The Amazing Atlantis, Bahamas

My first impression of Atlantis was that I had perhaps picked the wrong vacation destination. As our little taxi arrived to the enormous entryway of one of the resort’s buildings, I felt a little overwhelmed. I was used to more quaint, cozy hotels right next to the water when it came to a Caribbean beach vacation, but I knew right away that this place took the cake for a gigantic, exciting and promising venue.

Exploring Atlantis

Feeling as if I was lost in a sea of people, I wandered into the main entrance and lobby and gazed at the sky-high ceilings in awe as we waited in a somewhat long line to check in. I felt intimidated and excited all at the time to explore the grounds as I looked around and soaked in every inch of what I could see from the lobby.

Certainly vast, I quickly learned from looking at a map and app that the grand strip of hotels was something similar to a part of the Vegas strip. The open lobby descended into an even more lavish area to the entrance of an underground aquarium. Whichever direction I looked, I found a magical welcoming area to greet me.

A known hot spot in the Caribbean, the Atlantis Resort in Nassau is a destination for families, couples and friends. With its spacious hotel stretched across multiple buildings and towers, restaurants on site, and a multitude of water activities, I soon found out that it was a perfect place for our family trip.

While you simply can get lost in the depths of the resort, there area so many areas right there that you can easily walk to. These include a casino, spa, restaurants, bars, stores, and more – and that’s just inside. Other exciting elements of the resort include the immense pools, daringly high waterslide, large outdoor hut bar, shark pool, event center, lush outdoor grounds, and more.

While the grandness of the resort was scary at first, once I was there a few days I began to feel comfortable. The longer I was there, I found that the all-encompassing places and spaces were actually more convenient, as you could literally walk to a convenient store, restaurant or store and not even leave.

Right outside the resort is Marina Village, a restaurant and shopping area where the beautiful yachts dock. My personal favorite restaurant there is Casa D’Angelo, an Italian place with fabulous service and more than generous family-style portions.

Another great restaurant for dinner is Seafire Steakhouse. While their rich seafood and steaks are delicious, what’s surprisingly amazing there is their sticky date pudding. I know it sounds strange, but this stuff was the best dessert I had the entire trip, and probably one of my favorites period. Date pudding is a signature dessert made in the Bahamas, and the sweetness and texture just melts in your mouth. Just try it.

Swimming with the Dolphins Experience

One of the best experiences I had while at Atlantis was the swimming with dolphins activity. While the resort has several options to choose from, learning from the highly experienced trainers was definitely worth the time and investment. We learned all about the animals and their behaviors, while also getting to feed, touch and watch as they performed tricks launching themselves high above the water.

The trainer made sure each person got to interact with the dolphins and see how they behave firsthand, and a photographer from the resort captures the whole time for you. While I wasn’t a fan of the horrendous wet suits we were forced to wear, it was truly stunning and a great small group experience. There is even the option of doing a day long experience with the dolphins and trainers and getting to ride them. We sat and watched as others did this on our way out.

Final Review & Recommendation

Overall, I would highly recommend the Atlantis for your next vacay. The spacious resort boasts many activities, lounge areas and pools so you’ll always feel that there is a place for you and your family. However, I would suggest staying longer than a few days to soak up all the fun things to do. We didn’t stay a week, but found that many other families came there each year and stayed for a week or longer. Smart.

To sum everything up, here are my overall pros and cons for Atlantis:

Pros:

• Shops, restaurants, casino, bars, pools, spa, golfing, convenience store, and more within walking distance
• Many resort activities right at your fingertips
• Awesome swimming with dolphins experience
• Don’t have to leave the resort if you don’t want to (we didn’t)
• Easy to get a spot at the pool for the whole family
• Awesome underground aquarium and separate shark tank
• Perfect for all ages

Cons:

• Very large resort, easy to get lost
• Not a cozy, private resort feel
• Poor wifi
• Overcrowded, amusement park feeling even though there are several areas
• The pools sit back from the water more than I would’ve liked
• Not the best customer service, and there are so many employees you can’t really get to know them vs other smaller hotels
• Pricey restaurants in the Marina Village (though we didn’t do the all-inclusive option)