The Cove at Atlantis

We stayed at The Cove a couple weeks ago and it was a great time to come; a nice break from cold weather at home and not busy at the resort! We had secured Charlotte Williams Taxi/tour driver as our transportation- highly recommend! Upon arriving we were very quickly checked in ahead of the check in time and received a wonderful room with a fabulous view! We were a bit lost looking for lunch at staying at The Cove but next time I’d know to take the very convenient shuttle around the HUGE property that we enjoyed exploring! Shuttle is a must for exploring and comes often! We had wonderful days on the beach, at the very nice Cove pool, and delicious dinners at Claudio’s, Nobu, Seafire, and Fish. We loved spending time winding down at night at Seaglass Bar— highly recommend popping in for a drink and also sitting outside with a cigar! The Cove property was absolutely gorgeous and it luckily was not crowded when we were there, after the Thanksgiving rush, and before Christmas visitors. We did miss the all inclusive food lifestyle but everything was very good. Highly recommend picking up a bottle of alcohol in the duty-free store in the airport on your way out. Everything can be very expensive including drinks. Overall it was a great trip!

ALERT for guests considering The Cove at Atlantis Bahamas or the Royal or any other property on site: Be aware that the mandatory “service” or “gratuity” fees charged across Atlantis properties do not go to the staff. These fees go directly to the hotel owner, and if management chooses to share any portion with employees, it appears to be discretionary. This is deeply misleading. Guests reasonably assume these fees replace tipping, yet that is not disclosed, leaving staff undercompensated while guests are unknowingly misled. It honestly feels unethical. What makes this even more troubling is that many of the staff at The Cove at Atlantis Bahamas remain kind, professional, and hospitable despite this policy and despite dealing with difficult guests. That speaks volumes about them — and very little about the system they’re working under. Because of this lack of transparency and fairness, I would not choose to stay here again.

We had a confirmed reservation at The Cove at Atlantis. When we arrived, staff suddenly tried to tell us our room was “cancelled” and that we had been moved to Coral Towers. That is an absurd downgrade. It’s basically going from the premium property we booked and paid for to one of the least expensive and least desirable options. The worst part: the manager was nasty, dismissive, and stubborn, refusing to acknowledge anything we said. The only reason we didn’t get steamrolled is because I had an email from their own staff that proved our Cove room was still confirmed. I had even checked the reservation the week before. Once I produced the proof, the manager had to back down, but not before she dragged it out and made it miserable. Meanwhile, my wife and baby sat in the lobby for hours while we were put through this unnecessary ordeal. It felt like we were being pressured to accept the downgrade and move on. After all that? No meaningful apology. No compensation. No effort to make it right. And when we submitted an official complaint, the response was essentially: “Sorry you got your room, we don’t care.” That level of indifference tells you everything. I cannot recommend Atlantis Bahamas. Based on our experience, it showed the kind of predatory, guest-hostile behavior you see at the worst-run hotels. Red-flag “bad hotel” practices this resembled Bait-and-switch room handling (selling a premium room, then trying to push a downgrade at check-in). “System error” excuses used to deny what was previously confirmed. Pressure tactics: wearing you down until you accept a worse option because you’re tired and stuck. Manager intimidation: hostile posture instead of problem-solving. No accountability: only acknowledging the truth when confronted with written proof. Stonewalling complaints: dismissing feedback because “you got what you paid for eventually.” Zero service recovery: no meaningful attempt to compensate for hours lost and stress caused. If you go, screenshot everything, keep every email, and be prepared to fight for what you booked. We won’t be back

Horrible experience. The host we were assigned from somewhere other than resort was rude and badgered us about amount of time playing in casino even though we played for over 13 hours. We could not get a working player card late at night. We did not initially get the $300 promised resort credit. This has to be used $75 each night but we did not use first night as it was not on folio. Food was worse than usual as high end Thai food was undercooked as was the usual low end cheese pizza which has third rate cheese. The Cove room was nice as usual but the pool music was blaring to an older demographic. Sportsbook personnel were excellent but casino VIP desk was rude and condescending and the slot tournament had the system crash and I was unable to play the final round which was delayed over four hours.

Watch the hidden fees and the 15 % gratuity on everything. That aside the resort is beautiful. And the staff are very friendly.