Get the First Floor!

We'd never been here before, but needed a place mid-roadtrip. We took the cheap option, and opted for a 2nd/3rd level pet room. When we arrived, there was a minor cleaning issue with our room (they had a person in training that missed something - it happens/no big deal). They apologized and switched us out to a new room, on the first floor instead. So glad they did! These rooms not only have the secure entrance from the interior hallway, but also have an exterior door. So you can have the best of both worlds; walk inside down to the pool (it is Awesome!), or take your pup directly outside late at night. There is a HUGE grass area just to the west, near Cracker Barrel restaurant, and the parking area that you need to navigate to get there is large, open, and well-lit. We loved this place, and plan to return.

Nov. 15, 2019

Barely dog tolerant, and definitely not dog friendly

While I appreciate that the management allows pets, the Dunes is far from a great place to take your dog. Upon arrival, you will be greeted with the requirement of a $20 pet-fee payment, cash only (even if you have a pre-paid reservation with BringFido). I asked why they needed cash, and was given the explanation that credit/debit fees related to electronic payments cost too much. Clearly the inconvenience to the customer of requiring cash is trumped by their desire to maximize profit.

The building itself is a two-story motel, rectangular in shape, on the corner of two busy roadways. All the rooms face either south, out onto one of the major streets, or north onto a small parking lot that's part of an industrial complex. Parking is angled in toward the building, with spaces that put the vehicles approx. 3ft from the front doors to the rooms. So, like with what happened to us, if there's a diesel truck parked up next to your room and the owner wants to warm up his vehicle for several minutes before driving, and he's leaving at, oh, say 5am(!), then it's a real bummer. A real Loud bummer. Especially since the street noise and heavy traffic came just a few hours later.

The parking on the south side of the building where we had our room has angled parking that forces you to back up into the busy street. There's only about 20ft from your motel room door to the actual roadway, so the spaces literally have you parking on top of the sidewalk in order to squeeze the cars between the building and the street. So when taking your dog out for a break, you have to choose between squeezing between the front of the cars and the building, or walking behind the cars and right next to the roadway. Even using a 6ft leash, you've got to be careful that your dog isn't out in traffic.

Another issue is that this motel does not have a pet relief area on the property! They direct you to a small section of grass that belongs to the bank to their west, behind their motel. This grass is part of the front of the bank building, and quite an odd area to expect motel guests to take their dogs for relief.

One final "not for dogs" issue; they have metal steps leading up to the second floor rooms, which are the non-slip serrated metal steps with pointed, jagged metal spikes. These are clearly hazardous to paws and while I highly doubt they have pet rooms on the second level, even having these steps around and right in front of the doors to the lower rooms made me nervous. I have a curious pup, and if she would have taken even the first step up the stairs, we would be headed to an emergency vet clinic.

The room was nice, and had recently been updated but No way would we ever stay here again with a dog. Not designed at all to be pet friendly.

Oct. 31, 2019