Dunama Ocean View Hotel

a hair dryer in the room would help, also the shower did not have enough water pressure and difficult to wash without getting my hair wet. Room not as nice as we expected

If you're looking for a nice relaxing hotel for you and your family that includes kids and/or seniors who are also disabled this is not the place! The receptionist assigned us the rooms in their basement level, which was 4 flights of stairs down with the "garden view". The receptionist did not provide anyone to assist with the luggage as I had my 73-year-old mother in law and my 2-year-old daughter in addition to other family members with me and lots of luggage to carry. I also asked for the rooms to be changed upstairs near the pool where there were no stairs to climb, however the receptionist lady refused to change free of charge and said that in order to do so I’d have to pay an extra $100 per room which is a rip-off tht I refused. There are no elevators and you'll be given most likely the basement rooms first so they can upcharge you extra $100 per night if you decided to change the room. There were 4 flights of stairs down to our rooms and no disability access for a wheelchair or a stroller. They also mention on their Google page that they have upgraded rooms, however if you look at the pictures, you can clearly see that our rooms were obviously outdated. Just putting a coat of paint in a sloppy way is not an upgrade. In addition to that, our rooms reeked of toxic paint smell. We had to endure one night in those basement rooms that seemed to still be worked on by the construction guys. A few things that clearly have not been upgraded in decades were: the air conditioners, the beds and bedsheets, the bathrooms and even some doors that did not close/lock properly. The rooms looked bare, not even a chair to sit on, no safe, and no hair dryers which are basic things that I’ve seen in all hotels where I stayed in the past. The back doors that lead into the backside of the hotel (which they call it a garden) did not lock properly from the door itself, but they kind of locked from a proxy lock that was screwed into the door and anyone from outside could have lifted that cheap lock with one finger and break into the rooms, totally unsafe. The showers had paint spots on the floors and no place to hang the wet towels. The box springs of the beds looked like a bunch of dogs chewed on them and tore them all over. The bedsheets were old, worn out and had yellow spots all over. Mosquitos were present in the rooms as well and no devices were installed to prevent them from entering the rooms. It was a pure torture to stay in those rooms and because we only had one night there, I did not have enough time to change our hotel, as the Dunama staff would also refuse to reimburse me if I did that. Now another thing they lie in their descriptions of the amenities is the beach access. They claim they have immediate access to a beach in the back of the hotel, however please look at the pictures and see that the beach is not swimmable especially for families with small kids and there are a million stairs to get there, some of the stairs been broken or slided down and misaligned making it for a very dangerous walk to their said beach for an elderly person or a young child. The beach’s tiny strip is almost fully covered by water during high tides. They even have a warning sign there to go during low tide and to watch your step as it can be slippery due to the sand which it very well is. There is nowhere to lie down on that beach and no lifeguards are present. They should not even mention that the hotel is on the beach. When I saw the "on the beach" description I expected a usable, swimmable and easily accessible beach not a view of the water only. As for the Playa Flamingo, which they also say it’s within 6 minute walking distance, this is another lie. Maybe it would take this many minutes if you trip, fall and roll downhill. The distance to the Flamingo beach is only in driving not walking distance, definitely not safe to walk to it from this hotel. The place where the hotel is situated is on an uphill that goes almost abruptly upwards. You cannot take a wheelchair safely up or downhill and even a stroller is very challenging to handle. There are no walkways on the way to the Flamingo beach and lots of open drainage canals, so to get there you’d need a taxi or drive on your own which is also very difficult as the traffic going to the Flamingo beach and parking is insane. So walking distance access to any of the said beaches is a straight lie in the hotel description. They should not even mention this as it’s not true and people with families are specifically looking for easy access to amenities and beach for obvious reasons. We did not even attempt to try their little pool as it had debris floating around and did not look like it was maintained well. I booked this hotel because they describe it as family friendly, upgraded rooms and easy access to the 2 beaches. However they obviously did not care that I had a child and my senior mother in law had a huge challenge to walk so many stairs up and down and the hotel receptionist provided zero human help with the luggage and with the request for other accessible rooms. The hotel, in this day and age doesn’t have elevators, but at least they should provide assistance with the luggage and accommodate families near the poolside or where there are no stairs or minimal stairs to walk on. Their rooms were as outdated as the hotel itself and absolutely no easy access to any beaches around or to the rooms. My family and I were absolutely disgusted with the rooms and the amenities, and had a hard time breathing that night due to the toxic paint smell. I personally had terrible migraines due to it. The hotel is also under construction work hence the paint smell, which is also not mentioned anywhere in their descriptions. Had I known these things prior to booking our stay at Dunama I would have not booked them at all and would have looked for a different hotel option closer to the beach and better rooms. Maybe this type of hotel may be more suitable for single people or tourists who are used to hostels, but definitely not for families with children or for older, disabled people and they should describe it so. It felt more like a cheap quality motel rather than a 3 star hotel. The tourism authorities definitely need to revise the facility, the amenities description and the star rating of this hotel because it’s not a 3 star but a 1 star quality at best. I expected to receive the rooms and the amenities, which they wrote about in their descriptions and I have not received what they described. Would not recommend to anyone! Stay away from shady businesses like this!

Staff here cannot speak English, the place is not good for elderly due to the steps, place is dirty, sheets were dirty needed to request more toilet paper. Stay somewhere else.

Muchos zancudos en la habitación

Could use a facelift in the rooms, balcony areas- more modern/upscale in keeping with the current times 2024

The location The view The staff Excellent Definitely coming back

The property is very well kept. From the moment I checked in and left 6 days later, I can say it was very enjoyable. I stayed in the the swim out room, 505. I'm glad I chose that room because it was in the middle of the 7 or 8 swim outs they have. I'm glad I spent a little more because if you stay in the rooms on the lower level, you don't have much of a view until you come up to the main level. The weather was perfect in February with a nice breeze off the ocean. I don't remember everyone's name but Alexis & Roy are the names I remember the most. They were very nice and always came around to make sure I was good. It was a little breezy when I got my massage under the straw hut but it felt great! It made it even more relaxing. They do daily room cleaning, but I didn't want them to clean my room because once I spray the room and beds with Lysol, I don't want to do it again. LOL. I walked/jogged a few days. You have to be careful when you leave out. Once you turn left at the top of the hill, it's very steep going down for about 150 yards, At the bottom of the road if you make a right, you'll run into Margaritaville hotel and restaurant & it's 5 o'clock somewhere restaurant where you can eat, drink and get a good view of the sunset. You'll have access to the beach there and also Vendors selling souvenirs. The Marina del Playa is about 1/2 mile away. You can do a day or night cruise. Hotel is about 1hr 15 mins from airport. $100 for taxi one way. There are other cheaper options.

Beautiful views and some of the staff made great recommendations.

It was great!

Our stay here was lovely. The semi private beach was truly a dream.