When you walk into the Atlantis apartment complex from Parliament Street, you enter a world of luxury and convenience. From the ornately decorated hallways and waterfall-edged swimming pool to the in-house deli and trash chutes on each floor, it seems that life could only be worry-free living in a building such as this.

It is the stuff of dreams. So why is that one-third of the luxury apartments have been sold, or are in the final processes of being sold, after being on the market for five months?

The numbers may speak for themselves. The smallest double-bedroom apartment boasts 906 square feet and starts at $775,000. The largest has 1,010 square feet and starts at $795,000.

The smallest single bedroom apartments have 593 square feet, but due to their prime location within the complex, they are not the cheapest. The least expensive single-bedroom units have 682 square feet and starting purchase prices of $600,000. The largest of the single-bedroom units have 1,014 square feet and starting purchase prices of $805,000.

Former Premier Sir John Swan, who built the complex, toured it with The Royal Gazette yesterday and pointed out many of the amenities that are included in the price: a gymnasium, a large swimming pool a rooftop sundeck, personal storage space, individual washers, dryers and dishwashers in each unit, full-size refrigerators and other kitchen appliances, in addition to wiring for cable, telephone, and high-speed Internet.

The complex consists of a mixture of six different types of one- and two-bedroom apartments, the prices for which vary depending on the apartments' sizes and placements within the building. Arthur Jones of Coldwell Banker JW Bermuda Realty said that no price drops have occurred nor have been considered at this time.

Mr. Jones is the head of sales for the complex to which Coldwell Banker has exclusive rights to sell the apartments. He said that units are available for both purchase and rental, although there are restrictions on which apartments are available to rent.

Sir John told The Royal Gazettethat probably about two-thirds of the units that have been bought are now being rented out, the owners are hoping to “see some return on their investment”. Sir John said he feels that this is a win-win situation, “for the landlords, for us (the developers), and for the tenants”, explaining that the tenants get the actual enjoyment of the well-planned complex.

Apparently, many of the exempted companies were reluctant to purchase unfurnished apartments due to the challenge of getting furniture, as the companies expressed to Sir John. Therefore, many of the units are now being rented and sold completely furnished with Crate & Barrel furniture.

Units have been renting from “between $3,000 and $6,000-plus” per month, Mr. Jones said yesterday. Included in these prices, Sir John pointed out, is full use of the all of the building's amenities including both car and cycle parking, individual mailboxes and a full deli on the lobby level.