Atlantis Resort

Upon arrival, I ask about the meal plan that I prepaid for. I told that when we dine, it is deducted from our amount we paid? Huh? I say we’ll do I get refunded the amount we don’t use? NO. Huh? I don’t understand. Why would I prepay if there’s no discount or what is the benefit. No answer. Uh okay? Two days into our trip take a look at the bill in the room to make sure we are not going over (a little nerve-wracking but okay) only to see a bill of $7,000!!! Jesus H ! I almost threw up!

Immediately we go to the desk to get more horrifying news. 1) there was some type of card that was supposed to be given to us showing “specific places to dine” WHAT! We were then charged for the extra restaurants we dined. ON TOP OF THE $3000 we already paid.! 2) we were charged not once, not twice, 3 TIMES the meal plan! On my card that I’m trying to use for the vacation! Over $9,000 was charged to my CC! And I’m being told tjwy cannot take it off because I booked through Costco Travel! I said I bought the meal plan DIRECTLY from you not them. It doesn’t matter.

To anyone reading this with a family. Dreaming about going here as I have and my kids… you can imagine the pure terror and stress that money weighs in on your mood. I cried amd called my CC company while the family went to dinner at the assigned restaurant/ buffet only to find out when I went back to the counter that “my meal” was charged on my bill! “You have to eat at the same time, mam”

Wow! Wow! Wow! It took 3 days to get this taken care of so you can imagine.. this $10,000 vacation that our middle-class family saved for over a year was so stressful because how do I pay for lunch (oh yeah not included on the meal Plan) when they maxed out my card. I cried 4 of the 7 days we are here. No one seemed to care about the charges and how this was affecting our family.

Why in the world would anyone get a meal lan that is prepaid dollar for dollar where you can’t go to certain restaurants, cannot eat when you want, does not include lunch, cocktails, extra drinks, tips, pool food… Because they want you to buy more. It is a scam. Do not get the meal plan.

The one shining light of the trip was the excursion to pig island which included feeding them then traveling to another island to feed iguanas and then to swim with sharks. That was amazing and would hugely recommend it to anyone traveling to the Bahamas. However if you are trying to figure out where to stay, choose BAHA MAR! I don’t know if it’s more expensive and if so by how much but I’d pay that difference or stay less time to be able to stay there. I contracted covid here and tested positive the 23rd. Immediately get notified to quarantine in the room and that staff would reach out and nurses would be checking in daily (which hasn’t happened). Was given a “number” to the manager which we still can’t get ahold of and it’s like moving mountains to get water delivered. We were told we get a “preferred rate” of $424 a night due to covid.

You might be thinking the travel insurance you pay for before coming will solve everything, not quite. We front all the cost and can be reimbursed up to $500 a day. Hmm? The room is $424 and a basic meal for two cost $70, whelp over the $500 mark by breakfast… and to qualify for the travel insurance you have to confirm your positive covid test with a pcr test which you have to pay $400 for. When trying to get this pcr test I was told they may not be able to get to me tonight because “they stop testing at 8” and there were 9 OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAD TO GRT TESTED TOO. Management doesn’t seem to care that we are stuck in our small room during Christmas with basic cable tv and no water paying out the ** for the experience.

Even better my wife is forced to quarantine with me in the same room who tested negative with no symptoms basically ensuring she will now get it too, how about put her in the adjoining room so we could be close and her not be forced to get infected. Then to top it off I find out the resort close by the, Baha Mar, that per their website “Baha Mar’s Travel with Confidence Program pledges that should a resort guest test positive during their stay, Baha Mar will facilitate their quarantine with courtesy accommodations and a daily resort in-room dining credit of $150 per person per day, for up to 14 days or until the guest receives a negative COVID-19 result. Should the guest choose to leave The Bahamas earlier, Baha Mar will provide private air travel to the US mainland for the guest and their immediate family, free of charge.” Baha Mar goes above and beyond their customers and Atlantis is content with pretending theirs don’t exist.

My parents, who thank God, had left the day before all this started. They are now freaking about knowing we are stuck here with terrible service and conditions and are currently considering Air Ambulances to get us back ranging between $25,000 to $30,000, not something plausible for them or us. So it seems we are stuck, with little care from the Atlantis Resort team and we will have to see how the next few days turn out. In fact the GM “respectfully declined” to do anything besides the resort fee of $59 a day. He did make sure to ask if we got our covid care package consuming of garbage bags full of shampoo and coffee toilet paper and sanitation wipes. Do yourself a favor and consider another place to travel to, anywhere else.

The chairs, while very comfortable, were dirty and covered in lotion from the previous occupant. You had to clean off the sand each day and we had to pull the chairs down to the water each morning. The beach was strewn with trash (plastic cups, masks, straws, sand toys, dirty towels, etc.) It broke my heart to see such disregard for the beach. The resort makes other efforts to be environmentally conscious (ie water bottles, paper straws, etc.) but gravely mistreats its most valuable asset. It is highly unlikely that we would recommend (or return) to this resort. While it does have many attractive features, the overall experience was very disappointing.

Upon check in our toilet had urine and blood on the seat, the shower uncleaned, folded towels that had who knows what on them. This was after we waited hours to check in because the room wasn’t ready at the promised 4pm time.. They kept saying they are extra cleaning it for Covid. Counters dirty and mirrors had hand prints. (No extra cleaning done) After a $60 cab ride from the hotel and customs a clean room on time would have been amazing!

The resort booked an excursion for us. Told us to be there at 7. We arrived an hour earlier than anyone else that booked online and weren’t able to do the excursion due to not being on the list. So now to deal with sleepy upset kids and no excursion. I asked to speak to a manager and after waiting on her for an hour I have up. With let downs, dirty rooms, trash on the beach, no recycling and bad attitude employees this is the last resort you’d want to spend money at.

When I checked out I asked for the breakdown. I was overcharged over $400; breakdown showed just over $1,500 for my total stay. I disputed the overcharge and showed them what I was charged on my Amex. I wanted to speak with the manager to resolve this issue and they only wanted to speak to me over the phone. I was writing notes on the breakdown sheets of the difference in price.

While I was on the phone with the manager the lobby attendant took the breakdown sheet from me and ripped it up & was told by the manager not to give me another copy. They claim the additional charges was having a third person (my 9 yrs old daughter) who was on the reservation to begin with. They find the prices are for 2 per person occupancy and any additional person there's a $75 nightly fee charge. Which wasn't in my contract. They were going to send me a new copy of my reservation contract. I asked them to review my contract when I made the reservation and highlight the fine print. All in all... Atlantis is not worth going... The service is horrible... It's overrated and overpriced. I have made a dispute with Amex.

Today is AUGUST 27...I have yet to receive my refund for this trip. It's been over 120 DAYS...a runaround of phone tag & emails without success. Searching this morning for options, it appears that trend has continued for other travelers as well. As much as I love the beach & wanted to visit this resort, Atlantis Nassau will NOT be getting any business from me in the future. I am going to continue to post my experience online and will begin to include email chains until I get a response. Again, I understand the resort suffered losses from Covid-19, but so have I as an individual, and I can really use my money right now.