What Atlantis The Palm represents depends on how long you have lived in the UAE.
For seasoned residents, the Palm Jumeirah resort – which opened in 2008 – is part of our personal and professional lives, hosting everything from weddings and business conferences to iftars and New Year's Eve celebrations.
For tourists, the Atlantis, with its unmistakable coral-pink towers, can still feel like a destination in its own right, with a water park, aquarium and several restaurants.
Checking in for my first stay with the wife and our 10-month-old son meant arriving with a new set of expectations. The former appeals of Michelin-starred dining and sold-out concerts had given way to smaller but more critical requirements: whether the room could comfortably fit a cot, bottles could be sterilised, dining halls were pram-friendly, and eggs could be served with just the right amount of mush our little man likes.
Most important of all was whether there was enough going on in the resort to keep him amused long enough to buy us a few golden snatches of quiet.
The welcome
There is rarely such a thing as a calm first impression at Atlantis The Palm. The lobby feels as busy as an airport, with business meetings in lounges unfolding alongside families arriving on holiday, day visitors stopping for dining and hotel guests fresh from the pools crossing between wings with towels draped over their shoulders.
High heels and sandals click across the cavernous polished floors beneath Dale Chihuly's towering glass sculpture, past fountains, marine motifs and palm-like columns on the way to the reception, restaurants and lifts.
We bypassed the main check-in area with its nearly dozen lanes, and headed to the nearby Imperial Club Lounge in the East Tower, where guests have a private check-in and check-out desk as well as access to a dedicated concierge.
Beyond the private reception, the spacious creamy coloured lounge was noticeably quieter, soothing our increasingly overstimulated son. We arrived about an hour before the 3pm check-in and were allowed to spend the time enjoying complimentary refreshments and snacks until the room was ready.
Our room in the West Tower was about a five-minute walk away, and the luggage arrived not long after we did.
The room
We stayed in the Imperial Club King Palm View and, baby in tow, I paid closer attention to details beyond the room's coral flourishes, marble bathroom flooring and granite vanities.
Before we arrived, the booking team had taken time over the phone to understand what we needed.
A bottle steriliser, available on request, was waiting on the study desk and plugged into a nearby socket, while the cot had already been set up. Our son happily ate the grapes and bananas from the complimentary fruit platter.
And when he stretched his vocal cords, the balcony offered temporary refuge, overlooking the resort's family pool with the Arabian Gulf beyond.
The food
One of the first lessons I learnt on a family holiday is that kid is king when it comes to dining decisions, including where, what and, more importantly, when he could eat comfortably.
He is an early riser, so 8am became our sweet spot for breakfast at the Imperial Club Lounge. It proved an ideal time, giving us close to an hour of relative calm before more families began filtering in.
The buffet covers breakfast staples such as hashbrowns and scrambled eggs alongside cooked-to-order dishes such as omelettes, eggs Florentine and avocado toast. In one corner, a large screen showing Disney films gave our son something else to focus on as we put breakfast together.
And as our son sleeps early, we arrived at Saffron, the main dining hall, around the start of dinner service at 6pm.
Placed along the ground floor of the West Tower, Atlantis's largest buffet spans 20 live cooking stations, ranging from pasta and curries to Middle Eastern grills, sushi, dim sum and stir-fries. Staff quickly brought over a sturdy high chair, and were friendly and animated with our son. Arriving at the start of service meant the room was still relatively calm, with grills and pizzas coming fresh from their stations.
Wavehouse, a restaurant in The Avenues, the resort’s shopping and dining area, tries to be several things at once, with bowling lanes, dozens of arcade games, darts and screens alongside a separate sports bar area and an almost cyberpunk atmosphere.
Our meal here was served in one the family booths and the food was wonderfully hearty, with the arrabiata penne patsa delivering a proper kick from pepperoncino and garlic, softened by burrata, while the corn salad came loaded with baby gem, avocado, edamame, pomegranate, almonds and sun-dried tomato. The fish and chips came with minted peas, tartare sauce and the kind of thick fries I enjoy with a dish like this.
Family-friendly facilities
Aquaventure Waterpark felt too overwhelming for a 10-month-old, though that hardly mattered because we spent our swim time in the family pool, open from 9am, where cabanas provided welcome shade and there was enough room to swim comfortably with our son while families played and children moved in and out of the water.
The pool, thankfully, didn’t have an overpowering soundtrack, and our son seemed enthralled by the sea of people around him, swimming, lounging and playing water polo.
Entry to Lost World Aquarium is included for hotel guests, and our visit lasted about half an hour, taking us through 14 chambers and 21 marine exhibits. The little one stared at the fish and seemed particularly taken by an Australian lobster before we reached one of the larger halls, where we stopped for family photographs beside the floor-to-ceiling aquarium windows.
Little Explorers is another benefit of the resort. Accessible exclusively to hotel guests, the indoor playroom is dedicated to children from infancy to age three, with padded flooring and learning toys giving our son the chance to get out of the pram and move around properly. A late-afternoon visit lasted about 45 minutes before the first big yawn appeared, our cue to leave before the grumbles turned into a meltdown.
The verdict
Nearly 20 years on, Atlantis The Palm still retains the family magic that makes it a bucket-list stay for residents and visitors alike. Its lively atmosphere, sunny interiors, island vibe and attentive staff can make you forget that behind it all is a cracking first-class operation.
For parents, the value comes from doing all the usual work of parenting in a more relaxed setting. Ultimately, our son was the arbiter of the stay, and we came away with enough joyful photos of him to know the family break had been a success.
Value for money
Rates for an Imperial Club King Palm View Room are currently about Dh1,750 per night, excluding taxes and fees. Check-in is from 3pm and check-out is by noon.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the hotel and reflects hotel standards during this time. Services may change in the future
