Pet Friendly Thanksgiving Vacation (long)

[Peggy G]

I just had to share our Thanksgiving vacation experience with my friends Boxerworld. We went to Ocean City (Maryland) for 4 days and stayed at the best Dog Friendly Resort Hotel ever. I set out looking for an ocean front, luxury hotel that excepted pets -*plus*- had all the amenities (indoor pool, spa, restaurant, night club etc). I really didnt think I was going to find one but low and behold I found just what I was looking for listed on petswelcome.com. As soon as we walked into the lobby I knew I made the right decision. Not only was it beautiful but almost every guest walking around had a dog on leash! (It was obvious that the hotel was negotiable on the 50 lb pet weight limit. )

We checked in and took the elevator (with other dogs) up to our room. (the elevators took some getting used to for Scarlet...pretty scary stuff the first few times. Scarlet defiantly screeched on the brakes.) The room was definitely not a disappointment. (You never know what to expect at pet friendly places.) It was beautifully decorated, large and what a view! No dog smell, no carpet peepee stains, no scratch marks on the door or chew marks on the furniture. The only tell tale sign that it was a pet room was the familiar chew marks on the TV's remote control. (We own one that looks just like it so I felt right at home.)

We then headed for the beach. There again, the beach was *filled* with people walking their dogs! We just couldnt believe it. Scarlet headed right for the water (we knew she would because we go to a doggie beach in the summer, keyword being: summer). Well, as soon as her paws hit the freezing cold water she turned right around. The look on her face was priceless. After some doggie play in the sand with Scarlets new friends and a black lab that kept trying to hump her , we headed back to the room to get ready for the Thanksgiving Buffet. We set Scarlet up in her crate and headed out. As soon as we shut the room door, she started barking. There we stood in the hall wondering what we should do. Since we didnt have much choice but to leave her and since the neighbors all had dogs too, we hoped for understanding and headed off. What a feast they had in the Crystal Ballroom and the massive crystal chandeliers, holiday decorations, huge ice sculptures and fruit sculptures really set the mood. When we returned to the room, Scarlet was sound asleep and the dog across the hall was yapping its head off.

On Friday we set out for the arts and crafts show at the Ocean City Convention Center. One of the first booths we passed was an artist that had tons of dog portraits on display. Soooo...you guessed it....my husband went back and got Scarlet. She defiantly drew a crowd as the artist was hard at work on her color sketch. Kids wanted to pet her and two separate boxer owners stopped to show us wallet pictures of their boxers. Thanks to all the attention our kidney beaning Scarlet was getting we are now the proud owners of an $$custom portrait$$ of our boxer with a flat head and nose as long as a german shepards. What are ya gonna do?

On Saturday we went to the board walk. We were going to have one of those old time photos done of our family including Scarlet but the wait was surprising long for off season so we decided to save that for another time. We walked the boardwalk and went in and out of the shops, spent some time in playland and took a ride through a haunted house.

Walking down the hall back to our room each time during our 4 days there always gave us the giggles. Some dogs would bark as you walked by and sometimes you could hear the owners talking to their dog. The funniest was when we heard men talking to their dogs. We heard one man with a deep voice talking baby talk, "Your the bestest girl in the world, yes hers is." He'll have to take that up with the man in the room that was next to ours who also thought his dog was "such a goooood girl, yessss a verrrry good girl". We heard one dog as we passed by its room scratching the hell out of the room door. I said, "stop that" and the dog stopped. Guess he knew what that meant. Scarlet had a ball jumping from bed to bed and protecting us from the evil room service deliveries out in the hall.

There is so much more to tell about our vacation and this hotel but I have rambled on far too long as it is. If you have read this far, thank you for indulging me. I get all giddy over the little things in life, especially if Scarlet is included. Hope everyone at Boxerworld had a nice Thanksgiving. If you're ever in Maryland and want to know of a great place to stay in Ocean City...I know just the place!

[myrocky]

Wow Peggy!!! That sounds totally awesome! What a nice expierence you had! I'm surprised the doggies weren't allowed at the buffet

[Peggy G]

Originally posted by myrocky
I'm surprised the doggies weren't allowed at the buffet

Me too! They weren't allowed in the pool either! We didnt like that policy much.

[boxers4life2001]

It sounds like all of you had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving together. It was so nice that you were able to go away and still include Scarlet and spend time with her

[Sube Ru's mom]

Okay Peggy, i MUST know, what hotel did you stay in? was it reasonable? i know you said they limited the weight but what about how many dogs? i mean what if i want to take Subi and Bailey? were the people doing to photo going to allow scarlett? WOW i wanna go. I go to ocean city every sunday over the summer. But i would love to go now because it is sooooo cheap. were there plenty of places to eat? that is sooo cool. sorry for all the questions but i am definitly INTERESTED!!!

[Linda/NJ]

Sounds like a great place and glad you guys had a wonderful time. I have never gone to Ocean City Maryland, but will keep it in mind.

Linda
Ginger * June 4, 1997 / Flashy Fawn * Natural Ears queenicon

[Peggy G]

Hi Heather, Ocean City is great during the off season. There's still so much to do and lots of places open. You'd be surprised at the number of people on the board walk and walking the beach. The name of the hotel is the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel. The only way to afford a place like this (for us anyway) is during the off season. It's still a bit pricey for off season, but Thanksgiving week is our families vacation week so we plan to spend for it. It was $99 per night plus $25 per night (non-refundable) pet fee. They probably do have a dog # limit but I think two is ok. I saw one man with three little dogs on leash in the lobby.

The Fenwick Inn (another nice hotel) allows pets and they are 1/2 the price of the Clarion but we really wanted ocean front. The Fenwick Inn also refunds the dog deposit (I think), the Clarion doesnt. The Clarion had a spa to die for! Steam Room, Sauna, Eucalyptus Room, Hot Tub, Tanning Beds, State of the art exercise equipment, etc. We spent every late afternoon sipping drinks pool side while the kids played in the pool. The Clarion has two resturants, two bars and a night club with live top 40 music. The Fenwick Inn also has an indoor pool and a very nice penthouse resturant.

We were going to go to Asateek (sp) Island to see the wild ponies on Sunday but it was so cold we went to the mall instead. I will shut up now. Here's the web site. http://www.clarionoc.com/ They have packages for each holiday too. I'd love to go for New Years!

[myrocky]

Wait, I thought the doggies weren't allowed in the pool? Or did you convientaly forget that LOL LOL

I have one more question: did the hotel have a doggie daycare in case owners didn't want to crate their dogs while they were eating etc?

[Sube Ru's mom]

Thanks Peggy,
I fiqured that was the one you were talking about and i went online to check it out. I tried to talk pat into going for new years but no such luck he wants to do something here with our friends ohh well.
i will definitly have to check it out. and someplace to take the girls is an added bonus. also with everything going on w/ th pregnancy i need a BREAK!!! i need to give 30 days notice though. so i will have to fiqure something out soon!

[Peggy G]

posted by PeggyG We spent every late afternoon sipping drinks pool side while the kids played in the pool.

Originally posted by myrocky
Wait, I thought the doggies weren't allowed in the pool? Or did you convientaly forget that LOL LOL

Human kids.

I have one more question: did the hotel have a doggie daycare in case owners didn't want to crate their dogs while they were eating etc?

I'm not sure but a very interesting question. If they dont, they should. Judging by the number of dogs that barked at you as you passed their rooms, I dont think they do.