I stayed at the Dunes Manor Hotel in July 2005 and found it to be a place of extremes--a mixture of good quality with the very average.

The lobby is very nice and spacious with a pleasant old fashioned Victorian parlor theme. You can walk out to the adjacent big porch facing the ocean and sit in one of the many rocking chairs and relax. There is a friendly woman piano player who plays all the old favorites on the old grand piano on some evenings in the summer just like it must have been in the "good old days." There is also, at least in the summer, a daily afternoon tea and cookies which is very popular with the guests. The hotel restaurant is also just off the lobby overlooking the ocean with fairly decent food and service. I did get one of the order by 5:00 pm dinner specials and it was pretty bad though. I made the receptionist take it off the bill when I checked out but only after alot of arm twisting. The breakfasts were fine and a couple other "non special" priced lunches were adequate. The hotel is just one block north of the end of the boardwalk for easy access to the boardwalk tram and attractions.

Overall, I was quite disappointed with the room at the Dunes Manor Hotel. The mid-week rate in July 2005 was $239 a night which with tax brought the bill to well over $700 for the 3 nights I was there. The room was tolerable, average size and not awful. However it was very very plain with cheap furnishings and two double beds which were acceptable but not very comfortable. After the nice lobby, the room is a let down. The bathroom was small and also plain. ( My rooms at the Crystal Beach Hotel and the Holiday Inn Express where I stayed in 2006, while nothing special, were both superior to this room. ) You do get a private balcony off your room directly overlooking the ocean which is a plus when staying here. I was up on a higher floor so the view was very pleasant. The room was kept fairly clean and had daily maid service so I have to be fair about mentioning that. Unfortunately my room smelled strongly of urine in a corner of the carpeting as if the people before me had brought a pet dog. The front desk said they could not change the room when I went to complain right after checking in so I went out and bought a can of Lysol which helped as long as I kept spraying regularly.

I need to share with readers that the elevators in this hotel are ridiculously slow. They are so outdated for a place charging the rates the Dunes does. After the first couple of times it got very very annoying to wait for them because it seemed to take forever. To the owners of this hotel; get off your butts and replace these elevators. Your customers don't deserve this cheap mediocrity. If you are not going to replace them and update the rooms a little, you have no business charging the rates you do.

Overall, one needs to keep in mind, including me, that this is Ocean City, and the overall standard is not like staying at a decent hotel in Baltimore or Washington, D.C. Still, things are changing and there is some competition out there now in O.C. I can say without any hesitation you can definately do better than staying at the Dunes Manor when planning your next trip to Ocean City.

The rooms in this place get a B-. They do not get an A - or a B+. Without the direct ocean view balcony they would get a C, regardless if this hotel is located in O.C.

It is time for the Dunes Manor to have a facelift, and especially, an elevator lift. Until then, this property will not see any more of my money.

When you go into the hotel the lobby is very nice but the room is very simple. Its like a regular motel room. not much space at all. dinning room food was hard and cold. Complained to the manager at the front desk.....and his response was their is nothing i can do for you I am busy. Will never go back to that place again.

Very clean rooms excellent service beautiful view of the ocean loved the view of the inside pool area and the bar nice huge deck and nice outside bar