Hotels

In the off-season -- from mid-April to mid-December -- prices are slashed by at least 20% and sometimes a lot more, though the weather isn't as ideal. But because Paradise Island's summer business has increased dramatically, you'll never see some of the 60% reductions that might be offered by cheaper properties in the Greater Nassau area. Paradise Island isn't cheap!

Proudly Remaining Adult at Atlantis -- Faced with increasing numbers of families with children, and with the perception that its acres of water slides and canals are a glorified summer camp for the offspring of parents who can afford it, there's an awareness that Atlantis needs quiet corners where grown-ups can be grown-ups.

If you fall into that category, we advise that you check into either the Cove Atlantis, the Reef Atlantis, the One&Only Ocean Club, or one of the more upscale rooms within the Royal Towers. None of these venues officially restricts children, but the Beach and Coral towers tend to house the greatest numbers of foursomes -- usually a nuclear family with their kids or festive 20-somethings on reprieve from their lives in the frigid north.

If you've opted for lodgings within the Cove, spend time at the adults-only swimming pool. Its staffers are hip, and 20 cabanas await you and your significant other.

On your first night at Atlantis, go for drinks and dinner at Nobu. We find the Asian food here delicious and fascinating -- enough so that most North American kids will find it bizarre. The pre-dinner scene at the bar, where women look foxier than in the glaring sun of a Bahamian noon, is definitely not for children. Awaken, too, to the nocturnal charms of Aura, the appealingly permissive nightclub where celeb-gazing is something of an art form.

Finally, book a long session at Mandara Spa. If you see anyone inside who's under 18, it's likely they're in line to inherit a very substantial fortune. Otherwise, even though adults adore it, it's not the sort of place teeny-boppers necessarily crave.

An Offshore Yoga Retreat -- Ex-Beatle George Harrison and a host of other yoga devotees over the years have checked into Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat (tel. 800/441-2096 or 242/363-2902; fax 242/363-3783; www.sivanandabahamas.org), which is reached only by boat from Paradise Island. For some 40 years, it's been completely removed from the rest of Paradise Island's frantic gambling, heady lifestyle, and high prices. Today, the retreat teaches the healing arts and spiritual practices.

Lecturers from all over the world come here to give seminars and practice meditation. When not devoting their time to yoga, guests rest on a lovely sandy beach, all part of a compound that reaches from Nassau Harbour to the Atlantic. It's mandatory for guests to attend two daily meditation sessions, the first starting at 5am. Two yoga classes per day are also required. But you're free daily from 10am to 4pm. A boat shuttles guests into Nassau so they can see its sights.

Participants are housed in the simple main house or in small one-room bungalows. The most desirable units, a dozen of them, front the beach. There are also 35 private single rooms, plus seven dormlike spaces. Vegetarian meals are included in the rate of US$99 for a single, US$75 to US$89 in a double, or US$67 to US$79 in a three- or four-bed dormitory. Tent space is available for US$69 per night.