Take the fairytale architecture and celebrity chefs of Las Vegas, add a water park straight out of the Disney playbook, plop it down on an island in the Caribbean, and voilà, you have Atlantis. To say this Bahamian outpost is a mega-resort is no exaggeration. Close to 3,000 rooms pepper the 171-acre complex, from the affordable and nondescript Beach Tower (a holdover from the days of Merv Griffin's Resorts International) to the latest addition, the all-suites Cove, with its posh teak and mother-of-pearl interior. Yet, as the name implies, the real attraction here is the water—whether it's a shark-infested walkway like the Predator Tunnel, or the 141-acre Aquaventure "waterscape," where you can hop on an inner tube and literally ride all day on waterslides, drops, rapids, and up escalators and through tunnels. And let's not forget about the beach, which lines the resort's edge and is a much-needed getaway from all the excitement.

Obviously, this is not a

Take the fairytale architecture and celebrity chefs of Las Vegas, add a water park straight out of the Disney playbook, plop it down on an island in the Caribbean, and voilà, you have Atlantis. To say this Bahamian outpost is a mega-resort is no exaggeration. Close to 3,000 rooms pepper the 171-acre complex, from the affordable and nondescript Beach Tower (a holdover from the days of Merv Griffin's Resorts International) to the latest addition, the all-suites Cove, with its posh teak and mother-of-pearl interior. Yet, as the name implies, the real attraction here is the water—whether it's a shark-infested walkway like the Predator Tunnel, or the 141-acre Aquaventure "waterscape," where you can hop on an inner tube and literally ride all day on waterslides, drops, rapids, and up escalators and through tunnels. And let's not forget about the beach, which lines the resort's edge and is a much-needed getaway from all the excitement.

Obviously, this is not a resort for everyone. But if you want to spend your days sliding through the water or chilling on the sand and your nights checking out one of the largest casinos in the Bahamas, attending comedy clubs, and eating dinner at celebrated New York restaurants, then it's hard to top Atlantis for sheer entertainment value. Especially for families who want to keep kids engaged. Aside from the multiple swimming pools and marine life, the resort offers a number of supervised kids' programs (days and evenings, tailored for different ages), which are ideal for grownups who wish to slip away for dinner and a game of roulette. Note that everything is à la carte here, so costs for food and camps can add up.

Besides Aquaventure and its mile-long river ride, "The Current," Atlantis features the Leap of Faith, a 60-foot drop from the property's faux-Mayan Temple into a shark lagoon (though, thankfully, their pearly white teeth are shimmering behind glass), and the Dig, a labyrinthine underwater world that leads to the biggest aquarium ever seen at a resort. There are also gentle pools for babies or adults who want to make their own motion by doing laps. Then there's the relatively new Dolphin Cay, where guests pay a fee to pet and feed the animals.

Once the skies grow dark, folks head to Marina Village, an open-air mall that resembles the Bahamas of yore with its colorful clapboard-sided houses. Here's where you'll find Café Martinique, a newer version of the famous restaurant with Chef Jean-George Vongerichten now at the helm. The Cove houses the Caribbean outpost of Bobby Flay's popular Mesa Grill, while star chef Nobu Matsuhisa serves yellowtail sashimi and other Japanese favorites at his restaurant.

Paradise Island Casino also houses several dining establishments and its fair share of lounges. Other nighttime entertainment options include a comedy club, cinema, and the nightclub Dragons, if you want to dance off dinner. One thing's for certain, you won't grow bored at Atlantis. So if you gets antsy after a few hours at the beach, this is the place for you.

The Spread:
Atlantis, a mega-resort themed to its namesake Lost Continent, plays out the sunken island story throughout a 34-acre waterscape, 11 swimming areas including a seven-acre snorkeling lagoon, and waterslides. Even more impressively, a huge manmade wonder of shark tunnels, stingray and turtle lagoons, and tanks of jellyfish, lobsters, piranhas, and seahorses interlaces the property. The 2,317 rooms are located in Harborside, offering one- to three-bedroom apartment units, or a choice of rooms in one of the three hotels. Royal Towers is the priciest, Coral Towers is the site of the kids' program, and Beach Towers is more moderately priced. In 2007, an additional 600 suites plus 400 condo-hotel units will debut along with a new 48-acre water fantasyland. Plus, for parents, Atlantis has the biggest casino on the island.

Why Families Love It:
Atlantis is bustling, noisy, and filled with things to do. Your kids, plus your

The Spread:
Atlantis, a mega-resort themed to its namesake Lost Continent, plays out the sunken island story throughout a 34-acre waterscape, 11 swimming areas including a seven-acre snorkeling lagoon, and waterslides. Even more impressively, a huge manmade wonder of shark tunnels, stingray and turtle lagoons, and tanks of jellyfish, lobsters, piranhas, and seahorses interlaces the property. The 2,317 rooms are located in Harborside, offering one- to three-bedroom apartment units, or a choice of rooms in one of the three hotels. Royal Towers is the priciest, Coral Towers is the site of the kids' program, and Beach Towers is more moderately priced. In 2007, an additional 600 suites plus 400 condo-hotel units will debut along with a new 48-acre water fantasyland. Plus, for parents, Atlantis has the biggest casino on the island.

Why Families Love It:
Atlantis is bustling, noisy, and filled with things to do. Your kids, plus your inner child, can't help but get excited at stepping into a fantasy of wall-sized tanks of schooling tropical fish, lagoons of flapping manta rays, and waterslides—one with a near-vertical drop. The new children's water village, which debuted April 2006, adds kid-sized slides, water castles, and splash elements for those under 48 inches.

In February 2006, the resort replaced its educational-oriented Discovery Channel Camp with the new Discovery Kids Adventure for ages six to 12, available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday and Sundays during holidays (full day $90 with lunch, or $15 per hour; morning $40; afternoon $45). Borrowing from Discovery Kids programming, the new camp has added relays, seaside games, challenges, more time outdoors, as well as Bahamian dances and crafts to the schedule. Kids also unscramble hieroglyphics, a link to the cable network's cartoon, "Tutenstein," and cast a shark tooth, a tie-in with Discovery's "Kenny the Shark." At the Atlantis Kids Club, from 9 a.m. to noon ($40), preschoolers three to five do face painting, play Bluebeard's bingo, create aquariums, and tour the fish hospital. Atlantis Kids Club also has Evening Escape, a themed evening of movies, games, and computer play for ages three to 12 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday ($50). Reserve ahead for any of the kids' programs.

Teens congregate at Club Rush, where they check emails, play video games, and watch DVDs. The club is open to ages seven to 12 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and ages 13 to 17 from 8:30 p.m. to midnight.

Special Events & Activities:
With Aqua Tots, five children three years or older, but still under 48 inches tall, are chosen to go with staff to feed small fish.