Pet-friendly lodging? (Bangor, Scarborough, Freeport: rentals, mover, mattress)

[starwalker]

I would like recommendations of known pet-friendly lodging. On the trip back from KS we stayed an Econolodge, which had been something else previously, that was totally pet-friendly (all rooms) and did not charge extra fees.. nor have any limit on the number or kind of pets.

Looking around on the net, I am finding this is VERY unusual... usual practice for "pet friendly" is one (sometimes specified as dog, sometimes specified as under a certain size) with a $10 charge.

On the off-chance that our timing gets us into ME such that we need to overnight before settling into to the move in, can anyone recommend an affordable pet-friendly overnight option that is not going to break the bank nor freak at our managerie... not all of which will necessarily have to go in to the room. (I am not nuts enough to want to try to capture 5 freaked out kitties after a night of motel-room "freedom" to stuff them back into their travel cages!

I am coming in on 95 to Bangor, but I am sure others will be interested in similar recommendations for other areas of the state.

Is there, maybe, a mom-and-pop motel that would appreciate unexpected customers, even if they are 4-legged and furry, the first of March??

[elston]

Oh good luck Star!!!!! We use Motel 6 when we travel with out 2 doggies; but that is quite a menagerie you are traveling with. I don't know about limits on # or size. I remember they say you can't leave the pets unattended in the room -- which makes sense since they will be really stressed and wanting to mark territory bless their little hearts. The only time I traveled with a cat it was a high strung siamese cat and it really freaked her and that was just from RI to NH.

[Boomerang]

It is very difficult to find pet-friendly lodging these days, particularly if you have a large dog.

Also some motels list themselves as accepting dogs, but when you call, they'll tell you they have size or weight restrictions (a real puzzler, that. Nastiest dog I ever met was a tiny terrier, and some small breeds tend to be harder to housebreak than the larger ones).

You can find pet-friendly places through AAA's website, I think. There are also many websites that offer the information as well, just google pet friendly +lodging or +motel, etc.

Some I found just now:

Pet & Dog Friendly Hotels, Lodging and Pet Travel in Maine

DogFriendly.com - Maine Travel Guide for Dog Owners

Maine - Pet Friendly

Maine Pet Friendly Lodging Accommodations Pet Friendly Hotels ME*Pet Friendly Inns

Maine dog pet friendly hotels vacation rentals lodging ME

Pet Friendly B&B | Pets B&B | Bed and Breakfast | Pets Welcome | Dogs Welcome | Maine B&B | Maine Vacation | Family Vacation |

[mensaguy]

We stayed at the EconoLodge in Freeport once with our dogs. I think they charged us $5 per dog, but it was a place that plaenty of room to walk the puppies, price was reasonable, and Gritty's was only about a mile down the road for dinner.

There are also a lot of motels on Odlin Rd in Bangor. I'm sure some of them take pets, but we haven't had the dogs with us when we used one of those places.

[umograd83]

I know there is a book about pet-friendly hotels. You could go to the bookstore and look at the section on Maine. We bought this book for my father-in-law. Also, have you checked with AAA? They may have that information in their tour guides.

Good luck on the move. We moved from Scarborough to Memphis five years ago and travelled with our two cats. We bought some tranquilizers for them from the vet. They didn't do too well with the tranquilizers. The tuxedo cat (Kitty) was panting and I couldn't take it. (Maybe I should have said I didn't do too well). We kept them in the carriers in the back seat the first leg of the trip (took us three days). On the second day we let them out of the carriers. Kitty settled down once we let her out. She went under the front passenger seat and stayed there. We were very careful when we opened the door to get out. Now we are hoping for a transfer back to Maine. This time we have four cats. Kitty was killed in a truck/RV accident we had two years ago. We have the other cat, plus three kittens we rescued from behind our house. Oy! Should be fun driving home with them.

[msina]

Motel 6 in Bangor is pet friendly, not sure of any others.

[MaineMathTCHER]

I UNDERSTAND where you are at completely. We made the trip in our SUV towing a UHAUL with two dogs and four very spoiled cats in tow (four large cages filled the Jeep). It was perhaps the most stressful trip for us, but the animals did well. First ask you vet for sedatives to have on hand in case one or more get very vocal and nervous. We found that all of the cats travelled well except one. He spent every unmedicated minute making low guttutal howls. So, he got to nap a lot on the trip. We also found that most La Quintas welcome a pet (we just did not share how many when we checked in) We never had to pay extra. We also had the same luck at motel 6 and Days Inn. We tended to choose the hotels not in the main cities and found them to be be more open to pets. We would carry the cages into the hotel rooms at night and set up clean litter and food and water and then let the troops out. The kitties loved to stretch their legs, and other than one terrible morning where we found that the kitties how found a way to get behind and under the built in bed and refused to come out (husband just removed the mattress and we picked them right up) we made it safe and sound 2500 miles with our furries. Good Luck!!

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by MaineMathTCHER

I UNDERSTAND where you are at completely. We made the trip in our SUV towing a UHAUL with two dogs and four very spoiled cats in tow (four large cages filled the Jeep). It was perhaps the most stressful trip for us, but the animals did well. First ask you vet for sedatives to have on hand in case one or more get very vocal and nervous. We found that all of the cats travelled well except one. He spent every unmedicated minute making low guttutal howls. So, he got to nap a lot on the trip. We also found that most La Quintas welcome a pet (we just did not share how many when we checked in) We never had to pay extra. We also had the same luck at motel 6 and Days Inn. We tended to choose the hotels not in the main cities and found them to be be more open to pets. We would carry the cages into the hotel rooms at night and set up clean litter and food and water and then let the troops out. The kitties loved to stretch their legs, and other than one terrible morning where we found that the kitties how found a way to get behind and under the built in bed and refused to come out (husband just removed the mattress and we picked them right up) we made it safe and sound 2500 miles with our furries. Good Luck!!

I wonder if it might not be better to ask my doctor for valium for me! LOL Thanks for the tips.. I plan to nap in the vehicles the first night, and possibly the second, if K can hold up to that sort or regime.. make more tracks north, faster... but if we get there when we can't connect up with the Realtor to get the keys or (Gods forbid!) we have not closed yet... I want to have some options in mind. We will cut quite a swath as it is... with a 16' truck, towing a trailer with my pickup and followed by the SUV with a kayak on top... one will be stuffed with plants, as well as I have house plants and some outside stuff that won't be expecting WINTER... plus the cats, birds and BIG doggie...

I just hope no one notifies the asylum... they may reserve rooms for us there! LOL

[elston]

Those details are what are making me a bit crazed.....closing on new house, gaining occupancy; an address to tell the mover where to deliver the stuff. Lots of important details with no answers yet! Will have to trust and have faith....and know in a few years this will be amusing dinner conversation....remember......

[mensaguy]

I just did a Google search for "pet friendly lodging," the title of this thread. There are a lot of interesting sites just on the first page of the search results.