Travel with me #81 : Round up of the Beach Tower and Royal Towers at Atlantis - Which Hotel is better ?

Dear Steemit friends:

Most people start their travel bookings with an idea of where they wish to stay during their travels. For me, travelling to the Bahamas started with the allure of the Atlantis resort. It drew a heightened curiosity which formed the core of my initial interest in Bahamas.

Over the course of the month, we've had so much time to explore and yet, it feels as though we barely scratched the surface of what there is to do in Bahamas. Believe it or not, I actually started my journey in Beach Tower Atlantis. If you've read my previous blogs, then you would assume that I spent the whole time at the signature Royal Towers but actually that isn't entirely true.

Today, i'd like to show you some pictures of the Beach Hotel and Royal Towers. Two neighbouring hotels in the same resort, and yet two completely different offerings each with their unique presentation and sense of style.

Although the entire resort is themed appropriately with the underwater lost city of Atlantis, each hotel offering has it's own unique visual aesthetic as well as level of comfort and quality.

Since the Royal Towers are the signature hotel at Atlantis, you would expect it to be very grand and visually impressive.

This is the drop off area for new guests and as you can see, it is decorated with the Pegasus flying horses over a water pump fountain. Already, the hotel sets a high precedent for the luxury and class of service it intends to provide.

Above the main lobby, two swordfish back to back remind us that this resort is all about the marine wildlife. After exploring the marine wild life with me extensively, you must agree they have themed this extremely appropriately.

The signature Royal Towers and it's ultra luxury $20,000 a night suite forming the connecting bridge between the east and west towers.

In between the towers, the aquaventure park, the open air marine aquariums, and stunning exhibits of wild vegetation.

The architecture remains consistent of a recovered lost city with partial ruins used as many of the facilities.

Inside this building is actually a gaming centre!

Surprisingly, The Cove at Atlantis is the ultra luxury residential offering. From the outside, you can't really tell how luxurious The Cove really is.

At night time, the room lights illuminate just enough of the Royal Towers showing us their grand presence, but the open air aquariums really come into their own and draw much of the attention with their own blue illumination. The marine life seem un-phased by the fact it is night time, no less because their own habitat is now one of the brightest sources of light anywhere around.

From the exhibit below, we have already seen the fish swimming in a circular vortex formation. From above, it's quite difficult to see the vortex.

The casino building is very much alive at night time. This is perhaps because it is the main attraction past midnight. As such, all the lights are lit up around the building which allow guests to walk around the building in well lit conditions.

In fact, most of the building's edges are very well lit at night, and I suspect this is to accentuate the Atlantis theme and decoration which is ingrained into the walls / doors and bricks of the building.

This is just one of the many scarab wall displays around the hotel. Such intricate detail, so grand in size.

Beach Tower

For people who are on a smaller budget, the Beach Tower offers guests wishing to spend cautiously, a surprisingly uptick outfit, sharing the main amenities the Atlantis resort has to offer.

It is actually connected to the Royal Towers via a long passageway linking the two Hotels.

Along the passage way, we have plenty of luxurious looking decorations , always in the theme of the aquatic Atlantis.

Apparently the Dolphins are the Beach Towers preferred mascot. We've already seen them at the fountain in the middle of the passageway, and again at the drop off entrance to Beach Towers.

Some of the services inclusive of the your stay at the resort can be found at the Beach Hotel Complex.

For instance, there is the night club called Crush. Open every night from 10pm through the night, it's quite popular among the younger crowd.

Atlantis also has it's very own movie theatre showing many of the latest movie all for free to Atlantis guests!

You'll also find the tourist centre just around the corner from the theatre if you have any general enquiries regarding your travels around Bahamas.

There is also a small section along the passageway for gift shops. Here you will find the Atlantis souvenir shop which sells many collectables, branded items, and souvenirs. You'll also find a luxury jewellery store called John Bull Ltd. This is the most well known jewellery re-seller in Bahamas, and you'll find many of the common high end brands there such as Cartier, De Beers, Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston to name few.

There is no sense that the Beach Tower is a lower tier offering, just a different flavour, different design. It helps that the Beach Tower is connected to the Royal Towers, creating a natural feeling cohesion between it's guests and the mutual services provided.

Beach Tower Main Lobby

As you can see, the main lobby for the Beach Tower is quite classy and very spacious! Lovely shiny marble flooring, and well lit studio lighting make the lobby very welcoming.

The Beach Tower Villas

One of the unique aspects of the Beach Tower is actually not the tower itself! It is in fact the villas beside the tower tucked in between the smaller water pools and aquariums.

I arrived at around midnight to find the villa area well lit and arranged like a small settlement village.Each building occupying it's own angle, space and unique design to complement the lush landscaping.

I was very surprised to see Stingray's just beside path leading to my own villa.

It's not just one Stingray either, there are about a dozen in the pool just outside my villa.

My room was on the first floor (above ground level).

Let's go in and take a look!

As I walked in, my immediate thought was how spacious the room was. Space for two double beds, a large shoe cupboard with a TV on top, and a cute little tea table beside it.

I wasn't expecting ultra high end room fittings and that's exactly what they provided. The essentials in a neatly presented room. You can see they've even opted for the ceiling fan light instead of the air conditioner.

In the corner a complementary drink of bottled water, above the mini bar.

The mini table just large enough to accommodate me and my small laptop for some Steemit blogging.

The bed side table has the usual telephone, lamp, and alarm clock which is compatible with the old generation ipod/iphone connector type.

In your first entry to the Atlantis resort, it doesn't matter which hotel you stay at, you will be given a guide on the whole resort, as well as your inclusive access passes to the Aquaventure water park (worth $135 / day!)

You are also entitled to two bottles of water from anywhere in the resort through redemption with the coupon.

The cupboard is quite small given the size of the room, but it is certainly large enough for myself.

Like the bedroom, the bathroom is quite spacious and it makes me wonder if it's meant to be used by more than two people at a time. It's strange how the bath tub / shower is so small, and yet the bathroom itself is quite large.

There seems to be quite a bit of space redundancy here. Not that I like to feel spatially challenged, so the right balance needs to be struck somewhere in between.

In the room, there is a full directory of pamphlets showcasing all of the activities available not only at Atlantis but in much of Bahamas. This was a really welcome addition especially since I planned to do my research the first night I arrived.

All the information was well received and by the time I looked through them all, I had a pretty good idea what I was going to do for the next couple of days.

The Royal Towers

So many times we've visited this building in the past month, and each time, I couldn't speak highly enough of it.

As the signature hotel of the resort, there was never any doubt that the Royal Towers would be everything you could expect and more.

The architecture is so iconic and the first impression you get as you walk into the main lobby is just how grand the place is. It truly feels like a place for Royalty and thus it's name is appropriate. I often felt out of place here because I'm of course not of royal blood, but then I remember that neither is anyone else. We're all very fortunate to experience royal treatment at very reasonable if slightly expensive prices!

The waiting area is just pure comfort!

The Dig Entrance is just ahead from the main Lobby and down the steps to the lower floor.

Poseidons Table - Epic godly all you can eat restaurant!

Even the Elevator exudes class with it's Mahogany interior with green leather like trim

A seashell on the ceiling of the elevator completes the theme.

I love the rustic antique feeling of the buttons.

Arriving on the right floor, I was not surprised to find a very empty corridor with more seashell themed paintings hung on the wall.

On the floor, the carpets are like coral reefs with seaweed and various other sea plants.

Let's take a look inside the room

Remarkably, the room feels very similar to the Beach Tower Villa room. Inside you'll find a rectangular layout with a (single) King size bed instead of the rather redundant pair of Double beds.

The furniture is definitely more tidy, you can see the difference in the varnish finish on the wooden furniture.

As you can see, they like to put the TV on a large central shoe cupboard. This time, it's is aligned right in the middle of the bed instead of awkwardly off centre.

The decoration is simple and consists of just few paintings hung on a plainly painted wall.

Here you can see the famous Conch and Seashell hung on the wall for the under sea effect.

A large draw of the room is just how wide the window doors are. They are the entire width of the room meaning during the day they can let in a lot of natural day light. Likewise, at night time you have a very wide view of the night scenery.

Next to the TV, we have one of the larger tables which comes occupied by a coffee / tea maker. Being the larger of the two tables, this one became my desk for my laptop and Steemit blogging!

I was so lucky to get a room with a view of the harbour. At night time, it faces down town Nassau so was quite a treat to the eyes in terms of night time city lights!

I must say, I was surprised to find the TV to be the same as the one from Beach Towers. For the distance it is away from the bed - the only place you can watch it, it's also rather small. Still, it is forgivable because I wasn't there to watch TV and I suppose very few other people are as well.

Bathroom

So, how does the bathroom at Royal Towers compare with Beach Towers?

It's definitely smaller, for a start, but that is actually somewhat welcome. I feel like the usage of space for the bathroom is very optimised and everything is within reasonable reach. No unnecessary striding to get from the toilet to the shower or wash basin.

The toilet has it's own modesty door to allow for someone to use the shower or wash basin whilst the other uses the toilet.

Notice how the bathroom tiles here are very neat and perfectly aligned. A small but noticeable detail that makes the Royal Towers just that little bit more aesthetic.

The shower area also doesn't feel ridiculously small because the rest of the bathroom isn't too big. This is a good example of designing with efficient proportions.

All the shower and bath utensils are provided meaning you don't need to use your own if you don't mind using the hotels.

The clothes cupboard is slightly bigger and less cluttered. A really nice number of hangars are provided s well as a solid ironing board.

There's also a safety deposit box for keeping your valuables safe.

For me, the real winner of the Royal Towers is the terrific views! Like I mentioned earlier, the night time view of downtown Nassau and Marina Village is absolutely majestic, it's like a private light show!

During the day, the view is equally beautiful with even more beautiful colours to enjoy.

I must share a secret.. If you take a picture with stunning background scenery, it makes the photo subject seem easier on the eyes!

And finally, a wide angle shot of the day time view from my room.

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And that wraps it all up! The Beach Tower villa and Royal Towers room put side to side and compared. Although the Beach Towers is significantly cheaper, it is also significantly more basic. That is itself not a problem because most of your stay will not be in the room, rather spent at the fantastic inclusive amenities and facilities of the Atlantis resort. It'll be up to you whether you want to fork out 1/3rd more for the luxury upgrade to Royal Towers where the room will be noticeably better, but only if you plan to spend more than sleeping time there.

Remember, all the Hotels at Atlantis include access to the Aquaventure park which itself is $135 per day. It also includes access to The Dig, the various open air aquariums like the Predator Lagoon, as well as the free movie theatre and access to the private beaches and pools.

For those less price conscious, the ultra luxury Cove at Atlantis is another option that is suppose to be even better than the Royal Towers. I will have to leave that review till my next visit!

Thank you for taking the time to look through my last post about Atlantis. If you enjoyed it, please give me an upvote, I appreciate that very much, do remember to follow for more travel journals, and leave a comment to let me know what you think!

P.s. I have recently started my travels to a new destination which is why I've found it hard to post regularly. Thankfully, I should be able to get back to regular posting and a reveal of my new destination the post after next!

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这是最后一片亚特兰蒂斯酒店的文章了，之后我们就要和这里告别了。也许你们会有些不舍，今天我想带大家去探索一下酒店里房间的样子。说来也巧，这次入住亚特兰蒂斯酒店，我分别选择了2栋不同的楼入住，顺便想感受一下不同的环境。来到酒店门口，就看到飞天的金马喷泉，非常壮观。这个建筑群仿佛是粗犷的巨大石块垒砌起一座宫殿，颜色是温暖的复古粉色，配上金色的马群，风格非常独特，散发着一种失落王国的淡淡忧伤。亚特兰蒂斯酒店的特别的外形设计一直是巴哈马的标志性建筑， 它的主建筑是两栋阶梯状的高楼，中间搭了一个天梯。顺着水上走廊一直走，就会来到酒店大堂。我惊喜的发现，大堂圆形的穹顶上，还有两只跳跃腾空的剑鱼，非常对称的姿势，难以想象这个雕塑修建时一定费了不少功夫。天堂岛上整个度假村是由5个酒店组成，分别是The Reef、The Cove、Royal、Coral和Beach塔楼。其中The Reef和The Cove在网站上是完全与主要的酒店完全分开的两个酒店，属于整个度假村的高端品牌，主打私人villa和公寓式酒店。而Royal、Coral 和 Beach塔楼则是同一家酒店的不同楼，但是准确的说，Royal Towers才是真正意义上的亚特兰蒂斯酒店。

酒店有2300多间客房，酒店的23层上的10个房间刚好组合成一座桥，这座桥架在两个塔楼之间，被称为“桥”套房，价格十分昂贵，听说一代歌神迈克尔·杰克逊经常来这里入住，同样也是皮尔斯·布鲁斯南主演的《日落之后》的主取景地。晚上灯火通明的整个楼群，增添了神秘和浪漫的气氛。前几晚我选择了villa形式的Beach tower，这个塔楼虽然不是亚特兰蒂斯的主楼群，但是我认为是功能性最强的一栋楼。走进金碧辉煌的大厅，各种漂亮的海豚雕塑应接不暇，两边有纪念品点，还有中餐馆和法国餐厅。再往里走有住客免费的电影院，和游客中心，可以预订去往周边各个岛的一日游活动，例如我之前去的猪岛，看蜥蜴，和鲨鱼游泳，粉色沙滩，sandbar等等都是在这里提前预约的。当然还有供年轻人夜晚消遣的夜生活，夜店和戏剧馆。Beach tower的大堂星光闪闪的，因为所用的材料都是闪闪发光的，走在上面生怕会摔倒。我们在Beach tower的房间在villa的二楼，楼下水池里有十几只黄貂鱼在自由的游动，走进房间，非常温馨，碎花窗帘的装饰，很有家的感觉。房间的床继续延续了主楼的桔黄色，check in的同时，我们还到沙滩，泳池水上乐园的免费通票，何可以去游乐园自由领取的矿泉水票。

接下来，我们再去探索一下后几天住的Royal Tower，Royal Tower就是桥套房所在的塔楼，也是整个度假村最高的楼。这里的大堂感觉整个被皇室的金黄所包围住了。大堂的每一处装饰都很精致，房间的走廊上挂着关于贝壳的画作，和地毯上的贝克遥相呼应。因为这间房在高层，所以从阳台上可以看见整个海港口和对面的拿骚市中心，夜晚的拿骚灯火通明，就像加勒比海上的一颗明珠，白天我惊喜地拉开窗帘，外面彩色的世界，更让我惊叹，简直天堂一般的幸福感伴随着气温的热浪扑面而来。不知道你们更喜欢哪个房间呢？是villa还是主楼的高层房间？希望你们喜欢今天我带大家探索的亚特兰蒂斯酒店，之后还有更多有趣的旅游故事要分享给大家。PS: 因为最近在一个新的地方旅游，网络不稳定不能按时发贴了，不过感谢大家的支持，请大家一起期待之后新的旅程吧。