yaaaaaaaaay :)

[Smurfysmiles]

no, no engagement lol

me and so agreed to start setting money aside each month to save up for a romantic vacation. we both really want to go to atlantis (the resort, not the hidden city lol) have any of you been there? was it terribly expensive? i guess all i have to go by is the website but i am really excited to go somewhere tropical with him also it will be a great incentive to get my butt on the treadmill haha! we''ve only been to alaska together so somewhere warmer (and in my opinion funner) will be great, i think we both really need a vacation

heres the website if any of you want to check it out, its really neat!

atlantis resort

 

[sunnyd]

Smurfy!!! I saw a ''yayyyyyy'' and got all excited for engagement news!!!

That''s awesome though! We could use one of those too...when would you be going?

 

[Smurfysmiles]

probably 9-12 months from now. we live in nd and think it would be far better to go somewhere warm when we are freezing our butts off at home

 

[sunnyd]

Ugh, seriously. I hate cold.

 

[hisdiamondgirl]

Date: 2/25/2008 6:40:28 PM
Author: sunnyd
Smurfy!!! I saw a ''yayyyyyy'' and got all excited for engagement news!!!

That''s awesome though! We could use one of those too...when would you be going?

Ditto!! You gave us a heart attack girl!

Anywho, that is soooo exciting. I have been there a couple of times although I have never stayed there!

The first time, I was on a cruise and we could spend the whole day there for about $100 (more or less!) and I loooooved it!

The beach is beautiful and the pools are so much fun! We went in September (hurricane season) so there weren''t that many people there! It was great!

I also went just this past December with BF (we were down there for a wedding and stayed at the British Colonial Hilton which was pretty nice) and we went to the casinos and clubs at Atlantis almost every night!! It was so much fun, I can''t wait to go back!

I think it''s a great idea, you''ll have a blast!!!!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Hmm I''ve never been there, but my ex-boyfriend''s Dad works for the resort''s corporate section. They go a few times a year and I never went, but the photos look great! It looks clean and safe. Just try to stay within the resort.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

i wonder if we could get a cheaper deal if we went during hurricane season. although that would royally suck if a hurricane actually came lol

i really want to play the dolphins

 

[Italiahaircolor]

DH and I have been to Atlantis several times, it''s a great vacation!

If you''re going in 9 months to a year...keep your eyes open for the new resort being built there! If it is constructed when you plan on going, you might want to consider staying there instead!

There will be some truly amazing things! Like a lazy river with sea turtles and tropical fish that you hang out on all day! A pool where the bottom is plexi-glass and sharks swim below you--scary, but cool too! Of course there will be a casino, spa, shopping, normal water park stuff...and all the other comforts!

Its being built by a super big hotel chain, I forget the name...but, from the drawings I''ve seen and the mock ups, it will be *the* place to be!!

Plus, it''s brand-spankin-new...and you''d still be able to visit the Atlantis. I think the price point will be slightly below the Atlantis too, which is why I mentioned it.

 

[gwendolyn]

I didn''t stay at the Atlantis, but I saw it out my cruise ship window when I did a mini/weekend cruise back in the day! I think it was pretty new then (about 8 years ago), so it looked fab, from the water.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

that does sound pretty cool, i cant imagine they have any real estate to build another hotel on hmmm

 

[hisdiamondgirl]

Date: 2/25/2008 6:51:45 PM
Author: Smurfysmiles
i wonder if we could get a cheaper deal if we went during hurricane season. although that would royally suck if a hurricane actually came lol

i really want to play the dolphins

You probably could get a cheaper deal during hurricane season...maybe look into what the airline/hotel policy on cancelling/postponing would be if a hurricane hits.

When we went on our cruise, there was actually a hurricane in front of us and one right behind us.
a little scary...

...but hey we made it!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

yeah i was looking on youtube and actually saw a video of a hurricane hitting the resort
it just looked like a lot of rain and like people were stuck inside

im pretty ignorant about hurricanes, i only know what ive seen on tv

im more of a girl who deals with blizzards and then the resulting floods in the spring

heres that video i saw if anyone is interested

hurricane

 

[CrookedRock]

I live in Fl and have been there a few times, by both plane and boat. It is a gorgeous place. A lil touristy, but then again it is a very very large resort. I personally prefer some of the smaller Bahama Islands that have that authentic feel. BUt Atlantis is something to see, espicially coming from ND. The casino is really nice (kinda lucky for me! lol) and the restaurants are great, but pricey. There is a place that is a must if you go and it is about a 15 min cab ride from there, and believe it or not its name is... get this.... The Poop Deck link . It really is a blast and really great food! I think you guys would really enjoy that trip!

 

[ktdid]

I''ve been wanting to go there forever! I even consider it as a place for BF and I to elope to!

 

[hisdiamondgirl]

Date: 2/25/2008 8:06:40 PM
Author: CrookedRock
I live in Fl and have been there a few times, by both plane and boat. It is a gorgeous place. A lil touristy, but then again it is a very very large resort. I personally prefer some of the smaller Bahama Islands that have that authentic feel. BUt Atlantis is something to see, espicially coming from ND. The casino is really nice (kinda lucky for me! lol) and the restaurants are great, but pricey. There is a place that is a must if you go and it is about a 15 min cab ride from there, and believe it or not its name is... get this.... The Poop Deck link . It really is a blast and really great food! I think you guys would really enjoy that trip!

The casino was pretty lucky for us too!

Well, we''re not high rollers so breaking even or leaving a couple hundred dollars up is good!!!

And the Poop Deck is great!!!! We went there for the wedding welcome party and the food was great, the ambience was wonderful, and the little beach...

 

[Smurfysmiles]

a lot of reviews ive read say the staff is rude and mean and the rooms arent that great
those of you that did go, did you have any problems with either of this things?

 

[moderatelypoorstudent]

Hi Smurfy,

My SO and I stopped by Atlantis on one of our cruises last summer too. We didn''t really utilize the resort, more just walked around admiring their aquarium. Food/drinks were expensive though, as can be expected.

I will say... the cabs in and around there are sorta: bargain before you get in. Otherwise, it should be so fun!!!!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

well now im just going nuts because the stupid people at atlantis.com decided today of all days! to take their website down to repair it. how in the world am i supposed to daydream now! lol

 

[Mediterranean]

...no worries, just more time to gather more opinions.....

I went there pretty recently; my fiance shot "The Bridge Room" suite for some puff piece for a TV show showcasing the world''s most expensive hotel rooms.

Anyhow, because the hotel''s marketing execs wanted stills from the TV show shoot (but didn''t want to pay him for them) they offered to allow him to bring a guest, and they were gracious enough to comp my stay, meals, activities and flight in exchange for their behind the scenes footage.


I stayed in "The Cove." The rooms are nice (bigger than in other buildings, such as The Royal Towers) and The Cove rooms have full balconies (where you can go sit outside on the balcony, instead of just a sliding glass door with 2 feet of standing room) Cain Pool is very nice because it''s an "adults only" pool. The Lazy River was fun, too though.

Food price samples: A casual lunch of 2 sandwiches, or a couple of burgers is about $30/each. If you decide to get a round of drinks (one round, for 2 people) tack on another $30. So, $60 + tip for a casual, down-market lunch. I tipped, because the usual 15% that''s tacked onto the bill wasn''t auto-added for us, and our meals were all comped... But check out the receipts, 15% tip is on your bill already. Nobu and Mesa Grill are decent restaurants, dinner for two (appetizer, two drinks, 2 entrees, no dessert) is roughly $200. Atlantis is home to what must be THE slowest Starbuck''s on earth, so hunker down for a wait if you like your Starbuck''s!! Mosaic has the best of the "buffet breakfasts" in the Atlantis buildings, it''s $40/each, but it''s better than the other breakfast buffets (like Marketplace...didn''t really like that one...)

When you''re booking, the odd # rooms are oceanfront. Go for the odds, not the evens...

If you like gambling, you may be disappointed. The Casinos are small, and a lot of the machines weren''t working.

It''s fun, but probably super-smart to bring more cash than you planned on, generally!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

yeah that''s pretty much what i''ve been reading in reviews, how exciting though that you got to go for so cheap! did you get to see inside the bridge room? itd be fun to look at but personally i would rather not sleep in the same bed michael jackson has slept in hahah

we are starting to realize it might be cheaper to take a cruise that goes to Nassau and other ports and jsut spend the day there. its about 600 per person for a 7 night cruise and 4 days/3nights at atlantis can run up to well over a thousand a piece when you consider food and stuff.

hopefully we find something cheap soon tho bc i am antsy

 

[Mediterranean]

Date: 2/26/2008 2:08:42 AM
Author: Smurfysmiles
did you get to see inside the bridge room?

Nope. It was a working set, like with lighting and dolly tracks for cameras, and 20 scruffy camera operators and sound dudes standing around, and drop cloths on the part of the floor they''re not capturing images for, so my guess is that it "looked" pretty awful that day

If you go during hurricane season it will be much less expensive for the room. If you can get to Ft. Lauderdale Int''l airport, there''s an airline called Spirit that does "The $9 Club" Basically, they run commuter service to the Caribbean for $9 round trip in the summer (low season). I think with taxes and foreign tariffs added, it ends up being only $110 round trip per person.

I haven''t done any of the Caribbean cruises, but I hear that the trick to those is really loving the ship. makes sense, I guess, since ya can''t walk away from it...

 

[LegacyGirl]

Date: 2/25/2008 6:53:03 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor
DH and I have been to Atlantis several times, it''s a great vacation!

If you''re going in 9 months to a year...keep your eyes open for the new resort being built there! If it is constructed when you plan on going, you might want to consider staying there instead!

There will be some truly amazing things! Like a lazy river with sea turtles and tropical fish that you hang out on all day! A pool where the bottom is plexi-glass and sharks swim below you--scary, but cool too! Of course there will be a casino, spa, shopping, normal water park stuff...and all the other comforts!

Its being built by a super big hotel chain, I forget the name...but, from the drawings I''ve seen and the mock ups, it will be *the* place to be!!

Plus, it''s brand-spankin-new...and you''d still be able to visit the Atlantis. I think the price point will be slightly below the Atlantis too, which is why I mentioned it.

That sounds totally cool!! Can you imagine the pictures!!! Oh I gotta go there!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

so while im saving up money for a tropical trip i started organizing plans for wefest this year(wefest is a huge country music festival in minnesota, coincidentally only an hour''s drive away for me anyways hopefully this will keep me from getting too antsy! 30 bands in 3 days of camping with the girls should be a blast and at only 175 bucks, that aint too bad yippee!

 

[Codependent Gal]

There is a website called skyauction.com that usually has some good deals on Caribbean vacations. I''ve never used them but I might in the future. Whenever I vacation in the Caribbean I avoid staying in resorts. I personally would rather just rent a car and stay in a condo or villa because I just want to be sitting on the beach all day anyway (and it is a lot cheaper) and you can see the entire island.