The Atlantis is a luxury resort and water park located on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Atlantis was created by South African hotel magnate Sol Kerzner and Kerzner International Ltd. The resort has often been voted to be the best and most beautiful family vacation spot in the world.

Atlantis was expanded in 2007 to include the 63 acre, 200 million gallon Aquaventure – a combination of water slides, lazy rivers, and rapids. The centerpiece of the attraction is the Power Tower which contains four waterslides and a rock-climbing wall. The slides include The Abyss, The Drop, The Falls and The Surge. Aquaventure also includes one of the resorts most popular attractions, The Current. The new additions to Atlantis alone are bigger than most other resorts. At over 400 acres, the entire Atlantis Resort dwarfs its nearest competitors.

The Harborside Villas next to Atlantis’ Marina Village offer what many consider to be the best value for accommodations at the resort.

The Harborside Villas
Situated right on the Atlantis marina and next to the new Marina Village are the Harborside Villas. Built as timeshare offerings, Phase One units are sold out to private owners and the vast majority of the Phase Two units are also privately owned.

Like all Atlantis accommodations – the Harborside Villas allow for full access to all Atlantis activities. In addition, similar to the Cove and Reef, Harborside has its own pool for the exclusive use of guests. Harborside also has its own hot tub, exercise room, poolside activities, restaurant and convenience shop.

There are three types of villas available at Harborside – some units can be attached with a connecting door at the living rooms to offer additional configurations for larger families or families traveling together.

One bedroom Deluxe units are about 550 sf and accommodate up to 4 people in a condo with separate bedroom, living room, kitchenette and dining area. One-bedroom Premium units are 960 sf and accommodate up to 5 people by adding a rollaway twin bed – the kitchen and dining areas are larger and the bathroom is configured to allow for separate vanities and a 2-person jacuzzi in the master bedroom. Booking a Premium unit also guarantees a balcony or patio.

Two-bedroom Deluxe units are essentially the same footprint as a Premium one-bedroom but these units are configured to allow for two bedrooms and two baths. The two-bedroom Deluxe allows for up to 6 guests. Unfortunately, at this writing there are very few 2-bedrooms at the resort and the upcharge is considerable over the one-bedroom units.

Smaller families should consider the savings in booking a one-bedroom unit. Remember, rates for accommodations at Atlantis are all about how many people will be using the facilities – paying for a larger room than you need means paying for occupancy you are not using.

Rates at the Harborside Villas will often be comparable to a standard hotel room on the resort - making these units the favorite accommodation for families at the resort.

Whatever your choice of accommodations, remember these key essentials when booking:

•Atlantis is not a day trip – or three-four – leave plenty of time to explore at a leisurely pace.
•Get the final rate for all accommodations from your booking agent. Nothing ruins a great vacation quicker than finding out about an additional 25-30% in surcharges at check-out.
•Food prices in the Caribbean are high – everything has to be shipped in – consider an accommodation with kitchen amenities for the savings and convenience. No, you won’t be cooking big meals but the savings and convenience of being able to have breakfast in most mornings is hard to overstate.
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You can see our catamaran in the distance and the dinghy that we used to get to the beach in the foreground. It was a beautiful day to get some sun on the picturesque Xanadu Beach.

The most prominent building near the beach is a hotel that was purchased by Howard Hughes in the 1970's and served as the get-away of choice for Hollywood elite at the time. Howard Hughes lived on the top floor of the hotel until a few days before his death. The hotel is currently on sale for $45 Million.