I'm back from our vacation so I thought I would take a few minutes to give a brief review of our trip. I've also tried to make the topic title search freindly for future reference to others. My wife and I spent a week at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, essentially Nassau Bahamas. While I was there I had a chance to spend a morning over at the Graycliff Hotel checking out their cigar operation. I also had a good look through the "Havana Humidor" store within the Atlantis shopping area. This is one of only a few places on the island where one can purchase cigars and not worry about them being counterfeit.
First I'll just touch on Atlantis in general. It's essentially going to be the next Disneyland if Kersner has his way, which he will. And true to Disneyland form, it's going to be (and already is) one of the coolest places you'll ever go, and it will also be one of the most expensive places you ever go. We had a great time, I really enjoyed the resort and thought it was amazing. The service was above average (not spectacular though), the restaurants we ate at were good, and the pools and beach were great. While smoking cigars in the restaurants was frowned upon, everywhere else was cigar freindly and I took full advantage of that! I would highly recommend those with money to burn visit. And that's the only thing that got on my nerves, everything is mad expensive. $3.50 for a 16oz soft drink, in a cup filled to the brim with ice! Or how about a bottle of Columbia Crest Cabernet ($12 retail) at a restaurant for $45.00! And gratuity is automatic on everything from Starbucks to the maids.
Inside the shopping area in Atlantis is the Havana Humidor. They have a very nice selection of genuine cuban cigars, hard to find EL's, and a nice walk-in full of NC's as well, mostly Fuente product. And that's where the fun ends. The prices are so out of control I almost screamed. Let's see, Montecristo No. 4 single, $14.00. Montecristo C EL, $37.00. And here's one of the best: Opus X No. 4 - $45.00 :0 ! I wouldn't buy a cigar there even if I won big in the casino and had money to spare.
And then on the Graycliff Hotel and Cigar Factory. Believe it or not, this is a very small operation. It somewhat caught me by surprise how small it was. There is essentially one small room where everything happens, from rolling to labling to packaging to shipping. If I moved their operation to my basement it would triple in size! But there's nothing wrong with that, because it was a very neat experience to be able to just walk in and hang out and watch them, and take lots of pictures. I was the only visitor there, and the guy who appeared to be in charge just said to come on in and ask any questions if I had them. Then he went back to his work. I was able to pick up a handful of cigars from there, however they were at msrp, and can be found at cbid or others for much less. There didn't appear to be any cigars they were making that were not available in the US. And the only cigar I really wanted was the Mike Ditka Chicago Bears Super Bowl cigar, and they were all out of the bands for them. That cigar is just a rebanded Proffesional Torpedo. But the guy who got me my cigars threw in a freebie for me, which was a nice gesture. The hotel is another story. I was very dissapointed in what is supposed to be a 5-star hotel. The place was run down, cement sidewalks were crumbling, the pool was full of leaves and scum, and the Humidor restaurant that is supposed to be so nice is just a bunch of plastic patio tables with nice tablecloths over them. I'm not sure what was going on there, but it was shocking the condition of the entire property.
I hope that answers any future questions that folks have, and I'll post some pictures as well.
First I'll just touch on Atlantis in general. It's essentially going to be the next Disneyland if Kersner has his way, which he will. And true to Disneyland form, it's going to be (and already is) one of the coolest places you'll ever go, and it will also be one of the most expensive places you ever go. We had a great time, I really enjoyed the resort and thought it was amazing. The service was above average (not spectacular though), the restaurants we ate at were good, and the pools and beach were great. While smoking cigars in the restaurants was frowned upon, everywhere else was cigar freindly and I took full advantage of that! I would highly recommend those with money to burn visit. And that's the only thing that got on my nerves, everything is mad expensive. $3.50 for a 16oz soft drink, in a cup filled to the brim with ice! Or how about a bottle of Columbia Crest Cabernet ($12 retail) at a restaurant for $45.00! And gratuity is automatic on everything from Starbucks to the maids.
Inside the shopping area in Atlantis is the Havana Humidor. They have a very nice selection of genuine cuban cigars, hard to find EL's, and a nice walk-in full of NC's as well, mostly Fuente product. And that's where the fun ends. The prices are so out of control I almost screamed. Let's see, Montecristo No. 4 single, $14.00. Montecristo C EL, $37.00. And here's one of the best: Opus X No. 4 - $45.00 :0 ! I wouldn't buy a cigar there even if I won big in the casino and had money to spare.
And then on the Graycliff Hotel and Cigar Factory. Believe it or not, this is a very small operation. It somewhat caught me by surprise how small it was. There is essentially one small room where everything happens, from rolling to labling to packaging to shipping. If I moved their operation to my basement it would triple in size! But there's nothing wrong with that, because it was a very neat experience to be able to just walk in and hang out and watch them, and take lots of pictures. I was the only visitor there, and the guy who appeared to be in charge just said to come on in and ask any questions if I had them. Then he went back to his work. I was able to pick up a handful of cigars from there, however they were at msrp, and can be found at cbid or others for much less. There didn't appear to be any cigars they were making that were not available in the US. And the only cigar I really wanted was the Mike Ditka Chicago Bears Super Bowl cigar, and they were all out of the bands for them. That cigar is just a rebanded Proffesional Torpedo. But the guy who got me my cigars threw in a freebie for me, which was a nice gesture. The hotel is another story. I was very dissapointed in what is supposed to be a 5-star hotel. The place was run down, cement sidewalks were crumbling, the pool was full of leaves and scum, and the Humidor restaurant that is supposed to be so nice is just a bunch of plastic patio tables with nice tablecloths over them. I'm not sure what was going on there, but it was shocking the condition of the entire property.
I hope that answers any future questions that folks have, and I'll post some pictures as well.
