We've stayed in many places in Panama City, but prefer the Dunes. It is incredibly well kept up, and has the best person to beachfront ratio in Panama City. Some of the bigger places have 300 to 500 feet of beachfront, but Dunes has 1500 feet that cover the five building gated complex. Pinnacle Port is probably close, but is way the hell away from everything. Dunes is near the attractions, but away from the spring break drunken idiots. And because Dunes is surrounded by high end beach homes rather than high rise condos, you pretty much have the beach to yourself.

Like any of these places, the rooms can be hit or miss because they are individual owners working through a condo association. Unique to Dunes, however, is that there are two unique rental offices (one in building A, the other in building C) that compete with each other. Competition is better than the monopoly alternative, and the units show it, and the requirements for the rental program are strict. We've stayed many times, and though some furnishings are dated, you don't have the torn, ripped or stained stuff like you have at other places. I'm sure their are exceptions, but I haven't seen any.

Because it is 20 years old, you get rent at half the price of Calypso, Tidewater, Aqua, Splash and the like. These are newer, but Dunes has the better location, and to me it isn't worth paying twice as much for granite and having to deal with the traffic on front beach road (Dunes is on the State park end of Thomas).

My only problem is that it is about 7 miles from the best donut shop in the world which is past the last big condo on Thomas. Dunes is 2 miles from state park and about 5 or so from pier park in the other direction. It is isolated beachfront that is 2-3 miles from the attractions and restaurants. I think it is the best value on the beach. There are a couple of places off the beach that are nice, but I'm never staying off the beach again. I'll stay at Dunes of Panama.

We have always loved the Dunes because of the great pool area, but haven't stayed there in a few years because many of the rooms are outdated compared to newer condos in the area. After this year we will never stay there again. Please note we rented through a management company, not the Dunes office, because when I called them for prices they quoted me prices hundreds more than I have ever paid when I stayed there. When we arrived in condo #2001 it had supposedly been cleaned but as we looked closer we discovered food under the beds, hair in the tub, the obvious smell of vomit in the bathroom, cigerette butts in the bedside table and evidence of a dog having stayed there. The stains on the carpet were disgusting. The shower doors were laying inside the tub. The stove was old and did not work consistently. Emerald Coast Destinations should be ashamed to charge people money for this room.

Dunes of Panama is a wonderful condo to stay. They have a bar and a resturant right at the pool. They have a gameroom for the kids. They have movie night where the kids can watch movies outside. The pool has a large deck with a gazebo.

We rented our condo through VRBO (listing 90769 - Unit 105B) and had a great vacation. The condo was in great condition and is steps from the pools and the beach. We really enjoyed the store onsite to buy grilled hamburgers, frozen drinks (alcoholic or not), snacks, and basic need items. The resort has beach games and recreation items you can check out from the main office at no charge. They have a long list of games to choose from. We played Bocce. Another plus is that the tennis courts can be lit at night because the lights aren't too close to the gulf to disturb the sea turtles. The resort also had a strong wi-fi signal (free) throughout the complex, including on the beach. The grounds were well cared for, and security is often seen driving around on their golf carts. The location of the resort was very quiet and away from the business of PCB, yet pretty close to attractions, such as putt-putt and go-carts. PierPark is a bit of a drive, but not too inconvenient, because it is easy to get on Hwy 98 from the condos, which takes you right to PierPark. There is also a golf course nearby. We were also allowed to bring our small dog for a minimal fee. Highly recommend!