Atlantis/Comfort Suites Day Pass Questions

[dkort]

we've cruised extensively to nassau and have stayed at atlantis many times. this is our firsthand experience, as recent as july of 2004. once you get off the ship, a quick taxi ride from nassau will take you over the bridge onto paradise island. on our first trip to atlantis, we said we'd go over to the comfort suites and check it out. i wouldn't stay there if you paid me. sorry, call me a hotel snob, but the place smelled of cleaning fluid and the rooms looked really nasty to us..... (this is our opinion and experience). it is a subpar comfort suites. i've stayed at many comfort suites for business. this is not your average u.s. comfort suites. plus, in the heat of the bahamian sunshine, it is a looooong walk across the street and through the atlantis to get where you're going. now, for the atlantis. it really is 3 hotels in one. and it's huge. actually massive. the hotel itself is a destination unto itself and really is something to see. there's the beach tower - decently priced, coral tower - more pricey and the royal tower - definitely pricey. breakfast buffets were 30 dollars plus per person. that's for breakfast. now as far as early check in? we've come in at all times of the day and haven't had a problem, but we've stayed there a lot. i'm not sure if they'd let you check in so early.... security is definitely everywhere. to use the pools, anything, you have to show your room key when you're going outside. and whatever you do, even if you have a room at the atlantis for the day - don't schlep your cruise line towel to the pool. you'll only be hassled even more if they can't see your wristband for any reason. you'll be issued a colored wrist band for the day and have as many towels to use as you need. i would suggest calling the hotel and verifying the early check in procedure - have them fax it to you in writing to present to the front desk upon check in. coral and beach towers have their own check in area, off the beaten path from the main entrance and at peak times the lines do get long. as far as motorized sports, the people who run them are very nice and helpful - we do know it's not run by the hotel. we've never rented anything like this, but didn't hear of any complaints on the numerous trips we've taken there. i can tell you that if you ever stayed anywhere else on the island, you would cry when you see what you'd be missing at the atlantis. it is worth every single solitary penny. expensive, but worth it. hope i've answered some of your questions.

[vossjemi]

Thanks dkort. Wow, had to re-read my post to see what all had transpired since I originally posted. Our plans have changed a little. Now, grandparents are going with us, so we'll have 6 people. I know we can't get wristbands for all 6 of us through Comfort Suites, but can we through booking a day room at Atlantis?

 

Also, do we have to wait till we arrive to get a day room at Atlantis? Or can that be pre-booked? If so, where is best place to book? Direct or somewhere else?

[dkort]

I'm not sure how many wristbands you can get per room. Here's the setup for which tower at atlantis. The largest water slides, the one where you go in the tunnel through the sharks and the one where you race someone else, are located at the royal tower. When you walk into the main entrance where the valet area is, you would head directly to your left to check in for the royal tower. The coral and beach tower check ins are to the right, through the casino and way down the hallway. The lazy river is located between the beach and coral tower. There's also a smaller water slide by the lazy river. Coral is the tower in the center. The cheapest rate will be at the beach tower. The height requirements are very, very enforced. like i said, we've been there many times. even with a parent in tow, kids are not allowed even on any of the smaller water slides, which also have height restrictions. one time our daughter missed it by less than an inch. i would definitely make sure i plan this accordingly. like i said earlier, the atlantis hotel is an enormous place. tons of walking. what i would do is see where you can get the best rate. if comfort offers it, then grab it. sometimes costco travel has great rates for atlantis and comfort suites. just don't plan on returning to the hotel during the day from the beach. also, there are absolutely no cabana rentals at the atlantis. the bahamian sun can be very unforgiving at times. without a shady area, your skin will fry real quick. now, if you're the type of person thinking, well, i'll get the room at the comfort, go out to the beach, go back to the room and relax for a bit, then go back out to the beach, forget it. between the walking, the elevators, and the heat, you'll give up. once again, when you get your wristband from atlantis, there are tons of towels at that area, unless it's after 4 ish when they start to run out. go there very lightly packed - water, sun tan stuff, backpack with credit cards and disposable cameras. wear your bathing suit with cover ups. that's all i'd take over there. just make sure you don't leave anything in your room because if you're running late or happen to fall asleep, which a lot of people do, you'll really be running back to the ship (and it's a really long run)!

[Carter29072]

I am having a problem that I am hoping someone here can help me with. We are trying to a book a room at the Comfort Suites in the Bahamas for one night in April. Basically, we will not even use the room, we just want to use the pools and the beach. There are 2 adults and 3 children. When I called to book, I was told that we will have to get 2 rooms because they only allow 4 wristbands per room. We have done this before and had no problem, just paid a little extra for the extra wristband. Apparantly, they are not budging. They want us to pay for 2 rooms. Anyone else have this situation lately and what have you done about it? Certainly I am not the only person with 3 kids. Any help would be appreciated!