Dune Vacation Rentals — Hotel in Alys Beach

This home is a 20 on a scale from 1-10. We’ve rented homes for 10 years up and down 30a and made memories everywhere we stayed. But nothing compares to Domus Pacis.

This home is built perfectly for vacationing with the multiple families or a corporate executive retreat. We came last minute evacuating from Hurricane Milton with 4 families including 5 teens. Everyone had a space to set up their mobile office, keep up with school work and of course, enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

So much thought and planning has gone into this home. Multiple laundry rooms on each floor insuring you can pack light and keep it simple. The bathrooms were stocked with toiletries beyond basic body wash, shampoo and conditioner. Thank goodness because we left the Tampa Bay Area in a hurry and forgot deodorant and toothpaste. No problem. It was all in the baths, plus more. Make up towelettes, band aids, q tips…They thought of everything and work tirelessly to insure guests want for nothing. The kitchen was well stocked with spices, cooking tools and enough space to make and serve meals for the 20 guests the house can sleep. I am a bed snob and often times find “luxury” vacation rentals cut corners with low quality sheets, pillows and mattresses. NOT Domus Pacis. They even had robes and slippers, so don’t bother packing that, either. This home reminded me of my own beach home on Anna Maria I built for me, family and friends and would never have put in the rental market out of fear it would be mistreated.

The location is perfect, walking distance to some of my favorite restaurants. It is in between Bud and Allies and The Surfing Deer on the beach side. I rented the house so quickly in making our evacuation plans I had no idea we had our own beach Congieres Tayler, who set up chairs for us daily, brought paddle boards and a floating pad and even took the kids flounder fishing one evening.

It was truly the most comforting experience to be surrounded by impeccable design and comfort inside a home that was built so strong and beautiful. The property manager Chastain was so responsive to any questions we had and the team left us a care package of snacks and charcuterie which was so appreciated upon our arrival. It literally felt like I’d flown my personal assistant up days in advance to stock the house. They thought of everything. There are Coffee/morning bars on each floor so you don’t have to go down to the kitchen until you are ready to face the day, which I really appreciated because I’m not a morning person and enjoy a little time to myself with coffee to read and journal.

I love this home and cannot wait to return under different...

I cannot recommend utilizing Dunes. They were:

1. Non-responsive to emails, calls and texts during our stay. Attempted to contact our property manager, Michelle Gatlin, never responded. We only received an acknowledgement after checking out. Their on-property support was non-existent.
2. Issues with the house were unresolved
3. Numerous pieces of kitchen equipment did not work. Toaster, Freezer. 8 lights out.
4. Communications were inaccurate – (i.e., told us, do not use towels in house for beach, but once at beach, due to COVID, no towels available, there WERE towels just for the beach at the house.
5. No information was available regarding activities going on in Watercolor, recommendations for dining, or activities. This is a basic in almost all VRBO rental homes, or quality Rental Management Companies. DUNE is NOT a quality rental management company.
6. BIGGEST ISSUE – they scammed us. We originally booked a home (for nearly $7,000, and of course we arranged for travel for our entire family (non-refundable, another $4k). A FEW WEEKS before our scheduled rental, we received an email telling us, the house we had rented, WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE. The owner had sold the house, and the new owner was not honoring any rental agreements. Dune offered us alternative options, all significantly inferior to the home we had specifically chosen. (or refund JUST the rental, leaving us stuck with travel costs for 12 people, each having arranged vacation time off.) We unfortunately accepted an alternative home, and due to the setup, some family members decided not to join us. (not child friendly home, and it wasn’t!) While we were in Watercolor, we met the new owner of our original rental. He informed us that he and the former owner, had informed DUNE many weeks before they notified us. DUNE chose to not let us know, so we couldn’t find an acceptable alternative property (or use another company), we would be stuck with their inventory. We find this unethical, and encourage anyone to NOT USE DUNE RENTALS. We have previously utilized 360Blue, who did an outstanding job, but did not have the specific property we wanted to rent. With the extremely late notice of unavailability, there was minimal premium rentals available from 360Blue, or other agencies, but 360Blue shared there were a number available 3 weeks prior. We just find DUNE uncaring, irresponsible, and unethical, and encourage you to look elsewhere for Rental management...

We rented a large home for a week. We had to share the property the last day, a couple and two kids came before 11 am the last full day we were there. Dunes said they implied that could happen by stating the guest house wasn’t for rent and that 97% of all properties in Rosemary beach did the same, but we’ve rented multiple years in a row and this had NEVER happened. The Dunes also stated that the owner would not show up until the evening of the last day, as she had to meet with contractors the next day, so we do not even know who it was that actually showed up with their family the Friday morning before the Saturday we checked out. Also, on Thursday, another individual showed up to the guest home but didn’t stay the night. There are a lot of strangers around our family and children and we have no idea who they are. If you pay $7000 for a week, don’t plan on privacy or anything that resembles an apology for the lack of transparency. We plan this vacation every year a year ahead of time and it was never stated that we would have to share the space. Use 360 Blue. No surprises in the past with 360 Blue. Oh, we were given a $100 gift certificate to Donut Hole for our inconvenience. 1.42% of the total we spent. Insert eye roll here. Anyone who values their privacy, family time ,and most importantly, SAFETY should go with another company. I don’t know whom this man is now staying on the property and that...