Why The Cove at Atlantis Is The Perfect Luxury Family Resort 

After just a few months, Paranza has vaulted itself into the pantheon of top Caribbean restaurants. 

Michelin-starred Chef Michael White’s eatery at The Cove luxury resort at Atlantis Paradise Island is a brilliant, vibrant ode to Italian regional cooking, with an impressive wine list and even more impressive service. 

And yet when my young daughters’ steaks arrive to the table, a pair of waiters instantly jumps into slicing up the meat for them. 

It may seem like a small thing, but it’s that kind of thoughtfulness that can achieve that elusive alchemy in hospitality: turning a luxury experience into a luxury family experience. 

It’s no easy feat; you can travel the world over and even great luxury resorts can struggle to translate even the most sophisticated hospitality into one that manages to accommodate a group traveling with kids. Undoubtedly, some part of the experience, some part of the service, will be compromised. 

But at The Cove, it’s not. Here, you get the best of the worlds — it’s a luxury resort that delivers an outstanding family experience with the feel of a serene, adults-only resort. (This is even where Prince William and Princess Kate stayed on their royal visit to the island).

The 600-room beach resort is the crown jewel of Atlantis Paradise Island’s properties, set on the most stunning stretch of beach at Atlantis. 

And if you’re traveling with your kids, from the moment you walk into the truly stunning lobby to your arrival in the rooms with their sunken living areas, it’s just about perfect. 

Because you have all of the amenities at Atlantis: the Aquaventure park, Dolphin Cay, the beaches, the pools, the Dig; the Marina Village; but you also have a rarefied, quiet, exclusive resort to come back to all day long. There’s also a family pool right outside the doors of the property, shallow enough for even the littlest ones to wade in comfort and set right at the edge of the magical Paradise Island beach.

And if you haven’t been to Atlantis lately, the resort is better than ever: at every turn, the property has been upgrading. 

That includes the culinary program, which has added a growing lineup of star chefs and brands in the last year: the aforementioned Paranza; Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack; Graycliff’s Chocotini Bahamas; the soon-to-debut Silan by Chef Alon Shaya; or the transformed Cafe Martinique, a fabulous fine-dining spot in the Marina Village, which also just opened the lovely new cocktail bar called The Dilly Club. Even The Dilly Club lives two lives: a cafe (with cocktails)in the morning, a cocktail bar by night.

The Atlantis Casino, too, is in the midst of a dramatic facelift of its own. 

Even Dolphin Cay, the resort’s celebrated marine animal refuge, has launched a new experience called Pupventure, where you can get up close with a pair of sea lion pups named Karaya and Zemi. 

And whether you’re dining at Paranza or Jose Andres’ lovely Fish restaurant, also at the Cove; people watching with tapas at Frezca (in view of the Cove’s always-energetic adults-only pool), you’ll never be made to feel out of place with your kids; you’ll always get accommodated, and the service will ensure that you enjoy it just the same as if you were here with a group of adult friends. 

And even if you can’t make your way to that spectacular pool, or play the tables at the Cove’s outdoor casino, the experience is just as good — and just as hard to replicate. 

Because it goes without saying that you’ll make some compromises on any luxury trip with small children; at the Cove, you really don’t have to. 

“The Cove? What a beautiful name for a hotel,” my older daughter said as we entered the Cove lobby. 

And it’s a beautiful place for a luxury vacation. 

For more, visit The Cove.