Never before has there been a resort of this scope and scale. Its measure is found in the imaginative incorporation of architectural design with a beautiful tropical setting and an interactive environment that will delight and excite visitors well beyond their stay. The $800-million Atlantis, with 2,300 rooms, almost 40 restaurants and entertainment venues, a casino suspended over water, golf and watersports and an 11-million gallon marine habitat home to more than 40,000 exotic fish and second only to Mother Nature in size, is one of the most extensive resort complexes in the world. 

Water and mythology are the themes of the new $480-million Royal Towers -- a grand, palace-like structure that seems to rise from the ocean floor, high above the Paradise Island landscape, its soaring towers, arches, domes and spires a fanciful tribute to the legend that inspired them. Lagoons, pools, waterfalls, meandering streams and the most beautiful beach in the Bahamas surround and shape the resort. Property highlights that are guaranteed to keep guests coming back, include a lifesize Mayan Temple (the Atlantean culture is thought to have influenced the Mayan and Aztec people) with five thrilling water slides, one, the Leap of Faith, measuring 60-foot with an almost-vertical drop propels riders at speeds of 35 miles an hour through a clear acrylic tunnel and a shark-filled lagoon; and The Dig, a 12-chamber, artifact-filled archeological museum submerged below the marine habitat that provides a glimpse of ancient Atlantis and its advanced civilization. 

Sun International has planned a Grand Opening completely in keeping with the Royal Towers' grandeur and excitement. Orchestrated by Colin Cowie, the foremost special event planner and designer of the 1990's, the gala will feature a galaxy of celebrity guests, many of whom cannot be named because of security and privacy reasons. Twenty-seven Grammy Award winner Quincy Jones and his 45-piece orchestra, playing from the bridge of the magnificent Great Hall of Waters lobby, with its six-story dome of golden seashells, head up a list of entertainers that includes Grace Jones, as the "Goddess of Atlantis," and Bebe Winans, accompanied by a 300-member gospel choir, performing on the steps of the five-story Mayan Temple. The Grucci brothers will put on a fireworks display that will top their internationally acclaimed Brooklyn Bridge Centennial celebration, including a first-ever Grand Illumination Water Falls effect from the balconies of Royal Towers, using 2,000 computerized devices to create a stunning cascade of diamond stars. 

In the words of its creator, Sun International's Chief Executive Officer Sol Kerzner, "Atlantis wasn't designed to be visited. It was created to be experienced." For those who are part of the grand opening festivities and for the resort's many future guests, the experience of an Atlantis visit is certain to become part of everyone's personal legend and lore.