ATLANTIS

A gracefully arching bridge crosses Nassau harbour connecting the city on its southern shore with Paradise Island/Atlantis in the north. These two “solitudes” are as different as “black” is from “white”—in both the literal and figurative sense.

“Black” Bahamians are not encouraged to linger on Paradise Island—the mecca for “White” tourists who are disgorged here by the thousands from cruise ships every day. Black faces of course ARE in evidence at Atlantis, but usually in a “serving” capacity. A hefty road toll keeps most on the other side of the bridge and the presence of the police station at its base also serves as an effective deterrent. On this side of Nassau a “disneylike” atmosphere prevails. Colourful vegetation and lush landscaping line cobbled streets and surround chic boutiques. There are upscale restaurants, pretty pastel buildings and nothing is cheap.

We spent several days here in a slip at “Hurricane Hole Marina” which is part of the Atlantis complex. This is “Salty Gooses” favourite watering place and we were happy to find them still here when we arrived. “Water Walker,” an old friend from Hamilton, was also in residence so we didn’t lack for good company. We celebrated our reunion with Howard and Debra by heading off for a cursory tour of the Atlantis complex followed by ice cream treats ($17 for two) in their shopping concourse. The next day Salty Goose headed off on the 36 hour voyage to Florida but we decided to stay on and see more of this interesting side of Nassau.

Atlantis is an enormous tribute to wealth and extravagance. It rambles across several miles of gorgeous landscaping, pools and beaches. Its extensive architectural complex is magnificent in design with exquisite attention to detail everywhere in evidence. The immaculate marina is lined with dozens of multi-million dollar mega-yachts and we even saw “Star Ship” complete with its helicopter tied up to a slip here. The focal point of Atlantis is its stunning Casino. This decadent space—the largest in the Caribbean—is filled with thousands of slot machines and gaming tables where we watched tourists gamble away hundreds of dollars one after the other. The Casino is the gateway through which all must pass in order to reach the rest of Atlantis and Bahamians are prohibited from entering and gambling there.

It is impossible to stay at Atlantis without having money drain like water from your pocket on a continual basis. There are no “all-inclusives” here. EVERYTHING has its price and there are no “options.” We checked out all the venues, talked to both guests and employees and this is what we discovered:
1.A simple continental breakfast could be had for $10. (coffee, juice, croissant)
2.Regular breakfasts begin at $20.
3.A simple hamburg or hotdog is $10.
4.We met a family of 4 who spent $80 for take-out lunch at a beach stall.
5.Dinner entrees alone begin about $30 (Chicken Caesar Salad) and run upwards from there.
6.A Buffet dinner for an adult was $55. and for a child under 10 $18.
7.Bottled water or soft drinks were priced at an astonishing $3.75 for 8oz. With soaring temperatures and bodily requirements of 8 glasses of liquid/day, drinks alone will put a family of 4 back well over $100 each day! And there are no fountains or alternatives.
8.A “kiddies program” was on offer for $45/half day.
9.Entry to Atlantis “aquarium tour” was $35.
10. Add to all of the above mandatory 15% tips and you do the math!!

All of this could possibly be tolerated if the resort was “exclusive,” But its not. At its entrance we passed THOUSANDS of cruise ship tourists lining up for a $50/day pass for access to the resorts pools and water slides. At 10:00am all available space/beach chairs had been sold out for the day and the grounds were packed with throngs of hot sweaty tourists. Every beach chair was “taken”, pools were crowded with people and rapidly filling with “pee,”and lineups to water features were long. Everyone was baking in the sun as there was little shade and distances between places were so vast that it could take almost half an hour of walking in the heat to get from one place to another. Not my kind of place at all! I’d rather take an inexpensive all-inclusive at a Caribbean/Mexican
Resort any day and enjoy a comfortable albeit smaller scale vacation even if I COULD afford to stay here. Some other interesting facts about Atlantis include:
1.Cheapest room (2 cramped double beds) begins at $300/night
2.Most expensive suite is $25,000/day with a 4 day minimum stay.
3.Said suite is already fully booked up until 2011! (Who ARE these people?!)
4.13,000 Bahamians are presently employed by Atlantis and the number is rising.
5.Any employee who goes on to higher education is fully funded by the corporation providing the training allows him/her to be employed afterwards in some capacity by the resort (marine biologists, lawyers, accountants, business, catering, spa etc.)
6.Atlantis is owned by a South African. Its profits leave the Bahamas and end up there.

Two days of Atlantis was enough for us. We were happy when a space opened up at the Nassau Harbour Club on the “other side” of the bridge and we were able to move the boat over. Here we could once again enjoy the comraderie of fellow sailors, walk a few steps to an empty pool where we’d be assured of a lounge chair in a shady place, enjoy a reasonably priced Bahamian meal at the local restaurant across the street or splurge on a latte and treat at Starbucks. I guess we’re just not cut out to be “high rollers.” And its impossible for us to even begin to understand how those that are can find anything at Atlantis—aside from its aquarium—even remotely enjoyable. I guess some people derive immense pleasure at being able to boast to friends that “I was there!” Different strokes for different folks.