The one major difference between this year’s trip and previous years was the lack of tropical vegetation. The good news is that hundreds of plants were being planted daily while we were at the resort. They had dozens of gardeners working every day planting new palms, ferns, bamboo, etc. I was also surprised to see the many upgrades the Reef Club put in place. The Reef Club managed to completely remodel the main lobby, all the rooms, the pools, the bars, restaurant , etc. It’s amazing how much work they accomplished in just one year.
Room – We stayed in the members section of the resort in a Jr Suite. Our room was right on the beach on the second floor. This room was on the corner of the building so it had a wrap around porch with a hot tub overlooking the ocean. At night it was amazing sitting in the hot tub listening to the crashing waves with the stars and moon overhead. Everything in the room had been replaced after the hurricane. The bedding, furniture, TV, kitchen appliances, etc were new.
The main lobby, theater, and gift shop area were redone and enlarged. There are dozens of lounging areas now and a new bar in this section. The old pool table room below the lobby is now a dressing room area complete with lockers.
The main pool was closed the first few days of our stay but the Reef Club staff managed to get it open before we left. The member’s pool and swim up bar/pool were also open. Around the main pool they put down some real nice stone tiles all around the pool deck.
The Kids Club was open and the staff did a great job keeping my kids entertained and safe which is a miracle considering my kids.
All the bars were open and the liquor was flowing. The Reef Club has some of the friendliest bartenders around. By the second day they had my drink memorized. The newest bar - which is indoors - opened up a few nights before we left. This bar is located in the new lobby area just to the left where the old gift shop used to be.
Two out of the three restaurants were open during our stay and the food was better this year than any year before. The buffet restaurant was still being remodeled but we were told it was going to reopen in mid June.
The beach lost many of its tropical trees and palms but as mentioned above the staff is replanting everything as quickly as possible.
The spa, water sports, fitness room, and tennis courts were also open.
Now the Bad News: We were informed that starting in July non-members can no longer reserve the Jr Suites and Studio rooms located in the members section of the resort. These rooms are only for members now or guests of members. If you are not a time share owner or know one – you can only reserve rooms in the Hotel section of the resort.
The Good News: You can still reserve the members only rooms if you can get your hands on a guest certificate from an existing Reef Club member. Luckily sites like www.reefclubresort.com connect Reef Club Members with people who want to buy their extra certificates/weeks. With a certificate the average cost per room is 10.00 per adult per night for the Studio rooms and 20.00 per adult per night for the Junior Suites. You can also use the certificates to stay in the Hotel rooms for free if that is your desire. Average savings will be around 400.00 dollars with a guest certificate.
FYI - The Jr Suites are a bit larger and come with the hot tub, full kitchen, fold out couch, etc. . The studio style rooms are just a little smaller than the Jr Suites. The Studio rooms also have a smaller kitchen and no hot tub. In my opinion both the Suites and Studios are very nice and can fit a family of four comfortably.
FYI - 99% of the complaints about this resort were from people who stayed in the hotel rooms. You rarely see complaints from anyone who reserved rooms in the members section of the resort. They treat you and your family like royalty when you stay in the members section.
Take my advice - if you plan to stay at the Reef Club find a member and purchase a guest certificate. You wont be disappointed.
FYI - I have posted several hundred photos of the Reef Club from our trip in June. The photos can be found on the website www.ReefClubPhotos.com I hope to post the Wilma video to the same site soon. This video was shot by a security guard at one of the hotels as the hurricane came ashore.
