I've only just realised that I hadn't written this blog post from our family trip in May. I can't believe I'd forgotten to write about it.
On our way back from Australia we were having a 2 night stay, half board at the Atlantis the Palm in Dubai. We couldn't wait to stay here after hearing such glowing reports from family and friends. We were concerned that it wasn't very highly rated on trip advisor but then when you read the reviews, the negative comments came from non family parties that had stayed there.
When we arrived in reception we were simply blown away by how amazing it was. I can't express to you how big the resort is. It was huge!! It reminded me of the hotels in Las Vegas. There was something to look and explore on every corner.
We were then shown to our room. We had booked one of the regular rooms so we weren't expecting it to be as nice as it was. The room was big in size with a gorgeous bathroom and a balcony that overlooked some of the hotel, the palm and the sea.
The hotel itself has so much to do with its own shopping area, aquarium, water park, swimming pools, spa and marine park. You really wouldn't have to leave if you didn't want to. We only had 2 days so we had to prioritise what we wanted to see. We'd decided to visit the water park, pools and the aquarium. As much as we knew that Eva would have loved to see the marine animals, we didn't think she'd appreciate it enough (especially with how much it cost just to have a basic experience with one of the animals). The water park and aquarium were free for us to visit whenever we wanted with the half board package we had paid for.
The water park is fantastic. One of the best ones I've been too. Eva loved the river rapids and children's water play areas and hubby had lots of adrenaline filled rushes on some of the more extreme rides. I was pregnant so couldn't really go on a lot although I did have a sneaky go on one of the rides that takes you through a see through tunnel which is surrounded by sealife and sharks. As with most water parks the floor gets extremely hot to the point of burning your feet so I would suggest taking some cheap flipflops with you to leave at the end of the rides. We literally didn't want to leave the park but the beauty of it being on the resort is that during peak sun hours we were able to go back to our hotel room for a rest before going back to the park when the sun wasn't so strong.
The lost chambers aquarium is also brilliant. All 3 of us enjoyed it, especially Eva. It's very well themed and there are plenty of sea life to see and learn about in there. You can also book diving experiences in there and swim with the sharks!
We'd booked a half board option for our stay which included breakfast and an evening meal. Drinks were included at breakfast but not at the evening meal and they were quite pricey to say the least. Even a bottle of water would set you back rather a lot. Despite that, the half board option couldn't have been any better. There were a few different restaurants that you could choose to eat in and they were all fantastic. The selection of food available in them was out of this world with so many different cuisines available and everything was very tasty. The buffet style restaurants did get very busy but you had the option to book a table in advance so that was never a problem to us. For lunch there were plenty of different restaurants to pick up a snack from but they really were expensive.
I could honestly write so much more about our stay here as we enjoyed it so much. I don't think i'll ever be able to express in words just how good it was. The staff were extremely friendly and very helpful. They couldn't do enough for you and treated you like kings and queens. The resort itself is spectacular and very clean. The rooms are beautiful and spacious. The activities and entertainment available are endless and the food was perfect. We can't wait to stay here again!