Atlantis - Bahamas: Need Thoughts | FerrariChat

Atlantis - Bahamas: Need Thoughts

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by Dal0522, Jan 11, 2011.

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  1. Dal0522

    Dal0522 Rookie

    Jan 23, 2010
    39
    Charlotte, NC
    Full Name:
    Dallas N
    So...my wife wants to go to Atlantis. I've searched the forum and got some great input, but I need specifics...things like:

    Airport Transportation to / from resort - Book through Atlantis or other means

    Meal Voucher - Is it worth it?

    Stay in The Cove or The Reef, correct?

    Restaurant reservations - How soon in advance?

    Any excursions suggestions - Is there plenty to do on property? (we're not divers)

    Any other input you can offer to make this a great trip is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks!!
     
  2. LetsJet

    LetsJet F1 Veteran
    Owner

    May 24, 2004
    9,334
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    #2 LetsJet, Jan 11, 2011
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2011
    I'll let others weigh in on the other questions, but I have a little advice regarding transportation.

    Check out renting a helicopter. It's a little difficult because they shuttle you to a different terminal once you deplane but it's much faster than the drive. Though that's not really the point. The real fun is that you get to see the whole island and a mini tour as during your flight. They land right next to the hotel so it's very convenient and a great way to start your vacation. A mini excursion before you even get on property. It's not as expensive as you might think.

    Have fun

    edit - FYI - You can rent just one way. So you can take the heli to and take a shuttle or car back when you leave.
     
  3. pingi3

    pingi3 Formula 3
    Rossa Subscribed

    Mar 27, 2009
    1,551
    Atlanta
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    Quack
    been twice. the last was last year for christmas with the whole family. if cleanliness is a must..... don't go. I saw bubble gum on the breezeways. the baseboards were dirty. we did not take our shoes off in the rooms. put towels down everywhere in the bathroom. and that is after we switched rooms because the first one was dirty. and it was the nice section of the resort. I forgot which one but they have like 3 like the coral, something and something. if our family was not there together i would have left. and i am the type that will spend on vacations but way over priced for what you get.

    The problem is they have need to do a complete renovations. Maybe they have since last year.


    just my 2 cents...
     
  4. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
    12,887
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    Franklin E. Parker
    Take her to a Caribbean luxury beach resort instead. Check out Eden Rock, Young Island, Bitter End Yacht Club or Little Dix Bay...almost anywhere is better than the Bahamas IMHO...
     
  5. Dal0522

    Dal0522 Rookie

    Jan 23, 2010
    39
    Charlotte, NC
    Full Name:
    Dallas N
    Unfortunately, my hands are tied on this one. She's always talked about Atlantis, so I'm going to surprise her with a trip sometime in the next couple months (they're running a couple promotions...e.g., stay four nights, get free companion airfare).

    Thanks for the input....keep it coming!
     
  6. BigJMoney

    BigJMoney Karting

    Dec 25, 2005
    117
    Thousand Oaks, CA
    Full Name:
    Jason
    It's been a few years since I've been, but here's my take on what you're asking. I traded a timeshare to stay in the condos at the Harborside Resort, not on the actual Atlantis property itself. However, the property was a very short walking distance and you got to see some really nice yachts on the walk each way. Staying at Harborside did have some benefits as you'll find food is very expensive on the property. Having a full kitchen in the condo allowed you to make at least one meal a day and save there. If food cost is not a concern, based on my trips I still wouldn't go with a meal plan unless you plan on eating a lot. I usually like a light breakfast, maybe a sandwich for lunch and a regular dinner. For this amount, the meal plan really didn't seem worth it. However, now that they have opened some nicer restaurants since I've been there like Nobu, Mesa Grill, etc., it might be worth it.

    Transportation to/from Nassau airport to the property on Paradise Island was done in a cab. No reservations and was reasonable. I didn't bother looking into renting a car as most of the activities, even off Paradise Island are cab distance and the fares are reasonable. If you're just looking to go to Nassau, you can take the ferry from Paradise Island too, which was reasonable.

    I did dine at a couple of the fine dining restaurants throughout the week I spent there which I made reservations for the day I arrived and had no problems.

    If you're planning on just chilling while you're out there, there are plenty of pools, beaches, lagoons to hang out in on the property. I did do one excursion to a remote island by boat where we did some snorkelling, had lunch and fed some iguanas for the day. It wasn't bad, and I don't consider myself a cheapskate, but didn't seem like it was worth what they were charging. Yes, all of the Kalik beer was free on the excursion, but trying to drink on the 30-40 minute boat ride each way where the bathroom is in the front bouncing up and down was very challenging. :D

    I enjoy golf and liked playing at the Ocean Club course on Paradise Island. There is another one on Nassau at Cable Beach, but it wasn't nearly as nice as the Ocean Club.

    The casino is small by Vegas standards, but was rather friendly. If blackjack is your thing, counting cards was pretty easy. I'm also a fan of Chihuly glass and they has several nice pieces in the casino.

    Now that I've been there twice, I'd have to agree with some of the previous posts about cleanliness. It's not that bad and I'm glad I went to check it out, but if I had to choose between going to Atlantis versus Maui, I'd take Maui everytime. Hope this helps.
     
  7. atomicskiracer

    atomicskiracer Formula 3

    Mar 30, 2005
    1,736
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    Ryan
    Ill post a little more info later....but check out this for an excursion: http://powerboatadventures.com/

    My girlfriend and I did it this summer, and had an abolute blast.

    Taxi's are roughly 40 from the airport to Atlantis, and take roughly 45 minutes. Once you are at Atlantis and want to go back accross to the main island, the Water Ferry is the way to go. It was $3pp round trip, rather than $15 for a taxi service.
     
  8. DIGMAN52

    DIGMAN52 F1 Rookie
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Jan 30, 2004
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    Philip C
    Went twice, and leaned the ropes after the first trip. Rooms are overpriced, so we stayed the second time at the Comfort Suites directily behind the Atlantis. Half the price, and suite style rooms. It was part of the Atlantis system, and we got arm bands, and got to charge back our Atlantis food and drinks to our room. Also had free breakfast, but a buddy found a great Taco lady working out of her van behind the hotel, and ate there a lot.

    The Poop Deck is a fun dive-bar place the kids will like, especially for the T-shirts. Just across the bridge from Atlantis.
     
  9. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
    12,887
    Cumming, Georgia
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    Franklin E. Parker
    Show her the web site for Eden Rock..she will change her mind... www.edenrockhotel.com
     
  10. jimpo1

    jimpo1 Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Jul 30, 2001
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    I've done 2 of those 4, and would also suggest Caneel Bay. It's my favorite.

    Places like Atlantis don't seem like a vacation to me, just too big and too many people. When I vacation I want to get AWAY from people. I also realize that not everyone is like me, which is why places like Atlantis exist in the first place.

    I've heard the food there is outrageous, and you're sort of limited on other options. Too much trouble to go anywhere else, so you eat there. A friend went with his family of 4 for a week, spent over $3000 on food. If they have a food package available, just buy it and be done.
     
  11. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
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    Same with me. I prefer a bare boat charter in the BVIs myself
     
  12. Nikolai_Petroff

    BANNED

    Jun 2, 2010
    35
    La-la-land
    Full Name:
    Nikolai Petroff
    Try the new apartments they built (Cove?) they are still pretty fresh and you get a nice private beach.

    Otherwise...

    OCEAN CLUB. Still belongs to Atlantis, you can go to all the slides etc... but it's a pretty nice small boutique hotel.
     
  13. tjacoby

    tjacoby F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    2,857
    Vancouver Canada
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    tj
    our biggest issue as well, and waiting forever for an 'adequate' $100 breakfast for the family, with minimal choices without long walks with young kids. $3k is very believable. Glad we did it, once. The two days of flying to get there didn't help any either.
     
  14. Dal0522

    Dal0522 Rookie

    Jan 23, 2010
    39
    Charlotte, NC
    Full Name:
    Dallas N
    Well...we just got back from Atlantis. I was actually taking my wife for the Josh Groban concert and an early Valentine’s long weekend—but couldn’t really get into that when I posted my original question.

    Overall, we had a really good experience and plan to go back to Atlantis. We entered the weekend knowing food was not going to be cheap. We did skimp a bit on breakfast and lunch by going to Starbucks or a pool-side snack bar, but didn’t really hold back on dinner. We went to Mesa Grill, Nobu, Seafire Steakhouse and Mosaic for dinner. Nobu was awesome and tops the list, on all levels. At Mesa Grill, the food was good—but the service was lacking. Certainly, not up to typical Bobby Flay standards. Seafire was just okay. My wife liked her prime rib, but my filet was just a chunk of beef cooked perfectly, yet very ‘bland’. Mosaic was a $170 mistake. Mosaic is an ‘upscale’ buffet…yes, buffet. $60 each plus a $12 bottle of Fiji water plus a couple drinks plus the standard Atlantis added-in 15% gratuity. Never again will I pay $170 to serve myself. Lesson learned…moving on…

    We stayed at The Cove and loved the room, privacy and exclusivity offered by The Cove.

    Round-trip airport transportation was offered by Atlantis via sedan. We hired the car service (which was sub-contracted to Dan Knowles Transportation). Our driver (to and from the airport) was Deon. He was absolutely fantastic! His humor and history of the island was very entertaining and interesting. He certainly got our vacation off to a good start!!

    Again, thank you all for your feedback and ideas.

    On a Ferrari note, there was a 360 Spider with Nassau plates parked out front of one of the Atlantis hotels one day. I couldn’t help but wonder what the owner does for service. Crate it up and put it on a slow boat to Miami…or maybe his mechanic makes house calls??
     
  15. madmaxatl

    madmaxatl Formula Junior

    Mar 22, 2007
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    Buckhead, Palo Alto
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    Don Johnson
    Sure, if you want to spend 10x as much money.
     
  16. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
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    Nov 8, 2003
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    Man!!! Just saw the website. WOW!!! I just attached it to an email and sent it out to my 4 sister. FAMILY REUNION??????
     
  17. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

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    #17 parkerfe, Feb 15, 2011
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2011
    No where near that much, unless you're paying $50-$80 a night at Atlantis? Sure they have some very exclusive-expensive accommodations available, but, you can get a Garden Cottage, Beach Room or Rock Suite in the summer from $500 to $800 per night. And even the Cottages would be called luxury suites at Atlantis and other such amusement park type resorts for the masses. It's really not that bad when you consider what you get. And what you get is a romantic and luxurious Caribbean holiday with French flavor. The island itself is very scenic, both landscape and otherwise, with nice beaches, small beach bars that you can lounge around in, drink and people watch all day. And you never know who you will see when you walk the beaches of St. Barts. And the food is to die for! http://www.edenrockhotel.com/explore/reservations-rates/
     
  18. LetsJet

    LetsJet F1 Veteran
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    May 24, 2004
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    Dallas, nice writeup.... I'm glad you and your wife had a good time. It seems Atlantis was just what you were looking for.
     
  19. ag512bbi

    ag512bbi F1 Veteran
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    Nov 8, 2003
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    Ok,OK, you convinced me. I have already talked to my family about a get a way with ALL 21 of us. Now we have to figure out WHEN THE HE** we all have time to go!!!!!
     

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