The resort itself was fantastic: new, clean, and well-maintained. Our kids would have loved the waterpark. We spent most of our time on the private beach. It was hotter than heck the day we were there but the water was great and a perfect temperature for swimming. There were several lagoons around the park that held stingrays, sharks, and other fish for visitors to see up close.

The aquariums are well-worth visiting, including the one known as "The Dig." It's set up as if it were located in the ruins of Atlantis and a long-lost Atlantean civilization. So, in addition to the viewing local sea creatures like moray eels, hammerhead sharks, and a huge manta ray, you can see remnants of a fictional lost civilization. It was well done, especially if you are a Jules Verne or steampunk fan like I am.

Some drawbacks to report:

(1) At the beach, we were repeatedly accosted by vendors selling all sorts of merchandise and souvenirs, from Cuban cigars, to beads, to beach shawls, etc. It wasn't something I expected to experience at a "private" beach but it was clearly a sanctioned in-house operation of the Atlantis resort.

(2) The resort doesn't have very good signage. We had vouchers for lunch and the vouchers indicated the names of places we could go but no indication as to where they were located. The places did not appear on the locator maps or sign posts around the complex. They did exist, but we had to ask.

When we finally found the Riverbend snack bar, it was uncrowded, the food was outstanding and freshly prepared for us, and the staff was very friendly and top notch. We were glad we had the vouchers because the prices were pretty steep. I had a caesar chicken wrap that was $10.50 and my wife had a flatbread cheese pizza that was about $8.00. Our vouchers were for a "free" entree, fries, and a large soda drink, so each was probably worth about $15-20 in value. Of course, we'd really already paid for our "free lunch" in our excursion package.