Stayed 24th September (opening day) for 2 nights. Having read other reviews i see no point in reitterating the obvious failings so will be more general in my observations:

Was looking forward to my trip as the opening coincided with my 50th Birthday -from the moment of check in we had problems and it continued that way...... ALL the staff are keen to please, but, the hotel management have NOT got their act into gear, clearly staff are not fully trained and consequently it adds to the problems!

As an "experienced" hotel operator they are left severly lacking.

Increasing the room availability from the soft opening of 500 to full capacity in such a short period of time was madness!!!!!!

Management have clearly NOT got a grasp of the situation at all! As a result, attention to detail expected of a 5* hotel, even a simple thing like a gift/recognition of a birthday is non existent; so forget anything else!

Also, due to the unfortunate fire in the main lobby prior to the opening (an omen of things to come?!!) there was construction work being carried out which was albeit not too noisy, but being in close proximity to the pool next to it, it was not possible to totally relax -did management send a note to its guests apologising? NO! An obvious and simple thing to do in the "hospitality" industry.

Its crisis management so no one has time to do their jobs properly. The hotel needs a top down sort out as clearly there is a stream of ongoing unhappy customers who will NOT be returning!

The only positive note for me was that i stayed on the Imperial floor where things were not so out of hand. No queues for breakfast etc.... We could also enjoy the benefits of the business lounge for snacks and such like whilst down below the hotel was in headless chicken mode........

In summary, the hotel owners cannot blame anybody but themselves for the current shambles!

Arrived back from Atlantis on the 29th of September feeling more stressed than when we arrived.
We encountered our first problem upon check in. We were told that we would have to give a deposit of £700 to cover any extras due to not having a credit card, or that they would put a stop on our debit card equivalent to £150 per day. We were told that unless this was done even though our stay was prepaid we would not be able to stay in this hotel! Looking back perhaps not agreeing to these demands would have been our best option!
With regard to extras, rest assured we didn't have any as we could not justify paying £3.50 for a packet of crisps or £5.50 for a beer from the mini bar.
We finally after this hassle were allocated our room. When we went to the room we were greeted by a continous buzzing and muffled ringing sound. It turned out that this was the phone. Hence we had to disconnect it before it drove us further to insanity! Of course we reported it , but nobody felt the need to rectify the problem. So when we vacated some other poor unsuspecting guinea pig will have inherited the same problem.
Please, please be vigilant and check your room bills and credit card statements as we had the honour of being overcharged twice for something that we hadn't had. This proved a major problem to get removed as we were told that as it was on our bill we had to pay it.
Hotel restaurants are ridiculously priced with a typical meal for 2 costing £150.00. Cheapest meal we had was the buffet in Kaleidoscope which even here cost £75.00.
There is nowhere else to go unless you go off the Palm. Unfortunately this is also very difficult as there is no courtesy bus and the monorail is far off completion.
Taxis are available if you wait 2 hours and don't mind a scrum to get in one. There is no order or control whatsoever.
As on previous reviews we agree the service was dire and nobody really cared. As they had our money upfront they were not bothered. We have never been so disappointed and badly treated and have never had our integrity questioned in this way before.
The management structure is very bad and not customer focused whatsoever unlike other hotels in Dubai, this is suprising as they are owned by Kerzner who also own One & Only Resorts, which are excellent.
We normally stay at The Arabian Court and wished we had done so this time. Best thing about the stay was the Coldstone creamery, staff are genuine and friendly. And the comfy bed!
WOULD NEVER GO BACK EVEN FOR FREE!!

We have just returned from a 12 night stay (20th Sept. - 1st Oct.) in Dubai the first 5 at the One & Only Royal Mirage (first class in every way ) the next 7 at the Atlantis Hotel.
well were do I start ? The good points first, food very good rooms OK. thats it for the good points!! now the bad points and their are lots, first the check in took 1.1/2hrs and we had to change rooms 3 times , pool service very bad ie. no ice water by pool when I asked why was told its hotel policy when I pushed for explanation I was told "if we give away water customers wont buy bottle water"!! its true I asked a different bar manager and got the same answer . sun beds too close together and no tables were do we put the bottle water we are made to buy? man made beach full of rubble from building works at waters edge,
we booked 3 rooms to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary I paid for four friends to join us, I called the hotel and let them know it was a special occasion and also told them at check in but no acknowledgment was given . on Wednesday I tried to book Nobu restaurant for Sunday (our anniversary) I was told thy where fully booked till mid Oct. !! we could not book any of the main restaurants all week so we eat out. At breakfast they were at lest 50 to 60 people waiting to be seated this is just not acceptable at this class of hotel. getting away from the hotel is a challenge in its self as you have to wait for at lest 1hr for taxi this is because taxis have a contract to pick up from Atlantis (do thy pay a fee to the hotel) I could go on & on with a list of problems ie managers who just look glazed when you make complaint, no water in rooms, room not made up on two nights,phons in room not working, left braking down, fire exit locket, pool bar running out of food, Everybody I spoke to at the hotel was very disappointed and I feel that this hotel has not just has let down its customers but also has let down the very good reputation of 5 star hotels in Dubai .
PS MY APOLOGIZES TO BUTLINS YOU
PROBABLY RUN YOUR BUSINESS LOT BETTER THEN THE ATLANTIS

We have just returned from a 6 night 'soft' opening stay at the 'fabulous' Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. I use the word fabulous in the loosest of terms - and that's THEIR words not mine !!
The indication given to the soft opening (although the Kerzner International advert in the Dubai brochure, promises that "Kerzner International DON'T DO soft openings" ) was that perhaps some of the restaurants may not be open etc - and to be honest, after the recent fire in the main lobby, we did expect there to be a little ongoing building work.
This would be all fine - however, that is NOT the actual picture at The Atlantis, The Palm Dubai.
The hotel is splendid and IS basically ready (all bar some building work as expected) - however, they are NOT ready to be running this hotel, which is quite surprising, given the fact that Kerzner International also own the 'One & Only' group of hotels, so they are hardly 'new comers' to the game !!
The staff really have no idea about anything and the managers really DO glaze over when you are talking to them (as another reviewer commented). No-one knows where anything is, and the basic understanding of English by the staff is limited to say the least. There is no organisation anywhere (rooms not being cleaned until 9pm at night, no taxis available to get you out of the hotel, trying to book restaurants, no bottled drinking water in the rooms unless you beg !!) Also, the location will never be fantastic, although the Palm is very prestigeous, you really are right out of the way and the man made beach although nice, is not a patch on the Jumeirah beach area - and the jelly fish can be quite annoying at times (something that seems not to be mentioned?? - these are not dangerous but are numerous and unnerving sometimes) There is also no natural tide as the ocean is enclosed within the palm and therefore the water can be quite 'scummy' sometimes as it cannot wash away.
The plus points are - the rooms are lovely (stayed in a delux room) and the decor around the place is very 'dubai - like' . Every where is very clean and the pool areas are large but could become quite crowded due to amount of sun loungers. Fresh towels are always on hand. The 'Aquaventure' is very good if you are a hotel guest as entry is free, but if not, I feel it is very expensive (would cost an average family of 4 with entry, towels & lockers around £180 for the day - not including food or drink). The Lost Chambers aquarium - again also worth a look if you are a hotel guest, but again very expensive if not - around £10 each and you really could go around it in 15 minutes!!

As this is a 5* resort in a 5* destination (with 5* prices !!) you really would expect more. We have been to Dubai 4 times now, all at different hotels and have never experienced this lack of service at any other hotel. I just hope that someone who goes to Dubai for the first time, and stays at the Atlantis, isn't put off altogether and maybe tries a real FIRST CLASS hotel next time, like The Jumeirah Beach Hotel - now thats real class and service.