Inside Atlantis: An Upscale and Friendly Bahamas Escape for Canadians
Contributors John and Sandra Nowlan trade the Canadian cold and divisive American politics for a relaxing stay at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas
We were on our way to Atlantis Paradise Island, the best-known and most visible resort in the Bahamas.
Our comfortable flight to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, took just four hours. Passport in hand, customs was a breeze. The Atlantis resort has its own welcome station at the airport with friendly drivers waiting to take fellow guests and us across the bridges (one coming; one going) to Paradise Island.
The Islands of the Bahamas have always been a popular destination for winter-weary Americans. But recently, Canadian airlines have been cutting back on flights to the United States and adding new routes to other southern countries. Air Canada has recently added a new, non-stop service from our home in Halifax to the Bahamian capital. We were delighted to take advantage, since our previous visits there were by cruise ship, limiting our time.
Atlantis Paradise Island: A Sprawling Resort
The four massive Atlantis hotel towers (22 and 23 stories) have 2,900 rooms and dominate the Nassau/Paradise Island skyline. The resort itself is huge, covering 154 acres, including the world’s largest outdoor marine habitat and a giant 140-acre waterpark called Aquaventure.
The Dig, an aquarium with 15 chambers, several tunnels, and more than 20,000 fish, meanders beneath the main Royal Towers hotel. It is designed to imitate underwater archeological searches for the mythical lost city of Atlantis, reputed to be near the Bahamian island of Bimini.
There are more than 250 marine species throughout the habitat, including those in the Rescue and Rehabilitation center for injured animals. We were impressed by the number of staff dedicated to the care of marine life.
A Brief History of the Resort
In the grand lobby of The Royal, we met Ted Adderley, VP of Sales for Atlantis, who reminded us that in the early 90s, we would have been surrounded by nothing but acres of bush. At that time, both Merv Griffin and Donald Trump had financial interests in Resorts International, which controlled much of Paradise Island and operated a smaller hotel/casino.
Soon after, the acreage was acquired by entrepreneur Sol Kerzner, who first wanted to call the development Treasure Island. He finally agreed that Atlantis was a more appropriate choice and modeled it after his South African Sun City development.
Instead of exotic animals, he and his team focused on fish and marine life. Surprisingly, the current ownership of Atlantis is Canadian. The resort complex is controlled by Toronto based Brookfield Corporation and its subsidiary, Brookfield Asset Management. Day-to-day hotel management is by Marriott.
Our King Room at The Royal
Our large room was as impressive as the grounds. From the 18th floor of the west tower of The Royal, we looked down on the three white sandy beaches, the water park with its slides and mile-long Rapids River, Dolphin Cay, and the two newest hotel towers, The Cove and The Reef.
We could easily see the central core of Nassau and the busy cruise ship terminal that hosts four to six ships every day. A comfortable king-size bed, excellent lighting, a Keurig coffee maker, generous bath towels, and a large screen TV with many channels added to our pleasure. Slippers, unfortunately, came in only one size (not mine). There were many movies available on TV but at a hefty cost of $15 each to watch.
Dining at Atlantis Paradise Island
Atlantis is not an all-inclusive resort so food can also carry a hefty price, mainly because most products must be imported. However, the resort features several fine-dining options supervised by three Michelin-winning chefs and guests pay accordingly.
Our first upscale dining experience was at Nobu, just off the smoke-free casino, a Japanese fusion restaurant designed by celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Despite the noisy ambience, we enjoyed dishes like wagyu beef tenderloin toban yaki and shrimp and Bahamian lobster with mushrooms.
Other dining highlights included fresh mahi mahi, pan-roasted with fennel and Grand Marnier soufflé at the elegant and more formal Café Martinique in the Marina Village. We splurged on American wagyu striploin ($120) and an excellent sticky toffee pudding at the Seafire Steakhouse.
Atlantis prides itself on fresh seafood so we were delighted to enjoy our best meal at Fish by José Andrés. This dining experience won the 2024 World Culinary Awards as The Caribbean’s Best Restaurant. For our main course, we shared a whole snapper, creatively filleted and prepared by Chef Sharlene.
Our three appetizers included a luscious lump crab & Belgian endive salad and shrimp mojo negro, a Signature Dish with black garlic sauce. Our favorite appetizer was the plate of crab cakes made with 95% crab, the way they should be prepared.
All the restaurants offer a good wine selection by the bottle or the glass. We were disappointed that no non-alcoholic wine was available. The quality of NA wine has improved dramatically, and most cruise ships and top North American restaurants usually carry at least one brand. Non-alcoholic beer was also in short supply, with only one restaurant able to provide a bottle.
There is a buffet restaurant, Poseidon’s Table, at the base of The Royal tower that receives good reviews. We had breakfast there twice with a wide selection of tempting choices. Like many other restaurants, it was pricey, with a standard $95 charge for the two of us.
Lunch can be a bargain, however. Field Trip, close to the beach, offers tasty rice bowls with beef, chicken or shrimp large enough for two people ($16). But the best buy at Atlantis is the Marina Pizza with extra-large slices for just $7.00.
Plenty To Do
There is so much to see and do at Atlantis that visitors usually have no need to leave the resort.
We did make an exception when offered a glass-bottomed boat tour of Nassau Harbour. The fish were interesting and plentiful, but the highlights were seeing a wrecked ship about 10 yards down and viewing the over-the-water cottage used by J.K. Rowling for some of her creative writing.
Bahamians are known for their welcoming attitude towards visitors. That is evident by the growing number of U.S. and Canadian tourists, like us, who appreciate a friendly, safe environment on their travels.
Disclosure: John and Sandra Nowlan were guests of Atlantis Paradise Island but all opinions expressed in this post are their own.
