We are a multiple past and future visitors to The Reef Resort. Our last visit was mid July, our next will be for two weeks in August, 2012. My recommendation is you throw out the bottom (poor) and top (excellent) reviews including this one, although you should read it. I couldn't recommend The Reef more highly. It is always clean and the staff are extremely friendly. Jake responds to bad reviews, I think if these bad reviews talked to him during their visit, he would help at least some. Of course as a Concierge, there is only so much he can do.

If you want crowded shoulder to shoulder beaches and bar nightlife, you need to be on the other side of the island. This is on the quite side. I would recommend a rental car, we of course like to visit the crowded side, but prefer the feeling we have this entire beautiful beach to ourselves you get at The Reef.

We go to the Grand Cayman Island for the snorkeling which is available right from the beach, you don't have to pay for a boat to visit absolutely beautiful coral right from the beach. Jake gave us excellent driving directions to gorgeous spots where we were the only ones there and you wouldn't believe the coral and fish we were swimming with! We travel all over the island going to these snorkeling spots. Smiths Cove is excellent, sometimes a little crowded though. Out and to the left of the cove is some really nice coral heads. On the east side Connely's Cove is very nice and you will probably be the only ones there. There is another one between Connely's Cove and The Reef (Jake will give you dead on directions) which I think was called Barefoot Beach.

Food isn't five star, but, we're not five star eaters either. Give me a beer (or 6), my wife a pinia colada (or two or three) and we are happy. You'll have wonderful evenings at the Tiki Hut bar and the bartenders (Collin especially) are wonderful. The food is good and when your absolutely exhausted from snorkel hopping all over the Island it is great.

I would caution individuals of the rip current to the north of the pier. It isn't extremely dangerous for experienced snorkelers, but it can be scary if your not used to it. DON'T attempt to fight the ocean. When the sea grass is pointing out towards the Ocean, rest in spot. When you feel the swell and see the sea grass go towards the shore, swim and you'll move in 20-30 feet, repeat as needed. You will see a lot of sea life you won't see up at the beach if you go out past the boat channel. Take a dive flag with you because you will be out past the safe zone of the beach area. Most areas you can drive to are much closer to the beach, but, you've got to see out there from The Reef beach.

The Reef is the embodiment of Island time. No where to go and all day to get there.

This resort is nice but it's 40-45 minutes away from Georgetown and the airport, so it can get pricey either if you rent a car or you get cabs/buses/resort organized transportation.
If you want to read your book on the beach, sleep and eat in one out of three restaurants walking distance, this is a good place for you. I heard that snorkeling is good because of the reef but swimming isn't--it's too windy, there are always waves and it's hard to get into the water due to rocks and reef. There wasn't a day I didn't get scratched in water.
There are two pools but they are cold during the day. The hot tub is great though.
Stingray city is leaving from the Rum Point which is about 20-30 minutes of a drive, Seven Mile beach is the most beautiful beach on the island, and that is about 50 minutes of a drive away, Dolphin Discovery is about an hour hour and 15 minutes away.
If they offer a "resort tour," in exchange for something, be careful, it's much longer than an hour and they want to sell you a timeshare.

Before our recent trip to The Reef, 10 days in January, 2012, we investigated the reviews. We preferred all-inclusive because of the location of the resort at the eastern end of the island. We wanted to relax as a couple without the congestion of the 7 Mile Beach area. We worked with a travel agent who got us a great deal on airfare and told her that we did not need an all-inclusive plan with alcohol. Contrary to one review that we read, when you do not include alcoholic beverages with your package, you are also downgraded to what is called the "Reef Saver" menu. This menu is limited and excludes you from some of their specialty nights such as "prime rib night" and "steak night". We would have paid an upgrade charge to participate in those but they refused to do it. We were stuck with the same 5 entrees every night plus 3 pastas and a few salads. We were allowed to enjoy the "Smoothie of the Day" at the beach bar for no added charge. In talking with the manager at the end of our trip, there are now 4 all-inclusive plans to chose from, so when planning your trip be aware of what they are. There is the plan that includes everything with alcohol and non-motorized sports equipment. The next plan excludes the alcohol and sports but gives you the full menu. The next 2 plans are called "Reef Saver" and can include alcohol or not but gets you the lesser menu. Had we known we would have chosen the 2nd plan or even no plan at all. If you have a car, there are several good restaurants in the area but Grand Cayman is an expensive place to be. Tukka's has a van that will pick you up.
Other things to mention. The Bare Foot Bistro where we ate most of our meals, needs an upgrade for atmosphere. It is dingy and outdated. We like to snorkel but it was windy and the seas were rough almost every day. We did snorkel one day by Morritt's dock and saw many huge fish, one being a tarpon. We took the snorkel trip with Apollo and that was very good. The beach at the Reef is not great to swim because of the surf and the lack of entry points. We went to 7 Mile Beach 2 days and the beaches are beautiful and the water gets deep quickly for swimming but kids do fine there. Rum Point is beautiful and the beach is good but it stays shallow for a long time which would be good for smaller children. We went to Sting Ray City as a complimentary gift for attending the time share presentation. That was a unique event and we recommend it. The boat takes off from Rum Point so this gives you a chance to see that area if you don't have a car.
We ate at Tukka's once. It was good but not exceptional for the price. A lesser expensive restaurant which we thought was better, was David's at the Morritt's Resort next to the Reef. The Italian restaurant across the street was good and a nice change of pace. The time share presentation took about 2 hours and was non threatening. You learn a lot about time shares but we declined even though there are cost incentives to sign up the day of the presentation.
Finally, keep your receipts especially if you are on a meal plan. At check-out, we where overcharged by $200 because the waitresses were confused about the meal plan that we were on even though we wore the wrist bands. The manager was a big help and we resolved the problem easily without a big hassle. We probably will not go back to the Reef because we think that next time we would prefer 7 Mile Beach but at the far end away from the crowds.

We came to the Reef Resort from George Town to experience the quiet, rustic side of Grand Cayman as part of a school project with Cayman Prep and High School. We were looking at customer service, facilities the hotel offers and activities that you can participate in around the area as part of our A-Level course for our coursework.

The food was really good at the Reef and we all enjoyed it. Mike in the restaurant checked to see we were all ok and ensured food was served promptly and sectioned off an area for us all.

The rooms were very large and nicely decorated, with self-contained kitchens. The rooms were light and bright and very welcoming to be in, along with a balcony to relax on outside and see the sea. All rooms are sea facing which is a real selling point of the resort.

We found the concierge staff to be extremely helpful, along with Sandra who assisted us with our booking from the beginning. Nothing was too much trouble to sort out.

The customer service and hospitality at the Resort was superb and we all certainly recommend it to customers. We will all definitely come back to the Reef Resort again with friends and family for long weekends and overnight stays from town.

A little bit far out if you prefer more of a busy holiday in terms of choice of restaurants, bars etc. This truly is a place to relax and experience the fun activities like Stingray city, Rum Point, The Kite House and Scuba diving. If you want quiet, but want to enjoy the choice of bars and nightlife, then just hire a car for the time you are there.

The facilities in the hotel make the place enjoyable. The pools, beach and hot tub are quiet with nice sunbeds and areas to relax, along with outside rinse showers.

The Resort has a good island feel to it, with extremely friendly staff.

Stay there to experience it for yourself. Well worth a visit.