We just spent 4 nights in a 2 bedroom ocean suite at the Reef. The master bedroom had a breathtakingly beautiful view of both the harbor and beach. For the high price, there were many things were poorly maintained. Which included switching out the mini fridge, resetting the thermostat, fixing the toilet seats and unlocking the safe. All the mentioned problems were promptly resolved by the polite staff. The washing machines and dryers in the rooms have been disconnected, so you now have to do laundry on the 2nd floor. I found this to be a little annoying. However, overall we LOVED it there. It is a third world country and I didn't expect perfection. The hotel did give us a $150 credit to make up for all the problems we had. The Reef and the Cove seemed to be the nicest and least crowded of the property hotels. We rented a car and purchased fresh seafood from the market daily, which was much less expensive then dining at the Atlantis restaurants (and poorly reviewed food). The suite had a nicely appointed kitchenette, so we ate most of our meals there.
Our 9 year old had the time of his life as we signed up for both the "Snorkel The Ruins at the Dig" and "Shallow Dolphin Encounter". The water park was huge and clean. A bit crowded when the cruise ships were docked mid day and the Atlantis allowed those people to purchase day passes.
Overall, a great family vacation that would do again.

We stayed at the Reef Atlantis as a bit of a treat to ourselves for 5 days, as part of a 4 week holiday. We chose the Reef as was one of two luxury style accommodation options (the other being The Cove) which also offered kitchenette facilities.

The Reef was amazing - we booked a room overlooking the ocean. It had a balcony too, and we also had a view of the pools accessible to only Cove and Reef guests. Room was large - big bathroom, bedroom and lounge room area (plus the balcony). It was great to have a small fridge separate to the mini bar. The kitchenette had a small cooktop, microwave, cutlery, crockery, glassware, a dishwasher (plus powder), frypan and cooking utensils. On the second floor there is also a free self service laundry - bring your own laundry powder which you can buy from the shops at the resort. Note - down near the Marina Village there is a Scotia Bank. Behind the Bank (ie not part of the Atlantis property) is a very small shopping centre which has a large convenience store where you can buy food to store/cook in your room.

While the Reef is towards the back of the property, we were happy to be away from the 'family' atmosphere of the other accommodation options. Reef and Cove have a completely different feel which was exactly what we were looking for on this holiday.

Staff by the pool at the base of the Reef were good - always walking around between the lounges offering cocktails and lunch menus. A small band also plays during the day whereas the other pools have DJ music playing all day.

Go to an area called Fish Fry while you are there - about 10-15mins from the hotel in a taxi, costs about $16 and has local Bahamian Food. We went there twice - to Frankie Gone Bananas and Twin Brothers. I remember Frankie Gone Bananas has a meal with a 12oz lobster tail + 2 sides for about $25! The restaurant selection at Atlantis is excellent - caters for all tastes but is pricey.

You can get internet access via the Library in Coral Towers (the other side of the 200 acre property) for free - 15 mins/day/person.

Access to Aquaventure is free for hotel guests. Great fun! But can be quite busy with cruise ship guests who come daily. We saw about 4 ships per day docked at the main marina. You can rent lockers of varying sizes at Aquaventure - small is $7.

Highly recommend an activity at Dolphin Cay - we chose the Sea Lion experience and this was a highlight of our trip.

We just returned on January 3rd from a week at the Reef. This was our second trip to the Atlantis so we were prepared for the criminally high food prices and extra charges for everything under the sun (pun intended). What we were not prepared for is just how much the Reef is showing its wear and tear and how so many things seem to be overlooked by management. Don't get me wrong, it's still a nice hotel and there is plenty to like about it. But for what you pay to stay there you'd think they would be keeping up with things. Instead it appears management has decided that rather than maintain this facility they are going to pocket as much profit as possible before they start losing customers to the massive new Baha Mar Resort that is scheduled to open in Nassau in 2014. I have to believe that is what is going on because there isn't any logical explanation for why they would allow so many things to slip. What we experienced ranged from little inconveniences to rather significant hassles. In no particular order of significance we experienced the following: a toilet that constantly clogged as it flushed poorly, a balcony door that required Hulk Hogan to slide open or shut, a refrigerator that smelled like a hockey lockeroom when we arrived, a television remote that would not control volume (same for the replacement!), glass privacy dividers between the bathroom and main area that no longer aligned and were grinding into the frame, and pillows on the sleeper sofa that looked like they had spent years at a college frat party. I threw them in the closet the day we arrived so my kids wouldn't go near them. Did any of these things ruin our visit? Of course not, but for what you pay a night at the Reef the maintenance and upkeep is atrocious. The workers at the Atlantis are for the most part very nice and friendly but I didn't find the customer care and service to be a point of focus. Nobody seemed to care about any of the little things and when I checked out nobody asked me word one about my stay. We booked our meals well in advance as again we know the drill but overall found the food quality to range from neutral to substandard. The beach and pool that is reserved for the Reef and Cove guests is much nicer and upscale from the main areas so we enjoyed that. The water rides were as enjoyable as we remembered them and in general the entire resort is very clean and attractive. Reminder to be aware of when the cruise ships arrived because lines increase dramatically during peak hours. My wife and I aren't big drinkers but on the two occasions we had cocktails we wondered if the bartender understood that you are actually supposed to put vodka in a Grey Goose and tonic. Also, the one pina colada I had was simply the worst I've ever tasted. In closing I would say that the Atlantis is still a nice resort and a lot of fun for a family. But for the arm and a leg it costs to go there it should be a five start experience all the way around and at least at the Reef that is not the case.

We knew what we were in for, we took our entire family and stayed in a 2 bedroom oceanfront suite at the Reef.

Buildings:

The original construction quality when new was decent caliber. In line with an elite hotel. We had good control of HVAC and fittings and fixtures were nice.

But, no one is paying attention to upkeep. The patio door frames were falling out of the door to the patio. Light switch plates fell off the fixture. Door stops were worn and about to pull out from the floor. Shower doors scraped along the floor. The toilet in the master bedroom ran the entire stay even after calling and requesting maintenance repair it twice. Bedside lamp switches were depressed inside the fixture and couldn't be turned on or off without unplugging them. Still nice for now(the reef is only 4 or so years old), but 2 years or 3 years from now? Who knows?

Housekeeping once daily at these prices? Absurd.

The water had a terrible sulfuric smell making the showers unpleasant, but I guess is the consequence of a desalination pant requiring huge volumes of water.

Food:

The food was served promptly but bordering on vile. There was no decent lunch anywhere with the best option the bland buffet at the mosaic. The food in the poolside huts is a variant of fast food takeout. There were notable exceptions, the "branded" restaurants Mesa Grill and Dune were pretty comparable to their NYC counterparts. Mesa Grill was quite good, and Dune was a Caribbean downgrade variant of the JoJo empire. (Some Jean Georges restaurants are stunning and some are so-so Dune was fine) Carmine's was identical to it's mediocre NY twin and Virgil's was palatable. The Atlantis restaurants like Chopstick's were vile. But what can you expect feeding mass quantities of child laden families demanding quick turnaround and chicken nuggets on every menu?

Service:

There is a huge staff on grounds, 8000 or so. In general staff was very pleasant and friendly. However, not sophisticated, it felt like there was no leadership present. On occasion, there were gruff clock punching staff members.

Water Park and Safety:

The slides and river are fun, I don't have anything to add on that front. From a safety and cleanliness standpoint, I don't think anything like this could be built and run in the United States. While they were strict on the height requirements, children from all over were allowed into the massive pools and we saw at least two rescues of children completely unable to swim. Parents fault, not the resort's.

None of us got badly injured, but I can only guess that the way it is constructed there is a high risk of injuries in the water park and probably not great medical care around.

After several days of swimming in the park, 4 of our 5 kids came down with a severe cluster of serious rashes or bug bites on their skin. Back at home the doctors have suggested it was some kind of parasite in the water. The kids spent a lot of time in the hot tubs which did not have the same chlorinated smell I'm used in more properly managed facilities. I'm going to guess that was the source. I don't want to think it about it much more, but a poorly maintained hot tub holding 10 to 20 kids for 8 to 10 hours a day?

Expense: If you;re not in the one percent, this place will ruin you with the charges and pricing. It's understandable, the facility has to spend a mint to run that park, but expect to spend 2x what you would spend in the US on food and extras on a daily basis.

I realize this review is getting little alarming, but all in all, it was a fun experience for the kids and we may consider returning, perhaps with two bottles each of benadryl, skin cream, neosporin and a gallon a day of bleach for the hot tubs.