Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort — Attraction in Hilton Head Island

We rented a home "79 Port Tack" located in Palmetto Dunes (PD) because my husband and I rented from a Villa owner [privately] a few years ago and really enjoyed our stay. The pickleball and tennis center folks were top notch then and also during our most recent stay in August - 2025.

We rented the home largely based on photos provided within the PD website and the spaces and amenities as listed.

The home did have 4 large bedrooms to accommodate the 8 adults and 2 little ones. The living space was great for moving about the 10 of us. The kitchen could've used a good set of knives and better dish ware but overall accomplished what we needed, would've liked to see a bigger kitchen table as most homes of this size provide seating for 8 all in one place at best.

Upon entering the home, the front door stuck (the door doesn't fit the frame) and we struggled daily to open and close it. The paint on the frame and on the side of the door itself was worn away to indicate just this. It required two hands for some of us to open and close it. Not typical of a main entry door, the only entry door. The patio doors (the only way to enter and exit the pool and patio area) were a bigger struggle. They are in desperate need of replacing (rusty and so hard to open). There were no lounge chairs on the pool deck as pictured on the rental page for this property and there was also no umbrella as pictured on the rental page which we thought would provide extra shade while in the pool. (A technician arrived on Wednesday of our rental week - Carlos M. and brought us an umbrella and took photos and looked at the areas we brought to his attention.) He noted the front door being "Ill-fitting", the patio doors "problematic", and noticed the ceiling filter above the front door full of dust as was the kitchen round fan full of dust hanging down. We showed him the cobwebs in both corners of the fireplace in plain view and the stains on the sectional, sectional pillows and on multiple area rugs within the house. Renting in August, we expect the home ($5000/week) to be clean, safe and all amenities to be in working order and in place as pictured and indicated on the website as if we were renting in June.

The spa, which was connected to the pool and had a beautiful waterfall feature had a large (and old ongoing) leak. There was green algae growing on the deck where the leak had been over the summer. We reported this Monday morning of our Saturday to Saturday stay. A pool company came out to verify this leak and took photos. That is how it ended. On Tuesday morning, the spa was down 1/3 of its water level and the waterfall never worked again. We reported this also to the front desk.

I typed up a document and emailed it to the front desk (Demetrea Thomas, we were told was the Guest Services Manager) to be shared with the homeowner and expecting some form of compensation for our disappointments. We took the time in good faith to take photos and list the items in need of attention as we would potentially rent this home again if remedies to all of these matters were addressed to our satisfaction. Nice location, beautiful outdoor space, nice court facilities, our grandson loved biking around the streets and we all enjoyed the General Store. Beach access and location were doable! As for guest services and the response we got from the PD front desk staff, what a disappointment. Roberta and Demetrea are clearly inexperienced and were unprofessional in handling our complaints. We called in a timely fashion on issues, allowed a pool company and a maintenance technician in the home, but as you can imagine, didn't go further on repairs while spending precious time with our children and grandchildren on a family vacation we do ONCE a year. *Repairs while on a vacation are a HUGE inconvenience. No apologies were offered from either of these desk employees. They were stuck on the spa, which was NOT PD's responsibility. Our concerns were brushed off, they didn't listen to my husband or I on the large issues and were...

Rented property on the following dates: 3/27-4/03. Limited cooking pots and pans upon arrival. Pans had to be hand delivered by a very nice older gentleman. Garbage disposal was backing up/clogged after first use and never used again during our stay. There were no floor rugs at front door, kitchen, baths, etc. The floors had new/newer laminate flooring throughout except for the closets (which was unsightly, and I can only assume, an effort to cut costs). The floor had constant layer of sand that could not be swept or cleaned with a traditional broom. That was an unpleasant feeling of sand sticking to your shoes or bare feet. We expect to have sand in our toes and on our feet at the beach, but not walking around inside our room on the fifth (5th) floor. A simple front door rug would have helped in this area. All the interior trim, cabinetry, closet doors, etc had water stains. All living room and bedroom furniture need updating. Ceiling fans appear to be at least ten (10) years old and need updating. They are wired from a wall switch and the wiring runs up the wall to the ceiling to the fan in some type of conduit or channel. Another cheap, cost cutting measure save money. Some light switches in bedroom two (2) did not work correctly. The elevator was average at best. Wait times were a minute to several minutes in length. Thankfully, this unit is directly beside the stairs. The stairs were utilized more than the elevator on this trip. Indoor pool and fitness center are still closed. This needs to be disclosed in the property listing. The pandemic has been a year or more. It's past time to open this facility. This amenity is paid for by each of the guests. If it remains closed for whatever reason, a discount should be applied to the room rate. There are no recycle containers in the room or on the property. There is plenty of info on the property about not disturbing the turtle nesting sites or alligators, but nothing about recycling a can or plastic bottle. This is very disheartening for an exclusive beach resort. Beach access was never secure during the week. There is a coded gate that crosses the dunes to the beach, but it was open the entire time. If we wanted to go to a public beach access, we wouldn't have stayed at Villamare. I hope no one else makes the same mistake, but this is building two (2) Unit 2519 and the furthest away from the beach. There are three (3) buildings and any rational human would think building two would be closer than building three. Building three is on one of the sides and closer. This layout is confusing. Don't make the mistake we made and assume building two is closer to the ocean.

We would not stay at this...

The vacation rental itself was amazing; beautiful, clean, and just as pictured. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the staff or overall customer service.

Throughout our stay, it was nearly impossible to reach anyone. The front desk didn’t answer phone calls, and the text message service went unanswered as well. Communication was a recurring issue.

Before arriving, we received over a dozen emails (not including marketing), many of which contained conflicting or outdated information. For example, four different emails insisted we needed to pick up a physical key, in reality, our rental used a keypad. That’s just an example of some of the inconsistencies.

The property came with two resort information books, with information not matching each other. On top of that, the resort app and emails also contained conflicting information. With multiple sources telling you different things, it’s hard to know what to believe and since the staff was unresponsive, we couldn’t get clarification.

At check-in, we were given a packet with a resort discount card. However, several businesses listed on the card didn’t accept it.

Another major disappointment was the master suite’s two-person jetted tub. It didn’t work and based on reviews dating back 3 years, it hasn’t worked for quite some time. Yet they continue to advertise the tub as a feature of the property. We would’ve like the property without the tub being advertised. It’s a nice property. When we asked about the broken tub, we were told they were “waiting on a part.” As compensation, they offered a resort gift card. However, several businesses listed as accepting the gift card wouldn’t accept the gift card as payment.

We booked spa services at the Westin, Omni, and Hilton. While Omni and Hilton are on the Palmetto Dunes property, the Dunes Buggy shuttle wouldn’t take us there, despite marketing materials stating the buggy provides transportation anywhere on resort property. This is a big deal as we were only allowed one car pass and had to take multiple trips to get our full party to their spa appointments.

In short, the resort makes a lot of promises, but fails to deliver on many of them. The lack of reliable communication, conflicting information, and broken amenities made for a disappointing experience, especially when compared to how great the rental property itself was. Ultimately, these issues reflect poor coordination, training and oversight. Until resort leadership steps in to streamline information and improve service, guests will continue to face unnecessary...