Melia Dunas Resort

Melia Dunas is only 20 minutes from the airport so quick transfer into get your Hoildays started. Hotel reception very large and bright staff at reception deal with you quickly, As you go out of reception you cross a small bridge over a large shallow swimming pool with water fountains rooms on both side and a bar to the rear indoor and outdoor also pool bar on your right. Rooms them lead down the main strip which has a few nice bars/shops and restaurants to use at the end of the strip is the main restaurant all are spotless,you have to book to eat at some of the restaurants but well worth it,some of the bars are a little quite ie: lacking in music sometimes. Beach is a lovely white sandy beach agin spotless plus life guard,no issue to find a sun bed on our visit. Rooms are large and clean with wall mounted tv we had sea view so all the better mini fridge had fresh water every day and beds good. Hotel has a well stock gym and a nice spa service in all areas was good also bar down by the beach and one on the beach open from 10 towels available from 9. You can go on a few trips if you wish and Santa Maria is only a short taxi ride away 3 Euro only problem at present town having major utilities installed. Hotel Sol next door can be used but you have to pay for food and drink here this is more of a family hotel. There is no over bars or restaurants outside the hotel so if you want a change it’s a taxi or free shuttle bus ride. Over all a well run hotel ideal to chill out.

So today is our last day and I thought it would be beneficial to do an honest review of our two week stay! ☀️ To start I would like to say to anyone coming in the future DO NOT worry about negative reviews, some people have extremely high expectations and I couldn’t find one thing worth complaining about.. you will soon realise once you arrive that some people tend to enjoy complaining. Before I arrived I was constantly checking the weather apps/ worrying about a tiny bit of cloud but once you arrive you will realise that the weather is beautiful - you would not want it any hotter and you will be grateful for the slight breeze because on days where there is none, it is way to hot! You may get the odd cloudy day but these days will be no where near cold - you will be able to wear bikinis and dresses etc and on the evenings dresses are fine but bring a cardi/light jacket if you feel the cold, otherwise you will be fine! One thing I did notice too is the weather can change so quickly, it is often forecast to be cloudy for most of the day but when the day arrives the sun always comes out by 11-12 atleast & as everyone says, the clouds don’t stop you from burning! The food- we were Melia guests and therefore had access to Atlantis (buffet) for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Aqua (Italian) for breakfast lunch and dinner, and Sahel (Indian) and Rancho (steak) for dinner. We ate in each of these restaurants and found many items we would both ate/enjoyed. Sometimes the food in the buffet can be more on the ‘warm-cool’ side if it has been out for a while but this can not be helped in any way, if you are putting food out to be served chances are it will cool down if people aren’t quick to eat it! But if you are wanting hot food then there is always the ‘wok’ outside where you can get freshly made pasta and omelettes for breakfast which are delicious! As for the other restaurants the food was always smoking hot and delicious and we had zero complaints after dining numerous times. The room / hotel grounds are immaculate.. I have never seen such shiny floors especially in the beauty salon 😂 you could almost see your face in it. The staff are always constantly cleaning and keeping standards high, drinks are delicious and the beer is extremely drinkable, there is plenty to choose from. I read a lot about the towels being stained which is true for some but others are white and fluffy, and if they are stained they are just old and are still always clean! Ask for some more pillows don’t leave it a week and then decide to get some, we asked and they were in our room within an hour! Good choice for sure. The hotel grounds are absolutely huge !!! It is impossible to get bored, you could go to a different pool/ bar each day to mix things up. Also there is always entertainment going on each day and night and some of the shows at the theatre such as the lion king are definitely worth a watch. As for excursions - we chose Gus for the Island tour which we booked over Facebook, it was easy to do and we met at reception at 9:30am and didn’t return home until half 5!! It was an incredible day, we created so many memories we will never forget, Gus will look after you and ensure you get the most out of your experience along with having fun and a good laugh!! Such a lovely down to earth guy. We visited Santa Maria 3 times, and had different experiences each time which definitely got better once we had learnt a few tricks. On our first visit we fell into the trap of being taken to a man’s mother’s shop accidentally- as he told us that he was showing us where the Dubliner was but tricked us into going else where, he even went as far as to say the beach was closed!!! we did feel a little uneasy as we didn’t know our way round to start with, but what we learnt from this is it’s ok to say hi and have a brief convo but do not trust anyone who is showing you where to go, unless you do fancy a trip to mammas shop 🤣 a polite no thank you before future questions are asked does the trick. On our second visit we got the free shuttle bus down which was better than the taxi as you are not alone and won’t be targeted directly and it is easier to avoid, however a man did approach us and try to tell us that he worked at our hotel and this therefore taught us on our third time to turn our bands over! But do not let this put you off, it is an incredibly beautiful town and the sea is to die for, along with the amazing opportunity of seeing the fishermen bring in their catch! If your into horses like myself then you must book a horse excursion, we did this with Santa Marilha Horse Excursions (Just fb them) and again, booked over Facebook! They picked us up and dropped us back off after our ride, I felt safe and they take time to get to know your experience before finding a horse that suits, we cantered across the beach and it was an experience we won’t ever forget! Finally we spent a Friday at bikini beach!! This was an amazing day full of lots of delicious drink and food! We booked for friday’s pool party and paid €120 in total for a front row bali bed and this €120 is also the limit you get to spend on food/drink throughout the day! The location is stunning and the music good- we would definitely recommend if you fancy a change of scenery! So that is my review overall, I’m sorry it is extremely long but I wanted to make sure I covered everything. This place is amazing, the beaches are stunning and I can 100% guarantee you will have a good time! A holiday is what you make it, don’t come with really high expectations, take everything with a pinch of salt and enjoy yourself! I’m very sad to be going home! 😭😀 - ps. Join the Melia Dunas & Sol Dunas Facebook group to see my photos and for more amazing reviews / tips!

Melia Dunas is great. Amazing staff, great swimming pool two steps away from a beautifull with send a blue sea. Beach was super clean, the rooms were great. Incredible tours . Food was a bite too much of the same everyday but it was still super delicious and fresh.