My husband and I and our 2 children (ages 14 and 11) recently spent 8 nights at Atlantis in the Coral Towers. I will divide the review into 2 parts - a review of the Coral Towers and a review of Atlantis over all.
Coral Towers: This is a really beautiful hotel with a lovely lobby area, dolphin statues and fountains. We had the added bonus of being there just before Christmas and the lobby was decorated beautifully with Christmas trees, lights and garlands.
Our room was spacious and modern, attractive and comfortable. We loved the location - while it was a bit of a hike from the lobby, we had a lagoon with sharks in it beneath our balcony and enjoyed sitting there watching the sharks swim around,
We really liked the location of the Coral Towers. While it was a bit of a walk to Aquaventure, we were right next to the Marina Village with several shops and restaurants, we had the free movie theatre in our lobby area, easy beach access and we were right next to the library with 15 minutes per day per person complimentary internet usage.
I took the time to walk around to all the Atlantis hotels, and would choose either the Coral Towers or the Royal Towers if we ever return. The Beach Towers were fine, but lacking in the "wow" factor and the Cove and the Reef were beautiful, but a bit removed from the action.
Atlantis: Atlantis is an incredible place, in my opinion it is right up there with cruising and Disney parks as a top family vacation. The resort is beautiful, staff were mostly friendly and helpful, the waterpark and the aquariums are awesome - especially the way they incorporate the two with the waterslides that go through the sharks! We really enjoyed all of the pools, hanging out in Marina Village and making use of the free movies.
I will reiterate what everyone else has said about Atlantis being very expensive - sometimes ridiculously so. Some of the nicer restaurants were charging $50+ for a steak - and then another $8 for a baked potato to go with it, There is an additional charge for many things that are often included at nice resorts such as kids club, access to the gym and room refrigerators. However, we went into it knowing this - so no unpleasant shock.
One thing that I had been unaware of is the fact that there are no self-service laundry facilities at Atlantis. Instead, they want you to use their laundry service which is expensively priced per item. This was not an option for us as we are a family of 4 who had already been traveling for a week prior to Atlanis, and just our underwear alone would have added up to $100 using their laundry service! So be aware, if you need to do laundry, do it before or after Atlantis.
We did find that the poolside lunch items were fairly reasonable in price, especially the value meals that would include a wrap, burger, hotdog or sandwhich with a refillable drink and a bag of chips for under $10. Cocktails in the yard glasses seemed to be better value than the regular cocktails in cups. More reasonably priced places to eat at night included the pizzeria, Johnny Rockets, the barbecue restaurant, Bimini Road and Anthony's across the street from Atlantis.
We also ate at Fish Fry in Nassau one night and really enjoyed it - much better value than Atlantis. We had Quiznos sandwhiches from the shopping centre across the road another night. Unfortunately, we found the people working at Quiznos to be very rude, abrupt and unpleasant - so can't really recommend that. At the little shopping centre across the road, you can buy water, soft drinks and snacks for much cheaper than at Atlantis.
Definitely make the time to look through the Dig and the other aquariums and to attend some of the aquarium feedings and talks. Try all the slides, spend time at all the pools and take some time to just walk all over the resort - it really is pretty spectacular!
We also went to Nassau on 2 different days and did Segway, the straw markets, the Pirate Museum, Hard Rock Cafe, Adastra Gardens and Fish Fry - all were enjoyable.
My family would unanimously recommend Atlantis to other families looking for a fun and unique holiday.
- Atlantis Coral Hotel
- Atlantis Coral Resort
