A few weeks ago, in this thread I promised to write a review of our upcoming stay at the Atlantic. Unfortunately, our stay was cut WAY short by the hurricane, but I want to do a review anyway. I am severely disappointed that I had only just begun to relax and enjoy the Atlantic when we were told we would have to evacuate.

As mentioned by jottoson in his review, the valet service and check in were first class. With 4 of us in the car and MANY bags we really gave the valets and bellman a work out but they were up to it. They ushered us in and sat us down, brought us refreshing drinks and cold towels while the manager and a desk employee checked us in. The concierge also came by and offered her services.

We had booked 2 rooms, one for my mom and one for my wife and son and me. We were given a large corner suite (about 1200 square feet I believe) with 2 bathrooms, one with a large whirlpool tub, full kitchen, large entryway, living room/dining room area, long narrow balcony, etc. It was in the corner of the 6th floor, oceanfront. This suite was larger than our home, and much better appointed. The rate card in the closet said regular rate for this room was $1239/night. Kitchen had full size refrigerator, dishwasher, plenty of dishes for eating and cooking. Bathrooms were ABSURDLY luxurious. Really, I mean ridiculous. In the master bath, there was a shower room that was almost 50 square feet, all in marble, one shower at each end, and you could have put 10 people in there. The whirlpool tub was very nice and had a handheld shower as well. The hall bathroom had another large marble shower. Amenities were as befits a Luxury collection property, and the robes were superior--I bought one for my wife.

As a Starwood platinum since the program's inception, I have stayed in a lot of Starwood suites. None of them come close to this one. Really, it was just stunning.

Beautiful fresh flower arrangements in both rooms, amenities in both rooms, fresh orchids brought in with the turndown service the first night, superior turndown service each night with different amenities, clean towels, chocolates, liqueurs, etc.

We also got the adjoining room for my mom, which was a studio, a very nice room though it did not compare to the suite. The studio room had a microwave, two burner stove, and small fridge with mini bar type items and some room for your stuff. Very nice bath with separate shower and tub, but the tub was not super exceptional. This room was also oceanfront, with balcony, and it was a sort of an interior corner room, with a small window facing south, across the hotel and letting in more light. All the rooms were VERY well lit.

All the furniture was very nice and brand new of course. Surround stereo and DVD player in the living room of the suite. Good flat screen TV's of decent size, though nothing stunning there. High speed internet did not work very well and was overpriced at $14.95. It kept making me sign in over and over again and I found it much slower than the average Wayport or Turbonet services in Sheratons I am used to.

I thought the walk across the street to the beach would bug me, but it was fine. Light takes forever to change so we mostly dashed across against the light.

The pool area is nice, and the view of the ocean from the pool terrace is lovely. The pool is small and very shallow. The hot tub is tiny. At first we did not find it--it turned out to be in a corner just below our room. It is so small that if a couple were in it I would never attempt to join them. All 4 of us did get in, but it was very cramped. We never shared any of the pool facilities with anyone and the poolside restaurant was closed due to the weather blowing in. One night we went down to swim about 9PM and found it closed up an locked. The next day we saw that the pool and spa are only open dawn to dusk. That would be the biggest single drawback to this property for us that would reduce our likelihood to stay there again. We really wanted to go in the pool and hot tub at night, after our son was asleep.

A couple of other things that bugged me I share in hopes that the hotel may choose to correct them. The water pressure in the showers was terrible. But the tub filled really fast--water comes out like a fire hose. So I think they have restrictor plates in the showerheads (which are not Speakmans by the way, and seem inferior) which make the shower experience quite weak. Adding to this, the wait for hot water in the shower was the longest I have ever experienced. So long that one would have time to brush his teeth and read the front page of the paper before showering. I took to going in and turning it on, then coming back after a while to shower.

I think they could easily fix all my minor gripes (high speed internet provider, pool and spa hours, shower pressure and heat up time) and I'd give them a perfect scorecard. The people were all very well trained and helpful. My wife got a lot of help from the concierge, Ginny, and was very happy with her help. I only really interacted with the bellmen and valets and the desk staff at check in and check out. All were super. The bill I was given at check out had the rate that SPG reimburses the hotel at listed as a charge I was supposed to pay on one of the rooms. I asked for that to be taken off, and also requested that I not be charged for the few hours of internet access I had used that afternoon (we checked out at 8 PM in advance of the hurricane). They happily obliged and they also graciously removed charges for some phone calls my mom made to 800 numbers trying to get a flight out before the hurricane. Their phone charges are high so I never used the phone, and the cell service indoors was quite poor so if I had been doing business there I would have found it a challenge,

I am still waiting to see what will happen with refund of my points, some of which were just normal cat 4 award stay points, but I had also used a Cat 4 "Nights and Flights" for 5 nights. We were only able to stay 2 nights before the evacuation, and I am hoping that I get the remaining 3 nights on that award rather than just a refund of the remaining points.

We had planned don having a night out and dining in the restaurant but it did not happen. I love "Thai on the Beach" which is just about 2 blocks walk t the north of the hotel, above Primanti Brothers pizza, a 24 hour pizza place I really enjoy also. For me, staying in the most exquisite suite at a 5 star hotel but being a short walk away from very simple and affordable restaurants is a really great thing. With the kitchen in the suite at the Atlantic and restaurants like these, it really helps make a family vacation very enjoyable. A few blocks farther there is a Wild Oats and a Starbucks, so I did not have to go far at all to get the stuff that I like! I have used the Holiday Inn which is kind of run down but has wonderful meeting rooms on it's top floor for meetings in the past, so that is how I came to know the area and I was really happy with the location of the Atlantic.

I hope we can go back in better weather! I think this property is a real winner. They really do attentive service without being snooty, as I have experienced at St. Regis, etc. With the location, the absolutely incredible suites and the service, this hotel is on my short list of top Starwoods. I hope that they will recover from their hurricane losses and be a great success!