Most of the big hotels here maintain activity-packed calendars, especially for that occasional windy, rainy day that comes in winter. Similar to life aboard a large-scale cruise ship, the resorts offer activities (some of them age-specific) that include water-volleyball games, bingo, fish-feeding demonstrations, and movie screenings. And that doesn't include the disco parties for teens and preteens that tend to be scheduled for late afternoon or very early evenings. To an increasing degree, hotels such as the Atlantis have configured themselves as destinations in their own right.
Wandering Through "The Lost Continent" -- Regrettably for casual walk-through visitors, the marine habitats, gardens, and other attractions here are open only to guests at the Atlantis Resort, or to nonguests who sign up for a guided tour of the resort. The cost of this "Discover Atlantis" tour is $29 (£15) per person, with children under 12 getting in for half-price. Even if you sign up for it, know in advance that some of the most intriguing areas of the 39 hectares (97 acres) of waterscape within the resort remain off-limits to everyone except registered guests. Despite that, there's a lot to see on one of these guided tours. But in the end, it's a tour, and a rather tightly choreographed one at that. It doesn't allow free time for participants to float down the lazy rivers of the resort on a rubber raft. If anything, it will pique your interest in Atlantis, hopefully as an incentive for you to return one day as a registered guest. For information on participating in one of these guided tours, call the Atlantis Resort (tel. 242/363-3000). Tours last about an hour each and feature a brisk, well-rehearsed overview of the marine habitats and all other areas of the resort as well, with the exception of the beaches, the swimming pools, the waterslides, and large areas of the waterscapes.
Note that if you want to visit Atlantis on your own, not as part of a guided tour, the general public has unrestricted access to the casino, the nightclubs, the shopping arcade, and the shops and restaurants of Marina Village. But access to Aquaventure, the waterslides, and most of the waterscapes is strictly off-limits to nonresidents.
A Special Place of Beauty -- If you head up Paradise Island Drive, you'll reach Ocean Club Drive and a garden of tranquillity known as the Versailles Gardens at the Ocean Club. This is the loveliest spot on Paradise Island, far removed from the glitz and faux-glamour of the casinos. Its seven terraces frequently host weddings. Statues of some of A&P heir Huntington Hartford's favorite people are found in the gardens, including Mephistopheles, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Napoleon, and the British-born explorer of Africa, Doctor Livingstone. The gardens are open any time, day or night -- and admission is free. Note that the higher you climb within the terraces of the gardens and approach the boundaries of The One&Only Ocean Club, the greater the chances are that you'll be barred by a security guard.
