Le Dune Resort in Menfi

This is an entry level, bottom tier resort for families with very young children. -Screaming, poorly behaved babies and toddlers everywhere. -Small, old pool areas filled with very young children -Rooms had dirty floors, cleaning was sub par -Strange, strictly enforced rules, like sorbet can't come on a cone (***?) -They charge extra for everything. Always feel like their hand is in your pocket -Everything is old, out dated, shabby -Spotty Wi-Fi at best, often not working at all in your room Avoid this resort if at all possible. If you end up here and realize you made a mistake, like we did - the best thing to do is leave. Take a tour of nearby Castelsardo or head to Palau and do a boat tour.

My pregnant wife and I stayed at the Le Dune Resort from 20-Aug to 27-Aug and we found it to be very disappointing and definitely not a 4 star experience. It was a mix of poor service, lack of professionalism, low food quality and lack of cleanliness.

WELCOME:
There was no greeting from Francorosso at the airport or at the resort. It was very disorganized and the some of the staff did not even know where our room was located. We had called Francorosso in advance telling them that my wife would be 7 months pregnant at the time of the vacation and if there were any accommodations they could make to make it easier for her. Instead they put us in the room furthest from everything. We complained and they moved us to room 105 in front of the pool, so good that they moved us but it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Then when you check-in they also make you pay 10 euros deposit for a crappy old beach towel that is fraying on the edges and you have to keep the same towel for the whole week without it being washed. Every other 4 star resort I've stayed at has a daily towel service by the pool/beach.

ROOMS:
The rooms are small. You cannot open the wardrobe door fully without it hitting the bed (see photo). On the positive side the bathroom is very large and well appointed, almost as big as the room. However they only provide you with "St.Jane" branded shampoo and no conditioner. Other 4 star resorts provide conditioner to guests, especially at a beach/pool resort. The air conditioner works well but is too noisy to sleep with it on. It constantly makes a noise like a toilet refilling with water after being flushed. We ended up just turning it on only while we were out to get the room cool enough to sleep. Also there was a lack of cleanliness in the bathroom. You can see in the photos that the showerhead is not cleaned and the bath towels, even after being washed, still had stains on them.

WI-FI:
WiFi does not work at all. I don't know why they advertise as having it when it is impossible to connect.

FOOD:
We booked the vacation through Francorosso and it was advertised as "Pensione Complete + Bevande" but in reality, only drinks during mealtimes are included. If you want a drink during the afternoon by the pool, you have to pay for it. Also, coffee is not included (only with breakfast). If you want a coffee after your meal as do most Italians, you have to go to the bar and pay for it. Infuriating. The food is pretty much all buffet (only the first dish at dinner is served at the table) and the dishes are out in the open with no glass shields so any insects or items from the guests can fall into them. The meals from the previous night are routinely recycled into the buffet the next day. This is especially disgusting when they refry the fried food and it takes on a lovely radioactive orange colour. Also most of the dishes and cutlery are marked and not well cleaned. One time my wife asked for a spoon and the waiter brought over one with a piece of carrot encrusted on it. He apologized profusely when we pointed it out but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Just a general lack of attentiveness as the waiters also often brought the wrong dish or drink.

ENTERTAINMENT:
Every night there was a guy singing and playing electric keyboard by the pool until 11:30pm at a very loud volume, even if there were only a few tables of guests directly in front of him. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the capability to sing in tune so it was terrible to listen to. We complained a couple of times and they started turning the sound down at 11pm but it was still impossible to relax in your room after dinner with that awful noise. Twice a week they did karaoke so instead of having one person who thought they could sing but couldn’t, you had a whole group! Also, the resort is in the middle of nowhere so you have no other options at night to go anywhere else and are stuck with it.