Meal Planning Options:

To meal plan or not to meal plan – that is the big question.    I have several customers who swear that it saves them money and others who will not touch the meal plan.  The biggest benefit to the meal plan is knowing exactly what you will be spending on meals (not counting alcohol or lunch). The full Atlantis plan is $149 per adult, per day.  The other big benefit of the meal plan is that kids 6 and under eat free with the purchase of an adult meal plan.  So if you are a family with young kids and the kids will order the kids menu (and/or share some of your meal too) then you are in good shape.

If your kids normally order off an adult menu or you are not the type to have both a very large breakfast and very large dinner you may be better going a la carte.

Atlantis Meal Planning Tip:

I have all the menus for all the restaurants so we can have in depth discussions on what is the best value for your family.    

Atlantis Resort Restaurants:

Lunch for my family was always at one of the 15 outdoor dining options.  We wished these pool food stands were open for dinner!   Everything we ordered from burgers to salads to wraps were fresh and tasty.   You don’t normally expect that from pool food but we have always been very happy with the poolside food at the Atlantis and most of my customers agree!   Portions are large and prices are reasonable.  The fresh fruit in the Bahamas is always amazing, in season and my favorite afternoon poolside snack.  They give you a huge bag of cut up fresh fruit for $9.00.  We all shared it – it was perfect.   We also loved the large Caesar wrap (fresh grilled chicken) and the Greek salad was huge with tons of feta cheese! The value meals range from $10.00 to $12.00 and come with a hamburger, hot dog or chicken strips – chips and a drink.

Soft Drink Tip:

The soft drinks are self serve so you can get one drink for $3.50 and refill your cup at all the soda stations throughout the whole day (we never actually did this because we were on the go and forgot but I kept saying I wanted to try and drink 10 diet cokes for $3.50).

Virgil’s BBQ and Carmines Restaurants:

Virgil’s BBQ and Carmines are two casual restaurants that offer family style dining.  (Entrées feed 3-4 people easily).  So if everyone in your family can agree on ordering an appetizer or salad and a huge plate of chicken or pasta or steak then family style dining is for you and I highly suggest these 2 restaurants.  Reservations are needed (I can make these in advance for you.  If you decide you want to cancel you may do so with the concierge as long as it is by 4 pm that day).

Atlantis Buffets:

My family is usually not “buffet” people but I must say we really liked the buffet options at the Atlantis (Marketplace at Royal Tower and Mosiac at the Cove). It is not a buffet line but rather different stations with tons of choices.  Mosiac is first class with a variety of fresh sushi, steak, shrimp, pasta stations, etc etc!  The Mosiac buffet is much nicer and more upscale than Marketplace and we were surprised it was only about $10.00 more.   We ate at Olives (a newer Atlantis restaurant –  a Todd English restaurant just like the one at the Bellagio Las Vegas) which was also excellent.  Great service, big martinis and pretty atmosphere.

Atlantis Restaurant Tip: 

At Olives restaurant ask to eat outside on the patio or in the “birds eye view” area.  Both these spots are looking right at the huge yachts docked in the Marina.  Just being in the presence of these $100 million dollar yachts is makes you feel pretty fancy.

Food delivery service – outside the Atlantis resort:

Several of my clients have used FoodStore2Go.com but this was my first time trying it myself.  FoodStore2Go is an online grocery store and delivery service that specializes in delivering to Atlantis vacationers. This service was amazing!  My husband and I figured we would place a small order for beverages and fruit and see how it worked out.  The minimum order is $50.00 and delivery is $9.00.  (I also tipped the driver $5.00).  Prices were reasonable.  A slight markup from a Bahamian grocery store but not much and with no hassle! I had advised people in the past that on the way to the resort your cab driver could stop at a local grocery store and you could go shop and stock up but this is 10 times easier. Convenience is everything to me!  We ordered a case of water ($19.00), 1 liter of Vodka ($14.00), 4 cans of Red Bull ($3.00 per can), a few cans of Cranberry juice ($1.49 each) and a 3 pound bag of small Gala apples ($8.49 for the bag).  You provide your airline info so the delivery driver knows when to meet you at the Atlantis (about an hour after your flight lands).  Right on time the delivery driver sent me a text telling me he was ready with my delivery whenever I was checked in and had my room number.

After I checked in I met the nice driver right outside the Royal Tower.  He unloaded my groceries and got a bellman to bring everything up to my room. Check out the food lists online – there is tons of stuff (most people I know order water, alcohol, mixers and snacks of all kinds).  Bottom line is this saved us a ton of money on alcohol by the pool (or a cocktail before dinner) and saved us on bottled water. We weren’t obsessive about this because it is vacation and we wanted to enjoy ordering and sitting at the pool bars with other vacationers but it was great to have this stuff in our room when we wanted it.  I highly recommend this delivery service!

Food Delivery Service Tips: 

Place your order and use a special code specifically for Dana Rubin Casino Services guests and receive $5.00 off your order.

Note: If you do not want to spend a minimum of $50.00 there is a small shopping center right across the street from the Coral Tower at the Atlantis (Picture).  There is a liquor store there, Dunkin Donuts and small grocery store.  I compared prices to my FoodStoretoGo list and they were about the same.  I saw several people lugging cases of water out of there but that’s not for me.  I much prefer the delivery service but wanted to share that this is an option also for you to save money at the resort.