Hi,

I hope someone can help. I always travel with my dog (a friendly gentle yellow lab). We want to go to Florida and are looking for a condo, preferably on a beach, that allows dogs. Does anyone have any suggestions.

Thanks

I'm sure there are condo owners willing to accept a dog with an extra deposit. But when are you thinking of going and more importantly, where??

Some web sites where owners rent their vacation condos out online have pet icons next to the condo's that accept pets.
www.vrbo.com
www.findvacationrentals.com
www.vacationrentals.com

are examples of sites that do.

You might want to consider the Lorelei Resort on Treasure Island (in the St. Pete area). It's set up for people with dogs - not condos but hotel rooms and efficiencies. It's not on the beach (most places in Florida, dogs are not allowed on the beach), but it is on the Bay and this place even has a "dog dock" that the dogs can jump off of to enjoy the water. The place is really set up for dogs - they even do free dog sitting if you want to escape by yourself. The url is http://www.loreleiresort.com/

I haven't been, but I can tell you the customer service is great. That's because we were scheduled to spend 2 nights there on our move down to the Tampa Bay area. My husband got very sick on the move down and we couldn't make either night - the first night we just didn't show up, the second night we cancelled at the last minute. We are normally much better than this but he got really bad food poisoning and we were trying to close on a house, etc. Anyway, they were gracious enough to forgive us the one night and for the other night that had already been charged, they sent us a gift certificate for a free night. Plus they were very understanding.

Prices are very reasonable, like $80/night.

And, there are dog beaches nearby. The one at honeymoon island state park is north of there, it is really fantastic. I believe there's a dog beach in Clearwater as well. I'm sure that they would have the whole scoop for you at Lorelei.

The good thing about a place that is so geared toward dog owners is that you don't have to worry if your dog barks, don't have to look for a place to take him potty (they have a separate area just for that at Lorelei), and don't even happy to worry about them being on the bed - at Lorelei, they are welcome on the furniture!

Can you tell I like this place? Once we use our free night certificate, I will report back.

Well, if I learned nothing else on this board, I found out that I won't want to stay at the Lorelei, since I don't own a dog.

Thanks stjohnbound, hibiscushouse, and birder.

The websites you listed were a big help.

I'm not really sure where in FL I want to go. I was thinking Orlando or Daytona Beach, but I am really intrigued by the Lorelei resort. Maybe you can answer a question for me. Besides letting dogs stay what is this resort like? You mentioned that they also do dog sitting. Do you have any more info on that. What is there to do in the St Pete's area?

Thanks

Actually, I don't really think the Lorelei is a "resort" per say - more of a motel complex. Here's a web page from people who went there - there are several more photos of it: http://cheriandbecky.tripod.com/

If you go to tripadvisor.com you can see all the great remarks from it as well.

As for the free pet sitting, you would probably need to call and ask them - I didn't actually have them to do it since we didn't stay there.

As for things to do, you'd be on Treasure Island, in the St. Pete area of Florida. So you can do a search in this forum on St. Pete to see what things there might be. Great beaches, great shopping, etc. Some really nice parks and wonderful fishing.

Ktyson,
If you do go to Orlando, check out the Loews Hotels at Universal Studios--
Hard Rock Hotel - Royal Pacific Resort - Portofino Bay Hotel. All three accept pets. These hotels really go out of their way to make your pet welcome.

Hi all,

The website http://cheriandbecky.tripod.com that birder recommended was great. It's about 2 women and their dogs on vacation at the Lorelei in FL. There are a lot of great pictures of the resort and the dogs.

The Lorelei looks like a great resort to take our dog to, but I'm not sure the Treasure Island area would have enough to do for my two teenagers. That is why I am leaning towards Orlando.

Poochie recommended 3 hotels that are at Universal studios. They are the hard rock, royal pacific resort, and the Portofino Bay Hotel. Has anyone ever stayed at any of these hotels with a dog? Which one of the 3 is best?

Thanks

Call those Universal hotels right away and ask about your golden. Most hotels and condos for that matter, have a weight limit, more along the lines of a yorkie or mini poodle.

FWIW, I am staying on Singer Island and there are lots of dogs on the beach each morning. They appear to be residents but you might check the Palm Beach area.

You can bring your dog to Tween Waters Inn on Captiva. I have written about this before. The little cottages are not luxurious but it is a wonderful resort. Your teens might have fun there. They do NasCrab races at the little hotel bar with lots of teens joining in the fun (sans beer of course). It is a great place for active kids who love sports and nature.

I'm interested to hear what the hotels at Universal have to say. LMF

WWW.VRBO.com. They have little footprints by the condos that allow pets.

Hi all,

To LilMsFoodie and anyone else that wants to know what the Universal hotels had to say. There is no weight or size restriction on the dog you are allowed to bring. Not only do they accept pets, but they go out of their way to make you and your pet feel welcome. In the rooms they have a "doggie" bed, water bowl, and food dish. They also have doggie treats. On the ground there are fenced off walking areas just for guests who have dogs. They provide you with a list of restaurants that are dog friendly (outdoor cafe's I assume). They will also arrange pet sitting if you want to go somewhere where doggie isn't welcome. For those of you that have traveled with children, the pet sitting works the same way as hotels that offer babysitting.
I've stayed at hotels with my dog that say they allow dogs, but they don't really make your dog feel welcome. It sounds like these universal hotels really go out of their way to make guests with pets feel welcome.
If anyone has stayed at any of these hotels with a dog I would love to hear from you.

Wow, that sounds fabulous, if you do end up staying there, please do a trip report so that we know how they treated you and your yellow lab (and teens of course! ).

We bought "The Dog Lovers Guide to Florida" and it does give pretty good reviews of places, to let you know if they merely tolerate dogs or really welcome them. Unfortunately, I am in Virginia finishing up some work, while the book is in Florida in some endless pile of books that have to be sorted. However, you might want to see if you could find a used copy, it might even be worth buying a new copy if you can't find a current used one. It was a thorough, outstanding book.

All 3 of those hotels (Hard Rock, Portofino, Royal Pacific) are owned by Loews Hotels. They share a lot of support and management services (for example, all hotels share same pool of switchboard operators). They are all very nice and right on Universal. I'd say just make your choice based on the "theme" for each hotel.

sludick, the hotels aren't owned by Loewws but are management by them.

ktyson,

We have had very good luck renting condos/houses through two of the sites that hibiscushouse mentioned, vrbo and vacationrentals.com and we always travel with our mini poodle.

The following is a listing of dog-friendly beaches along the Atlantic Coast: http://www.tidalflats.com/Dog_Beaches.html

As recently as this past winter, there were a number of dog-friendly beaches around the Jacksonville/St. Augustine area. Flagler Beach was dog-friendly (a little north of Daytona Beach) and New Smyrna Beach (a little south of Daytona), though leash laws are enforced.

Hi,

Thanks to all that replied. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Birder, I looked at Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores for "The Dog Lovers Guide to Florida", and didn't have any luck. I am going to check amazon.com to see if they have it.

Carolynn, it's great to know which beaches will allow my dog.

I think we are going to stay in Orlando. It seems like it has the most to do to keep the kids entertained. If we do go to Orlando we will definitely stat at one of the Loew's hotels at Universal. If anyone has any tips on which one we should choose please post.

Thanks

My girlfriend spent a month with her dog at the Brazillian Court in Palm Beach with her dog. They were very good to Jazz.

Anyone seeking vacation accomodations in Florida that allow pets might wish to check out FloridaPets.net, found at http://www.floridapets.net. They have tons of info, including where to vacation and where to play in the sunshine state with pets, i.e., pet-friendly hotels & motels, dog parks and dog-friendly beaches.

gotravel, I would expect a luxury west palm beach hotel to be very dog friendly; Worth avenue has tiled doggie bars with fresh water along the street. I always wish I had my bichon with me when I'm down there; but our dog is too needy and spoiled, she would bark in the room as soon as we left so she goes to the doggie manor to be babysat when we travel.