Travels With Bentley

Here he is ~ my little sweet pea.  We have been on three short 

vacations in the past few months and he has been with us every

time.  We can't leave him behind because we love him and he 

would be sad and we would be too.  But bringing him with us 

always involves a bit of pre-travel research.  

There are several search engines on the internet that provide

information on pet friendly hotels, motels and inns.  Here are a few
to try:

Pet Friendly Hotels
Pets Welcome
Bring Fido

I think of these as a good jump off point especially if you
are traveling to an unfamiliar city.  Yet I have also found that
I needed to dig a bit deeper to find a place that both David and I
would enjoy as well as Bentley.  Here are three places we have
stayed in the past several months here in Texas that we have
really enjoyed and will look forward to visiting again.

Hotel Contessa on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.
We had a wonderful suite here over Easter weekend.  The
staff was very friendly and responsive to our needs and Bentley
felt very welcome after he received a goody bag filled with treats,
a toy and dog walk clean up bags.

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This is the river side of the hotel and the entrance we used to take
Bentley out for walkies along the Riverwalk.  What I liked about
the hotel's location on the river is that it is around the bend from
the really busy area and is not as crowded and noisy.  Our suite
overlooked the river and was just delightful.  There is outdoor
seating so you can have an evening cocktail or enjoy an evening
meal from the dining room patio.  Of course we were there in the
spring before the heatwave of summer.

There is a rooftop swimming pool as well.  It was packed while
we were there but still lots of fun.

Because this hotel is in the heart of the city, valet parking is the
way to go.  Add that cost on to the price of your room.  I am not
going to quote prices here because they change so often.  Let
me just say that this hotel is in the luxury range although there
are others that are pricier.  We did have a wonderful stay and
did not feel that we were overcharged.

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The Omni la Mansion del Rio is also pet friendly and we
considered staying here as well.  As it turned out, David stayed
here on a business trip shortly after our San Antonio vacation
and said that it was very nice as well.  They have balconies
that face the river and the hotel and it is a beautiful Spanish
colonial structure.

Our next recent trip was to Fredericksburg, Texas.  This trip
came up very quickly as David had business nearby and asked
me if I wanted to make a long weekend out of the trip.  Since
I said yes, I also had to scramble to find a place for us to stay
in this extremely popular town in the Texas Hill Country.

After much frustration and failure on the morning of the
afternoon we needed to get on the road to David's business
meeting I called Gastehaus Schmidt.  Not only were they able
to find a pet friendly cottage for me but they also found one that
could not have been sweeter.  Big front porch, a cozy living room
with a fireplace, a very comfortable bedroom and bath, a sweet
little kitchen with all necessities and a screened in porch.  The
cottage was located just a few blocks from Main Street which is
a plus because walking or riding a bike makes it so much
easier to get around in town.  The price did not break my
budget.

We were so comfy  I hated to leave.

There were even chickens in the yard next door.  Bentley felt
right at home because our neighbors in Idaho had chickens.
Y'all do remember Thelma don't you???  So if you ever want
to visit Fredericksburg, TX with or without your pet, contact
Gastehaus Schmidt to find a vacation cottage to suit your needs.

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Here is where we stayed this past weekend.  The Omni at
Barton Creek Golf Resort in Austin, Texas.  I really can't say
enough nice things about this resort.  It is beautiful, the setting
is spectacular and they are very pet and family friendly.  The
place was packed with guests yet the service was spot on and we
felt so pampered.

We drove to Austin from Monahans, Texas where David had 

his meeting.  Monahans is out in west Texas ~ an oil field

town with lots of sand and few trees.  It's a five plus hour trip 

from Monahans to Austin and the beautiful hills and trees of

Austin were oh so welcoming.  

This is the view from the balcony of our room.  When David

made the reservations he was told that the hotel was putting on a

fireworks display to celebrate the 4th and that we would have 

a great view of the show from our balcony.

The zoom on my camera provided a great view of the spectacular

homes surrounding the golf courses.  

Lovely!

We opted to have dinner in our room and room service brought
up the most delicious hamburgers and we were able to relax and
enjoy the fireworks from our balcony followed by this treat ....

freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and chocolate milk.
The perfect bedtime snack.

All three of these vacation spots are wonderful but were
even better because Bentley was there to enjoy it with us.
I must also say that these three trips so close together is not
our norm.  Before this we did not have a vacation for eight
years so we splurged a little bit.  For a budget friendly hotel,
there is La Quinta where pets are always welcome.  We'll be
giving La Quinta a try in the future and I will give you a
review.  In the meantime, the next time you travel, consider
bringing your little sweet pea along too.  Right Bentley?

What's It Wednesday

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley