Constantly evolving, Atlantis continues to surprise and delight guests in unexpected ways with not only new flavors, designs, and sounds but with its continuous commitment to marine conservation.
Here are a few insider facts that even a frequent visitor may not know:
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• Atlantis is the only full-service resort with the medical, laboratory, research and holding capacity of an independent marine life facility dedicated to conservation, rehabilitation and education.
• Recently, the on-staff veterinarians and marine specialists returned a manatee back to the wild, after a three-month rehabilitation and recovery period at the resort, which consisted of the manatee gaining healthy weight by eating up to 144 heads of romaine lettuce, 24 heads of kale, and 4 bags of spinach per day. The manatee, affectionately nicknamed “Manny,” grew from a malnourished 365 pounds to 840-pounds while under the care of Atlantis marine mammal specialists.
• The resort features a specialty “Fish Kitchen,” where the Head Marine Chef, Michael Donaldson, has spent his last 18 years preparing over 1,000 pounds of restaurant-quality seafood per day for over 50,000 aquatic animals (representing over 250 marine species).
• Dolphin Cay is one of the world’s largest open-air, man-made marine mammal habitats and was opened in 2007 in response to the need to provide a safe haven for the rescued Katrina Dolphins after the hurricane tore through their home in Gulfport, Mississippi.
• Every guest visit to Dolphin Cay supports the Atlantis Blue Project Foundation, which creates and promotes solutions for a wide range of marine conservation challenges from coral reef degradation to marine species in decline. More than $5 million to date has allowed the foundation to create a fully restored one million acres of a now healthy coral reef marine protected area in The Bahamas.
• If you open your eyes at the end of The Abyss, one of the most exciting waterslides atop the Power Tower, there is a cenote that is home to two Alligator Gar. These scary looking, fresh-water dwelling fish can grow up to six feet in length and up to 100 pounds. They are classified as protected species and are cared for by more than 49 marine biologists, life support technicians and aquarists.
• Five new outposts of beloved Bahamian restaurants have opened giving guests the opportunity to enjoy the same authentic flavors inside the resort. They include: SipSip (from Harbour Island) located at The Cove, Sun & Ice (ice cream parlor) in the lobby of The Coral and McKenzie’s Conch Shack, Frankie Gone Bananas and the Pirate Republic Brewery Tap Room in Marina Village. All offer fresh ingredients from local farmers and fishermen. This spring, the resort will welcome its latest restaurant and cocktail bar, FISH, helmed by renowned Master Chef José Andres.
• Well-known designer, Jeffrey Beers designed the pool scape and cabanas at the newly refurbished Coral Pool along with a new swim-up Popsicle and Cocktail Bar. At the Cove Pool, influential designer Lulu deKwiatkowski’s love for the Bahamas was used for her inspiration to re-design its pool scape and cabanas in her Lulu DK fabrics. Throughout the pathways among the 141-acre waterscape, a curated playlist created by iHeartRADIO brings together a fusion of sounds characterizing the look and feel of each property.
• Local artist and sculptor, Antonius Roberts debuted a permanent art installation “Sacred Space” on the tip of The Cove’s (the ultra-luxe beachside resort at Atlantis) peninsula. This sculpture represents seven dancing women who each represent the intention of triumph, hope and determination and a vision to help conserve Bahamian heritage. Each figure was sculpted using local Madeira Trees and born out of the artist’s deep-seated respect for the environment, the sanctity and significance of the country’s trees and forests.
