Dune Village Resort, Isola Rossa, Italy
Hotel Information
Recent Price: £133
Hotel Class:
Hotel Description:
The Dune Village is a large resort complex made up of three hotels linked by a central Piazza. The complex has a wealth of activities to offer and also has a wonderful, 8 kilometre long beach just across from the hotel complex. Car hire is recommended if you want to see the surrounding areas, as the hotel is located in a secluded area with limited facilities in the nearby villages. loading...
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Dune Village Resort Reviews
" This was our second visit to Dune... "
Submitted By: Mr P Mustard
This was our second visit to Dune Village having had a lovely time there in 2005 and having visited a different Sardinian resort (Valle dell-Erica) in 2006. And this latest one exceeded everything that had gone before.
Our children (6 and 4) just had the time of their lives from 9am until 10pm every day. The laid-back atmosphere across the resort from the 4 swimming pools to the tennis courts, the beach and all of the excellent (and varied) restaurants means that they can relax, have fun and make lots of new friends and memories.
The food is plentiful and of a consistently high standard in all of the varied restaurants. The choice is so wonderful that I find it puzzling that some comments here are negative about the variety on offer.
Yes, the resort is 70-80% non-British and whilst this can throw up a few cultural and linguistic challenges, a cheap phrase book can solve most of them. On the plus side of course, this means no fry-ups, no pints of lager, no football shirts, no foul-language and barely a tattoo in sight.
We have only just returned but have already resolved to go back again next year.
Our children (6 and 4) just had the time of their lives from 9am until 10pm every day. The laid-back atmosphere across the resort from the 4 swimming pools to the tennis courts, the beach and all of the excellent (and varied) restaurants means that they can relax, have fun and make lots of new friends and memories.
The food is plentiful and of a consistently high standard in all of the varied restaurants. The choice is so wonderful that I find it puzzling that some comments here are negative about the variety on offer.
Yes, the resort is 70-80% non-British and whilst this can throw up a few cultural and linguistic challenges, a cheap phrase book can solve most of them. On the plus side of course, this means no fry-ups, no pints of lager, no football shirts, no foul-language and barely a tattoo in sight.
We have only just returned but have already resolved to go back again next year.
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2007
- Board Basis:Full Board
- Tour Operator:Just Sardinia
" This resort is fantastic. It is... "
Submitted By: Mr J Mais
This resort is fantastic. It is brilliant for children - the smile never leaves their faces. It is so good we have been there every year for the last three years, (and we swore we would never go to the same destination more than once in our lives).
The food is great and all but one of the restaurants offers buffet style so that your children can have food in front of them as soon as they sit down. To the Italians 'bambinis' needs take precedence over adults. The staff are amazing - the hotel employs over 60 'Animation' staff who look after every need from the children's club to guest services to entertaining guests every night at the open theatre. The standard of productions at the open theatre six nights per week is outstanding - brilliantly performed and perfectly stage managed and choreographed. I know of no other resort worldwide that offers this level of entertainment value for all members of the family.
The resort is beautifully maintained, the staff are always polite and friendly and the weather is superb in June and July.
I fail to understand how anyone could not enjoy this resort and the negative reviews on your site simply beggar belief. I suspect that these reviewers booked the wrong type of holiday or did not read carefully the details of the resort before booking.
True, most of the staff speak little English - but then why go to Sardinia if you want to speak English, stay at home! Yes the resort is 'full-on' in the inimitable Italian style but if you go along with the mood you will really enjoy your holiday and it is truly relaxing and a great escape. Even in the height of the season the resort does not feel busy due its immaculately planned layout. If you're looking for a quiet resort with nothing happening at all then this is not the place for you.
I'm not sure I should post this review as Sardinia and the Dune Village are still one of the 'best kept secrets' in the overcrowded Mediterranean and long may they remain so.
The food is great and all but one of the restaurants offers buffet style so that your children can have food in front of them as soon as they sit down. To the Italians 'bambinis' needs take precedence over adults. The staff are amazing - the hotel employs over 60 'Animation' staff who look after every need from the children's club to guest services to entertaining guests every night at the open theatre. The standard of productions at the open theatre six nights per week is outstanding - brilliantly performed and perfectly stage managed and choreographed. I know of no other resort worldwide that offers this level of entertainment value for all members of the family.
The resort is beautifully maintained, the staff are always polite and friendly and the weather is superb in June and July.
I fail to understand how anyone could not enjoy this resort and the negative reviews on your site simply beggar belief. I suspect that these reviewers booked the wrong type of holiday or did not read carefully the details of the resort before booking.
True, most of the staff speak little English - but then why go to Sardinia if you want to speak English, stay at home! Yes the resort is 'full-on' in the inimitable Italian style but if you go along with the mood you will really enjoy your holiday and it is truly relaxing and a great escape. Even in the height of the season the resort does not feel busy due its immaculately planned layout. If you're looking for a quiet resort with nothing happening at all then this is not the place for you.
I'm not sure I should post this review as Sardinia and the Dune Village are still one of the 'best kept secrets' in the overcrowded Mediterranean and long may they remain so.
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2007
- Board Basis:Full Board
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" Although the ticket price almost... "
Submitted By: Mrs A Bone
Although the ticket price almost matched a budget airline price, the value was excellent. On time, excellent hot food (no extra charge) excellent cabin service. Definitely use this airline again. We are a middle aged couple and found this resort to be extremely disappointing. We went for the last two weeks of the season in September 2006 and stayed at Le Rocce.
We found the staff to be unfriendly and sometimes very rude, especially the lady who did the restaurant bookings. Although the food was plentiful, we found the variety limited (fish, fish and more fish!), and it was always COLD and always VERY SALTY!
We also felt it was like feeding time at the zoo every evening. On average meals were rushed, and three courses completed within the hour! At one point my Husband was still eating his starter when the main course arrived, and I had heard tales of tables being cleared before meals were finished, but disregarded the comments, but to my utter amazement I witnessed this actually happening on two occasions, where a couple of gone for desert only to find their tables cleared. The Scorfano was the worse restaurant by miles, and the fact they charged an extra 8 Euros each was ridiculous! Our meal took an entire 55 minutes. It was almost like they wanted the guests out as soon as possible. Il Romantico was the best restaurant, but at a cost - (local wine at 3 Euros being charged at 20 Euros). The food was better but we would not class it as 4 star A La Carte!
There were a number of issues we were not happy about on arrival and we complained to the Director who seemed surprised to have a complaint. He said that no one has ever complained to him before! The Director's answer was to send two bottles of wine to our room to shut us up.
Being the end of the season we also had to endure large private parties, a motorbike convention, a sports club outing, staff parties...and it was rumoured, a wedding which involved closing two restaurants. On average each weekend consisted of an influx of over 150 extra guests (mainly Italian). Needless to say the rules seemed to be totally disregarded by these parties. For example, the constant stream of couples with small children using the Le Rocce pool despite the "no children under 6" rule. It was only after we complained again to the management, that anything was done about it.
....I could go on an on, but I would say one thing....
We would not go back, and clearly, not recommend this to couples seeking a quiet holiday. This is an ideal holiday for families who are familiar with Centre Parcs or Butlins or Haven Holidays, who don't mind screaming kids running around restaurants while you are eating! Or indeed those who are not terribly fussed about being treated like you don't deserve to be there, despite spending your hard earned cash for a two week break to watch the sullen, miserable and rude staff!!
The only good thing about this holiday was the clean rooms/towels, which kind of withered out by the second week.....towels were only changed every other day!
It may have been the end of their season, but it was our main holiday which took two years to save for!
We also agree with comments regarding the service in Olbia "international" airport being TERRIBLE - we arrived in the nick of time, to find the check-in service completely incompetent - and we were also seated separately.
We are also glad to be home!
We found the staff to be unfriendly and sometimes very rude, especially the lady who did the restaurant bookings. Although the food was plentiful, we found the variety limited (fish, fish and more fish!), and it was always COLD and always VERY SALTY!
We also felt it was like feeding time at the zoo every evening. On average meals were rushed, and three courses completed within the hour! At one point my Husband was still eating his starter when the main course arrived, and I had heard tales of tables being cleared before meals were finished, but disregarded the comments, but to my utter amazement I witnessed this actually happening on two occasions, where a couple of gone for desert only to find their tables cleared. The Scorfano was the worse restaurant by miles, and the fact they charged an extra 8 Euros each was ridiculous! Our meal took an entire 55 minutes. It was almost like they wanted the guests out as soon as possible. Il Romantico was the best restaurant, but at a cost - (local wine at 3 Euros being charged at 20 Euros). The food was better but we would not class it as 4 star A La Carte!
There were a number of issues we were not happy about on arrival and we complained to the Director who seemed surprised to have a complaint. He said that no one has ever complained to him before! The Director's answer was to send two bottles of wine to our room to shut us up.
Being the end of the season we also had to endure large private parties, a motorbike convention, a sports club outing, staff parties...and it was rumoured, a wedding which involved closing two restaurants. On average each weekend consisted of an influx of over 150 extra guests (mainly Italian). Needless to say the rules seemed to be totally disregarded by these parties. For example, the constant stream of couples with small children using the Le Rocce pool despite the "no children under 6" rule. It was only after we complained again to the management, that anything was done about it.
....I could go on an on, but I would say one thing....
We would not go back, and clearly, not recommend this to couples seeking a quiet holiday. This is an ideal holiday for families who are familiar with Centre Parcs or Butlins or Haven Holidays, who don't mind screaming kids running around restaurants while you are eating! Or indeed those who are not terribly fussed about being treated like you don't deserve to be there, despite spending your hard earned cash for a two week break to watch the sullen, miserable and rude staff!!
The only good thing about this holiday was the clean rooms/towels, which kind of withered out by the second week.....towels were only changed every other day!
It may have been the end of their season, but it was our main holiday which took two years to save for!
We also agree with comments regarding the service in Olbia "international" airport being TERRIBLE - we arrived in the nick of time, to find the check-in service completely incompetent - and we were also seated separately.
We are also glad to be home!
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- Date of Holiday:Sep 2006
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Holiday Options
" Firstly I must commend Bath Travel... "
Submitted By: AM Garrod
Firstly I must commend Bath Travel (Hedge End Branch) for guiding and selling us our family this year.
My brief to them was very simple - A family beach holiday somewhere in the Med and not involving Heathrow or Gatwick. The first package they showed me, was by Holiday Options to Dune Village, Sardinia. I said OK and booked it! Plus! Because I booked early (immediately after New Year) I was elevated to full board at no extra cost and my parking at Southampton Airport was free! All in, £3000 for a family of 4, in a Ginepre Family Suite for a week, including car hire and family travel insurance. The real issue is, is that by catching an early flight (7.30am) from a local minor airport, we were on the beach by 1pm - only half a day wasted in travel - not many package holidays to the Med can achieve that.
The Dune Village resort is “kids heaven” and the Italians of course are very good with children. The Kids Club routines start from 9am and finish at 6pm and is packed with activities. This leaves parents completely free to be alone, but make sure you bring your mobile phone - it’s essential for emergencies etc. The winding roads are not child friendly to those prone to car sickness, so the kids clubs can be useful if you want to explore long distances and relieve the kids of the torture of car sickness.
The evening entertainment is superb - not quite, but almost West End standard, and they can muster a dance troupe of 25 dancers, plus performers and singers for an evening show.
The rooms were fantastic, very well furnished, very clean and fresh towels every day.
The food was equally good, spread across 6 restaurants. Over 2 weeks, you might find the food a bit repetitive and the restaurants for lunch and dinner have to be booked in advance which was a bit of a grind. Due to some rather negative feed back and some greedy block bookings, you can only book your meals in the restaurants of your choice, 3 days in advance - it seems to work. Having a car, we were out exploring most of the day and we booked packed lunches, which were very generously portioned.
Holiday Options, contract local reps from Sardinia, not some Tracy form Essex - this makes a huge difference and the knowledge and advice they can give is way above the expected. The flights from Southampton was with Flybe.com and the Holiday Options reps seemed on the ball and well aware with the fact that Flybe has no family seating policy with its aircraft or check-in procedures. Those with Holiday Options will have their children pre-booked by the reps on the ground before you check-in. Those with other operators may not be so fortunate.
Would I go again - definitely yes! But not in August - it’s been very windy for the past 2 years. Best go June/July or Sept.
My brief to them was very simple - A family beach holiday somewhere in the Med and not involving Heathrow or Gatwick. The first package they showed me, was by Holiday Options to Dune Village, Sardinia. I said OK and booked it! Plus! Because I booked early (immediately after New Year) I was elevated to full board at no extra cost and my parking at Southampton Airport was free! All in, £3000 for a family of 4, in a Ginepre Family Suite for a week, including car hire and family travel insurance. The real issue is, is that by catching an early flight (7.30am) from a local minor airport, we were on the beach by 1pm - only half a day wasted in travel - not many package holidays to the Med can achieve that.
The Dune Village resort is “kids heaven” and the Italians of course are very good with children. The Kids Club routines start from 9am and finish at 6pm and is packed with activities. This leaves parents completely free to be alone, but make sure you bring your mobile phone - it’s essential for emergencies etc. The winding roads are not child friendly to those prone to car sickness, so the kids clubs can be useful if you want to explore long distances and relieve the kids of the torture of car sickness.
The evening entertainment is superb - not quite, but almost West End standard, and they can muster a dance troupe of 25 dancers, plus performers and singers for an evening show.
The rooms were fantastic, very well furnished, very clean and fresh towels every day.
The food was equally good, spread across 6 restaurants. Over 2 weeks, you might find the food a bit repetitive and the restaurants for lunch and dinner have to be booked in advance which was a bit of a grind. Due to some rather negative feed back and some greedy block bookings, you can only book your meals in the restaurants of your choice, 3 days in advance - it seems to work. Having a car, we were out exploring most of the day and we booked packed lunches, which were very generously portioned.
Holiday Options, contract local reps from Sardinia, not some Tracy form Essex - this makes a huge difference and the knowledge and advice they can give is way above the expected. The flights from Southampton was with Flybe.com and the Holiday Options reps seemed on the ball and well aware with the fact that Flybe has no family seating policy with its aircraft or check-in procedures. Those with Holiday Options will have their children pre-booked by the reps on the ground before you check-in. Those with other operators may not be so fortunate.
Would I go again - definitely yes! But not in August - it’s been very windy for the past 2 years. Best go June/July or Sept.
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2006
- Board Basis:Full Board
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" Fantastic place, utterly magical for... "
Submitted By: Mr M Lescott-Jones
Fantastic place, utterly magical for children and relaxing for adults. The restaurants are all good, all different, and the booking system is not too difficult. The hotel will drive you free of charge to the local village if you want to stock up your room fridge with beer and water, and the staff are all friendly and charming. The setting is beautiful, and this year a new restaurant has opened for lunch and dinner right by the beach - it is absolutely stunning and the sea food is excellent there.
Our children had the best holiday of their lives and we probably did too. Very reasonably priced considering each family gets a huge, if quite simply furnished, suite of two rooms and a bathroom, and a large well-equipped balcony or terrace.
The best thing about it is that it is around 70% Italian, giving it a great atmosphere, the worst thing is that it is hard to avoid moaning British voices around the Ginepri swimming pool. Just try to zone them out, and you will love it. And if your kids are under ten, they will love the nightly "baby dance" in the open air amphitheatre, under the stars.
Overall, if you like Italy, if you enjoy a village-type atmosphere, if you want an amazing choice of restaurants on one site, if you want to see your kids making loads of friends and spending every minute they can in the water, if you like surrounding yourself with Italians on a clean, calm beach - this is the place for you. No need to hire a car, everything you need is on one, beautifully landscaped site.
We're going back next year for sure.
Our children had the best holiday of their lives and we probably did too. Very reasonably priced considering each family gets a huge, if quite simply furnished, suite of two rooms and a bathroom, and a large well-equipped balcony or terrace.
The best thing about it is that it is around 70% Italian, giving it a great atmosphere, the worst thing is that it is hard to avoid moaning British voices around the Ginepri swimming pool. Just try to zone them out, and you will love it. And if your kids are under ten, they will love the nightly "baby dance" in the open air amphitheatre, under the stars.
Overall, if you like Italy, if you enjoy a village-type atmosphere, if you want an amazing choice of restaurants on one site, if you want to see your kids making loads of friends and spending every minute they can in the water, if you like surrounding yourself with Italians on a clean, calm beach - this is the place for you. No need to hire a car, everything you need is on one, beautifully landscaped site.
We're going back next year for sure.
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2006
- Board Basis:Full Board
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" Having a family of four with one... "
Submitted By: Miss AK Kordo
Having a family of four with one young daughter and one older daughter, the hotel managed to accommodate for all our needs. The animation programme was well organized with a number of different activities for children of all ages.
My younger daughter was able to take part in the mini club during the day where she was looked after well and she was also able to visit the children’s area in fantasy land which has its own pool. My oldest daughter took part in the young club and I was safe in the knowledge that she was being looked after for the whole day there were many other activities for older children as well as young children.
My husband and I were able to relax in the many different zones that are available in the hotel while are children were taking part in varies activities.
The staff were extremely friendly and were always willing to help. There was a good choice of different restaurants which we had an opportunity to book for almost every night. The beach was also very clean and very pleasant.
My family and I enjoyed our stay very much and would definitely recommend it to everyone, the hotel accommodates everyone’s needs.
My younger daughter was able to take part in the mini club during the day where she was looked after well and she was also able to visit the children’s area in fantasy land which has its own pool. My oldest daughter took part in the young club and I was safe in the knowledge that she was being looked after for the whole day there were many other activities for older children as well as young children.
My husband and I were able to relax in the many different zones that are available in the hotel while are children were taking part in varies activities.
The staff were extremely friendly and were always willing to help. There was a good choice of different restaurants which we had an opportunity to book for almost every night. The beach was also very clean and very pleasant.
My family and I enjoyed our stay very much and would definitely recommend it to everyone, the hotel accommodates everyone’s needs.
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2006
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomas Cook
" We were a young family of 4 (age 2... "
Submitted By: Mrs S Lloyd
We were a young family of 4 (age 2 and 5). This resort was extremely disappointing. We went in August during summer holidays. I chose this hotel due to the "choice" of 6 restaurants. The fact is - when we went you could only book a restaurant once in a 7-day period. This was not written in any brochure information, and was not written in any hotel literature - so you would inevitably have to find out the hard way - when all the restaurants were fully booked. The "restaurant booking service" were unhelpful with very basic English - making things extremely frustrating. After all this, (the "guest service" lady helped me out ) - the food in the 6 "different" restaurants were very repetitive.
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Breakfast was in the same restaurant every morning - which is what we expected. However, we did not expect to have "fight for a table" and practically jump through hoops for a cappuccino. For a 4 star hotel - the "luxury" room we had was tatty and out-dated - and not up to standard. We paid premium money for a low-standard of service, food and accommodation. I would not go back, and clearly, not recommend this to anyone. Its one saving grace was that it was located on a beautiful - 10km beach, and the sea was lovely, clean and warm - hence the 2 points.
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By the way - the service in Olbia "international" airport was also TERRIBLE - the check-in service completely incompetent, had given pre-allocated seats to the wrong people, and expected my 5-y old son (just 5 on holiday) to sit on his own!!!! This had happened to a number of other families. My husband and I were on opposite ends of the plane !!! The worse thing was that the check-in lady and her manager couldn’t care less - their attitude completely unapologetic. (the woman said I was too late checking in - fact was we were in the middle of the queue, and the woman at our desk was unbelievably slow. . . )
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Oh . . . and to top it off . . . they (check-in) managed to fabricate 8 passengers - so we were sat on the plane for over hour waiting for non-existent passengers. All the luggage had to be taken off the plane, and claimed by each travelling group (next to the runway) , and then put back on the plane before we were allowed to take off. (This is what you should expect from the Italians - apparently . . . I thought they were meant to be good with children??????????). Great end to a great holiday!!! At least I’m glad were home . . . where’s the Prozac? <br>
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Breakfast was in the same restaurant every morning - which is what we expected. However, we did not expect to have "fight for a table" and practically jump through hoops for a cappuccino. For a 4 star hotel - the "luxury" room we had was tatty and out-dated - and not up to standard. We paid premium money for a low-standard of service, food and accommodation. I would not go back, and clearly, not recommend this to anyone. Its one saving grace was that it was located on a beautiful - 10km beach, and the sea was lovely, clean and warm - hence the 2 points.
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By the way - the service in Olbia "international" airport was also TERRIBLE - the check-in service completely incompetent, had given pre-allocated seats to the wrong people, and expected my 5-y old son (just 5 on holiday) to sit on his own!!!! This had happened to a number of other families. My husband and I were on opposite ends of the plane !!! The worse thing was that the check-in lady and her manager couldn’t care less - their attitude completely unapologetic. (the woman said I was too late checking in - fact was we were in the middle of the queue, and the woman at our desk was unbelievably slow. . . )
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Oh . . . and to top it off . . . they (check-in) managed to fabricate 8 passengers - so we were sat on the plane for over hour waiting for non-existent passengers. All the luggage had to be taken off the plane, and claimed by each travelling group (next to the runway) , and then put back on the plane before we were allowed to take off. (This is what you should expect from the Italians - apparently . . . I thought they were meant to be good with children??????????). Great end to a great holiday!!! At least I’m glad were home . . . where’s the Prozac? <br>
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2005
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Holiday Options
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Packed-out in August, and despite an occasional air of slight chaos it was in reality a surprisingly slick operation to get all guests through mealtimes. As a family of five (one more than the European standard) we never had to wait long for a table. Food is mainly on a buffet basis and good rather than brilliant, with enough variety (just) to see us through two weeks without too much deja vu. Complementary table wine perfectly reasonable. For a change from the main "Nautilus" restaurant, it's worth making early efforts to book tables in the other restaurants on site. Unlike some previous reviewers, we didn't have any real problems in planning our dining.
The pools are good, and the activities excellent and varied, with children particularly well catered for in clubs for various ages, with energetic and enthusiastic staff. The after-dinner entertainment was also very good. Children of all ages are fully involved with everything (save for one restaurant and one pool) at all hours. If you have (or like) children this is great. For childless holidaymakers who want peace and quiet, this hotel is certainly not the place to be during the school holidays.
The other guests were predominantly Italian, although with increasing percentages of British and French in the week following the major 15th August Italian public holiday. Not all staff spoke passable English, but enough did and it was never a problem.
We hired a car, and for a two-week holiday it was an advantage for getting out and about (at least for the adults) and seeing something different, although if we'd been there for only a week we would not have bothered. The hotel is fairly isolated, but there are places worth visiting not far away, and the hotel does organise excursions.
The rooms were more simply furnished than the price might have suggested, with a couple of electrical and mechanical defects (a little like the old Alfa Romeo I used to drive) but sufficiently comfortable, and spotlessly clean. With three children, it was worth paying the extra for our superior suite.
The children want to go back again next year.