We took off last Monday for the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. Atlantis is located on Paradise Island off of Nassau. We lucked out and were able to book two direct flights from Boston to Nassau. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the flying time was actually shorter than it was going to Disney. This was a huge plus with two young children.
The weather was beautiful everyday and the grounds of the resort are well maintained. We really enjoyed ourselves and the atmoshpere. We didn't venture too far out of the resort with the kids. For the most part we found ourselves dining within the resort (which is enormous). If you've never been, imagine Las Vegas, an aquarium and a waterpark all coming together. The kids loved all of the sea creatures that call Atlantis their home. Each day a schedule of events arrived at your door with the morning paper. We took the kids to a couple of the "Seakeeper Santuary" feedings. Here's our daughter getting some squid to feed the sea turtles. 
We really just split our time between the beach and the pools/water attractions.
The kids loved having their lunch on the beach.
I enjoyed my afternoon snacks on the beach.
A family favorite was "The Current" which is a lazy river type ride where you float along in tubes. Portions of the river include rapids and a wave making machine where you best hold on to your tube or you will flip over! We made sure our littlest one was suited up with a lifevest for this ride.
We sampled the local flavors. Mr. PS and I have been fans of the conch fritter since a trip to Key West several years ago. The conch fritter is a cousin of the clamcake.
They go especially well with the conch chowder and johnny cake.
Of course you need to wash it down with a local brew.
Our favorite meal was at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill.
I went with a mango and spice crusted tuna and Mr. PS went with the red and black pepper crusted filet with a side of smoked tomatoes. The flavor of these tomatoes was incredible. For dessert we split a warm banana bread pudding with sour cream ice cream and caramel rum sauce.
Aside from all the food, one of the highlights was meeting the dolphins at Dolphin Cay. We opted for a shallow water interaction where you get to "hug and kiss" the dolphins. Many of the dolphins that call Atlantis their home were rescued during hurricane Katrina.
I can't believe they don't make these in pink and green!
Overall it was a fantastic vacation. Mr. PS gets to return in two weeks for a conference. He will stay at their premier hotel, The Cove. Which brings me to some of the downsides of the resort. The resort is huge and while I don't mind the exercise, the little ones were exhausted everyday from hiking around the property. We stayed in the Coral Towers, one of the original hotels, and while we could have gone to the beach and pool in the Coral Towers area we opted for the newer, nicer pools near The Cove. We also realized that since the resort is so large and attracts so many visitors it lacks the personalized service that we have come to value. Would we return? Maybe, but we would opt to stay in one of the newer hotels. There's no denying that the kids would have a blast again and that's what counts!
P.S. This was against my better preppy judgement, but it made my island girl's day!
2 hours ago
10 comments:
Looks like such a fun vacation! I am still jealous that my mom and sisters went to the Bahamas without me!
Awww...such sweet pictures!!!
Looked like a wonderful trip!
Oh, she looks cute, and I'll bet she loves them.
looks so awesome
What a great recap. The kids look like they had a blast. Welcome back!
I've been there once for a day, but we actually stayed at the Ocean Club, now that I have a baby I know he'd love it there more!!! Looks like you had a blast!!! I want conch fritters! so jealous!
We were just there 3 years ago for Spring Break 2005! This was before their latest resort building - they were breaking ground for it when we were there. We stayed at the Coral too - and I know what you mean about all the hiking around. It's easy to get lost and turned around. Didn't you find the food pretty expensive? At least for kids! On the very last day we went to a shopping center across from the Coral (not part of the resort) and found a Quiznos (similar to Subway but better)... We ate there for our last meal and actually I wish we had discovered it earlier. One place that had a huge buffet was so expensive for kids considering our daughter eats hardly anything Oh well. We had fun. Some of our friends were sailing there from Chesapeake Bay and had a huge sailboat docked in the "port." Some of the boats there were HUGE! One night all the adults went into the town (by cab) and ate at this little dive - it was interesting. Ahh, good times.
P.S. We also went to the better pool down at the Royal (?)....
I posted pics of this trip a couple of months ago and our Christmas card pic of 2005 was actually taken in Atlantis. Oh I remembered one more thing that we STILL kid about. When sitting at the beach this guy would go around selling cigars(?) and he'd keep repeating "Let's Get Smoky"....we would laugh every time we heard it and we STILL say that around here. :)
Tickled Pink & Green, yes I remember seeing the photos on your blog. That was right before we booked this trip. We found the food to be quite pricey, even for an island. I packed a lot of snacks for the kids and breakfast bars for me! We met some nice folks the first day from Calgary and they told us about the shopping center with the Quiznos. We ate dinner nextdoor to the Quiznos at Anthony's Grill, it was excellent! All in all, good trip, but we're thinking of trying St. Thomas next year.
My daughter sorta wanted the braids too. We debated it, but then decided against it, because she's extremely tender headed and I could tell they were grabbing the hair pretty hard. I KNOW she would have cried had she gotten it done!
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