Wayne Adam

Wayne Adam
Writer/Poet/Author

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Pet Vacation

We have two dogs, both medium size (40-50 lbs), both rescued, well behaved and a lot of fun.
So like many pet owners we thought it would be great to bring them on vacation. So we took a week and went to Treasure Island, FL. It was great, the weather was good, the shopping/ restaurants were good and the dogs liked us around and they enjoyed swimming in the gulf at Fort De Soto Dog Beach.
Unfortunately, the "dog resort" was more of the pits, but we made the best of it.
Pet friendly motels and hotels are a big thing these days as many pet owners want to take their best friends with on joyous holiday, but in some respects, you may not be doing your pet a favor. Pets work on routines and are very environment orientated, although adaptable, they still become overly stressed with new situations, especially with vacations since everything they are use to is totally changed. Just thought I'd mention that to anyone considering a pet vacation.
But back to the "dog resort." The concept was nice, an enclosed place were your dog can roam free, if behaved, and socialize with other dogs. Most dogs are sociable and are no problem, it's usually he owners who have all the issues, so our dogs got along well and so did we with the exception of one guy who thought he was Cesar Millan. Anyway, I found this "resort" on pet travel.com which is a good site and I wrote them of my experience at the Lorelei Resort Motel.
Here's the review I sent of my experience, I hope that all pet lovers will read this so they are aware of these types of places.

I had to write you about my bad experience at the Lorelei Resort Motel in Treasure Island, FL.
I am from Chicago,IL and have two dogs (approx. 40 lbs each). We stayed there for a week at the beginning of May.
First, the rooms don't look like the pictures on their website. Our room was very small with the bed consisting of an old box spring and worn out mattress on the floor (no frame). The window air conditioner was ancient and did not go below 60 degrees, so it did not adequately cool off the room from the 90 degree weather. In fact, our dogs had a case of heat stroke because of these conditions.
Second, the owner and office staff (if there is any) was never in the office, you had to call a cell number on the door and they would call you back whenever they wished.
Third, the room was never sprayed for insects. We killed a couple of Palmetto bugs (cockroaches) climbing up the wall, luckily it was almost our last night and prompted us to leave the next day.
There are many other problems so here is a list to help other pet travelers:

*The hot tub/Jacuzzi was broken and filthy, you could tell it was out of commission for a long time.
*No maid service, although their informational material states that the service is available.
*No phones in the rooms.
*Minimal provisions of towels and toilet paper.
*No complimentary soap or shampoo.
*No garbage bags or paper towels.
*No additional fans available or access to any irons, hair dyers,mops and buckets.
*No information available on restaurants, attractions, tours or shops.
*Not handicap accessible.
*Dock unlit with no safeguards.
*No security.

As for the dogs--
*No dog amenities or any fun dog functions.
*No listing of emergency vet facilities or phone numbers.
*No information on dog beaches that are in the area.

To say the least, the accommodations were very disappointing and probably worse for our dogs. I hope you will post this on your site for other pet owners to see. In conclusion, I like your site and will use it again, it is a great place for pet owners.

Wayne

2 comments:

  1. Wayne - kudos to you for sharing your experience with other pet owners! I wanted to let you know that we are just 2.5 weeks away from launching a website that will allow you to enter your reviews of the pet friendly (or not so friendly) places you visit! We hope you'll visit us at http://www.GoPetFriendly.com. In the meantime, you can enter to win a $500 Travelocity gift card and some other great prizes that you could use the next time your travel with your dogs!

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  2. Thanks for your comment. I will check out yopur site.

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