BEACH TOWER AT ATLANTIS
 

Our family of four (2 adults and 2 children) are staying in a beach tower room for a week in July. Can anyone provide me with details about the beach tower rooms? I heard they were remodeled in November. Size? Amenities? Cleanliness? Comfortable mattresses? Any other info welcome.

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We've always stayed in the Coral Tower, so I don't know about the Beach Tower rooms. The Coral Tower rooms are nice. Nothing special, but they are fine. Beds have always been comfortable. Did you get a room with a balcony? We love sitting out on the balcony enjoying the beauty of Atlantis. <BR>The beach tower is the furthest from the big slides, but has a nice pool and good beach access.

Gail, thank you for responding. I have heard that all of the rooms in the beach tower have a balcony....yes, I too enjoy sitting out on the balcony. My concern is that I have read other posts that say the beach tower is nothing but a old hotel....shabby, poor air conditioning, no hot water, rooms very small and cramped. Then I've read other posts that say the beach tower is just fine. Also heard that it was renovated in November and some of the bad posts I read were from before that time. Perhaps they fixed all of the issues during the renovation? I would appreciate any comments from travelers who have stayed there since November 2001.

The Beach Tower is the least luxurious of the three towers (Royal and Coral being the other towers). While I didn't stay there (stayed in the Royal Tower) so I can't comment on the rooms, the lobby and surrounding area, while okay, did not feel or look like a luxury resort. I wouldn't expect the rooms to be anything more than standard, Holiday Inn or Radisson-type rooms. The upside is that you save some money but still are right at the Atlantis.

Tom......thanks for your reply! When were you there?

I was there in January for 3 nights over the long weekend. I really enjoyed myself but would have liked a couple of more days - the place is so big it takes a good day or so to get your bearings.

Thanks again, Tom. I have heard that the only difference between the Beach and Coral towers is location. That rooms are basically the same but the Coral Towers is more expensive because they are more centrally located. Was your impression of the Coral Towers the same as the Beach Tower?

I'm not sure what the differences are in the rooms between the two towers (although I've been told that the Coral Tower rooms are larger than Beach Tower rooms). My only observation was that the lobby area at the Coral Tower was significantly nicer than at the Beach Tower (if that translates into the rooms also being nicer, I'm not sure).<BR><BR>

We stayed in the Beach Tower in February and found the accommmodations just fine. In fact our balcony had a wonderful view looking out to the ocean to the Royal Towers. The rooms were clean and spacious enough. Not sure what amenities you are looking for, but the showers worked just fine. My kids are 9 and 13 and it was about a 10 to 12 minute walk (max)to the lagoon and waterslides. Since one spends relatively little time in the room, I'd opt to save money and stay in the Beach Tower, provided you don't have any disabilities that prevent you from walking much.

Mike:<BR><BR>Can you tell me what kind of wait times to expect standing in lines for the water slides? Thanks.

Mike...thank you for your reply. You have made me more comfortable about our decision to stay in the Beach Tower. Since you are 2 adults and 2 children like us, may I ask if your room had 2 double beds or 1 king and 2 rollaways?If you had doubles, were they firm mattresses (my husband has back issues)? We were wondering what might be the better option. How was the air conditioning? What floor did you stay on? I have heard that the water pressure problem is worse if you are staying on the higher floors.<BR><BR>Also, do you take a meal plan or go on your own? Any tips on moderately priced meals/restaurants? What is there to do with 2 children in the evening? Did you go to the movie theater? What about the comedy club...appropriate for kids? Did you go on any excursions? We were thinking about going to Blue Lagoon Island one day.<BR><BR>Thanks for your help! <BR><BR>Barbara

We had two double beds - mattresses were okay, but not certain I would call them "firm"<BR><BR>We were on the 6th floor and had no problems with water pressure. In February we didn't need to use the a/c so I can't really comment on that.<BR><BR>We took the less expensive of the two meal plans - it was primarily buffets which was fine for us but I don't believe it saved us much money from going a la carte - it did "force" us to eat on site each night. If I were to go back, I might not take the plan, just so we could leave the complex and try one of the local restaurants one night.<BR><BR>Evening entertainment for the kids? They liked the casino (just kidding). They did have movies which the kids took advantage of. We did tend to call it early evenings because of being outside all day. Did not do the comedy club, so can't comment on that.<BR><BR>We did do the dolphin encounter on Blue Lagoon Island and the kids had a great time. Bring money - it's not just the cost of the event, but you'll probably want to buy the video, the still phtos. etc.<BR><BR>Regarding the waits at the water slides - when we there in February, I think the longest we waited was about 20 minutes.<BR><BR>I agree with Tom that Beach Tower lobby is nothing special - but I doubt you'll spend much time there - there is too much to do outside!

Traveler,<BR> I've been to Atlantis both with and without the meal plan. We spent a lot LESS money without the meal plan.

I can't believe so many people put up with the standards at Atlantis relative to the price.<BR><BR>Look at these comments from above:<BR>"...did not feel or look like a luxury resort".<BR><BR>"The rooms were clean and spacious enough". <BR><BR>"Not sure what amenities you are looking for, but the showers worked just fine".<BR><BR>"...mattresses were okay, but certainly not what I would call them "firm"".<BR><BR><BR>Ever hear of the phrase "damned by faint praise"?<BR><BR>When paying the kind of dollars Atlantis charges, I can't believe people put up with EconoLodge accommodations. Oh, I know, "but who spends any time in the room" will be the reply.<BR>Well, at most every other place I go with similar rates the rooms are quite nice, inviting, and whether I want to spend time in the room or not is not the point. If I DO want to, the rooms should be very nice for $300+ a night.<BR><BR>What a joke.<BR>The owners must have trained at Enron or under Hillary Clinton while she was at Rose Law.

Ron - I found my Royal Tower room to be excellent - very large, two balconies, nicely furnished, overlooking the ocean and putting course. I think most of the comments regarding the sufficiency of the rooms comes from those that stayed at the Beach Tower, which is the least expensive of the three towers and should not cost $300/night.<BR><BR>Although I agree that the room is important, you are also paying for the grounds of the hotel (the dig, multiple pools, waterslides, etc.), which are quite impressive.

The Beach Tower should be fine. Save the money and stay there because the food costs will be astronomical. Poolside cheeseburgers and fries for four with drinks will be about $50.00. They do have a "special" for the family with burgers and fries (no cheese) for $25.00. We stayed at the Coral Tower, went down for the quick Continental breakfast: 4 muffins, 2 bananas, 3 juices, 1 coffee = $37.00. Dinner at Anthony's Caribbean Grill (on the island) with two kids meals, two adult meals and two glasses of wine: $110.00. That does include 15% tip, not optional. Aside from the meal costs, you will have great time. The dolphin encounter is pricey at $300.00 but it was fun and a once-in-a-lifetime thing. The slide lines move pretty quickly. The best time is between 3:30 and closing time at 5:30. The slides don't open until 10:00 am. (We were there last week).

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My husband and I stayed at the Beach Tower last April and were very glad we did.Our travel agent advised us not to pay more the Coral or Royal Towers and we were very pleased with our room and the grounds were gorgeous....lots to do with water slides,pools and the beach.The only thing was that the restaurants were quite expensive,but we definitely would recommend the Beach Tower....the lobby was much prettier than the Coral and more up to date.Also,it was much quieter at the Beach Tower.You won't be sorry.We're looking for another place similar to the Atlantis to stay at in March....any ideas?!

So there really is no difference between the Coral and Beach Towers other than the Coral Towers are more centrally located? Aren't the rooms larger and the lobby nicer at Coral?