| We booked a couples massage in the spa |
| Hotel RIU Paradise Island |
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JaniceJonathanTorontoOntario >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| May, 2006 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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My husband and I just returned from a vacation at the RIU Paradise Island (end of May) and travelled to the resort by Canjet.
Weather: Beautiful...with a daily high of 85-90 degrees. The pool and the ocean were both comfortably warm. |
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| Activities |
We paid $29 each for the tour of the Atlantis "dig" - it was interesting to see the different species of marine life in the big aquarium and the various lagoons, but the experience doesn't live up to the hype. The timeshare salespeople in the lobby of Atlantis (dressed in orange) are very polite, but persistent in asking you to attend a presentation of the new additions to the property. We were greeted by at least six of these sales people each time we walked through the lobby.
We spent most of our time near the pool or on the beach. The sand at the beach is very powdery - it really gives your calves a workout. We didn't even bother to bring down our snorkel gear as we could easily see that there were very few fish around the shore line. Jet skis are available for rent ($50 per half hour) on the beach. We didn't bother going on any tours as we've done that kind of thing so many times before, but we were interested in the sailing trip to Exuma. Unfortunately the cost was $190 per person for the day-long excursion.
We poked around the shops near the resort but didn't find anything special to bring home, except for a sweet Bahamian angel pin from the Diamond Centre and a couple of cigars from a liquor store.
Overall impression: 5/5. We would go back to this resort again as long as we got a good "last minute" package. |
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| Food |
| The buffet was had a wide range of dishes for every meal - it was very good. I enjoyed the Bahamian food as well as the changing theme dinners (oriental, mediterrean, cajun, etc). We made reservations for the steakhouse one night - it was good, but we had a peek at the buffet in the other room later and wished we had gone there. The seafood skewer in the steakhouse was over-cooked. Another bonus was the freshly squeezed juice bar for breakfast - I tried a different juice every day. I've heard people rave about the donuts, but I didn't like them. I had a small piece of dark chocolate cake that was excellent. |
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| Hotel |
| Very impressive lobby. Nice pool bar. The pool is a little small (and it's only 4 ft deep), but there is ample seating around the pool deck and on the beach. Large umbrellas are available for rent for $25 per day. Good size rooms with a nice view of the ocean, but not very luxurious. We got stuck with a room above the noisy air conditioning vents (room 618), so we didn't spend as much time on the balcony as we would have liked. We did get the king-size bed as requested. The TV in the rooms and the lobby bar have Fox Sportsworld (good news for you soccer fans) and HBO, so if you've had too much sun you can usually find something good to watch for an hour or two. The A/C worked fine. The fridge wasn't very cold and we called for service but they said it was working fine. The toilet ran pretty much all night - didn't bother calling for service again. Convenient room safe with programmable code (no deposit required!). The nice surprise was that the fridge was restocked with cans of beer and soft drinks on a daily basis (a six-pack of each) and there was a cabinet on the wall with 4 bottles of liquor for a self-serve bar. The dining rooms also had serve yourself draft beer (Miller and Stella Artois), which my husband enjoyed. The cans of beer at the pool bar are MGD. |
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| Service |
| The bar staff were very pleasant and attentive - we didn't wait long for any drinks. They have slushy machines for Pina Coladas, Margaritas and Mudslides and they make a wide range of fancy drinks (blue ocean, hummingbird, etc.). The maids were courteous and did a good job of tidying the room each day. Most of the dining room staff are cheerful and are prompt at offering coffee, filling up your water, clearing your table etc. |
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| Spa |
| We booked a couples massage in the spa - the attendants were very nice and the massage really helped to loosen our muscles. There is also a large jacuzzi pool in the spa, which is very relaxing. |
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