5 Rooms

Red Lion Hotel

Winnemucca Nevada

No longer part of the chain, and I can see why, we stayed at what was formally called the Red Lion Hotel & Casino, now known as Red Lion Inn.

In a nutshell, don’t stay here. You check in and are given your room key. You go to your room and the word filthy is a mild phrase in the description. So, you go back to the desk, and you get another room. This room the was even worse, with an over flowing, well used toilet. By the time we got a room, we were given several room keys to “pick” a clean one. We finally found one. It was a smoking room; however it was the cleanest we saw. Then I returned the other keys.

The room had a sliding glass door to the parking lot.

If you cannot make it across 80 sleep in your car. Second I would say stay in either Reno area (not by choice, Reno seems like a dirty town due to the gambling aspect and it is near impossible to find a ‘nice’ good dog friendly hotel) or Elko.

Sorry Nevada. I have not yet stayed in a pet friendly CLEAN hotel. Not a dive, not a gang pad, but a clean hotel.

Was it worth $118.00 per night?

Red Lion – Salt Lake City

161 West 600 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Heaven be praised that I stayed for the first time at the Red Lion Hotel in Eureka CALIFORNIA. Since this blog starts with January 2009, I will have a write up on this hotel as a side note later in the blog site.

We were missing our friends up in Idaho, so we arranged to meet at a more centrally located hotel near the temple. The other requirement, other than a pet friendly hotel, was that we were looking for a restaurant within the hotel.

So, the 'food for thought' question you need to toss around is: convenience verses quality.

This Red Lion hotel is located in the downtown area (that is what I call it) of the city. The grounds are mostly pavement and concrete with little grass around the hotel, leaving favorable areas to walk the dogs too few and far in-between.

The restaurant serves liquor, which is not a common thing to find in Salt Lake. BTW:  The food was good to very good.

We usually ask for ground level floors near doors to aid in getting our dogs out as quick as possible when they need to go. It makes sense.

So, once again, like most hotels, they gave us a handicap room. From the back door it was on the right; second room in.

Now here is the monetary question. Would you pay for a room – not including pet fee, that incorporates duct tape on the sliding glass door windows and handle-less (sorry, created a new word). The sliding door being off track, the towels with previous occupants dirt, no floor drain in the shower, just a gaping hole, and a toilet that would not stop running…

No I did not stay in that room. After walking across the building to the desk and waiting in line, again, I was given another room. Another handicap room. This room had a sliding door that could not close all the way, sheets that you could read a newspaper through, cleaner towels; the doors to the closet did not slide, and a fully open plan shower, which flooded the bathroom.

Now referring back to Eureka California’s Red Lion at $83.00 per night that had new sheets, easy parking, grass areas, clean bathroom and a regular bathroom, and toiletries – OMG what a dump for a hotel in Salt Lake City!

Oh, and too boot, in the morning, my husband was walking the dogs around 6:00 am. Anyone want to guess at how many ‘gang’ type delinquents were perusing the parking lot for an alternative to purchasing items? No.

I would not recommend this hotel to any dog owner. Our friends stayed in the same hotel, but on another floor and in a ‘traditional’ room, had real sheets, non aerated blankets, a proper bathroom and by luck NO DUCT TAPE!

Icing on the cake.  When checking out, they asked how was our stay, and I mentioned all that informed the other shift.  They said.  Oh, we don't have record of any problems.... yeah right.

From snow to green grass in an hour drive…

Residence Inn
1127 Oakridge Drive
Fort Collins, CO 80525

This Residence Inn sat back from all the main roads near a nice city park with a pond. We stayed for 2 nights.

Unlike the previous hotel, this Residence Inn had their suites inside one large building. The noise was a bit louder due to the location of our room being at the intersection of 2 halls. The rates were less and the dog fee was drastically cheaper than the Englewood Residence Inn.

The room was clean and nice. The biggest drawback, which usually happens, is that we were given a handicap accessible room, which includes the shower or lack there off. For some odd reason hotels think that because I am a dog owner I need to have low counters, a shower that just runs on the floor (no floor pan, no tub, etc) which floods the bathroom, and minimal amount of chairs. (i.e.: Lack of chairs in the room to accommodate a wheelchair).

This hotel was well maintained with easier parking than most. I felt secure and safe in this area.

Room was clean. Hotel was clean. The free breakfast was alright; better than most. The drawback was the room layout for my husband, me, and my dogs.

Dashing Through Before the Snowstorm

Mid January 2009

Residence Inn Denver South – Englewood CO.

8322 South Valley Highway

Englewood, Colorado 80112

Many know you should not drive through Wyoming during January, never mind 2 hours in front of a blizzard. I think the word is … UGH. Indirectly a fun challenge. Very indirectly.

Pulling off the highway to the street where the hotel is located was a breeze. Finding the entrance was a bit more of a challenge. The access resembled more of a private driveway over a hotel entrance at night time. I believe the major problem then was that the sign light was not on.

The check in counter is located in the first building on the left. The parking lot has islands and is not designed for large vehicles. We were some of the last people to check in for the night, and finding a parking place was a challenge with my ¾ ton extended cab/short bed pickup. Reason – most of the vehicles in the parking lot were either full size vans or very large trucks.

Our room was one of the farthest from the main building, which was about 4 buildings away from the designated dog walking area, however it was only a few steps from a side street walking path off the hotel property.

Now, my husband and I currently love the Residence Inn hotel chain, ESPECIALLY the individual apartment floor plans with a private door to the outside. The best thing for when traveling with dogs.

The room and layout was wonderful, and housekeeping staff cleaned and maintained the suite promptly during our stay in the greater Denver area.

The main issue or warning I had was with the parking lot and walkways.

I already mentioned large vehicles will have a difficult time maneuvering within their parking area. If you are pulling any kind of trailer or driving a class A or C you may want to park on the street before pulling into the complex.

As stated above, we were a mere 2 hours ahead of a blizzard. Well, come morning, our walkway was not cleared when we started to walk to the main building for the free breakfast. The parking lot was not cleared. We were one of the last vehicles to leave at 9 am this snow packed lot. Upon returning at 2:30, our walk way still was not cleared, the parking lot failed to be cleared! Sure, the maintenance man created only a path width clearing and huge snow mounds. Where the walk ways were cleared, ice formed. I repeated on the hour for several hours requested salt or sand to be put down. Not until a day and a half after my last call to the front desk was the walkway treated.

Rooms – 2 thumbs up. Free breakfast – 1 thumb up. Dog area – not convenient or accessible during snow storm. Parking lot – failed during winter weather. Would I stay again – yes. However, neither with my pickup truck nor during winter.

Coffee, Tea, and Cookies – Part 1

Welcome to Murray UT’s Pavilion Inn

http://www.slpavilioninn.com/

January 10th, 2009 my husband and I arrived in the evening at the Pavilion. We were greeted by a very friendly mature female receptionist. 24/7 coffee, tea, hot coco, and cookies are available at front desk. A warm buffet style breakfast is also include in price of room. Room rates for January were more than reasonable for clean sheets and towels.

Easy to find off the highway, however sharp corners and tight parking near the entrance of the hotel. The majority of the parking was located behind the building. This parking area was poorly plowed and sidewalks were frozen over with the daily melt and mounded snow. Not kept clear and safe by the hotel.

We were given a pet friendly room next to one of the back doors. The negative with these back doors that open to the main parking lot is that you cannot re-enter these doors unless you ‘jar’ the door open with your bag or a garbage can. Pavilion Inn does not have the room key swipes to open exterior doors. Most of the rooms are located at this far end.

Our room was spacious and it included a mini fridge. The windows were single pane and a constant draft was felt. This was hard for the small heater to keep up. There was a proper amount of towels and toiletries. The bedspread did not smell of dog. However due to the dark green carpet color, and the salt flat dust, I requested some old towels to put down on the floor.

The hotel is located in a business park area which provides plenty of places to walk the dogs.

Additionally, we did not see any place to walk to for dinner. Luckily I travel with cheese and crackers for back up snacks. The free breakfast, was good. However the scrambled eggs were rubbery.

This was our first time staying in the Salt Lake City vicinity. We prefer not to travel through the salt flats and highway 80 (50 is our preferred route to Colorado from California.). Too boring; too desolate – and that is the positive note. No place during that stretch to walk your dogs without getting that chalky salt all over their paws, interior of your vehicle, off your shoes. Dreadful.

This hotel, I felt, was worth staying at again… or so I thought, hence the Part 1 above. A second stay and review of this establishment will be posted during my June 2009 travels.

Back To The Basics

To begin with, my first and only question that is found on the top of this blog: Is my dog’s butt cleaner than your hotel room? Do you think this to be crass or a genuine question. I am not seeking a reply to your thoughts, just assisting you in a thought process.

As my friend Marty reminded me a few days back, with the extra money that these places receive from dog owners, I should expect and demand equal cleanliness and a well maintained room. And so should you! Remember you are the customer not the intruder.

Basic requirements that anyone really and truly desire while staying at any type of accommodations are: (1) Clean room (including carpet); (2) Clean bedding; (3) Clean bathroom facility that works; (4) Clean towels; and (5) Safety. To be exact, I want to feel that I am the first and only person EVER to use that hotel room.

If the facility chooses to include free breakfast, free social hour, free internet, free television, room service, swimming pool, exercise room, etc., than that is on the hotel to adjust their budget, not a requirement; nice, however not essential for a restful sleep. Technically, that is all that anyone wants. A good night sleep away from home.


Now onto the accommodations. 

My Life Style Choice

As dog lover, my canine companions travel with me throughout the United States and Canada. I am willing to pay without hesitation an additional fee in order to enjoy the accompaniment of my devoted and trustworthy companions. The price ranges from 10.00 USD per stay/pet to 175.00 per stay.

I agree that every pet owner should make sure their animal is well groomed. My loving dogs are bathed and groomed the night before travel and are fresh as daisies, even if they protest against the requirement I set. I take my ownership of canines seriously.

However, in many more cases, after viewing people in line to check-in, I have found humans to be quite dirty. I have seen people with boils on their bodies and was forced to smell their putrid stench radiating out from their bodies while they chatted with the front desk clerk on their requirements for their stay. These people do not have to pay extra for ‘room cleaning’ charge at check-in like I am required to with my dogs. I even hate to guess if these ‘classy’ individuals carry lice or mites on their person…….. Yuck..

Many hotels discriminate against “my life style choice”. These anti-pet friendly accommodations state that animals are filthier compared to people. Therefore even when we have to travel without our dogs we do not patron any hotel or lodging facilities that refuses to accept dogs.