Where to Stay on Paradise Island — Best Hotels & Resorts
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Updated August 2026
Written in August 2026. Every hotel named here was checked against the operator’s own information this month — including which Atlantis tower is closed.
Paradise Island is a strip of land about four miles long, joined to Nassau by two bridges, and for a great many American families it is the Bahamas. Atlantis stands across the middle of it with its towers and its aquariums and its water park; the Riu sits next door on Cabbage Beach; and at the far eastern end, behind a discreet gate, is the quietest and most expensive hotel in the country.
Three corrections will save you money and disappointment, so we will make them at the top. Atlantis is not all-inclusive — the resort says so in its own words, and every meal is a separate bill. The resort fee is compulsory and runs from $77 to $82.50 a night depending on the tower, plus ten per cent VAT. And the Beach tower has been closed since around 2021, so any cheap rate you find under that name is a listing nobody has taken down.
The island divides simply. The Atlantis complex in the centre — Royal, Coral, Cove and Reef — is where most visitors stay and where all the noise and all the entertainment is. Cabbage Beach, along the north shore, is the beautiful public beach the resorts front onto. The harbour side, facing Nassau, is quieter and cheaper and has water views rather than surf. And the far east end is a different holiday altogether: small, still and costly.
Every hotel below is a real, currently trading property that we checked against the operator’s own information this month. Where a category honestly has only one answer on this island — and pet-friendly does — we say so plainly rather than filling the space.
Luxury
Two very different ideas of luxury, a mile apart. One is the quietest hotel in the Bahamas; the other is the most expensive address inside the busiest resort in the Caribbean.
The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas
One hundred and seven rooms at the far eastern end of Paradise Island, on its own private beach and a world away from the crowds at the other end. This is the old One&Only Ocean Club under new management — Four Seasons has run it for several years now, so do not go looking for the old name. Low-rise, level, short walks, the Versailles Gardens and the Cloisters on the grounds, a Balinese-style spa with treatment villas among the trees, and — the detail we like best for older travellers — an adults-only infinity pool as well as a family pool, so you can have a quiet swim without booking an adults-only hotel. Not all-inclusive: Dune and Ocean Blu are charged as you go.
Book Me on Trip.com ›The Cove at Atlantis
Six hundred suites in the most expensive tower at Atlantis, with its own secluded beach and two pools reserved for Cove and Reef guests. It is genuinely lovely, and it is genuinely part of a resort of six thousand people. Three things to weigh. It is not all-inclusive — you sign for meals and settle at the end. The resort fee is $82.50 a night, which does at least cover daily entry to the Aquaventure water park, the marine habitats and Wi-Fi. And the walk from The Cove to the casino and the main Atlantis buildings is a long one; there is a free internal shuttle and we would use it every time. One more thing worth knowing: Cain at The Cove is an adults-only pool, but it is a party pool with a DJ. Cascades is the calm one.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Boutique
Paradise Island is not boutique country — it is a resort island. These two are the honest small alternatives, and both are self-catering.
Paradise Island Beach Club
Forty-four two-bedroom, two-bathroom villas of about a thousand square feet each, directly on Cabbage Beach — you walk from your door onto the sand with no road to cross and no shuttle to catch. Family-run, deliberately quiet, two heated pools and one swim-up bar. Full kitchens, which on an island this expensive is the difference between a comfortable week and a shock. It is towards the eastern end, so Atlantis is an outing rather than a neighbour.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Bay View Suites Paradise Island
Only twenty-five suites set in four acres of garden on the harbour side of the island, with full kitchens and pools that are almost never crowded. Guests describe it, fondly and accurately, as a little dated and very good value. Cabbage Beach is about seven minutes on foot by the shortcut the staff will show you, and Atlantis about five. Two honest notes: upper units mean stairs, so ask for a ground-floor suite when you book, and the most recent independent reviews we could find were from early 2025 — telephone the hotel to confirm your dates before you pay.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Budget & Value
There is no cheap hotel on Paradise Island — the lowest genuine rates we found start around two hundred dollars a night. What there is, is one very clever piece of value.
Comfort Suites Paradise Island
The best-known trick on the island, and it is a legitimate one. Comfort Suites sits immediately next to Atlantis, and its guests get complimentary daily access to Atlantis — the Aquaventure water park, the pools, the lazy river and the beaches — without paying the Atlantis room rate. Add a free full American breakfast and its own pool with a swim-up bar and you have the sensible way to give grandchildren the Atlantis holiday. Read this limitation carefully: the Atlantis privileges run only from the official three o’clock check-in on your arrival day to eleven on your departure day, so you lose the water park on both travel days, and wristbands must be collected each morning. Two hundred and twenty-three junior suites, maximum four to a room, Cabbage Beach about five minutes on the flat.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Bay View Suites Paradise Island
The other honest saving here is a kitchen. Paradise Island restaurant prices are high — a casual lunch for two can pass a hundred dollars — and being able to make your own breakfast and a light supper changes the arithmetic of a week considerably. Bay View is dated and quiet and the gardens are lovely. Again: request a ground-floor unit, and ring ahead to confirm current availability.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Family-friendly
This is what Paradise Island is for. Both of these are Atlantis towers, and both carry the same warning: the resort fee is compulsory, and the resort is enormous.
The Coral at Atlantis
The middle-priced Atlantis tower and, for anyone who would rather not walk a mile before breakfast, the best-positioned of them — The Coral has the shortest routes to the marine habitats, the casino and the main Aquaventure entrances. Rooms run from doubles up to large family suites, and the pool and swim-up bar were refreshed recently. The resort fee is $77 a night including VAT and covers daily water-park entry, The Dig, the Predator Tunnel, the aquariums, Wi-Fi for four devices, the gym and the shuttle. It is busy and it is loud in high season. That is the deal.
Book Me on Trip.com ›The Reef at Atlantis
An oceanfront, residential-feeling tower where every studio and suite has a full kitchen and a private balcony — a real saving for a family of four or five who do not want to eat every meal out at resort prices. Two pools including a heated one and a children’s pool, direct beach access, guest laundry, lifts to every floor and proper accessible facilities. It is quieter than the Coral and Royal side, at the cost of a longer walk; the shuttle covers it. Resort fee $82.50 a night.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Adults-only
Both of the island’s adults-only hotels are also its only all-inclusives, and they are not remotely alike. Read the age rules carefully — one is stricter than the other.
Hotel Riu Palace Paradise Island
Directly on Cabbage Beach next door to Atlantis, eighteen and over at all hours, and a true all-inclusive: all meals across a buffet and four à la carte restaurants, all drinks, and a minibar restocked daily. There is a Renova spa with a complimentary sauna, an infinity pool with a swim-up bar, and no resort fee to find at check-out. We will be straight with you about the character of it. The pool music is loud, the beach vendors on this stretch are persistent, the à la carte restaurants do not take reservations so there are queues at dinner, and reviewers this year consistently describe the building as dated and in need of maintenance. If you want lively and inclusive on a superb beach at a fair price, it delivers. If you want quiet, look at the Warwick or the Ocean Club.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Warwick Paradise Island Bahamas
All-inclusive, adults-oriented, and considerably calmer than the Riu — an Amber spa, a lagoon-style main pool, a lap pool, and a ten-thousand-square-foot sunset terrace and boardwalk. Two things to understand before you book. First, it is on the harbour side: its beach faces Nassau Harbour, not the open sea, and Cabbage Beach is nearby but not on the property. Second, the age policy is more complicated than ‘adults only’ suggests — you must be eighteen to book and sixteen to be accommodated, and the minimum rises to twenty-one between 15 February and 15 April. There is a mandatory $30 per person per night charge, the resort is entirely cashless, and pets are not permitted (service animals excepted).
Book Me on Trip.com ›Pet-friendly
Here is the honest answer: we found exactly one hotel on Paradise Island that takes dogs. We are not going to invent a second, so the browse link stands in for it.
The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas
Dogs of about twenty-five pounds or less, with no pet fee at all — which is unusual and generous. Water bowls, waste bags, sheets and a crate on request, a biscuit at check-in, and pet-sitting available at a charge. Cats are not accepted. Dogs must be leashed outside the room and are not allowed in the spa, the fitness centre, any pool or any restaurant. The Crescent and Hartford wings are the ones the hotel puts pet guests in.
Book Me on Trip.com ›There is no second pet-friendly hotel here, and we will not invent one
We checked every hotel on the island. Atlantis does not accept pets in any tower. The Warwick explicitly prohibits them and admits service animals only. The Riu, Comfort Suites, Sunrise Beach Club and Bay View publish no pet policy at all, which in our experience means no. Everything else advertised as ‘pet friendly on Paradise Island’ is a private villa or holiday rental, not a hotel. Separately, remember that the Bahamas requires an import permit from the Department of Agriculture for every dog and cat, obtained in advance — see the practical notes below. If you are travelling with a dog and want a choice of hotels, Nassau across the bridge has at least eight.
See pet-friendly Nassau hotels ›Beachfront
Cabbage Beach runs the length of the island’s north shore and is genuinely magnificent. These are the two ways to wake up on it that we would actually recommend.
Hotel Riu Palace Paradise Island
The most directly beachfront full-service hotel on Cabbage Beach: staff set up the loungers and umbrellas, and because it is all-inclusive there is no running tab at the beach bar. Adults only. See the honest notes about noise and vendors above.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Sunrise Beach Club & Villas
Villas of one to five bedrooms with full kitchens on Cabbage Beach, with private gated steps down to the sand, two pools including a waterfall pool, round-the-clock security and a genuinely quiet night. It is family-oriented rather than a party. Two cautions we would not leave out. The villas are two-storey and a 2026 guest described the internal stairs as steep enough to feel unsafe carrying luggage — ask for a single-level unit if you can. And there is no front desk, so check-in has to be arranged in advance, particularly for late arrivals.
Book Me on Trip.com ›All-inclusive
The most important paragraph on this page: Atlantis is not all-inclusive. Its own FAQ says so — ‘Atlantis is not an all-inclusive Resort; we are a full-service Resort.’ Meals are signed for and settled at the end. There are exactly two true all-inclusives on Paradise Island, and both are listed here.
Hotel Riu Palace Paradise Island
The ocean-side all-inclusive: buffet and four à la carte restaurants, all drinks including spirits, a daily-restocked in-room minibar, and no separate resort fee. Adults only. Lively.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Warwick Paradise Island Bahamas
The harbour-side all-inclusive: all meals, snacks, alcoholic and soft drinks and activities are in the rate, with a mandatory $30 per person per night charge on top and ten per cent VAT on everything. Quieter than the Riu, with a proper spa. Just remember the beach faces the harbour.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Spa & Pool
Two quite opposite answers: eleven pools and a water park, or one infinity pool and a treatment villa in a garden.
The Cove at Atlantis — Mandara Spa & Aquaventure
The largest pool inventory in the Bahamas: Aquaventure’s eleven pools, the Current and the Rapids, all covered by the resort fee, plus two pools reserved for Cove and Reef guests and the Mandara Spa. A word of realism for a reader over fifty-five: Aquaventure involves long walks in full sun, standing in queues and climbing stairs to the slide towers. It is a wonderful day and it is a physically demanding one. Use the shuttle, go early, and take the Cascades pool rather than Cain if you want to hear yourself think.
Book Me on Trip.com ›The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas
The other kind of spa day entirely: standalone treatment villas set in the gardens, an adults-only oceanside infinity pool, a separate family pool by the tennis courts, and only a hundred and seven rooms, so nothing is far and nothing is crowded. If what you want from a Bahamian week is stillness, this is the best of it.
Book Me on Trip.com ›What You Need to Know Before You Book
The Atlantis resort fee, and what it actually buys
It is compulsory, it is charged per night, and it is not small. The Coral and The Royal: $77 a night including VAT. The Cove and The Reef: $82.50. Harborside: about $20.52 per person per day. In return you get daily entry to the Aquaventure water park, unlimited access to The Dig, the Predator Tunnel and the marine habitats, Wi-Fi for four devices (six at the Cove and Reef), the fitness centre, bottled water, poolside and theatre films, local calls and the resort shuttle. Water-park entry is included for hotel guests; day visitors have to buy a pass. What the fee does not buy is a single meal.
One tower is closed — do not book it
The Beach tower at Atlantis has been shut since around 2021 and no longer appears on the resort’s own accommodation pages; it is earmarked for redevelopment. The Royal, Coral, Cove and Reef are all open and all renovated in the last few years, and Harborside continues as villa-style accommodation across the marina. If you find a cheap ‘Beach Tower’ rate on a third-party site, it is a stale listing.
Getting to Nassau, and the bridge
Two bridges connect Paradise Island to Nassau, one in each direction. Pedestrians cross free; cars pay about $2 and taxis about $3, and your driver will add it to the fare. From the airport, expect roughly $45 plus the toll and twenty-five to thirty minutes. Many taxis do not take cards, so carry US notes. The nicer way into town is the water taxi from the Paradise Island ferry dock to Prince George Wharf — about ten minutes and around $7 a head — though it involves a step down into the boat, which is worth knowing in advance. Jitney buses do not run on Paradise Island. Walking the bridge is possible and free but exposed, uphill and unpleasant in the heat.
Cabbage Beach is public — with a catch
The beach itself is public along its whole length. In practice the western end in front of Atlantis and the Riu is lined with resort loungers and reads as private. The free public access point is a sandy path off Casino Drive near the Riu, about fifteen minutes’ walk from the ferry dock; it is easy to miss and a secondary entrance has been closed at weekends. Loungers on the public stretch are rented by vendors rather than free, and vendor approaches on that section are persistent. A friendly, firm ‘no thank you’ is normal and expected here.
Money and taxes
The Bahamian dollar is pegged one-for-one to the US dollar and both circulate freely, so there is nothing to change. VAT is ten per cent and applies on top of nearly everything, including the resort fee. Between VAT, the resort fee and gratuities, budget roughly a quarter more than the room rate you were quoted.
Bringing a dog
Only the Ocean Club accepts pets on Paradise Island, and every animal entering the Bahamas needs an import permit from the Department of Agriculture in Nassau, obtained in advance and physically carried with the animal. The permit costs about $11 with VAT, the animal must be over six months old, and you will need a veterinary health certificate issued within ten days of travel showing current rabies immunity and freedom from internal and external parasites. Apply six to eight weeks out.
Two safety notes worth repeating
The US State Department advisory of 28 July 2026 places the Bahamas at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution — ordinary care, not alarm. Two specifics apply directly here. US government employees are prohibited from renting jet skis on Paradise Island and New Providence following repeated assaults by operators; we would take that as a firm no for anyone. And firearms and ammunition are absolutely prohibited, including a single overlooked cartridge in a carry-on, which has led to American visitors being arrested. Check your bags before you fly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Atlantis all-inclusive?
No. Atlantis says so itself: 'Atlantis is not an all-inclusive Resort; we are a full-service Resort.' You sign for meals and drinks and settle the bill at the end, and optional meal plans are expensive. What you do get is the compulsory resort fee — $77 a night at The Coral and The Royal, $82.50 at The Cove and The Reef — which covers daily Aquaventure water-park entry, the marine habitats, The Dig, Wi-Fi, the gym and the shuttle. The only two genuine all-inclusives on Paradise Island are Hotel Riu Palace Paradise Island and the Warwick.
Which Atlantis tower should I book?
For the shortest walks, The Coral — it is the most central and closest to the casino, the aquariums and the main water-park entrances, which matters more than most people realise on a resort this size. For a kitchen and a quieter oceanfront position, The Reef. For the most expensive and most secluded rooms with their own beach and two private pools, The Cove. The Royal is the landmark building with the towers in every photograph. The Beach tower has been closed since around 2021 — if you see it for sale, that listing is out of date.
Can I stay somewhere cheaper and still use Atlantis?
Yes, and Comfort Suites Paradise Island is the legitimate way to do it: guests get complimentary daily access to Atlantis, including the Aquaventure water park, the pools, the lazy river and the beaches, plus a free hot breakfast. Read the limitation, though. Access runs only from the official three o'clock check-in on arrival day to eleven o'clock on departure day, so both travel days are lost, and you must collect wristbands each morning.
Is Paradise Island walkable?
In parts, and not in the way people expect. Within Atlantis the distances are long and there is a free internal shuttle you should use without embarrassment. Comfort Suites, Bay View and the Riu are all within a flat five to ten minutes of Cabbage Beach and of Atlantis. But the island as a whole is spread out, the Ocean Club at the eastern end is a drive from everything, and the bridge to Nassau is a hot uphill walk you would not want to make twice. Plan on taxis and the ferry.
What does it cost to get across to Nassau?
Two ways. A taxi over the bridge is the standard method: reckon on the metered zone fare plus a bridge toll of about $3 for a taxi, and note that many drivers do not take cards, so carry US notes. Or take the water taxi from the Paradise Island ferry dock across to Prince George Wharf in downtown Nassau — about ten minutes and roughly $7 a person, and much the nicer trip. It does involve stepping down into a boat. From the airport to Paradise Island, expect around $45 plus the toll.
Are there any adults-only hotels on Paradise Island?
Two, and both are all-inclusive. Hotel Riu Palace Paradise Island is strictly eighteen and over, directly on Cabbage Beach, and lively — loud pool music, persistent beach vendors, and a building that this year's guests describe as dated. The Warwick is quieter and on the harbour side, but its age rule is more complicated than 'adults only': eighteen to book, sixteen to be accommodated, and twenty-one and over between 15 February and 15 April. It also adds a mandatory $30 per person per night.
Can I bring my dog to Paradise Island?
Only to one hotel. The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort accepts dogs of about twenty-five pounds or less with no pet fee; cats are not accepted, and dogs are barred from the spa, gym, pools and restaurants. Atlantis takes no pets at all, the Warwick permits service animals only, and no other property publishes a policy. Everything else you will see advertised as pet-friendly here is a private rental. On top of the hotel question, the Bahamas requires an import permit from the Department of Agriculture for every animal, applied for in advance, plus a veterinary health certificate issued within ten days of travel. If you want a choice of pet-friendly hotels, stay in Nassau instead.
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