PET FRIENDLY HOTELS AND MOTELS

Years ago it was very hard to find a hotel or motel that would accept you if you had a pet, especially if that pet were a dog. In recent years, the hotel business realized that many people travel with their pets and they wanted to accommodate their guests and some of them opened their doors to the “well behaved” fur kid. However, like in many areas in life, some people abused that gesture and trashed the hotels property and some of them once again closed their doors to the public who insisted on traveling with their beloved canine.

The best way to find out if a hotel allows pets is naturally to call them first. Don’t just arrive expecting everyone will welcome “Rover” because he’s with you. Also check on the internet. There are hundreds of websites that can guide you to “dog friendly” hotels. But even if you see that they accept animals, it is still wise to call ahead of time to make sure. Sometimes they have changed their policy since that listing on the internet website. Many of them will charge an extra fee for animals. A few of them will return this money if they check the room and it’s left in good condition, but many of them do not return the money. Check with the hotels policy before you book your reservation.

Here are some of the things that you should look for from your “pet friendly hotel.” When I travel with a dog, I always ask for a ground floor. Because many hotels expect you to keep your dog contained while in the room, I need a first floor accommodation because of the crate and luggage that I need to get into the room. It’s hard enough getting my stuff and the dogs stuff into the room in the first place. I don’t want to have to travel up and down elevators all day. Also I like a ground floor because it’s easier for me to take my dog out for a walk. I look for a room that has a micro-wave and a refrigerator to cook and keep my dog’s food in it.

Just because a hotel accepts dogs, I still expect it to be clean and comfortable for me. I’m not looking for any “flea bitten” (no pun intended) low life second rate hole in the wall. So the cleanliness of the hotel is just as important to me as if I were not traveling with a dog. It doesn’t have to be a 4 star hotel, but I certainly don’t want a 1 star either!

As dog owners, we have a responsibility to leave the premises the way that we found them. That means picking up after our dogs in the room and outside on the lawn. That also means we need to keep our dogs on a leash at all times. The other guests in the hotel doesn’t really appreciate riding in an elevator with an 85 lb. German Shepherd leaning against his leg no matter how much we assure them that it’s alright!

The two last hotels that I stayed in with a dog were a Holiday Inn Express and a Red Roof motel. Both of them were excellent places for my overnight stay with my dog. They were both clean and well taken care of. They had good grounds for my dog. The staff was friendly and helpful and I would not hesitate to return to either one of these chains of hotels again.

The prices can run $75 and up with a deposit for the dog.

My rating for the two hotels that I stayed in with a dog: cleanliness: (4), friendliness: (4), accommodation: (4)