We have been going to the Ocean Club for about 12 years. We love it! Sometimes the service is better than others, whether it was the One and Only or Four Seasons. People have to remember this is the Bahamas, not New York . Things move a little slower here and that's a good thing. Everyone needs to just take a breathe and relax!
We used their limo service from airport, which greets you right as you walk out of airport and is excellent. Had an amazing driver on return trip to airport. We got stuck in some traffic and he gave us so much history about the island.
We booked through Amex Fine Hotel and Resorts and got a very nice upgraded room, free breakfast and $100 resort credit. Well worth it!
We were shown to our room by our butler, who was very nice, but have to say never saw him again. But in his defense we didn't call for him either. They did mess up on a dinner reservation for us one night for Wild Thyme. We arrived at the restaurant, where we had a confirmed reservation, to discover the restaurant was closed. Not sure how the mix up occurred, but it's the Bahamas! We could have gotten all upset, but instead asked the taxi driver where we should go instead and he took us to the Poop Deck, which was great. Had a great evening!!!
Went to Wild Thyme the next night and it was great as well!!!
I was trying to write down pros and cons while we were there so here goes.
Pros:
Staff is very nice and works very hard...I applaud their efforts
They had Rainy day activities as it was raining the day we arrived....this is new and very nice...Rum Tasting, Wine and Cheese hour (they should do the Wine and Cheese hour all the time as it brought everyone to the Martini bar for a lively evening)
Beautiful Hermes Amenities in the room, but unfortunately never replaced shampoo and conditioner so ran out.
Great restaurant and bar on site...Dune
Great infinity pool overlooking ocean with restaurant (get conch fritters)
Shuttle to Anywhere on Paradise Island
Cons:
It is showing some wear and tear...while still beautiful needs some updating in Dune and outdoor lounge chairs
Shuttle...while I mentioned as a pro...it is also a con. Waited over 30 minutes for an Ocean Club car from Atlantis. It never came after the transportation people called repeatedly. We ended up taking a regular Atlantis shuttle back. They might need more cars during busy times.
One day the Adult pool area was semi closed...not a problem, but it would have been nice if they had let the guests know. Pool was open, there were no towels, bar service or attendants. People were swimming , but confused as to why no one was there.
Housekeeping came very late. Again the service people work very hard so I understand coming late. But we were out of our room at 9:00am, returned to our room at 3:15 for a nap. Our room didn't have a do not disturb/make up our room sign. Housekeeping came at 4:00pm...woke us up and said if they couldn't come clean room then they were going home. We said turn down service would be fine. Again maybe more people working during the busy time would help.
The resort has great family pool for kids, but everyone seems to want to be at the infinity pool by the ocean. I get it, it's a beautiful location. But there is limited seating. One family with many young children took up 12 chairs, even though there were only 9 of them, including the children that were mostly in the pool. Couples kept showing up to the pool to be sadly turned away. I spoke with a representative of the club who said they are trying to get the young families to the family pool, but to no avail. I think they need to make the infinity pool adults only. It is a small pool and seating area. I would love to see an additional pool built near the infinity for young families with children. They have the space for it.
The Ocean Club is a special place and we will continue to go as it is an easy trip from the NYC area. Sometimes to the service is excellent, sometimes it is just okay...but it's a tropical paradise and the people of the Bahamas are amazing. Looking forward to our next visit!!!