The Cove Atlantis, Bahamas: Resort Review

It's said that we're the sum of the choices we make in life. If that's true, then I'm a lazy-river-riding, spa-going, luxury-shopping, reef-gawking kind of woman. At least that's who I am when I'm at the Cove.

On a recent quickie visit to this resort within a resort at Paradise Island's sprawling Atlantis in the Bahamas, time in my room was spent only to shower, dress or sleep. In the morning, I was one of the first riders on the Current, the mile-long not-so-lazy river that winds through the massive Aquaventure water park.

Next stop: Cain at the Cove, a slick adults-only pool where butlers service plush cabanas and you dare not rise from your lounge chair unless you're in swimsuit-model shape. It felt as if I covered each of Atlantis' 171 acres, stopping to feed hungry hawksbill turtles and survey the impressive predator lagoon, grateful for the thick plexiglass between me and the boldly staring blacknose sharks.

I tried my luck in the casino and then shuttled over to Marina Village for some power shopping, followed by wistful browsing at the Crystal Court, where Versace, Cartier and Ferragamo competed for my meager winnings.

Later that afternoon, I passed a dreamy 50 minutes at The Cove Atlantis spa, where a Balinese massage put me into such a blissful stupor that I almost missed my reservation at Nobu's Atlantis outpost. Sitting over an artfully arranged platter of unagi, I lamented the fact that there was still so much left to do. When would I possibly fit in the rock climbing, water-slide riding and swimming with sea lions I'd planned? What about the trivia competition at the Royal Towers? Walking with sharks in the Mayan Temple?

After a day of countless options, it seemed I still had one final choice to make: when to return to The Cove Atlantis.