The Reef Atlantis, New Providence

Before going to the reef Atlantis, I read lot of reviews and I was very confused and almost cancel the trip based what I read and the money I was paying. However our trip was unbelivable. From the moment we stepped inside the lobby the service was spectacular. Our pool and beach seemed so secluded. The Atlantis Dining plan was really the way to go for big eaters but since my family is not a big eater next time we will not take it since for breakfast / lunch and dinner the room kichenette is good enough. We will go out for dinner (Bahamia Club) again. The food is excellent not like someone mentioned that the food was horrible ...Not true. Hey you're at the Bahamas on vacation and Yes is expensive but is your choice to go or not but please don't post wrong comments and confuse the readers. It is what it is. YES things are expensive but you get what you pay for in my opinion. The staff was very friendly and always avaliable yet they were not overbearing.

I've got to admit that before our trip to The Reef Atlantis I was nervous based on many of the reviews here. However our trip was unbelivable. From the moment we stepped inside the lobby the service was spectacular. Our pool and beach seemed so secluded. Many days there were only 10-20 people around the pool for much of the day. The Atlantis Dining plan was really the way to go. We got a breakfast and dinner each day on the plan. Based on the cost of our dinners we definitley got our money worth with the plan. I know many people have complained on here about the prices. Hey you're at the Bahamas on vacation it is what it is. Soft drinks in the Reef Shop were $1.50/can and then $4.00 at the pool. Mixed and Island drinks were $10.50 at the pool...not the $15 that someone below mentioned. We had the breakfast buffet every morning next door at the Mosaic and I had something different to eat each day. I was so full that we never even had lunch. By the time dinner rolled around we were pretty hungry and the food was great. We ate dinner at Casa D'Angleo, Bahamian Club (my favorite), Carmines, Mesa Grill, and Mosaic. Again someone below said the food was horrible....just not true. I've been to many restuarants in New York and Vegas and the food here was just as good. The beach and pool areas were fantastic. The chairs at both were covered with nice cushions and shades on top if you wanted to be out of the sun. Aquaventure water park was fablous as well with very short lines. We didn't spend too much time on the beach but when we did there were no crowds at all. When it comes to hotel rooms I'm pretty picky. I found the Reef rooms to be very modern and very clean. The views were incredible. I know it sounds like the "Chamber of Commerce" description of our trip but it truly was fantastic. YES things are expensive but you get what you pay for in my opinion. The staff was very friendly and always avaliable yet they were not overbearing at all. I can't wait to go back to The Reef.

Wish we'd researched more so our expectations were more realistic. Studio Terrace room in the Reef (2 adults). Beautiful, luxurious room, very quiet, attentive housekeeping svcs. No restaurant in The Reef (just Starbucks) but we didn't really mind. About a 15 minute walk to nearest one. Purchased the Casual Dining plan since we're not huge eaters nor gourmets and had heard that meals were expensive. Without exception, every restaurant we tried (Marketplace, Atlas Bar/Grill, Bimini Road, Chopstix) yielded absolutely horrible food for both of us. Some meals were just inedible. That fact alone was hugely disappointing, but the huge cost of the meals made matters worse. $120 for one of the worst meals I've ever had? Bizarre! Atlantis wasn't the quiet couples escape we expected (again...should have researched better - our fault). Very family-friendly place so families far outnumbered couples, and our visit was in May, before school was out for the summer). In hindsight, though, the Reef was the quietest & most secluded hotel in Atlantis. Pool was the most beautiful and luxurious (lounge chairs all had cushions...heavenly!) and easy access to a quiet beach. We heard that the resort was only at 30% capacity while we were there. Not too crowded at all. But seeing how many thousands of pool chairs there were across the resort, we could easily imagine it feeling like an anthill even at just 50% capacity. Don't think we'd have enjoyed it any busier. In hindsight, we'd have taken a taxi out of the resort to buy some food at a grocery and bring it in. At b'fast buffet (huge selection, but quality was so-so, like a Luby's cafeteria), we took extra bananas, muffins to eat for lunch & that worked well to tide us over to dinner, w/the granola bars we'd brought from home. But cereal was stale in its sealed box (several times), sealed crackers stale, yogurt was past date, chicken at dinner was like rubber and tasteless, service was lackluster and often impersonal... often took 30-45 minutes for the food to arrive at our tables, even when the restaurant was not busy and servers standing around. Tried to chalk it up to laid-back "island time" but quickly evident it was just poor service. And with gratuity automatically added into the bill, we figured servers had no incentive to provide prompt, attentive service. Surprisingly, even the resort employees themselves (though friendly) didn't seem very knowledgeable or helpful about pointing us in the right direction to find our way around this huge resort. Very odd. That said, we did have a relaxing time and tried to keep our sense of humor about the food disappointment. We decided that we'd have been much happier staying at a luxury venue in Destin, FL - knowing that service would be good and there wd be no shortage of excellent restaurants - at a fraction of the cost of Atlantis. Ordinarily, we wouldn't splurge on luxury at a domestic destination. But knowing what we know now, we'd enjoy it guilt-free knowing that we got what we paid for. Atlantis is beautiful and incredibly unusual. Lots going for it. But we felt they have a long way to go in terms of providing food and service well-paying customers expect from a world-class resort. Unfortunately, we won't be returning.

I love everything about Atlantis. This will be our 6th year going. My children range in age from 20 down to 11. They all love it! My husband and I are in heaven when we are there. I am counting the days until I can be at my favorite hotel in the world - The Reef. Thank you Atlantis for giving our family such fantastic and beautiful memories!

After reading the reviews, I expected overpriced food and drinks and lousy service. The service was excellent. We got there on a Sunday night and had two, two bedroom suites on the harbor side. They sent us up to our rooms and they were not cleaned yet so they sent us to another room to change so we could make our reservations at Chopsticks. After dinner (which was very good) we had chocolate covered strawberries and champane in each room with a note saying our dinner at Chopsticks was free and sorry about the delay at check-in. We were all on the gormet meal plan so we ate very well all week. Yes it is expensive and is not the kind of place for the budget minded. The Mosaic was very good for breakfast and the Mesa Grill was my favorite (the shrimp tamales are the best). We also tried the Bahiman Club, Casa d Angelos, Murrays Deli and my second favorite Carmines. The portions at Carmines were huge and its all family style. You have to be able to eat alot to save on the dining plans. Mosaic in the mornings were around $40 each and I never had a dinner bill under $130 a night for just me. The dining plan covers two meals a day and for $115 a day its worth it if you can eat alot at one sit down. Starbucks coffee was in the room each day and all over the resort. The tubs were huge Kohlers and I already miss them. We swam with the dolphins at Dolphin Cay and that was great. The pools were warm and the beaches were clean. The place is very spread out and there are shuttle buses to take you all over if you cant walk it. The marina shops were nice and had everything from $20 shirts to $30,000 watches. The yahts in the marina were neat to walk by and see how the big boys play. The Casino slots seemed pretty tight but i did see a few hand pays while there. There were some $10 roullette, blackjack and craps tables. There is also a sports book for wagering on pro games. The ocean tanks are the biggest in the world and the tunnels that go through them are really cool. The Dig and the preadator tanks were really wild. All in all great service everywhere we went and on every level of of our stay. Would go back again.

I had a camera stolen from my room. I requested reimburesment for my camera. They told my NO! How nice you spend $10,000 on a vacation and your camera gets stolen!!!

This has been my 6th time being at the Atlantis, and each time it gets lousier. The place is a tourist trap now. All rooms will be charged $15 misc charges and $38 gratuity per day. That's an extra $53 a day for your stay at any one of the towels. Food sucks, overpriced, small portions, & etc. The only value is the Market Place for your buffet for morning & night. Wait, put Carmine restaurant on your list if you feel like having Italian. The Comp at the casino sucks. You have to bet $200 per hand for 5 hours to get a decent comp. Also, you have to bet $10 slots in order to get your comp if you're a slot player. If you're a $5 slot player you better expect a comp around $250 off of your hotel tab after your stay of 5 days. Food prices by the pool area is like being rob by unmasked bandits. A liter of water will cost you $9, a hot dog with nothing on it will cost you $6.50, a burger will cost you $10, Nacho is $9, and hit list goes on and on and on...etc I think the wife and I lost about $3000 at the casino after all said and done, and we got back $275 off our hotel tab for food and drinks. Oh there's internet access in every room for $15 a day. Only one computer usage per room is allowed. They uses DSL and only 1 line. Now that's progress in a 3rd world country. LOL Also, be very careful arriving at the airport. There are runners for the taxis in the airport. They're either airport employees or just plain clothes putting your luggages onto a dolly and directs you to a cab of their cohorts, without any AC, and expects you to tip him $5 for loading onto the taxi cab or taxi van. Just say 'no thanks' and get your own taxi is the way to go. The fair to Atlantis is around $35 to $40. Going to the airport from Atlantis will cost you $32. I guess you know the deal after this article of mine here. I think after my 6th trip here I can honestly say it will be my last. 20 years ago was fun, but over the past 5 years this place is getting to become money hungry. If you have kids, be prepare spend around $150 per child for food and a little activity per day. From now on it'll be Bermuda. At least over there you get your money's worth. The place is gorgeous!!!! Peace.

We stayed in the Bahamas Atlantis for 5 days and 4 nights and really that's enough for me bec. the place is too expensive in terms of food and drinks. For e.g. the1 liter bottled water in the room cost $5.75 where you can buy 6 packs of that in a convenient store outside the Marina for the same price. A 50.00 buffet breakfast for 1 adult in the Marketplace is not worth your money.The housekeeping service is very poor . We have place our sign outside our door for our room to be clean which is not really necessary but when we came back in the afternoon the place was untouched , no new towels . When we call housekeeping they give us the runaround ,first they said someone must have turned the sign around 'coz that's what they saw that's why they did not come in ,then they said they will send someone in about 1/2 an hr. ,then 2 hrs. had past no one showed up and when I call they said they cannot send anyone now 'coz it's shift change and to think this is just our 2nd day. The workers in the hotel could not care less bec. no matter what you are giving them a mandatory 15% gratuity. For the hotel itself it needs major renovation . The floor and the painting inside the room are so old and dirty for the price you pay nightly it's overpriced! My kids loved the crystal clear beach in fact the water in the beach is much clearer than their swimming pool. The rides are amazing , the aquarium needs serious cleaning and maintenance . The glass of the tank are so dirty you can hardly see the fish. We would love to come back to the island but will stay in a different hotel.

Nice to read reviews of The ATLANTIS I was lucky enough to live on Paradise Island back in 97-99 I helped build the hotel The main spot I worked on was the small circular retail area on the west side I left in 2000 and haven't been back but I heard alot has changed I suppose now its abit of a tourist trap but back when it first opened prices were reasonable I guess my only claim to fame was to be the first person to spend a night in the luxury suite that spans the two towers Our team did the wall trim and carpet installation When the bed was installed I snagged the door key and me and the G/F spent the night

Me, my family, and another family went to Atlantis from March 22-28 and we all had a great time. We all stayed at the Reef and it was really clean, new, and modern. The rooms were great. Our rooms were studios, were right next to each other, and were the first rooms you saw off the elevator. The one thing was that the maid never brang new towels (even when we specifically asked her) and there were no places to hang them! Anyway, televisions were in both the main room and the bathroom (lcd flatpanels). I LOVED the water park! I went on all the rides- the lines were a short wait. A must is to go to Graycliffs outside Atlantis. It is pricy, but is the only 5 star resaurant in the Bahamas and has the 3rd largest wine cellar in the world which i saw. I also like Nobu and Carmines. Paradise Beach was very rocky. Tip- the Reef/Cove area is extremely crowded compared to the rest of the place. You can still get lounge chairs at nine or ten in the morning. And the pool and beach usually aren't that crowed even in peak season. Also the deep water swim at Dolphin Cay (pronounced- 'key') is a must even though they kind of rush you through it. And to top it off, we were on the same floor as Jason Alexander (aka. George Costanza from Seinfeld) and were at Dolphin Cay with him and his family! Overall, coming from a thirteen-year-old, Atlantis is a great family getaway, even though I personally didn't feel that Atlantean lost city milieu, and the place was expensive, it was well worth it and I cannot wait to go back.