Those of you who have a family member or close friend to watch your pet are very lucky. Everyone doesn't have that option. My DH, DS, & I are the only people in our family that live in Florida. The rest of our family lives in North Carolina. When we cruise, we drive Molly (our 4-legged baby) to NC to stay with my sister, then fly in & out of there. Since we live an hour from WDW, that wouldn't be very practical for Disney trips. Some people don't have a problem with kennels. That's great! I wish I didn't, but I would worry about Molly the whole time & ruin my vacation.
We haven't toured the parks commando style in years, & we don't leave her alone all day. Molly is well travelled. We take her favorite blanket, toys, etc., but she mostly just sleeps all day, like she does at home.
We don't have housekeeping come in our room at all. I've always made the beds (I hate unmade best), & tidied the room, even before we got Molly. Now, we just take out the trash & exchange dirty towels for clean one. It's really not a big deal to not have housekeeping. Most hotels give you a sign alerted housekeeping to the fact that there's a pet in the room anyway.
I guess what it comes down to for me is I think those who choose to kennel their pets, or leave them home are doing what's best for their family. We do what works best for ours. I won't judge others & interject my opinion into their decision. I really don't understand why others feel the need to voice an opinion on what we do with our family. Another thing I don't understand is why anyone would care if a hotel is pet-friendly,
if they don't frequently encounter a pet, get placed in a pet room, or have to hear a pet bark 24/7. If the dog barks nonstop, call the front desk. Most hotels would ask the owners to stop the barking or checkout. You've all probably stayed in a pet-friendly hotel at some point, & didn't know it. If you don't even realize they're there, why would you care?
We're actually bringing her on a trip in April to Kentucky. We are going to a horse show and she is coming with us to the show everyday. She won't be left alone in the hotel by herself ever. That's the only way I think that dogs are okay in hotels.
. But on the serious side. My husband is the true pet lover in our home. I love our dogs. We have 2 doxies. But, I did not want them because I can't bear the pain of losing a pet either. My oldest son's turtle died a couple months back and it broke my heart.
She protested to me the whole train ride back to the car. The next day I ended up leaving her in the room of the motel we stayed at and telling the housekeeping to please not do our room so I wouldn't have to worry about her getting out and lost in Kissimmee. I love my dog very much but after this experience I decided to let her stay home and have my brother come and tend to her instead. It worked out much better and I didn't have to worry about losing her in a strange place. It's true that the pet's sometimes don't adjust to the vacation schedule or routine. I guess it depends on the personality of the animal but my girl hated to travel unless it was to the beach vacation where she'd be with us 24/7. So no more taking my animals to the world for me. 
. I would definitely go for a deluxe pet friendly similar to Portofino Bay or even Hard Rock. As others have stated, our two Shih-Tzus are treated better than some people's children, yesterday's grooming bill: $65!
