Excellent location with a resort that generally maintains good to very standards, although some of the other guests, when we arrived, were disappointed with their allocation of rooms. This, however, was soon rectified the following morning my the hotel staff providing alternative rooms that seemed to please everybody concerned. Good food, well prepared and cooked. If you like to laze on the beach then the hotel's adjoining private beach is for you. Be very wary of the strong tide's however, one unwary 'paddler' was caught in a strong wave and walked away with a dislocated shoulder! But if you adhere to the warning flags regarding swimming you should be OK.

There are some exceptional excursion run from the hotel and Canaima Falls and Kayack are great fun, informative and quite an adventure. The small planes are an experience in themselves. Wandering along the street into the next bay, which is a safe and an easy stroll, you will find excellent beach front restaurants where you can sample and enjoy the locally caught fish.

Although you could be forgiven for thinking different, Venezuela is a poor country and appeared to have a lot in common with Cuba. However the people were genuinely friendly, welcoming and engaging. It would be remiss of you not to take one of the trips to the mainland to experience the wider culture of this interesting and diverse country. Great location for couples and families.

This was my second stay at Dunes Hotel, and it was great. I stayed at the Premium Suite again, the rooms were immaculate. My son looked forward every afternoon to the special design the maid did with the sheets.

Even though the staff spoke little English there was always some way to communicate. The food was good on most days, breakfast was always the best meal of the day for us, especially the kids. I enjoyed my last stay so much that I took along additional members of my family on this occasion to share the experience. They too enjoyed it.

I'll encourage my friends and family to give Dunes a try.

Just got back form Dunes and verall it was great.The weather was fantatstic. The food and people could be better but then again, go with the flow and you won't be dissappointed. We went down with 9 kids ranging form 17 to 21, and had no issues. Did 2 excursions, isla Coche and as well as Jeep Tour. Go see Bernave (Bernie)or Jose on the beach.They will give you a great deal and fantatstic service. Don't beleive what the hotel says about doing excursions with others than the hotel. These 2 guys were amazing.Tell them tania sent you. Here is Bernave's email bernabe_27@hotmail.com. He'll even exchange your dollars for bolivars at 8 to 1 US canadian he gave us 7 which is a great deal.
Watch out for the sun, you are 11 degrees from equator so it is hot. If you have reserved go with open mind and remeber you are on vacation, enjoy it, we certainly did!!!

We paid out the extra for the Premium Suite from the get go so we had no problems what so ever. New modern marble bath and smaller but really nice suite with fridge and private balcony over looking the mountains. Tip daily in USD and our room was immaculately cleaned. House keepers extremely nice though no one spoke English which is fine as you are in South America afterall.
Pool on the premium side was nice but my suggestion is to close it off to children. There are 3 pools in total at the resort. 1 of them should be adult only so they can lounge pool side without all the noise from children.
Premium Restaurant Tilapia was not a canteen as a poster claimed. It was simple constructed to be understated with clean lines and openess. The food was not what you would have at a typical resort. Again, you are in South America now and they cultural infuence was stated in the food offered which was not bad at all. The service we found at the Tilapia Bar & Grill was best of the 3 resturants so we frequented that one and forgot about the others.
Premium Bar Shabono had the best drinks of all the bars. Went for pre dinner cocktails and after dinner. If you want a party destination this is not the resort for you. Its very quiet and extremely peaceful overall. We loved how sprawled out this place was and how low key it presented itself. Its like a small village of it it's own.
Again, previous poster shows phots of a poorly kept tour bus but ours was brand new.
We took the Jeep Tour through the SunWing rep and worth every penny. Great way to explore the island and the diversity of the land and lagoon by boat. All the tours were offered in English & French which was great.
The people at the resort including the security gaurds were all exremely friendly. There is little spoken english but they manage and so did we.
None of the beaches on the island are privately owned. We enjoyed the beach. Once in awhile venders would try to sell jewelery etc...but a polite no thank you and they leave you be the rest of your stay. The waves were huge...huge but alot of fun for everyone it seemed.
Highly recommend Dunes Hotel Beach Resort. If you want a private on the down low vacation at a decent price then go for it. Again, book the premium and pay the extra-its worth it.