Atlantis

The room was a comfortable and the atmosphere was fantastic. The room was large compared to a basic hotel room. However, the layout was similar. Bathroom was just inside the door. Double beds further inside the room, etc. The main difference (besides the fact that you were in the middle of paradise) was the balcony overlooking the waterfalls. Our room was on the third floor, but because of the location on the grounds, the view of the ocean was blocked by other buildings to some degree. Still had a partial water view, and a fantastic view of the waterfalls, waterslides and grounds.

One word of advice: bring drinks and snacks with you for your stay to keep in your room. A soft drink will cost $2.50 for a 12 oz. can at the hotel. Buying drinks and snacks in Nassau will be less costly, but will still cost quite a bit, and you will have to haul them back to the hotel. As far as alcoholic beverages go, beer and wine are expensive; liquor is cheap (about half the cost of the US).

The room was very nice, view was outstanding and there is plenty to do to keep you out of the room. The air-conditioning worked great, but make sure that the balcony doors are closed all the way. In our room you had to not only close them all the way, but then make sure that they were touching and shifted to one side or the air conditioner wouldn't work.

Staff was very friendly and helpful. No direct tipping is allowed. Gratuity is included on the bill when you check out. The staff I ran into would accept a tip, as extra above and beyond what you pay with the room. But it is not necessary.

We ate our meals at Atlantis in one of about five different places. Three of the establishments at Atlantis are buffet style, all you can eat. These are somewhat expensive (as most things in the Bahamas were) but the food was better than average for a buffet, with many things to choose from, including fresh seafood and beef entrees. I especially enjoyed the conch bisque, which was on the buffet at all three. Each of the three had a lot of the same things; however, each also had its own dishes as well. Like I said, there was a lot to choose from, so in one week's time it didn't get old.

One of the other two places we ate at was a bar and grill (Atlas) just off the casino - we liked this place the best. It had an American style menu, with steaks, burgers and chicken. Everything was good. Make a reservation at Atlas or be prepared to spend an hour to 90 minutes in the casino waiting.

The Deli was located next to the marina. The menu is what you would expect from a deli, except that they did have menu items that wouldn't have been at a kosher deli. The food was good, the service was fast, and the atmosphere was more casual than the other places.

All were very good. I would not suggest that you pay for the meals in the all-inclusive price. The price at that time was like 80 dollars (USA) a day. You could eat cheaper than that, by eating some meals away from Atlantis and due to the fact that lunch was not included in the price. The all inclusive only covered breakfast and dinner. If you planned on eating all meals at Atlantis and eating breakfast and dinner at the buffet style (as they were more expensive than Atlas, the Deli, etc.) places the whole stay, then the all inclusive might make more sense.