From Susan Breslow Sardone,
Your Guide to Honeymoons / Romantic Travel.
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Atlantis Resort, the largest hotel in the Bahamas, is a unique vacation destination. Its attractions evoke the lost world of Atlantis, enabling Atlantis Resort to immerse visitors in a world of fun and fantasy.

Atlantis Resort Attractions

At Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, visitors find everything from shallow lagoons where underseas creatures frolic to a walk-through aquarium to a Mayan Temple replica. In addition, Atlantis Resort has a marina, spa, beaches, the throne of Poseidon, water attractions, and fanciful design flourishes throughout. The biggest draws at Atlantis Resort are:

MARINE HABITAT AT ATLANTIS RESORT
The focal point of the 34-acre Atlantis Waterscape is the world's largest tropical marine habitat, home to 50,000 fish and sea animals. Atlantis Resort's 11-million gallon marine habitat includes nearly a dozen different lagoons.

THE DIG AT ATLANTIS RESORT
Evoking the lost world of Atlantis, The Dig consists of mysterious interconnected passageways and chambers in a dedicated area of the resort. Picture windows overlook deep-water environments inhabited by underwater life ranging from sharks to eels. Visitors view the inventions and hieroglyphic language of ancient residents of Atlantis.

Activities at Atlantis Resort

Atlantis Resort has 38 restaurants and lounges, including an international buffet. There are several beach areas as well as swimming pools, waterfalls, fountains, snorkeling and swimming lagoons, and water slides and rides.

Guests who care to have a swim-with-dolphins experience can find a facility where they can do so a short ferry ride away from Atlantis Resort.

The Sports Center at Atlantis Resort features ten tennis courts, a lap pool, basketball and beach volleyball courts, and an 18-hole golf course. Mandara Spa at Atlantis Resort offers massages, facials, body treatments, aromatherapy, and salon services.

Where to Stay in Atlantis Resort

Atlantis Resort contains more than 2,500 rooms across several towers -- and the one you choose will affect how you feel about the resort and the overall vacation experience you have. At the top of the line is Royal Towers, which opened in December 1998.

This tall, pink, stepped structure, whose two sides are connected by a bridge, dominates the Paradise Island skyline. Royal Towers contains the top-tier rooms and amenities. Royal Towers accommodations also have the best views at Atlantis Resort and are centrally located.

Opened in 2007, the Cove Atlantis is an upscale tower designed to cater to couples more than families. (And since so many Atlantis Resort features are intended to delight the kid in everyone, it's important to have a place like the Cove Atlantis to escape from the little darlings. The Cove Atlantis features two pool areas exclusively for Cove guests, including an adults-only pool and social area called Cain at The Cove. Beach access here is limited to Cove Atlantis guests.

The room in mid-priced Coral Tower, where we once stayed, was less than impressive. Although the room was large, it was in need of an update and there didn't seem to be enough furniture to fill it. The dreary white bathroom held a small tub and double vanity. The bedspread on the king-size bed had been washed so often (not a bad thing) that its colors had faded. The partial view from the tiny balcony disappointed us. All in all, not lodgings we wanted to spend a lot of time in at Atlantis Resort.

The Beach Tower, located at the far eastern end of Atlantis Resort, has the most affordable rooms. They are as appealing to couples as to a husband, wife, and kids. According to the Atlantis Resort Web site, Beach Tower rooms have been newly renovated.

Casino at Atlantis Resort

Open 24 hours, the Casino at Atlantis Resort is the largest in the Caribbean. This Atlantis-themed space holds some 980 slot machines and 78 gaming tables including baccarat, roulette, craps, blackjack, and Caribbean stud poker.

Even if you don't drop a dime, it's still worth walking through the resort's Atlantis Casino to admire the dramatic glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly that evoke the mystery and history of the long-ago and faraway island called Atlantis.

The Legend of Atlantis at Atlantis Resort

Mentioned by Plato, Atlantis was a vast island empire that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Americas. Poseidon, god of the oceans, allegedly ruled over the utopian Atlantis society of harmony and abundance as far back as 10 centuries BC.

According to legend, around 1,500 BC, the mighty Atlantis civilization was destroyed by a massive earthquake -- and it disappeared forever beneath the ocean named for it, the Atlantic. Ever since, romantics and scientists have searched for its traces but turned up empty-handed.

Inspired by the legend, Atlantic Resort creatively and playfully interprets this lost world in the Bahamas, adding loads of luxe and gallons of glitz to the island's mythical history.

My Photo Tour of Atlantis Resort >

• Lobby of Atlantis Resort
• Outdoor cafe overlooking Atlantis Resort Royal Towers
• Atlantis Resort Coral Towers guestroom interior
• Outdoor bar at Atlantis Resort
• Stingray in Atlantis Resort lagoon
• Waterfalls and landscaping at Atlantis Resort
• Grotto at Atlantis Resort
• Underwater passage way at Atlantis Resort
• Big fish at Atlantis Resort
• Inside a fish tank at Atlantis Resort
• Electric eels at Atlantis Resort
• Slot machines at Atlantis Resort
• Dale Chihuly sculpture in Atlantis Resort Casino