Overall cheap place to sleep & eat while you make excursions to Atlantis, Dolphin Encounters, beaches etc.
PROS:
- Cheaper hotel rates
- All-inclusive; most meals were good (meals are extremely expensive on the island)
- Option for formal dining @ no extra cost (reservation required)
- Most staff were nice
- Nice pool
- Nice lagoon for swimming snorkeling (lots of sea life to explore among the rocks); bring your own masks; kids found conch shells, hermit crabs; saw barracuda & schools of trumpet fish?
- Interesting evening entertainment for family (some nights)
- ~ 10 minute walk to Atlantis Coral Towers if you get a day pass to the water park ($105/adult, $85/child—Note: 48" height requirements for kids to go on rides)
CONS:
- Hotel caters to young underage drinkers; they served mixed drinks to groups of kids wearing [blank] High School Class of 2008 t-shirts throughout our visit (drinking age is 21); they carded no one & denied alcohol to no one; front desk was unresponsive when told the kids were getting served alcohol
- Groups of drunk teenagers around the pool ruined the atmosphere for the kids (profanity etc.)
- The life guards were pretty much invisible (more like maintenance staff); did not watch the pool or prohibit dangerous behavior when observed (flips & diving into shallow water); I would not rely on these people to safeguard my children; in contrast, the Atlantis life guards were safety-minded, observant, proactive & polite
- Website refers to "Child-safe snorkeling lagoon" – there is no life guard, 2/3rds of the lagoon is > 5ft deep & there's a 10x6' gap in the seawall fence under the dock that allows sea life into the lagoon
- Very old, dilapidated hotel; corroded outlets, door hinges, vents, fixtures; there was a flood in the lobby from broken pipe while we were there (ceiling stucco looked ready to collapse on guests, but they didn't cordon-off the area); 1st elevator had a sharp nail protruding from the mirror trim (never fixed)
- Room floor was always sticky/slimy even after cleaning
- No shuttle service to/from airport (taxi service was expensive)
- Hotel added a $5.00/night/person "energy charge" effective 06/01 that was a surprise to virtually every guest that I saw checking out (not mentioned at check in).

My first visit to the Bahamas and unfortunately, we stayed here. The so called "beach" is dug out of the harbor with industrial barges docked within a stone's throw - the photographer deserves a metal or to be jailed for capturing something that doesn't exist. The rooms were of a one star quality - the very basics and not in good condition - musty smelling, broken tiles, stained ceiling, cheap bedding, the bathroom door didn't close because it was so warped. The hallways are not air conditioned and the ceiling cannot be even 7 feet high, the elevators are slow if they are working, and the food was terrible. Eat every dinner in the private dining room. This is a place for college students to stay on a spring break - provided their goal is to get drunk and fill their stomachs with carbohydrates. And, the fruit salad was from a can!! The only fresh fruit was cantaloupe and I can get better in the states - didn't see a mango until I got to the airport in Miami. We ended up paying $110.00/day per person to spend our day on the Atlantis property. They have beautiful beaches and pools - but the food is crazy expensive so pack a lunch ($8.00 for a bottle of water!) The only positive thing I can say is that the bartenders were nice - they wanted tips - and the drinks were strong and generous, but I didn't go to the Bahamas to get drunk. I would never stay here and I would not recommend it unless you just wanted a cheap room with cheap food and free booze. It was a dump.

This place is incredibly small, dirty and outdated. If you're looking for a cheap deal and aren't concerned with staying at the resort to relax, than this will work for you. I'd suggest spending your time off the resort doing excursions or exploring then. However, if you enjoy lounging on the beach or poolside, you will be very disappointed.

The beach is a man made area with some sand, you could literally see the plastic below and there are sand fleas everywhere! The pool water was disgusting. The ocean was littered with garbage and really dirty (due to the marina). The place was falling apart.

There is a beautiful public beach about a 2 mile hike across town. I highly recommend asking the front desk for directions and spend your days there.

I've heard great things about the Bahamas, but Paradise Island was a huge let down.

I can't express what a horrible place this is. We got there and our first room was filled with rust, dirt, mold and who knows what else. I have a three year old that gets baths every night and the thought of putting her in the tub was making me sick. We didn't take our flip flops off our feet the entire time we were in the room.

I will be fair and say, they switched our room after we complained and gave me $50 cash back - however the second room wasn't much of an improvement and I honestly didn't want to spend my entire vacation complaining so I let it go.

This is a mandatory all inclusive resort - so we were forced to pay the all inclusive rate of $85 per person - which was $170.00 per night for me and my husband. Before we got there, we felt that was a reasonable charge - until I saw the food that they served. I ate nothing but greasy bar food and bread. They have only one restaurant with the same menu every single night. O and the food is terrible! The one night we decided to eat at the buffet I spent all night in the room sick. I was so sick, my husband was debating taking me to the hospital, which I did NOT want to do so I suffered all night and spent the rest of the vacation worried about what to eat. At one point my daughter was drinking milk on June 11th and the milk expired June 3rd. Reading some of the other reviews, I am not at all surprised that others got sick.

The entire time I was there I felt that I was on spring break with my three year old daughter. Young 18 year olds that don't watch their mouths in front of children, o and not to mention two of them that felt it was okay to go topless at the man made harbor beach at the resort right in front of the kids on the beach. This is by NO means a family resort so don't go with your kids. One of the activities which they find "fun" is an egg toss contest. I was in the pool with my daughter as they threw raw eggs at kids in the pool to catch. It was gross.

The pictures they show on their internet page are not accurate, they must of been taken when the hotel first opened up. After speaking to some of the locals, they said the hotel we stayed at is known to be the worst in all of paradise island as well as nassau.

I never in my life went on a vacation and came back feeling like I was ripped off, but this place is just that.