Atlantis in October
 

I am thinking about going to Atlantis around October 10. I wanted to wait until November because of hurricane fears, but resort was booked when we could go. First of all, how likely is a hurricane that time of year. Second, we were going to stay in the Beach Tower. It seems to be the closest to the beach, so why is it the cheapest price level? Does it really matter where you stay in the resort?

The Beach Tower is part of what was once the old Merv Griffin resort. It looks like something from the 1960's in terms of architecture IMO.
Then again, I'm an Atlantis naysayer so I'm not unbiased.
As for October, the Bahamas are hit by more hurricanes than any island group in the Caribbean or Atlantic. Peak risk is September. If you look down the list of recent posts there are some detailed links showing maps and graphs of risk per week and by location. Early October is still considered high risk in the Bahamas. That's why rates and occupancy are favorable.

To answer your first question, it is very hard to perdict the weather....even the professionals can't seem to have the science perfected. With September being "peak" hurricane season, you should be ok.
the reason for the lower pirce for the Beach Tower is 2 reasons. First of all - location - it is the furthest away from everything. The Coral Towers and Royal Towers are connected by corridors and the Casino. Everything is inbetween those two towers. The Beach Towers is a real schlep to everywhere. Also from seeing the Beach Tower, it is an old hotel that has been repainted, but still an old structure. The only new structure at Atlantis is the Royal Towers. I find the Coral Towers to be just right, as Atlantis is expensive to begin with, but the Coral Towers is convenient, plesant and has a great location and view. I just don't know about the beach tower. Go to www.atlantis.com and check out the resort map, you will see what I mean.

I can't speak to the hurricane threat (we're heading to Grand Bahama on Oct 9th so we're just hoping for good weather) but I've stayed in the Beach Towers at Atlantis. The rooms themselves were basic, but clean. The lobby was large and pretty. The river pool and a nice zero-entry pool are outside this tower, with the beach just beyond. It's a longer walk to the big water slides, as well as to most of the restaurants and the casino. But when you walk from the Beach Tower to the casino or to the restaurants over on that side, the entire walk is in a wide, shop-lined corridor so it isn't unpleasant at all. Not great, I suppose, if you have trouble walking but fine for anyone else. There is one restaurant off Beach Tower lobby that serves a yummy buffet breakfast (and perhaps dinner, but we only went for breakfast.) Off to the side of the zero-entry pool there is a snack shack that sells hamburgers, salads, and other lunch fare. There is also an open-air bar right near the pool that looks onto the beach. If I were to return I'd stay at the Beach Tower again (unless, of course, I hit the lottery before then.) We hardly spent any time in our room so it didn't matter that it wasn't luxurious. Good luck with your decision.

The Beach Tower is the cheapest because it is the oldest,least nice, and most inconvenient of the three Towers. I stayed at the Atlantis at the Royal Tower but walked to the Beach Tower to check it out. I was very glad I did not book myself there. It reminded me of a Holiday Inn - not a luxury feel at all (even though it is by no means cheap). I do tend to spend some time in the room (after all you do sleep, shower, nap, and have a drink in it, among other things), so I like my room to be as large, comfortable and nicely appointed. If that is also important to you I'd recommend the Royal Tower or at least the Coral Tower.

What about the view of the ocean, and the walk to the beach? The Royal Tower and the Coral Tower seem very far from the beach.

If your main interest is spending time at the beach I'd skip staying at Atlantis altogether. You're paying big $$$ for all the Disney-ish stuff at Atlantis. If you aren't going toi spend a lot of time using the pools and slides and wandering thru the Dig aquarium, I'd save some money and stay next door at the Sheraton. The nice beach in front of Atlantis/Sheraton is there for everyone's use.

The beach runs along the length of the entire resort. I've always stayed at the Coral Tower because it's in the middle (both location and price wise). It is not far from the beach at all.

The beach is not a far walk from the Coral Towers at all and slightly longer from the Royal Towers. You must walk across the the bridge or thru the compound to get to the beach, as there is no instant access from your hotel room right to the beach. If you are looking for instant beach access, Atlantis is not for you. The beach is very nice at Atlantis, but you have to walk to get there, no matter what tower you stay in. Personally, I would not stay in the Beach Tower, you are better off paying the difference in price and staying at the Coral Towers. I can only describe the Beach Tower as Yucky and and inconvenient. It is far away from everything when you see it you will understand just how out of the way it really is...it's almost like it's not part of Atlantis. It has a completely different vibe. Tom42 and TedTurner are very accurate in their descriptions. Our first visit to Atlantis was horrible. We stayed in the Coral Towers in the Reef Wing, which is very old and not redone ( I think it is like the Beach Tower - not sure), which is the closest to the ocean. The room was OLD, OLD, OLD musty and very very dirty. I would not recommend staying atin the Reef Wing of the coral Tower. On our last trip we stayed in the Coral Tower but in a newer (the building is not new but that part has been redone) part the Lagoon Wing on a very high floor, we had an execllent view and a balcony (something the Royal Towers does not have). The room was updated and very clean and while not 5 star luxury, it was so much better and different than the first room we stayed in. Believe me the wrong room makes a big difference. Our first trip was so bad that we got a full refund and a voucher for a free trip - so they knew it was bad. Between the refund and the free trip it cost them close to $5000.00. It took a lot of letter writing and phone calls to get our money back.
If you wish to stay on the beach in the Bahamas, maybe you should look into Compass Point or Pink Sands.

Sandfyfeet - that is exactly the same reaction I had to the Beach Tower when I saw it- a completely different vibe and it felt like I was not even at the Atlantis. fyi though - I stayed in the Royal Tower and actually had two balconies (for some reason unknown to me, I was given a really good corner room which had a balcony facing the marina and one facing the ocean).

I'd have to agree with the other posters that if you want a hotel where you can just walk a few steps and you're at the beach, maybe Atlantis doesn't fit the bill. It is HUGE.

Tom42...I heard that there are a few rooms in the RT with balconies. That room must have had some view! Thanks for the info:)

I agree with the post about staying at the Sheraton instead. The rooms at that tower of the Atlantis are no nicer, the Sheraton is a whole lot cheaper, and it's access to the beach is much easier.

My husband and I are also planning a trip (our 2nd) to Atlantis on October 10th. The first time we stayed in the Beach Tower and now we will stay in the Coral Tower. The Beach Tower is a long, long walk from EVERYTHING!!! The rooms there are just adequate; nothing special, but clean. Regarding the weather, hurricane season is almost over so hopefully we will be OK.

A word of advise for those who don't want to stay at the Beach Tower, and may not want to pay Royal Tower rates: Check out the Comfort Suites: Full access to EVERYTHING at Atlantis, signing privileges throughout the resort, all for a very reasonable price.

My husband and I just returned from Atlantis / Paradise Island on Labor Day and have been visiting Atlantis since 1995, before all of the renovations. We live in FL so we travel at least twice a year to Atlantis. About 2 years ago we found out that the Comfort Suites directly across the street from the Resort, is actually part of Atlantis and guests have full access to ALL of the Resort amenities. Since then, we stay at the Comfort Suites, for a reasonable nightly rate, considerably less than the Royal, Coral or even the Beach Tower. The rooms are spacious with sitting areas, clean and very comfortable. It is literally across the street, probably a 3 minutes walk, from the Coral Tower Lobby and Marina entrance by the Casino.

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon (9/16-9/20) - we stayed at Harborside at Atlantis and had full use of everything at Atlantis as well as the pool at Harborside. It was nice to wander all over Atlantis - see the fish, go to the beach, etc - and then head back to Harborside to relax in the (less crowded) pool.
Re: weather - we arrived on 9/16 and the hurricane was headed to the US. Our weather was beautiful if not a little warm!
We didn't explore the island as much as we should have (honeymoon ya know!), but would love to go back and check out more of the sights.