Hi Everyone: We just returned from a &quot;free&quot; trip to the Atlantis and thought I would pass on my impressions.<BR>The hotel is absolutely fantastic. It is probably one of the best we have stayed in and we travel quite extensively. The staff is very courteous and friendly and speak very good English - no trouble understanding them<BR>Food and beverages are very expensive - breakfast buffet is $20.00 per person plus tax and 15% tip. Dinner buffets are $40.00 plus the tax and tip. Food is delicious and I would not recommend the Meal Plan as we did better without it.<BR>There were a lot of families there (01/27-02/01)but most stayed in the Coral Towers.<BR>We stayed in the Royal Towers.<BR>If anyone has any additional questions, I will be glad to answer them.<BR>

Hi Vicki -<BR><BR>Ignore the previous poster!<BR><BR>What were the rooms like @ the Royal Tower? Was there children galore? My husband and I want to take a vacation, but we would like to be able to find some quiet coves, just the two of us.<BR><BR>What type of activities did you do in Paradise Island?<BR><BR>Thanks

Thanx Vicki for reporting about your trip,I guess you feel safe from the &quot;monsters&quot; now that there is is registration.I have a few questions for you,first ,how is the beach?,some say it's small,crowded and full of people trying to sell you things and others say they didn't feel that at all.Next,what is there to do at <BR>night?,are there things for adults and kids to do together,movies,comedy shows?And for my last question,do you know how much the snorkeling equiptment costs to rent and how long can you have it for?Oh yeah,and do you know how old you have to be for the scuba lessons?I thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

I will try to answer the questions in order.<BR>The rooms at the Royal Tower were large, with a king bed, table and chairs, desk, entertainment center and wet bar. They asked us at check-in if we would like a regrigerator and we said yes, so they broughta small one to our room - no charge. The Royal Towers seemed to cater to adults and the Coral Towers were more family orientented.<BR>We did not do a lot of beach time because it was very windy and they had the red flags posted for all but two days. The beach is beautiful, but we spent most of our time around the pool.<BR>There are two pool and water slide areas - one at the Royal Towers and one at Coral Towers.<BR>There are a lot of activities for families including a Children's program and also family movies in the evening.<BR>I do not know anything about snorkeling or scuba diving as we did not do either one.<BR>Hope this helps.<BR>Vicki

Hello!<BR>Maybe I can help a little bit, too. My husband and I just returned from a 3 night stay at Atlantis. We also stayed in the Royal Towers with a harborview room. The view was great, with scenery that included Nassau, the harbor, and the cruise ships. The hotel was beautiful with a Disneylike feel- what I mean is grand and exaggerated. The beach was lovely, as were the pools. There were a million kids, but you could escape them easily since the place is so large. If you are bringing children, they will have a ton to do. Be warned, however, if you do not have the money to spend (if you have to ask &quot;how much?&quot; - you will be miserable), go elsewhere.<BR>We had a great time, but please be aware that this is not a tropical paradise- you can get this atmosphere in south Florida. It is very Americanized, and you feel like you're still in the States. The snorkeling is so-so, and the activities are limited on the island. Would we return? Probably not. We have experience the same great service with better beaches and activities in places like Aruba.<BR>p.s. if you go, be sure to bring home the mango rum - yum yum!

Oh, I know it's expensive,we're already booked for April and our kids school break so I know there will be a million kids then too. Vicki didn't say anything about if there was a comedy show or not but do you know of one Ahrod? If they do, is the show for children 11 and 13 or not? I'll keep the Mango Rum in mind, it sure sounds good about now.

I think your kids will enjoy the resort, there is also a kids club at Atlantis so you can have some time to yourselves.<BR><BR>There are alot of restaurants in the area and in Nassau, so venture out a bit to see downtown, and stop at Conch Fritters for some Bahamian food, and the Poop Deck, both are good choices.<BR><BR>There are several local rums made in the Bahamas, and Nassau Royale, a liquor, but also pick up a bottle of Godet to take home, it is not imported into the US any longer. It is a white chocolate Belgian Liquor and it is wonderful!!!!<BR><BR>For lunch, stop at the Junkanoo Cafe on Bay ST. Good conch fritters there too.<BR><BR>Have a great time.

The beach at Atlantis is off by itself, with Club Med next door. The adolescents in our group made regualr trips down the beach for the 'partying' and 'european' look. So if you are looking for a beach, Atlantis is not it. The pools and slides are great though.

There is a comedy club at Atlantis called &quot;Jokers Wild&quot; strictly for over 18's,they feature American comedians and sometimes have big name acts,Tomy Davidson is one that springs to mind also a Hypnotist called Mike Harvey who is very good.The club is located between Coral and Beach towers.

WE love the beach at Atlantis. It's very long and has plenty of room. There are more than two pool areas. In fact, there are 11 pools and the lazy river ride. Go to the Atlantis website for full descriptions of the grounds and pools. The Dig and the aquariums are fantastic!

I am planning family vacation (4 and 7 years) to Atlantis in late June. My husband is attending a conference which gives rate of $220 a night at Beach Tower. Would you stay there instead of other towers for the price? How would you compare Beach, Coral, and Royal towers in terms of location, value for the money, etc? Our main activity will be beach and the pool. <BR><BR>My main concern is that I hear so many negative opinions about this resort, so, if I have to stay there anyway, might as well go for the cheapest as possible. Do you agree? However, if you save a little but feel like you are in the colony within a nice resort, that won't be money well spent either. Please give me some advices on hotel choice.

I agree with the last posting about the Atlantis being fabulous. I would highly recommend it. My husband and I just returned a week ago. I do, indeed, disagree with her recommendation not to purchase a meal plan. My husband and I purchased the gourment meal plan, which is wonderful for someone who appreciates fine dining, not just buffets. The gourmet restaurants at Atlantis and Ocean Club are top notch. The food mouth watering and presentation was fabulous. I would recommend Five Twins and Fathams at Atlantis and Dune at Ocean Club...wonderful dining experiences.

Hi Alexis!<BR>If you can get a room for $220, I'd go for it! You will definitely not feel like the skunk at the lawn party. The lobby is not fancy at the Beach Tower, but neither is it at the Coral Tower. Only the Royal Tower has the amazing lobby, but you'll be eating at restaurants and walking through grounds that have the Atlantis theme happening. The rooms are only slighter bigger in the RT, and you pay an awful lot more. The best thing about the Royal Tower, however, is that it is closest to the major water slide complex. The Beach Tower is closest to the beach, and the Lazy River pool complex. The Beach Tower also has it's own lovely cave/aquarium path.<BR>I'd also like to put my own two cents worth in on some of the other comments on this thread.<BR>The main beach is often rough and windy, and has vendors. Right on Atlantis property, I did not find the strolling vendors, but &quot;booths.&quot; There is an interior beach (man-made inlet) that is calm and fun for little ones. We brought cheap snorkel stuff for our kids so they could splash around without it costing us a fortune. There's not much to see there, however. There is no real night-life other than gambling - no cozy outdoor bar with live entertainment. Isn't that odd? And no price-included family activities, except for the obvious &quot;water park&quot; fun and The Dig exploration (huge themed aquarium). I would not advocate the meal plan - buffet or &quot;gourmet.&quot; Except for the restaurants at Ocean Club, they are just mass producing too much grub to be considered gourmet. It's not horrible, but is overpriced. You're paying for atmosphere! Plus, doing the meal plan locks you into huge daily on-site meals which you may tire of. The best Atlantis restaurant for families is Murray's Deli. We also liked Fathoms, which has some neato entertainment, and the Great Hall of Waters for a big breakfast. I've heard that Bahamian Club is good, but we couldn't get a reservation there.<BR>All things considered, we loved the complex, and had one of our most enjoyable and relaxing family vacations ever!<BR><BR>

We have been to the Atlantis both with and without the meal plan. We spent much LESS money on foor WITHOUT the meal plan. We are not big breakfast eaters so we brought granola type breakfast bars with us. Then we would have a nice lunch at either the Lagoon Bar and Grille, the Cave or Shark Bites. We would then have a nice dinner. We really loved Villa D'Este and the Bahamian Club.Fathoms was good one time and not so good the next. We went across the street to Anthony's Caribbean Grille. There is a place down the road in the Hurrican Hole shopping center where you can get a good inexpensive breakfast. <BR>

Hello - thought I would put in my two cents worth. Went to Atlantis last June with my husband and (then) nine year old son, and are planning perhaps another trip for this June. We stayed in a suite in the Royal Towers, and it was perfect for having a kid in tow. We've travelled pretty extensively, and my thoughts about Atlantis are this: Terrific for taking a kid - the pools, the slides, the hustle &amp; bustle, the beach. If I was a honeymooner, I might skip it, though Royal Tower is the least kid-ish. TONS of crowds overall - think Vegas with a beach. Service is only so-so, as you would imagine with such a HUGE resort, though the food we had was good. We walked the whole place several times, and the Towers at the other end, Coral (and what was the other? Can't remember right now) are MUCH more family oriented, though not at all horrid. All food is very expensive - LEAVE THE RESORT MANY TIMES TO EAT!! Had several great meals in town - can't remember the names off the top of my head, but am going to check my notes &amp; will post under another topic called restaurants in Nassau or something similar. The beach was very nice, only somewhat crowded - I've seen worse. All in all, we gave the vacation an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, and since we're thinking about going back, even with the tremendous cost, we obviously enjoyed it quite a bit. Sorry for taking so long to contribute, I'm a newbie!!<BR>