Atlantis - end of January
 

Two middle aged couples going to Atlantis Harborside at the end of January. Any opinions on the food plan? I know it is expensive, but so is all the food at Atlantis.
All comments would be appreciated.
Thanks.........j&j

We were there in 2004, so not a recent review of restaurants. We did the Gourmet meal plan. I would make the reservations before you go. This way you get to eat when you want to instead of when available (like 5pm or 10pm). The Gourmet meal plan covers the better restaurants on property. You can order soup to nuts at every meal. You have to like to eat. We ate everything and enjoyed it. The Breakfast buffett is huge and if you eat a late breakfast, you will probably only need a snack for lunch. The regular meal plan covers more of the moderate restaurants and they are mostly buffets. We dined with family because they had this plan and the food was not that great. It was great for all the kids to roam the buffet, but for 4 adults, I would go gourmet.
While we were there our favorite resturants were the Bahamian Club (steaks), and Villa De Este (italian). I have heard the italian is no longer there, not sure of that. There was one called the 5Twins?, and that was not a good meal and the service was AWFUL. It took hours and nothing good came.
We had a good experience there and we did like the meal plan. It is a good portion of food and we felt we got our money's worth.

On a side note, are you aware that the weather at the end of January is only slightly more guaranteed than the Miami area? Which is to say, it might be sunny and warm, and it might be rainy and cool?

We went in June and did not use a meal plan and were glad we didn't. First of all, only certain restaurants are covered on each plan, and when you get to the restaurant, certain menu items will be excluded from the plan. Also, some restaurants don't take reservations, so if you walk up and the wait is too long, you may be forced to walk a long way to find another on your plan. I liked the flexibility of not having a plan.

I have been to Atlantis both with and with out the gourmet food plan. We spent much LESS on food WITHOUT the food plan! Tax and tip are not included in the price of the plan and they are computed based on the "real cost" of your meals.
We liked having the option of eating at places not at the Atlantis also.