Melia Dunas Beach Resort & Spa - All Inclusive★★★★★

Extremely disappointing.

We just returned from a very disappointing stay at the Melia Dunas resort on Sal, Cape Verde. The fact that Tui and Melia market this resort as a five star experience is really a bit shocking. To list just a few of the things we struggled with during our week at the resort: - The rooms are basic and run down, with sparse tired furniture and in our case, several broken items like a window blind and a shower that wasn't draining. - It seemed basic items were in constant short supply. We often were told that bedsheets, towels etc. weren't yet available for us to use. Most annoyingly for our first few days they had run out of beach towels which made using the pool tricky. - The water in our bath was a brown colour - having bathed our two kids the white flannels we used came out a brownish colour and there was a ring of scum left around the bathtub. We complained about this and they ended up replacing a boiler in our room after which the water ran clear. It made me worry what was in the water initially, and how in the world they let us move into the room with that issue. - The resort is huge and very busy while we were there - meaning that getting almost anything seemed to involve a long line. - Availability at the restaurants beyond the default buffet was extremely limited. - They advertise a kids club, but in the week we were there only three 1.5 hour sessions were available when you could actually drop your kids, and one of those was cancelled at the last minute. - The food is very poor, and many items are simply inedible. And the 'general store' in the resort has no snacks available to buy for kids beyond crisps. The buffet is also extremely busy. - The staff water plants during the day which gives off a very strong sewage smell - presumably from manure they are using to fertilise. If this happens to be where you are trying to relax it is pretty unpleasant. - Two of the main pools have incessant loud music blaring all day. If that's what you are after then great, but if you are after some relaxed reading time defintely not the place for you. - The general look of the entire report is very tired and faded, seemingly from a lack of investment for years. Many things are broken or missing. E.g. many of the deck chairs and shades are broken. - Finally - the level of staff service was really poor. The staff seemed to have great fun chatting to each other, but when it came to talking to customers they were unsmiling and unhelpful to the point of contempt. I felt bad for the staff as they must get so many complaints every week, they are probably just resigned to having to deal with problems all day. I could go on with many more problems we encountered but this list is long already. There were a few plus points - the weather was extraordinary for late Dec/early Jan - 25 degrees and sunny every day. The beach was pretty nice and good for kids to play in. There is a good running trail and an ok gym. And one of the pools is quiet and great for reading while the kids play. There is also a good water slide (although again one slide broken and closed) and a good kids pool with a pirate ship etc. But on balance the experience here is overwhelmingly negative, especially given the price. If you are reading this - don't ignore all the bad reviews! Book somewhere else!

Great location, but service and management fall short of 5 stars

My family and I recently returned from the Melia Dunas Beach Resort & Spa. While the beachfront location and spacious rooms are great for families, the operational side of the hotel was incredibly frustrating and, in our opinion, does not offer good value for money. The Issues We Encountered Frustrating Restaurant Bookings: This was one of the biggest letdowns. Booking the thematic restaurants is needlessly complicated. Guests are forced to queue just to make a reservation, only to find out that most places are already fully booked by the time you even check in. Poor Housekeeping Management: The cleaning system is very disorganized. One person cleans the room while a completely different person looks to be responsible for towels. This lack of coordination meant we were frequently left waiting for fresh towels long after the room had been "serviced." Lack of Transparency at Check-in: We were hit with an extremely expensive deposit for pool towels that was never clearly explained when we arrived. Clearer communication regarding fees and processes is badly needed. The Highlights The beachfront location is beautiful. The room sizes are generous and accommodate families well. Summary While there are plenty of amenities on paper, the inconsistent service, hidden costs, and "fully booked" restaurants mean the resort falls short of its 5-star promise. It felt more like a 3 or 4-star experience at a 5-star price point.

It was a 5 star but it’s not now. It needs investment

Like most I was a little worried after reading a lot of negative reviews. Here is my take on it. Firstly, the place is close to bankruptcy. Poor joint ownership between TUI and Melia and a total lack of investment so bear that in mind. Let’s start with the positives: The resort is huge so it never seems busy. The buffet for all 3 meals is very good. I am GF but ate the bread and no issues. The pool areas are great and the bars are generally well stocked. You could easily drink what you pay for your holiday without any issue (8am-2am). We had no issues with staff. As long as you are polite you will be treated with respect. If you come Howe’s and act like a princess you will get nowhere. Our room was serviced 3 times in 5 days and fresh towels were no issue. The room was big and comfortable. The location beachfront is superb. A sunset to live in your memory forever. The not so good stuff It needs an upgrade. The room looked a little tired. The staff turnover is big. A lot of young, untrained staff who just don’t know how to deal with rude people. Some are just nervous and dont understand different cultures. I think there is a major shortage of staff and this is why some people have issues. Some food / drink gets a little low for a day. Restaurant booking is a nightmare. You really need to do it before arriving. Here is the link. Just put ‘not known’ in the room number - https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flagoonresort.com%2Fdining%2Fdunas-restaurant-booking-assistant%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cdf784e7feeb343ac90c308de30f7fbeb%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639002038822087679%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=COcRFdV6bHALW%2BzQUMEfL4W4xVwZG6F9XE%2F7jDQsr9s%3D&reserved=0 You can take your chances like we did as there is a 15 min no show policy and lots of people do not turn up. The bottom line is …. This is Africa not Europe. It’s a different culture completely. If you come here with your eyes wide open you will enjoy it. Be polite and not too demanding and you will enjoy it. PS. if you like driving make sure you take in a desert buggy trip!

Terrible - eternity ring stolen by room cleaner!

I forgot to put my engagement and eternity rings on this morning. As soon as I realised I ran back to our room, it had just been cleaned and only my engagement ring remained on my bedside table, my eternity ring was gone. We checked everywhere and couldn’t find it. We reported it to the customer relations manager who said i should have put them in the safe. To add insult to injury, the cleaner who cleaned our room took all our dirty towels and didn’t replace them and the phone did not work to ring reception! The queues at reception are long and very slow.