When families think of where to go for a family vacation, places like Disney and the Grand Canyon pop to mind. But, now with the addition of an all new focus on families at The Atlantis Resort, I have a feeling that the calm trade winds of the Bahamas might start coming up as well.

In full disclosure, you should know JetBlue, Lego and Atlantis held a press event known as the Jet Adventure over a weekend in January on site in the Bahamas. They flew me and the family down, put us up and made sure we had a great time on site and got to check out a variety of the activities that Atlantis has to offer for a family vacation. A special thanks to JetBlue who told me originally they were going to call the outing “Jet Mommies” but wanted to be sure dads like me felt welcomed so they changed the name and it was great to see several other dad writers on the trip. Since I’m also an avid photographer you can view my entire photo album online if you’d like.

This was our first time in the Bahamas. I’m not much of a sit on the beach and do nothing all vacation type of guy, so the idea of heading to the islands had never really been on my radar.

I do a lot of flying and have always loved JetBlue as an airline. Their in seat televisions make any flight feel shorter and I value that. The kids of course love it as well because they get to control their own TV and that empowerment keeps them happy. While we flew out of the funky new JFK Terminal 5 in New York, it was good to see so many direct flights to the Bahamas on JetBlue. It is a quick 3 hour flight from New England.

As we rode the hotel shuttle from the airport to the resort, I took in how blue the water was and how colorful all the buildings are. Instantly I wanted to take out my camera and go on a photowalk around the town center to capture all the faces and culture that it had to offer. We wouldn’t have time on this trip for that, but just from driving through it I could feel a vibrant energy that you should make time to take in when you visit.

I can confirm that Atlantis is as beautiful and majestic as it looks in all the commercials. From the Pegasus filled fountains in the main entrance, down to the littlest light fixture in the hallways, they want it to be an experience. In fact the entire grounds are absolutely beautiful with lots of nooks and cranny’s to explore. One morning we got up early and just walked around before most of the resort woke up. We even filmed an episode of Emily Explains It that morning on the beach.

They play up the Atlantis theme everywhere. This is done in grand fashion in The Dig which is a series of caves, rooms and tunnels all surrounded by massive fish tanks and an amazing variety of sea life. Make sure to explore it at night and during the day because the experience is very different and equally impressive. We had a guided tour which was great so that we could learn about all the different fish we were seeing swimming among the ruins. Seeing the fish that close up and in such a large tank was something the kids, or I, won’t soon forget.

Everywhere you look is water. Make sure to take a walk to get to an actual beach instead of only hanging out by one of the many pools. Also, be sure to check out the many little lagoons and other water areas to look at the water life. On the way to breakfast one morning an Eagle Ray came up and “waved” to us.

For families there are pools with varying depths of water which make it great to just let the kids play in one of the shallow pools while you watch from a nearby deck chair. Towels are provided for you for free and there are lockers to put your stuff in while you enjoy the sunshine. There are plenty of little snack shacks everywhere to fuel your munchies. Just be sure not to forget to try the conch fritters!

Built into the resort is a top notch water park. It isn’t separated, but rather integrated right along side the fish and the fun. With both a lazy river that takes about an hour and a more fast paced rapid river that runs about thirty minutes, both river rides are something to enjoy with the kids. Emily and Dylan both loved the rapids and we enjoyed them more then once. The water slides will appeal to every age with short little ones for toddlers all the way up to an almost vertical plunge that actually flies through the shark tank before dumping you out at the end.

If you like water slides, the one not to miss starts in one of the temples and you ride in a tube down through a few swirls but then proceed slowly through the shark tank. Cruising along at a gentle pace and having sharks and other fish swim by you on the other side of glass is an amazing feeling. If you go to Atlantis you can’t miss this above all else. Kids of all ages will enjoy it. I promise.

The Atlantis Kids Adventure was the main reason we were brought down to the resort and it is nothing short of a kid wonderland. Parents are not allowed (although we were of course) and the goal is that you drop the kids off for a half day block of time and they can take part in a variety of experiences while you have some quality parent time. With rooms dedicate to crafts, cooking, video games and even a grocery store there is something for every kid. They have a secured check in so there are no worries about the safety of your kids and the staff were overly friendly and helpful. It was obvious that they were ready to take care of the kids and make sure they had a good time.

In addition to the AKA there are other fun activities for the kids to take part in. Our kids got to make their own stuffed animal at Atlantis Pals, build and race their own cars at the Atlantis Speedway and painted their own pottery at the Earth & Fire Pottery Studio. The parents all got to try these out as well and all of them were more fun then I imagined.

The highlight of the entire experience for all of us and something you should not miss out on is swimming with the dolphins. I had done this before at Discovery Cove and can say that the second time around it is still an amazing activity. The entire family loved the experience and if I were to ask the kids about it right now I’m sure they’d get a big grin on their faces. Even if you don’t have the time or money to swim with them, be sure to at least swing by the Dolphin Cay to watch them at any time during the day for free.

Lego was involved in this trip because this summer your kids can begin attending Lego Fantasy Camp on site at Atlantis. We were even accompanied by a Master Lego Builder to celebrate the launch. He traveled with us on the plane and had projects for the kids to do. Dylan is a huge Lego fan and Emily enjoyed it too. I hope they keep the scavenger hunt that we took part in as part of the experience at the resort because it forced us to check out locations that we might not have gone to including the Atlantis Library.

The trip exposed us to the variety of buffets that the resort offers. There are also a variety of sit down restaurants such as Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill (which Emily & I really wanted to check out), but none of them were on the itinerary so I can’t speak to how good they are. Your kids will not have any problem finding food to eat. There is plenty of options that they will recognize and love.

Personally, I was severely disappointed in the lack of fresh seafood and local flavors at the buffets. We did sneak away one lunch to check out Mosaic in The Cove section of the resort and it was the best meal we had during the entire trip including a made to order bowl of seafood soup that left me with a perma-grin on my face. The food is not cheap, but they do offer a variety of dining plans that you will want to look into for sure.

While Atlantis has certainly transformed from an adults only escape to a family friendly environment they do have a few things that I hope they change moving forward. All of the pools close at 5pm which is far to early. If I were to spend the money to have a night alone from the kids, I want to be able to take a dip in the pool. In addition, while the grounds are beautiful, the pool areas are not kept as clean as I had hoped for. Cups, napkins and other snack remains could be seen floating on the edge of most of the pools and under the deck chairs everywhere. The seagulls certainly don’t go hungry.

Finally, this is not a cheap vacation, but neither is a full on Disney experience or other resorts. As with any family vacation I suggest you look for package deals and special trips to save money. Upon return, I’ve been seeing banner ads for Atlantis everywhere offering special deals so be sure to take advantage of those.

Atlantis is not an all inclusive resort and there are no options really to get food and bring it in so you have to pay the high prices for everything on site. The resort is invisibly sliced into different price points meaning on one end is the most value and on the other the most expensive. As with any vacation, be sure to do your research before leaving so that you are fully aware of what to expect before arriving on site.

The resort is top notch and we had an excellent time. We loved the weather and enjoyed that while we were told it was a busy time of year for the resort, it never felt over filled or as if there were too many people there. Because of just how vast the resort is, there is plenty of room for everyone.

Everything shared here is one family’s experience of this trip. If you’d like to read some other review from people on the same trip I was on then check out the reviews posted on Yummy Mummy, Boston Mamas, Cool Mom Picks and The Mother of All Trips.

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