We stayed in a one bedroom suite on the 8th floor of the Palmetto tower.

The suite was disappointing: beds were extremely uncomfortable with sheets that did not feel fresh. The grout in the bathroom was dirty and moldy. The upholstery and carpet had an old, dirty feel, the towels were grey and ragged. The overall sense of the suite was dingy and unpleasant, even though the housekeeping staff did their best.

The location was great--far from the crowd of drunk spring breakers who stay in hotels closer to the boardwalk area. There was a pleasant family atmosphere on the beach. The waterpark served its purpose--kept the children busy when they were tired of the beach but as other reviewers said there is absolutely no supervision or enforcing of the bracelets, so anyone could walk in from the street--hence raising safety concerns.

Even though this resort is for families with children, it is not child friendly..we just got back from there we stayed on the fifth floor in a king studio. My 2 year old grandsone fingers were burned badly from the stove, the knobs are located on the front of the stove he was able to turn them on and burnt his fingers. Also in the kitchen in the 2nd drawer down are the butcher and steak knives easily accessilbe for toddlers..
For this resort to be for children they really need to fix these issues.

This was our first stay at Dunes, March 31-April 7, 2012. We were a group of 8 in a 3-bedroom unit. We arrived an hour earlier than check in but the room was ready and we checked in. First and foremost, the unit was extremely small! The living space especially. The refrigerator didnt work - and the maintenance person who was sent up after about 5 calls and a personal visit to the Front Desk - barely spoke english and fed us a load of crap that it was indeed working. The Manager was supposed to call us about not only the 'fridge not working but also about the maintenance person, however, no call ever came. When we asked to be moved to another unit, we were told that there were no other units available although their sign out front as well as their website said that there were other rooms available. Although this unit was supposed to be able to sleep 10+, there was only dishes for 5 people. And the "fully equipped" kitchen didnt even have a spatula, bottle opener or any kind of cookware for the oven (ie cookiesheet or pizza pan).
The hot water took forever to come out the spigots -- we had to let water run for over 10 minutes before it began to get warm. We were on the 4th floor (although we had requested to be above 7th) and it was EXTREMELY noisy. No where did I observe any kind of security/staff supervision; there were kids throwing things down over the balconies, screaming out and across to other rooms, etc. One night, it was well after midnight and there was some kind of 'chanting' going on back and forth outside on the balconies -- and then doors slamming throughout the remainder of the night. It was miserable. Their beds are extremely uncomfortable as well.
The housekeeping was OK at best. We would put out the 'card' to request service; one day they came at 430pm. WTH!! Another day they came and only made a few of the beds and took some of the trash from the kitchen (left the empty pizza boxes). Another time they came before noon, made all the beds and gave us clean towels. It was hit or miss. However, we had found old food (not from us but from prior guests I presume) underneath the edge of one of the beds where obviously cleaning missed. There was a 'metal strip' missing from where the linoleum and carpet meet, right at the doorway and therefore if you walked across it barefoot you got poked by the little nails/brads sticking up.
The "game room" area was another joke. The Wii system that they advertise - and have a sign on it telling you to go to the front desk to check out the remotes - then tell you that "the Wii remotes have been sent out for repair". Really? When you can go buy replacements at WalMart but you send them out for repair? The pool tables were hidieous, the pool sticks needed replacement tips. Then their "basketball court" that is across the street behind the parking garage - with no lights - is about the size of a one-car garage with only one basketball goal. That is NOT a court. The tennis courts are locked and the person at the desk did not know what the combination was to open them up. The indoor hot tub was so high in chemicals that it makes you ill to be there any longer than 5-10 minutes. The outdoor hot tub was closed repeatedly throughout the week, supposedly for chemical issues.
Parking was an issue as well. They have handicapped parking - which many people park without the appropriate placards and they have loading/unloading parking immediately at the front circle. Also not monitored. Then they have parking across the street, some labeled for "oversized vehicles" but there were regular/sedan size cars parked there all the time making it difficult for an overzied vehicle to find a space. And they have parking for vehicles with "cargo tops" - again not enforced and just anyone was parking there as well.
We had brought bikes with us, two adults and one childs, and was told where a bike rack was and that it was our responsibility to secure it. We secured them with the appropriate and very sturdy bike locks -- and lo and behold someone used a bolt cutter and stole one of the adult bikes. When reporting this to the desk, we were told that they have security cameras and that whomever took it will be on camera, but security isnt here today so we will review it tomorrow and call you right away (mind you this was a week day about 8am in the morning). There was no call the next day, so we called. They had not reviewed it yet. They then called about an hour later and said that the cameras did not have a view of the bikes so they didnt have anything to help us. We asked if this could be reported to the police and they said that they would help us to do that. When we wanted to do this, they then told us that we would have to do it ourselves because they wouldnt be involved. (??????) Clearly makes us think that it was an inside job and that they saw who it was that took our bike - probably an employee - -and they dont want to be responsible for it by us knowing that.

so for the over $2500 that it cost us to stay at this place, you would think that they could have done SOMETHING to maintain their facility in better shape than they do. Management seems to be non-existent while you are there, although I am sure that they will post something on here to make it "seem" as though they are responsive....let me tell you, they were not and are not!!!
You could stay next door alot cheaper and if needed, use their water park if you had too -- thats what others were doing. The wristbands were useless because there were a TON of people who came in from the street without bands and using the waterpark.
Never ever again --- and I will be sure to let everyone I know how poorly this place is kept. Clearly disgraceful for what they charge!

We LOVE the Dunes Village Resort! The beach is never too crowded and our boys love the waterpark. We normally don't venture to far from the resort because it offers so much and with the full kitchen you can get groceries and make your own meals to save money.