An oasis of old Fort Lauderdale Beach
By BOB KECSKEMETY
Size doesn’t really matter when it comes to some of our gay guest resorts in Fort Lauderdale. Tucked inside lush, tropical landscaping, for instance, is The Dunes located on Fort Lauderdale Beach. The Dunes only has ten units, but it stands tall as an oasis in a land of giant behemoths that now populate that area.
“Were not the biggest but we’re good quality and the price here gives you twice as much as the other guest houses because they don’t have anything we don’t have,” said Derrick Whitaker who has been the manager of The Dunes for the last three 3 years. The Dunes also offers the sixties’ charm that those glass-walled giants lack. If you like “classic” South Florida, you’ll love The Dunes. The Dunes is also located close to the gay beach at Sebastian Street and A1A.
Formerly the Saint Sebastian Resort, the current owners bought the property six years ago. The Saint Sebastian was originally only the third gay resort located in Fort Lauderdale following the former Marlin Beach Hotel and The Royal Palms. The Dunes is the smaller sister property of the owners’ other Dunes Resort located in Saugatuck, Michigan, the midwest’s largest gay resort with 100 rooms on 18 acres which includes three pools, cabaret shows and several bars. The owners, Danny Estelen, Mike Jones and Greg Trzybinski live their summers up in Michigan and wanted a property to call their own in South Florida where they spend their winter months. The three split their duties in South Florida when down here. Estelen handles the maintenance and landscaping, Jones handles the marketing and housekeeping and Trzybinski handles the business and financials.
The two-story building consists of two room categories. On both ends of both floors are the studio apartments complete with fullsize kitchen. In between the studios are the standard king rooms. The studios are almost twice the size of the standard rooms. The studio also includes a large bathroom with vanity and tub and a back door. The smaller rooms have a small refrigerator. All rooms have ironing board and iron, wifi access,
Yet, despite the large increase in size and more amenities, the prices between the two only differs $20 to $30. In-season rates are $159 and $189. Off-season rates are $79 and $99.
Guests also have a free laundry service whereas laundry bags are picked up in the morning and returned the same afternoon. Studio apartments also have a microwave and there is a community microwave for standard room guests in the breakfast room. Breakfast includes fresh fruit, Danish, muffins, homemade pastries, yogurt, cereals, coffee, juice and eggs. There is also a computer room for guest use. During season, The Dunes has a daily free happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m.
The grounds of The Dunes include a large gazebo sitting area, fountains and a clothingoptional pool. The location of the pool and deck are situated where they receive full-sun all day long, perfect for tanning.
Whitaker said that The Dunes had a very good winter season and that the summer month advanced reservations are holding their own. The guests at The Dunes cover all age groups however, the winter months do tend to lean towards older men. Canadians flock to The Dunes during the winter, Germans and Italians prefer the summer months. The Dunes/Fort Lauderdale also gets many winter guests that stay at the Michigan resort during the summer. The summer months also attract many Floridians and over the Memorial Day weekend, many guests from South Beach stay at The Dunes to avoid the craziness of SoBe that weekend. The Dunes is already accepting reservations for next winter from guests who stayed there last winter and left a deposit.
“People have been calling concerned about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Whitaker. “They’ll call and ask things like is it true that the trajectory of the spill says it will hit the Florida Keys by next weekend. I’m telling them that I’m very optimistic that we’re not going to see anything.”
