The Royal at Atlantis — Hotel in New Providence

Stayed here for the past two weeks and am checking out tomorrow so thought this would be a good time to post a review. I’m not going to go too in-depth into the individual food options as I am going to rate those that I visited individually. This review was also very long as I wanted to make it comprehensive but I reached the limit on the reviews so I have added more in-depth points as photos so please view them!

The Good:

Staff: First off, the staff are excellent, everyone was extremely friendly, always saying hello and being pleasant no matter whether it was a housekeeper, security, croupier’s or lifeguards. Really friendly and helpful and often going above or beyond.

Lifeguards: I want to make a specific point regarding the Lifeguards. As a swimmer, one thing I love about my local pool back in the U.K. is that the lifeguards are really on the ball and proactive, and that’s the same here, always friendly but make sure that the rules are being followed and everyone is safe. Very good lifeguarding.

Hotel grounds and water park: What a setting this hotel is in! A beautiful beach, awesome water park, aquarium and super yachts! The water park brilliant, really fun rides and a good number of them, my advice for the leap of faith is don’t look before you sit down on the slide, it’s quite steep!

The marina village is lovely and one of my favourite things to do has been to photograph the different yachts that come in and out.

The cleanliness of the site is immaculate, no rubbish laying around, all the grounds are kept neat and tidy and is a very pleasant place to be around.

The Dig: The dig is the hotel’s aquarium (along with the predator lagoon but this was sadly closed for the duration of our stay due to renovations). It’s really unique to have in the hotel and I hadn’t been in an aquarium in years so it was a bit of a treat.

The Bad:

The price: Yes I know the Caribbean and Bahamas in general is expensive, but this hotel is incredibly expensive. For the 4 of us, the cheapest meal was $100 and most of the nights it was $170+.

Service charges and tax: Mandatory tipping is rare in the U.K., but having gone to the US a lot, I understand it, the Bahamas though seems to take it to the next level. Anything to do with food and drink, expect to pay at least a 12.5% gratuity, whether that be a meal, or purchasing a bottle of water, this also goes up to 15% in some venues. I have no issues with tipping for good service, but I like to know where my tips are going, and putting it on the bill automatically makes me think the bosses will just be taking it for themselves. The other thing with tipping, they put a space when signing the receipt for extra gratuity, this moves around the receipt depending on the venue, almost in a way to trick you into filling it in. You have to ask yourself if it’s worth adding an extra tip when they are already taking 15% tip, I only did that for exceptional service 2 of 3 times. As for tax, pretty standard comment but as with the US, what you see is not the price you pay.

Restaurant selection: Whilst there are several restaurants, they are all very similar (burgers, Italian, bar food) and in our first week, we were really struggling to find food options due to restaurants that should have been open, being closed (no one seemed to know why either, we were even told by concierge that they would be open).

To summarise:

Whilst we enjoyed our holiday and the resort, we feel that two weeks was too much here. We were sold this holiday by virgin holidays as virgin have just opened the Bahamas route and honestly this wasn’t right for two weeks, the price alone on that. It felt like a lot of people are long weekenders from Miami and honestly if I was to return, I’d probably do it like that off the back of a US trip. Alternatively I would return and stay at the Cove, as this is the quieter hotel and is a stunning property, I would like to return for a week at the Cove in the future, but for the Royal, I may do a long weekend off the back...

Starting with the good - the Royal property is gorgeous and the grounds are so clean and well-kept. From the beach to the pools, there isn’t a bad view or spot to relax! We enjoyed amazing weather and the resort has many activities for kids. The kids and adults in our group loved the slides and water rides and spent endless hours on the Rapid River. Then they spend more endless hours talking about the merits of each ride and which was the scariest. It made for good intergenerational dinner time discussions. We also really enjoyed looking at the marine life on the property. We got up close and personal with the turtles, the hammerhead shark, fish, and skates. The Trainer for the Day experience was a hit for many in our group. Our Dolphin Cay experience was absolutely phenomenal. The entire staff at the Atlantis was super friendly. Our group did an Atlantis private yacht rental one day and it was fantastic! An enthusiastic crew of 10 people to serve our every possible need - they went above and beyond!

The not so great - our room was relatively outdated and somewhat dirty. The standard stuff was clean (our housekeeper did a great job on the daily) but the walls and doors and light switches and chandeliers were corroded and dusty and mucky. Just not what I’d expect for a top resort. We were in the West Tower - the East Tower is cleaner and appears to have been recently renovated.

If you want to have a more upscale or sit down dinner, you will need reservations. Make them in advance if showing up for your vacation. Be very careful on the Rapid River - three adults in our party were injured separately (scrapes and bruises from flipping over) and needed attention at the nurse’s station. We found the two person tubes to be more stable. The private cabanas were nice, but not necessary. The cabanas at the Coral were smallish and didn’t provide much shade. The swim up pool at the Coral doesn’t serve kids drinks, so it was sort of a wash and far from the action of Aquaventure. The cabana at the Mayan Temple was good, but the cabana at the Colonnade Pool was hands down the best! Right by the beach if you reserve Cabana 10 or 11 and near all the rides and the servers were top notch! Also, the Colonnade cabana had both shade and sun, so everyone was happy. We had two handicapped (wheelchair) people in our group. The facility was less than desirable for the handicapped as the elevators and other access points were often in construction zones or difficult to locate/navigate for different parts of the resort. The app for the Atlantis was really glitchy and often didn’t work well. The wifi on the property was terrible. We ended up using carrier data plans.

Finally, as others note, this place can be pricey for the extras and it sometimes feels like you are constantly paying for things. Don’t go anywhere without your room key which acts as your payment device and proof of residence at the hotel! Sun tan lotion was $27. The two hour tween party was $43 per kid a night, and that didn’t include the snacks they ended up buying (they loved the club and went as often as they could!) The cheapest dinner we had was at the Marina Pizzeria (take out only) and that was about $80 for a pie, salad, and drinks. Be prepared to spend between $150 and $200 for an average dinner at a restaurant for two adults and two kids without much alcohol. For the nicer restaurants (Nobu, Fish) expect to pay much more - easy $400 a dinner. Plato’s was great for quick bites at a reasonable price. Coffee drinkers can get coffee with free refills here. Two people swimming with dolphins was $550 and the 7 photos we bought from the experience were $187 (it’s hard to get photos otherwise). Photos from the water rides are $27 each. At the end of the day, I found myself often wishing it was an all-inclusive like Beaches Turks and Caicos to avoid some of the drudgery of dealing with payment all the time. It would be nice if Atlantis could invest in some kind...

I am writing this review before even checking out of Atlantis resort, where my boyfriend and I have spent 15 nights attending the WSOP series. Unfortunately, our experience here has been deeply disappointing from the very start. Early this morning, at 8:45 AM, we were jolted awake by relentless drilling sounds. While some parts of the hotel may have been recently renovated, others remain under construction, making genuine relaxation impossible due to the ongoing noise.

Service, which you would expect to be a cornerstone of any luxury resort, falls shockingly short. Staff members are consistently rude and unwilling to help, never making you feel special. Security also felt questionable; one of my shirts was stolen after being left unattended for just 15 minutes at the Cascades pool bar at the Cove. Adding to this, housekeeping refused to clean glasses in the room, claiming it was not their responsibility, and basic services like vacuuming or disinfecting floors are provided only upon request. Even then, servicing usually takes two to three hours after you ask.

Health concerns were another major issue. I suffered severe food poisoning after eating Mahi Mahi at Fish by José Andrés on the property, resulting in an expensive $900+ IV treatment at the resort’s nursing station. To make matters worse, this station only operates until 8:00 PM, and a doctor is available only until 2:00 PM—far from what you’d expect at a luxury destination. When I was too ill to leave the room, my request for an in-room doctor visit was flatly denied. As I struggled to recover, I found no suitable dietary options available anywhere on the premises. Instead, you are forced to choose between prohibitively expensive restaurants (easily costing $200 or more for a meal for two) or fast-food stalls near the pools. Even room service refused to prepare a simple potato cream soup on the day of my food poisoning.

The list of disappointments only grows. Outside the hotel room, Wi-Fi coverage is practically nonexistent. The telephone line in the room frequently stops working. Laundry service operates for a mere two-hour window each morning. On rainy days, if you dislike gambling or have no interest in high-end shopping, there is absolutely nothing to do. Evenings are equally dull, with no parties or appealing nightlife options, and the pools close as early as 5:00 PM. The spa, where guests would hope to relax, is run-down, cramped, overpriced, and staffed by professionals who seemingly cannot even deliver a proper blowout—yet they still charge $120 for the attempt.

Adding insult to injury, a mandatory 15% service fee applies to nearly everything, and some pools are restricted solely to guests of a nearby hotel who wear specific wristbands. Even the beach lacks basic amenities; there are no sunbeds or restaurant service available directly on the sand, stripping away any semblance of comfort by the ocean. Coming from Europe, I found the local interpretations of familiar dishes nearly unrecognizable and entirely disappointing, which only made dining more discouraging. If you are coming from Europe, expect your personal appliances not to work here due to the difference in voltage unless you bring your own converter (not just an adapter!).

Finally, the resort is huge, and if you are lucky enough to have days with good weather, it is a beautiful place to be because of the surrounding nature. However, due to its size, everything takes a while—depending on which hotel you choose to stay in, a visit to Starbucks can be a 15-minute walk in each direction, as can a trip to the poker room.

Having traveled extensively around the world and stayed in countless luxury hotels, I can confidently say that Atlantis Royal is by far the most disappointing experience we have ever had. If you are seeking genuine hospitality, well-maintained facilities, a variety of dining options, or even basic conveniences, I urge you to...