It’s pretty well known that San Diego is an extremely dog friendly city, so to celebrate the end of my college career and the start of summer we decided it was time to take our English Bull Terrier, Kona, on her first vacation! Aside from a quick day trip to Yosemite this was Kona’s longest road trip and first overnight stay somewhere away from home.
As you could imagine that meant doing tons of research beforehand. While the city has plenty of pup-friendly patios, breweries and beaches, it was still vital that we found a hotel that welcomed our dog as much as us! All the credit goes to my boyfriend for finding Hotel Z in the Gaslight District; a super clean, dog-friendly, boutique hotel!
We knew going into this trip that dog-friendly doesn’t necessarily mean the staff’s attention revolves around the pups but they were super welcoming to Kona, always excited to spoil her with treats and attention, further fueling her diva’s ego.
The boutique hotel is so pup-friendly that their theme actually focuses on a husky named Dash who is featured in each room as a stuffed animal! Dash is your (or your dog’s) buddy for your stay and you can even adopt him upon leaving for a donation fee that goes to local animal shelters!
I’m not sure if it was intentional during construction but our shower was a walk-in rather than a tub which made washing Kona’s feet after a day in the city that much easier. While Kona was happy to watch out our bedroom window and ride in the teleportation device (elevator) it would have been nice if there was a potty spot somewhere on the hotel’s premise for early mornings and late nights, though there was some fake grass just around the block.
For having only ever stayed at her own home, it took Kona a minute to adjust to where we were and settle into the idea that we weren’t going to leave her behind. I can’t speak for how other guests did things, but we kept Kona in her crate that we brought along when we left her in the room and then allowed her to sleep on the bed with us at night.
And to answer what I’m sure is the #1 question for this post; how was the cleanliness? Outstanding! Not once did we see a hairball rolling around like a tumbleweed or a mystery stain on the bedding. Kona did let out an excitement-pee one morning when the staff greeted her and they immediately grabbed the mop and reminded us it’s no burden, but comes with the duties of a dog-friendly hotel.
Being able to take Kona on vacation with us was a new and welcomed experience and our topnotch hotel made it that much easier! If only I could say the same about our eight hour car ride that Kona wasn’t too keen on. Turns out crowding onto my lap in shotgun is much better than having the whole backseat to herself.
World Watching 