: After 2 nights at the Beach Tower with the dismal view, we complained in a friendly manner to several of the staff and managed to get an exceptional view in the Royal Towers. A room on the 15th floor overlooking the grounds and the ocean. The room itself was also much more luxurious than the one at the Beach Tower. It had a doorbell, a separate bathroom stall, a better model hair dryer (ok, important in the scheme of things), a better stocked mini bar (though just as expensive) and queen size beds instead of doubles. The only thing we handed in was the balcony and chairs we had in the Beach Tower. In the summer I think that would be a problem as there is no space to dry wet bathing suits and the likes, except in the bathroom. We didn't have hot weather and our stuff dried quickly, but I could see that being a problem.

KIDS AMENITIES:

If there is one thing that Atlantis does well, it's entertaining the kids. The many aquariums alone provide hours of entertainment for them and the slides are great (the large slides are restricted to those over 48", but there are plenty of smaller slides and the lazy river is so lazy, even the smallest toddler would enjoy it with a parent).

But my kids were in love with the Discovery Channel Camp. At a charge (12.50 an hour during the day, 15 at night), the kids are given lectures about the marine life, do crafts, get hands on experience with the marine life and my son came away with several new card games. The price is nothing to sneeze at, but my kids begged to go back there every day.


SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES:

The good news is, the slides are free (by far my favorite was the tube slide at the Mayan temple, where you glide through a tunnel amidst the sharks at the end). So is the lazy river and the pools. When we were there, the weather wasn't great and the surf too rough to swim in the sea. We were told this is not always the case.

On every corner of the pools and beach are life guards who take their jobs quite seriously. If you'd like to snorkel in the lagoon (mostly standing depth), prepare to have to wear a lifevest. I brought my own snorkeling equipment and was pleasantly surprised when the lifevest was free to use, at least. The snorkeling was mediocre, but I'm spoiled since I've been to several Caribbean destinations renowned for their snorkeling and perhaps the fact that I snorkeled the day after a big storm had something to do with it too.

Other watersports offered are waterbikes and kayaks, at $25 a half hour each. This gives you a ride in the fairly small (for those things at least) lagoon. You can also rent snorkeling equipment, but I didn't inquire how much that would cost.

As for activities, there are daily activities, posted at the front desks of the hotels in the "Fish and Chips" newsletter. They had bingos, kids activities, trivia, free gaming lessons and more.

The sports center has an olympic pool (free) and for $15 a day (less for multiday pass) a fitness center with treadmills, bikes, stairsteppers and weights and twice daily aerobics classes.

The spa offers massages and for $20 a day use of the special salt water whirlpool and steamrooms and saunas.

On the grounds there are 2 nice hot tubs too, for free, they're kind of hidden behind the big slides pool. We used them during the very stormy and cold day we had. The pools by the way were quite cool, I'd expected them to be much warmer.

The aquariums are truly stunning, especially the Dig with its seahorses, piranhas, jellyfish and other impressive creatures and the clear tunnel near the Lagoon, where the fish swim all around you.

FOOD:

Atlantis offers a bunch of restaurants, all very expensive. We ate breakfast (there didn't seem to be many choices) at the Marketplace and ate lunch there once or twice too. The buffet was good but not stunning and the price quite steep: $19.90 for breakfast and lunch ($24.95 for Sunday brunch, but I saw no difference between brunch and lunch).

The most amazing cost was for a 1.5 liter bottle of water: $7.45!

The first meal we ate was at Murray's Deli, mostly burgers and sandwiches. It was ok, but not remarkable (the check all the more so, though!).

That evening, we ate at the Cafe next to the Dig (big aquarium), which is surrounded by aquariums, to the delight of the children. The food was quite good, but, I hate to sound like a broken record, too expensive for what was offered.

The second day (Saturday) we ate the Bahamian Night buffet at the Seagrapes restaurant in the Beach Tower ($30 p.p. per adult). That restaurant is the most kid friendly, with clowns who make balloon animals and all. The food was ok, but all fried and would cost half elsewhere.

Sunday and Tuesday night were special events for my husband's company, so the only other night we ate dinner out was Monday.

We went to the Five Twins restaurant in the casino that night with our 12 year old. I have to say, that was the only restaurant with service and food worthy of its prices. We had outstanding service, at one point the waiter came up to my husband to ask if all was ok, as he'd noticed a pensive look on his face. The dessert was so wonderful, I had to take a picture of it. I highly recommend this one, if willing to spend the money.

NIGHTLY ENTERTAINMENT:

As others have mentioned, besides the casino, there is a movie theater with fairly recent movies and a comedy club for 17 and up. Nothing major. The resort is also not set up for a romantic moonlight stroll as we found out the first night we were there. The paths are badly lit and there are no clear signs. The beach is not easy to reach and there are only a few accesses.

The casino is nice though and the drink service (of course free, so recoup some of your losses there ;)) frequent and fast.

THE SURROUNDINGS:

The grounds of the resort are absolutely stunning. Pools with stingrays, green turtles (both of which you can touch) and sharks. Tons of waterfalls and fountains, many, many palmtrees.
The buildings are also beautifully detailed, with seashells, seahorses, swordfish etc.

The interior also has a totally aquatic theme. Seahorses hold up lamps, dolphins spout water, the mirrors are decorated with shells, even the banisters are watersnakes holding ropes in their mouths.

The sculptures of the sun and the moon in the casino are unique and the lobby of the Royal Towers is beautiful.

SHOPPING:

Well, if you can afford a $750 blouse from Versace, you'll feel right at home here. We can't and so the shopping wasn't very exciting for us. My oldest saw a fun sundress, but the price tag of $150 was outrageous.

We bought some resort logo stuff, but even that was almost prohibitive in cost. Since it was so cold one day and we hadn't brought anything warm, my husband and I splurged on sweatshirts, the most expensive in our lives: $89 each!

Some of the jewelry stores are nice and you can of course buy those duty free.


OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Staying at Atlantis was a unique experience, it can't be denied. I don't know if I would have felt satisfied with the experience if we would have had to foot the entire bill ourselves, though.

The experience at the Beach Tower was very disappointing and I would advise anyone going to splurge on the Royal Towers if at all possible.

The resort is without a doubt unique, but I do think an equally enjoyable experience can be had at one of the all inclusive resorts, like Beaches at a much lower cost. It truly felt like the cash registers were clinging every which way we turned.


Recommended: Yes