Luxury Hotels Atlas / The Maison / Atlantis (Kerzner)
Atlantis (Kerzner) hotels
The lost-city myth becomes a vast resort world of aquariums, lagoons and water parks.
Atlantis makes the hotel a destination in itself, translating the story of a lost undersea city into aquariums, lagoons, water parks, and a wide choice of restaurants. Sol Kerzner’s idea grew from the Bahamas to Dubai and Hainan, with each vast resort designed for days of exploration within its own grounds.
7 Atlantis (Kerzner) hotels in 3 countries on the Luxury Hotels Atlas, each placed on the six LHA Tiers.
- Owned by Kerzner International
- Worldwide: A small, exclusive brand by design — four resorts currently open worldwide (Nassau, Bahamas; two towers in Dubai; Sanya, China), with three more confirmed in development (Maldives, 2029; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Ko Olina, Hawaii, 2030)
- On the atlas: 1 Grand Luxury, 2 High Luxury, 1 Core Luxury, 3 Accessible Luxury
History
Sol Kerzner’s Bahamian redevelopment established the idea of bringing the ocean into the resort through marine habitats, lagoons, and water-based entertainment. The concept later took different forms in Dubai and Hainan. The founding Bahamas property continued under the Atlantis name after its ownership changed, while Kerzner carried the brand into further developments.
Timeline
- 1993 — Sol Kerzner incorporates Sun International Hotels Ltd. in the Bahamas to acquire the bankrupt Paradise Island Resort & Casino, previously run into the ground under Donald Trump and Merv Griffin, for $125 million.
- December 1994 — Kerzner reopens the property as Atlantis, Paradise Island, adding a themed hotel tower, a water park, and an outdoor aquarium stocked with live sharks
- December 11, 1998 — The pink Royal Towers open as the capstone of Kerzner's roughly $800 million expansion, a three-day gala that more than doubles the resort's room count and briefly makes Atlantis the largest resort in the Caribbean
- 2002 — Kerzner International Limited formally adopts its current name (previously Sun International Hotels).
- September 24, 2008 — Atlantis, The Palm opens in Dubai, a $1.5 billion joint venture between Kerzner International and Dubai's Istithmar World, bringing the Atlantis concept to the Middle East on the crescent of the man-made Palm Jumeirah
- 2012 — Following a debt restructuring, Istithmar World buys out Kerzner's 50% stake in Atlantis, The Palm for $250 million; separately, Brookfield Asset Management acquires Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas outright, Kerzner exits ownership of the original property but retains the Atlantis brand and trademark for its remaining and future resorts.
- 2014 — Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, buys a significant stake in Kerzner International from Sol Kerzner's family and other investors; Sol Kerzner steps down as chairman.
- 2018 — Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau re-flags as a Marriott Bonvoy Autograph Collection property, a franchise overlay that lets guests earn Bonvoy points while the resort continues to operate and market itself as Atlantis.
- 2018 — Atlantis Sanya opens in Haitang Bay, Hainan, China, Kerzner's first Atlantis outside Dubai and the Bahamas.
- 2023 — ICD completes its consolidation of control over Kerzner International, providing capital for a new phase of aggressive global expansion.
- February 2023 — Atlantis The Royal opens on Palm Jumeirah with an invitation-only Beyoncé concert (a $24 million fee, among the highest ever paid for a private performance), Kerzner's ultra-luxury flagship and its first entirely new Atlantis tower since 2008
- November 2025 — Kerzner and Assets Group announce Atlantis The Royal, Maldives, plus a joint venture with Midad Real Estate and Jeddah Central Development Company to bring Atlantis Jeddah to Saudi Arabia, the brand's first entries into both markets
The houses to know
- Atlantis The Royal, Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Kerzner's ultra-luxury flagship, a $1.5 billion stacked-cantilever tower that opened with a $24 million Beyoncé concert and hasn't left the conversation since.
- Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The original Dubai icon, a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture in the lobby, 1,500 prefabricated bathroom pods, and one of the world's largest open-air marine habitats.
- Atlantis Sanya, Sanya, China — China's first Atlantis, a 2018 debut that proved the brand's marine-spectacle formula could travel to Asia at full scale.
- The Cove at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas — The all-suite tower pairs interiors by Jeffrey Beers and David Rockwell with the adults-only Cain pool.
- The Royal at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas — Sol Kerzner's pink twin towers, the 1998 expansion that made Atlantis the largest resort in the Caribbean overnight.
- The Coral at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas — The Coral carries an earlier Bahamian hotel chapter into the wider Atlantis resort.
- Atlantis, Paradise Island, Paradise Island, Bahamas — The 154-acre campus where the whole brand began, the birthplace of "bring the ocean into the resort."
Newest openings
- No new Atlantis resort has opened in the last 24 months — Atlantis The Royal Dubai (February 2023) remains the brand's most recent debut. The past two years have instead been defined by major renovation work at the founding Dubai property (see Recent Renovations) and by the announcement of three new resorts now in active development.
Opening next
- Atlantis The Royal, Maldives — South Malé Atoll, Maldives — expected 2029 — Announced November 2025 in partnership with Assets Group on Vaaredhdhoo Faru island. A dual-island concept spanning roughly 1.37 million square meters and 5.8 kilometers of beachfront, split into a "Family Island" and "Luxury Island" with 493 total keys (270 hotel rooms, 223 villas and mansions), more than 20 dining venues, a Lost Chambers Aquarium, and a 70,000-square-meter Aquaventure with up to 15 rides anchored by Neptune and Poseidon towers.
- Atlantis Jeddah — Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — expected year not yet announced — Part of a roughly SAR 7.6 billion (~$2.03 billion) joint venture with Midad Real Estate and Jeddah Central Development Company, signed November 2025, the first Atlantis (and first Kerzner property of any brand) in Saudi Arabia. Planned at roughly 800 rooms and suites with branded residences, more than 20 dining and lounge concepts, the region's first Aquaventure Waterpark under the Atlantis name, and a Lost Chambers Aquarium.
- Atlantis, Ko Olina — Oahu, Hawaii, United States — expected 2030 — A long-dormant project (first pitched in 2016 in partnership with China Oceanwide, then stalled when Oceanwide fell into financial distress) revived in January 2025 after California-based Kam Sang Company bought the oceanfront land for $216 million. Kerzner International is set to manage the resort, planned for roughly 500 hotel rooms and 500 condominium units on a site adjacent to Disney's Aulani resort, Atlantis's first foothold in the continental United States and Hawaii.
Every Atlantis (Kerzner) hotel on the atlas
Bahamas
- The Cove at Atlantis — Paradise Island · Core Luxury
- Atlantis, Paradise Island — Paradise Island · Accessible Luxury
- The Coral at Atlantis — Paradise Island · Accessible Luxury
- The Royal at Atlantis — Paradise Island · Accessible Luxury
United Arab Emirates
- Atlantis The Royal — Dubai · Grand Luxury
- Atlantis, The Palm — Dubai · High Luxury
China
- Atlantis Sanya — Sanya · High Luxury
Open The Maison in the atlas for Atlantis (Kerzner)'s full dossier, with prices and maps.