We just returned from the Reef at the Atlantis and had a great time. The Reef and the Cove are set apart a bit from the main building (The Royal Towers), but if you're looking for a calmer, quieter, more upscale experience, this is the way to go. The properties are less than a year old, and very well appointed, from the common areas to the guest rooms. The standard guest room was plenty big enough for the three of us. There was a king bed and a full sleeper, divided by a little quarter wall. The rooms at the Reef also have kitchenettes - a small refrigerator and stove top. We did see people carrying in groceries, although as far as I know, you have to go off property to get them.

Between the two buildings are three very nice swimming pools - one for adults only, and the other two for all guests. The one in the middle is the best for kids, with beach entry, and a large area of shallow water. They have a schedule of activities by the pools for the kids - such as arts and crafts, swim games, etc. These two buildings are also right on the beach, which is a nice added benefit. The lounge chairs on the beach and at the pool are nicer than the ones at the main towers.

Of course, you have full access to all of the amenities of the entire resort. There are shuttle buses that run in between all the buildings - they did not always run very frequently, but they were good enough (just leave yourself some extra time if you are trying to make a dinner reservation at the main building).

As plenty of other people have noted, the food prices are outrageous. The hotel now has a meal plan and it is DEFINITELY worth it. We traveled with our 5-1/2 year old daughter, and she ate for free. The gourmet meal plan (the middle level) gives you a choice of about 12 restaurants out of the 23 or so on the property. The Mosaic restaurant in the Cove is a very nice buffet, where we ate breakfast daily. Dinner there was also nice. Do make your dinner reservations before you arrive, though, as we had trouble getting reservations at a couple of restaurants we wanted. We did eat at the Bahamian Club - steakhouse, LOTS of food - and the Cafe at the Great Hall of Waters (surrounded by the fish tanks). Both were good. A couple of notes on the meal plan - lunch is not included and gratuities are not included. When you eat at a restaurant, you sign the room charge as if you're paying the entire bill, and then they adjust it for the meal plan on your final hotel bill when you check out. NOTE: Check your final hotel bill very carefully - my entire bill was wrong, because they included meal charges for our daughter, when the meal plan clearly stated that under 6 were free. They were very gracious, however, about fixing the bill promptly. Note also that prices for things vary across the resort. We found good prices in the very nice Starbucks in the lobby of the Reef. Also, the sundries store in the lobby of the Reef had reasonable prices on large bottles of water.

A couple of other things to note:

We did the shallow water dolphin encounter at Dolphin Cay right on the property (it is actually located within close walking distance to the Reef and the Cove). It was a great experience, although very expensive. They do offer slightly better prices on-line, and weren't willing to discount at all when we bought our tickets upon arrival. The shallow water encounter was just fine for our 5-1/2 year old - she's on the small side, and the water still just went up to about her waist. Everyone has to wear a wet suit (which they provide) - although not entirely sure why. The dolphin swims right up to you and you can touch it, etc. They have a photographer in the water taking tons of pictures, which of course you can buy at the end of the program. After you have your encounter, you're welcome to hang out on the little private beach there and watch the dolphins swim and play for as long as you like that day (doesn't extend to any future days).

We had one morning of rain, but found plenty to do with our little one. They have a "build a bear" workshop in the Beach Tower, which occupied about 30 minutes. They also have a movie theater, where they were playing family movies like Alvin & The Chipmunks.

A few final notes on the water attractions for those with little kids. The little water playground by the Royal Towers is great for the little ones - lots of little slides, things to climb on, water sprinkling down, shooting up, etc. The lazy river ride is also great fun, and my daughter loved it. It does have some small "rapids," although my usually pretty timid daughter didn't mind it. You go around in an inner tube. With a small child, it's easiest to take out a double tube, and either hold your child on your lap, or if he or she is big enough, let them sit in front of you. Life jackets were available.

All of the other slides are large, and in my judgment, not appropriate for small children. If your big kids (or you) want to do the big slides, one note on the Power Tower. It has a couple of tube slides and a couple of body slides. When we were there (not sure if it's always like this), you could only access the tube slides via the lazy river. So you had to go around the lazy river (about 25 minutes), and then veer off to a current that takes you to the Power Tower, where you go up the tower in your tube on a conveyer belt, followed by the 45 second ride on the slide. While it was a good slide, in my opinion, it wasn't worth the 40 or so minutes that it took to get there - I would've preferred to walk up a bunch of stairs.

Overall, we had a great vacation - there's something for everyone there.

We just returned from a five day stay at Atlantis. There were five in our party, including two preteens and a fifteen month old.I was concerned because I had read so many bad reviews. However, our stay was wonderful. We checked in on a Tuesday and I would highly recommend that, if possible. We were the only ones in the lobby at that time. My husband and I noticed traffic had picked up quite a bit by Saturday. Nevertheless, it was always less crowded in the Reef lobby as compared to the Royal, Beach or Coral Towers. The beach outside was never very crowded either. One afternoon we even had the beach to ourselves! The lack of crowds was a huge plus to staying at the Reef. We were also very pleased with our room and the service was excellent.They upgraded us to an oceanview at check-in. It was so nice to sit out and enjoy the view from our balcony. The food was expensive but I knew that going into the trip, so I was not so shocked. Having a kitchenette helped negate some of the cost.My preteens loved the water slides and especially the Current! I wondered if it would prove to be a mistake to take our fifteen month old but even he enjoyed Splashers and the Dig. I also was unsure about taking a stroller because I had heard some say that the grounds are not stroller friendly. It was not too difficult getting around with a stroller. The only area it was a problem (alot of stairs) was around the lagoons by the Royal Towers. Nevertheless, I am glad we took it, there was alot of walking.
There are other places we want to go but we will definitely be back in few years. It was alot of money but my husband and I felt it was truly worth every penny for such a unique family experience. Enjoy!

Although my review is for the most part neutral to slightly negative, given the right time of year and rate, I would most definitely return to Atlantis. The resort is so large and has such a myriad of activities, that I feel it can be better enjoyed on a return visit having gained knowledge from the first visit. Previous reviewers have detailed the newness and overall niceness of the Reef's rooms. We stayed in an ocean view studio that was perfectly comfortable with a huge bathroom and nice private balcony. The Atlantis website seems to price rooms similar to airline websites pricing air travel. In other words, prices and packages seem to change rates daily if not hourly. We booked the room on a stay 4 nights, pay for 3 special.
Check in was fairly smooth. The receptionist promised us a better view room if we would wait about one hour. We took the hour to wander around a fraction of the sprawling resort to get oriented. We had friends staying in the Royal Towers which could be reached with a leisurely 10 minute walk. Once settled in our room, we changed and went to the main pool area between the Royal Towers and the Cove. Here you will find multiple pools, the lazy - rapid river and the various slides which can be traversed with tube and sans tube. The pool complex is pretty amazing and one reason (along with the aquariums) that room rates are so high. The beach area around the Reef and Cove is phenomenal.
Powder white sand, clear water and plenty of lounge chairs. So, why am i neutral on the whole experience. Sol Kerzner (owner of Atlantis) makes no apologies for extracting money from you at every opportunity. Maid service? that will be 22 dollars a day tacked onto to your room charge. Service fees are added to everything. You want to work out? There is a beautiful gym at the Reef - it is for owners only. Please pay 15 dollars for the fitness center next to the spa. How about breakfast? I will charge you more than the Bellagio charges and offer half the selection.
Atlantis wants to be a five star resort but as far as food quality and overall service, it is mired in three star land. Towels are infrequently picked up. Trash cans are frequently overflowing.
The fitness center (despite a full time staff) had free weights and mats strewn about in an unorganized jumble. I have eaten at Nobu in New York and London. The Atlantis version of Nobu is a pale facsimile. We did not try Mesa grill for fear of being disappointed at what appeared to be a higher price point than the one in Vegas.
So despite my griping, I would definitely go back to Atlantis to enjoy the beautiful beaches, activity filled pools, outstanding aquariums and warm weather. It just has to be at the right price taking advantage of their frequently offered specials. Strolling through the resort at night after dinner whether by the harbor or the aquariums or the ocean is something that is hard to put a price on. Next time, we will venture in to Nassau to dine and be less dependent on the food service by purchasing some basic groceries in town.

Wife and I booked a last-minute weekend at the Reef and loved every minute. Yes, it is pricey, though we got a discount rate on the hotel website and were given a top-floor room (pix to follow soon). Yes food is pricey but the meal plans they have introduced work out great, at least for us. Service was pleasant without exception; melinda in the casino, dwight at arrival, and michael on the beach deserve a mention for extra help.

some context - We only escape - on our own, sans kids - maybe twice a year for 3 or 4 days, so we have a need to wind down and be taken care of and be able to do what we want. We work hard to be able to afford pretty nice places, and are pretty demanding, but we also belive that a vacation is as much what you make of it as what is provided to you. The reef and atlantis really hit the mark.

Here's our review:

room and amenities - beautiful layout, furnishings, views. Kitchenette wasn't really used because we didn't want to spend precious time away from the beach buying groceries; that sad the coffee maker and fridge very handy. air conditioning worked well; power went off after a severe thunderstorm but generators kicked in within a minute.

beach - amazing, very clean, nice mix of reef and sandy beach. We are beach people; we arrive at 9 and leave at 5, eat and drink there, play backgammon, read, snorkel, etc. We enjoyed it immensely and rate it 1st or 2nd (we have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed to a wide range of beaches in cuba, dominican, mexico, and barbados,so a lot to choose from). Service could be better (easily remedied if they add 1 or 2 servers) but the occasional 2 min walk to the snack bar was a good way to burn off the previous mojito anyway. swimming was amazing - warm, calm water, lots of fishies and rays if you had a mask or goggles. We did see a couple of barracuda (1 about 2 1/2 ft, the other about 4ft - yikes) that took off as soon as we turned to look at them, but very safe and easy to navigate. Snack bar menu should have grouper fingers or shrimp since we are in the caribbean. Would love to see them offer umbrellas, as the sun-protectors that attach onto the chairs on the Reef's beach aren't very good for chatting or playing gin to see who would go buy the next round. Still, loved it loved it loved it.

casino - great game selection and size, never had a problem finding a spot at low-wager blackjack ($15/hand) or craps tables ($10/bet). laid back and lots of fun.

food - better than what we expected, frankly. we had reef/cove meal plan, so mosaic for breakfast every day (very tasty, good selection, beautiful setting and very good service) though we ate more than we normally would have. Lunch was on beach every day - good burger, good jerk chicken, nice salads. dinner was mosaic first nite (some food okay, most very good, some amazing - lamb chops were to die for, deserts were great); bahamian club second nite (very capable, tasty food, bit of a dark room) and mesa on last nite (spicy, creative, very good but not for everyone). we will definitely do the gourmet meal plan when we return. Yes, tips are extra and automatic, but we honestly had no reason not to tip 15% and in some cases added a bit more. yes, $12 for a burger and another $12 for a mojito is steep compared to the diner at the top of my street, but after having flown hundreds of miles for the ability to sit on a gorgeous beach for a few days, and knowing what they cost in advance, why should i complain?

we toured the aquatic displays but didn't do a single pool or waterslide because the weather/beach were perfect. The selection of pools is amazing, and the weekend we were there the place was relatively empty so we could have had the run of it should we wanted.

cost - Atlantis is a splurge but we found it to be a great escape, so if you can accept the costs and the culture (a little laid back so likely to frustrate some) you'll enjoy it. There are definitely ways to save - the drinking water is fine, jut ask for house/ice water - why worry about bottled? Use the fridge and stock it with beer or booze and mix. Check a big suitcase and Pack your own snorkel gear, chips/nuts/snacks, and sunscreen. Use the meal plans. buy food at a supermarket in town. have breakfast at starbucks and pizza for dinner. our suggestion - Plan ahead and make it work, the beach and resort are worth it. (ultimately, time is valuable too - it's up to you decide if a 6$ premium on a hamburger is worth an extra hour on the beach, esp if you are coming from a chilly Canadian city and are only there for 2 1/2 days)

guests - what a mix of guests! there were a few that grated on us with loud pushiness, but honestly, there always is. You don't have to be rich to be a jerk, and we've run into boors of every age and nationality no matter whether the resort was exclusive or a bargain. We tend to keep to ourselves anyway (because that's why we escaped to the resort in the first place) but anyone we met was very pleasant. My wife loved the people watching, lots of extravagance and characters for sure, bless em all. And yes there were kids around but the restos, beach, lobbies and common areas were big enough that we never felt swarmed (only guilty we had left our 2 and 4 year old at home!)

Overall we were very pleased with the Reef and the whole resort. We found it a very romantic and relaxing getaway. short flight to get there, convenient, beautifully appointed, great beach, very good food, wonderful people, capable and polite service, and decent gambling - and we feel like we barely scratched the surface. we'll be back, definitely to the reef.

a few extras - kudos to US airways on their service and early arrivals AND have to mention the GREAT fried grouper fingers at the airport, nice little surprise.