Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Directly overhead, the six-foot predator swam with deliberate
slowness, making schools of yellow grunts scurry closer to shel-
tering rocks.
But, unlike the school of fish and the large spiny lobster on the
sandy floor below, we were not worried. Along with other visi-
tors in the 100-foot-long clear tunnel, we just delighted in the
view, surrounded by thousands of tropical fish, sharks, manta
rays, and sea turtles in the world's largest open-air aquarium.
The tunnel and the water gardens surrounding it are found at
the
Atlantis Hotel
on Nassau's Paradise Island. The resort is
one of several changes that have brought glitz and glamour to
what was formerly called “Hog Island.” Thanks to investors,
Paradise Island could now be renamed Fantasy Island - a place
where high-dollar hotels meet gourmet dining and world-class
shopping to create a lavish playground.
Investor Sol Kerzner is well known for themed resorts in South
Africa (including one with a zoo), and his Sun International
company worked to give visitors to this resort the feeling that
they were discovering the lost city of Atlantis. Inclusion of ma-
rine life, or at least symbols of it, starts with dolphin fountains
at the entrance and continues with conch shell carpet and even
marine-themed slot machines in the casino.
Nowhere is the marine theme more evident than in the
waterscape, now bigger and better than ever thanks to the most
recent expansion. Here waterfalls splash and churn sea water
into fish-filled lagoons that weave among walkways, open-air
bars, and bridges. Guests flock to the
Predator Lagoon
for a
close-up look at the half-dozen reef sharks that swim a constant
pattern alongside barracudas and rays. Above the water's sur-
face, guests watch for the shark's telltale fin to break the la-
goon's surface; underwater, encased in the clear tunnel, they
stand within inches of the sharks. The Predator Lagoon is pop-
ular with all ages of visitors, from small children who delight at
the diving turtles and crawling spiny lobsters to the older visi-
tors and non-swimmers looking for the sensation of scuba div-
ing without getting wet.
Viewing in the tunnel and from the adjacent “sea grottos” (cre-
ated from molds made of actual Bahamian sea grottos), visitors
hear the sounds of the sea. Lighting in the grottos comes from
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