Atlantis Paradise Island

Possibly one of the largest – and even most affordable – of luxury resorts on the planet, Atlantis Paradise Island is both a waterpark and vacation resort that caters to the budget-minded as well as the exceedingly wealthy ($25,000/night suite, anyone?).

The resort, located just a very short way off of the shore of Nassau / New Providence Island, on Paradise Island, opened in 1998 by South African tycoon Sol Kerzner, with the construction of what are now the Coral and Beach Towers when they were known as the Britannia Beach Hotel and the Paradise Beach Hotel, respectively. The resort officially became Atlantis when developers built the Royal Towers. And since it is so close to Nassau Bahamas, it is easy to book any Nassau tours to get out of the resort area.

In fact, it’s the Royal Towers that contain the “Bridge Suite,” which Forbes named in 2002 as the most expensive hotel room in the world ($25K in 2002 and was still $25K as late as 2012).

While the Atlantis can be very affordable to many (more on this in a moment), it opened its most luxurious tower in 2007, the Cove Atlantis, a 600-suite(note, it’s not 600-room) tower. A 497-room tower, Reef Atlantis, also opened that year.

Guests can arrive at Atlantis and never leave – there’s that much to do. Among the attractions at the resort is Aquaventure, a 141-acre, 200-million-gallon waterpark that offers river rides, rapids, slides, and more. The centerpiece is the Power Tower, which includes four giant water slides.

The Mayan Temple attraction at the Royal Towers also has four major slides, while the Current is a mile-long, three-million-gallon water ride that offers guests the chance to ride waves and tidal surges, steam, and rapids (all artificial).

The Dig actually is a variety of aquariums located under the Royal Towers’ lobby and actually is the world’s largest open air marine habitat in which hundreds of aquatic species are located, including sharks, manta rays, jellyfish, angelfish.

Atlantis also boasts the Marina and Marina Village. The Marina is a small harbor where large yachts can dock and Marina Village is a small shopping center.

Rooms in the Beach Tower are the most affordable, with rates starting at $113 a night during the summer and $117 in the fall. Spring rates start at $199 per night.

Atlantis is so large and needs so many employees that it’s the largest private employer in the Bahamas, and the second largest of all, behind the Bahamian government.