pet friendly offsite for late arrival night

[rcraw45425]

Anyone have any suggestions for an offsite pet friendly hotel for the evening before our PBH reservation starts? I can't really justify $300+ for an arrival close to midnight. I have found some places online like LaQuinta and Comfort Inn but would really prefer some place a little nicer unless anyone can give these the thumbs up. Another place I've found that accepts pets is Extended Stay Deluxe. The Residence Inns accept them but tack on a $75 surcharge (non refundable of course). Thats an almost 100% upcharge for heavens sake! TIA!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

My sister & I stayed at the Amerisuites on I-Drive with our kids. It was okay. I had a couple complaints, but I'm pretty picky when it comes to hotels. When we opened the door to the room they assigned us, I could immediately tell that it was a smoking room. I went down & told them I wouldn't stay there & they assigned us another room. The kitchen floor & tables were sticky from humidity. I just washed everything off & cleaned the floor. The couch that makes a bed had a sheet already on it, but no other covers. The fact that it was already there made me worry that it had already been slept on. We called a couple times for more sheets, but they never arrived.

I'm probably making it sound awful, but it really wasn't. I just think it's better to mention the negatives, then let others decide if that would be enough to make them look elsewhere. I would stay there again, if we were in need of a place to sleep for a night.

The Sheraton Safari gets fairly good reviews. It's closer to WDW though.

 

[rcraw45425]

Thanks for the heads up. Older DD saw some pics off their website and wasn't really impressed. Neither was I concidering their nightly rate. Actually I keep reading surprisingly good reviews for both the Laquinta and Comfort Inn by Universal Studios. Both were referred to as clean, which is our main concern. The other would have to be non smoking also. I know I looked at some pet friendly places that would insist that you have a smoking room. Yuck, the smell of cigarette smoke in dog fur is hard to fathom!

 

[robvia]

There are a few web sites with listings. All you have to do is put "dog friendly hotels in florida" into a search box and they come up.

http://www.pettravel.com/destinations/Orlando_FL.cfm
http://www.pets-allowed-hotels.com/us/Florida/
http://www.dogfriendly.com/

Hotels are getting better with letting bigger dogs stay. A couple years ago, I called a bunch and everyone of them said small dogs only. Now they allow large dogs but charge a one time fee.

The onsite hotels at Universal also charge a $25 fee, but they've always allowed large dogs. Pick a hotel chain you like, and call them. That's the only way you can find out the rules, is to call, and call, and call.

 

[rcraw45425]

robvia, you are so right about calling. I've done the searches, found some that weren't listed on the sights I found. Also found some that were mistakes, in fact one (another Marriott chain) was pretty rude when I said that I had found them listed as "pet friendly". I found LaQuinta and Comfort Inn by Universal both had received favorable reviews from people that had stayed there recently. These "value" chains may be a bit of a shock to our kids but hey, so what. They're getting yet another Orlando trip this year and also we get to bring the baby with us. I wish that Disney resorts offered the same "pet friendly" atmosphere. Who knows, we may have to resort to staying at Loews hotels and making the drive to Disney.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Speaking of WDW hotels, that's another example of having to call & ask. The Swan & Dolphin are listed on many sites as allowing pets. That's because they're the only 2 Starwood Hotels & Resorts that I've ever come across that don't allow pets. I called to ask why, & was told that their with Disney wouldn't allow them to. Several people have contacted WDW asking for pet friendly accommodations, & have been told that they have no plans to make any of their resorts pet friendly. Personally, I think they don't want to implement better air filtration & cleaning like the Loews hotels have. Anyway, we haven't been to WDW in a few years. I am having serious withdrawals, but everytime I think about planning a trip there the question of accommodations comes up & I get aggravated all over again.

 

[rcraw45425]

tarheelmjfan, do you take your pet(s) with you? I agree about the Disney hotels, as much as I love them, they truly seem to be content to tick off a few as long as the "masses" are kept happy. Personally, as much $$ as we spend there annually, I'd love a pet friendly deluxe. I guess even the DVC owners can't take their pets with them, huh? Who knows, my kids may enjoy US/IOA so much that those resorts become our home base.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

tarheelmjfan, do you take your pet(s) with you? I agree about the Disney hotels, as much as I love them, they truly seem to be content to tick off a few as long as the "masses" are kept happy. Personally, as much $$ as we spend there annually, I'd love a pet friendly deluxe. I guess even the DVC owners can't take their pets with them, huh? Who knows, my kids may enjoy US/IOA so much that those resorts become our home base.

We have a mini-pin & she goes everywhere we do, except on cruises. You're right about DVC owners not being allowed to bring pets. Some of the most unhappy people who've contacted WDW are DVC owners. They don't seem to be willing to listen to them either. I don't understand why they're so opposed to making one resort (or even one wing of a resort) in each category pet friendly. That would still leave more than enough pet free rooms.

I don't know how old your kids are, but our DS started preferring UO by the time he was 9 or 10. My DH prefers it also. I'm the only hold out, because my favorite park is Epcot. Comparing one resort to the other, UO does provide a much more relaxing family vacation.

 

[rcraw45425]

Our girls are 9 & 11 now and are starting to realize that there is life outside "the World" . We love WDW, it's just that we now pretty much know it by heart. As DH says, how many times can we sing "grim grinning ghosts go out to socialize" for Pete's sake? That's why I think adding the MNSSHP onto this trip will suit us and give us a fix.

 

[robvia]

Our girls are 9 & 11 now and are starting to realize that there is life outside "the World" . We love WDW, it's just that we now pretty much know it by heart. As DH says, how many times can we sing "grim grinning ghosts go out to socialize" for Pete's sake? That's why I think adding the MNSSHP onto this trip will suit us and give us a fix.

That's what happens to a lot of people. The parents are brainwashed by Disney going there every year. The kids grow up with the Disney room, Disney toys, movies, you name it. They go every year, the kids enjoy it because they don't know what else is out there. Then something amazing happens when the kids reach the age of 8. They hear about Universal and want thrill rides. Once the kids visit IOA and can meet the height requirements for the coasters, it's over for Disney. Sure, it's great to visit, but you only need to go every 2-4 years.

So yes, if Disney won't let pets stay, then make the home base Universal and drive over to Disney for half a day in the morning.

I forget which one it is, but there are also pet friendly hotels near Tampa if you want to visit BGT. You just have to call, call, call, and speak with a human to aks if the dog is allowed and how much the cleaning fee is.

 

[rcraw45425]

robvia, thanks for the advice/encouragement about US/IOA. The Don Cesar, a Loews hotel in St. Pete may be the one you're thinking about. I have not been to BGT since I was a kid (like 1970, shhh!). I remember there being a monorail and animals. Have pics of me and Mom (circa. 1970's high teased hair and cat eye sunglasses, her not me ) with some parrots. I distinctly remember that when we went the brewery was on strike so there were no free samples for Dad . I talked it over with the girls today at lunch about US/IOA, they remember hardly nothing of our trip in Feb. '02. They were 6 & 4 then. We stayed at the I think it was a Hyatt, it's the Doubletree at US now. Older one remembers dining at the TGIFridays there, but nothing else. Now they are past the 48" mark so everything but like Hulk, DD and Dr. Doom are okay for them. If this trip goes well we may look into the AP's, as I understand it they are a lot less $$ than Disney's. I don't know if the tickets we are getting this time can be converted, they are the "free" ones with the Play Four Free promotion. If the dog part works out we will probably start frequenting the Loews properties.