If I had to explain our experience here at Atlantis in five words, those would be it. After experiencing not so perfect weather during my birthday here in the Bahamas and the current weather I am officially banning the Bahamas from my future November thru January itineraries. It’s nothing compared to Michigan but it is deceivingly unpleasant and disappointing. The skies are sunny but the wind is fierce. When the clouds come through it is quite cool.
That hasn’t stopped us from experiencing the wonderful water attractions though…which brings me to crowded and fun. We had a heck of a time finding a couple of lounge chairs on Monday by the kids play area. After the kids played there for awhile we made our way to the lazy river. It is by far the BEST lazy river I have ever been in. It is about a mile long journey full of tidal waves, rapids, caves, and slides. The boys stayed with Aspen and I during our first time around. During the second, I allowed them to split off and go to the Power Tower (Aspen isn’t tall enough).
I regretted my decision the instant they were out of my sight. I explained a few rules before we departed:
That hasn’t stopped us from experiencing the wonderful water attractions though…which brings me to crowded and fun. We had a heck of a time finding a couple of lounge chairs on Monday by the kids play area. After the kids played there for awhile we made our way to the lazy river. It is by far the BEST lazy river I have ever been in. It is about a mile long journey full of tidal waves, rapids, caves, and slides. The boys stayed with Aspen and I during our first time around. During the second, I allowed them to split off and go to the Power Tower (Aspen isn’t tall enough).
I regretted my decision the instant they were out of my sight. I explained a few rules before we departed: 1. Stay together
2. Get out when they saw Dad.
When Aspen and I got to Marc I tried to stay calm when I didn’t see the boys. I set Aspen down by Marc and paced the river while many different scenarios went through my head…Did they stick together, did they go around for a third time, did they get out at a different spot…were they scared…were they lost??? I was about to go into full panic mode after fifteen minutes with no sight of them and then I saw them…a sigh of relief doesn’t even come close to explaining how I felt. Seeing the huge smiles on their faces and hearing how AWESOME it was made all the anxiety disappear instantly. They seemed so impressed with themselves for their big boy accomplishments. 
I guess after our experience at Beaches two years ago I wasn’t expecting the resort to be so happening. We were at Beaches during this same week and it never felt overwhelmingly crowded. It is very obvious that this place is 100% booked. I tried to make some restaurant reservations on Monday morning and every non-buffet, non-café, non-bar is booked for the entire week…WTF. Thank goodness we are staying at The Reef…our room has a full kitchen. Unfortunately, the store was already closed when we arrived on Sunday and it was closed on Monday due to a British public holiday. We ventured over to the store last night though and we should be all set. We spent $112 (which could easily be spent on one meal here) on groceries. Food here is quite expensive…a gallon of milk is $8 (not organic either).
I think I will be cooking the rest of our dinners. I am very over $10 chicken fingers and $12 burgers. I had planned on us eating breakfast and lunch in the room every day and then having a nice dinner each night. We did get lucky on Monday evening. The front desk girl basically begged for a restaurant (off of the property) to give us a table. The food was great and we over looked the water but I don’t think it was worth the $250 it cost. I made home-made macaroni and cheese last night. It felt so nice just to stay in the comfort of our room after an exhausting day. We spent some time at the water and then we walked all over the resort sight-seeing. The resort truly is AMAZING.
It is 11AM right now and the kids have been up for a few hours already. They are still extremely content sitting on the couch playing their games and watching cartoons. I have to admit…I could probably take some lessons from them on learning how to just sit and relax. They are not the type to bug me from the moment they wake about when we’re going here or there…what we’re going to do next. It’s actually me that always wants to get out and DO something. I’m starting to wonder if it’s the great adventures that we embark on or if it’s just the family time and togetherness they enjoy on these vacations.
I guess after our experience at Beaches two years ago I wasn’t expecting the resort to be so happening. We were at Beaches during this same week and it never felt overwhelmingly crowded. It is very obvious that this place is 100% booked. I tried to make some restaurant reservations on Monday morning and every non-buffet, non-café, non-bar is booked for the entire week…WTF. Thank goodness we are staying at The Reef…our room has a full kitchen. Unfortunately, the store was already closed when we arrived on Sunday and it was closed on Monday due to a British public holiday. We ventured over to the store last night though and we should be all set. We spent $112 (which could easily be spent on one meal here) on groceries. Food here is quite expensive…a gallon of milk is $8 (not organic either).I think I will be cooking the rest of our dinners. I am very over $10 chicken fingers and $12 burgers. I had planned on us eating breakfast and lunch in the room every day and then having a nice dinner each night. We did get lucky on Monday evening. The front desk girl basically begged for a restaurant (off of the property) to give us a table. The food was great and we over looked the water but I don’t think it was worth the $250 it cost. I made home-made macaroni and cheese last night. It felt so nice just to stay in the comfort of our room after an exhausting day. We spent some time at the water and then we walked all over the resort sight-seeing. The resort truly is AMAZING.
It is 11AM right now and the kids have been up for a few hours already. They are still extremely content sitting on the couch playing their games and watching cartoons. I have to admit…I could probably take some lessons from them on learning how to just sit and relax. They are not the type to bug me from the moment they wake about when we’re going here or there…what we’re going to do next. It’s actually me that always wants to get out and DO something. I’m starting to wonder if it’s the great adventures that we embark on or if it’s just the family time and togetherness they enjoy on these vacations.
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