# reviews

doc_id: 152609704228463611243499377194269623682
title: unbelivable!!!!!!!!!
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
well were do i start????? atlantis the palm was fantastic,me and my partner went to celebrate his 30th birthday,we stayed in a imperial club suite but only got the chance to vist the imperial club lounge once as we had room service for breakfast,again this was unbelivable,food in the hotel was amazing,rooms were lovely,beach spotlesly clean,pool fabulous!!!,Aqua adventure was brilliant we cant wait to go back next year with our 2 kids would reccomend this hotel to EVERYONE!!!!! we loved it and cany wait to go back,also try the spa its lovely treatments r to die for!!!!!!!!!!!!! xxx


doc_id: 85578556105175581269929529988428329311
title: What a great hotel...
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We came to the Atlantis Palm from the Burj Al Arab and expected to feel let down. We didn't. The Atlantis Palm is a beautiful hotel in it's own right and offers great service and value for money. We were amazed at the reception area which had an enormous glass centrepiece. The whole hotel is sumptuously decorated. We were attended to promptly and pleasantly. The personnel working at the hotel were all extremely polite and unassuming. Very sweet people. They made us feel at ease and that nothing was a problem. Our room was quite large and we had a balcony overlooking the pool. We didn't have the chance to go swimming but the pools (and sea) looked inviting. The huge aquarium containing many fish and a whale shark was awesome - we visited it a lot. We also visited the underground chambers which were worth looking at. The breakfast rooms were huge and got busy, but we only waited briefly once. There was masses of variety and the attendants were only too happy to make sure you got what you wanted. Food was replenished constantly. We ended up having room service one night as we couldn't get a seat in the restaurant we fancied. Because of the size and busy-ness of the hotel it would probably pay to make decisions about which restaurants you want to dine in and book asap because we didn't call until late afternoon and the one we wanted was fully booked. We enjoyed room service - the food was good and well priced - and we went for a walk around afterwards. In fact, we can't fault anything in Dubai - we enjoyed everything we did there. We arranged tours through the hotel and they were such fun and an experience we'll never forget. The Atlantis Palm was pleasant, well operated and well maintained. We would definitely stay there again as we felt very welcome and were treated well.


doc_id: 66835137704000631342469978319906786280
title: Holiday Inn on Steriods
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Having stayed at almost all the top hotels in UAE I can say that the Atlantis was probably the most over rated and least value of all.At this level all hotels especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are of a high standard in terms of appointment and staffing and offer a wide range of amenities.The biggest difference with the Atlantis is most of food outlets and other attractions are open to the general public.Its location makes offsite visits/trips a chore logistically. The lack of personalization and attention to detail is hit and miss together with its thin white sand and still water.For those of you taking advantage of the summer months discounted rates there are far better hotels offering exclusivity for both couples and families alike, at a standard the Atlantis cannot compete with (eg private villas, personal maid/butler service exclusive pools and free entrance to water parks and up to 4 other Hotels in the same complex)Although I dont recommend the Burg simply its to ostentations you can have cocktails in its lounge far cheaper than Atlantis then take an abra on the canal to a waterside restaurant or if you want burger and chips or a cinnamon role at normal prices go to the souk nestled between two of the hotels by foot or abra.The Jemeera beach hotels made up of 4, including wild wadi Water Park and is a stones throw from the Malls. This is where you should be heading for your first experience of Dubai luxury.From the themed Arabic suits in Al Qusar and to a lesser degree Mina Al Salam to elegant but smart Jemerra Beach or the Burj Al Arab if gold is your favorite colour. Explore away to your hearts content over this massive suit of Hotels and find niche places to sit like the pier restaurant for a bear or walk to the Yacht marine bar. Grab a quick hot dog in Wald Wadi. Or pub grub in the bar at Jemeera or the finest cuisine at exclusive restaurants.You can tailor you budget throughout the day by simply choosing where to dine, in or out of the Hotels.The beaches and pools and themed kids clubs are second to none your simply spoilt for choice, just grab a buggy and hop along to your favorite.If you want to go to the souk that is open to all there are plenty of other restaurants to choose from like the meat company or Trader Vics but these will be busy at night/weekends so book early.These are all well established and offer a much greater range than the few at the Atlantis avenue that have paid over the odds for the concessions.Go to the Atlantis if you like a pumped up Holiday Inn and want to pay for their 20Million dollar opening. If you want to be wowed cosseted and pampered for the same price go elsewhere.


doc_id: 44871222859913216321587059286488206610
title: Great Experience
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Was a bit nervous given some of the reviews. I have travelled to Dubai many times for business, but this was a first with the whole family. We decided with kids 8 and 11 that having the waterpark would overcome any negative reviews. I have to say that it truly is a superb hotel. We stayed in a terrace suite that was very spacious and had a huge terrace overlooking the aquarium...which was great at night to watch. We also had Imperial Club access which I find is a big plus for the free drinks at night. The staff throughout the hotel was always willing to do whatever. Very similar to other high end Dubai hotels...hard to go wrong with the staff. The waterpark was simply amazing. We would go first thing when it opened to do a whole bunch of rides before it became crowded. Great rides...could not get enough of them. Food was very good throughout the hotel. Could find variety at all the spots. It is very expensive however. Seemed a bit higher then other hotels I have stayed at in Dubai. Overall just a great experience....especially if you have children. Not sure I would stay if it was just me on business, but with the family I would absolutely come back.


doc_id: 209045407043959577922268217156390455129
title: wished we could have stayed longer
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
this was a quick 3 day trip for my wifes birthday without the children. We booked an Imperial Club room. The staff couldnt do enough for us. The Club lounge facilities were fantastic as was the room. we never walked past a single member of staff who didnt say &quot;good morning&quot; or &quot;good afternoon&quot;The waterpark was excellent and the lazy river was better than typhoon lagoon in orlando.We were also impressed with the aquarium.Cant wait to take the children back for a longer stay.Interesting though that all the cranes round about were not moving. My wife did the shallow dolphin experience and really enjoyed it.The interior decor had to be seen to be believed


doc_id: 106514552592332902409024235998820146755
title: amazing
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Superb hotel,staff very friendly and well mannerd.Rooms are superb ,very clean .Fresh fruit daily at no cost,towels replaced daily,and as many as you need.Also supplied at beach on the loundgers.We went bed and breakfast,you must do this,as the buffet which is superb costs 28.00 each or 140.00 aed.very expensive to eat out at night.60.00 for wine that costs 5.00 at home.Make sure you take drink in with you,from duty free,as the fridge in the room is good,with a mini bar which again is expensive.Dont use the metro link over the bay its 25.00aed each and you need to get ataxi at the other end.Which cost 70.00 aed to go to the mall of the emirates.The hotel run a free mini bus to the mall.The shopping is amazing all the designer shops and waitrose to.At the hotel use the happy hours 6pm till 8pm 50% off selected drinks.The weather was superb,cant wait to go back.Last point you can eat at the mall loads of places and alot cheaper and the duty free on the way out is superb again lots of shops.


doc_id: 330784333556061693210436277999591882407
title: Loved it...and we're fussy
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We picked Dubai and the Atlantis for a week holiday in November, not wanting to travel long haul from the UK for a week for some relaxation, guaranteed sunshine, good food and a bit of shopping,..Dubai was the obvious place.This was our first trip to Dubai and before we arrived, we wondered if we would love it or hate it - both Dubai and the Atlantis. Having read all the reviews on here before booking, we were slightly worried about the &quot;Vegas-ness&quot; of the hotel and whether it would be tacky and OTT. It certainly is OTT but most definitely not tacky. The place is quite simply amazing in every possible respect - the approach from the Palm itself where the Atlantis just appears from nowhere, the entrance lobby area, views from the room, restaurants, pools, service...everything. We'd heard about the service levels generally in Dubai and also read on here about the lack of personal service, queues etc...I have to say I disagree with all of these comments. Yes, there are queues if you go down to breakfast at 10.30, but we were there between 8 and 9 most days and never queued once. The staff were genuinely attentive throughout, and would always smile, say hello, everything was a pleasure and nothing too much trouble. The service levels are on a par with 5* in the US, but the difference is everything in Dubai is done for their pride in their job, rather than in expectation of a tip (unlike the US). Yes, a tip is definitely appreciated here, as it is everywhere, but it certainly isn't expected. We had an Atlantis room with views to the Palm - definitely worth the extra money for the views, although its a little bit incongrous to be sat by the pool or on the beach looking at the skyscrapers on the mainland. We personally enjoyed being that little bit removed from the hussle and bussle of the mainland and we were able to relax in the hotel and grounds. I agree the beach is a bit gritty, and the water does appear polluted where it washes up on the beach, but its a mean feat of engineering in itself, and we're pool people anyway so that didn't really bother us. Plenty of people were on the beach and in water.Food was of a high standard. We went on a HB package which was fine, although it limits the restaurants you can eat in and set menus in some of them also. If we went again, we would stay BB so that we had flexibility each night on where to eat. I didn't think the prices were bad generally - even at Nobu, Locatelli and the specialist steak restaurant, much on a par with decent restaurants in the UK and probably less than it would cost if you went to Nobu or Locatelli in London. At the end of the day, you don't come to the Atlantis and expect to eat in Burger King for 5 per head. The buffet in Saffron was amazing for both breakfast and dinner, with the sushi/seafood counter with as much lobster as you can eat, specialist Indian/Chinese stations as well as grilled fish, chicken, beef etc...desserts were amazing. The only thing that was a bit disappointing was the main courses which were often a little cold having been left on the hot-plate for a while. We're not generally buffet fans, but this was definitely the best one we've ever been to, and certainly miles apart from the traditional image of buffet restaurants. Drinks were expensive, but as others have said, this is the same throughout Dubai and in 5* hotels throughout the world. This is one of the areas all hotels make their money so it came as no surprise.One thing that did surprise us was the amount of small children at the resort. Travelling outside school holidays, there did appear to be a large number of families with kids - both English and other nationalities. The staff appeared very good with the kids, although one of the pools was closed for a couple of hours one day due to an &quot;accident&quot; in the pool. The lifeguards handled this very efficiently and politely, although it did amaze me the number of guests who still wanted to swim whilst the pool was being cleaned and the lifeguards having to explain why they couldn't....personally I'd rather wait (or go to the other pool) and swim in a clean pool, but there you go.Went to the Lost Chambers which we enjoyed, free entry for hotel guests. We went early to avoid the queues - It got a bit of a scrum later in the day and in the evenings. The hotel is definitely a tourist hotspot and got very busy with sightseers in the public areas - lobby and around the aquarium, but it had a great atmosphere and there was always a quite spot to relax. Never had a problem getting a sunbed, if anything, there were always plenty available throughout the day. In certain areas, staff do check you are a hotel guest before allowing you entry to some areas, but I personally prefer that - I've paid a lot of money to stay here, why should others walk in and use the hotel facilities for free? Besides, after the first couple of days, most of the guards recognised us and nodded and let us through.Overall, loved Dubai, loved the Atlantis. Had a great stay...yes its not cheap, but it was definitely worth the money and we will definitely return.


doc_id: 148402519137797644333303535439988901112
title: never go anywhere twice but weve been back here
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed at the Atlantis in Feb and again in August.It is worth upgrading to an Imperial Club room as there are many benefits.The staff are all very helpful and curteous.We did find that in Levantine the staff were a little off and we were not totally familiar with the cuisine and despite asking for advice the staff were not particularly helpful.The waterpark is great and safety is obviously paramount which means you can relax with the kids.The sea is clear but dont take your snorkel as theres not much to see as the wildlife is obviously recovering.Dubai is a very strange place but on our second viist we fell in love with the cleanliness,politeness and friendliness of everyone we met the service the standards etc etc.The Atlantis is a great place to chill but has enough to do if you want to be a little more adventorous.It especially gets a thumbs up from my six and nine year old who loved it.they liked the fact they could have a dip in the pool and a game of basketbaall,tabletennis,air hockey next to the pool and football everyday on the beach.Do be aware that meals are pricey look at the hotels website to see how much you are going to need as it bumps it up!


doc_id: 39070368845478967933118285626324823943
title: FAMILIES NO NEED TO LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE!!!
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
If you have a family (with teenagers or young children) this is THE place to go to. The hotel provides everything for you. If you wanted to, you could stay your whole holiday in the resort and still enjoy the whole thing. But even if you want to go out the hotel is in an amazing spot to go to any place. The room we stayed in was facing the palm itself. At night it was such an amazing view. If you do go be sure to get the imperial club package with half board, yes, you ill pay more now , but it is well worth it when you get there (a cup of tea is 7 and a meal at night in the hotel for a family of 4 almost comes to about 100). One of the main attractions in the resort itsef is the waterpark. Aquaventure is a waterpark on the side of the hotel. Guests get free entry anyway, So you can go there everyday of you holiday if you wanted (like we did). Aquaventure is one of the safest places to be for young children. With a lazy river with lifeguards situated every 10 feet you can always feel safe. There are vrious turns on the ricver to take you to loads of different destinations. There are about six turns including waterflls. These turns take you to either pools, wave machines, Splashers(for young children), the Ziggurat (with lots of slides, the main one being the leap of faith, i done it 23 times in 2 weeks), and the rapids. The lazy river takes you around the waterpark on rubber rings. You could spend the whole day going round and round. When you are walking around to tthe various shops and rides do make sure to wear either flip flops or those croc thingys because if you are there between 9am-6pm your feet WILL burn, the heat is that bad We went in august and the tempratures reached 48 degrees celcius. The hotel also has swimming pools, but once you have been to Aquaventure, you wont even think about trying to go there.  If you arent the water type of person (or child) there is always other things to do. Club Rush is open to everyone during the day but is a teenage nightclub at night and children can go to the Kids Club.  You can't help but noticethe ambsedor lagoon in the hotel. Holding 1000s of litres of water, it even has its own whale shrk (his name is Sammy).  The best places to eat are most definetly the Kealidescope at night (buffet nights from different parts of the world but they still can make whatever you ask them to. you'll have to go up to them behind the serving bar), and Saffron in the morning (more choice including a chocolate fountain).THIS IS THE BEST HOTEL IN THE WORLD FOR FAMILIES, NOTHING CAN MATCH UP TO IT!!!


doc_id: 194054055663896490051879743223272580627
title: A busy but good hotel
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed here for 4 nights and had a great time, we do not usually stay in large hotels but we had a busy time whilst there, there was so much to do. We went swimming with the dolphins which was a fantastic experience. We ate in the restaurants which were all very good, the Kaleidoscope was very busy and had food from all around the world. We liked the French restaurant for breakfast it was quieter. We had a meal in Nobu the food was different it was very nice (Japanese) and we had not eaten that way before the waiter was very helpful, we enjoyed the experience. The water park was fab we went twice and spent the whole day there. Our room was spacious and very clean. All though the hotel was busy all day with day guests, you could not hear anything at night time. Seeing as we don't stay in large hotels this has changed our minds and we would go back again.


doc_id: 326708100790687699431499105211788224447
title: Surprised
date: Nov 26 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I visited the Rostang brasserie on 18th November, with a friend who had been there a couple of weeks before and wanted to show Atlantis off to me. When my Earl Grey tea arrived in a small teapot, I was surprised to notice that the top of the little yellow tea pot was chipped to pieces. My friend commented that her husband had noticed the same thing two weeks earlier. I think that Atlantis housekeeping should be advised that this China is obviously not up to the standard one would expect in such a prestigious brasserie!!


doc_id: 80604328194450469078742801554137927440
title: Fantastic family hotel
date: Nov 25 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This Hotel is fantastic. I have stayed at a number of 5 star hotels including the Saint Geran, Berg Arab and Oberoi's and I can truly say this is a great hotel. It may not be subtle but there is nothiong cheap or tacky about the fitting out. Here are a few fab things about it:1. The interior design is impressive2. The staff and service are excellent - always there when you need them and never over the top - and they love kids3. The half board restaurants are the best I have seen in the world. Safron has an amazing array of quality foods inccluding a full Dim Sum bar and a fish counter with as much lobster on ice as you fancy and a chocolate fountain to put fruit on a stick into.4. You can get a arabian style tent by the pool for an extra charge which is fantastic for the kids with full shade, bean bags and a toy chest of board games etc.5. The water park is great fun for all the family and is a nice mix to spend a few hours there and then back to the quiet of the hotel pool.The hotel pools are great with a zero entry one ideal for toddlers6. Safety is a given with about 5 life guards per pool and security staff all over the hotel.It does not have the intamacy of a small luxury hotel but for a family holiday with young kids it has everything you need for a stress free fun time with a luxury feel.For our own experience, we paid the extra money to upgrade to a suite to get an extra room for our 2 young boys but got it credited back as we were interupted by noise form a beach marty on our second night. The staff were fantastic at dealing with it and left us feeling like they realy did care about their reputation and have now secured our future custom.The rooms are niceley done but paying thr extra 100 a night to upgerade to asuite on arrival is worth it if you can afford it. We got a tub big enough for the whole family and 1000 sq ft apartment).Dolphin experience was also great and worth the money for kidsDefinatley go for the half board deal - restaurants are quite pricey otherwise and the food is to die for..Thank you Atlantis for a great 6 days - we will be back !


doc_id: 119022925789685095507869055003891597505
title: Good 4 Star!
date: Nov 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Stayed here for 3 nights after staying at Burj Al Arab for 2 nights.Don't rate as a 5 star hotel, but it is still worth a stay due due to its competetive price. Hotel is mad busy (like a las vegas hotel) and isn't the best for a chill out holiday. There was nothing really wrong, but you don't feel that special, more like a number!Check-in is manic. Rooms are clean, modern, but maybe a litte basic-we had a room with adjoining doors and could hear next doors tv blaring out a lot! Restaurants are expensive but serve good quality food and the service is great.We went to dolphin bay at Atlantis and thought it was brilliant. Definately do the deep water swim, as we saw the shallow water experience going on and it looked not very good.Water park is loads of fun and is a lot better than the Wild Wadi water park.If you go to Dubai, then definately do the jeep safari tour. Its brilliant value for money, and that the only time i said that in Dubai, as everything is mega expensive!


doc_id: 235996613807251562829635320659470008061
title: A fantastic week in fabulous surroundings
date: Nov 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I have just returned from a fantastic week in the Atlantis The Palm &amp; I am missing it already! From the fantastic views from our 17th floor balcony to the awesome aquarium, we loved it! We decided to take a taxi from the airport as the hotel had quoted us 375aed one way so we decided to chance it with a taxi &amp; at 70aed it was well worth it! The check in process was incredibly swift &amp; we were upgraded which was even better! We had beautiful ocean views &amp; a small balcony to sit on &amp; enjoy them from! The food in the hotel was very nice, we ate in The Edge, The Shore &amp; The Italian, (think it was Locatelli!) The food at the Italian was amazing &amp; not as expensive as I had been expecting having read some of the previous reviews. The aquarium was great, I went every day &amp; never got bored of watching the wonderful array of fish going past. The Lost Chambers was fascinating &amp; I saw something different each time I went there! The small Mall, (the Avenues), is also a nice touch. I was also lucky enough to enjoy the dolphin experience which I LOVED! I would highly recommend it. The hotel keeps all the day trip people in one part of the hotel &amp; they can not access the pools &amp; beach so it was fairly empty with lots of spare loungers to lay &amp; celebrity spot!!The concierge desk was exceptionally helpful in organising tee times for my husband at the golf courses. It was very busy with the World Championship being held, but they called all of them &amp; got the best times &amp; rates for us.The hotel also has regular bus shuttles to the main malls &amp; plenty of taxis outside, although, if you are going to one of the golf courses ask concierge for a map as we got lost each time we went as the driver only knew the Emirates club!!In all this was a fantastic week in a wonderful hotel, The staff werent as attentive as the Shangri La but I would definitly go back again &amp; would definitly recommend it to everyone!


doc_id: 50225314306846610598818909417873829965
title: Wow wonderful
date: Nov 21 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
very difficult to express how fantastic this place is. The place is perfect, food fantastic, water park is great fun, just faultless.Only drawbacks - book half board otherwise it will be expensive. Yes the drinks etc can be expensive, but the only fix to that is to take plenty of money!! Also, taxi needed to get into town, only around 10 though so not too bad.Booking again for next May, we can't wait!!


doc_id: 308151321829561810457894266684929444629
title: FANTASTIC! WHAT A PLACE.
date: Nov 20 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Well firstly can I just say, to anyone who is wanting to stay at Atlantis and is reading reviews on Trip Advisor: TAKE NO NOTICE OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T RATE THIS HOTEL. My god, you would have to be seriously spoiled to say this hotel is not a 5 star! I have traveled all over the world and stayed in many 5 star hotels and this is the best hotel I have ever stayed in. Yes the alcohol is expensive (Dubai in general is like that) and I will admit that 6 for a bottle of beer is expensive, but the surroundings your drinking it in seem to take the pain away!!!. ( Little tip for you, buy a couple of bottle of wine at your outbound airport to keep in your hotel room). Food is fantastic, buffet restaurant Saffron is the best hotel buffet i have ever ate in. Seafire steakhouse is well worth the splurge! Staff at the hotel cant seem to do enough for you, and rooms were spotless. And to have a fantastic waterpark, free of charge on your doorstep is brilliant!All in all I had a fantastic holiday and would go back tomorrow if I could!O one more thing, sitting out on the beach at night at Nassimi Restaurant is brill! Great atmosphere and great music.Yes its expensive, but in this money orientated world, you get what you pay for.!!!!!!!!


doc_id: 211783606162160245851951674327691465052
title: Overpriced
date: Nov 20 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I had booked one night at Atlantis The Palm so that we could go to the Adventurepark two days running and althoughthe Hotel looks spectacular we were really disappointed with the &quot;rip-off&quot; factor that was everywhere. There was a charge of 5 an hour for internet access - free at our previous, much cheaper hotel. The restaurants are incredibly expensive, although the buffet at the beach bar was reasonably priced and excellent. The breakfast was superb. The room itself, while lovely, had lots of faults. The double doors to the bathroom didn't close, the wardrobe doors didn't close and the bedside light didn't work. We pointed this out but it was still not working 8 hours later when we went to bed. A disappointing stay.


doc_id: 75162195690986060954118147750650155907
title: Money Money Money
date: Nov 18 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Amazing Building and park but service does not happen as the staff have been trained to get chits signed for everything but sneezing.


doc_id: 195478507289579134264413887895778840413
title: Great place
date: Nov 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We were there early August, the hottest time of the year. To our surprise this giant hotel was near fully booked, despite the low season prices it was offering. We arrived at 7 am, and appreciated the fact that after a short wait in the guest lounge already at 7.30 our 3 rooms were ready. We had the most basic rooms, but these were really spacious, fresh and new, with good bed and linnens, and a comfortable, equally spacious bathroom. Indeed the lobby area can get very crowded during the day and evening, but the atmosphere is rather laid back, informal, with mainly local families hanging around. To me, that gave it a nice touch. The place is tremendously big, but it is nice to walk around without seeing the same corners every time. The food I tried was delicious. We had breakfast at 8, and there were no queus. I would recommend the Saffron for breakfast rather than the other place. The Water Park is a big plus. More spacious, less crowdy and more fun than Wild Wadi. So take avantage of that.


doc_id: 232280739466905748090208294381374617119
title: Customer Service abyss
date: Nov 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We have been travelling as a family to Dubai for 16 years. We have stayed at some fabulous hotels, but this one was the poorest I have been at on so many levels. The service was terrible, the room check in was a disaster ranging from no room, to the wrong room to a very sub standard room for the city in general.The hotel is out on a limb so its a bit of a free for all on the shuttlebus. Main problem is no or limited sun lounges, and hoards of people, both resident and non resident. General staff were good but the senior mangament were terrible. The waterpark was good but you can go there anyway. My advice would be to book one of the many other beach hotels on the Jumeira strip and just take a day trip for the waterpark if you have kids.We wont be returning. Shame


doc_id: 126971894888197463993885044214118081331
title: Well worth all the money!
date: Nov 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed here for a day in November 2009. Booked directly from the hotel website for an Atlantis Room. This included free access to the Aquaventure Waterpark and the The Lost Chambers. Check in was smooth and our room was on the 7th floor with a nice view of the Jumeirah Palm and the resort's beach. The distant skyline of Sheikh Zayed road was also visible and looked good at night! The room was large. The decor was a bit plain though. The bathroom was big too with separate cubicles/rooms for the shower and toilet. The tub had a wooden shutter beside it which allowed you to open up into the room.The first thing we did was rush to Aquaventure. Now this was a brilliant waterpark. Very crowded, but understandably so. The water rides at the Ziggurat were a lot of fun and we went through them several times that afternoon. There are small snack stands scattered around the water park if you want to catch a bite. Locker facilities are also available but you would have to pay for it. I would recommend visiting this water park even if you arent staying at Atlantis. I'm not sure how the other water park in Dubai (Wild Wadi) is, but Aquaventure is a lot of fun, especially for those who have children with them.The other attraction of the resort is the Aquarium themed on the lost continent of Atlantis. The public viewing gallery was crowded too, but offered some nice views of the fish. Further on you can access the Lost Chambers which again had some beautiful aquatic inhabitants.We had dinner at Kaleidoscope. The buffet spread was HUGE and had a variety of asian cuisine as well as some western fare (including Pizza). The buffet cost was 200 AED per person and I thought that it was well worth it. Breakfast too was at Kaleidoscope. (140 AED). You can also have breakfast at Saffron if you wish to. The only downside of the entire stay was at breakfast.. where they had some of the dishes from the previous night! Also the waiter interrupted our breakfast to have me sign the bill even before we were finished. I understand that they run a busy restaurant, but that wasn't really necessary.We visited the resort's beach. Its clean, but there are no waves since the beach faces the Jumeirah palm rather than the arabian sea. The water is still and pretty clean. There are facilities to rent canoes and pedal boats at the beach.In summary, it was a great stay, and I would definitely recommend this place. Sometimes its ok to pay a bit more for a great experience.


doc_id: 45498936545578757691829448902015388420
title: A superb family hotel- pricey but definitely worth it
date: Nov 14 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Having read the mixed reviews on this website I paid the rather excessive costs for this hotel with a degree of trepidation. 4 years ago on our last trip to Dubai we had stayed at The Burj-al-Arab and I had no desire to return as the service in the hotel and the excessive nature of every aspect of that hotel did not make for a relaxing break.What a difference our recent stay in Atlantis proved to be. Whilst I agree with the reviewers who state that this hotel is best for families, there are excellent facilities to be enjoyed as a couple on a romantic break.The service provided by the staff (all throughout from check-in to the bars and restyaurants)was excellent and far better than the often snotty service at the Burj. The room (an Atlantis Room) was excellent, incredibly roomy with beautiful far reaching views of the Palm. If travelling with children below the age of 10 be aware that some of the fine dining restaurants eg Nobu, Ossiana do not permit children. Guest acn only use the bars with their children until 9pm (a tad disappointing). That said the staff are very courteous and would not harrass you to leave if you were mid drink at 9pm.Our only disappointment was the Ronda Locatelli Italian restaurant where the food was below par. However this disappointment was more than made up for by the wonderful breakfasts (try to get a bed and breakfast package) and the awesome Asian Buffet at Saffron. The excellent quality and stupendous variety of the food was an incredible bargain for the 25 per person.Despite the high costs incurred for a 2-night break we will most certainly be back and for longer next time.


doc_id: 198696320667484939044531824993632731698
title: great hotel with bad accounting people
date: Nov 14 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
got a gr8 deal thru lama travels. was surprised to see the place flocked with tourists. almost 2000 rooms in this hotel and it looked like it was almost house full. what recession huh?pros:its a gr8 place for families. the rooms r big. we stayed in a regular room. even that had two huge beds which was a boon with our two young kids. the bathroom is HUGE. again suitable for family as 2-3 people can use it simultaenously. small cute balcony attached. nice place to enjoy a smoke and theamazing view of the palm and dubai.the pool is gr8. once again designed for families with kids. we got free pass to aquaventure &amp; lost chambers. aquaventure is fabulous. lost chambers was a bit of a letdown, but i guess that may be cos we had already visited the huge aquarium at dubai mall. so it lost its novelty....overall its a plush luxurious resort TYPE hotel. though not a full-blown resort for sure.cons:the food in this hotel is a big letdown. being a lover of the varied cuisines of this world, i had a go at the various options available. but its disappointing to say the least. and highly overpriced.the beach is another HUGE letdown for a property of this nature. gravelly murky waters. jumeirah beach is way better.***** the biggest and most shocking moment came when we were checking in. beware guys! this hotel is one of the select few which lets u check in only if u let them block 1000 AED PER DAY OF YOUR STAY from your credit card in advance. and all this inspite of the fact that we paid the whole tariff one month in advance!!! and thats not all. this amount was not unblocked from my credit card until more than a month after my stay. and that was after umpteen no, of international calls i had to make from my home and scores of emails to their highly incompetent accounts and finance people.i dont know if this happens with all hotel guests or they practice this discrimination only against indians, but all said and done, it has left that bitter after taste.....inspite of this, i would recomment this hotel to all. but ask ur travel agent or personally call them b4 arrival to make sure that the same doesnt happen to u.


doc_id: 216325749868093187351557082675586421922
title: good but stretched over half term
date: Nov 9 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
we travelled at halt term, stayed in a room in 12th floor which gave us access to private dinning room and bar, really glad we did this, and paid the extra, as when we walked past the other dinning rooms at meal times there seemed to be a long queue. very clean hotel with good choice of food and drinks but at 1500 rooms [all full on our visit] there is no way for either the hotel or youas a guest to achieve any level of intamacy. children 12 &amp; 11 were occupied throughout their stay and seemd to enjoy the teenagers club. sun loungers can be in short supply around the two main pools but we were always able to find a spot on the beach. water park fun, dolphin land good but expensive.


doc_id: 63410009534552246846916175724231331064
title: An amazing hotel well worth every penny.
date: Nov 8 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My husband and I have recently returned from our first visit to Dubai to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We stayed at Atlantis after it was recommended to us by our daughter. Prior to going I read the reviews on Trip Advisor and had mixed feelings as to what to expect. All I can say is if you can find something to complain about at Atlantis you need to get out more! We had a wonderful stay. The hotel staff were very professional, polite and helpful. Our room was amazing, we stayed in the east tower and we overlooked the aquarium as well as the Burge. At night the aquarium was lit and the view from our balcony was magical as we watched the array of fish (especially the whale shark) swimming. The room itself was large, clean and beautifully decorated. The staff kept it like that for the whole of our stay, beds were changed daily and there was never a shortage of fresh towels. The breakfast was fantastic, plenty of choice for even the fussiest eater. Our stay (and anniversary) coincided with half-term and we would not usually have chosen to holiday at this time but the hotel did not seem crowded and although sometimes there was a queue at breakfast the staff worked hard to make sure the wait was short. This is a beautiful hotel with a great facilities including(free for guests) a water-park. The food choices and places to eat are varied (not all are mega expensive). We used Arabian Adventures in the hotel to book a desert safari and it was perfect! The hotel staff also took the time and trouble to celebrate our 30th anniversary with us and presented us with a treasure trove box made of chocolate and the words 'Treasure the Moment' iced on it. We could not of wished for a better place to celebrate our anniversary and cannot wait to go back (soon)!


doc_id: 187891559337726430556921857444744680898
title: Interesting hotel but with some downsides
date: Nov 8 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This hotel is nice on the outside. I had the pleasures of staying at an exec suite on the 18th floor. The room was very nice, I particularly liked the bathroom and the wet room. The food is absolutely brilliant at the restaurants in the hotel - the service was also very good. The nightclub Sanctuary was beautifully designed. Downsides are you will get very bored if you stay at the hotel for more than 4 days.Also, it was very expensive. The timing of our stay was bad, the humidity is unbearable at times and the heat was too much. Also, you will always have to get taxis as the hotel is far out from the centre.


doc_id: 169388067127117287337346637059875807486
title: dirty dirty dirty polluted beach- mare inquinato
date: Nov 7 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
hi we have just come back from the atlantis dubai....the hotel itself is wonderful.. for those who stay at the hotel you get free access to the aquaventure park that is definetely very nice and also to the lost chamber acquarium that is also awesome.. the hotel is pricey and you find there what you would expect tpo find that is moderate luxury stuff around.. now the hotel is at the far edge of the palm that is this crazy artificial island in the middle of the city.. the beach of the hotel so goes inside the palm.. so it is not real!!!! it is made of ???? doesn' t look like the sand in the free beach.. but that wouldn't be the problem at all.. the water is full of this thick foam!!!! yes you got it right foam big thick white foam... i asked the persons around and they told that it has always been like that... for those who don't know that only means pollution.. big pollution the water is filthy .. it doesn' smelll right either you do not see so many fish either that is weird over there since their sea is so full of life.. so i stayed at the swiimming pool .. that is fine and i repeat i had a great time anyway.. but be aware that if you go with your kids do not let enter the water!!!!


doc_id: 269232096645614212094783156240836046011
title: Atlantis Palm.Dubai. Crowded Expensive.Luxurious
date: Nov 7 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
The service was excellent, very attentive and non obtrusive.We were upgraded upon arrival to a suite as our room was not available, the Suite was the Regal which was wonderful.Food was fantastic with loads of restaurants, but very priceyThe Location was at the end of the Palm Islands so you were effectively a captive of the resort with children. Felt cut off from Dubai to the extent that apart from the Sun you could have been at any luxurious resort anywhere.The Hotel is stunning with the most incredible Indoor Aquarium which was captivating.Prices for Drinks and Food was excessive to say the least, we went on a Half Board Package which so the saving for 5 Days for a family of 4 was approx 700.00 on Dinner each day.Amenities are very good with all that you need in the resort, and the Largest Water Park in the Middle East apparently.Liked the Room and the service the best, Didnt get any feel whatsover that we were in Dubai as we were so remote from the city.Wouldnt return to the Atlantis due to crowds, very sterile in feel. And the prices were ridiculously expensive for everything.


doc_id: 10947252518057306365655750114615384483
title: fantastic hotel
date: Nov 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
we stayed for 8 nights over the half term break. we arrived at the hotel at midnight local time, our room was ready but unfortunatley we had to phone down for a cot for our 3month old baby. it was brought to our room very promptly, along with a sterilising unit and nappy disposer, we hadnt requested these items but were impressed with it all the same. we were also given complimentary baby toiletries, another nice touch. Our room was very clean and made up every day, with a turn down service every evening. this is a very impressive hotel and has excellent facilities for children. the zero entry pool was great for our children aged 7 and 2, plenty of lifeguards in attendace at all times. the royal pool was the same. the aqua park gets very busy, alot of holiday makers form other hotels pay to visit for the day, so i would advise to get there early to guarantee some sun loungers. again there are plenty of lifeguards in attendace. we were on BB here, the saffron buffet is very good with plenty of choice, the staff are very helpful and accommodating. breakfast finishes here at 1130am, there is no charge for under 3's. food and drink is expensive, if half board is available it is worth considering doing that. a bottle of red wine starts at 140dhs. happy hour at nisimi beach is on 4-6pm, its has a very relaxing atmosphere with 'fatboy' beanbags, the shore serves mexican food which was very nice. there they have happy hour 6-8 with live cuban music. the shops on the 'avenue' are very nice but the prices are very expensive and I would beware of this, i bought a pair of vivienne westwood sunglasses and the mark up is 200%. the atlantis dubai isnt quite as big as the atlantis in the bahamas, this isnt a critisism just an observation. we would definately return to the atlantis, its an impressive hotel.


doc_id: 123974263178000842356237766753952413689
title: Won't be returning in a hurry
date: Nov 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This was my first visit to Dubai although my husband has been before, I would probably go back but not to the Atlantis. The hotel is very big and very tacky and actually reminded me of a glorified Alton Towers resort, at least you know what to expect there! We went for buffet breakfast and had to queue up every day for at least 10 minutes, I was charged for a full priced breakfast when I only had coffee. Everything is extremely expensive, we had to pay 9.00 for a packet of baby wipes. The restaurants were average apart from Seafire where we had a fantastic meal and service. The waterpark was good and our children age range 11-15 all enjoyed it but brace yourselves for the fight for a sunbed either at the waterpark, by the pool or on the beaches, we soon learnt you had to play the game and get out there at 7am and put the towels on the beds.


doc_id: 130577434454460938614939615582941484329
title: A family trip we wont forget - fantastic
date: Nov 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This hotel had a lot of hype around it and it lived up to everything we heard. We managed to find a great deal with Dreamticket, who had reduced their rates by 40% in September, so it was perfect. The kid's had a blast and mummy and daddy had a very relaxing trip.


doc_id: 13746056667152200006351496871518463256
title: Fantastic hotel in a fantastic city.
date: Nov 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Although this is an expensive hotel, I would not hesitate to go back. You are completely spoiled and everything is to a high standard. The restaurant prices are comparable to the rest of Dubai and if you do your homework you can eat reasonably outwith the hotel. I would recommend the buffet breakfast. There is a huge chocolate fountain and my childrens eyes nearly popped out their heads when they saw it. Any where you eat in Dubai is better than the Uk, even KFC in the malls is better!!The waterpark is great. The slides are suitable for everyone even if you are not keen on this sort of thing and you can spend hours going round the rapids.The only thing that let the hotel down for me was the sand at the beach. It looks manmade compared to the actual Jumeirah beach which is so white and soft. However you don't need to go the beach as the pools are great.I would recommend this hotel if you have kids because it is very family friendly. If I was only going with my husband I would stay somewhere else. Check out Coldstone the ice cream shop in the hotel it is great.


doc_id: 225507359705121515241017218533699786908
title: Over Hyped and over priced
date: Nov 5 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
The worst hotel I have stayed in in Dubia ever. The suite we had was large but already tired the week we were there they never cleaned the main lounge washed up the cups plates in room or cleaned the terrace. They never made any effort with the children unlike other UAE hotels. Check your bill well as they made so many mistakes with ours.The public areas are grand but the roomsare below average in the modern Dubia. Breakfast is verging on extortion 12.50 for childs rice crispies, 15 for 2 small bears and a small bottle of water. This hotel is dearer than the Burj Al Arab, no wonder they are discounting their rooms so heavily. I will not be returning to the Atlantis, but do not let this ut you off of Dubia, it is a great family holiday destination with great hotels just not this one


doc_id: 87477307794018273993246756172895240337
title: Amazing
date: Nov 5 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This was our first time to Dubai and it won't be the last. We booked with The Holiday Place and everything about this holiday was stress free and very well organised. We were met by a local rep both before we had reclaimed our luggage and outside and had a private transfer to the hotel. When we arrived, the lobby was out of this world. The colours, paintings and architecture were beautiful. There is a lovely central water feature. Check in was a breeze and as we had arrived early in the morning and our room was not yet available, they directed us to the hospitality lounge where there were free refreshments and comfy chairs etc. Our room was ready an hour earlier than they said and was located in the West Tower. It was a great size for a family of four and we had a good view over the zero entry pool and sea.Everything about this hotel is top notch. The food is brilliant with so much variety and choice. We chose to book the half board option and so ate at both buffets and Rostang. We treated ourselves on the last night to dinner at Seafire and the steak was better than anything I have ever had in NY or the US generally.The hotel is so clean, there are people constantly polishing the floor. The housekeeping staff were always offering more towels. I think that the staff here are the most friendly, happy and service orientated that I have ever come across. The service verges on embarrassingly over attentive at times!The waterpark is brilliant. We spent 3 days out of 5 there and booked a VIP cabana for our final day. We had our own butler there who attended to our every need and wouldn't even allow us to pour ourselves a drink of water.The Lost Chambers is also worth a visit and very well organised. It was good to have it as an option to visit after dinner with the children.We enjoyed every minute of this holiday and would go back again tomorrow. I agree it is expensive, but it is definitely 5 stars and it exceeded all expectations. If you have a family I cannot recommend it highly enough.


doc_id: 70422437707130177855606990900239385714
title: Waterpark excellent
date: Nov 4 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We did not stay at this hotel, but we visited their water park called Aquadventure. The water park is excellent. For children to use the rides they need to be over 1.25 metres. there are lots of rides in single or double rings and the our children aged 10 and 12 very very safe doing their own thing. It is also very plush and pleasant for those older parents who do not want to use the rides. My advice is get there early . we arrived near to opening at 10 am and had the park to ourselves. we then left at about 2pm when it became packed and there lots of queues for the rides. I cannot really rate the hotel so i ahve gieven it very good. It lloks excellent if not too big.


doc_id: 205194420531991923730159489537296472883
title: Jumeriah Beach Anyday!
date: Nov 4 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Just returned from undoubtedly the worst holiday we have ever had in Dubai..this was our eigth time and have to say were relieved to be leaving unlike previous visits.If you looking for a holiday in a shopping mall that is always packed,this is the place for you.If you like queuing for half an hour everyday for breakfast..go for it!...The staff are very obliging and helpful though,but as for the management....as long as you being charged for everything extra...they not interested.There is no charisma to the place whatsoever.We arrived early in the morning and to be fair the room was available at 9.00am which was nice to have to freshen up after breakfast.However,we were appalled to see the bath had grime in it and worse than that,adult pubic hairs in one of the beds!..Thwe whole place was one complete rat race....is it right that for breakfast you have to queue whilst tourists cut their way through you n their way to the water park and the lost chambers....?...The drinks etc are ver yexpensive..beyond what you would pay in other hotels in dubai....WE WILL NEVER RETURN HERE AND WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE families with children to use the Jumeriah Beach....far more relaxed...intimate and who wants a Kids Club beside and amusement arcade!..Enough said.


doc_id: 217476443612677321236603110398269743188
title: Made feel like a VIP in this excellent resort
date: Nov 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I am just back from a week in Dubai after staying at the Atlantis The Palm hotel, and I have to say it is a truely fantastic hotel and resort. We chose to stay on a half board basis and it was a great decision. We could chose from 6 restaurants to have breakfast, lunch or dinner and the Kaliedascope restauraunt was the best best choice for a young family with a variety of eating tastes. In particular for myself who can only eat gluten free food the personal attention from head chef Ketan Seth was exceptional and I would have no hesitation recommending this restaurant to any coeliac. All other hotel facilities were excellent and the water park gave hours of endless fun to our kids. If there was anything negative I could comment on it would only be to mention that the sand on the beach is a little grainy and the sea water not as clean as you would find in the Mediterranean. This is only noticeable because everything else especially the infrastructure, the accomodation, and the service are clearly 5 star in qualityt.


doc_id: 90250883635957413170001015311542267459
title: Good place to stay.
date: Nov 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Good place to unwind.Great aquarium- the lost world.Aqua park is there if u know to swim.Located on the beach.


doc_id: 251528963500899996163128475185719328643
title: Over-rated over-hyped over-priced!
date: Nov 1 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I take issue with the reviewer titled '10/10.' I certainly don't have time just to criticise the Atlantis. I do have time to give an objective review of my experience at the Atlantis for the benefit of other potential travellers. Having stayed at two different hotels in Dubai prior to the Atlantis, I used them as a yardstick on arriving at the Atlantis and the overall experience of each hotel.Yes, I agree the Atlantis is impressive visually. It does appear as a fantasy-themed hotel and would appeal to young children with the dolphin bay and the Lost Chambers as well as the Aquaventure water park. Due to these attractions, the hotel is an attraction for a significant amount of casual visitors and because of this, the hotel loses the personal touch that a great many other hotels in Dubai give to their guests.We had to wait over two hours for our room to be ready and over half an hour in the queue to check in. We had a basic deluxe room in the West Tower, which was pretty basic for 692 (4,152 AED) for two nights, although it does include entry into the Aquaventure (although a tiny locker will cost you an additional non-refundable 6) and the Lost Chambers. I went with my teenage son and daughter so there were 3 of us in a room with two queen beds, which meant I had to share with my daughter as there wasn't room for another bed. (Before arriving at the Atlantis, we had stayed at the Habtoor Grand Resort &amp; Spa for 5 nights in a massive room with two double beds and a sofabed)! The balcony was a ledge, but I liked the fact that I could open the door as respite from the air-conditioning as it didn't seem to turn off.Breakfast isn't included in a deluxe room, but it was a shock to pay 70 for 3 people after queueing for 35 minutes! The issue isn't with the massive choice on offer, but on how much one can realistically eat for breakfast to justify paying over 23 each?Maybe I'm just not accustomed to such ridiculous prices for so called 'luxury,' (being a public sector worker), but It was uncomfortable when nearly every entrance into the hotel from the surrounding grounds was opened by a member of staff. Staff were always courteous at all times, but I must mention Monique (manager) in club Rush for teenagers, who found the time to actually talk to a guest. I must also mention the staff in The Edge restaurant, as whilst the hotel never recognised my son's birthday (unlike Habtoor Grand, who provided a birthday cake for my daughter without being told it was her birthday), the staff brought a slice of chocolate cake with a candle for him and did a sing-song. Thank you again to them.I suppose I could go on, but I think I've written enough to justify my scores for this hotel.In conclusion, if you have spare cash to splash out for the experience - go for it. If not, stay somewhere else for a personal touch, and visit Atlantis for the day.BtW, my children wouldn't go back either - they preferred the Habtoor Grand.


doc_id: 148342919791857057400335010950051305680
title: Amazing attention to detail from food to decor
date: Oct 30 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Atlantis is a must-see if you're in Dubai. Don't miss one of the most fantastical hotels in the world, where even the most minute detail - from the light fixtures to the floor - reflects the hotel's theme. The rooms are gorgeous and uber-luxurious. And the bathroom is especially cool, with a wall that opens between the tub and the bedroom.We stayed during Ramadan, but one would hardly notice it was the Muslim holy month of fasting since all the restaurants were open and the bikinis out in full force. The pool was a big crowded and chilly, and unfortunately the swimming area in the sea was filled with jelly fish so we couldn't go in. We had dinner at Nobu, opting for the 400 AED taster menu, which was one of the most amazing dinners I've ever had. Highly recommend it! My parents ate at Ossiano and raved about it. The international buffet, a good option for lunch, is one of the better buffets in town though it is still all you can eat and thus somewhat daunting. Levantine is a great place for a shisha, and some nights they have belly dancing.Even if you're staying elsewhere in Dubai you must pay the hotel a visit, it is simply an amazing site to see.


doc_id: 202409054951949747955476097864467914215
title: loved it-however swimming in ocean not recommended
date: Oct 27 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We usually stay in Dubai travelling to and from Australia and chose the atlantis this time because of the water theme park! I can highly recommend it for travellers with children because of that! Even my husband and I were on the rides and in the pools all day , it was amazing! Also, the aquariums and the hotel itself is wonderful, very lush and tropical and we loved the restaurants which is sandy bar and beach lounges (forget the name) We had a suite and special lounge with food and drinks free, which is absolutely worth it! We had a very lovel, spacious room with a beautiful balcony and there was free internet at all times in the lounge as well. They hand you a computer with wlan, there are no computers standing around. The staff was wonderful! we had airport pickup with a new BMW and fresh, cold water bottles in the car! As Dubai can be unberable in July, this was most welcome after a long-distance flight! The pools have a cool down system, so they do not get too hot and the dolphin show and swomming with dolphins was very nice as well. HOwever the dolphin staff was the only staff that was unfriendly!! (NOt the dolphin trainers, those were great)The only down side is the beach, not very romantic, quite bare and empty and the water is not inviting, very hot and full of jelly fish, however no signs of danger!!It is far from major city dubai, but can always recommend it as a wonderful experience especially with the water park.


doc_id: 500842693806035934329775931792822597
title: Palm Atlantis
date: Oct 26 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I thought the rooms were kind of dated for the hotel to be fairly new. The view from the hotel are absolutely amazing though. The drawback is that it is situated on the crescent of the island which makes the hotel fairly remote when you need to get away.


doc_id: 100739428379981159162014328163500625069
title: Fantastic hotel only a few little hiccups!!
date: Oct 24 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This hotel could easily received 5 stars but a few things service wise which let it down to 4 out of 5 but still an exceptional hotel in every way. It is a WOW hotel. My husband and my 3 month(at the time) baby and also my Mother, Sister and her 16month toddler stayed at the hotel. I had made a few requests before arriving. We arrived at 4am in the morning (we paid for the night as we didn't want to be roomless at that hour with a baby). The airport transfer booked was great with a baby except for the car seat issue. If you are travelling with an infant read this for others the next segmant is not relevant: ---- For any families the hotel can supply car seats but I don't think they have heard of rear facing car seats. I had been emailing and they assured me they had the correct seat for that aged baby. Being in different country can be difficult as they have different regulations with these things (in their defence) so of course I was not mad about this. After I asked they tried to turn the car seat backwards which was definately not safe as it wasn't a reversable one. I decided safer to turn my baby forwards. All in all take your own car seat if you are travelling with an infant this age as the driver told us there are many accidents on the roads there. The car seat was of good standard if your baby is at forward facing stage:) The drivers both ways were absolutely lovelly.---- Arrival at the hotel is absolutely amazing even if it is 4am in the morning with your eyes hanging out of your head. Check in was ok and was quick. What let it down is I had requested Non Smoking (I have stayed in Dubai before and smoking rooms are usually toxic if you're a non smoker) as I have my baby with me and this is a must for me. She was offering a couple of rooms ( I think she even would have upgraded us) and I had also requested a Palm facing room. Non of my requests were even looked at. I don't think they actually prepare a room they just see what's left and as it was 4am there wasn't much left. She said she only had 1 non smoking left in the whole place so I said that's fine. Not a Palm facing and was 4th floor. So no cot waiting in room either. I said not to worry as we had a bassinet on our pram and I just wanted to get some sleep! - Basically all I am trying to say is as it was so busy and such a big resort I don't think requests are noted very well prior to arrival. My Sister and Mum on the other had arrived off a separate flight earlier and were upgraded rooms to imperial level which was great. Free wine and nibbles in the evening . This was great and went with them up there to check it out and what a spectacular view from the lounge . There room wasn't non smoking (they forgot to ask at check in as they wanted non smoking as well as requested prior when booking was made) but I can tell you this there was no smell or anything and if I didn't know better I would never have picked it and I can normally smell cigarettes a mile away!!----- The service at the hotel was very good otherwise. It was check in and check out. I just think they were so busy they were just trying to get through their day. I asked to move rooms and and they couldn't move us due to the high occupancy level. I asked to even just look at a room with a Palm view (I am a travel agent on Maternity leave) just to get a perspective of the the difference as I would probably want to return oneday as well and it's good seeing these things to reccommend these requests for my colleges and myself when making bookings at hotels for our customers. ----- The water park: Only spent 2 hrs there as we were only at the hotel for 3 nights and went gold shopping etc and ran out of time. The speed slide was great. Unfortunately it was so busy we lined up for over an 1hr so that was all we got to experience except a small ride on a tube ride. ------ If you are travelling with children this hotel is fantastic. It was so convenient for us. My sisters toddler loved the aquarium and was amazed by the whole place. It was great because my Mum could babysit the boys while we went into the city and she didn't feel trapped at the hotel as she could take them for a walk and keep them entertained with the overal amazement of the hotel.----- Eating at the hotel has a many choices. Breakfast was great and I really couldn't ask for more!! Presentation was amazing. We at the Italian (can't remember the name) it was ok but the wine the waiter reccommend was horrible (we asked which was closes to a sav blanc) and we laughed for so long as it was shocking but it cost so much we drank it all!! The food was ok. My husband and I ate at the French Brasserie for our last meal there and I was absolutely amazed. I ate one of the best meals I have had in a long time there. They had a very good wine list which was great. We got a New Zealand wine for the same price as the Italian caraffe of horrible wine. ----- The rooms are of great standard - not huge but very adequate. The bathroom was great and I loved that you could have a bath and open the doors to be able to watch TV while soaking in the tub. I found it to be very clean. If you want to get picky I think it felt a bit slimey in the corners of the shower but I only new this cause I dropped the soap and felt it. It certainly wasn't dirty though but probably just not using strong chemicals in there and when they mop it out they arn't getting to the corners. I just know some people wouldn't like this if they pay a heap of money for such a high standard of hotel.Overall a great WOW factor hotel. It's not a small hotel where everyone will know who you are but if you want something there is plenty of staff to help you throughout the hotel. I would definately reccommend this hotel and would return. I did get a very good price for this place so I can't complain about a couple of service issues!


doc_id: 164608526517782239938834243773794719403
title: Life sure is good at Atlantis Dubai
date: Oct 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Just got back from 5 glorious days at Atlantis The Palm Dubai. A truly amazing place which has everything you need - fantastic restaurants, shops, pools, beaches and the waterpark. Service, food and drinks are immaculate. A truly luxurious place which I would recommend to anyone looking for something special. One thing...it's very expensive so be prepared to spend some cash!!


doc_id: 332647197142244768578441271887783542971
title: 10/10
date: Oct 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
absolute flawless, worth every penny!!! anyone who can pick fault with that, got too much time on their hands to think up critiscism. AWESOME


doc_id: 206802912773581603860016623504197222631
title: Fabulous Hotel
date: Oct 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Recently stayed at Atlantis with two friends for five nights travelling with Virgin Holidays.We arrived at 9am and were immediately checked in and upgraded to an Atlantis Room which was brilliantly appointed with two very comfortable king size beds and the room was pleanty big enough for 3 adults and extremely clean and checked twice per day.The service around the pool was fantastic, lemon ice lollies were free and a large water with an ice bucket was approx 3. The pools were gorgeous and pool side food was reasonably priced.The bars and resteraunts in the hotel were first class, we took advantage of the martini deal in seafire and ate at Nobu which was awesome- the beach bar Naisimi is the new place to be however we would have been grateful if the hotel could have let us know that there was a top dj playing on the beach on the friday night, luckily we found out for ourselves and as guests were allowed free entry to an event that was 20 for non residents to attend. Breakfast was in with the holiday, we tried both saffron and Kaleidescope the choice was excellent. It was noisey and one day we waited approx 10 minutes but in an 1800 room hotel this is to be expected and staff apologised when we did get a table.We went to aquaventure which is an excellent waterpark with loads of lifeguards and brilliant rapids and slides- even people who don't like slides would love this amazingly designed incredibly well maintained park. Dolphin cove was expensive but the experience was amazing and again the staff were incredibly friendly and informative.Overall the hotel is an absolutley fantastic resort for couples and groups but families in particular. I can't understand why so many people have complained about having to show your pass to get into resident only areas - surely this is to minimise the crowding everyone complains about and is also a security provision. I honestly could not find anything to complain about - the staff are all incredibly courteous and friendly and the hotel itself is simply stunning.


doc_id: 233689545157904203425240286672805166423
title: Its Good - But Is It Right ?
date: Oct 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I arrived in atlantis at 1 am after travelling for most of the day from ireland. the reception was large and spacious but lacked almost everything that I have come to love about dubai. the staff in the hotel were very attentive - i can not fault any off them.we ate in in 4 of the restaurants in the hotel and found the food to be excellent and not too pricey, but felt that wine was expensive, but I feel that this is an issue in Dubai in generalThe major issue i had with the hotel was that it was soooooooooo big and not Arabian in any way , this was dissapointing, in fact unless you can see the famous Dubai Sky line you would almost feel that you were not in the Arabian Gulf. The Water Park in sensational and is free for hotel guests, the dolphin adventure is also a great experiance and our travel agent was able to get us a 2 for 1 offer.I am not sure if I would go back - but is definetly worth a visit


doc_id: 72998399702347607505864689233692112367
title: Outstanding Hotel
date: Oct 22 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Just back from the Atlantis. The hotel has exceptional service and surroundings.Check in was very swift. The hotel is immaculate. However quite busy. Rooms were very well furnished, and room cleaning was offered to us twice per day. Breakfast in Saffaron was very good, the choice was outstanding and the served until 11.amDinner was also very good here. Pool service was exceptional.Slightly dissapointed with the water park, if you've been to Florida this does not compare.Was very hot so sunbathing for more than a couple of hours was not possible for us.Drinks were not over expensive, normal hotel rates.Ok for a couple of days, but could not spend a week there.Outstanding Gym though.


doc_id: 277179181839955554950396529468626796187
title: Great Get away for 3 - 4 days
date: Oct 20 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Stayed in Atlantis The Palm in Dubai for 2 nights with my wife and 2 years old girl. The locations is great where you don't have to go out for full 3 days to finish everything in the hotel. The Water Park is Great for all ages, the Dolphin Bay was a great experiance with the family. you will eat till you drop with all sort of EXellent food. The beach is clean and equipt with kids play ground and nice view of Dubai city. just be ready to know that the beach showers are very cold, but the pool is just super. the Check-in/out was very quick and service is 100%.


doc_id: 269662687568105155945828763568786947378
title: An Overhyped Hotel
date: Oct 20 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
A great property. The service levels however could be improved. Check in at 1 a.m. took a half hour as the room was not as per our specification. Thankfully we got upgraded and got An Atlantis room instead of the normal room. The king bed was too small to fit my daughter alongwith us so we opted for another extra bed besides the one for my son.The breakfast spread was great but an irritant was the wait to get in . When one pays in excess of $500 per room surely being made to wait to enter the restaurant is very onerous. Another upsetting issue was the fact that my teenage son who got the enrty to club rush was not told that id is required (which beat me as only after showing the id was he issued the pass when we checked in). When he went to the club which was a good 15 minute walk he was told that the id was needed and then he came back in tears and in no mood to go back The Lost at Atlantis and the water park was great and as such we had a great time.Summing up I wish to say that though a great resort The Atlantis is not an Hotel which makes its guests feel pampered which they have the right as they are pay in in excess of $500 per day.For pampering please go somewhere else. The Atlantis is like a Las Vegas hotel without the casino


doc_id: 16012391937625602715327919503077969887
title: You only live once so... JUST GO WE LOVED IT !
date: Oct 18 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Great hotel but expensive. The hotel is big and looks like a fairytale, very nice decorated walls, aquariums (Lost Chambers is free for guest and is worth a visit). Also the water park Aquaventure is very nice, I really enjoyed it ! The hotel is very big and on every corner you're about to discover something interesting. Food is expensive (breakfast is 140dh and dinner even more) but very good. We ate at Saffron and Kaleidoscope restaurant. Rooms were clean, beds and bathroom great. You get free fruit and a bottle of water at your room. We had a room on the 11 floor. A taxi to this hotel is around 95 AED(night ) and I think 60 AED (day). The hotel is expensive but it's worth it and you only live once so just go ! Spectacular hotel, great service I hope to go again to this hotel ! THE MYTH COMES ALIVE IN THIS HOTEL ! We loved it !


doc_id: 47622897604943870225208326555582246344
title: Good do better !
date: Oct 18 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Not going to go on about the hotel itself , you know huge , luxurious ....etc I am sure it's all been talked about before ....However , things that really annoyed me and confused me during my 2 days stay are :- Room without balcony described as a room with a balcony ?! We were told that that we were upgraded and that our room has a balcony. When we got to the room , it wasn't my idea of a balcony , it was a sliding door that opens on a ten inch wide balcony , that's not a balcony. After a 30 minutes argument with reception staff they agreed to move us to a new room on a higher floor.- The new room did have a balcony yipee ! but smelled badly of cigarettes and the ceiling was developing some king of a grey moldy coat . It was huge still whwn I mentioned it to the maintenance guy he seemed surprised !- It was my birthday and my wife made the point of letting the restaurant staff know , nothing not even a mention when we went there . I don't really care but I know some people would find it nice if someone acknowledged it .- The seafood platter we were served at the Seafire restaurant was made of frozen seafood that tasted of absolutely nothing . I expected a bit more from a hotel with a 'sea theme' . We told the restaurant manager but were still charged for half of it !!I haven't been to other restaurants but what I noticed it a huge queue every morning in front of the main restaurant ( i am guessing that's the half board area...)Apart from that , yes the water park is nice and oh I really enjoyed the service at the pool bar .


doc_id: 256814245166350659152265103921478652936
title: Nice big hotel with large rooms and plenty of activities !
date: Oct 11 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed in Atlantis last September together with our kids.There are really many attractions for the kids and guests. We all enjoyed especially the Aquaventure, attached to the resort.A huge aquarium, full with plenty of fish inside at the corridor of the Hotel was very interesting. Hotel rooms are large and comfortable.Our rate was without breakfast and if you wish to eat in the hotel, resaturants are really expensive(Breakfast around 40 USD)and as the hotel is located on the Palm there isnt anything around the hotel on the walking distance, so you have to take a taxi for any of your needs.


doc_id: 63156293248626315529166075159106643891
title: Amazing re-defining quality standards for comfort and service.
date: Oct 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
The Atlantis is awesome in scale and it's delivery of a complete self-contained luxury resort in the most exciting leisure capital on the planet. From the size and quality of the even the most basic room to the range of restaurants, a fantastic spa and overall design that can only be described as &quot;Bond-esque&quot;, you soon run out of superlatives to describe this true 5 star resort thats built on a sea-world type water park. With all it has to offer in excellent facilities, the staff seem to be genuinely concerned that your experience lives up to the potential that such a 'grand design' offers. Be sure to try the spectacularly designed and situated Ossiana restaurant that serves michellin star style food in a setting straight out of a Bond movie... jaw droppingly awesome!


doc_id: 114845282535763422888767690076281075313
title: Absolutely Amazine
date: Oct 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
There are no other words to describe our stay other than amazing...The staff went out of their way to make our stay incredible and relaxing.Our children aged 5 and 7 had a ball and loved every minute of it.After reading reviews prior to our going out we were simply dreading it but i have to say that it lived up to all expectations and more..Will definately 100% return again....LOVED IT


doc_id: 39849431362247499701027718194318137727
title: One moan only
date: Oct 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My one &amp; only moan about the Atlantis is------Why certain people thought it was a good idea to walk around the Hotel, pool area &amp; grounds in the dressing gown &amp; slippers provided in their room by the Hotel.Everything about the Atlantis is fantastic, &amp; I personally cannot wait to go again.


doc_id: 293402908205945150421733589901910898895
title: Wouldn't want to go any where else!!!
date: Oct 5 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Having visited many 5 star hotels in various countries this hotel is far superior to any other I have stayed in. Even though we arrived in the early hours of the morning, the check in staff were extremely friendly and willing to help as much as they could. Check in was very efficient and we were made to feel welcome from our first moments in the hotel. We were greeted my smiling faces by all of the staff, whether it was by the pool, in the restaurants, concierge or housekeeping staff. The rooms were elegantly decorated, and spacious. We stayed in the deluxe rooms and the finishing was superb. The beds were very comfortable and often hard to pull myself out of in the mornings. Rooms were extremely just like the rest of the hotel. The food in the restaurant was out of this world, there was an excellent choice of food that catered for everyone. However I would suggest going half board as it saves an awful lot of money. The pool was a relaxed place to be, and the pool staff were very helpful and constantly on hand if you needed anything. Also due to the hot temperatures the pool staff offers ice lollies and chilled flannels free of charge in order to keep cool. There is also a sunglasses cleaning service while you sit by the pool. The pool side menu is brilliant with plenty of choice. The aquaventure is fantastic and great fun and is also free for hotel a guest which is a bonus. The rapids and torrent are a great way to see just how big the water park is as it travels around the entire park. Also once again the staff are extremely friendly. The aquarium is brilliant and also free for hotel guests. The huge ambassador lagoon is a massive hit with its huge shark and hundreds of species of aquatic creatures. We were also lucky enough to experience the dolphin bay; this was fantastic and very fun. The staff were very funny and made the experience even better. There was plenty of opportunities to get up close to the dolphins, the entire program is very informative and a lot of fun. Overall this hotel is out of this world, and I would recommend it to anyone. Despite the reviews in read before I went, I found it difficult to understand some of the comments made. However I cant see me or my family staying anywhere else when we return to Dubai as this hotel is superb.


doc_id: 295966510293692271417806107124586894878
title: Out of this world - If you like Luxury this is it!!!!!
date: Oct 5 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This hotel/resort is Fantastic! We stayed in a Deluxe Room which had a superb view of the ocean. We opted for the Half Board option and were not disappointed, We ate in a different Restaurant every night, The Food was Magnificent, The Staff, very attentive.If I had one complaint it would be that the water park was a little busy on the saturday , but hey, what resort of this type wouldn't be.In a nutshell. If you enjoy staying in a 5 star Hotel, with Theme park style surreal surroundings with baking sun then this is your place.Enjoy!, we did!


doc_id: 157458615812668160796517123480195412423
title: Nice Hotel Nice Rooms Good Activities Food expensive but average
date: Oct 4 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Booked a two night stay over the weekend. Found the check-in girl a bit grumpy. The room was excellant very clean nice decor. Hotel Swimming Pool very nice not too busy. The Aquapark was great fun, great for small kids as well as adults. A bit surprised to find russian prostitutes operating in the aquapark! However, didn't effect our enjoyment. We really loved the aquarium excellant. The only problem I had was that the restaurants were expensive and the food quality was very average and bad value for money compared to other hotels. However, to sum up Atlantis is well worth a visit but watch out for the prices.


doc_id: 280212091007012059283616910165561056223
title: Absolutely fantastic hotel that treats you like Royalty
date: Oct 4 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Absolutely fantastic hotel that treats you like Royalty. From the moment you step into this hotel, you are treated with great service and hospitality. There is so much staff around and they are available to pamper you. The check-in is smooth and enjoyable. The rooms are spectacular. Get the ones that face the pool area and not the ocean (too boring). The bathrooms have a sliding door which allows your wife to soak in the tub having a bubble bath, while you watch football on TV and occasionally peak at her. The rooms also have balconies to allow you to snack while you sit outside watching others playing in the pool below. Just a fantastic place! The room service is great. They bring the food in a special cart that has a mini oven beneath it so you can keep it warm! The staff is so helpful and will go to any lengths to get you what you need. For example, they connected me to a pharmacy so I could order blood pressure medication and have it delivered to my room! They even deliver Viagara if you want! I needed to charge my iphone and didn't have a PC. No problem, just go to the Business Center and ask the lady to charge it for you and deliver it back to your room when finished. There is nothing that cannot be done for the guests. Just a great place, too bad we only stayed a few days but it was just a quick romantic getaway for me and my wife. We were treated like a King and Queen. Next time we will bring the kids because there is even more fun for them in terms of the waterpark, dolphins, aquariams etc. Great place!Just a couple of tiny negatives: The hotel pools are too shallow! They have no deep end. Makes them pretty useless for adults, but great for kids.Also, there was one sofa chair in the room that looked like it was manufactured in the 70's and purchased at a used garage sale. Have no clue how such an out of place piece of furniture could have been put there. But its not too much of an eyesore.Also, the fitness center is very strict about wearing running shoes. They won't allow you to work out wearing just rubber crocs. That would have really pissed me off had we stayed for a week. You need exercise at this place in order to burn off the calories from the fantastic food!


doc_id: 147838642425624982574099085368976202711
title: To busy making a profit
date: Oct 1 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
In a city with wonderful hotels and service the Atlantis seems to have lost the plot. They are more focussed on making money than looking after their guests. Our booking was paid with a 20% deposit something they would not recognise even though confirmations between travel agent and themselves were in hand. Be careful ! Food was good but very expensive - expected due to the location. What was not expected is the huge number of none residents that they allow into the hotel it makes it very uncomfortable and noisy.Do not book events through the Imperial lounge they are more than happy to arrange everything for you but you pay full price even though the hotel offers specials (like 2 for one dolphin experience) on their website, once done they wont change.I have been to the Atlantis Bahamas 3 times and never been disappointed - the Palm is not on a par and there are many better beach front hotels in Dubai.Aquaventure is definately worth a visit if you have kids but again open to none guests and gets very crowded at weekends and holidays - go early.


doc_id: 223003897550008014853179223904580686473
title: We only went to the water park
date: Sep 30 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
we didnt stay at Atlantis- although it looks amazing, with a lot of greenery which i felt was missing from other parts of Dubai.We went specifically to try the Water Park- we were visiting family who are living in Abu Dhabi, and they had been to Wild Wadi, so we decided to give Atlantis a try. It is expensive- but so is everything in the UAE- but worth every penny!! The whole water park is so clean, with plenty of sun beds, drinks stations and most importantly inflatable rings for the slides!You are given a wrist band upon entrance, which you put money on for buying drinks etc and this also acts as a key for your locker- a really neat gadget!Queues for the slides seemed to go quickly and the you could even take the lazy option and be taken up a motorised ramp. The floors got VERY hot in certain areas, so taking flip-flops or jelly shoes for kids is a good idea.The showers and changing rooms are great, plenty of room and again they are spotless.


doc_id: 154012685510043988540704501198368899361
title: Excellent vacation spot - at the right time
date: Sep 30 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Before embarking on my trip to Atlantis, I perused the reviews on this site. The impression I got was a mixed bag. But feeling the pros outweighed the cons, the wife and I continued with our plans. Arriving there in April the hotel was not as crowded as it would've been in Summer. The service was excellent, and the rooms and facilities were as advertised with no hidden costs anywhere I could see. Leading me to confirm what I had previously suspected. The Atlantis is a great spot, as long as it's not too crowded.The private beach was a godsend, since the other amenities like the water park and the aquarium were open to non-residents and thus got quite crowded. Speaking of amenities; book early! The spa in particular was very popular and we couldn't get a reservation. The water park was a lot of fun, and will be quite a hit with the young and the young at heart. The Aquarium was fun, if short. Glad it was free for residents. Add to that an excellent array of restaurants that should cover all tastes.On the downsides, the Atlantis is quite expensive. And being quite far from anywhere means that you are basically stuck in the hotel with its jacked up prices on everything. Nothing is within walking distance, so you will need to take a taxi or a shuttle bus for something as simple as groceries and a reasonably priced meal.Still, if you can afford it and book your stay off peak seasons you'll find the Atlantis a wonderful get away spot.


doc_id: 85972710968058313180708638758830953788
title: Terrible 1 star hotel
date: Sep 29 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
terrible experienceacquadventure is terrible, boring, not to be compared with the park of jumeirah, acquadventure's changeroom: there are not enough shower you must wait there 20 minute before take shower and is not clean a bad smell inside and there is not shampo or shower gel, they don't provide towel, the don't provide hairdryer, a lot of people and not enough space, TERRIBLEthe rastaurant, very very expensive,the lobby, a lot of caos not a pacific place not enough sofa and you must wait a lot for chek in and chek outbusiness center: very expensive and farspa: very expensive, a lot of people, never privacy , shower doesn't work terriblethe room, not clean the bathroom, the bedroom is not clean too. russet on the sheet, the bathtube is very old, feel like of 20 years ago, the mirror and the floor need a good clean, the water provide in the room is super cheap very terrible!!! the hotel is very very expensive, one of the most in dubai, and is over price! all!spend 30 usd for enter in the lost chamber is crazy! and spend 11 dollar for the loker in the acquaadventure is very crazy! and spend 60 usd to enter in the acquadventure..the room is not a 5 star room. anonymous and empity.in the corridor there is a despenser of ice, feel like a 3 star hotel in colorado!at concierge a lady can't speak english!!


doc_id: 36090375480618484576130275920645648298
title: unexplainable
date: Sep 29 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
we went here on our honeymoon for one week the hotel is well i cant put into words. beautiful. although we loved our stay and our experience i'd have to say we wouldnt return in a hurry. This is a very money orientated atmostphere. Unless u have money and alot of it, its heaven. Otherwise some might say like we did we felt alittle outa place. We are a working class family and wanted to go al out on our honeymoon and it couldnt of been a beautiful surrounding the shops restaurants and waterpark were lovely and staff amazing. Just not our cup of tea for a family holiday. I can honestly say i didnt hear one person laugh around that pool. but each to their own. We'd definatly return to dudai but a more relaxed atmostphere xx although it needs to be seen to be believed xx


doc_id: 170113987357234098822668157037469774701
title: Great Experiance
date: Sep 27 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Great Place to Holiday and sight seeing. Not for romantic couples!Amamzing appearence and decoration. Grate amenities.Rooms not so great! Average.


doc_id: 230716916097428451425638004258652428826
title: Can't wait to return
date: Sep 27 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My wife and I have just returned from the Atlantis, one word sums the whole experience up 'Marvelous'. We stayed in an Imperial Club room with all the benefits of the Imperial Club lounge on the 12th Floor. The rooms were excellent, kept extremely clean and tidy by the wonderful staff. Our stay coincided with Ramadan, this was not a problem. The Imperial Club lounge enabled us to enjoy a free buffet style breakfast with all the usual suspects plus some other continental style dishes. We are not sure what the club offered during the day as we were on the beach, which was kept immaculate, seawater was very warm. Here you could find a golf type buggy driving up and down the offering soft drinks and snacks (chargeable to your room). The beach bar, the Edge served only non- alco beverages during the day because of Ramadan but the food here again was of a very high standard. From 7.30pm to 9pm the buffet, sushi, dim sum cheese board, cakes and pastries were outstanding, this coupled with free alcoholic beverages meant that if you didn't want to attend one of the fabulous restaurants you probably didn't have to, because you could easily fill yourself up on the many dishes available. It would take me all day to describe the wonderful restaurants but one thing I must say is that the wagyu steak in the Seafire restaurant, expensive but oh my god, words are not enough. This was the first time I have ever been in a waterpark before and quite frankly it was great. The aquarium is very impressive, but FREE SAMMY, female Whale Shark. I hope you have got an idea of what the Atlantis is like, I myself will definately be going back.


doc_id: 75112832435447386392849551741296663760
title: Liked the Water Park
date: Sep 26 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I personally liked the hotal as my family enjoyed there too much. We loved the water park in the hotel and aquarium as well. The water rides were just excellent. Only caveat we would suggest is to carry lot of sunscreen during summer time to avoid sun burns. Also, take care during water rides and put proper swim wear to keep yourself protected. Food and stay is just excellent. Also, the after vacating period is taken care properly by the hotel people and hotel staff took all care of our stay. Children were very happy staying here due to waterwark and its rides.


doc_id: 5626489227601059367577529737428438129
title: Not Worth the Money
date: Sep 26 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
To sum my experiense I would like to say that my openion is based on comparison with other hotels of the same rate-catogory. I'm sure that openions vary about the hotel based on the date of the stay as I have noticed that many of the good reviews were posted by people who stayed during &quot;Ramadan&quot; where they offerd good rates and it would not be very crowded during the day as many people would be fasting!!!We went there post ramadan which is a holiday in the gulf area so the hotel was very very crowded !!! we were surprized that the hotel facilities were open to people out of the hotel for a charge ( resturants, water park ...). The main point that made it a bad experience for us is the following:1- I booked on line from the hotels web where it states that the room takes 4 either 2 adults+2 child or 3 Adult+1child while the room has only two beds or one king (no bed sofa like other hotel such as Madinat Jumairah or Kampinsiky Emirates Mall). As we arrived they charged us extra for the third adult and asked us to pay for the extra bed for my daughter who is 8yrs and doesn't fit in to a baby cot !!!!!! 2- We were given promotional vouchers as part of the booking for free drinks which we couldn't benifit from because they were for Alcoholic beverages and we are Muslims.Also there was a voucher for a free entry for the dolphin bay when you buy an entry and we were shoked to know that we were charged extra !!!! because of the voucher we had to pay the full charge when every one else buys it at a discounted rate.3- On the hotels Web it says that children have access to the kids club and as we took them they told us that we only get one free entry and its restrikted from 11am - 6pm though it opens till 10pm !!!! and we booked two rooms still we got one free entry so my advise if you want to book two rooms book them under two different names.In comparison the Al Qaser hotel in Madinat Jumairah offered free unlimited entry for the guest kids only for the entire stay.4- Most important the hotel staff are very rude!!! when we bought beverages they would tell you the cost befor serving it even if you didn't ask for the price !!! and when you ask for any thing they would communicate with you on &quot;Take it or leave it basis&quot;. Again other five star hotels of the area were very polite and even if they couldn't offer something they would appologize.5- The room decore-size is very average in comparison with the rate. you could compare the pictures with Madinat Jumairah where the rooms are stunning.I'm definatly not going back again.


doc_id: 333204968672805758112230093896804659824
title: Not worth the money
date: Sep 25 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Second part to a 2 centre Kuoni package. Local representative dreadful ( worst Kuoni rep ever met!). Promised to fax to hotel our departure pickup times and didnt! We ended up having to pay to ring him to retrieve these details. The Atlantis Palm checkin service was a mess, no proper queues, the receptionist had poor English and despite the number of rooms and holiday markers, there was a small wholely inadequate checkin area. It took us 1.5 hours wait to get to the desk. Had booked a twin room but none available!!!. We were told that we would have to wait for another couple of hours. In the end settled for a double room and they ended up putting in another &quot;fold up&quot; bed. Five Star Hotel - NO WAY!.The hotel on the outside looked OK, but the rooms decor fell short of a 5 star establishment. The toilet was dark with no light. Painted walls with no style. The Saffron Restaurant had the best spread for Breakfast Buffet. Free access to the water park, however the water flow on many sections of the waterpark was not strong enough to push the inflatables through and you would have to get off your &quot;inflatable ring&quot; and walk, pushing the ring along. Not as much variety of rides as Wild Wadi at Jumeriah Beach. Next time I'm staying in Jumeriah Beach which has a better environment and service. The hotel is also too far away from other attractions in Dubai, taking 20minutes just to drive out of the man made palm Island.


doc_id: 41259054253987210798654004270861488625
title: Almost Heaven!
date: Sep 24 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Perfect in every way - superb staff, excellent facilities and restaurants. If you don't want to pay 5 star prices for 5 star services, don't go to Atlantis. Allow at least 100 per person per day and you will have the time of your life. Highly recommend Ossiano, Dolphin Bay and the Spa. Exquisite.


doc_id: 321090908185105555074277188509908841486
title: Perfect - almost
date: Sep 24 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This hotel / resort is close to perfection. I will not add to the compliments already written in previous reviews, but I would like to address the criticisms. In my opinion a substantial number of people have come to this resort on cheap deals offered earlier in the year without really comprehending that this is a 5 star resort and therefore will charge 5 star prices and expect a certain standard of behaviour on arrival. 15 for a poolside meal and 50 per head in a restaurant really isn't excessive for the quality of food provided, and to fill plastic carrier bags with food at the breakfast buffet is really not acceptable behaviour, and neither is wearing a bikini to meals, especially during Ramadan. I should also add that it wasn't just fellow Brits who demonstrated such a lack of etiquette; there were a large number of Germans whose behaviour was even worse, and, this being the UAE, far too many Russians with more money than class who might as well have had pig troughs installed in their rooms, at least that way they couldn't inflict their extreme racist prejudices on the all too helpful staff.Everything else about the hotel and the resort itself was wonderful, the room, the staff, the waterpark, Dolphin Bay and the restaurants were all exceptional and contributed to a once in a lifetime experience. The final word of caution I would offer is with regard to the Kaleidoscope restaurant. I would highly suggest that you go to Saffron for breakfast, as Kaleidoscope have a far more limited and lower quality selection of food, the staff are not as attentive, and we also got charged on our room bill for our complimentary breakfast as lunch!Overall do not hesitate to visit Atlantis, just expect the worse from some of the guests and avoid Kaleidoscope!


doc_id: 160413160005738349149636547040871191752
title: not a grumble in sight
date: Sep 24 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
everything and everybody at the atkantis deserve the highest marks. we didnt even see a fly or a knat on that island, the water park was fab and there was a lifeguard metres apart both sides of the rapid rides at all times we travelled with no children and without sounding bad, we have grown up children and really just didnt want to be bothered with anyone elses kiddies on our holiday and we totally were not. we sat most days on that wonderful beach with that wonderfully warm water with just a handfull of people everyday. the food in the saffron resturant was all u can eat and we paid for half board. it was exceptionally good and the service was impeccable by the staff. it worked on a help yourself basis and was cooked continously fresh all evening, scrumptious sweets and a huge choc fountain just about ended the evening on a high. couldnt have had better at any resturant i have ever been too. the holiday to sum it up was excellent and i would not hesitate to go back picky little moan would have been the shops were out of my league for buying but who cares, who want s to shop when u can sit overlooking the palm in the sun with a ice cream lol. we did go to the emirates mall and it was worh the trip one evening to watch the fab exotic cars and the incredible shops. we swam with the dolphins and thought here we go we are going to get ripped off but it was 2 hours of fun in the water with alice the dolphin and we wouldnt have missed it for the world, that we had to pay extra for of course.. we came home two very happy chilled out bunnies. thank you atlantis palm


doc_id: 214188928088639588450537451761174531612
title: Out of this World!
date: Sep 24 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Just come back from a 4 day trip with 2 small children (6 &amp; nearly 4) which was just fabulous, there was so much on offer that we did not venture off the Palm!. Facilities are excellent - Dolphin Bay is well worth a visit, the indoor aquarium and Lost Chamber are stunning and we wandered round for hours looking at the 15,000 fish!. There are height restrictions at Aquaventure but still lots to do when you are small. Kids club is also excellent in terms of facilities and staff. Hotel can be pricey and I would recommend you go for an Imperial Room if you can, as this will give you wifi access, snacks thoughout the day, foc access to the kids club during the day, etc, all of which are chargeable if you stay in another room type - that's certainly what we will do on our return. Public areas were also busy but to be expected post Ramadan - No hesitation is recommending this hotel, staff were excellent (knew our children by name) and special mention to the lifeguards who where never off duty. The hospitality room for late check out was a welcome bonus too. All in all just wonderful!


doc_id: 167329931071293974987363333623605261746
title: Wonderful experience
date: Sep 22 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed at the new Altantis and Palm island, Such an wonderful experience, We totally enjoyed everything, from shopping, dining, desert safari, swimming with the dolphins, Would love to comeback soon


doc_id: 47525929948026883525567061420640674770
title: Sprawling Expanse of highest quality
date: Sep 22 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Enjoyed our stay at the Atlantis Dubai, but found that inspite of the fact it was almost brand new when we stayed, I much prefer the Jumeirah Beach hotel for the family. There were many things to do, no to mention the various restraunts on site..The water park is excellent and complimentary to guests more than can be said for the kids club that came at quite an expense with 2 children. Its a bit closer to the Emirates mall, but further away from the GOLD SOUK and the new mall than the Jumeirah Beach.. All in all wonderful variety, great quality. Would I go again..probably not..but just because I prefer the facilities and location of Jumeirah Beach.


doc_id: 268823521941837452641594365723381033419
title: Free Compensation stay for years disastrous sof opening - improved but still not all that.
date: Sep 21 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I stayed at the Atlantis last year at the begining of their soft opening, it was a disaster and they gave 2 free nts whilst we were there but on arriving home I complained further about all the problems and requested further compensation and received another night - and was told this would be like for like.I went back on the 8th/12th but before we had even reached got to our departure date, The Atlantis contacted our travel agent 2 wks before our arrival and retracted the bed &amp; breakfast agreement and informed us it' was room only - giving some feeble excuse, we both myself and the travel agents thought this was an extremely poor thing to do and their excuse was so pathetic I won't bore you with it. This was suppose to be compensation to make up for the terrible experience that we paid for first time round, so we weren't off to a good start.However, things did improve, as when we arrived our room was ready and we arrived early and it wasn't mahem in the reception area like it was the year before. The room was the same as last time but now showing signs of wear and tear, marked walls and curtains, 3 of light bulbs didn't work in the room - this should have been checked before each guest checks into the room but otherwise much the same - the rooms are spacious and the twin queen beds are big and comfy. Luggage was still a bit slow in arriving in to the room.As our breakfast was rudely taken away from us, we refused to have breakfast in the hotel and there is no-where to go outside as this hotel is quite from the city or any shops etc, so we took our own breakfasts with us, which in fact was vast improvement from queing for breakfast - which we still witnessed whilst we were there. It was a lot quieter more civilised and relaxing having our breakfast in our room and a hell alot cheaper than paying 24 for breakfast - and it's not a great experience, the servive leaves a lot to be desired. However, we did eat lunch at the Edge pool bar a couple of times and I have to say the staff were lovely and very helpful, food was good and plentiful, so would recommend this option.Whilst cooling down in the Royal pool, which does have the most greatest part of the pool which is only inches deep, which you can lay in to cool down whilst still sunning yourself and it has a ledge going all the way round, put a pool towel as a pillow on this ledge and your in heaven!! Perfect spot!! I got chatting to fellow guests and didn't hear very good things about the buffet dinner restaurant and another restaurant they had tried, said the service was terrible and didn't enjoy their experiences, so we never ate at the hotel in the evening, we went out instead which was cheaper and much more fun and you get to see more of Dubai.We did receive a little bit of pampering round the pool this time - this included 2 ice lollies but we had to run after the guy for one of them and one cold face cloth and that was it in 3 days - at the Mina A' Salam (we went there after The Atlantis) you got ice lollies, orange slices, cucumber slices and cold face cloths in one day, ever day!! They didn't miss one person out as they go around the pool delivering these welcomed treats. Whereas The Atlantis is very hit and miss if you receive any such treats.House keeping still not up to scratch, didn't always clean everything, also had some weird turn down service (when they remembered to do it!!) it looked like they started to do the turn down but didn't get to finish it - maybe that was the case!! if not, very strange!!.I did get to go to The Atlantis waterpark twice and enjoyed my time in there, unfortunately two of the water rides were being serviced so couldn't go on them, which was a shame as there isn't that many attractions to go on so having two out at the same time wasn't good. The lazy river is great as you can access one of the water rides via it, plus you have different options/routes to take as you go round, one has rapids, another one has waves and the last one takes you to the water ride. It wasn't too busy in the park which was great and there are plenty of quiet places to chill out and sunbath within the park. So it was a good day and I had a lot of fun, did the Leap of faith twice - OMG!!! I was shaking afterwards but still did it again!! Plus the staff are very friendly and fun in the waterpark, helped make the day so good!! The hotel service had much improved since last year but I still would not go back to this hotel as there are far better hotels to stay in which offer a completely different Dubai pampering experience - if you want to have that pampering experience don't stay at The Atlantis - it's spectular to look at but fails to deliver that satisfying feeling of a perfect stay which the Mina A' Salam most certainly did - would recommend you go there instead..


doc_id: 145359323793620906156785149436767231576
title: Brilliant Hotel
date: Sep 20 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Having read many reviews before our holiday, I was a bit cautious before we arrived - especially as we had stayed at the Jumeirah Beach same time last year, but there was no need. We had an amazing holiday.Booking - we booked with destinology who were really helpful and far cheaper than other travel agents, good tranfers both ways.Travel - flew with Emirates - couldn't fault them - easy online check in, offered extra leg room, pleasant journey.On arrival at hotel - this hotel is enormous, and reception was busy but organised, and despite arriving hours before checkin time, we were given a free upgrade (as most people were) to atlantis room and were in the room within 90 minutes of the plane landing.Staff - all extremely pleasant and helpful - always went out of their way to help. Lots of security who often asked to check if we were residents at the hotel - which i didnt mind as i would rather that, than having 100's of strangers wandering pass my room. once they became famliar with us, they stopped asking.Room - large - had 2 very comfortable king size beds, spotlessly clean. Was a smokers room but didnt smell (we dont smoke). Excellent rooms service - at least twice a day. had fresh fruit in room, and 2 bottles of water - but whenever we asked for more, they were happy to provide as much as we wanted - we then took a couple of bottles to the pool/beach and asked for glasses of ice during the day to keep cost down. As it was our anniversary, the hotel provided a beautiful chocolate treasure chest which lasted all week! the only concern we had with our room, is one night a child next door was very loud, messing about, singing/shouting/crying. We reported it to guest services who were very apologetic and sent security up to the room which seemed to do the trick. I think this was a one off as the rrom was occupied by other people who we never heard, and to be fair, It wasnt a fault of the hotel as it could have happened anywhere. Atlantis did everything they could and offered us an alternative room.Beach/Pool - spotlessly clean. Lots of lifeguards around. some people were stung by jellyfish, but were treated very quickly by staff. Several signs around indicating there were jellyfish, so use the beach at your own risk! We didnt have any problems. Staff regularly around to bring food/drink. yes its pricey - but if you pay for a 5* hotel, expect to pay 5* hotel prices - not sure why there are so many complaints about this. tips/service charge is usually inclusive of the price, so no need to give tips unless you feel the need to/had superior service.Restaurants - we stayed half board - which allowed us to eat in 5 of the restaurants - saffron and kaleidoscope are buffet - only tried saffron as there was so much to eat here, and shorter queues. at saffron, we didnt queue for any longer than 5 minutes - for breakfast or dinner despite visiting at busy times - again, not sure what all the complaints are about this - i have waited longer to be seated in a uk restaurant despite making reservations than i did there. Perhaps queues are longer at peak times of the year? We also ate at Rostang (french) - lovely, but more formal than anywhere else. Ther best steak i have ever had was at Seafire - fantastic - If you like steak, dont miss out on this!On arrival we were given a booklet about the resort whcih had info on happy hours - well worth a visit, cause it brings the cost of drinks well below that you would pay in the uk.Activities - Waterpark - great fun, well staffed, wasnt too busy so didnt have to wait more than 5 minutes for any ride. Not sure i would pay to go there had i not had free entry as a hotel guest. Dolphin bay - they do an informational talk everyday at 12.15 which is worth a visit if you want to see the dolphins without having to get up close and personal! (and ther's a starbucks there!) Lost Chambers - again, as a hotle guest, this is a lovely experience and useful for walking off our massive meals, but wouldn't necessarily pay to visit.Spa - i have visited many spas in the uk, but never have i been in such luxury as there! it is stunning. They had a special offer on massage - 60mins for about 70, but this also allowed you to stay as long as you like in the beautiful sauna/jacuzzi and steam room area. Fantastic massage - well worth a visit if you like spa's!Overall - we work hard and save hard for our holidays (and generally aren't accustomed to staying in many 5* hotels) and the extra's we paid for. we knew it was going to be expesive there and allowed for that in our budget. I feel we paid a good price for the week we were there. As it was after the school holidays and Ramadam, it was a lot quieter than perhaps it might be during peak times, which was great - However i wouldnt want to stay there during peak times of the year as i feel it would lose some of its 'luxury' or 5* feel. I am now saving hard to return same time next year!


doc_id: 286181370334096920429674115423495788110
title: lovely hotel
date: Sep 18 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
having read a few reviews, I was a little worried. However it seems to me that alot of the problems were teething ones that are now resolved. I expect this hotel will shoot up the rankings. From pre honeymoon to a month later it has gone up 20 places.We stayed for three nights as part of a twin centre honeymoon to the maldives.Flight: Emirates overnight good service only 6 hours in the air. Arrived Dubai early morning. Transfer time to the airport about 45 minutes and upon arrival at the hotel they checked us straight into a room. We booked a deluxe room and were upgraded 1 level to a room on the eighth floor. Decent size room. Everything you would expect. Breakfast included in our package which we had in the Saffron restaurant. Enormous selection. Eat as much as you can as it gets expensive when you have to pay!!!At lunch we ate at the poolside bar. Soft drinks/beers are all around 5. A burger and chips 11 which to be fair the burger was so good it was worth the money. A steak sandwich 20 ridiculously overpriced. Spagetti about 10. We tried both the Seafire steakhouse and Saffron asian buffet in the evening. Could recommend both. Will cost you around 120 for two including a couple of drinks and 3 courses at Seafire. Around 100 for the buffet and drinks at Saffron. In my view overpriced by about 20% but the food is excellent.We went to Mall of the Emirates. The hotel provides a free one way shuttle every couple of hours. This takes about an hour. We decided to get a cab and were there in 20 minutes for about 5. Enormous shopping mall with just about every brand you have ever heard of.Taxis are the best was around dubai. Instead of taking a tour I asked a cab driver how much it would cost take us to go and see the Burj tower and Burj al Arab and back to the Atlantis. Total price 15 for about an hours driving.The hotel is huge. To give you some idea how huge they run a shuttle buggy from one wing to the other! The interior lobby, walkways and view of the aquarium are all impressive and of course air conditioned! Yes it is scorching hot outside but you soon acclimatise and slow down.Overall experience of the Atlantis and Dubai. Ideal for a 3-5 night stay. Guaranteed good weather and first class facilites.


doc_id: 262000119214926211865884926447098145766
title: Not the family friendly hotel it portrays
date: Sep 18 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We have visited Dubai on many occasions and have previously stayed in the Madinat Jumeirah complex (Dar al Masyaf, Mina a Salam and Al Qasr). We decided to stay in the Atlantis as we have two young children (2 1/2 and 1 1/2) and thought that it would be nice to have a change.How wrong we were! We were extremely disappointed with the whole &quot;childrens' set up&quot;. There is not a specific kids pool, albeit the &quot;family pool&quot; slopes gradually like a beach. There is no shade whatsoever over the pool at all. The only shade outside the pool comes from a small canopy fixed on every sunbed. However, this barely covers your body when lying on it, so how on earth can you expect kids to just sit under it without moving???We had to hire a cabana, which I feel is a complete insult. This is supposed to be a five star hotel, not a two star in Spain (no offence to budget Spain but you know what I mean) and simple amenities like shade should be standard.Coupled to that, my wife noticed that there was a poo in the pool and she reported it to the staff. Nothing was done for at least fifteen minutes before we left.Aquaventure was also the same and, although you get free entry into the park, you then have to pay for towels and lockers and again no shade!The high chairs in the restaurants were mostly all broken (straps missing) and dirty. There did not seem to be any childrens menus nor childrens cutlery and crockery. No kids packs (crayons etc).The kids club was only open to four year olds and above and no parents were allowed in it! I can understand not being able to leave a young child but to not be allowed to take in our kids and use the facilities and look after them ourselves is ridiculous.The beds were incredibly uncomfortable and my wife and I had backache every morning.Finally, the hotel food and beverages were extremely expensive. I appreciate that it is not going to be cheap but I am comparing this to the Jumeirah hotels mentioned above.The only positive points were the staff were generally welcoming and attentive (although you expect this in Dubai anyway), the hotel was clean and smart, the food in the buffet restaurants was excellent, the rooms were nice (except the bed!).To summarise, I will not be going back and will return to the Jumeirah hotels above, which I cannot recommend enough.


doc_id: 328172891963707833607076630273728637049
title: welcome to the holiday of your life
date: Sep 17 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
&quot;welcome to the holiday of your life&quot; is what the porter who open the taxi door as we arrived at the atlantis said..and thats excatly how it was....i took my teenage son and his friend for his birthday and it was amazing!......we travelled around dubai staying in different areas but once we left the atlantis we felt depressed and just wanted to go back!the waterpark kept the boys entertained as i laid back and read my book on the quiet private beach...the rooms were spacious and luxurious except the bed which was a bit hard...we paid half board and i have never tasted such a variety of food that tasted so so good!i dont normally eat much but i often had thirds and five puddings!im so slim but would leave the resturant looking pregnant lol...the pool was open til 10pm which meant i could have a swim when the boys were at rush club which also was included...i have travelled around the world and would never normally return to the same place as there is so many places in the world to go but i will be returning in october as i loved it so much


doc_id: 275284358837447765768433647189004961339
title: Las Vegas without the casino.....expensive restaurants!
date: Sep 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed here after 10 nights in the maldives for 4 nights to finish off our honeymoon. Well...this is one big hotel. A resort all of its own which in my opinion is what you need in Dubai. Everywhere else you really need a car to visit anywhere if brave enough to venture into the heat or if you want something to do. We got upgraded at reception to an Atlantis room from the basic deluxe room but it was on the smoking floor...got the odd waft off smoke but not as bad as I expected. The room was lovely and overlooked the Royal Pool. The staff throughout the hotel were all lovely and friendly. We went during Ramadan so you are not to drink or eat in public during during sunrise to sundown. This was fine at Atlantis as the cafes and restaurants were still serving food and drink but no alcohol til 7.30. The restaurants are very pricey especially Ossiano but the food is fantastic and the service exceptional and highly attentive. The meal incidentally in Ossiano was amazing with a stunning view with a table by the aquarium window. We also ate in Seafire, Rostang and Nasimi which were all great. Seafire also had happy hour BOGOF on cocktails between 7.30 and 9.30 which is great given they were over 10 each. The aquaadventure is great fun - we did 2 afternoons there and the rapids that circle the whole park are great to just sit back and cool off. This is free to guests. We also did the dolphin deep water experience (my morals set aside briefly) which was lovely. Again the staff at both attractions are very friendly.If you are in Dubai the Atlantis is great because it has so much &quot;under one roof&quot;. There are shops much like the Las Vegas casinos (Tiffany etc) and a great ice cream parlour!


doc_id: 96653804013112151321955685617249078022
title: Atlantis Rediscovered
date: Sep 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This was our second visit to Atlantis after a disaster last year.I can only say the Hotel has certainly improved 100%.There are twice as many staff as before and all most professional.The service has improved a lot and staff are freindly and want to help you.The Marble Slab ice cream shop again excellent with good service and great ice cream.Restaurants in Atlantis are still very expensive although there are special deals in some, so they are obviously feeling the pinch.We went to Saffron on one of the nights which is a buffet reataurant. If you like desserts you will be in heaven with the largest chocolate fountain I have ever seen.The monorail is now working which will take you off the Palm to the main land but at around 5.00 each quite expensive.It would still be cheaper to go by Taxi which are all readiliy available.We had a really nice realxing week


doc_id: 326494951000730785854097809335876971026
title: Good facilities - Poor service
date: Sep 14 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
As a hotel for good family holiday, it is hard to fault. The water parks and Aquariums are the best I've seen. The Club Rush facility for older children is excellent although there is a small admission charge.The problem with the Atalantis is it gives the impression that it was designed because someone decided they wanted a massive hotel on the end of the Palm, and that is what you get. However the main swimming pool is in the shadow of the hotel from mid afternoononwards, the dining rooms do not have the capacity to cope with the number of guests and 30 miniute waits to be seated are not uncommon ( you do however queue infront of the huge aquarium so there is always something to see). It is a very good hotel that your children will love, but its not quite up to the standard of the other hotels in Dubai in it price group.Tips - Do the dolphin experiance - pricey but excellentDon't go down late for breakfast


doc_id: 137125094282197110256257723059570666487
title: The PLACE to BE in DUBAI
date: Sep 14 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Wonderful for KIDS, wonderful for stressed out adults, wonderful for luxury seekers.... The water park is fabulous for small kids as well as big ones. The aquarium is mega-impressive. The food is good and the choice overwhelming.... this will be your only source of stress. The service very good. Request the hotel plus water park package which comes out cheaper. DEFINITELY great for teens and children of all ages. Even the adults in the group enjoyed the water slides. The hotel rooms were excellent. The price however is a bit expensive but the stay was memorable.


doc_id: 55524101531796507445337980529387799513
title: brash
date: Sep 14 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Returned yesterday from Dubai, have holidayed there many times and like to try different hotels.We travelled economy with Virgin , plenty of leg room and even good inflight food. The Atlantis is just as I expected colourful and brash. Apparently we were upgraded to an Atlantis room form the deluxe we had booked, not sure of the difference but the room was big and comfortable. The pool area was fairly busy but plenty of sun loungers but no umbrellas, they use canaopies attached to the lounger, pretty ineffienct and impossible to shade both face and body from the sun. The sea was warm but cloudy, and the beach was mainly ground up ballast ( at least that what it seemed to me) not the white soft sand thats usual on Dubai beaches. I can see the hotel would appeal to families with children because of the Aqua adventure park and we did enjoy the Lost Chambers. We ate two evening meals in the hotel and ending up paying for neither as one was cold (served on cold plates too) and the other burned. Would I return to the Atlantis.. No.. Still think The Jumeriah Beach Hotel takes some beating!


doc_id: 229339026145213204145806400554079220611
title: WOW- will be your first words on entering this hotel
date: Sep 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Recently stayed for one week at Atlantis. On arrival, met with spectacle of the Main lobby, absolutely breathtaking, all very sparkly and clean. Check in was very efficient, and we were complementary upgraded to two connecting rooms with full balcony in the west wing overlooking the pool. The rooms are fabulous, large, luxurious and very clean. The bathroom with the large walk-in shower and separate bath was lovely. Lots of clean towels, bottle of water and fruit bowl daily.There appears to be hundreds of staff, all very polite and courteous. You cannot fault their attentiveness.The two pools are lovely and cool. There appeared to be lots of free sunbeds all with their own personal sunshade. Free beach towels (no limit to number per day) were used creatively to cover the shades to shield completely from the sun. Staff being on hand with cold towels was a nice touch. The beach was pristine, but too hot to sit on during the day. The sea was as warm as a bath, and the majority of people (approx 30 of us) swam in it late afternoon.The waterpark was great and enjoyed by all. Lots of sunbeds, although those situated close to the main entrance to the pool were taken first. Again very clean and staff/lifeguards every few feet. We tended to have lunch in the waterpark, the food is fine, typical of any theme park including the prices. Only grouch is having to pay for a locker key everyday- should be free to hotel guests. The lost chambers aquarium is amazing- better than the UK equivalent sealife centres. Open all day and up to around 11pm, so lovely place to pop into and cool off. Excellent informative staff. Tip- go in the evening as very quiet and you can spend as long as you like looking at the amazing spectacles.Food- Ate at saffron for breakfast. Open until at least 11am, busy but always escorted to table immediately on arrival by efficient staff. Lots of choice, catering for all tastes including European and Chinese.We ate at Saffron and Niasmi restaurants on one occasion each. At each the quality and choice of food was good. However we did find the prices quite expensive. Considering Saffron was a buffet, it cost 160 for 4 people, and that was a special offer of 4 dine, and pay for 3. Drinks were expensive 2.50 for a glass of coke, 9 for a glass of wine. Bottles of wine were from 25. Tip - take a taxi (5) into town or visit one of the malls and you can eat for a 1/3 of this amount.Would recommend Arabian Adventures- sundowner trip.4 wheeled desert safari, with meal and henna paining and camel rides. Excellent tour guide, really good fun for the whole family.A little disappointed regarding the shops in the hotel. The majority were designer jewellery shops selling items in their thousands, with only 2 selling goods at reasonable cost.The gold souk was also disappointing, went down late afternoon, felt a little unsafe, and we were continuously hassled by men selling fake bags. It made us feel we couldnt stop to look at anything and left quite quickly.The malls are excellent; however, we found on comparing prices, all goods were cheaper in the UK.Overall an excellent hotel, with very attentive staff. Excellent location and facilities. Excellent for a family holiday to Dubai.


doc_id: 240489533364741762218460209834342413378
title: The most amazing experience of my life. I wanted to cry when we checked out!!
date: Sep 12 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I have just arrived back from the Atlantis Dubai this morning, me and my friend spent 10 days and we had an amazing time, From the moment we walked through the door our jaws dropped to the floor. The hotel is stunning. This is ultimate in luxury there is not one thing i could fault about this hotel. We arrived to our room and they had upgraded us to a suite and it was MASSIVE.The hotel sparkles because it is always being cleaned, the staff just want to help you and you can tell they really enjoy working there. Threy bring you ice cold towels when you are hot and ice lollys when you are parched. Cant fault it!!The restaurants are yummy and yes they are expensive but you are staying in a 5* star hotel so you have to expect to pay 5* star prices. The water park is so good and as a guest at the hotel you can use this free off charge and as often as you wish. It is great for children and keep them entertained all day also there is a lifegaurd about every 6 meters at the water park. There is so much to do at this hotel we didnt feel 10 days was enough. We were lucky to view the suites that are under water and they are gorgeous if you have lots of money stay in one of them if you are extra rich then the presidential suite is to die for. I can say hand on heart if you go on holiday to the Atlantis you will have a fantastic time and for people to write anything negative about this hotel then i dont know where they have been staying as i can not fault a thing. We had a early morning flight and the hospitality lounge was great, with showers and resting areas to sleep this was perfect as we had to check out at 1pm. I hope this review has helped people and i hope you all have a great time at The Atlantis


doc_id: 51068725439689491421337272440283561823
title: Beautiful Hotel
date: Sep 11 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I was a bit worried about some of the negative review I read here about this hotel, but to my surprised I had a good time right from the time I arrived in the hotel and when I left. I was upgraded for free. The breakfast was very good I had breakfast at the Saffron restaurant; it is a bigger restaurant and had more variety. You are spoilt for choice. I enjoyed every moment. I visited the Kaleidoscope restaurant once; it is a smaller restaurant but also good but not much variety. If you like Lebanese foods go there. The staffs were friendly and very approachable. The kids love every minute and enjoyed the kids club. The Adventure Park was really good better than the Waterparks at the Jumeriah beach hotel. The only negative thing about the hotel is that it was pricey; imagine 56 Dirham (about 9) for two bottles of water for dinner at the Saffron restaurant however the buffer dinner was out of this world, I would say treat yourself after all we have one life to live or if you book through any holiday travels, book half-board it works out cheaper at the end or go the malls for dinner. I would have like if there was fruits everyday in the room like the Jumeriah Beach hotel but you are only give fruits on the first day of arrival. The family would like to go there again. The cold stone creamery is very good situated near the lost chambers.


doc_id: 156675986950314761750762718093235041280
title: great!!
date: Sep 10 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
was a bit concerned over some of the negative reviews, but we must have stayed at a different place, because we thought it was great. we were their on our 31st wedding avnniversary and the place staff and weather could not have been better ( well the prices could have been a bit cheaper 8 for beer!!) easist thing is to get one of the very cheap taxis and go up town and eat and drink there, The walk at JBR is good for both food and drink


doc_id: 310781676687971877734718585142225200124
title: Friendy Staff better stay that I expected
date: Sep 10 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I've watched the reviews for this hotel carefully over the months since it opening, and am happy to report that we had a much better experience than customers who went when it first opened.Check-in was very busy but efficiently managed. Lessons have obviously been learnt, with maps and a guide on restaurants/happy hours etc given to us on arrival so that we could take advantage of the best deals. Room was perfectly ok, although nothing amazing - I did however like the fact that the screen between the bath and bedroom could be opened so that I could watch the main TV whilst soaking in the tub.We had no problems with the bill on departure (following previous reviews we checked very carefully). It's definitely a good idea to eat relatively early to avoid queuing (this suited us best anyway) - the breakfast choice is particular was fantastic and I quickly got into the habit of having a mixture of eastern and western food for breakfast! We had a great time at the waterpark - my husband skinned his knees and every member of staff (lots!) asked if he needed assistance/plasters etc; we also used all of the different pools (and the beach) and enjoyed them all. My only 'complaint' is that the shades on the sunbeds do not cover the bottom of your legs which made it a little tricky to relax.Above all, the staff were extremely friendly and quick to smile - from the doormen, cleaners, restaurants, front desk and liftmen. This was a pleasant surprise and really made the stay more welcoming. Value was better than I expected as I'd seen reviews of a can of coke costing 7 - this frankly is complete nonsense. Yes it's more expensive than a lot of places but we had massive meals in the buffet restaurant for around 20 per person, and if you need more water in your room - just ask the staff, we had no problem getting more.


doc_id: 286436020680870484745736447266627601860
title: Best Holiday in a Long Time!
date: Sep 9 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My Father &amp; I visited Atlantis the Palm for 3 nights in August 2009. Despite looking at reviews that said Dubai was unbearable in the heat. We arrived at around 8am thinking that they would not have our room ready for us so we would be waiting around but they had a room and we went straight up. Staff where friendly and helpful and our room was wonderful. I would recommend getting a room facing the palm not the ocean as the view is a bit boring. As we stayed we had free access to the aquarium and the waterpark which were both excellent. There is also a long private beach for only guests to enjoy. Even though it was 40 degrees and higher everyday the heat was bearable for a short trip for some sun. As long as your by the pool or at the waterpark the heat is fine but make sure you wear flip flops to the water the floor will burn your feet. The hotel is nice and cool as it is air conditioned throughout. We didn't leave the hotel during the day and spent our time at Aqua adventure then by the pool, the water park was amazing and the staff are so friendly. The only thing is they could do with a few more water rides and finding the slides was a bit tricky. We could always get a sun bed by the pool which was also really helpful. The only negative point is that the food is quite expensive and is a lot cheaper outside of the resort. We usually ate in the water park in Shark Bites for lunch and had dinner either in one of the many restaurants or outside at a Mall. Also it is quite expensive to go to the waterpark and if we hadn't of got in free we would have only gone the once. The other thing is that both of the pools dont get deeper than about 2 metres which was annoying. We also did the shallow water dolphin experience which was amazing.On our last day our flight was at 2am and we had checked out and was worrying about what we would do with our bags and what we would do about showers as we had the whole day with no room. There is a place in reception to store your luggage and a hospitality room with large lockers to keep your belongings during the day until your departure. This was extremely helpful. There are also showers for you to use so after another day by the pool there was no need to worry about not having a room.Overall the stay was amazing, the staff where friendly and the food was good, but overpriced. I did not want to come home and I would definitely visit again.


doc_id: 55883990721109761956497637840296967903
title: good stay
date: Sep 9 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
we just back from atlantis the service at front house is not good ,The water park are good food is good but very expensive no free milk for baby very big hotel if you fan of waterpark is good i do not think is worth the money very expensive its oky for one time


doc_id: 32144312905122434941704679944156282747
title: Amazing
date: Sep 9 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Fantastic hotel, the buffet was the best I've ever seen and its my business to know. Staff incredibly nice and helpful. Its not cheap but you get what you pay for here. Kids facilities looked great. Water park was great fun. (We were on business trip really!) Would go back and recommend it as a top quality hotel.


doc_id: 217928342977605386066763386271541115635
title: Superb
date: Sep 8 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Expensive but excellent, get taxi from airport to hotel, buffet meals pricey but wonderful. Aquaventure great for kids, we loved it!


doc_id: 267351976751662437620664173308128190918
title: Amazing hotel and very friendly staff - 2 thumbs up.
date: Sep 8 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My wife and I just got back from Atlantis. We were there for our honeymoon and this was our first visit to Dubai. We stayed in the Imperial Club room on the 12th floor (same floor as the Imperial Lounge Club room). We arrived at the hotel at 8:30am, even though the check in was at 2pm, they set us up with a room and sent our bags up with no issues. This was a bonus as we were able to freshen up and enjoy breakfast after a long flight.The hotel is very very big, it was amazing. Our room was a nice size as well. I was very glad with the size of the bathroom, it was very spacious.The water park was so much fun. We stayed away from it on Friday and Saturday because it was very busy, the line ups were long and the lazy river was packed. The restaurants and bars were nice, a little expensive but what can you do.We had to leave the hotel at 7am in order to be at the airport on time. At this time breakfast would have just started, so we decided to order breakfast to our room for 6am. I was so suprised that room service knocked on the door exactly at 6am. I was totally impressed with the service at the hotel. The staff are very freindly as we were always greeted where ever we went.


doc_id: 231386921637521601297833736335035493852
title: What an amazing holiday!
date: Sep 8 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We have just returned from a 6 night break at the palm and it truly was amazing.When we arrived I asked for a room upgrade as we were there to celebrate my partners 30th birthday and they did this without any problem and we were put in the west tower on the 14th floor with a lovely view over the hotel pool and palm.The rooms were lovely and were cleaned twice a day, the beds were really comfortable with feather duvets and pillow's. You had an ice bucket in the room which you could go and fill up in the ice room which are on every floor. The mini bar in the room is a little bit expensive I paid 3 for a can of diet pepsi also I used the phone and it cost me 28 for a 6 minute call so I would advise using your mobile.On the evening of Terry's birthday the maid arrived with 15 beautiful red roses and she had made 2 swan's on the bed out of the towels and he was given a lovely cake and card in the seafire resturant.The food was really really good the best I've ever had and we have been to alot of places and this was by far the best, we went half board which was really good value because you had to have the breakfast but you could choose either lunch or dinner for your second meal of the day and both were really good and in the evening you had a choice of 4-5 resturants.The hotel is so clean and there is people cleaning it 24/7. The pool was lovely but we didn't buy drinks from the bar we bought the water down from the room and just got glasses of ice. When your around the pool in the day time they bring you iced flannels which was very nice given that it was 49 degress most days! The water park is amazing and we went there for 4 days out of the 6.In the evening we drunk in the nassimi bar as it was half price on a large sselection of drinks.The hotel staff are all so helpful and nothing is a problem, keeping the customer happy really is number one to them.The cold stone in the avenue's does the best milkshakes they are a little pricey at 6 but are to die for.I would reccomend getting your money changed up at the airport in Dubai as they give you a much better exchange rate than anywhere in the U.K also it is worth buying alchol to have in your room at the airport as it is dear to buy at the hotel and saves you a bit of money, we went to the Dubai mall whne we arrived and bought some coke, diet coke to use as mixers and crips for snack's which worked out cheaper than the U.K.I would highly recommend a trip to al karama for some good and cheap copies of handbags, clothes ect...Overall we had a really lovely time and would love to thank all the staff at the Atlantis for making our trip so enjoyable.


doc_id: 118164933487537762440661406956135136902
title: Beautiful Hotel!!! But Free The Whale Shark!!
date: Sep 8 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed here in June 2009. We splurged to spoil ourselves for the last 2 nights of our holiday. It was amazing! We stayed on the very top floor overlooking the palm and the views were fantastic! Check in and out was smooth and easy. The rooms were well appointed! Separate bath and shower in the bathroom, we had a separate space for the wardrobe area, and the service was impeccable!The only disappointment was the price to eat at the hotel, we had lunch once and spent approx. $20 AUD for one chicken and lettuce baguette, that we shared and both got a bit of a lurgy afterwards, you could tell it wasn't even fresh but for the price we paid we felt we had to eat it! From then on we ate at the Mall of the Emirates which was so much better (they have a shuttle there complimentary - prepare to wait an hour though as they do alot of backtracking to pick up from other hotels)On our last night we ate at Levantines in the hotel for an authentic Arabic mezze and that was great! We didn't mind splurging on the last night! But it was worth it!The final thing that I have to mention is the cruelty of holding a WHALE SHARK in captivity - they are endangered!!! It is bad enough that it is in a tank but it's the size of the tank that is the cruel part! THERE IS NO WAY AN ANIMAL THAT SIZE SHOULS BE HELD IN A TANK THAT SMALL!!! It may be deep but it only takes the animal less than 2 minutes to swim a full circle! I am in no way an animal rights activiist but it disgusted me enough for me to become one. Heartbreaking!


doc_id: 190705639493943465925786098357240668920
title: Great Holiday
date: Sep 7 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We have just returned from an 8 night stay at The Atlantis. From previous reviews I can say that I was a bit apprehensive about our trip, having previously stayed at Mina Al Salam.However, I cannot see what there is to moan about. But then again you cannot please some people!Check In - We arrived just after midnight and check in was swift and efficient, we were in our room and luggage delivered within 10 minutes of arriving. We were upgraded to an Atlantis room, which faced onto the Palm, with excellent views of the palm, Royal Pool and the Burj Al Arab. We were celebrating our wedding anniversary and my sisters 40th birthday, my sister was provided with a beautiful birthday cake and we were also left chocolates in our room. The balcony was small, but to be honest we only used the room for sleeping and changing.Room - the rooms were spacious and always well cleaned, the only thing that was missing was a toilet brush, although it certainly never crossed my mind to moan about it. We had turn down service every night, and were left water after they cleaned the room and also after turn down. The beds were large and extremely comfortable, the bed linen was simple but nice. The only thing I really missed was a dressing area with a dressing table, as there really was nowhere to plug your hair dryer in and sit and dry your hair, a small gripe, but it didn't spoil my holiday.Pools &amp; Sea - Both pools were nice, but we preferred Zero entry pool as it was much quieter than the Royal pool. Atlantis seems to have taken on board some previous comments, as they now provide cold towels at 12.30pm, iced lollies at 1.30pm and sun glasses cleaning at about 2.30pm....all free of charge.The sea was calm and lovely and warm, although very salty, but made floating very easy!!! there is a little bit of coarse sand just as you enter the water, but certainly not as previous reviewers have said, no way could you say it was pepples, and as for the jelly fish, I did see one small jellyfish, but also saw a child throwing sand all over it and the childs mother laughing at her sons actions....so i'm not surprised people are getting stung if this is how people are treating them....and bear in mind the sea is where they live!!!! and theres nothing the hotel can do about jellyfish being present in the Sea!!!Staff - All the staff were extremely friendly and everyone said good morning, good evening etc...We certainly had no complaints about any member of staff, and we had excellent service throughout our stay.....Service where service is due is what I say...Aqua-Adventure - We went most days and had a great time, it's certainly excellent if you have children as you can stay there all day. I have been to Wild Wadi and other water parks in the Middle East and this water park is just as good. The food in the Water Park is pretty standard for this type of venue - fast food - burgers, pizza's and wraps and french fries.....it's no different to any other water park in the Middle East...what do people expect???? a 5* gourmet meal???Restaurants - some of the Restaurants were pretty expensive, but the hotel had specials on every day, and the food in the Restaurants was no more expensive than the Restaurants at the Mina Al Salam. However, we only ate at one of the hotel Restaurants - Seafire, I had a lovely meal, however, my sister and my husband ended up with suspected food poisoning from this Restaurant....it may have been from the peppercorn sauce they both had, and my husband ended up not leaving our room for 2 days!!!Breakfast - This was included with our stay and always plenty of choice at Saffron and Kalaidoscope, we never once had any wait to be seated.General - Although the hotel is a little way out, taxis are cheap..just over 5 to go to Emirates Mall...and Madinat Jumeirah, there was 5 of us so only 2 return each, it was slightly more to go to Dubai Mall, but worth visiting just to see the water fountains. Some hotel guests did hang their washing over the balcony which did spoil the look when approaching the Hotel...and that is something the Hotel should address. I cannot say that we came accross any lager louts in the hotel and if people choose to wear football shirts it does not mean they are are a lout, and surely it is everyones preference on what they wear. We enjoyed our stay at The Atlantis and would consider returning, I would certainly reccommend this hotel to families, but if you are a couple wanting a quiet restful holiday this hotel may not be for you.


doc_id: 42057431046762348007657278978913725151
title: Good experience - but solely a one-time thing
date: Sep 7 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
First off, i love Dubai, i can't get enough of it. I have been 3 times in the last 2 years, and stayed at 3 different hotels, the latest of which was Atlantis. We got the Emirates business class offer and thus 2 nights at the hotel were free. As soon as you enter the hotel you are taken aback by the size of the lobby, and its grandure. tne theme is executed well, and the staff are curteous. Check in was swift and we went straight to the room. The rooms are nice, quite spacious, not overly decorated, and the bathroom was brilliant in my view. However, for a 5* in Dubai i would have expected the rooms to be larger. Concierge was very helpful with our queries, and the Avenues and the Lost Chambers are definately worth a visit. Breakfast was absolutely gobsmacking - such a wide array of brilliantly prepared food, including some of the best dim sum i have ever tried, and a chocolate fountain, accompanied with a bizzare choice of gummy bears and sweets, nevertheless nice. There is a good choice of cuisine for those who want to dine in the hotel, although pricey, its worth an experience. Levantine was very good, and the Shisha was well made, and Ossiana seems like a great experience, although i didnt ghet to go there.The fitness centre was absolutely first class, great choice of machines, with attentive staff.All in all, its a very nice hotel, however i couldnt see myself staying at this hotel again simply because there are far better hotels in Dubai.


doc_id: 275931439231335358547942626672319182721
title: Fantastic Hotel but dont use the mini bar..
date: Sep 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed at the Atlantis for Easter 09, It was fabulous, altho the room wasn`t as grand as Ithought it would it was very comfortable and we were overlooking the Giant Fishtank that they had in the lobby, this I absolutely fell in love with. We were able to look directly down into it and see the fish and sharks beeing feed. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The different resturants were amazing but be prepared for the expence. Also be careful when you check your bill as you sign everything to your room, we were charged for somebodys 1000.00 meal! you can check your bill via the tv in your room and I think its advisable to do this before you get to the checking out desk. I loved Dubai and would certainly use this hotel again. The water park was also amazing and free if your staying in the hotel.


doc_id: 144050129896508710860848907883002181020
title: Las vegas in dubai
date: Sep 4 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Wanted to stay on the palm, offcourse resulting in staying in the Atlantis.Nice place, new and incredible spacious. The room we got was above the aquarium (east wing). Absolute stunning. If yo go and like fish, go for these rooms. beautiful at night.The aquarium is mindblowing. Huge big, beautiful and with huge amount of fis. Big no is the whaleshark. Good that they rescued(?) it, but they should set it free asap. What are they going to do with it once it is 12+ meter.The hotel reminded me of Vegas, but with a very good quality and focus on the small details for the &quot;under water&quot; theme (expect the childish drawings on the ceiling: just go and see).Yes it a package hotel but bear in mind, breakfast, lunch and dinner are not cheap (and there are no local restaurants nearby)The lost chambers are funny, but I would not pay entrance fee. Definitely not worth it.Big problem we had was the complaint we had about the aquaventure. Lobby could not help, so we wrote a complaint on the spot. We did not get any reply (after 2 weeks). That is a big NO for a hotel claiming to be a 5*. I Find this very strange because the overall service is very good.


doc_id: 104460407258836448045503566380206394006
title: Nice Hotel - But Very Over rated - Stay Somewhere Else
date: Sep 4 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed in Dubai for 12 nights and stayed the last three nights at Atalantis. We also stayed at Le Royal Meridien (5 nights) &amp; Jumeirah Beach Hotels (4 nights).Check InAtlantis is visually a very impressive hotel. The first thing I noticed was that it was much busier than the other hotels we had been too. The lobby is huge and very busy (a lot of people look like they just come to have a look round). We arrived about 14:00 in the afternoon and check in was a very easy process. The lady was nice enough to upgrade us to a higher room (Atlantis room), however we were dissapointed that there were no Palm view rooms avaiable. We were given a magazine that provided information about the activities in the hotel. The room key was provided in a wallet that coul dbe hung around your neck that the kids liked, and there were also a couple people dressed as characters (dolphin and ocotopus) in the lobby that the kids were obsessed with.RoomOur room was in the west wing, which if your going to visit the water park frequently is a bad thing as it is quite a walk. The room was very nice for a standard room, we had two queen beds, a desk area, TV, minibar/fridge. There is a radio that you can attach your ipod/mp3 player which is very useful. The balcony was tiny (basically double doors with a rail outside), however at least there was somewhere to dry out clothes. The bathroom was very nice and probably slightly better than the other hotels. There is a seperate shower room, seperate toilet area, and a bath and sink area which has sliding double doors that open out onto the bedroom. This was useful as the kids could have a bath and watch the TV at the same time. Robes, slippers and toiletries were provided.On request we were provided with a DVD player but had to a sign an agreement to pay 500 dhirams (90) if something happended to it. We had to call back the IT team on several occasions to resolve a lot of issues with the TV and the DVD player. You get one bottle of mineral bottle per day.Room ServiceThe food we had in the room was generally expensive and of a low standard The chips I had were so cold and dry, but they were replaced quite quickly when we complained. We found that (unlike the other hotels) we had to pay for the kids meals - However they do provide potatoes and vegetables free of charge. The hotel even charge you for baby milk (15 dhirams - 2.50), which was free at the other hotels. Even after complaining about this they would not budge. Best thing to do is to top your babies bottles at breakfast as there is plently of milk on tap.A high chair was provided in the room on request, which we kept throughout our stay.What was very nice of the hotel was that they left us a box chocolates with a card in our room for our anniversary.House KeepingThe hotel were very slow in making our room. we found it was normally made about 4-5 o'clock in the afternoon which is completely unacceptable. They were very inconsistent in service as well.FoodWe had breakfast at the Saffron restaurant, which I must say was excellent. There is an enormous variety of different food available, but we especially loved the Dim Sum and the kids were obsessed with the chocolate fountain.We didn't eat lunch or dinner in the hotel restaurants as they were ridicously over priced. Much better to get a taxi to the emirates mall or to Jumeirah Walk residence where there are loads of nice restuarants at a much more reasonable cost. There is a free shuttle service available for the Malls however it is better to pay 20 dhirams for a taxi, as the route takes over an hour to get there.WaterparkThe water park at Atalntis is very good and some of the rides better than Wild Wadi. Entrance is Free. The kids area is very similar to Wild Wadi, however it is not as well supervised. We went to the waterpark every day and the kids throughly enjoyed it. Whilst in the park you can charge anything you buy directly to your room, which is useful. The standard of the food in the park again is very average. We ate lunch at three of areas and were not impressed with the price or the quality.The aquarium is Beach/PoolsThere are two pools at the hotel, which we used on one of the days. I found the water to be very cold, and there are no shaded areas for the kids. There is a small area that is very shallow for the children to play in. The beach is okay, but not what I would have expected. The sand as you enter the water is very stoney which is hard on your feet. Not ideal for children, the lifeguard told me it was because of the nature of the man made Palm Island. Jumeirah beach is much better, very smooth sand and lovely water.For the price they expect you to pay this hotel is very over rated. Staff always seemed very busy and were not as friendly as the other hotels. I got the impression that some of them were always looking for tips, and provided excellent service to those who tipped heavily, which was not the case at the other hotels. The hotel also seems to want to charge for every additional service they provided - you even have to pay over 100 dhirams every visit just to use the Spa.We received outstanding customer service at the other hotels we stayed at, against which Atlantis did not come close. The location of the other hotels was much better for Malls and Resturants as well. My recommendation if your going to Dubai with Kids is stay at the Jumeirah beach hotel, they are much more child friendly and the facilities are much better.


doc_id: 149399787202885123217661291779419287491
title: A great place to stay with the family
date: Sep 4 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We recently came back from a week long stay at the Atlantis and were more than happy with the resort. It my not be a five star in the sense of The Chedi Hotels, but for a family holiday you could not ask for more. We have two children, 11 and 14 and they absolutely loved it, so much so they want to book again to go back there next year. The hotel is pretty much geared towards families and there's plenty to keep the kids amused all day. The Aqua Park is free to hotel guests and is fantastic fun and very safe. We paid a little extra for the half board option and saved a small fortune. We mostly ate at the Kaleidoscope restaurant for breakfast and dinner (all included) and we never had one bad meal. The food was all served buffet style and was hot, fresh and chefs were waiting to cook anything extra you may want. There tends to be a queue for Breakfast but it soon goes down and we only waited max of about 15 minutes and that was when the hotel was pretty much full.We spent the week lounging around the Royal Pool and it was fantastic. The kids could just go off and do what they liked as there were so many lifeguards and security people to keep an eye on them. I would not recommend going in the sea as it was full of jelly fish and a few people had been stung during our stay.The Lost Chambers is also worth a visit, again free if you are a hotel guest. The kids loved it and so did the adults!Happy hour was from 9pm till 11pm at Nasimi Bar (far end of the resort) and is a fantastic bar, right on the beach, with giant Fatboy beanbags to slough on with your beer and a view out over the palm and the lights of Dubai.We stayed in the Atlantis family suite and it was very nice. The housekeeping was fantastic with as many towels as you needed, changed each day and clean bedding each day too, plus as much bottled water as you like. We never left the Atlantis for that week, but if you wish too, it is not expensive to catch a cab to the malls, or catch the monorail down the Palm.Drinks and food during the day and night were not expensive, but probably on par with a nice pub here, even better on happy hour! All in all I would definitely recommend this to families, maybe not for a couple who wish to relax and chill for a week, for that maybe try The Chedi in Muscat.


doc_id: 102547864356984574312925553545638817933
title: EXCELLENT HOLIDAY FANTASTIC HOTEL
date: Sep 3 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I was worried about the reviews before we left but it was amazing.Its a bit like the Venetian in Las Vegas, lots of marbel, loud in colour and very big.We went to the Burg Al Arab for lunch it is tacky looking and not what we expected not a 7 star. The Atlantis looks much better. We will be going back and had a great deal Upper class with virgin.FOOD. We paid half board which is a must as it is expensive, it cost us an extra 300.00 each for 2 weeks with Virgin. We found the Saffron the best, it's a buffet with all types of food:Chinese, Indian, Sushi, lots of different types of Fish, English, and much more.The breakfast starts from 6.30-11.30am. Evening meal starts at 6pm -12.30am.With the half board you can have breakfast and lunch or breakfast and evening meal. CLEANLINESS: It was spotlessSTAFF: Very polite and helpful, we always tipped them they are on very low money so I think we should tip.POOLS: The Royal pool is open until 10pm every evening, which overlooks the beach, lots of life guards all sunbeds have their own towels and a canapy, it's wonderful CABBANNAS/GAZEBO: They cost 28.00 per day and they have tables and chairs in bean bags a fan and the staff fill a cooler box with bottled water all day included in the price, this works out as a good deal as it's so hot.ROOMS: Excellent, spotless cleaned daily, marble bathrooms comfortable beds, lovely decor.GYM: Open from 6am until 10pm it was lovely.WATERPARK: Excellent the kids loved itDOLPHINS: Only half an hour with them but worth it, photos with the dolphins are expensive its cheaper to buy the C.D it costs 100.00.KIDS CLUB: Very expensive it cost us 600.00 each child for 2 weeks, they were in there from 8pm-11pm.WEATHER: Very hot in the 40's.DESERT SAFARI: 54 degrees, great if you like travelling across the desert for an hour and a half, the camels were good, food not good but thats not what we went for, it's a must, the whole trip takes about 6 hours.SHOPPING: The Dubai mall id the biggest in the world and the best in Dubai but it's no cheaoer then U.K.


doc_id: 73434554073018618312456194204735071919
title: Waste of money
date: Sep 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Usually stay at the One and Only! Wish we had on this occasion!We stayed with our children a teenager and 6year old.Very busy resort, poor service, terrible response to concerns:i.e 2300.00 eing deducted from our credit card for security - despite what others may say this was non-negoitiable! Even if we siad we wanted to pay everything in cash!At one of the pools there was no pool - side service had to walk across resort to the other bar order and collect our own drinks.Restaurants can use x2 ezxcellent choice of asian cuisine, oriental and indian little for the youner palate unless you wish to pay in addition to your half board supplement!Restaurants required a reservation - still a 10-20 minute minimum queue ensued, no order to organisation.Staff were harassed notably because there were few of them (workforce depleted by 50% we were told), hotel was fully booked vacant rooms had been sold to 'budget holiday companies'Did not expect 2* standard in what cannot e a 5* resort, and I have stayed in a few. Never have I been so disappointed for my children, and myself that we wasted 8000.00 on what was a sub standard holiday.


doc_id: 276734116993492939919749798916749551920
title: Wow With a twist!
date: Sep 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We have stayed all around the world, staying at the Atlantis was very nice. Our first room was infested with ant's due to the heat!!! so we were move to suite which was very lovely fresh fruit and bottled water every day. The food was nice plenty of choice however very expensive!! We were half board so not to bad for use as we had paid upfront. We rang for room service as the children had come down with flu like symptoms, my son ordered chip's which cost 45 AED which was about 8.00, drink's around the pool were 25 AED which worked out at 4.00/4.50 that was for a coke. So take a bottle of water with you!The water park was great for the children and very safe with life guard all around the rappids and the pools, the water was not deep and again very safe. The hotel was very big, you never seen the same people twice! Very clean as we thought until both the children came down with viral infections and had to spend all day at the hospital, consultant gave my granson tamiflu and a swine flu leaflet saying they have lot's of cases!!! we spent 3 day in our room, we are not sure if they picked it up from the Royal beach water edge or from the water park! We will never know, I will say you must be careful with the water inside the water park and at the beach. I have came back with flu like symtoms, so I fear there is something in the water or and the air!!! as we went out there all very healthy and came back all very pooly!!! however I have never stayed in a hotel like it!! with all the activities and every thing at hand you dont have to leave the hotel if you dont want to, you can spent a whole week just looking around the hotel grounds.


doc_id: 104712157940336723327640071569757147941
title: Excellent time had by all
date: Sep 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
First of all, the Atlantis looks amazing. It's a little way out but it's worth the journey. The hotel is very clean - you see people constantly cleaning all the time. The staff were incredibly friendly. The facilities are fantastic. The pools were lovely and the Aquaventure park and Lost Chambers (inclusive for hotel guests) were enjoyed by all. The aquarium is stunning and if you have the money to spend, the shops are great too.All in all, we had a fabulous time. Our kids (8 and 4 years old) loved going to the pools and the Aquaventure park whenever they felt like it. One pool was open until 10pm (8.30pm for the other), the water park was open late too, which made balancing activities a lot easier.My only minor gripe was the expense of dinner at the restaurants, but that didn't matter as we ate out most nights. Breakfast was included with our room and the food at Saffron (mixture buffet of Indian, Chinese, Japanese, American/British food + cakes, pastries, chocolate fountains etc) served us well for breakfast and lunch in one. The other breakfast option of Kaleidescope has a smaller range but is no less impressive.The rooms were a good size and well spec'd - we had a balcony with loungers overlooking one of the pools, which was great. Other facilities included a conference centre, business centre, and a great gym.I would not hesitate to recommend this hotel for anyone visiting Dubai. It suits families, couples and business people alike.


doc_id: 14474751271514585048947033167762125694
title: Overpriced and overrated!!
date: Sep 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I am going to be completely honest here, and i know everybody's review is personal to themselves, but here goes.....My family and i were really looking fwd to out 4 day trip to the Atlantis, as we are seasoned travellers to Dubai. The kids love the place, i love the weather and the glamourous nature of the luxury hotels etc.When we were driving up to the hotel, i felt no rush of excitement. as i have previously..just disappointment! Maybe because it is relatively new, it just felt not finished off. Before arrival, i emailed the hotel explaining that we had three small children, and if they had any availabily to keep a room for us on arrival at 7am in the morning, i would be very grateful. When we walked into the reception area, it was packed!! You couldn't move! My husband waited 50 minutes to get checked in, and suprise suprise, we didn't get a room, but funnily enough, my husbands parents did, and so did a few others! We just used their room to get changed in, until i realised that my suitcase was missing, and we had received two bags that weren't ours!!It took 3hrs to locate everything.When we choose to go away, we do not wish to holiday at 5 star hotels, in dubai, with people dressed in football shirts and lager louts. Unfortunately, this is what this hotel is....a package holiday resort. The rooms are ok, but nothing special, the restaurants are tremendously expensive, (went to nobu and this cost us 250 for the two of us!!) and drinks are ridiculously priced. The water park is the best thing, but not better than wild wadi.If you are thinking of going, stay somewhere on the Jumeirah side, honestly, i'm not joking, far better views, service etc.


doc_id: 67828508597171267656900240501813068690
title: Fab hotel
date: Sep 1 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We went to Atlantis with some trepidation as some of the reviews were pretty negative.Admittedly when we arrived at 10am in the morning we hoped that we would be lucky and get checked in although to be fair we had been told that you could not check in until 2pm. We were unlucky and did not get our room until 2.30pm but to be fair we were asked if we wanted our swimming stuff so that we could use the pool/aquaventure and we decided not to...in hindsight we probably should have so that we could have spent the afternoon in the sunshine. The hospitality room is great though, free snacks and drinks, TV etc. We went and explored the shops and the Lost Chambers which wiled away the time.We came across the Director of Guest Services and she was upset that we had not got our room on time....she was absolutely fantastic and sorted us out in mega quick time, we also got upgraded as compensation and the room was AMAZING!!The hotel was spotless, people continuously cleaning, the staff were so polite, always a 'Good Morning' or a 'Good Afternoon', Aquaventure was great and you needed to be in the water most of the time as it was hot, hot ,hot. Food was great, as much and whatever you wanted. Our two boys loved Club Rush with the PS3s, XBOXs, Imacs, Wiis etc. they made some great friends and it got them out of the sun for a couple of hours each day.I really do think that some people have to moan for the sake of it, hence the negative comments on tripadvisor.I would recommend this hotel to anyone with kids..maybe not for couples, but even so the bars (although expensive) are fabulous and very decadent and there are enough restaurants for every budget. The spa was beautiful. The ice cream parlour is FABULOUS and the guys in there are very entertaining!!I would definitely recommend this hotel, it is large and some people have said that it is very busy and noisy, maybe we were lucky but it certainly was neither when we went, it was absolutely perfect. FANTASTIC!!!!!


doc_id: 210348709728864456763400988957919047952
title: Fun glitzy over the top - not a luxury boutiqe hotel but great in its own way
date: Sep 1 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed two nights at the Atlantis. The hotel is glitzy in a Vegas way. Check in was quick and efficient - they could have given us better orientation information but perhaps with such a big hotel it is better to give you a map and let you wander, especially given that there are staff about every 5 metres who will direct you.The room was nice enough, decent bath and shower, comfortable bed, good TV, small balcony with ocean views. We agreed with other reviews that it could have been a bit cleaner, but it was fine. The real attractions for us were the aquarium and waterpark which are both really great.We liked Levantine which serves excellent Lebanese food for reasonable price (20 a head for set menu with way too much food). We also ate at the Locatelli restaurant - the food there was no better than Pizza Express and was shockingly expensive for the low quality. Don't go there.It's not a place to go for a cultural experience but it is a great place for a bit of fun and relaxation.We had a good deal on B&amp;B rate of less than 70 per room per night. The rack rate is above 300 which would make this a very expensive stay and not value for money.


doc_id: 160167750899809438451261967664111542232
title: Useless Place
date: Aug 31 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
It is not what you expect from a 5* rated property. I had gone to celebrate my wife's birthday and had requested for a cake as a surprise fro her. The cake came in 3 hrs after we had checked into the room. The employess helping customers in the lobby could have been trained better. The employees attending to us at the Lebanese restaurant were extremely rude. The only thing good about this place is the quality of the Food/Drinks and the location. A complete overall of the way the employees treat you at the hotel is required. I never ventured in to the Aquaventure (it was included in the room tarrif) as I had heard horreid stories of the way the slides have been maintained. And to top it up I was charged AED 50 as car handling charges even though I spend a night at this place.


doc_id: 318796693724857430592283032265115117249
title: would not consider it a five star
date: Aug 30 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed for six nights and were expecting top class service from this new five star. What we got was a mix of good and bad. Our first night was good with the staff being very attentive but it went downhill from there. We received a fruit bowl which was never replenished although we got to look at our neighbours mouldy fruit that was left outside their room all day by the cleaning staff!, we had to ask to get the minibar filled up (was completely empty!) and did not have fresh water every day in the room as stated. The light in the shower went out and we had to wait 24 hours for it to be fixed and the toiletries were not always refilled. The rooms were very nice thoughand reasonably clean. We had to queue for breakfast most days which was a bit annoying,The other irritating part about this hotel was the total lack of adherence to dress codes-we did not enjoy watching other guests wandering around the hotel wearing swimwear or dressing gowns from the rooms! The water park was great but very busy in the afternoon. Overall a great holiday if you have children but not somewhere if you don't or are looking for a bit of luxoury.


doc_id: 333569071777789629549858088507682987692
title: Fantasic AWESOME Can't wait to return.
date: Aug 29 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I am a single mother and have just returned from Atlantis with my 11 year old daughter. We stayed for 5 nights and had the most fantastic trip ever. Having booked the hotel I was a little worried about some of the negative comments on here, but I needn't have worried the holiday was perfect from start to finish. I can understand why some people compare the hotel to Vegas, it is a vast hotel, if you are looking for small and intimate then this is not for you, you are unlikely to make new lifelong friends in this hotel as you never see the same people twice.We checked in at 8.00pm, there were no queues and we were immediately welcomed by warm friendly reception staff. Rooms were spotless, cleaned everyday, and housekeeping called again every evening to see if we required any fresh towels or anything else, There was fresh fruit in the room when we arrived and 2 large bottles of water put in everyday. The mini bar IS expensive, but find me one that isn't, there are shops and bars downstairs however for cheaper drinks and snacks. Every member of staff we came into contact with went out of their wat to be friendly and helpful.Both my daughter and I loved the aquapark which is free as hotel guests, and the dolphin interaction (for which you pay extra) was an amazing experience.The food is expensive too, my daughter loved Saffrons, the buffet restaurant, we had read breakfast was expensive and took a couple of boxes of cereal bars with us and as we are quite late risers, this kept us going with a cup of coffee and a piece of fruit until lunchtime!!If you are looking to see a more cultural side of Dubai then perhaps this hotel is not for you, but if you want luxury, fun, sun and great food then I would highly recomend it. We both had the time of our lives.(The beaches are beautiful, but there are reported Jelly fish incidents, but with so many pools, plus the aquapark, you can have plenty of water fun without going in the sea)


doc_id: 277444524189526171861650415988341292632
title: Well be back next year!
date: Aug 28 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Have just returned from 5 nights at the Atlantis. Best holiday ever- After reading some of the comments on tripadvisor was open minded before we went, I was a bit worried as it was an expensive 5 day trip-paid 2300 for 5 nights Half Board (Destinology)but I can honestly say it was money well spent. No queue at check in-was given a room within 5 mins of arriving, in West wing in a deluxe room overlooking the swimming pool/beach.Lovely room, with 2 Queen size beds, plenty of room.We had a choice of 5 restaurants to eat in on the Half Board option. Fantastic breakfast &amp; ate every night in Kaleidoscope Restaurant as we enjoyed it so much. We went to the Waterpark every day, which suited us as I got to sunbathe/swim &amp; go on rides whilst my husband &amp; 10 yr old daughter stayed on the reides/lazy river all day! It was so convenient having the waterpark there-you didnt even have to walk there, they took you on a golf buggy ! (The waterpark would have cost 100 a day). We drank in happy hour each night which was different times in the different bars.We bought some drinks for our room from Duty Free on arriving at the airport which was a good idea, tip for next time is to take lemonade etc-was spending 2.50 on cans of 7up.We charged everything to our room over the 6 days and our bill was 200 which wasnt too bad. Food is relatively cheap in waterpark-approx 1.20 for french fries. Looking forward to the monorail being fully operational when we go back next year. All in all a fanastic holiday that we couldnt fault!


doc_id: 176007769843085480044085351689163508412
title: Did not want to come home
date: Aug 24 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I read all the negative comments on this hotel which made me uncertain about my choice but have just returned from 4 fabulous nights there.Rooms are lovely with a good supply of toiletries and a bowl of fresh fruit which is replenished every day along with large bottles of complementary water. The hotel is spotlessly clean and all the staff are very helpful, the food was excellent in all the restaurants that we tried.Lovely peaceful beach no shortage of sunbeds or beach towels, the water is warm and clear, I did get stung one day by a jelly fish but the life guard and paramedic were with me in minutes to treat the sting.The drinks were not expensive and at happy hour every evening were cheaper than in my own local very nice glass of wine only 3.I am not really a water park person but am so glad I spent one afternoon there cant remember when I have had so much fun and they are very safety conscience lots of lifeguards.


doc_id: 13654476837898294867727042144672846000
title: Great for young kids.
date: Aug 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Check in took half an hour but with a small complaint we were upgraded to a regal suite which was lovely with great views. Stunning lobby but a bit tacky if you're just looking for a luxury break. Pool was situated well, shaded at the right times and not too deep for the kids. Definitely got that &quot;Wow&quot; factor if you're looking to stay just one or 2 nights, might get a bit too much for any longer.


doc_id: 55707133701061882582139038188076547623
title: Great for kids
date: Aug 22 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Atlantis,Dubai.13.8.9-21.8.9 2 adults and 4 children (4,8,15 and 18)I was going to do a 100 page review,but was told by the Mrs to just do a basic one,so here it is.......At the airport our cars were over a hour late,and at 7am could not get through to that company,thanks best at travel !!!Check in,we were well before the 2pm check in,the hotel tried there hardest to get our 2 rooms asap,we were in our rooms for about 11.30.Rooms ok,clean tidy etc.Poolside,book a cabana for your full stay,only 82 for the whole day (IC rate) this includes 12 bottles of water cold wipes kids toys.Service at the poolside is very very slow,my advise is give them a 100 or 2 on your first day,and they will look after you.The service in Saffron was terrible.worse than school days ! Again I myself would rather eat elsewhere.Food in general is good.Yes things are expensive,but I notice most of the people who moaned about the cost knew what the prices are,simple dont go ! Beer is NOT 25 a pint like some people say,it costs just 8 and three bars do a happy hour,50% off,also IC offers free drinks between 6pm and 8pm Dolphins,again a tad on the expensive side,special offer at the moment of just 525 for the shallow water,pictures cost us 1000 !!! this was for 6 photos 1 frame and a poster plus all the pictures on a disc.Keep an eye on your bill as they have a bad habit of adding things to it,they added internet at 300,this is free on IC basis,took them 5 days to take it off !!Kids club,mad.....cost us 380 for 2 hours !!! Club rush (12-17) just 35 but free (IC basis) in the day.Waterpark,good if you like that sort of thing,and the kids loved it.All in all it was a good holiday,more so for the kids not the adults,would we go again,yes but only if the kids were with us.In general it is expensive which I only moaned at once (dolphin pix) but I knew the cost of food drinks etc before we went,if you cant afford it don't moan and don't go !Simples.


doc_id: 10492093121594534523101915075776059492
title: Atlantis or..titanic
date: Aug 20 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
it has been a sort of two days nightmare the ones just spent there , but it was a promise surpirse for my daughter's birthday and we stick to it.Coming from the quitely atmosphere of Grosvenor House once we reached this sort of caravanserraglio we were shocked by the sense of Las Vegast Kitschy no service look we found .It was my daughter's birthday, I informed the hotel by mail before coming and I reinded them when I checked in but of course noone remembered, not even a piece of paper wishing her happy birthday. The Hotel is a huge structure made with what it looks as a just profit idea, all elements , decoration , services, staff are really low quality minded , remarkably in a town as Dubai where service is normally king.Rooms are poorly furnished and unsufficiently sound proofed , personal are quite unusufficient in terms of numbers and of professionality. Prices for everything here are quite high compared to the service and quality you are paying for .It is hard for me to understand how serious chefs as Santi Santamaria, Nobu and Giorgio Locatelli may have accepted (money doesn't smell) to put their name and their menus...in such a circusYes there is a nice children minded aquapark (my daughter and us enjoyed it very much ) but it is more adviceable to stay in another structure and just come and spend one day at their aquaventure without having the harassment to stay in a place where the only good feeling you get when you leave.Yes there is a huge acquarium inside that makes everybody say WOW but that s all the rest is purely a sense of nothing filled with tasteless objets.They called it Atlantis , better would have been Titanic,both have to do with the water but the latter one describes better the feeling


doc_id: 110035657229841982471511423632375861153
title: Amazing resort
date: Aug 20 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Here's a review from a working-middle class Scot, who by his own admission is tight with his cash, but does enjoy a bit of luxury!I paid more for my trip than I would a normal holiday and was worried by the variance in opinion for this hotel. First of all, this is luxury meets Disneyland and bizarrely combines sophistication and class with a very laid back feel. If you want exotic go to the Maldives. If you want 'posh' and pandering to your every whim try the Burj al Arab. (If you don't like clothes on balconies (as some reviews state) get a grip!)In summary, the hotel is stunning. Yip, it's a tourist arraction too, is a little busy at times, but take it as a compliment. The waterpark is tremendous and safety is a high priority here, on the beach and at the pool - lifeguards galore. Staff at the hotel are very attentive, pleasant and sincere. Yes, sometimes you need to ask for things to be done - personally I prefer this as opposed to the in-your-face, looking-for-a-tip type service which does nothing other than annoy me. There are moans about slow service, however this is a combination of the relaxed attitude of staff and the nonsense some guests are wanting them to do. We had to wait 6 hours for our room (arrived at 7am), but the hospitality suite was great - free snacks, UK newspapers (for that day), immaculate shower/changing area, seats to catch up on some sleep.Rooms are very nice. I was in a deluxe room, which was the most basic. Probably, stayed in 'nicer', but this was more than adequate. Good size (although some people said too small if you had kids), well equipped, huge bed, comfortable, lovely bathroom. Cleaned twice a day.Potential downside is on-site costs. I got a great half-board deal which made value for money excellent. However, if you are looking to eat dinner at one of the buffet restaurants you are looking at 40 per head per night (breakfast is about 25). This is in fact good value for what you get (the food was amazing), but remember to factor this cost before you go or book. On-site soft drinks are not cheap, but about what you'd expect. Alcohol, likewise - bit more than UK prices. Mini-bar - total rip off, but show me one that isn't!So why are some people complaining? This place IS luxury, but perhaps of a different sort. As I said before, it's relaxed. If you are looking for the silver spoon service you may feel let down. I did hear a number of guests complaining: it was too hot - Dubai in August normally is; pool too busy - coollest place about; jellifish in the sea - that's where they live. Others may disagree, but attitude has a lot to do with the overall experience.Oh and a tip - pineapple ice-lollies are free! I did not learn this until my second last day - gee, the additional value for money I could squeezed out of that had I known! Feel free to ask any other questions. I loved this place, the food and the people and would definately go back - assuming I got a good deal...but then that's how I shop!


doc_id: 157867982934419899798089289392517495027
title: A brilliant hotel and can't wait to return!
date: Aug 18 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I stayed 3 nights at the Atlantis in August with my husband. We checked in very late (2am) so check in was very quiet and took only 5 mins to get us sorted. We stayed in a deluxe room in the West Tower with a very big balcony and had lovely views over one of the swimming pools and the Dubai shoreline. The room was fantastic, very spacious with flat screen TV, iPod docking station, huge king size bed, huge bathroom with lovely amenities, ironing board, hairdryer and a safe. It was very clean and comfortable although the balcony was very dusty as were the sunloungers and table but not really something to complain about.Breakfast was included in our rate so we dined in the Saffron restaurant. The choice was unbelievable and it was very tasty, I have never seen such a spread for breakfast and there is even a chocolate fountain!! The only downside to this was as the hotel was full we had to queue for a table (about 15 mins). The chefs did come down the queue offering croissants and pastries to the guests but it was still disappointing that we had to wait. Everybody has to declare their room number on entering the restaurant which has to be checked on the computer so this seemed to result in the queues. Something needs to be done by the hotel to stop this from happening as its not what you would expect of a 5 star hotel.We spent the majority of our stay in Aquaventure which is free to all hotel guests so we took advantage of that. What is even better is that you can charge all drinks/food etc in the park to your hotel room so you don't need to worry about carrying money around. The waterpark is great fun, especially as the temperature was in the high 40 degrees. The slides are great fun as is floating around in rubber rings on the rapids that circle the park. The shark attack and leap of faith are 2 slides which have exits through a fish tank including sharks and rays and is pretty spectacular and a definite must. On Thursdays in the summer the park is open until midnight culminating in a massive firework display which is amazing and well worth seeing.The Lost Chambers are well worth a visit as again this is free for hotel guests. The amount of fish on display is amazing and I never got tired of watching the fish. There is even a whale shark! Amazing. The area did get pretty crowded though as this section of the hotel is open to non-hotel guests but does quieten down in the evening.There are a huge number of restaurants in the hotel and we chose to eat in Levantine which is a lebanese. We opted for a buffet which was great value for money as the a la carte menus in all the restaurants were pretty pricey. I also sampled the room service, and again, although pricey, was very tasty.There are 2 pools in the hotel grounds with plenty of sun loungers although some more shaded areas wouldn't go a miss. The sun loungers have their own shades but don't offer that much shade to be honest. Drinks around the pool were expensive about 3/4 for a pepsi! I think that free water and cold towels should be on offer to guests as other top end hotels do.Overall, we really enjoyed our stay in the hotel and we will definitely be returning. The staff were friendly and helpful and although the food and drink was expensive, we had lots of fun and for us that was the main thing!


doc_id: 147881027415584234703231003706515091969
title: What a let down!
date: Aug 17 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed at the Atlantis for the last 2 nights of our holiday, having spent 8 nights at the Dar al Maysaf. Firstly the hotel, which looks stunning in photos and from a distance is actually an eyesore close up - a huge pink tower block, with adornments of guest's swimwear nicely displayed on the balconies!!Check in is a nightmare, the lobby is huge but there is no clear signage as to where to check in and the staff are no where near as friendly, professional or approachable as the Jumeriah complex! I was hard pushed to see any member of staff smiling. As per other reviews our room was not ready until about 3pm. Our room was very nice but not clean - very dusty, with a recent showering of smarties left on the floor. Oh and several hairs in the bath tub! Our room also did not get cleaned until 4pm on both days.The pool areas were very busy with constant bassy music playing - very distracting if you just wanted to lie back and relax! There are no parasols, only sun loungers (not very comfortable) with attached shades, however these dont really provide enough shade. Also the pool was really quite chilled. Yes it very hot, but with the pool at the Dar al Maysaf it was refreshing to get in to but the Atlantis pools were a bit too chilled.On the up side the aquarium and Lost Chambers in the hotel are very good - although outside visitors mean the hotel is always busy. Aquaventure, the water park was very good, I would say has the edge over Wild Wadi.If you like big, brass, loud and busy hotels - knock yourself out, if you prefer the opposite - please try the Dar al Maysaf or Al Qasr!


doc_id: 28936406491630536158116626439530326067
title: A MUST...
date: Aug 17 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Very mixed reviews about the ATLANTIS on t.a.we went with friends for a 3 day get away and we were blown away.ok it is crazy in reception -{but its huge the hotel} but the rest was awesome.you must remeber this hotel caters really for familys hence the Aquadventure which was amazing...its not a honeymoon spot hence -quiet.we have been to Dubai several times and stayed at the one and only.....al quasr...and the desert retreat Al Maha which was just unreal...different hotels for different types of holidays.People saying its to expensive the food in the hotel...dont understand that,,...anyway just jump in a taxi and go to Madinet souk...they have many restaurants with all different types of prices...we had a great time and the Aquarium was just unbelievable....its a must...!!!


doc_id: 338344974801733693176674451864971705049
title: Awful service amd not worth staying there but great to come and visit for the day!
date: Aug 17 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We had an awful experience at the Atlantis. We had booked two rooms, one which was given to us on time and the other was given to us at 8:30pm-which basically meant that we missed half a day of having our room. The worst thing was, nobody informed us that our second room was even ready and when we went to complain the manager said it was ready at 5pm, so I was like why didnt you call us/leave a message, he had no answer!! Our check out time was increased, which was nice of the hotel. We came back from a day out only to find somebody else (another guest) in our room, WITH OUR BELONGINGS IN THERE! I am just amazed how a 5* can allow this to occur, we were lucky that the guest had not taken anything/rooted through our belongings, but this was just awful. The manager's response to this awful experience was: &quot;we are currently in a recession and have had to drop our rates&quot;-basically saying the service is not up to standard because of this recession, what rubbish!! The waterpark is great, I think if your not a guest its around 35-200dh. We ate at the buffet restaurant i think it was called kalaedascope?! But it was great, really worth it and not that expensive. I would not recommend anyone to stay here, the rooms aren't even that great to be honest..but i would come for the day, well worth a visit!!Also, be aware that the hotel is on the palm, not a great deal to do/eat, but it only costs like 4 to get off the island but then extra to go from Jumeriah to wherever you want to go!


doc_id: 323591001499637727764809196834864960549
title: FANTASTIC TIME - AMAZING RESORT!!
date: Aug 17 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We finished our first trip in Dubai with a couple of days at Atlantis &amp; WOW!! We arrived at approx 11.30 and our room wasn't available - check in was quick &amp; the staff helpful &amp; we were told that they would try &amp; make the room available ASAP. Shorlty after 13.00 I went back to enquire on the progress &amp; the room allocated still wasn't available but they offered us an alternative room - I asked for one overlooking the pool &amp; that wasn't a problem. We had booked an Atlantis room which are on floors 5 &amp; above &amp; we were allocated one on the eighth floor of the West Tower with an amazing view over the pool area! Luggage was brought promptly &amp; we were given an induction to the room by the bell boy. The hotel itself is fabulous &amp; the glass sculpture in the lobby stunning! The aquarium is at the East tower of the hotel &amp; also quite a feature but fairly busy. I noticed that the lobby &amp; aquarium areas were particularly busy during the day but a lot quieter in the evenings which I assumed was due to the fact there were alot of non-residents during the daytime just in for a look around. The staff however are fairly strict on access &amp; ask for proof of residency to access a number of areas including the pool/outside areas. The Lost Chambers is complimentary to residents &amp; passes 30 minutes (we done this while waiting for the room). The Water Park is good fun - compared to a normal pool - and passes the day fairly quickly. It is also manned with a significant number of lifeguards so is very safe even though none of the water is particularly deep anyway. Queue for the Leap of Faith - not surprisingly - was very long and in addition to this there are about 4 water coasters (like the one in Disney's Typhoon lagoon) but they're all very similar &amp; another flume ride that exits into the aquarium. There are also rapids &amp; a couple of routes round the lazy river - one with waves which is really fun! It's very handy that as a resident you can charge everything to your room so no need to carry any cash at all! The water park can be quite a trek back to the hotel but if you're lucky enough you may get picked up by the helpful staff in the little golf buggies!! We had dinner in Saffron (Buffet restaurant) which was superb - variety was amazing, everything from Lobster, Oysters &amp; Sushi to British, Chinese or Indian fare, not to mention the selection of sweets &amp; the chocolate fountain - quite literally something for everyone!! We also had breakfast in Saffron which again was super - great selection - only thing lacking was the service..I'm still waiting on the pot of coffee!! We also ate at sharkbites in the waterpark - very good burger &amp; fried chicken for about 10 each but 7 for a &quot;tuna&quot; baguette was ridiculous - it was half a baguette &amp; the tuna was spead thinner than a layer of butter!! Another good feature is the hospitality lounge where you can check in after check out &amp; still use the hotel facilities as well as having shower facilities to freshen up, tea/coffee/water &amp; snacks and a lounge/rest area to relax in if you have a late flight. A good selection of shops but none particularly busy except for the souvenir shop as the majority are fairly high end jewellery stores! We also liked the fact that altough the pool closed at a particular time &amp; lifeguards went off duty you could still use it in the late evening if you wanted. Overall fantastic, fun, beautiful hotel &amp; I would definintely return - yes it's expensive but that's to be expected!


doc_id: 168927938667790058334019836213142538759
title: Didn't meet my expectation
date: Aug 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
After spending the most 10 wonderful nights at the One and Only Royal Mirage, we transferred to the Atlantis for our last 4 days and from the minute we arrived it was a disappointment. After having the most wonderful and attentive service for 10 days it was a shock to arrive at such a busy and unorganised reception. We had to wait 40 minutes to check in and from then on it was an up and down experience. The hotel is very unpersonal and the staff are not attentive like at the One and Only. It is very overpriced and like a previous person mentioned, it is full of chavs. We were used to paying a lot for wine and drinks at One and Only, but at the Atlantis it is overpriced and they are always trying to make you buy more. The lunch especially at the pool/beach bar was very expensive and poor quality. The main issue for me is that you had to pay for water around by the pool, which was free at the One and Only. One small bottle of water was 3 and in the heat of 40 degrees plus you would've thought that it was in the hotel's interest to keep you hydrated. The food in the italian restaurant was particularly expensive, especially when they overcharged our party of friends and children by 50. There are a few good things. The aqua park is fun and the firework night on a Thursday is excellent. The hotel rooms were nice too. I would not recommend you go to this hotel unless you are happy to be sat around a pool cramped alongside lots of people. The Saffron restaurant was like a Butlins restaurant or as our friend said 'a staff canteen'. The breakfast was excellent with lots of choice, but again no personal service. If you didn't set your alarm and get down to breakfast for 9 am then you were in for a long queue. Glad we tried it for the children's sake, but won't be returning. They need to sort out their service if they want repeat business. We were a party of 8 adults and 6 children and none of us will return.


doc_id: 281479291688697802897742461996433555175
title: Always stay at the Jumeriah Beach ? dont try the Atlantis !!
date: Aug 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My Family and I have stayed at the Jumeriah Beach in Dubai for the last 6 years. We love the service and the emphasis and effort they put into providing for families with small children. However this year we thought we would break with tradition and try the new Atlantis at the Palm. Well what can I say, its an impressive hotel and has everything it says in the brochure, ie fish tanks, dolphin bay and a large water park. needless to say my family ( incl my 8 year old son ) were expecting to be overwhelmed and given that the service at the Jumeriah has been fantastic over the years, our expectations were high. We booked an imperial club room for 12 days.BUT.. and here comes the but.. !! when we arrived early in the morning, due to the early fight, we were informed our room was not ready ....and thats fine because we expected this to be the case, however we were curtly informed that if we wanted breakfast we would need to pay for it. Again this is not unreasonable, but given our flight going home was also very early and therefore we would miss breakfast on our departure, my husband and I were slightly miffed that a) she felt the need to point this out to us after an 7 hour flight and initial arrival and b) since were not going to have breakfast when we left then there was no way i was going to pay 80.00 for some toast.This set the tone for the 12 days holiday, EVERYTHING that we had come to take advantage of , at the Jumeriah, ie free water in the room etc had a bill attached to it.For those of you with children under the age of 12, dont think about a nice meal at the Nobu Japanese restaurant, as they will not allow kids under this age. Most of the hotel restaurants dictated that men had to wear closed shoes and shirts. My husband wears a shirt and brogues to work every day of the week and was looking forward to the casual look, ie flip flops and shorts.For families, who use the kids club , it is not free ,and its not cheap. Its also located inside the hotel, unlike the Jumeriah ,whereby your kids have their own pool and are out and about enjoying the sunshine. There is no kids pool as such, and I suspect , they think all children will spend their days at the water park, which is fine but perhaps not great for the parents who would like the choice to stay by the hotel pool.Dolphin bay was expensive with a 300.00 tag for my husband, my 8 year old and myself for a 30 mins session. I felt as though we were paying far too much, despite the fact that the bay was very well done.If you are not booking imperial lounge/rooms and you aRe opting for the standard room, then be prepared to que for breakfast in the morning. I could not believe the que of families waiting to be seated every morning. In a 5 star hotel I would not expect this.Overall, service was not great around the pool and the room cleaning had a lot to be desired. Very expensive and no real thought , with regards to small children. IF YOU ARE THINKING OF SWITCHING FROM THE JUMERIAH, TO THE ATLANTIS...DON'T' DO IT !!, IT DOESNT HAVE A PATCH ON THE JUMERIAH BEACH. AND IF YOU ARE A FIRST TIMER TO DUBAI.. MAKE SURE YOU TAKE A FAT WALLETT OF YOU HAVE BOOKED THE ATLANTIS.P.S the views are not s good either , if you are facing the concrete monorail.


doc_id: 69468144471300961092767717390278327524
title: Ossiano was fabulous
date: Aug 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We did not stay at Atlantis, but went for dinner at Ossiano. First of all, the restaurant is just spectacular with the floor to ceiling windows to the aquarium allowing you to watch rays, a whale shark, and thousands of other spectacular fish, swim by as you eat. The background music is at a perfect level, allowing the food and the surroundings to be the main emphasis of the evening.We ordered the 14-course tapas menu, and each course was spectacular, in presentation, quality of ingredients, and taste. I can only imagine the fun that Santi Santamaria must have in dreaming up some of the food pairings, but his artistry and expertise are unquestionable. Sensational tapas.The staff at Ossiano must also be highly commended. Everyone we dealt with; the receptionist, the restaurant manager, the sommelier, and the waiting staff, were professional, friendly and helpful, and really made the evening special.I cannot emphasise sufficiently the peaceful atmosphere that diners experience in Ossiano. Obviously the elegance of the rays, and all the other fish in the aquarium contributes to this; as does the restaurant's policy of no children younger than 12 years of age (a masterly stroke!). I was very much looking forward to eating at Ossiano, being a huge Santi Santamaria fan, but the evening exceeded even my wildest expectations.


doc_id: 20071406524420439469824082148113503673
title: Pure luxury!
date: Aug 15 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I stayed at the Atlantis hotel for 13 nights with my husband and our two young children, this was the best 5 star hotel we have stayed in. The staff were wonderful especially with the children, we were half board which i would recommend as eating in the restaurants was expensive, saffron was our favourite of the restaurants and the kids loved the huge selection of sweets, ice creams, cakes and the chocolate fountain!In summary i would recommend this hotel especially to famillies, we shall be going back again next year... can't wait.


doc_id: 188333931242953776640168082603753398053
title: Are you sure you can afford it?
date: Aug 15 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We booked this place quite simply because it was cheap. We got an unbeatable last minute deal on Amazon, which meant we got to stay in one of the best hotels in the world for 100 quid a night. However, I wish we hadn't.Yes the accommodation was cheap, but we couldn't afford to eat or drink anything in the hotel! Even the mini bar was out of our price range. I'm talking 8 quid for a packed of crisps. And because of its location you can't just wander to another hotel/restaurant.


doc_id: 131821641181713715245137344460894552104
title: Over-rated over-priced and terrible service
date: Aug 15 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed for one night for a special occassion. We chose Atlantis so we could use the water park and see what all the hype was about. What we liked:The room was lovely and had a nice sea view.I liked how the screens from the bathroom folded back so you could relax in the tub and watch the tv.Aqua venture was fun and was very handy having it attached to the hotel.The food in Locatelli's was lovely.What we didn't like:Everything is extremely overpriced. We live in Dubai and are used to expensive food and drinks but Atlantis takes prices to the extreme. There were a lot of hidden charges - when we checked out we were told we had to pay an extra 300 dhs for taxes etc, which are normally included in the room rate in other hotels in Dubai. We also had to pay 50dhs to get our car from the valet despite having spent over 2000dhs on a one night stay!The service at the bars around the pool was dreadful. It took ages to get served and then ages again to get the drinks. We actually walked out once we were so sick of waiting. At another pool bar we ordered some food and waited 40mins for it to come only to find half of the order was missing. They did give us our drinks free with the meal though to make up for this. The downstairs part of the hotel was open to the public and very crowded with people who were not staying at the hotel taking pictures. All dressed up to go to the very expensive and supposedly exclusive restaurant Locatelli's and it felt like walking through a mall. There were obviously some good deals on in England at the moment as there were a lot of very loud British 'charves' who spoiled our quiet time around the pool.The aquarium The Lost Chambers was really just a collection of fish tanks. There was no information on the walls to say what the fish were or anything and there were some huge fish in tiny cages. They also still have Sammy the whale shark who they said they would release to the wild but are yet to do so so I don't think animal welfare is very important to them. There are a lot of better hotels to stay in at Dubai that are much classier and better value. I would recommend staying somewhere like the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi where our relatives stay when they come to visit and just paying to go to the aqua park at Atlantis for the day.


doc_id: 137209450276635677233507736816682946291
title: Best hotel ever!
date: Aug 14 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I went to Atlantis the palm just after it first opened. There are lot's of shops and fantastic restaraunts, the food is unbelieve and absaloutly amazing, the water park is great fun and the staff are very friendly and polite, the rooms are massive and the bathroom is cleverly built and there is a 32 inch tv in each room and the mini fridge is filled with amazing goods. BEST HOTEL EVER!!!


doc_id: 76159499141097512713051712283485731196
title: Great weekend if the price is right
date: Aug 14 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I am allergic to resort hotels but with my 2 year old son, this was a life saver. Lots for him to do including water park, aquarium, games room etc. Lots for the parents to do as well including some very fine dining. The downside is that this hotel has aleways been very pricey but we managed to take advantage of one of the specials. Look for 3 adults and 1 infant it still came to USD 2600 for a four day break so still not cheap. Rooms are great and the i would certainly go again if there is a special but certainly not- at usual rack rates. Check in and out was easy but when this hotel gets busy it gets busy so expect long delays!!


doc_id: 189746850580706662815288408940303652683
title: Lots of glitz
date: Aug 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I stayed here on a stopover from Singapore with a deal from Emirates. The hotel is impressive on first sight and even more so inside. Absolutely a 5 star experience although too big, glizy and impersonal for my taste.I was given a nice room on a middle floor and checked in at 7am with no problem. The room was large with a great bed, very comfortable and a fantastic bathroom with lots of lovely goodies which were replenished twice a day.Breakfast was included in the deal and make sure you are hungry. There are 2 restaurants for breakfast, one is quieter but has less choice. The main restaurant has huge queues at peak times, I had to wait about 30mins to be seated. It serves everything from traditional English, Chinese, sushi and a chocolate fountain. Amazing.The hotels location and size mean it is almost impossible to walk anywhere out-with the grounds. The hotel does run a comp bus one way to the malls but you have to ask about it as it isn't readily advertised within the hotel. There are only 12 seats on the bus so it's not really suitable for a hotel that size so be at the front of the queue.Also included in the rate is entry to the aquarium and water park so make sure you take advantage of that.However, this is an extremely expensive hotel for food and drink and it charges for use of the business centre, wi-fi etc. and the spa is over-priced.


doc_id: 4934764087497923204475657105214568514
title: went for one day
date: Aug 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We went out to the atlantis on the palm for a full day .We took the taxi from our hotel to the bottom of the palm and got the mono rail up to atlantis which was great with good veiws over the palm from the mono rail .when we arrived up we could not beleive the amount of people here someone told us they cater for almost 2000 residence but there were hundreds just up for a look or pay to use all the amenaties it was just one big play area the gounds were nice but when we looked up at the hotel from the outside there was clothes hanging from nearly every balcony and the noise was quite deaffening with loads of kids just shouting and screaming,there did not seem to be any code for dress sense in the hotel either people wre walking around with swim suits on even in the hotel and in one of the resturants outside ,dont get me wrong it is a great place for kids plenty of things for them to do but the hotel should be some standards for to keeps in place this is not a hotel for someone looking for a quite holiday,but plenty of water rides to keep the children happy. We took advantage of the thursday night special for 175 dhs about 38 pounds each you could go on the numerous amount of water rides buy food and drinks at various food and drink outlets that they had around the outside of the hotel and a huge red bull tent on the beach for drinks. and of course a fire eater and a fantastic fire works display that came on at 23 30 hrs .the night was really good ,but i could not stay here i was happy to get back to mine i would recommend if you have kids but not for couples,do what we did go up and spend the day and have the best of both worlds..


doc_id: 194500146889873205464571809035037347793
title: an experience.......!!
date: Aug 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
we are regular dubai holiday makers,and i admit wasnt looking forward to going having read so many negative reports...however.ignore them!!!firstly bad stuff......garments hanging frm blconies give it a majorca like look!(im sure in time senior management will stop guests doing this as nasty!)check in-appalling!like heathrow on a bad day.....again sure in tme it will be sorted to provide the service ou receive in other 5 star dxb hotelsgood stuff....perfect for kids so much to do,waterpark,pools,aquarium i could go on-ours are 8 and13 didnt see them whole time as they were so busy having fun!!definately recommend an imperial club room as you avoid the hassle of busy restaurants for breakfast as its on the same floor as your room-i also believe frm talking to other guests these rooms are slighlty larger too!restaurants all very good,great choice!spotlessly clean hotel too....all in all i really didnt want to come yet came and will return,im a mega loyal fab of jumeriah beach eyt have to say that atlantis now tops it in terms of the family market!!you come to atlantis for the experience,it isnt quiet and serene like the one and only,nor maybe can compete with the madinet yet it is as it says on the tin-an experience that makes you want just a little bit more!!!atlantis we will see you again very soon....!!


doc_id: 316411628584652452571660204823553953195
title: This is absolutely amazing
date: Aug 12 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed at the Atlantis for eleven nights and I have to say, this is an absolutely amazing hotel with wonderful staff. We have been very fortunate and have stayed at the best hotels in dubai, in all, we've been to Dubai on nine occasions. From the moment we arrived we were treated with so much respect, courtesy and professionalism.Our room was beautiful and had fantastic views. The housekeeping was brilliant, our room was maintained to such a high standard. The food was wonderful , truly the best we've had. My young children who are nine and elven absolutely loved the Atlantis and the wonderful swimming pools, water park and the stunning, beautiful building. This was an absolutely brilliant holiday and one we will never forgot. We had the fantastic benefit of the imperial club and the staff there, were so friendly and courteous. Breakfast was simply amazing, gorgeous food.I have nothing but praise for this hotel. Atlantis, thank you for a wonderful time , we will be back.


doc_id: 146642673761399084252360097641923816693
title: A.M.A.Z.I.N.G
date: Aug 11 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I have just returned from a 5 night stay in the Atlantis Hotel, this hotel is fantastic amazing wonderful you will never get bored!!! The slides are really fun and enjoyable and the sea is so hot it's like a bath. The Food is wonderful and everyone who works there is so polite and nice. The only downside to Aquaventure is that you have to walk across a bridge to get to the slides which is black and so the sun is attracted to it, my feet got sizzled but oh well it was worth it , also has a free high speed internet connection for your laptop when you stay in the imperiable club floor or higher. temperatures reached 46-47 degrees in the 2nd week of august which made it too hot to go on the beach but enjoyable at the pools. We rented a cabana for 70 for a whole day which supplied water, fruit, and shade! deffinatly recomend this to ANYONE!! AMAZING BOOK IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!! p.s if you book to stay in the imperial club floors (12,13 and 14) you get free drinks from 6 until 8pm however they cost alot of money in the bars downstairs!! And my room never got to hot the air conditioning is fantastic, everywhere is air conditioned.!!


doc_id: 142849654970054568371295255884617373028
title: WOW!
date: Aug 10 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed here from 2/8/09 to 05/8/09. Wow! Wow! Wow! That was all my neice could say the minute we arrived at the Atlantis. The hotel was so big, we only managed to explore half of it. Arrived at midnight and took a taxi from the airport and was 90 dirhams to the hotel. We were celebrating our wedding anniversary and were upgraded to an Imperial Suite which normally would cost you 1500 a night! No complaints there! Couldn't fault the staff at all. Benedict on check in was very nice and welcoming.Ordered room service at 2am, I strongly reccommend the Atlantis cheeseburger, best burger I've had in years. Price wasn't too expensive.Breakfast buffet was good, as a lot to choose from. The Saffron buffet restaurant was even better. We dined there every night!! For just under 200 dirhams, you get alot of choice. Kids loved the chocolate fountain, the creme brulee was excellent, my neice had 4 !! And the guy that was making the crepes was so friendly, he kept my sister happy whilst she patiently waited!! The waterpark was free for hotel guests and was great fun. Bigger and better than Wild Wadi.At one end of the hotel there is a very large aquarium. You could just stand in front and stare for hours.Getting around from the hotel wasn't a problem as there are numerous taxis waiting outside and are not expensive at all. 27 dirhams to both Mall of Emirates and IBM Battuta Mall.Checking out was smooth. Overall we had a very nice time at the Atlantis and we would definitely return next year.


doc_id: 184497332875365754595870182343140583254
title: I don't see what people have to complain about
date: Aug 10 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We (me, wife and kids 16,12, &amp; 8) stayed for 4 days at the Atlantis prior to moving to our usual hotel, the Jumeirah Beach (comparison to come on the Forum). Following some of the reviews we were a little sceptical but thought we'd give it a go.I really cannot see how anyone can complain about this hotel with the possible exception of the cost.The staff were all very polite and efficient.The rooms are fantastic. We asked for and got connecting rooms.The pool areas and beach are great, lots of sunbeds without having to get up at the crack of dawn to secure a good one.Although we didn't get to try all the restaurants the ones we did were all superb. I have to mention the buffet restaurant Saffron. Calling it a budget restaurant really doesn't do it justice. The choices were varied and all of great quality. The seafood counter was unbelievable - oysters, prawns, lobster, crab, mussels and so on, all as part of the price (about 30).Free entry to Aquaventure - much better than the Wild Wadi which in itself is fabulous anyway.I wouldn't pay to get into the aquarium but seeing as you don't have to when you are a guest we gave it a look and it was excellent.The only possible complaint about the hotel must be the cost which was very expensive. Other than that no problems at all and we will be going back.


doc_id: 216736442102232005645309933810445237831
title: This is one that should have remained undiscovered...
date: Aug 10 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Are you thinking of traveling to Dubai and staying at the Palm Atlantis. My recent trip to Dubai was spent at this much hyped Dubai resort my expectations were high but unfortunately I was to be disappointed.On arrival and for the first time in 12 years of staying in or visiting Dubai hotels I was advised that there was a charge for valet parking. Whilst only a nominal 50 dhs for paying guests for the duration of their stay its a far more unreasonable 150 dhs should you just plan to visit the hotels or one of its restaurants.The rooms whilst pleasant lack a certain amount of character found in the likes of the Madinat or One and Only hotels. The mini bar is well stocked you also get a kettle and iron which is handy. The service provided by housing keeping is well below par of what could be expected at a high end hotel. Hoovering, cleaning of mirrors, windows and even the mopping of bathroom floors is non existent. Balconies remain dusty as does the tables and chairs on it, this is of course assuming you are fortunate enough to get a balcony. Items on the floor such as children's toys are typically left there. So in a nutshell dont expect more than your towels being refreshed and your bed made.The hotel has two pools and of course the attached water park. The pools are adequate for the number of guests however again the thought has not gone into the planning as the children's pool provides no shaded area. The water park is excellent and free to use for hotel guests however personally I still feel Wild Wadi is still much better in terms of layout and facilities. Unlike some hotels the pools can still be used after the lifeguards are off duty which is definitely a plus. Oh and if you were thinking a hotel built over 2km out of sea would have a water sports centre, you'd be wrong.The aquarium feature in the hotel is definitely worth a visit and should keep adults and kids alike amused for hours. The additional aquatic displays in The Lost Chambers is also excellent and free to guests of the hotel. Other facilities include a kids and teens club. The kids club has and outrageous 280 dhs daily charge and it is only possible to leave your children there unattended rather than stay with them and therefore the charge is compulsory. Club rush is targeted at the teens and has some free use time in the mornings for internet usage and in the afternoons for gaming where kids have access to playstation, xbox and wii consoles. This can get quite busy buts its a nice relaxing environment.The staff in the hotel are pleasant enough however guest services lack of local knowledge was apparent and they were unaware of some of the most basic of local area facilities.I think on the whole the hotel has the potential to be much better but this is one place I will not be coming back to. There are just far too many things that are below par and only a considerable improvement would bring them up to the level of some of the better hotels in Dubai.. I think based on my experience here I would say it is no better that a 3 or 4 star hotel and would rate it at about 4 out of 10.Here's a list of some specific issues I had and how the hotel resolved them: Poor house keeping- Room was upgraded from a sea view to a 22nd floor city view room (this really was a very nice room)Poor service at beach side bar - 20 minutes and two reminders to serve a couple of Sprites. The bar manager didn't charge for the drinks and offered a 2nd round of drinks without chargeLeaking air conditioning unit in room - It took the hotel two days to fix this problem and both times maintenance staff had to come into the room between 11pm and 2am which is not ideal when you have two young children asleep. This is after they were told when the room would be empty during the day. The hotel offered financial compensation for this inconvenience.A few final points:1. Whilst the above resolutions softened the blow these are the kind of problems you should not have to encounter is a top class hotel2. I travelled with Virgin Holidays as they had been excellent the previous year. Almost a week after emailing Virgin customer care about the issues I had I am yet to get a reply, this in addition to the fact the their local rep failed to make any contact with me for the entire duration of my two week stay..3. Some of the staff in this hotel are absolutely fantastic. Raj G in the Saffron restaurant went well beyond his remit to ensure that during breakfast every morning we got everything we needed to keep our 2 yr old daughter busy so we could have breakfast in peace.. Some of the other staff could do well to follow his great example.


doc_id: 86895407105080210401332230455437459253
title: Great but not Fantastic.
date: Aug 9 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Atlantis was the second hotel on our 10 night holiday to Dubai, having spent a fantastic first 5 nights at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Atlantis had a lot to beat!We had originally booked on a room only basis with Expedia which was a fair bit cheaper than booking direct with the hotel, when we checked in they offered us an upgrade to the Imperial Club for 800 AED per night. Considering breakfast for the 4 of us (2 adults, 2 kids) would be over 400 AED per day, and the fact we had saved by booking with Expedia we decided to take the upgrade.They didnt have a smoking room ready so gave us a non smoking room to freshen up and a smoking room was available to us after a couple of hours. Transfer of luggage from one room to the other took a very long time.The club lounge of the 12th floor was very good, limited buffet breakfast, but you could always get a seat without waiting, you could use either of the buffet restaurants for breakfast as a club guest but they get VERY busy and whilst the is a huge choice, the club worked fine for us.The club lounge is open until 11pm and you can get free soft drinks and snacks throughout the day, with Afternoon Tea served between 3pm and 5pm and cocktails and canaps between 6pm and 8pm where alcoholic drinks are also free.The hotel is HUGE and VERY BUSY. They have a shuttle buggy that will take you from the East Tower to the West Tower, its not a long walk but the fact they offer it shows that its not exactly a 2 minute walk.There are so many people around the aquarium and the shopping areas, many of whom are just visiting, you are constantly asked to show your room card if you want to get to guest only areas like the lifts or out to the pools, this starts to get a little annoying!Two pools at Atlantis, the Royal Towers pool is the main pool and is very large, hundreds of sun beds , all with their own built in shades, great if you like the sun and someone else likes the shade! The Zero Entry pool by the west tower is great for kids, my 7 year old could go anywhere in the pool and still touch the bottom, maximum depth of this pool is 1 metre. Again loads of sun beds.The water park (Aquaventure) is great, difficult to get a bed near the main pool areas but once you find one and get into the water, the fun can begin! They have a great Childrens section, and the main attractions are really fun. Can be a bit of a pain finding a rubber ring and you do have to carry them around from one slide to another. Minimum height for the bigger rides is 1.2 metres, if youve got a child that looks shorter than that (my youngest is about 1.22 metres) be prepared to have them measured every time you go to ride one of the bigger rides.The Dolphin experience at Dolphin Bay was fantastic, not cheap but these things never are, they really get you on the photos to remember your experience, you cant take your own pictures whilst in the water so if you want a picture of you with the dolphin youve not got much choice but to buy one at between 20 and 35 depending on the size for ONE picture.Checkout was not great, waited 45 minutes for luggage to be collected and then checking out in the club lounge, only one person able to check you out, and he was tied up with a query for over 30 minutes so it took ages to get taken care of.We had a late night flight back so made use of the hospitality lounge, whilst there are plenty of drinks and snacks for people who arrive early and have to wait for their rooms to be available, no such service when your waiting to leave. It was nice to have somewhere to store your belongings and shower after you make final use of the facilities in the hotel but thats about it, not even a bottle of water available.Glad Ive stayed here, it is an impressive place and a very good hotel, would I stay again, I doubt it very much, there are certainly better places in Dubai.


doc_id: 328659414428943753742285519548641159753
title: Fantastic Holiday (with a few ups and downs)
date: Aug 8 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I stayed at the Atlantis with my friend as part of my 21st birthday celebrations at the end of July for 8 nights. The room was booked as a deluxe room through Virgin Holidays.Before leaving I read some pretty mixed reviews about this hotel on this site, so departed to the airport feeling a little anxious about what to expect. Previously on trips to Dubai I have stayed in the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, but wanted to try something different this time so thought the Atlantis was a close match in terms of amenities.Flights were with Virgin Atlantic both ways, excellent service in Premium Economy however the In-Flight Entertainment was not as good on the return leg as it was not 'On-Demand'. Still, I would recommend Virgin Atlantic for this route any day.We pre-booked an Atlantis car to pick us up from the Airport, as it was my friend's first time in Dubai, which cost in the region of 50. It was a BMW 7-series with Atlantis branding on it and whilst it was supposed to be a nice start to the journey, I was not enamoured as the interior was shoddy and the driver didnt even exchange pleasantries, which compared to the Jumierah Beach Hotel Audi service, it left a lot to be desired.We arrived at the hotel very early and expected to have to wait until the advertised check in time however we were delighted to be given a room straight away, this is something that impressed us after such a long trip from Glasgow-Heathrow-Dubai. The lobby is magnificent with an amazing glass sculpture in the middle, which is a little ostentatious, but an amazing sight none-the-less.After a small dispute regarding a guarantee/deposit (in that I plainly refused to pay such a large volume of cash for incidentals) we headed up to our room and despite the early check-in advantage, the room was on a low floor with a limited view.Whilst waiting for our bags to arrive, which took some time we discovered that there was a few things wrong with the room such as a cigarette burn in the carpet (we requested non-smoking) and the bath was stained, but we shrugged it off as we were so tired.The hotel itself is amazing, the water park honestly puts the Wild-Wadi in the shade, we spent a lot of our time there and had a blast! The Lost Chambers were also amazing and we spent a good few hours wandering around with our Cold-Stone Creamery Ice-creams in there taking numerous pictures.After a few complaints regarding monetary disputes and the condition of the first room we got moved to another room which had much better views and a full-sized balcony, which was a nice touch, and our complaint was dealt with very well (Thank you to all involved)Overall, the hotel is new; it needs a few more months to get things perfect. For instance, the staff are incredibly nice and helpful, yet some of the managerial staff at the front desk are nothing short of rude. Our turndown service was only completed 4/8 nights and like other reviewers have noted, unlike the JBH or similar there are no chocolates on the pillow when it is done. Our second room also had continuous problems with the air-conditioning but I will give the repairmen their due, they were there trying to fix it every day when we were out. We didnt want to pack and move again so just dealt with the room being slightly hotter than we would have liked.Breakfast was included in our tariff so we were shocked to have to sign for 280 Dhs every day, but this never showed on our account. I would recommend eating in Saffron instead of Kaleidoscope for breakfast, and get there before 10:30 or you have to wait in a rather large queue. Evening meals, well, we only ate in the hotel twice as I had to take my friend to other places around Dubai I couldn't miss; we ate in Kaleidoscope for dinner and it was terrible and also Locatelli's which was very nice- so a rather mixed feeling there.The beach isnt nearly as bad as it is made out to be, yes there are a few jelly-fish but they werent within the swimming area cordoned off by the hotel and as far as I can tell, they posed very little risk, besides there are a plethora of lifeguards available.To finally sum it up, we had a fantastic stay at the Atlantis, it is a 5-star hotel with a few creases that need ironed out, but with the selection of amenities and friendly staff at hand, I would definitely return again (maybe  Atlantis,  Jumeirah Beach). Yes it is pricey, but so are most 5-star hotels, however the internet prices do take the biscuit - come on Kerzner, it is free at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel!Oh, and dont dare miss the Thursday night extravaganza at Aquaventure; going round the Ziggurat with fireworks going off is something that will never leave my memories  truly fantastic!


doc_id: 171324402011586844449822302879780861248
title: Disney in Dubai
date: Aug 8 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Went to Atlantis with the family for a couple of days to celebrate our son's 21st birthday &amp; it was a big success. I have to admit that we have avoided this hotel since it opened as huge, resort hotels are not really our thing but for a short break we chose Atlantis for it's waterpark, restaurants, night club &amp; choice of activities &amp; none of these disappointed. Yes, there were little problems; check in took forever as did check out - the Palm island view room that we had reserved had been replaced with an Ocean View (the Palm View is the best side to view the fireworks on Thursday nights during the summer) &amp; items were added to our bill that were not ours but the staff are lovely so you just need to be patient. For our son's birthday dinner, the waiter came up to our table &amp; shouted (he had to shout to be heard as it was extremely busy &amp; noisy) 'What name do you want us to put on your son's birthday cake?&quot; - so much for the birthday surprise that we had arranged! But again, the staff are all so sweet that it is impossible to be cross. They charge you for everything from valet parking to in-room internet access (these things are free in many other Dubai hotels) and it is the little details that makes the difference between a good hotel &amp; a top class one. So 2 days were definitely enough. The hotel is extremely busy, noisy &amp; feels very much like a conveyor belt Disney Resort, which was fine as that was what we exxpected but we wouldn't have wanted to stay longer. It is possible to do Dubai in a large scale hotel without feeling like a mass commodity - Dar Al Masyaf is in the huge Madinat Jumeirah complex but it is in a different league to Atlantis. My advice would be to choose wisely - for a family or young couple or for those wanting entertainment &amp; action then Atlantis is probably perfect but if you want more in the way of style, service &amp; exclusivity, then try any of the Jumeirah hotels or Al Maha - they are in a different league.


doc_id: 22861384275749761435242035208108635703
title: A great hotel and holiday but I think it may get too busy
date: Aug 7 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We arrived at the hotel only to be told the room we had reserved wasn't available, so we were promptly upgraded to a suite which was very large, spotlessly clean and immaculately decorated. The whole hotel is immaculate in fact. We had complimentary water and the fruit in our room was changed every day whether we touched it or not (This made me feel guilty but I'm sure it was used somewhere!). So a great first impression.The hotel has two pools, both are good although we preferred the layout of the Zero pool. For anyone with children the pools would be great for them, there are many lifeguards who are very conscientious and the water is shallow at one end for kids to sit in and cool off safely. The food at this pool was really great better than is some of the poolside restaurants we thought.We paid extra for the Imperial lounge package which and were impressed with the lounge. A great view and really good unlimited snacks and drinks all day.We thought the restaurants were all great, so much so we couldn't really pick a favourite. The buffet at lunch was great but I felt it was quite expensive. All the staff in restaurants and around the hotel were polite and helpful.I tried several spa treatments along with a hair appointment and all were great.The water park is fun and there were no queues for rides and the aquarium and Lost Chambers are so cool and would be good fun for kids.As far as negatives on our last day there was a sudden influx of people in the aquarium area/around the restaurants. It was hard to walk through this area, almost like being in a tube station. The hotel too got noticeably busier and the atmosphere changed, it was too full. I'm not sure if we just got very lucky with the dates we chose to travel or if that weekend was just busier than normal but I'm not sure I would be happy to visit when it was like this. My husband was annoyed that the beach wasn't great, strolls on the beach are for other destinations. Also take any medicines you may need (obviously if they are legal here!) because I paid 30 when I had indigestion!This was a great trip, we barely felt the need to leave the complex and the positives outweighed the negatives, especially taking into account the complex had recently opened.


doc_id: 176368571885923314155898587179175476869
title: Fantastic hotel with great service but free the Whale Shark
date: Aug 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Having read all the negative reviews I was a bit uneasy about the Atlantis &amp; my upcoming honeymoon and I seriously considered shifting to another hotel however I decided to stick to my choice and am glad that I did.Firstly, you can't help but be amazed by the actual hotel itself, you first see it as you're being driven down the Palm and the view of the hotel on the horizon is a sight to behold! It is aboslutely huge.Check in was quick and efficient, a few people have complained about the hotel taking a deposit on your card (c1,000 in my case). This is standard procedure and regular travellers to hotels should not find this unusual. Just to be on the safe side you should ring up your bank before you arrive and let them know this will be happening so that they don't attempt to block the transaction. We arrived at 10 in the morning but were given the option of checking in straight away even though check in wasn't till 2pm. We were told that it would be a smoking room, which I was apprehensive about because I'd requested a non smoking room however if we wanted a non-smoking room we'd have to wait till 2pm. I decided to check out the room they were offering as I didn't fancy waiting about for 4 hours in the hospitality lounge. Other than the presence of an ashtray in the bedroom there was nothing else to suggest that this was a smoking room i.e. no bad odours or anything like that. If anything it was one of the biggest rooms on the floor with a larger balcony than the other room so we took it.Our bags were brought up to the room promptly, our room was on the 2nd floor in the West Tower with a view of the zero entry pool and the Palm looking out towards Dubai Marina.The room was very large and spacious with a large walk in wardrobe and a massive bathroom. We ate at Saffron on our 1st evening and it was excellent with a wide variety of cuisines to choose from including, Thai, Indo-Pakistani, Japanese, Western &amp; Arabic and an amazing Dessert Station complete with chocolate fountain and Ice Cream Teppenyaki! It may have been expensive for a Buffet at nearly 40 per head incl soft drinks but then again what buffet gives you the option of having Lobster? Given the choice of food available it was worth it.We ate Breakfast in Saffron every morning as it was closest to us and the choice at breakfast was almost as amazing as the evening dinner. If you really wanted to you could have Sushi and Kimchi for Breakfast as well as regular fare like freshly made Omelettes, Sausages and Hash Browns or even Noodles! The Chocolate Fountain was also operational at every breakfast session, in summary you were spoilt for choice. Breakfast was available till 11:30 each morning so you could have a lie in and use it as an early lunch if you really wanted to.Yes the restaurants at the hotel are expensive and if you decide to eat here every night then it will end up costing you a small fortune but there are plenty of options available if you don't want to eat at the hotel. Taxis are cheap and plentiful, you are only a 10-15 min taxi ride away from Jumeirah Beach Residence Walk which has a huge choice of restaurants in a very picturesque setting the journey should cost no more than 25 Dhs (around 4). Failing that there are free shuttle buses to most of the major malls including Mall of the Emirates with Ski Dubai.As hotel guests you have free access to the Aquaventure Water Park and this is highly recommended, I've not been to Wild Wadi so I can't compare but Aquaventure was amazing. You can float around on the lazy rivers for hours on end and the shark attack tunnel where you float by in a tunnel through a tank filled with rays and sharks is brilliant. You have free access to towels but have to pay for lockers (40 Dhs). As Hotel guests you also have free access to the Lost Chambers which is the Atlantis' own aquarium and is worth doing considering you're not paying for it as you get to see the various fish and also have the opportunity to hold sea cucumbers and starfish. The public area (free) of the aquarium with the large viewing wall does get busy but never felt crowded. The only thing that puts a dampener on the whole experience is the fact that Sammy the Whale Shark is still here. The Aquarium staff have been well trained to tell guests how comfortable she is and that the she will be returned to the Wild but they are very vague about when that will be? They have been trained to tell guests about the amount of water in the tank and that it will fill X number of olympic pools but that does not susbstitute for the Ocean and Sammy does not belong in an aquarium and needs to be released asap.Several people have complained about the lobby areas being crowded with day trippers but to be honest given the immense size of the hotel you'd expect that number of people and it never actually feels crowded.The Dolphin Interaction is expensive at 100 per head for the shallow water interaction. but well worth it as you get up close with a dolphin and there is plenty of opportunity for some 1 on 1 interaction when you hug, kiss and dance with the dolphin. You also learn a lot about the dolphin in the orientation before getting into the water. An official photographer accompanies you in the water and will capture every moment perfectly but ecpect to pay c.100 for the privilege! My wife watched for free from the shore as part of a promotion they had when we visited but needless to say her ability to get photos was hampered by her being on the beach so they do coerce you to buy the official snaps by showing you the excellent quality once you're done. Overall though the interaction was amazing and I'd do it all again.We stayed for 6 nights and the whole trip was fantastic, the staff were attentive and every one who saw you greeted you with a smile and appropriate greeting for the time of day.All in all a great holiday!


doc_id: 6206775189712397140257330302875360740
title: Take plenty money
date: Aug 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We arrived at the Atlantis at 2 in the morning all looked nice but huge we checked in and ent to our room half a mile away it seemed to arrive at a double room which didnt have a bed for our son so back to reception it was and we moved to our second room only to find e were on a smoking floor and smoking room back to reception again nearly 1 hour after arriving we were put in the wes wing on the 18th floor to an alright room quite basic really for a 5 star but were shattered so went to bed not a good start. The hotel itself is ok but beware if your not fit dont go its so huge you do a lot of walking. We went to the waterpark the first morning which is free to hotel guests and it was ok but nothing special only a few slides they say it is the biggest in middle east and probably is but we usually go to Florida and was not in the same league as Florida at all, although the staff were very freindly,prices all over the Atlantis were ridiculous a cup of tea after dinner cost us over 6 we were on half board option so we only had to pay for our drinks just as well or we wouldnt be eating there at all we worked it out at for three of us for breakfast 120 there was plenty of choice but after a couple of days we were fed up of the food catered mainly for the locals and the same at dinner when you did get in afete a long que the food was mainly spicy all though very nicely presented if i never see another curry again it will be too soon. Avoid the spa unlessyouve taken out a bank loan ,the hairdressers are from Syria and dont speak any English at all so they do what they want then charge you a fortune my blow dry was 80 and even then he didnt have any straighteners. We felt the hotel was too big and lacked the personel touch it was no way a five star more like a 3 or 4 star not worth the money at all after 3 days we were bored with it all so decided to have some trips out so we took a hotel taxi which were quite cheap but the did try to rip us off by taking us the very long route till i pointed it out to him they are also very smelly as you would be stuck in a taxi for 12 hours deoderant was needed by all the drivers we had, however we went to the Burg Al Arab for lunch which was nice about 80 each but beware as ou dont get to sit with the hotel guests we were put in a seperate area for visitors lunch was nice but nothing special again and we did get to take some photos of the inside of the hotel but ony certain parts and away from the guests so ony at certain times of the day , All in all Dubai is a complete rip off dont go if your expecting bargains as it is much more expensive than UK even for clothes it is very dusty everywhere due to all the building works going on weve been but rest assured we will not be back we will go back to Florida next year and let others be ripped of at the not so great Atlantis and Dubai BE WARNED lly


doc_id: 267719760113198396517547754818669874524
title: Brillant stay
date: Aug 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
The checking in process was long and a bit annoying. We arrived early in the morning about 7am and were told we had to wait for the room until2pm. They had a nice waiting area with drinks and snacks. Once we got our room it was not what we requested so had to change it. Then we got our room and just started to rest our eyes and they asked us to move as they needed the room for a disabled person. But was upgraded and had free wine and chocolates. The room was huge and really comfortable.I was surprised there was no welcoming talk to tell you about the hotel or activities. This may depend on the tour operator.The hotel itself is massive and impressive. But can be busy at times. The staff are very helpful and always willing to do anything. The pool areas were great and had plenty of sun beds, although the old/dirty towels are not always removed. The beach is beautiful, I spent most of my time swimming here- such clear sea and so quiet. The most people on there was probably about 10 guests. The sea does have jelly fish but I went most days and only saw one, which was bright blue so cant miss them. The life guards are very good at spotting them. The waterpark is good fun and we went on an evening- not to be missed. Dolphin bay- is great but again very expensive. Do the dessert trip- its so much fun!Taxis are cheap to get around but we did not realise towards the end of the stay that there are free stuttle buses to different places. ahhhhThe food is wonderful-big portions, so much choice but expensive. The only down side I had was at the poolside cafe the shore-one of the staff was always very grumpy. But no other staff presented in this manner. I wouldnt go for 14nights because there is not much to do-unless you love shopping or just want to go on the beach/pool.The weather was so hot but didn't get a tan because there was no sun lots of cloud.


doc_id: 114073749262724504936928252730602986460
title: Avoid if you are on your honeymoon!
date: Aug 5 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Having previously stayed in Jumeriah Beach, we had high expectations. The hotel infrastructure and design is stunning. Unfortunately, it is not easy to take advantage of this given the huge numbers of people visiting the hotel for the day. To keep a 5 star status, this hotel has to address the serious problem of over crowding contributed to by day trippers. We certainly didn't expect to share the hotel with day trippers. The pool was the only segregated area. We were on our honeymoon and therefore were looking for luxury and tranquility. We obviously chose the wrong hotel. The majority of guests had at least two children, many of which used the extensive corridoors as race circuits.We found the service not as good as Jumeriah Beach. Used towels were left on sunbeds on the beach and poolside until the end of the day. This is probably a great hotel, if you have children and money. However, avoid if looking for a romantic holiday.


doc_id: 186387347361526933791573746730140816179
title: Hotel Amazing - Out of this world!
date: Aug 4 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Initially I was a bit concerned about the negative reviews that some people had left but had nothing to worry about as the service and staff were both exellent at atlantis. The staff were very hospitable, smart and polite and couldn't do enough for you.The decor in the hotel is amazing, just take a look at the lobby, you really felt you were staying somewhere special.We loved the buffet meals at Saffron and Kalaidescope as there was plenty of choice and it gave you the opportunity to try foods you had never had before, we didn't need lunch after a banquet buffet breakfast!.Aquaventure was a hit with the teens, which is as good as Wild Wadi, both a must if you get the chance.We tried to fit in as much as we could while we were there - Swimming with Dolphins, Desert Safari, Shopping Malls and sightseeing but still wished we could have just one more day there as there is so much to do and see.We have some great photos of us Swimming with Dolphins and a CD as a momento.You could easily spend a week in the hotel and grounds alone without venturing out into Dubai itself.At the Stone cold creamery in the Avenues we got delicious 'kids' ice-creams for 10 dirhams ( cheaper than the mini melts in aquaventure at 20 dirhams each) you could also have extras added into the ice-cream, we liked the cake batter flavour the best.Theres so much to say about our stay at Atlantis but its much the same as all the other positive reviewsTaxis are cheap and plentiful, the drivers are smart and polite, we didn't experience any bad taxi driving whilst we were there.The only downside that we experienced was charges being added onto our bill, you can keep an eye on this by viewing your bill on atlantis channel on tv in your room. There were a couple of times charges for my younger daughter evening meal had been added on ( her meals were meant to be free due to holiday package we had) but this was soon sorted out by the staff. Also just to mention I was asked for 500 dirhams for extras during my stay, ie for mini bar and drinks in restaurants when I checked in, I stated that I would be paying as I went along in cash and would not be requiring the mini bar, after discussion with another member of staff I was told I wouldn't have to pay this.All in all the holiday was like a dream staying in such a beautiful hotel and having such lovely surroundings, still dreaming about it and I've been back a few days, would definately go back again. Plan on making a scrapbook of all our tickets, photos, momentos etc to look back on. Don' be put off by negative reviews and try not to worry about the heat and things like that as I did as there was really no need. I am fair skinned and burn easily but tolerated the heat very well, just made sure I had my hat with me and plenty of sun lotion. You often find the things you worry about dont happen, so just relax and enjoy your holiday.


doc_id: 219279784924791615069970795464587720741
title: Fab Hotel - never seen anything like it.
date: Aug 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
What can I say - never been to Dubai before and we were doubled booked Madinat. This was an amazing hotel - completely different from the Madinat in as much that it is very modern and sleek but very luxiousrious.From entering the reception area you are wow'd by the amazing water feature. The rooms are spacious and modern.The pool is fab and they have wonderful bars and resturants along the waters edge - very romantic.The staff are very friendly and accommodating and nothing is too much trouble.The food at breakfast is fantastic you can have anything from toast to sushi-what a spread.The shopping mall is fab (small tho) the Atlantis water feature is supberb. What can I say an amazing hotel would definately go back and do everything else I didn't get around to doing.PS Buy wine etc in the duty free as you leave departures - alchol is very very very expensive.


doc_id: 90266880590607124696382858073633947872
title: Fantastic resort in a wonderful destination- with matching service
date: Jul 30 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Having read some of the reviews I decided to take each negative one with a pinch of salt,thank god I did !We travelled with Virgin-half board option.Our check-in was smooth,fast and earlier than expected,rooms were fabulous and situated in the west towers with both a Palm and swimming pool view.At every contact with staff we were greeted with professionalism and courtesy- the staff could NOT do enough for you !Food in both the Kaleidoscope and Saffron restaurants were 10/10 as again was the service. Both the daily meals were varied and everyone was happy! Waterpark Aquaventure is an asset to the resort and all our childrens and ourselves loved every minute there.Most of the negative comments involve the price of food/drinks - yes pricey but if you've got any sense you would do your homework before going and make a decision about how much you are willing to spend .......try Virgins half-board option. We went into town and got drinks/snacks at the supermarket which kept the kids happy between meals- taxi's very cheap.Overall the resort/hotel in in a fantastic location with lots to offer all age groups,service,rooms and food are all excellent - only one fault we noted was keep an eye on your mounting bill as some items were added to ours which shouldn't have been, it was however quickly resolved.We will be going back - our only regret is that we did't stay longer!


doc_id: 33170448959899081585092174566519969908
title: Really nice
date: Jul 29 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
i have travelled to Dubai many times over the last few years. We have stayed at Jumeirah Beach, Mina Salaam and Al Qasr in the past.This year we decided to try Atlantis, was really apprehensive after reading reviews on trip advisor.BrieflyRooms - we had sea facing room in the West Tower . clean and pleasant, our house keeper was really helpful gave us everthing we asked for and the room was always made up when we askedFood - went half board.. good food at Saffron ,less so at Kaleidoscope. serice very good had to pay for drinks ..GULPStaff- really helpful and pleasant.. no problems here at all.. no on was rude to us Aquarium - lots of fishAquaventure waterpark... most fun better than Wild Wadi OverallIf you dont mind being in busy hotel then Atlantis IMO is a good place for a break , i think it offers a different experience to the Jumeirah group.. kids want to go back next year .. thats good enough for me


doc_id: 170277448657312610644519951648171090212
title: Great
date: Jul 28 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Everything was great!! The Rooms, Employees, Breakfast and the Waterpark!Had the best Steak of my life at the Seafire Restaurant.


doc_id: 338920441354931353188431736429830567508
title: Not worth it by a long shot
date: Jul 28 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Having travelled to many luxury hotels all over the world - this place fell short by a mile. Hyped as being 7 star - no way. Not worth anything like the prices they charge. I stayed in an Executive Room which I then had to spend a small fortune on being upgraded to a suite as the &quot;Executive Room&quot; was no more luxurious than &quot;flee in the air&quot;. Saying that - even the suite wasn't that sylish. The colours and furnishings were pretty standard. No flair. It is well worth travelling out of the hotel to eat as the prices in the place are beyond belief. At lunch, we had 3 salads (adults), I chicken nugget (kids meal) 2 x glasses of white wine, 2 x diet coke, 1 x water and a fruit juice = 120.00 !!!! I will not be going back - there are so many luxury hotels to choose from in Dubai - I wished I had tried one instead of falling for the hype of this one. Rip off


doc_id: 282924608498173755967209406730347248988
title: Wonderful Time
date: Jul 27 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed at this hotel for a week and had a wonderful time. I was concerned due to some of the previous reviews. But the rooms were much larger than expected, well set out and very clean with everything we needed iron, tea &amp; coffee making facilities, fresh fruit etc. The staff were great and nothing was too much trouble. The pool and beach facilities were very good always sunbeds available. Food and Drink is expensive but we got a great deal with Virgin - including evening meal which worked out much cheaper and for a week and was well worth it. The two restaurants you could use had a good selection of fantastic food each evening -you'd never get bored.The hotel is much bigger than the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and hasn't got the same overall charm but I think that's due to its size more than anything else. I think this would be a good option for families, as the kids seem to have so much to do. The water park was great and that's free to guests. Overall a wonderful holiday and we would go back.


doc_id: 91803323282407183561544930581050694235
title: Everything you want to know about the Atlantis
date: Jul 27 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I read review after review about the Atlantis prior to travelling and there was elements of all reviews during my trip (along with my wife and children, two boys aged 9 &amp; 13).We stayed 13 nights from 11th July to 24th July 2009.On the negative -  we were continually being charged 70 Dirham to our room for breakfast , although we were booked for bed and breakfast, and had to continually ask them to remove it, they advised it was due to my teenage son being an adult, which we had already booked him as ! Couple of times we had to ask twice for a drink we ordered, once at the poolside bar and they tried to charge us twice albeit only 1 drink arrived and the second time at breakfast my wife asked for a cafe latte and to ask again.Received fresh fruit once in our room, our first day when we answered the door to the lady delivering it, not sure if she was calling thereafter when we were out or if the fruit was a one off on arrival.The food and drink is expensive, no getting away from this.DO NOT touch the mini bar, remove an item &amp; too late, you're charged !On the positive - The quality of the food in the reastaurants in the evening was exquisite, you get what you pay for &amp; all of us thoroughly enjoyed the food. The staff throughout the hotel were excellent, all very polite and helpful, read some reviews about their ability to speak english, but didn't experience any problems, hey I can't speak any language other than my native tongue !!!. Hotel was spotless, rooms very clean. Room cleaning was thorough, clean sheets/ towels and fresh water daily, we aksed for an additional bottle of water a few times and it wasn't a problem, staff were more than happy to supply. Breakfast was amazing, you name it it's there !!!!!!!!!!! As we weren't receiving fresh fruit in our room daily we'd take a few pieces from breakfast. The water park is a huge bonus when you have kids, we were there virtually every day , great fun when you can waltz in and out as a guest when it's included in your costs for the hotel. There are happy hours at various bars which soften the blow (a bit) for the expensive drinks, you could go between bars from 4pm to 11pm and experience the happy hours between them, but it isn't this type of holiday to be honest. The experience of staying at the atlantis was great, fantastic fireworks on the Thursday evening which we had a great view of from our room, prior to the fireworks we had been at the water park for the night adventure, it was good fun but far too busy, huge queues on all slides after approx 20:30/20:45 !We tried room service one evening we didn't want to go out &amp; 10 out of 10, food hot, fresh and served with a smile.My son tried the teenage kids club towards the end of the holiday and wished he'd went earlier, he met many new friends and thought the staff great.Heard others comparing antlantis to other hotels i.e free ice lollies and cool spray down at Jumeria beach, as well as chocolate on pillows during turn down, and fresh fruit every day, not huge value monetary wise but would be nice if antlantis provided this too.All in all this was an excellent holiday and I'd recommend the atlantis, a few minor problems but was more than happy with the overall experience.


doc_id: 290677269094494326336690342840979832108
title: AMAZING- THANK GOD - we didn't listen to all the negatives!!
date: Jul 25 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Just back after 2 fantastic weeks at the Atlantis. We were initially worried after all the negative reviews. DO NOT be put off. Staff are so attentative, speak perfect English, and treat you with genuine affection, they were great with the kids, we have a 5 yr old and a 6month old. The rooms were exceptionally clean, spacious and were stocked with lots of water and fruit when we used them. We arrived at 9.00am and were checked in with no fuss, given check in was 2.00pm. We were asked where we would like to have our room and within 1hr a cot arrived for the baby. We were in the East Tower on the 6th floor overlooking the Aquarium, which is lit up at night, you can also see the waterpark. No excessive noise as previously stated. You can hear people in the corridors if they are loud think its the same in most hotels. It is a busy hotel - they were fully occupied when we where there. Given that there are 1,500 rooms the public areas do get busy- we felt it added to the atmosphere!! Friday and Saturday are their weekend so anticipate this. There was never any issue getting sunbeds whatever the day and the queues for the breakfast buffets were only after 9.30am and this was due to the fact that you are personally greeted and seated not that there are no tables. Kaleidoscope was great and we ate their most mornings however Saffron had more variety- chocolate fountain!! and Haribo sweets to name a few. Saffron was also next to Club Rush, the kids club, which offers free internet service 9.00-12.00. We cannot comment on all the services as we never got round to using them, like the executive lounge and the kids club however we met many people who felt the executive lounge saved them money on food and drink and that the services offered- free internet service all day was well worth it. The pools and beach were great. We set up base camp most days at the royal pool. Next to the royal pool are a trampoline and tabel tennis for the kids. You can also get henna tatoos and hair braiding if you like. We were met every morning by pool side staff ready to get our loungers and towels ready. Alex from Kenya was particularly welcoming every morning and knew our boys names after the first day, he was knowledgable about hotel facilities and knew occupancy , activites and most importantly the weather details. The way some guest spoke to the staff was a disgrace these people can't do enough for you and a simple please and thank you are common decency!! The royal pool does loose the sun after 3.30pm however a quick buggy ride or walk to the zero entry pool and you have the sun until 6.00pm. The pool side bar at the zero entry pool has a happy hour between 4-6pm on a bogof basis and at the royal pool happy hour is 6-8pm on a half price basis. Both pools have a guy handing out free ice-lollies aroune 1-2pm ish which is nice. The beach is not half as bad as made out. Its clean , plenty of loungers and as with the pools have plenty of lifeguards. Unlike the Jumeria beach there isn't as much current but it certainly isn't stagnant. There are however jellyfish- they are blue which don't sting you. Take this from my personal experiance. They look awesome however you will get a slight electric buzz if you touch the tenticles, I mentioned my experiance to the lifeguard and within 2 mins there were people in there removing them!! My son loved them and the lifeguard spent time speaking about them and let him toutch them - He loved it. What can I say about the water park. It's excellant as good as Wild Wadi. 2 rides that were new to us Torrent and rapids. Like a much better lazy river and the kids who are too small for the big rides, you have to be 1.2mt tall for them, can go on these. Great! Splashers area for the kids is good, plenty of lifeguards and beds. Best of all on a Thursday the waterpark is open until midnight. Can be riding all the slides in the dark. There are fireworks at 11.30pm, free dolphin show at 9.00pm and there is a night carnival atmosphere, jugglers , stalls and fire eaters! Great. Opens at 8.00pm and separate lane to get in for hotel guests. Only down side is the price. You expect this in a 5 star resort so budget for this. We ate in the Saffron buffet at night. It cost us 150 with non-alcoholic drinks ,(2 adults and 1 child) It was amazing and the variety was superb. The pool bars are cheaper and the portions are good. Remember taxis are cheap. There are 3 big malls which are a short drive away , for 30dirhams you can go to Ibn Bhatutamall which is split into different sections themed into continents. Mall of the Emirates, which has ski dubia, food court and various restaurants, including the Butchers shop bar and grill- it's fab good steak at decent prices. This also has magic planet for kids, theme park come amusements. And for 50 dirham Dubia mall, which is the biggest and quietist. This is beside the worlds tallest tower. Go to TGI Fridays and have a meal on the balcony. You get a fair meal, a view of the tallest tower and a view of great water display that plays ever 20 mins at night - its stunnning. It also has a Waitrose!! All the malls have a good food court, cheap prices and not just your basic fast food. Too sum up we all had a ball and are looking to book for next year. We also came back with money to spare!!!


doc_id: 177705785995140521529973977761332062328
title: Expensive but worth every penny - fantastic hotel
date: Jul 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Lobby was spacious and airy and I love the fact the lifts are not right there near the check in desks. Check in was speedy and smooth and our room was ready at 9am. The room is spacious and very nicely furnished and has everything we required with 2 very large and comfortable beds.Overall the service was very good, best in Levante (lebanese restaurant) and Saffron (incredable buffet), poor around the pool &amp; the pool bars and not great in Seafire (steak restaurant). Don't be put off by the sometimes not attentive service as the food is out of this world in all corners of this hotel.The pools were great for adults and children alike and the towel servise was excellent as you could have as many as you wanted. Waterpark was fantastic for big and little kids.Bars and nightclub all very nice and some serve great cocktails.My advise would be to stay at the opposite end of the hotel to the waterpark and the lost chambers if you can as it does get busy there due to the hotel visitors congrigating in that area.Although my son only used the kids club once it was very good. We used the babysitting service which was very attentive and re-assuring althogh like most things was expensive.


doc_id: 213924213663454746913121578694287068711
title: Worth every penny
date: Jul 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I stayed here as part of my honeymoon for 6 nights before going onto the Maldives and have to say it was all amazing but the Atlantis really made it. I appreciate all experiences are different but how someone can criticise the wonder of this hotel is beyond me. We arrived late in the evening and were given an upgrade and checked in within 10 minutes of arrival to the hotel as there are staff everywhere to help you. The bags arrived at the room before we even finished looking around the room. Had a palm view which is far better than the ocean view as you can see all that is happening on the beachand the pool. Also there was a big firework display on the edge of the palm that we watched for 15 minutes. Not sure what it was for but brilliant.Breakfast is the biggest spread ever and if anyone cannot find something to eat then i would be astounded, from Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Full English. It was superb and the staff could never do enough. Saffron is bigger than Kaleidoscope and i would say had more variety so ate there all but one morning.There is no question that the hotel is expensive but don;t go if you are not willing to pay or it will annoy you. It's a 5 star hotel in the best setting of a city break with beaches and blue seas. The beach is not as bad as made out and is not obviously man made and was very similar to the one in the Maldives and i never here those beaches criticised.The Lost Chambers can be done in 30 minutes tops and i would begrudge paying for this but it's free so killed half an hour but not a lot there really other than few fish.We done a Deep Water Interaction with the dolphins and would do it over and over as it's an amazing experience. Would have been nice to do even more with such amazing creatures but the experience is great.Aquaventure is great for a couple of hours but definitely avoid Friday and Saturdays there as all the locals come to the hotel and it gets very busy and the rides start to queue up.The hotel does get busy but staff and security are everywhere in the hotel and it never bothered us so just think people look for reasons to moan.We ate in two of the hotel restaurants and the food was fantastic and again worth every penny. No more than a good quality meal in London.The staff could never do enough and were always first to say hello. If you are booked to stay here ignore any negatives as the hotel is unbelievable and i am already planning a trip back. If you do have a problem just ask the staff and they will sort it straight away.I saw one man being very rude to a member of staff. Manners costs nothing and if i had been the boy i would have not helped the man but he still did despite the arrogance which shows their level of service.The best experience ever is all i can say.


doc_id: 199459376005156749836472603874478005568
title: Not Impressed Very Poor Customer Service Most Likely will not return
date: Jul 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
we booked a three night stay at the Atlantis the palm from July 21st to July 24th. we have been here 2 nights now and would just say the Hype is much more than reality.Yes The Hotel is nice and has good amenities, but it is not the exclusive ultimate experience it is made out to be.The directions to the Hotel were very poor, we called the hotel 5 times on the way and went around in circles, till we finally asked for help and found our way.The check in was good and efficient, the room very nice and the view was quite good. The staff was well trained and most times polite and efficient.The experience that turned me off the most was the way they dealt with one of the promotions. When I made the booking, they had a promotion that you would get a complimentary massage for every massage you booked. This promotion was posted on their website even as late as yesterday afternoon (22 July 2009). But the Spa refused to acknowledge that and said it was an old promotion valid only till June and now they would not be able to offer it. when I mentioned the fact that it was posted online even as we spoke. They gave me the run around and three different employees called me without so much as accepting my point but promising to call me back, the call never came. This is typical cheap 2-3 star hotel behaviour. For a Hotel that claims to be luxury hotel and 5 star standard etc would never deal with the issue in such manner and all that for equivalent of US$ 15.The water park is good but there are many water parks the world over that we have enjoyed more. The prices were exorbitant and once you were in everything was charged for.I would rate my experience as not exciting. Maybe if the hype had not been so much and my expectations were lower it might not have been that bad.But at this point of time, unless I receive an apology from the hotel for their poor customer service will not return.


doc_id: 169213102972079426578927838556926329836
title: Great hotel but too big for personalized service
date: Jul 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed in Atlantis in July 2009. Had heard and read a lot about it and were eagerly looking forward to our stay. Just the opening night festivities were supposed to have costed US$50 million out of which $37 million was repuated to be spent just on the fireworks alone (which were supposed to be 6 times bigger than the China olympic games display.) I will be particularly detailed in my comments since I know that tripadvisor reviews are circulated amongst the hotel management team!From a holiday destination perspective, we decided to stay at the Atlantis since they were running a great promotion. The rack rate for a normal Atlantis room was a few thousand Dhirams. We booked through booking.com and ended paying approx. 1075 Dhirams per night (not including ~20% in taxes). Anyhow, we arrived. Our first impression was that the lobby was a fish market. The reception disks, if I remember correctly, did not have signs indicating what they were for, the lines were long and there were too many people hanging around. We had no clue which line to go to. Anyhow, we finally crossed our fingers and got into a line. Whilst checking in, we specified a non-smoking room. A trainee host took us up to our room. Guess what? The room reeked of smoke. On saying that i wanted my room changed, I was told that they could not change the room since it was a weekend. When I insisted and said that it was impossible for me to sleep in the room, we were reluctantly led back down all the way to the front desk, we again stood in line and finally got the room got switched. Thus the initial experience was quite jarring.Going forward, the hotel itself is huge (approx. 1,500 rooms), beautiful and one of the nicest properties I have ever stayed in. The Atlantis type of room that we stayed in was immaculately well done. We could not wait to get settled in and move on to explore the rest of the hotel. The first thing that we check out was the restaurants. We had read a lot about the great dining options and were keen to decide on where we were going to eat dinner. The hotel has 10+ restautants and they are spread throughout the hotel. What I would have ideally wanted is a book with all the menus in one place. Its a bummer that this was something that nobody had thought of and we had to trudge from one place to the next trying to remember what everybody served so that we could make a decision. This was specially important as I am a vegetarian with limited menu options. Anyhow, the food made up for everything. If you're a foodie, then you've died and entered into foodie heaven. The only problem with dining is the lack of many informal / quick dining options. They seems to be limited to a couple of dining places next to the main pool.Next step was an outdoor exploration of the hotel. I would really recommend that the hotel invests in coin operated laundry machines for the guests. I had not expected to see clothes being hung out to dry from the balconies but this was not uncommon. Having said that, the hotel is huge and inspiring! It esp. look really cool at night.The massive fish tank is astounding. The tank walls are made of acrylic and were shipped over from Japan. They are supposed to be 30cm to 60cm thick. There are thousand of fish in the tank. Mind blowing. Don't forget to take a &quot;back of the house tour&quot; if time permits. You get to check out how this all works.We spent a good amount of time at the Aquaventure park. This is something not to be missed and hotel guests get in for free. The best part of the park were the rides which start from the Ziggurat! I literally had my heart in my mouth when I was standing in the line for the &quot;Leap of Faith&quot; ride/slide. The view of the palm from the top of the Ziggurat is fabulous. Don't miss it. Also don't forget to check out the Cold Stone creamery near the entrance to Aquaventure. A visit there is a good way to end a tiring water filled day!The hotel has a nightclub which was pretty happening when we went. A good place for the guys to hang out (-:The hotel has a massive convention centre (which seemed to be mostly unused). If I had a business meeting, I would certainly consider having it here. From a security perspective, it seemed kind of weak. We only had to say our room# and name to get access to most everything. Ideally, they would ask us to at least show room keys.The guests seemed to be pretty homogeneous. Approx. 40% of hotel residents in a typical year are from the UK and another approx. 30% would be from Russia. So if you are those countries, you'll have plenty of company.If I was the hotel management, I would invest in english language training for the staff. There were times when we could not make ourselves understood at the first go. Apparently, most of the staff was hired as fresh graduates without any prior hotel experience and it shows. Service level almost everywhere can improve. For example, used plates and cutlery in our room was not replaced when the room was done in the mornings. For a hotel which aspires to have a minimum rack rate / non discounted charge for the cheapest room to be close to US$800, the service is not good enough. It I had paid anything close to rack rate, I would have felt very unhappy. The product is world class and no cost has been spared on it but lacks the finish on account of service levels not being up to the mark. If I was the hotel owner, I would locate a guy called Pierre, who used to be the general manager of the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi till some time back and put him to work at the Atlantis!!Did I get my money's worth? Definitely yes. Would I ever pay full price? Definitely not.


doc_id: 48854380705896271480202259377528810926
title: One night was enough
date: Jul 23 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My husband and I stayed at the Atlantis Palm for one night in July (hubby's bday). Overall its worth going to to see the aquarium and chamber of secrets - this was amazing! I've never been so close to a whale shark in my life and staying the night was worth it for that.As for the downsides - the hotel was very busy, we arrived and it took over 25mins to check in, standing around waiting for a desk to come free is not what you expect from a 5*hotel. The entrance is very grand and the marble floors impresive. Our room was average, nice and clean but no 'wow' factor anywhere. For such a new hotel the decor was old fashioned, not contemporary at all. The pools - we thought there would be more pools. There were 2 main pools that were packed. The location of the pools is odd - at about 4pm the sun gos behind the hotel - we could not understand why they didn't build the pools facing the sea rather than facing back towards the palm? Having stayed at other 5* hotels in dubai it was not what I expected, no swim up bars, no cold towles, crowded spaces...commercial The beach - this is not a 5*beach. The sand is not soft underfoot, the sea looks back towards the palm and all you can see is massive concrete strutts that hold up the metro and the buildings opposite - not at all what we expected.Aquadventure - good fun - we went there twice, Dubai really do know how to build a water park. This is worth going to. I'm stll undecided as to which is best - this one or Wild Wadi - my husband thinks Wild Wadi.Food - the beach bars are expensive for what you get - I think the cheapest thing on the menue was a 12 hot dog! Your looking at 35 for 2 for lunch. We got dressed up for dinner and decided to go to Saffron - I felt SO overdressed in my heels and dress, next to others with jeans and t-shirts on! Saffron is more of a family restaurant. The food however was excellent - can't fault it, but the experience is not what I had in mind (we found out later that this is one of 2 places you eat if your all inclusive) it had a canteen feel about it. Overall this hotel is worth going to to see the chamber of secrets, the aqurium and use the waterpark (which is free if you stay). I would not want to stay here for any length of time, its overcrowded, old fashioned decor lets it down and it just doesn't work for me, there are better hotles in dubai.


doc_id: 21501863107140906689178553105319042875
title: Fantasticexcitingbrilliant experience
date: Jul 22 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Stayed on a 2 day stop over en route to the UK, with my 2 sons aged 13 and 10, what a sight to see after an 11 hour flight from Perth Australia getting to the hotel at 7am, they checked us in straight away even though rooms not available until 2pm. Reception staff were quick, proffesional, efficent, charming, made us feel very welcome.Had one of their cheapest rooms on level 5, stunning views over the gulf from the balcony, too hot to sit outside and look at it too aften though, but on every glance out we saw luxurious boat after boat, sunseekers, mustangs, sports cruisers, just pure oppulence speeding up and down the coast.The guy who bought our luggage up explained about the room safe and the mini bar, dont take anything out as it is automatically charged for. showed us how to work the tv, the airconditioner etc.We went exploring immediately, everyone so friendly and welcoming, decided to have breakfast at Saffron restaurant, lovelly, choice of food amazing, like a trip around the world for your stomach, went there that night and the4 next day for another breakfast too, just perfect couldnt have wanted for anything else.Spent the day by the pool, overlooking the monorail and looking back on the most amzing place on earth they call Dubai.. The adjoining water park, the lost chambers all free as we were guests at the hotel, and what a wonderful experience they all were, the food sold in the park was good, the drinks readily available, lifeguards every 20 metres, all smiling, everyone happy, calm, no bad language, no out of control screaming teenagers, just loads of people from all countries all shapes and sizes all having a wonderful time.Atlantis very highly recommended, safe, warm, wonderfully inviting hotel, with the most amazing cars parked in the car park, we spent an hour looking at the contents of the car park, (Boys will be boys) like a Top Gear 5 star special, Couldnt fault any of it, and cannot recommend it enough.


doc_id: 181797170414846246206808567598029214105
title: Amazing Incredible Unbelievable.
date: Jul 21 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We are an Australian family of 5 who stayed at the Atlantis for 4 days on our way home from Europe. Childrens ages are 17, 13 &amp; 11. This was the most amazing Hotel I have ever seen. Visually it blows you away. It has so much to offer for the kids. A huge waterpark which has about 13 slides, a lazy river, a white water rafting river and a play area for the little kids to keep out of harms way. There is one slide that is 9 storeys high which my husband is still trying to figure out why he went on it. Its not for the faint hearted. He did it in 6 seconds which was a record. A word of advice: The bigger you are the faster you fall. The hospitality was second to none and we found that even the guests started greeting you in the motel as the kindness wore off on to you. I wore a permanent smile for 4 days. The rooms are also of a high quality. Certainly no expense spared. The food in the restaurants was absolutely delicious. The buffet breakfast offered every quisine imaginable. Make sure you swim with the dolphins. It was an experience I will never forget. Any trip overseas will now include a stopover in the Atlantis for me. Its worth every cent. The McPherson Family, Seabrook, Victoria, Australia.


doc_id: 236420803630607023032570346735468208744
title: Impressive but they charge like an angry Rhinoceros
date: Jul 20 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Atlantis is an odd mixture. Six star public areas give an amazing first impression - fabulous marble floors, exotic sculptures, the Atlantis theme faithfully played out are all world class.The rooms (and we had a better than average one) are simply good 4 star world business hotel standard - nice bathrooms with separate showers and loos, OK TVs, comfy bed, good (quietish) aircon.Staff (innumerable) are industrious, polite, keen and pleasant. Almost too keen sometimes.Thus far, the hotel would be a 200 a night one.The main attractions, of course, are the water park and the aquarium. Both are free to guests. The water park is excellent - lots of rides including a children's sub-park for people less than 1.2 metres tall. The main rides from easy to downright terrifying, beautifully run, clean, tidy, loads of sunloungers, basically excellent. Worth about another 60 a room, really, but you would tire after three days of it.The aquarium is also excellent, again themed elaborately on the Atlantis theme. It is more impressive than the London Aquarium, and has the added bonus that you can view it as the lights are lowered and see night-time fish behaviour, which normally you would miss. Again, three or four one hour visits is ample.So far so good. What are the downsides?- first, the whole park and pool area is suffused by very loud musak - so loud you actually have to speak up to get past it. You cannot escape it when you are outdoors.- second, everything you buy in this hotel is marked up to a ludicrous degree. A bottle of corona beer is 8. Two starters and two glasses of chilean sauvignon blanc in the beach bar - 60. Breakfast - 28 a head. Wine - dont even ask! You cant buy alcohol in a shop in Dubai without a licence, so forget any idea of hopping down to the offie to stock up your fridge. The markups are doubly ridiculous when you consider that the average staff salary is about 200 a month.- third - a detail, but they are still getting the management systems bedded down - we booked a wakeup call and got four, five minutes apart.- the pay-per-view movie selection is dire, and expensive at 8 a throw. Only about 40 to choose from in total, which is weird in a billion pound property.So, this hotel is a destination yes, and an event in its own right, but I wouldnt suggest staying more than three days, take your own booze, get a full meal plan if you can, padlock the minibar, and get a sea-view room away from the musak. Take your own dvds and player.


doc_id: 174106414254311795872565203208169867888
title: Package holiday feel with Dubai prices.... over hyped!!!
date: Jul 19 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Staying at the Atlantis has been a bit of a let down. We have spent 4 previous years staying at the Arabian court, part of the one and only chain and compared to that hotel this has both a different feel and different target market. The hotel is impressive, excellent quality and built to high Dubai standards. However as the hotel owners have obviously decided to recoup their investment as early as possible they have managed to destroy the atmosphere by discounting the rooms to achieve 100% occupancy, charging for as much as they can during your stay. If you like to queue at breakfast for 15 minutes or sit less than 1mtr away from a stranger on a sunbed around the pool then this is the hotel for you. Over crowded, busy, noisy and too big is how I would describe this hotel. The service is lacking due to the obvious guest numbers and so you often find dinner plates not cleared away or people just waiting for service from anyone. Never once was the main hotel lobby free of lots and lots of people. The atmosphere is one of a cheap spanish package holiday from the late 80's. To add to the problem locals are allowed to visit the hotel to view the Lost Chambers or to the Aquaventure for which the hotel charges. The Lost Chambers are in the ground floor of the main hotel so you have lots of passing crowds visiting inside the main hotel.I would recommend taking the half board option as the cost of a breakfast for a family of four would be around 80.00. However the half board option only allows you to eat in two restaurants both of which are buffet style - of the two the Saffron is the better. The result is considerable over crowding, noise, poor quality and lack of service, the staff work very hard but due to numbers they are hard pressed to deliver 5 star service. They do have lots of other restaurants but if you have paid for a two week stay and do not opt for the half board option it is likely to add 3-4k to your stay for a family of four. it would be so much better if they allowed you to transfer some of your meal entitlement to other restaurants and allow guests to pay the difference.The children do love aquaventure and that is a big lure to the hotel but some locals told me they purchased entry tickets for AED 175.00 which is competitive compared to Wild Wadi. Drinks are amazingly expensive and that includes water and soft drinks.Compared to the Jumierah Beach or the One &amp; Only Royal Mirage this hotel comes third in atmosphere but top in charges...


doc_id: 301333861876547453337807573948832268449
title: Fabulous
date: Jul 19 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I couldn't fault anything about this hotel. Fantastic, friendly staff, spacious and beautifully clean rooms and great restaurants. The whole 5 days I spent here were amazing and the service was first class. Also it was nowhere near as expensive as some of the other reviews said and as it is 'quiet season` there were numerous food and drinks offers available. The waterpark &amp; lost chambers are free to guests and were well worth a visit (although some of the features in aquaventure are not for the faint-hearted!). Would definitely stay here again. They also offer free shuttle bus services to 2 of the shopping malls but a taxi to Mall of the emirates was only 40 dirhams each way and took approx 25 mins.


doc_id: 286107374538846618490343741727958249300
title: Not all that it's cracked up to be......
date: Jul 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
As we are regular holiday makers to Dubai, we felt a change from the usual Jumeriah Beach hotel was in order, however, I was glad that we still had 8 nights at an old favourite and 8 nights at the Atlantis as I would not have liked to spend the whole holiday there. I was reminded of a Las Vegas style and proportion hotel on first impressions. I was immediately disappointed in the service, we specifically requested a non smoking room only to be put in one with a liberal supply of ashtrays! We were not offered any option on check in and working in healthcare, specifically in chest medicine, I would not spend my holiday in an ex smoking environment. However this was rectified after a trip back to reception desk to a non smoking floor with an excellent view over the Palm. Unlike other visitors, we were not given a rundown of the hotel or explanation of where we could eat, this was up to us to find out. The outdoor areas were excellent, although I do agree with other reviewers that the pool was quite basic and some interesting features would have been nice. The Aquaventure was good fun and much better than Wild Wadi, howver, had we not been guests of the hotel, I would have been loathe to pay the rather steep admission prices. I also felt that the prices for Dolphin Bay and to feed the fish in the Ambassador Lagoon was excessive for hotel guests.Other downsides were that the turndown service did not occur every night and small details evident at Jumeriah were missing such as vanity kits, I had to request gowns and slippers, room service was slow and service in restaurants was not always up to the mark apart from a select few waiters.However, when any issues were taken to management, the individuals concerned tried their best to rectify problems but I feel that we should not have had to bring anything to their attention at all!!!!Having seen it and done it, I had a reasonable time but would not rush back but I would not discourage others from trying it out as obviously others experiences have varied according to reviews.


doc_id: 325358411785015310202190151599789444271
title: Once in a lifetime experience - but thats about all!
date: Jul 16 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My family and I stayed three nights at the Atlantis following a three night stay at the Westin.From the outside the hotel is very impressive and very big, but having arrived at the hotel around 12.00pm, we were requested to wait at the Hospitality lounge for two hours before getting our room which was on the 15th floor of the hotel.The room was clean and large. We opted for the HB option from our Tour operator (Travel Dubai) which was a good idea since we only paid 24/adult and 14/kid, as opposed to the 175AED when eating. Drinks are expensive, and beware if your not drinking alcohol, there is no happy hour reduction. The shore charged 54.00 for one panini and 2 bowls of spagetti with three soft drinks.If youve got a restricted diet - i.e. you cannot eat Halal meat - stay well away from the meat dishes, since none of them are pork.The waterpark is amazing - however the rides are rough and as with me expect cuts and bruises.The aquarium is large - however there are no details of the fish your are viewing.In all the hotel is large - and its a shame they don't offer an inclusive deal for families.The beach is man made and there were alot of jelly fish - be warned.


doc_id: 27898042027118869705574190600669060944
title: Impressive hotel
date: Jul 15 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I stayed here for 3 days and it's amazing. This hotel is like a village, you even need a map to go through. It has a Spa, 16 bars and restaurants, disco, tennis court, swimmpool, shops, aquarium, dolphin bay, aquatic park...You need to stay here for a week to know all the corners of the hotel.All the staff was very nice, they paid attention to evry single detail.The room was amazing, was a double room and the bathroom was connected to the room through a mobile wooden door, so I could watch the TV from the bath! it had balcony as well overlooking the sea and the swimmpool.Everything is amazing in this hotel :)


doc_id: 166894206693079732945729841142972915764
title: Amazing
date: Jul 15 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed 3 days just for the experience and it was totally amazing. The hotel, staff, facilities and service were all first class. The hotel was full but there was never any shortage of sun beds around the pool or on the beach and staff are always on hand to lay out your towel, get drinks, give you directions, transport you to different areas in the hotel grounds, in fact everything you would expect of a luxury hotel.We paid an extra 25 per head to go half board and it was well worth it. The restaurants in general were expensive but the food in the two buffet restaurants we could use was fantastic. We have stayed in some very good hotels over the years but never seen such a variety of food on offer and it was all freshly cooked and continually topped up. We never had to queue to get in or to be served which was surprising considering how many guests there were.The aquarium which has 15,000 fish including a whale shark, is mesmerizing. The Aquaventure Park adjacent to the hotel is great fun even for more mature tourists like ourselves and was a good way to keep cool in the heat.It was our fourth trip to Dubai but the first to Atlantis and we would certainly go back.


doc_id: 195263924142833467757710840664355654343
title: THE best hotel in the world
date: Jul 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
OK, where to start? First of all, the best buffet in the world is located on the first floor: the Saffron restaurant. All you can eat food in many small buffets (incl salad, soups, Indian, sushi, Chinese food, Thai, Italian, American, dessert, chocolate, ect, ect). All that for 60 US$. Unbeatable.The beach is very nice. During the day, it is very hot (but it's Dubai) so they bring you some Popsicle sticks! During the night, the city illuminated is awesome, and the shisha is delicious! The staff is incredibly nice and helpful. They would do anything they can to ensure you have the best stay of your life. Bravo!It is THE best hotel in the world.


doc_id: 260317311225535551395045351546188957468
title: we loved it
date: Jul 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed from the 23rd to the 25th of June, the trip from the airport took quite a while and cost around 20. We were able to check in at 830am which was good. It definately has the wow factor, the aquarium needs to be seen and the water park, especially the 'leap of faith' was great dont expect to see the fish as you shoot through the tank like a speeding bullet there is another ride that goes into a tube in the tank which is more sedate. The staff were great it is a bit far away from the main parts of Dubai we wanted to see but taxi's were cheap and plentiful. The Emirates golf course is at the bottom of the Palm so that was handy. We ate at the Levantine one night the meal was excellent, drinks as you would expect were pricey. We enjoyed it very much.


doc_id: 163536621519207239563912817929619020095
title: Good but nothing superbly great...
date: Jul 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
The Atlantis is one of those hotels that is more about the hype. We went here for our honeymoon and found it quite ok. Needless to say it was extremely overpriced but the accomodation came with entry to the waterpark (which was quite nice). The lobby was extremely crowded at any time and did not seem air-conditioned! However, we had a pleasant stay and the staff were great! We even got a complimentary cake wishing us a happy honeymoon!


doc_id: 238472691419300777139783296119178092053
title: Superb property with not so superb service..
date: Jul 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed at the Atlantis for only 1 night out of our five nights in Dubai. I wanted to stay longer but my wife refused to as July is super hot and she knew we would have stayed outdoors through out our stay at the Atlantis, after arriving I agreed with her completely. The rooms are very average five star rooms with palm or sea view, the lobby restaurants, and the public spaces are spectacular. If you are looking for exclusivity, this is not the place, it is more of a family resort with thousands of guests. The service is very average, and also below average at some times, for instance we called for some ice in the room and didn't receive any for half an hour, when we called again they told us that there was an ice machine on every floor and we could get it our selves, she could have told the same thing to us the first time we had called. The hotel also tends to mislead on somethings, when I had made the booking we were marketed a promotion that came with a free second spa service if you payed for one, when we went to the spa they had no idea of such promotion and refused. Then I called the reservation office which conformed about the promotion and seed that they could not do anything about it and asked me to explain the situation to the spa directly. The buffet restaurant saffron is excellent, with very high quality, abandon options, and exquisite presentations. The water park is also fun however nothing compared to some in the US, The Dolphin bay is very good, however overpriced.. In conclusion the over all experience as good, and fun, I would definitely go back with my kids someday...


doc_id: 85237269430861323089492674071383544904
title: Superb hotel - would recommend to everyone
date: Jul 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My partner and I have been holidaying in Dubai for the past six years, mainly staying in the Jumeriah Beach Hotel on Club Exec basis.On this occasion, our friends (2 adults, three children aged 3,10,12) decided to join us as they were celebrating their 10 wedding anniversary and wanted somenthing special.First, we stayed 5 nights at Jumeirah Beach Hotel and thoroughly enjoyed our stay there, before moving on to Atlantis for a further four nights (staying Imperial Club basis).Before I tell you of our experience, I want to try to draw a line under the majority of negative reviews which have preceeded me, and which I can only put down to it having teething problems during its first year of opening. I must admit I had thought of changing hotels from reading some of the poor reviews, however I neednt of worried they seemed to have listened to all points raised and addressed and resolved any problems.We arrived and were checked in within minutes, and escorted to our room by a very helpful gentleman who explained where all the facilities where in the hotel and our bags arrived shortly afterwards.The rooms were extremely well furnished and the bathroom was amazing - turndown and cleaning were done efficiently every day/night of our stay.The hotel itself is huge, but beautiful with the staff attentive and the service polite and friendly.Spa was superb and the massages very relaxing - offer was on when we were there, buy one massage and get one free, which meant two full body, one hour massages for only 70 - not bad at all.We ate at two of the restaurants, Ronda Locateli (Italian) and Saffron (Buffet), both of which were a lovely experience, however I would definately recommend Saffron more so due to the amazing choice of food - everything type of food you could imagine from seafood (including lobster and oysters) to indian to chinese etc... followed by a huge display of sweets including a chocolate fountain - all for 40 per adult and 20 per child.You could get a decent bottle of wine with dinner for around 20, with a vodka and coke costing around 6. There were always special dining offers on for different restaurants, so check them out and save a quid.The two pools were nice, however we thought rather plain in contrast to the Club Exec pool in Jumeirah beach which had winding routes, bubble areas and swim up bar - strange they never really thought of making it a little more interesting, but very nice and clean. The best thing about the pool area were the Cabanas which you could hire either for a full or half day. We used to go to the waterpark in the morning then hire one of these for the afternoon - it included Cabana, table and chairs, private sunloungers, Fatboy bean bags, cold drinking water and a fresh fruit basket served on ice. The cost for a single one was 10 for half a day or for one more than double the size was 30 - well worth the treat if you are planning an afternoon by the pool.As to Aqua Adventure Water Park - this was also excellent and we spent many hours there. We are big fans of Wild Wadi Water Park and thought Aqua Adventure was just as good - it has different rides and it was good to experience both water parks during our stay.Aquarium was as very good and mesmerising - free for hotel guests and worth several visits.My final comment would be regarding the prices whilst over there - Dubai is, and always has been expensive ( I have always described it to London prices). There have been scare stories about glasses of Diet Coke costing 10 by the pool, however this is not true - the price is actually 17 UAE Dirhams which works out to just under 3, and a bottle of lager is around 6 - yes this is expensive, but not unusual. We found the meals by the pool to be quite a decent size and often shared between two. The prices in Aqua Adventure are slightly cheaper as they are also selling to the public.All in all we had a fabulous time in a wonderful hotel with polite and good mannered staff, and we would recommend this hotel to everyone.If you have booked or are looking to be book, please do not worry or be put off by some of the old reviews - I can personally assure you that they have got their act together and it is now one of the best in Dubai - we will be returning.


doc_id: 58973774933860142263299385382114345452
title: Impressive hotel with great service
date: Jul 13 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Stayed at the Atlantis July 5 to 10 and had a great time.The general level staff service was very good and friendly although some days the room housekeeping was a bit hit and miss.This is a great hotel if you have kids, but for a couple or for adults go to Al Qasr in the Madinat Jumeriah complex or Le Royal Meridian.The food and drink is very expensive so make use of the cheep taxis to get into town / shopping centres for dining.Swimming pools and sun areas are very good.Dont miss the water park evening openings on Thursdays which is free to hotel guests and well worth it with fireworks on the beach at 11:30.


doc_id: 96045895792880488605824016549580845251
title: Mindblowing Luxury but you pay for it!
date: Jul 11 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This hotel is very very expensive, but its worth it in my eyes . The check in hall is just a 'wow' affair with a massive glass waterfall centre piece, which kinda sets the scene for the whole hotel! Rooms are big with all the essential amenities but they have a fantastic bathroom, with fluffy robes and great spa lotions and potions.Food is very pricey in the hotel but you cant really go anywhere else for food unless you go in to Dubai city centre or to the near by souk at the Burj Al Arab. Taxis are cheap so getting around is easy.The waterpark which is attached to the hotel is amazing, with the longest lazy river in the world, and a great rapids. Think Centre Parcs but with more money and much hotter!! This was our first hotel on a round the world trip and we stayed for 2 nights to be honest we wouldnt stay any longer than that...but its worth a trip!


doc_id: 105248823364645413359117844902263734929
title: Wonderful ***
date: Jul 11 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This was our first real exotic hoilday abroad with young children ( 5 and 2 ) and having stayed in dubai before ( le meridian royal beach ) without childen, we were worried that it may not be family friendly.We loved the hotel and had such a relaxing stay which is a miracle with a two year old. I could not fault the service at all. Everyone was really helpful and every single member of staff i approached were very knowledgable. For example restaurant staff could give us info on shuttle times and the aquarium. The conceierge were great. Food was lovely. Plenty of choice and 2 nice restaurants suitable for families.Perhaps my only criticism is that the childrens club is based indoors. It would be nice if there were some outdoor activities for them. Also children have to be 4 to go to kids club which meant no adult time for us.Also more family bedrooms with seperate bedrooms. Once the kids were asleep, we had to whisper to each other all night.Overall i would visit again. In fact we have just booked to go back in sep this year!!!Cant be that bad, we have travelled all over the world, and this is definately up there with the best.


doc_id: 16286061258065770616072818406037672293
title: Atlantis the flop
date: Jul 7 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
If you want Disney then this is the place for you, if you are looking for the same experience as Atlantis Barbados then this is not the place for you.Seriously I have nothing to say that is good about this Hotel except they have a sister Hotel or at least same owner the Royal Mirage at the foot of the Palm and If I was you stay there.The Hotel is Shocking and Sol Kerzner needs to look at who is managing the property, he should be embaressed with the consistancy, Barbados Rocks but Dubai Atlantis is just nothing and I mean Nothing in comparison.I was there for an event with collagues and I use most Hotels in Dubai for my events but lets just say that is the last event I will have in Atlantis as in the last three months it has deteriated from bad to worse to just a joke, if you hold an event at Atlantis Barbados you get a real experience and an idea on how to manage guests, Events team Atlantis sorry but poor mans brother.Food wise yep once again Dubai mentallity has come through and nothing more so than Dubais Atlantis, we know everything attutude and yet they cannot serve a beverage or one dish that is a worthy comment. I can understand why people rave about Atlantis and if you stand in the Lobby for 10 minutes you will understand why, waterloo Train station London rings a bell in my mind. Nobu what were you thinking joining partners with these Guys, Nobu should be in the Royal Mirage where there is class.Locatelli are you aware of what these guys are doing to your good name, but seriously the events food and room service is just shockingly priced and just laughable. sorry to the Chefs but seriously look around the world and get an idea on whats going on or just look at your sister Hotel at the end of the Palm. My Next event thats where I am heading.Last point Atlantis, maybe if you stopped and got of your high horse have a look around, treat your guests with a little more respect and probaly your own people, stop patting yourselves on the back for good job and realise that your operation is a sham.SOL KERZNER GET INVOLVED MATE.


doc_id: 150878710185767158445796429107948912805
title: Unique experience that shouldn't be missed.
date: Jul 7 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
For all those reading the many negative reviews below Id like you to focus for a moment on whats the biggest reason for them, the cost of the meals at the restaurants in Atlantis. Well, you do not have to stay in Atlantis or on the Palm for that matter to eat as taxis in Dubai are considerably cheaper than in the UK so therefore lets discount those straight away shall we. Right now thats out of the way Ill give you our account of our 6 day stay @ Atlantis in June 2009.When we arrived at Atlantis we were greeted by the bellboys and whisked by what seemed about 5 different staff through to the main lobby and Check-In. Even though we arrived before 09:00 in the morning and our allocated Atlantis room was still being cleaned we were offered an alternative so we could check in straight away. In the end this turned out to be a better room in our mind as our room was a King on the 21st floor with a Palm view yet we were given a Queen room with two queen size beds on the 18th floor, again with a magnificent Palm view. To say we were happy with the room (which was huge and well designed  loved the opening wooden doors that revealed the bath and then the bathroom) would be an understatement. Room was well stocked with free bottled water (an endless supply, just call downstairs for it to be replenished), free bowl of fruit every morning, lots of excellent quality branded cappuccino/mocha and tea sachets replaced each morning if you had used them and quality (Floris) toiletries, again replenished on a daily basis. Have I mentioned the view? Well Ive included a photo with this review so you can all see what Im talking about. Magnificent, looking almost straight down the trunk of the Palm, directly over the Royal Pool and Levantine, the smart but casual chill out bar which is just off the lobby.Ill not bore everybody with every detail of our stay but having been to Dubai twice before in the previous yr this was by far our most enjoyable stay, even with the temps (average of 43 for our stay) being up on what we had previously experienced in Dubai.The things you need to know to decide whether you want to spend your hard earned cash coming here:Rooms  We had an Atlantis room which generally means you get a higher floor and it could not be faulted, as stated above. It also has a decent size fridge so buy your cheap duty free as you arrive in Dubai and keep your mixers for it chilled in here. Saves on the drinks bills in the hotel.Staff  On the whole, exemplary. Nothing is too much trouble. Every one of them greets you with a good morning or good evening. Calls to Guest services are responded to immediately. It took a member of staff less than 4 mins to get up 18 floors in the lift to fix our broken safe keypad! The people on Concierge and Check In could probably do with some more English lessons but thats it.Location  Amazing, especially if you get a Palm view. The view back to Dubai is so striking and gives such a different perspective on the place than from any other hotel, for obvious reasons.Ability to eat without needing a 2nd mortgage  As previous people have already commented, the breakfast was legendary and certainly keeps you going all day and for the evening, yes, by getting a 20 dirham taxi off the Palm and eating at any of the many restaurants that now hug the Marina which is located just off the trunk of the Palm or eating at Nasimi Beach Bar by the Zero pool adjacent to the West Tower of Atlantis. 2 courses for 20 or 3 for 25 and the food was excellent with good portion sizes.Amenities  Second to none. There is plenty of sun loungers (complete with your own canopy) around the pools. Our tip would be to go to the Zero pool by the West Wing which was generally quieter and more chilled out. You also have free access to Aquaventure where there are at least half a dozen more small lagoons that have hundreds of sun loungers around them and on at least one occasion we had the whole lagoon to ourselves! Funky chill out music in a Hed Kandi style is pumped out of discreet (shaped like green mushroom heads) Bose speakers throughout both the hotel grounds and Aquaventure so if you like that style of music theres no need to bring your Ipod down to the pool. Cold flannels and sorbet ice lollies are brought round in the morning and afternoon around the pools in the hotel grounds, which is also a nice touch. In summary, if you can get a deal either online or from your local travel agent to come to Atlantis I would not hesitate in recommending it. If you are on any kind of budget, you obviously have to use some common sense to ensure you do not end up with a hefty hotel room bill to pay at the end of your stay. Our bill for 5 Nights/6 Days was a very affordable 240 Dirhams (40) and that included internet use, food from Aquaventure and some drinks at Nasimi (Happy Hour of course!). Its an absolutely fantastic place with all those little touches youd expect from a five star and it doesnt disappoint.


doc_id: 169072273549565821879062650807525725735
title: the dream didn't deliver
date: Jul 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Be prepared !! once the grandeur of the magnificent architecture and luxurious decor wears of you may feel like one of their 65,000 marine creatures stuck in the aquarium bored and disillusioned. Honestly no one can dispute what a marvellous looking building this is inside and out it is very impressive and why we wanted to go. But after a couple of days we were all bored and disappointed with the place. My husband and I took our daughter aged 10 and son aged 14 months. Some staff were snooty and only interested in the rich and famous (of which there were plenty paris hilton,john terry and anelka to name but a few) but unless you have equal status I can't see how the holiday can be enjoyed. The waterparks not a patch on wild wadi no surf rides or wave pool, a fast food lunch for the three of us with soft drinks was 60!! (cheapest option). Dinner was always ok but for astronomical prices again cheaper option 2 adult dinners and 1 child with soft drinks in their buffet restraunts 180 , the food was good but not amazing service was ok and there wasn't any amosphere no entertainment of any kind you always felt oblidged to eat and move along. Children are banned from bars so the only place you could drink after dinner was the lobby (if you could find a seat) but they made it difficult at night the place is just not family friendly. For children the kids club take them from age 4 for around 20 per child per hour and they're not that happy with you checking the place over. For that price I'd expect much much more than there was and my daughter likes to come and go rather than be timed. The rooms again just ok some nice features like bathroom sliding door views but small and housekeeping amused us they seemed to clean the rooms one half one day the other the next. Toiletries were replaced with half full bottlles and not new ones!! no finishing touches like chocolate on the pillow. We might sound like grumpy stingy brits but we stayed at the jumeriah beach hotel 3 years running and the prices aren't cheap but standards and service are excellent all round rooms,staff,restraunts, food and facilities and we simply expected this to be a least as good if not better but it wasn't a patch not even close so we spent the 2nd half of the holiday back and forward in a taxi to the one and only the best jumeriah beach hotel where we will go back next year.


doc_id: 47742753542991126017222495447725438218
title: Absolutely Fabulous
date: Jul 6 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My wife and I visited Dubai and decided to stay on the Atlantis. We received a room upgrade as it was our 10th anniversary and the room overlooked the gulf sea.The hotel staff were fantastic. I read a lot of negative reviews from when the hotel first opened but glad to say that none of these applied during our stay. The hotel is soooo big you dont have to go offsight . Its not a quite place in the lobby as many tourists coming to have a look. Getting around is fairly easy as dont take long by taxi. The monorail had just opened tso had a little ride on that and the waterpark is awesome or for a quiter time try the private beach. The hotel has many restuarants catering for all tastes. Breakfast from all over the world. Along with typical English cuisine we had Nasi goreng (a Thai favourite of ours) , Japanese and even Indian one morning (!!)One critism we had was that the large aquarium housed a Whale shark, the tank was obviously too small for this beautiful mammal to nuture but apparently it was rescued and will be released when it gets bigger (umm keep an eye on this one). Overl, dont hesitate go for it. We would/ will definately be going back to the atlantis hotel.


doc_id: 330291632390875846834892157016634897977
title: Once In A Lifetime - DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
date: Jul 5 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My husband and I visited Dubai for the second leg of our honeymoon. After reading the reviews on here I was slightly concerned, however I needn't have worried it was amazing. Yes it is expensive but you can still enjoy yourself without spending a fortune. You cannot expect to go to a five star hotel and not pay for it.We arrived early 5.30am and were given a room immediately, even though check in wasn't until 2.30pm. The rooms were gorgeous lovely marble bathroom and huge bed!!. As we were on honeymoon we received a beautiful handmade chocolate sculpture with chocolate dipped strawberries and a hand written congratulations card - what a lovely touch!!We had the chocolate fountain for breakfast in the Saffron restaurant - got to be done ! and visited Aqua adventure - out of this world. If you want a totally different experience, then the Atlantis is for you, we would definitely go back!!If you are on a budget though it is expensive, but worth it, especially for a honeymoon!!!


doc_id: 115773897877892861714947951514166860862
title: Seen better!
date: Jul 5 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Stayed at Atlantis for a week..We've previously stayed at jumeirah beach and mina a salaam and i would say they were 10 times better than Atlantis the service i recieved was the worse i have in any hotel. From first glimpse the hotel is amazing looking and i cant say nething was wrong with the look of the hotel but as time went on I dont know if i just went at the wrong time but the people working there didnt have a clue if i asked them a question..( so annoying and frustrating!)twice i was given the wrong time for the shuttle to the malls.Went to dolphin bay no cabbies came for 45 mins waited there in the scorching heat at midday and on top of that a cabby came and picked up two randomos walking by and turned round and went off! complained and the lady acted like a was crazy saying thats not possible i would never ever return to the hotel. Also mum and dads room AC broke and they dint even offer them another room, but on a lighter note the waterpark was reallly good and the food in the restaraunts was topclasss.. :) so i would visit them. Alsoo! i kno im a moanbag but i was really expecting something great we paid for two rooms 600 pounds a night and still we had to pay for the spa! I'd rather try out Al Qasr next time since the service i recieved in jumeirah hotels was excelllent!.. and at the end of my stay the staff who i was checking out with asked how was your stay i mentioned i dint enjoy it as much as i expected and she ignored me and smiled .. argh sucha bad stay wish i had one like the other reviews :(


doc_id: 200577374037989207099944993401930853263
title: amazing
date: Jul 5 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I have stayed in the burj ala arab,the one and only.The Atlantis is an amazing hotel yes it is very disney land style but far from cheap and tacky,The service is so amazing they did anything we requested for and the food was outstanding.The waterpark was so fun and i would tell everyone to stop at this hotel,It isnt that expensive but people who moan that they cant afford things or its too expensive should then go some where cheap and not put down such a great hotel.It has one of the best rated clubs in Dubai and there is plenty of restaurants to choose so you dont have to pay lots if you dont want to.Th erooms are great we were on the 22nd floor and the veiw was so romantic with the sun set,I travel all round the world and would rate this as amazing,Why would this hotel have such a great opening with the biggest firework display and have kylie open it if its so horrible.And there thursday night firework display is better than londons new year display is that not saying something


doc_id: 239683349799815714075323475961485110052
title: Superb fo families
date: Jul 4 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Just returned from a short break at Atlantis, having previously stayed 3 nights at the Mina a salam, and 2 nights at the burj al arab 4 years ago. Asked for room upgrade cheekily, and was personally escorted to a 12 th floor large room, with views of the palm.Room was typically up to standard,large bathroom with good quality shampoos, gels etc. Every member of staff said hello when passing, even had the lift button pressed for us. The overall standard and finish of atlantis was very high,giving the right impression youve spent your money well. The restaurants were very expensive, and we dined wherever we ended our day,which was much cheaper.The aqua park was superb,and spent several hours each day being silly. The lost chambers was also very good.As guests get free access to both it makes for a great value destination. Breakfast was also superbly varied,kept us going all day,but can be a que to get in.If its an upmarket hotel with ambience to suit then may be stay elsewhere, but for families i dont think theres much to beat it with only a 7 hour flight. Limo from airport 25, taxi to airport 12. Driving time barely half an hour.When dubai is finished goodbye florida. Ps you must try the skiing .


doc_id: 176531132606526513390114772061635712351
title: beautiful place
date: Jul 3 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
after reading previous reviews about prices i was a bit worried but even though prices were high they were not as bad as i was expecting. Breakfast was wonderful there was 2 restaurants to have breakfast both on either side of the hotel i found the saffron one the best. the hotel was lovely and the staff very helpful and friendly nothing was too much trouble for them. the bed in my room was the most comfortable bed i have ever slept in and everything in dubai was immaculate and clean.the heat was unbearable and i was not able to sunbath on my lounger to sunbath i had to sit in the pool constantly, the hoods on the loungers were a god send and you also had to put towels on top of the hoods to block out the sun. the water park was slightly cheaper than the hotel for drinks a coke in there was 12 dirhams and 17 in the hotel. a kids meal in the water park was 35 dirhams the water park was nice but due to the heat it was too much effort to walk around and go on the slides.the lost chambers was a load of rubbish and i would not have been happy if i had to pay to go in there luckily as residents it was free. we took a taxi every night into the mall or marina as it was cheaper to eat out down there. the marina was very nice but also quiet found a lovely indian restaurant which was very reasonable in price. the mall of the emirates was massive and had a ski slope in there which is well worth a visit. the dubai mall had an ice rink in but was a lot further away than the emirates mall. taxis were quite reasonable from the hotel to the mall we worked it out depending on traffic as they run on meters they were costing anything from 25-30 dirhams which is around 4-5 pound.do not book any trips from the hotel were going to book a dessert safari from there brochure on the concirege but after a trip to the mall we found a tour operator there that did the same safari for half the price. the safari was good however i did not enjoy the sand dunning it was too hot and made me feel sick but the campsite and the food was very nice well worth doing and we went with fun tours situated in the mall of the emirates.water is left for you everyday but they only left 1 but if you want more just ask the room boys and they will give you more. dubai was nothing like i expected it to be it was a cross between new york with american malls. i enjoyed the holiday and the hotel was lovely but i would not be in a hurry to go back to dubai unless the price was cheap.on check out they also tried charging me for a bottle of whisky they said was taken from the mini bar but no one had taken it as i dont drink and my partner cant stand whisky so the only thing we could think of was the room boys. they did take the charge off but be careful.towels are provided at the hotel and water park. also they do come around the pool handing out lollies free of charge every day.


doc_id: 1572162242438698761342387161918694402
title: AMAZING NEVER FORGOTTEN
date: Jul 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Fantastic hotel you can feel much comfortable and you can amuse the highly service of the spa and the good taste of food and high service at the restaurants with its high variety and quality the aqua fun wa amazing ,reception staff was helpful ,room was very clean and my vacation was really unbeliveable fantastic


doc_id: 82406202229870402688966388839832561194
title: Good experience - outstanding restaurants
date: Jul 1 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Very large hotel complex with good entertainment facilities. Good for two days but certainly not for longer stay. No large twin beds in the suite but just a rather small mini-queensize-bed. Why dont you offer two queen beds? One mattress is good for part-time enjoyment. Not all your clients like to sleep on the same mattress full-time.Suite in the East tower was very noisy because of the air conditioning system close by. We realised it only after we were already settled there and did not want to lose time when moving to another suite.Food was really outstanding in Ossiano and Nobu. The Asian breakfast choices at Saffron were excellent. Food at Nasimi was deficient  just beach food.Pools are good for kids. Not good for swimming.


doc_id: 233895574565986875494849160128438474189
title: Fantastic Hotel can't wait to go back!
date: Jul 1 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We got back from Dubai last Saturday (27th June 09) after spending an amazing week in the Atlantis hotel.I've seen this place has again taken a bit of a hammering so I had to respond. Yes the place is expensive but people know what they are getting themselves into when they book their holidays here. We paid circa 15 in one of the restuarants for a pint of draught lager (I didn't know the price before I ordered it but I put that down to experience and wouldn't do it again).We had upgraded to the Imperial club which was circa 60 per person per day but when you consider the price of food and drink around the poolside (4 for a litre of water, 18 for burger and chips etc) and the cost of alcohol around the pool, by the end of the day it paid for itself. The upgrade means you can access free soft drinks and snacks all day (and by snacks I mean good food, fresh fruit and some sweet sticky toffee puds!!) and it included 2 hours per day of free alcohol (6 - 8pm) so you don't need to drink a lot to enjoy the value.Breakfast in the hotel ranged from Chinese to Indian, Japanese to Italian to good ol fashioned bacon (beef bacon - thats what it said on the plate...) and eggs as well as the usual fruit and cereals etc. The rooms were clean and tidy, the staff were always friendly and would try their best to make your stay a relaxing one, we don't have a single complaint or problem about the hotel, the food or the staff.There were plenty of offers available in the restuarants if you did a little research (by which I mean having a quick read of the hotel brochure when you arrive). We ate in the NOBU restuarant for 25 per head for a 3 course meal and it was fantastic, the best fish I'd ever eaten! We also ate in Seafire (the best meal we had in the hotel all week in my opinion) which was VERY expensive (180 for 4 of us, and that was only a main meal each, no starters or desert and we didn't have alcohol!!) but absolutely amazing! One of the other restuarants had a similar 2 course meal for 25 per head which again shows that you can get better value if you have a look around. There is a fantastic ice cream shop around the corner from Seafire which is definately worth a visit too.The waterpark was a great way of killing a few hours each day, relaxing as the sun beams down from above. The 'Leap of Faith' was certainly a good way to wake yourself up!The poolside and the beach were so relaxing, very quiet and peaceful you could just relax in the sun in peace ( for about 15 minutes then you need to cool off in the pool!).We swam with the dolphins which was an amazing experience and we also did the dune safari (don't book this through the hotel, there are flyers about the place, ring directly yourself as the hotel will hammer you with a booking fee!).If you get chance to visit the Burj Al Arab we would recommend the culinary flight experience, you eat in all of the Burg's restuarants which is an experience we will never forget. In terms of money we got a slightly better exchange rate paying for things by credit card and the exchange rate for cash over there was slightly better too (not massively but every little helps!!)The biggest tip we can give is, take flip flops!!! You could constantly see people running and muttering under their breathe as the ground gets that hot, you can't walk, YOU RUN!! We even saw a couple who had shared a flip flop each and were hopping the ground was that hot, very funny to watch!There were a few comments regarding the amount of building works which are ongoing at the moment and yes there are a lot, only one building is visible from the hotel beach and it is in the distance. For me if you are concentrating on that and complaining that it is a building site you are simply concentrating on the wrong things, just turn your head and enjoy staring into the blue sky instead!!We were gutted to be back on Sat pm, we loved every second of our week there and would go back tomorrow - AMAZING!!!Have a great holiday people!


doc_id: 64920959546852144436015035027812264037
title: Family holiday for three kids (aged 1111 and 9) and two adults.
date: Jun 30 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Atlantis Dubai  Family holiday for five!PositivesWow aquarium in Lobby which we were on awe of for first few days. Kids named some of the more distinctive sharks and fish.Further smaller aquariums and touch pools in Lost Chambers  free to guests and good free half an hours entertainment for kids and adults.Buffet restaurants are great for kids and good choice. Very American style and you can have pizza, chocolate fountain and Haribos for breakfast if you want (kids need supervision to ensure they eat something other than pizza and sugar!) also cooked breakfast, cereal, fabulous array of fresh fruit, even Thai green curry!! Danish pastries were also delicious. Evening meals mainly consisted of a Chinese section, Indian Section and an English Section. Evening meals werent so great for kids and food was a little to unusual for two of our kids. Only occasionally were steamed normal carrot, broccilli and cauliflower type vegetables available and rarely any type of potatoes or pasta. Plenty of different meat and fish dishes though. Juices free for breakfast.Rooms are a good size and adjoining available on request. Bathrooms also nice quality. Cleaned daily. Comments have been posted about thin walls but we heard no noise from adjoining rooms at all but you could hear corridor noise through the doors. Overall we were impressed with the room. Free bottle of 1.5 litres of water in each room each day.Taxis readily available and as always in Dubai they are cheap. Transfer from airport - 15 to hotel and 11 from hotel back to airport (not sure why one was cheaper?!). Journey approx half an hour.Staff very friendly and amenable. We have previously been very very spoilt at the One and Only Royal Mirage in Dubai and I must say we kept comparing it to the Royal Mirage. The service at the Atlantis was good but not the extra special good we get at the Royal Mirage. There were also a few staff who really struggled with English doing things like taking orders which just made it very hard to place a simple drinks order sometime. We did order a bottle of Rose one evening which was like vinegar. They did swap it for a different one free of charge which was impressive! On the whole it was very good we have just been very very spoilt in the past with the One and Only. Probably unfair to compare the two but we did. Aquaventure staff were exceptional and incredible. Hotel staff not as good.Aquaventure  Great kids pool. My nine year old isnt confident with water slides but by the end of the holiday he had gone on every slide except the Leap of Faith!! All the pool areas were shallow enough that they could touch the bottom at all times except during a wave in the torrents. Numerous lifeguards everywhere always with a ready smile, a how you doing?, where are you from? and a splash of water as you passed by to make everyone giggle. By the end of day two my nine year old had gone down the rapids relentlessly and several lifeguards them remembered his name for the entire holiday. They were fantastic. No problem getting sunbeds except on Dubais weekend (Friday and Saturday). Thursday night had entertainment and the pool was open until late which the kids loved. Nice not to worry about slapping on suncream as it was dark! Lifeguard told the kids that Frank Lampard had visited earlier in the week. Not sure if he was telling stories to entertain the kids but it shows they really want to keep kids happy and excited.Lazy river and rapids give you access to most of the park to save the soles of your feet from being burnt.During the Thursday night Aquaventure entertainment you get chance to feed the rays and visit the Dolphin Park. It was something mad like 400-500 for the five of us to swim with the Dolphins (you could do this near the creek for approx 200 for five . . . we didnt do either). The dolphin park put on a display during the entertainment but it was basically an advert to get bookings for their deep water experience and shallow water experience. Reasonably entertaining but dont get too excited.Had the feel of a Vegas type hotel. Comments were posted on here that it was too busy in the lobby areas. It wasnt as busy as Vegas hotels. Yes there were a lot of people around at times but you werent fighting through the crowds and it wasnt too bad Sunday  Thursday (Dubais weekdays). You could always get to the front of an aquarium wall easily.Palace Pool  Busy, vibrant and bustling. Not our scene but others may love the noisy music and crowds.Zero Entry Pool  Fabulous, calm, free ice lollies for kids, free spritz where they spray you all over with cool water whilst you sunbathe. Quiet and more intimate area which is also perfect for small children as the water level starts at toe deep and works up to waist high on an adult. Wish we had discovered this before the last day. Hubby wished he had discovered it on Tuesday as John Terry had been sunbathing around it. Nasimi an absolute must for an evening drink. Try and go before 9pm if you have kids so they can enjoy the beach and its lighting. Failing that you can sit near the Zero Entry Pool with kids after 9pm. Really nice atmosphere and has to be done at least once.NegativesMilkshakes 6 each. Coke and 7Up around 3 each. Bottle of wine 24. Fruit juice included in breakfast cost but additional for evening meal.Only two buffet restaurants. No allowance towards eating in other restaurants inside the hotel. Its either buffet or pay 100% to eat elsewhere inside or outside the hotel.Half board wasnt something the Atlantis system supported. If you check your online bill on the TV in your room youll find ??? AED 280 or similar and it will be your meals which should be included. They will deduct these when you query them but in a 5*hotel or this calibre you shouldnt have to mess around sorting this out. Especially as they kept charging my 11 year old as an adult rather than asking her age (the room was booked to 2 adults and 3 kids but we still had to argue the 3 adults 2 kids charges at Reception to get it credited). Poor and sloppy in terms of customer service in this area. The staff know its an issue but it still takes some time to sort.Silly things  tea and coffee making facilities in room dont get topped up for your entire stay. They give you ample tea bags at breakfast so make sure you pocket a few. You shouldnt have to though! Likewise, fruit bowl never topped up. Not great for this level of hotel to skim on fruit, tea bags, sugar bags and coffee sachets!Hotel magazine put through your door on Saturday which is fabulous and informative. Only trouble is we arrived on Sunday and only got one the day before we went. Why arent these left in all newly occupied rooms or handed out at Reception on check in? We learnt so much from this but too late. There is happy hour in some bars. Watch the moving photos in the lobby to see adverts showing which bars and times these apply to (2 for 1 but only applies to alcohol drinks so kids still pay full price).There was a language barrier with some staff which made simple tasks very difficult and time consuming. Not their fault but you couldnt help but wonder how they had been employed to deal with the public. These staff were often from places like India so they would have really struggled with Arabic and Japanese tourists as well as some heavily accented UK tourists.Entertainment  only on a Thursday night (and I think that was for a limited period). The majority of the bars close at 9pm. The remaining ones restrict where children can sit (Nasimi wont allow under 21s on the fab beach area). Our kids (aged 9, 11 and 11) were sat really quietly, just enjoying having a conversation and we were asked to move at 9pm and chased at 9.10pm to get us off the beach. Such a shame. If they had been running rings around the beach I could have understood it but I guess they cant have one rule for one family and another for the next. Kids felt distinctly put out by this which is a real shame in a family focussed hotel.Noise  cleaners hoovering outside bedroom doors at 9am in the morning when do not disturb displayed on both our rooms. Noise travelled from corridor into room but they arent busy corridors so didnt cause much of an issue.Aquaventure  BUY SHOES YOU CAN KEEP ON IN POOL AND ON WATER SLIDES. The floors around the swimming pools get incredibly hot and unless you are prepared to travel the 2km on the rapids youll have to walk to get from A to B and it isnt pleasant. The bottom of the pool in places is also very rough (like fine sandpaper). All three of our kids had bleeding feet in more than one place. We are unsure if these were caused by burns or friction from the pool floor (as adults we didnt experience this but the kids did the rapids to death) but one aggravated the other anyway and we were often mopping up blood and had limping, moaning kids taking the long walk back to the room with sore feet. You can wear goggles, hats, swimming glasses and shoes on all slides. It would be advisable to wear shoes that not only protect feet but also stay firmly on whilst going down the faster water slides.Queues for slides were very long on Friday and Saturday, the Dubai weekend. Sun beds were hard to find if not impossible.The slides which propelled you upwards caused serious damage to your bum if you werent wearing shorts. I was literally black and purple with bruises the size of golf balls and I promise I am not exaggerating. Kids were unscathed so suspect it was the larger adult female bums that took the pasting! The lifeguards tell you to lie across your rubber rings but inevitably your bum slips down into the ring and gets a clobbering at times!Aquarium areas seemed very full with fish or incredibly large fish in not so big aquariums. Couldnt help but think it looked rather too overcrowded with fish or cruel that a 6-8ft long fish had been put into a less than 20 foot long aquarium. . . and there were usually more than one in there.SummaryAll in all it was a very impressive holiday and hotel. We were all water parked out by day four but there was little else to do on site other than viewing the aquariums without spending a small fortune. Lacking in entertainment for kids but this hotel was much cheaper than other hotels such as Jumeriah beach so you get what you pay for. We were very happy with our package and value for money but we feel as though weve done Atlantis so wouldnt go back. Two weeks would be too long and a twin centre would be a good choice for families. Didnt sample any restaurants other than Saffron or Kaleidoscope (buffet restaurants) they looked fab but we begrudged paying full price when we were half board. Only went to two bars. They seemed to close early unfortunately.Thoroughly enjoyed the hotel. Time change perfect for kids as they didnt feel any time difference when we came back (a midnight bedtime there is same as a 9pm bedtime here . . . likewise a 10.30am wake up was the same as a 7.30am UK one).Value for money 9/10 on half board. Value for money on extras 2/10.Service in hotel 7/10.Lifeguards 10/10.Rooms 9/10.Hotel generally 9/10.Buffet restaurants 9/10.Overall 8.5/10


doc_id: 182358403901748702197418057815859556719
title: Over rated!
date: Jun 30 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
stayed for 10 nights for our honeymoon plus took our 2 yr old daughter. was met at reception with frosty staff who had no record of our booking eventually gave us a room then demanded a credit card and 7000 dirham as deposit. (we were not informed anything about this before!) when informed did not have it with us they cheekly remarked we would have our phone locked and mini bar, and made out we would not be treated well in restuarants. this was infront of other people which was highly embarassing! had to call back and for to travel agents who were disgusted with the way that we were being treated. then were saying we were B&amp;B even though we paid for Half Board! again more phone calls till it was sorted. no apology or anything from Atlantis even though they told Gold Medal they were sending champagne as it was our honeymoon but nothing.the hotel itself is amazing to see but could be done as day trip nothing else! very disppointed in the staff and nobody really wants to tell you how things work or what to do its really find out for yourself.over priced in the hotel and the only restuarant which we found to be child friendly was Kaleidoscope, nothing for 2 yr olds.aquaventure great. wuould go back to dubai but definately a different hotel.


doc_id: 113390041185278983457758696621021686462
title: Good for families
date: Jun 28 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
This is a huge hotel located at the end of the palms. It's about 25 minutes driving from the airport ( Not during rush hour ). Since it is too big, you expect to see lots of people coming and going so if you are looking for a quite place then this is not the right choice for you. However, if you are traveling with kids and teenagers then this is the perfect place. Ask for a room in the east tower which has a better location. The hotel is a fairytale style and very colorful....The amazing water rides at Aquaventure and a visit to the aquarium in the lost chamber are included with the room rate. Don't miss them out. For breakfast, I highly recommend the Saffron restaurant...One of the best for breakfast. All type of food from all around the world. The breakfast was included with my room rate but it usually costs around 50 USD per person. There are many other restaurants, tea rooms and bars all around the hotel. They are quite pricey but if you are looking for a reasonable place to have coffee try Starbucks at the Dolphins bay near the beach.The room was very clean and the bathroom was really spacious with a separate toilet and shower area. They offer a complimentary fruit platter and a large bottle of water.There is a kids corner where you can leave your kids and they charge 35 USD per hour. Don't miss the great spa area as well.A shuttle buggy will take you from one place to an other. The beach is really nice and the swimming pool area is great as well with a Latino music band.Every Thursday evening ( From 8pm to 12 am), there is a night party in Aquaventure with lots of jugglers, a live band and an amazing fireworks at the end.Overall, this is a great place to stay if you are looking for a great time with your family.


doc_id: 328664892608565031081714284314156050667
title: A bit like Disneyland
date: Jun 27 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We stayed at Atlantis and generally enjoyed our stay. The whole of Dubai feels quite fantastical and Atlantis is even more extravagant! We had a great time at the Water park Aquadventure and ate at the Italian and French restaurants. Both were fantastic and we thought the prices were quite reasonable. Obviously extras like drinks and minibar are expensive, but they are at all hotels. We thought the top notch restaurant prices were similar to home, and that is on the australian dollar! We arrived at 7am and were allowed to check in to our room which was fantastic after a 14 hour flight! The only thing we noticed was that the rooms were not sound proofed very well and there are a lot of noisy kids staying there!


doc_id: 149954724513843060566004451956078152851
title: worst hotel ever stayed in and worst in dubai
date: Jun 27 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
From the outside this hotel looks fantastic. The service is so bad it is a joke. 3 times i asked for replacement face flannels - 3 times they failed to deliver them despite asking front desk to organise. Saul Kerzner this is a joke. The housekeeping will only clean your room if you persistently ask them and even then there is no guarantee that they will do it. The management should be fired and replaced - certainly the manager in charge of house keeping should go. You can do much better elsewhere - we stayed in the westin two weeks ago which is a much better hotel. if the GM sees this review he may fall on his sword and go. Best restaurant sea fire, worst restaurant nob you japanese. Most annoying phrase in hotel from atlantis staff '' have a nice day'' regards archi frew.


doc_id: 204349039147264294326066439526372362952
title: wow
date: Jun 27 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
what can i say stayed for 4days for my daughters 21st . wat a good choice food was excellent dined at nobu fantastic food excellent service. staff at hotel cant do enough nothing to much trouble even gave my daughter a cake for her birthday.food is expensive you know that before u go if u dont want 5star prices dont book 5star hotel we went on to stay at the westin and that was just as expensive as alantis .u could eat out as taxis were really cheap. i would imagine if u didnt have kids u would proberly hate it in july/aug as its deffo family hotel only down side all over dubai is the constant buildin work when i came in2007 i hardley noticed any now its every where.


doc_id: 68399104316235062509619267807628648977
title: Dont judge till youve been
date: Jun 27 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Went for a holiday in june for nine nights and was a bit apprehensive after reading some reviews. I didnt have to worry as it was a fabulous place and any problems there were have now been ironed out. We booked bed and breakfast as most do in dubai but our travel agent contacted us a month before we went and offered a half board upgrade for 22 per person per night and this saved us a lot of money compared to the restaurant prices when we got there. The kalidescope is the restaurant to go for evening buffet meals and is fantastic. Drinks are expensive even by dubai hotel standards but there is a happy hour at the shore bar every evening where drinks are half price and this lasts for two hours. the pool areas are nice and quiet but the areas that the public are allowed are a bit busy. Staff cannot do enough and are all very friendly, I found the hotel to be on a par with the Al Qsar and will almost certainly go back again. My tips are to go when there is a sale on, ask your travel agent first, ours sent us details of offers at the Palm and we paid average dubai prices.


doc_id: 282439954376521681571151222883846068267
title: Absolutely Amazing!!!
date: Jun 26 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We have just spent 5 days in this hotel and it is amazing. Service is second to none. Rooms and views are gorgeous. Lots of nice touches, such a cold face towels and ice creams by the pool on hot days. Our room was gorgeous, with a lovely view of the Palm. The Spa is also something to behold. It's the nicest one I've ever been too. We highly recommend the specialty restaurants, Seafire in particular. The steaks there are lovely as well as the atmosphere. The saffron restaurant with its chinese and indian buffet is also excellent. We had room service two nights as it was lovely to have our dinner whilst looking at the Dubai sky line, it is also cheaper than dining in any of the restaurants.....The hotel provides shuttle buses to both the Emirates Mall and the new Dubai Mall. We did this one day but would not recommend if you are not planning on spending money. It has everything you have hear from Gucci to Monsoon and Next, so nothing spectacular or different really. We also used the aquaventure park which is good fun for the whole family and has about ten different slides and rides including leap of faith which is a sheer verticle drop at 35 mph, (a must try if you can stomach it). There are golf buggy's to get you from the main hotel to either end of the resort, they are every five to ten minutes. We also went swimming with Dolphins which was well worth the money. If you don't like heat I would not recommend going in June as it was 43 degrees all the days we were there and its very humid from early morning until around lunch time, after that its just hot, so make sure you pick the right time to go. In short this hotel is amazing and will cater to your every need. I would recommend it to everybody. I wouldn't however fly with Virgin as they aren't worth the extra cost as the service wasn't great!.


doc_id: 11434802826418303558993642783867226488
title: Don't park eat or drink
date: Jun 24 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Went to Dubai for a 4 day break. Hotel was fine, rooms large &amp; comfortable and service good as you'd expect. Two things let it down. First the parking - unless you take the 20 valet option the parking arrangements are garbage - staff are unwilling/unable to explain the complimentary parking is miles away and the courtesy bus drops you near tower entrances - so expect a 10 minute walk back to the hotel properm budget on 30 mins to park and get back to your room!Don't ask for a cocktail, the barkeeper seems to have no knowledge or training and produced lousy drinks so stick to Johnny Black, Restaurtants were OK but not what's expected from a 5 star hotel. Particularly disappointing was the mediocre food at Ronda Locatelli. The food served wasn't even the food on the menu Lasaga al ragu - with bechamel (not ragu) insalata mista - heavily overdressed but underseasoned. We also ate Gordon Ramsey restaurant in the creek Hilton - MUCH better food.Would we go back - possibly, but next trip we're booked into Jumera beach.


doc_id: 92776808832575116500249682938015348494
title: What a major let down !!
date: Jun 22 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Family hotel ? I think not, very expensive. Staff are poor and have difficulty understanding basic requirements and get it wrong. Upon check in watcht out for the 7000 Dirhams (1100) taken off your credit cardI.Inclusive meals are addded to your bill, its upto you to try and get your money back.# Free WiiF in the rooms, read the small print, I had to point this out to the manager, still cost. #Menus for kids are limited and expensive, Oh and you do not get what you order.#Breakfast - go early to avoid the 30 mins wait for a table# Avoid room service !! we checked out at 05:30, the restaurant opens at 06:00 your allowed to order upto 140 dirhams per person off the room service menu, once you order you cannot get much as the kids are only allowed 70 dirhams (which is a bowl of conflakes and a glass of juice) but the kids get charge the same rate for bed &amp; breakfast !! they then call you back at 23:00 to tell you that you have blown your budget. They do not get it that if your breakfast is to be delivered at 05:00 that you might just be asleep at 23:00.# The housekeeping start cleaning rooms about 07:30 and disregard the do not disturb signs, they just create loads of noise to way you up.# When you complain, the maangers seem to think your an idiot and do not understand what your problem is.# The hotel gets packed during the day and evening with sightseers, its a nightmare and you cannot move, Fridays !! Avoid, the roads outside are jam packed with thousands of people taking photos etc.Never again, 5 star in name only, you can get better for less in Dubai


doc_id: 209193751951647374857720865776779281232
title: Awesome outstanding service glorious views wonderful food !!!
date: Jun 20 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
In summary, this hotel is an absolute delight, it has a lovely buzz of activity, service is awesome, the aquarium is stunning, the waterpark is full of fun things to do, the views are amazing and the food...its worth paying for !My partner and I stayed at the Atlantis for 4 nights and I have to say it was awesome. We arrived at 1am and check-in was swift and simple. We stayed in a terrace suite that I have to say was absolutely stunning (highly recommend to honeymooning couples) on entering there was a very spacious lounge area, huge plasma screen, seperate wc (ideal if you have guests and dont wont them walking through the bedroom area into the main bathroom) and a dining area. The bedroom was very spacious, huge super kingsize bed and then sliding double doors, led into a stunning bathroom with a huge central bath that easily fitted two people. In additon to this was another wc room and shower and also a walk in dressing area. The room was complete with sun loungers and table chairs on a huge balcony. The room had a minibar and there was tea, coffee and kettle in the cabinet. Water bottles were supplied free of charge and the fruit bowl was ideal if one had an attack of the nibbles. I easily logged onto the free wireless which is available in the hotel and rooms, this was simple to do and only took a few minutes. One can upgrade to broadband wireless for a small charge but we never had to do this as the free one was perfect for our needs.For goodies, there was an abundance of nice smellies, hairdryer was very good, free slippers and a robe (which you could opt to buy) flip flops for around the pool in large and medium size, dental things like toothbrushes, shaving kit, bath salts, sewing kit and so on......As for the rest of the hotel the aquarium is a sight to behold, apparently there are approx 65,000 fish (including whale shark) and I can honestly admit to standing for a minimum of 30 mins a day watching the curious activities of the stunning sting rays, sharks and tropical fish as we passed too and from breakfastWe used the gym every day and there was a good supply of machines (indeed we spotted a professional footballer going through an impressive exercise routine) there is free water, juices, fruit and sweat towels are supplied. Swimming pools are sizeable and chilled, with lots of shallow places to sit or lay enjoying both the sun and coolness of the water. Additionally, the pool attendants operated a rota of removing any towels that had been left to reserve sunbeds (those with no personal items), this was great in ensuring that at any time of the day, there were always some available. The pool attendants often handing out free ice sorbets during the hotest parts of the day ....or alternatively you could order something from the bar...service was always swift and smooth.The aquapark was brilliant, the lazy river and its mixture of rapids, torrents and other things were brilliant, what was impressive was that the water was never really more than waist deep..which made it ideal fun for both children and adults alike. Happy hours at some of the bars meant some drinks in the hotel were 2 for 1... this lasted for about an hour or two each evening. Live music was also available at one of the pool bars... indeed its worth noting that our room overlooked one of these.... and the music was not at all disturbing and finished at a good hour as well.Overall a great hotel, for families &amp; couples... perfect for a relaxing and fun break..... with a touch of luxury. Oh its worth noting that there is a &quot;big red bus&quot; company operating in dubai which has stops at a lot of the hotels including the atlantis. However, unlike in London were this is a great place to jump on and jump off this type of transport, Dubai is much bigger and there is a lot of time travelling between stops on the routes it uses. For example, we jumped on (10.30am) and booked two tickets (80) but then found that from our stop we would need to stay on the bus for most of the day if we were to reach the dhow cruise down the dubai creek for 15.30 0r 18.30....... in the end we hired a taxi and it cost no more that 10's and for the rest of the holiday we simply used taxis, always good, clean and value for money.And finally a thank you to the lady concierge at the Atlantis who was always helpful and booked the most wonderful restaurant elsewherein dubai for our last evening and the rest of the staff at Atlantis for making our holiday just perfect x


doc_id: 79691786758634147852478944167640041843
title: Not sure if it was what I had been looking for
date: Jun 18 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I was looking for something more romantic and elegant but what I've found is the big differences among the pictures on the Atlantis website and the reality. Also didn't like the quality of the sand of the beach which is artificial. In terms of the price I would recommend somewhere else.


doc_id: 102461697162631971530117133628265527342
title: Good for a one off experience
date: Jun 18 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
The stay in Atlantis was with a special summer offer (its hot in Dubai this time of year) 800 Dhs plus 20% tax for one night, free entrance to Aquaventure, Lost chambers, Kids club (didnt go there) Buy one get one free on massages(didnt do that either) Arriving at Atlantis at about 3:30pm to find the room that we were allocated was not ready, somewhat irritating given that check in is 2pm. discovering later that the reason for this was likely to be due to the knock on effect of if your room is not ready they give a late check out..... but they were incredibly disorganised and appeared to allocate rooms as and when people turned up not as per they booked. It appeared that they had a screen for finding potential rooms and then another one for determining whether the room was ready or not. We were keen to have one that was ready as we really didnt want to be in a state of limbo for the rest of the afternoon although apparently there is a guest hospitality room with tv, magazines and showers.After finally booking in, this process took about 30 mins, not too good with 2 kids keen to get up and out into the pool. Our room was very nice, 2 queen beds, Very comfy, a huge number of pillows very soft pillows! A bizzare (but fun if your there in a couple) bathroom with opening doors so that you can have a bath and still be part of the goings on in the room. The downside to this is that the door wasnt very sound proof so everything that went on in the bathroom could be heard in the bedroom.........If you have children you need to keep them away from the mini bar as it is one of those where if you remove something it automatically charges it to your room even if you dont drink it ! Could be expensive if they decide to remove everything from the frigde. There was a second smaller section where you could put your own drinks and the bottle of water (that was free and was replenished the second morning)The beds were turned down at night and a bowl of fruit was left in the room.After unpacking we hit the pool, very nice pool, interesting note that after about 4pm the pool is shadowed by the hotel and so is out of the sun, at least most of it is, This is ok at this time of year but may get chilly in the cooler months. The pool did get very busy later on on Friday afternoon. I think it shut at 7:30. The sun loungers were great though, no worry of the unmbrella being in right place, each lounger had its own hood so you could choose how much or how little of your body was in the sun.What was disapointing by the pool was the waiter service, this was incredibly slow. Almost worth buying 2 drinks at a time it was that slow. Although you may want to remember when by the pool that you are in a 5 star resort and as a result you will pay resort prices for drinks and food, if your not happy to do that then your best not going. Rough cost of drinks were, Corona 40 dhs, Breezer 42dhs Sprite 17dhs, ice lollies 15dhs. Part of the reason for this is because in Dubai you pay 20% for hotel taxes rather than 16% that you do in Abu Dhabi, But it was very slow, and they were a bit forgetfull, we had one round of drinks and then asked for another drink for me, and it never seemed to arrive, if i was very keen i would have gone up to the bar myself to get it but by then we decided that we were ready to go back to the room. The first evening we ate at the pool bar, a mexican, the kids had nuggets and chips. The service here was very slow too, i think had i not gone to find some menus myself i would still be waiting now for them. And the concept of having the drinks before the meal was lost on them. It was nice though and there was a band playing, they played quite late and you could here them in the room even though the window was shut. Worth thinking about if your a light sleeper (may be worth getting a room facing the ocean) Interesting point re the ocean, on the front of the hotel (entrance side) its worth taking 5 mins to look out at the sea as its one of the few places on this coast that you can look out into the ocean and not see cranes and construction.Day two started at the breakfast buffet, if your the type to eat a lot for breakfast then this is the place for you,, they have cereals, crepes, waffles, traditional breakfast menu items and in addtion some not so traditional breakfast items such as roast duck with pancakes. Children are half price, breakfasts are 175 Dhs. We went down at about 9 each day but from about 9:30 the queue for breakfast is really quite long, they appease those that are waiting by offering strawberries or plums whilst you wait. After breakfast we went to Aquaventure. If you are a hotel guest then the towels are free although you have to pay 35dhs for a locker. For none hotel guests then the lockers are 35 dhs and the towels 25 dhs if you want a locker and a towel then its 50 Dhs. We didnt have a locker so i dont know what sort of size there were.The drinks etc in the water park were cheaper than at the hotel. Most people wanted to sit on deckchairs as soon as you went into the park, consequently the areas around the two beach type areas were very busy but once out and about on the rides i realised that there was loads of places to sit and they were totally empty, so well worth walking to the right when entering the park and finding some seats over that way, especially if you are a large group that wants to sit together. I think we got to park at about 11:00 but it never really got very busy all day. the longest queue we were in was for the shark attack where you float on your ring through a tunnel that goes through a shark tank.There are 4 types of ride at the park, a long wave rider, which is like a river that suffers from a dam bust every 15 secs, so big waves flow around the river this is fun and good to get into the swing of things with. Then there are the rapids which you went up on a conveyor belt and then worked your way back down to the base river via a selection of fun fast runs. Then there is the rides that start with the letter Z (cant rememeber what they are called) they are in the pyramid and you go up a big conveyor on your ring and then go left or right and then down a tube, this is fast and fun and i think you can only do single tubes on these rides. If you dont want to go up the conveyor belt to the ride you can also go up the stairs.The Shark attack ride is nice as although it has a long dark tunnel which can be a bit scary if your not expecting it,the end riding through the shark tank is an interesting experience.After the day at aquaventure we went to the lost chambers, this is also free if you are staying at the hotel. It was great in there, although it would be useful if it had information indicating what each of the different displays was. there was a distinct lack of information regarding this. THere was however a helpful man on the touch the sea urchins area.SummaryWould i go againTo the hotel- maybe maybe notAquaventure- DefinitelyLost chambers- with visitors yes.


doc_id: 226033516670905112609207428189739795430
title: Nice if you look from outside
date: Jun 17 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
I stayed in the hotel about 10 days and i can say it was not what I expected. The location, view, Aquaventure, aquarium and food were good, but on the other hand there were many difficulties and mismanagements in the hotel:First, the hotel charges you for almost everything for example the parking facility is only available through valet and the hotel charge you 50 Dhs for a parking pass and every time you give your car to a valet or ask them to bring your car they ask you whether you have paid the 50 Dhs for the parking pass or not and that is annoying, they couls only ask for the pass not whether you have paid for it or not (They also charge you 150 Dhs for valet if you were not a guest and i guess that was the reason they ask for your parking pass alot). Also when it is a crowded it almost takes 10 minutes to get to a valet or for them to bring your car.Second, the mini bar is electronic and if you even take one thing just to look at it they charge it to your bill and imagine being in a hotel with a 2.5 year old kid who goes and plays with the fridge once in a while and I had to call the room service and explain to them about the whole incident ant telling them to either empty the mini bar or lock it and after asking for 2 or 3 times they finally agreed to lock it.Third, the bathroom does not have a place for hanging wet clothes and you would see people hanging their wet swim wear and clothing from the balcony fence and for a luxury hotel that is not a pretty sight.Forth the television channels were very limited and mostly were free channels and very few entertainment channels, but the hotel has a pay per view channel instead.Fifth, one other thing in the charging everything to your bill part was the internet, in most hotels I have been to before using wireless and business center internet were free for the guests and only high-speed wired internet in the room had a charge here you had to pay 30 Dhs for 1 hour or 70 Dhs for a day or 300 Dhs for your whole stay for wireless internet and 15 Dhs for 15 minutes use of internet in the business center and 40 Dhs for an A4 print. (FYI 1US$=3.65DHS)Sixth, the room service was not very good took em 2 days to refill the hand washing liquid and only 3 times they replaced a sanitary bag in the toilet.For conclusion i recommend this hotel only if you want to use the Aquaveture every day since it is free for hotel guests and it makes the hotel costs reasonable, otherwise i recommend other hotels like for example Royal Meridien.


doc_id: 334379464888125822684673241229106831230
title: Awesome
date: Jun 12 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Only stayed one night but the hotel, food, water park and fish tank were amazing...! Would defintiely go again...!!!!


doc_id: 146268218870754090667689557063999656321
title: American has Unbelievable Experience in Dubai!
date: Jun 11 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
There is really only one way to describe the Atlantis in Dubai and that is with the word &quot;WOW.&quot;From the minute you pull up to the Palm Island and see this unbelievable structure rise up out of the water you realize that this trip is going to be something amazing. We arrived to the beautiful lobby that really welcomes you with an Arabian vibe that gave me a taste of the culture I was hoping for. We were greeted with cold towels in the lobby so you aren't too hot and with refreshing air conditioning which is something I was concerned about considering I went in June and the temperature was around 100 degrees. We then saw our rooms which were beautiful and every room really has a nice view since the hotel is on the center of Palm Island. Overall, the rooms were awesome and I was excited to get to see the facility as I had heard about the water park and the great restaurants.While I was there I ate at:Locatelli - This was a nice start. A beautiful Italian restaurant where I had a delicious pasta dish. The pasta was great and tasted like it had been made fresh that day. Nobu - I have been to the Nobu in New York and it is one of the best meals I have ever eaten so I was excited about the Nobu in Dubai however I had my doubts since we were on the other end of the world. When I walked in and saw the great decor I knew that there was nothing to worry about. The food was exceptional, great exciting cold dishes and our waiter was great, he was from Miami and was very proud to be working at Nobu and knew a lot about the area.Ossiano - This was by far the best meal. We ate our meal in an aquarium watching Manta Rays, Whale Sharks and an assortment of fish float by as we ate incredible Fois Gras, delicious bread appetizers, an very tender and tasty lamb shank and as if all this weren't enough we had souflees for desert. This was a truly unique experience and one of the best restaurants I have ever been to.Levantine - I was excited about Levantine as it was a taste of the Arabian food and culture. I had delicious Babaganoush and Hummus and Pita. The chicken dumplings were were also very good. This was also a very cool experience as there were belly dancers dancing while we ate. This is a must go restaurant just because you cannot go to Dubai and not get a taste of the Middle Eastern Culture. Nasimi - Nasimi is a really cool restaurant located right on the beach. You look back on the city of Dubai and the food is great. The fish cakes were good if you like that sort of thing. The real thing to get at Nasimi though is the Curries. The curry at Nasimi was awesome mixed with the rice and chicken and it gave a nice authentic feel. Just like at every restaurant the service was exceptional.The French Brasserie - We had initially not planned on dining at the French Brasserie and I am really glad that we did. I had never really had French food before and it really was incredible. The escargot was delicious and I am not a huge fan of shellfish. The best dish here is the burger. There was a burger with regular ground beef, ground duck and Fois Gras - I would definitely recommend this meal to anyone.Another interesting fact to note about the restaurants is that the teams at all the restaurants were largely native to the countries where the restaurant foods were from. I found this particularly cool because it gave me a taste of various different cultures.Overall, I had an unbelievable experience at the Atlantis. From the beach party to the nightclub at night to the really cool water park where conveyer belts prevent you from having to wait in line for the slides, the Atlantis in Dubai is one of the coolest places I have ever been to and I would recommend it to anyone.


doc_id: 230863459160826687792147258144228367267
title: immaculate water park amazing hotel
date: Jun 9 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
had an great offer in the paper, emeriates were great airline. Hotel fab, rooms lovely and new. Exceptionally clean. Food excellent. Kids aged from 47 to 8!! Loved the water park, went all day every day. Very hot tho, too hot to sit in, we were all wedged in the rings being blasted around the water park, loved it loved it loved it.!! Amazing and cant wait to return...expensive!!


doc_id: 243243691004806789701557666555730102821
title: Not as great as made out to be
date: Jun 9 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
The hotel demanded a visit due to all the hype and granduer surrounding the launch so wehn we discovered reasonable tariff to stay we opted in. Of course, many others also opted in which unfortunately ment that the 5* hotel was not represented by the best crowd it deserved.Rooms are basic but comfortable, room service menu leaves a lot to be desired. The bathroom was excellent! The star attractions are no doubt the aquamarine life on display, adventure park and the dolphin experience. They are absolutely fantastic and very much recommended for families with kids of all ages! All have surcharges, nothing is included.The pools are fine (they have more than one). What is good that they have a baby pool for little kids.The main issue is the construction surrounding the hotel. One view from the hotel room is of the sea (plain and simple) and the other side is their beach (which is not swim worthy) and city view of construction and a few buildings in the distance.


doc_id: 251918466529787215325325030648809935136
title: Over pricedover hyped.
date: Jun 8 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Just returned from 6 night stay at Atlantis.Having previously stayed at Atlantis in Bahamas we did compare hotels a bit, but made allowances for the fact that there is obviously no casino in Dubai and it wasnt Americanised like Bahamas. We were booked into Deluxe room and the first one we were given smelt badly of damp and had lovely view of the top of a generator so after compaining we were given a sea view with balcony.The view from the Royal Pool was very dissapointing.Basically a sky scraper skyline looms over you, numerous building works still taking place and the monorail leading to the Palm is frankly a eyesore to say the least. The price of food and drink in hotel bars and restraunts is a joke, 8 for bottle of corona,We took our own alcohol in from duty free and saved a fortune.If visiting Dubai for relaxing break do yourself a favour and stay in the Mina a Salam


doc_id: 180582907961095168769644096156465757709
title: Awesome!!!!
date: Jun 7 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
If you want to have a great hotel and get some of that Arabian feeling of Dubai you have to come to the Atlantis the Palm. Yes it is big but it is so worth it. It is one of the best Hotels I've stayed at in the bigger cities and it had by far the best service and breakfast buffet you'll ever see. Absolutely amazing!!! I would have loved to stay a little longet to indulge in some of the many hotel offerings such as the water park, aquarium, spa......I can only recommend this place. If you're lucky you'll get a good deal for the room rate.


doc_id: 262901279527681016017686833518974149472
title: Loved it!!
date: Jun 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
My partner and I also arrived early in the morning, and our room was ready. We were given a room on the 13th floor, which had a lovely view and was clean and spacious.The pool was lovely and big, and the sun loungers had a handy parasol/screen attached. Cold towels and atlantis lollies handed out were a lovely touch. We went over half term, and from reviews was expecting over bearing amount of children, but was pleasantly surprised! There was also second pool which caught the sun later on.The aquarium was lovely and we liked to have a long peek everyday, watching the whale and all the fish.The restaurants are expensive, and so are drinks, we ate outside of the hotel all the time (apart from breakfast). We also bought our alcohol from duty free and our soft drinks from the local supermarket.Aqua adventure was great fun, good to have it included in the price, and there was lots of rides to do - shame there were no sharks to be seen in the shark tank.Cold Stone Creamery is a must - and there is a voucher for it in the entertainer!!Was so impressed with the staff, so polite and courteous, and all had big smile for us.Definitely go back x


doc_id: 70042236286142934174894012850768141069
title: Beautiful but beware of the prices!
date: Jun 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We have just returned from a 5 night trip staying at the Atlantis in Dubia. (Me, my husband and our 11 year old daughter).On arrival ask for a room on a high floor with a view of the palm, the palm at night is all lit up and is absolutely beautiful, the sea view is still good, but not nearly as good as the Palm view.The restaurants are expensive (90 per head NOT including drinks), with the exceptions of the 2 buffet restaurants where it costs around 40 per person. The food there is out of this world, for the kids, the puddings in the saffron restaurant are what dreams are made of  theres everything you can think of, plus tons of sweets and ice-creams. The sea-food evening at the Saffron is excellent value and there is every type of fish including lobsters, oysters, tiger prawns etc. At lunch at the pool side bar, a steak sandwich with a soft drink costs around 30.00! So very pricey. Slush puppies and soft drinks around the pool are about 5.00 each.There is a small gift shop at the hotel that sells chocolate bars and sun cream, but it is very limited. Chocolate bars like kit-kats cost around 2.00 each  sun cream about 20 per bottle. The gift shop doesnt seem to be mentioned in any of the hotel info, but it is on the way to the Saffron Restaurant.If you want to book a session with the dolphins its best to book from home, booking at the hotel costs a lot more. I think it was 75.00 per person JUST TO WATCH! I cant remember the cost of taking a swim with the dolphins but think it was around 200.00 per person.Our room was fantastic, it had 2 king sized beds and a fantastic bathroom, plus normal toiletries and bathrobe and slippers too. Each day there were 2 bottle of complimentary water left in the room.The pools are lovely, there are 2, one, the Zero entry has no steps but just a gentle slope into the pool which is great for little kids, the other, the Royal Pool is very nice.The Aquaventure water park is great. Lockers cost 10 each (non refundable!!) and as most people just left their stuff on sun loungers we didnt really bother with one after the first day. It does get VERY BUSY on a Friday as this is the UAE day of rest, so the park is full with local people coming for the day. We tended to spend half a day at a time in the water park. The slides are great, the ones at the first level are the scariest! All you need to do is go into the park, pop your stuff down and then look for a rubber ring and spend hours floating on the lazy rivers. Best to wear a hat and a swim t-shirt. Also, as you get on and off at different places, the floor is very very hot, we found it best to wear swimming shoes so we didnt have to go looking for our shoes all the time and meant we avoided blisters on our feet from the hot floors.We had a wonderful time and loved the people and the place. It was great people watching, some fantastic handbags on show! Everything was on a massive scale but the service was faultless. People didnt really tend to dress up that much at night, some people still had shorts on, so really there wasnt much of a dress code (although mist people did make a little effort). One word of warning, check your bill at the end carefully, we had been charged for meals we hadnt had and other people werent charged for meals they did have!Enjoy!


doc_id: 330616184094418718383769462813013936014
title: Amazing Hotel superb facilities spotlessly clean
date: Jun 2 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
We went for May Half term, 2 adults, 2 kids, 9 and 7. Paid the upgrade for Imperial Club...which was worth it....breakfast was served in the lounge, rather than queueing for the restaurants, drinks and snacks all day, cocktails betwen 6 and 8..and generally somewhere to go and hide from the searing heat mid afternoon...just be aware that you are supposed to wear long trousers after 6pm in the Club lounge and in some of the restaurants.The room was the standard Imperial Club room, with 2 &quot;queen&quot; size beds...they were what we would call king size bed in UK....I think the room is the same as the &quot;de luxe&quot; or &quot;Atlantis&quot; room, just in a different part of Hotel.....really good, large, with great views over the Palm, enough room for a family of 4, a french balcony, as only the King rooms for 2 people have proper balconies....very, very clean..could not fault the staff...every day they left a new 1.5ltr bottle of water, so we stuck in the fridge overnight and then took it to water park with us.The Hotel itself is amazing, as everyone else has said..and was not too busy, except for the Friday, when a lot of locals seemed to be around looking at the aquarium etc.Eating and drinking is expensive (so the cocktails/champagne in Imperial Club were great, as we drank there and just had water/soft drinks with meals). Dinner in buffet restaurant (Kaliedoscope) was 175AED for adults and half that for kids..so our first meal worked out at 145 for 4 of us!..gulp!...we then found that the other restarurants do kids menus at around 50AED..about 10, which then made it a lot more reasonable....another benefit of Imperial Club, is to eat their canapes (spring rolls, sushi, satay) with the cocktails, then just have main course for Dinner...for the 4 of us Dinner range form 70 to 120 depending upon which restaurant...Levantine (lebanese) is fantastic, and has a Belly Dancer at about 9pm...the Italian is good value (for Atlantis) and does the usual pizza/pasta so works with kids.The restaurants by the pool are very good for lunch (Shore and Edge)..kids lunch about 6, adults anywhere from 10 to 20.We spent every morning in the waterpark, which was fantastic...great fun for Adults and kids alike...but watch out for the hot floors...you need to walk around in flip flops to avoid burning the soles of your feet...I would recommend getting there at 10am to have the first few hours, when it is quieter and &quot;slightly&quot; cooler than the afternoon. Snacks in the waterpark are reasonable and there are plenty of kiosks to use. On Friday it was really, really busy after lunch.....queues for slides were crazy..but that was the only time, the rest of the week was no problem.The hotel pools are really good, and at about 4pm the shadow of the hotel goes over the &quot;Royal Pool&quot;, which makes it a bit cooler and a nice break from the Sun...the other pool stays in the sun all day.The beach was OK, and the sea water was fine, despite the comments I had seen on here about it being stagnant..there is an obvious current in it and a tidal flow, so I thought it was OK.The overall standard of cleaniness is incredible, there are people cleaning all the time..sweeping up, polishing, etc etc....every time you visited one of the loos it felt like it had just been cleaned for your arrival!It was our first time in Dubai, and we loved it, perfect for a few days of sun and chill out..I am sure we will be back at some point...not sure there is a lot else to do apart from chill, especially with young kids..but with the waterpark on site it works really well.


doc_id: 143439177897145199435447089641138102958
title: heaven on earth
date: Jun 1 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
we've just returned from dubai staying at atlantis, what a fantastic hotel!!! from the moment you arrive you are looked after totally. the servie the rooms the kids clubs not to mention the food. i would totally reccomend and i booked with travonline got a fantastic rate during half term .brilliant


doc_id: 126128317457703178739483717257585819337
title: Vegas at a higher price.
date: Jun 1 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
Just a short review to avoid repeating what everybody else has already said about Dubai' s latest showpiece themed resort.I have worked and holidayed in the Gulf since the mid 90's and Dubai has steadily increased the standard of deluxe hotels resulting in a wide range of quality 5 star hotels to choose from.The Atlantis has broken the mould with a Las Vegas theme-type hotel, but at a much higher cost than in Vegas.The appearance of the hotel is breathtaking during the day and at night, for sure. The expansive attractions add to the Vegas experience.The cost strategy however is just plain wrong. When you arrive at the hotel on your first night, the first thing you want to do is freshen up then have a drink and a meal. However water at almost 9 a bottle sets alarm bells going. Meal prices...consider 50 to 100 for a basic meal for 2. Forget alcohol. Buy it in Duty Free when you arrive at Dubai airport. A blended single shot whisky or a beer costs 10 in the hotel. Management should appreciate that most guests use the inclusive breakfast option then travel to the Marina Walk or Emarates Mall to dine for lunch or dinner. Drinks also can be obtained everywhere else at less than half the cost of the Atlantis rates.Even the Gulf News was almost double the cover price.The monorail which is intended to join the hotel to the new trans Dubai Metro is operating but the Metro will not be ready for some months yet. Hence you pay 5 for a return monorail trip to nowhere. We got off at the proposed connection to the Metro where a taxi took us the short distance to the Emirates Mall at inflated price.The service is excellent, security reasonably good (but not foolproof....when a guard leans into your taxi on arrival and asks if you are a guest., would you say no?).The pools are great with plenty of room during our stay when the hotel was really busy. The loungers have integral hoods which do not give enough shade. There are no parasols. Cabanas are extra cost.My summary: A good attempt at a Vegas style themed hotel, on a beach rather in a desert but at much higher cost. The nearby Burj Al Arab gave us more understated luxury during this stay.The aquarium is well planned. The water theme park is also well planned, but we used the Royal pool until the sun disappeared behind the hotel, then moved to one of the other pools which were still in the sun!Tips. The Deluxe, Atlantis and Standard Club room layouts are all the same. Atlantis and Club rooms are on higher floors. Club includes breakfast, internet and pre dinner drinks but the cost adder is 100 per night.Take a hotel taxi to the Marina Walk for Dinner. Costs 6 each way and you will have a choice of realistically priced quality restaurants, cafes and coffee shops there. Also find food in of all the malls around Palm Jumairah, Emirates Mall and the new Dubai Mall, etc. Don't forget an Abra ride at the Creek, only 20p for a creek crossing to remember. Take a return trip, starting from the Deira Abra Station. Then visit the great little shops in Al Fahidi St in Bur Dubai for Cameras and quality watches, close to the Abra dock on that side. There is a good souk area up Al Sabkha on Deira side close to the Abra station, within walking distance of the dock.Taxi ride from the hotel is only 12 each way and you can see real Dubai along the dhow wharfage area.


doc_id: 218680731290613579918622567185015243666
title: PRICY-BUT AMAZING- GREAT FACILITIES
date: May 31 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
The Atlantis was amazind as you drove up to it under the tunnel on Palm Jumeirah. We were escorted to the check in desk and there was a huge sculpture. The staff were attentive and the rooms were great. ( we got upgraded). The pools were clean and tidy. Every day thay gave free ice creams and cold face towel. The food and drink was very expensive. We had a Bed and Breakfast package with took 175Dirhams times 3 per day off food. Aquaventure was amazing the slides and rapids were great for families and it was free for resort guests(around 300Dh-470Dh for families of 3-4-5). It was very fun. There was a golf buggie which took guests around the resort as it was very hot. Dolphin bay was availible if you wanted to swim with Dolphins (fee). There also was an aquaruim called the Lost Chambers which was good, it was free for resort guests (270Dh- 350Dh aprox for familief of 3-4-5). There was a monorail which ran up and down the palm which was good. The hotel was great and I would go there again.


doc_id: 9999559098310701680695193909421314676
title: Hotel amazing but way to expensive !
date: May 31 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
If your looking for an amazing hotel in Dubai and a amazing holiday ( plenty available atthe minute if you shop around ) then you will probably end up here. Underwater Aquatic life centre even holds a basking shark which is omething to behold, only complaints are the prices - 10 a pint and 10 for a glass of wine athe hotel, and paying potentially as much as 50 for a simple dinner seemed excessive - My advise, jump on the free shuttle and head into town, drinks at the Habtoor &amp; Jumeriah 360 were slighlty cheaper and offered excellent views.


doc_id: 56571509086575318959047362743253869423
title: Perfect family holiday
date: May 31 2009
hotel: are_dubai_atlantis_the_palm
review:
From arriving at the airport, you realise that Dubai doesn't do anything by halves. The service from private car to the hotel, to the check in, everything went very smoothly. We went straight to breakfast as we had travelled throught the night, and it was a very extensive buffet with everything from a full English to Dimsum and local speciallities.We were relieved that we had a bed and breakfast package though as each day would have cost us over 100 for 5.The hotel lobby is very impressive but nothing compared to the West tower and the aquarium as you approach which had a serious wow-factor as you come out of the lifts.The waterpark is included in the price of the hotel and we spend hours there. Apart from the Friday, this park was not too busy and we didn't have to wait long for anything. All the slides were great and the rapids refreshing. Plenty of shade helped.I would whole hearted recommend the Desert Safari which many companies offer. You 4WD out in the desert and end up at a 'camp' where Arabian BBQ, sandboarding, camel rides, henna-ing, are all on offer. Music and bellydancing complete the experience. Although the restaurants in the hotel are expensive, but very good, the taxis are very plentiful, metered and cheap so it is easy to go to a local souk for a meal.Just beware, a 'cheap' bottle of wine could set you back around 50!We had a blast, and would happily return.


