The Atlantis Resort (888/528-7155) on Paradise Island truly offers a spectacular location for entertainment, recreation, and a chance to have fun and relax. It is known worldwide for its magical aquarium-style attractions, “second only to mother nature” as they say, housing 50,000 marine animals. The beautiful 37-acre resort landscape boasts cascading waterfalls, gold sand beaches, lagoons, tropical flowers and yacht-filled marinas.

With these beautiful sights, why not add a maze that offers an underground passageway to tour the mystical sunken land of Atlantis? The Dig allows you to stroll past the glass walls, admire the architecture of this ancient civilization, and see treasure guarded by piranha.

Atlantis creates excitement with the Mayan Temple, a featured water ride that slides through a lagoon filled with sharks (that can’t reach you, of course). Gather together for more thrills, when a 60-foot, almost vertical drop that plunges you at rapid speed through a clear tunnel submerged in the shark-filled lagoon. Spin around on the serpent slide in the blackness of the temple’s mysterious core right before you meet the sharks. (Hope you’re a shark lover.) More timid guests can enjoy a relaxing ride on inner tubes through the seven-acre snorkeling lagoon.

This Resort Thinks of Everything

Recreational activities for the whole family can be found at The Sports Center. There’s tennis, basketball, golf and -- let’s not forget a mother's dream -- the spa. Talk about a complete range of sensory pleasures. The Atlantis grounds also have a 65,000-square-foot marketplace where you can dine, shop and find local entertainment.

There are so many things to look forward to, but the people at Atlantis aren’t stopping there. A new 650,000-gallon tank houses Dolphin Cay, a lagoon where guests can interact with dolphins, many of whom were rescued from the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina and brought to the Bahamas for training. Future upgrades include more waterslides, a lagoon with whitewater rafting, and an enhanced spa.

The next time you visit this paradise you will see new features, such as the famous Bobby Flay’s culinary centerpiece Mesa Grill showcased in The Cove, a glamorous all-suite tower . There are already nearly 3,770 rooms, suites and villas: while the Royal Towers adjacent to the casino hosts celebrities and high rollers, the Coral Tower has the kids club facilities, and the original Beach Tower has more moderately priced rooms.

Tiny Travelers Welcome

How great can this place get? It welcomes guests of any age. Now that Atlantis has joined with Johnson’s and BabyCenter.com, new families can enjoy a restful vacation and maintain baby’s routine while away from home. Since this can become a big issue when traveling, the resort provides essential home care gear and products needed to care for infants.

They include, with a requested crib, of course, a Gentle Travel kit from Johnson’s best product lines, a lullaby CD, and a specialty nightlight designed to create a calming atmosphere. In addition, you will be given the opportunity to preview Johnson’s new baby care product lines before they are available for purchase.

If you’re still concerned about taking the Little One with you on vacation, try considering the other offers from Atlantis such as bedtime instructions for putting that over-excited child to sleep. A new invention that I would love to experience myself is their Prompt Response Service that allows you to receive immediate baby care. Just think, extra crib sheets, baby bathtubs, bottle warmers, sterilizers, strollers and small refrigerators all at your request. Parents can even request babysitters who have been trained, screened through a background check, and qualified in CPR and childcare.

A few minutes of peace, a spontaneous adventure -- Atlantis wants you to enjoy your family vacation to the fullest. The resort also tries to accommodate special needs by offering restricted diet meals, handicap accessible facilities, and other custom requests. Bring your kids and don’t worry about anything except for having fun.

There’s Fun For The Whole Family

Atlantis, Paradise Island wants children to feel this is the place to play with mommy and daddy. Ripples and Poseidons kid's pools offer mini slides, fountains and animal figures.  A new pint-sized three-foot-deep waterscape called Splashers is designed for children under 5-years who want some of the water action, with rope bridges, splash guns, small slides, and a 320-gallon dump bucket for soaking family and friends. Kids and adults can enjoy the beautiful sights of sharks, rays and tropical fish, experience the thrill of exciting waterslides, participate in theme games, crafts, and learn how to play an instrument.

Fee-based activities include a daily supervised Aquatots program that enables toddlers to help the fish feeding crew. Children ages 3-12 enrolled in the Kids Camp can tour the resort’s Fish Hospital, and kids 6-12 in the educational Discovery Kids Adventure (curriculum designed by the Discovery Channel) will visit the resort’s many pools with their counselors, join in on a Bahamian Junkanoo parade, or even create their own sand sculpture. There are educational activities that allow children to discover hidden treasure, decode hieroglyphics and test their own endurance through beach Olympics.

But it doesn’t stop here! Kids own the night as well. Ages 3-12 can sit back and enjoy a movie, listen to stories, play on the computer or even dance and participate in Karaoke at the Atlantis Kids Club. Teens aged 13-17 have their own special Club Rush to compare vacation adventures or just hang out.

Atlantis gives you the sense that they put every thought into family and fun. If you consider what your family wants from their vacation, I am sure one way or another Atlantis has something for you.