Come, sit and stay
The Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile: Our new hotel is paradise for pets (and their people) and we’re taking reservations
Our new hotel is paradise for pets.
The Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile is the newest lodging option in Kanab, Utah, and the area’s, if not the country’s, most pet-centric hotel. Everything in the 40 well-appointed rooms and on the grounds was designed with pets (and their human traveling companions) in mind. That’s especially exciting because animal lovers now have a sleek, modern home-away-from-home where they’ll be closely connected to the Sanctuary. Also, Sanctuary animals now have more opportunities than ever to go on sleepovers with visitors, volunteers and potential adopters in a cozy, home-like setting.
SANCTUARY PETS TRY IT OUT
The Roadhouse has so many amenities that it’s hard to name them all, so we thought it would be fun to do a sneak peek from the perspective of a few Sanctuary pet guests. One of the very first guests was a tiny Chihuahua named Robert Johnson, who, you may recall, was profiled in the Sanctuary section of our last issue. Robert is paralyzed in his back end on account of previous trauma, so he uses a wheelchair.
Wow, was he fast when he rolled into his room through the pet introduction door (which functions as an air lock)! But after sniffing around for a few minutes, the only thing on Robert’s mind was snuggling with his sleepover host. Although he could have easily curled up in one of the small nooks at the bedside nightstands or stretched out on one of the pet beds that slide out from underneath every custom-made Roadhouse bed platform, Robert chose instead to cuddle on one of the big beds for the night. (Today, he has every reason to sleep soundly. Robert Johnson was adopted by some Roadhouse guests and now lives in California.)
During his stay at the Roadhouse, Hercules, an exuberant pit bull terrier mix, wasted no time in getting the party started. He leaped up on the king-size bed and dove into a pile of fluffy pillows. He seemed determined to test the durability of the pet-friendly fabric of the pillowcases, until his sleepover host, Jessica Harrington, distracted him with a treat. When Jessica and Hercules moved over to the convertible sleeper sofa in the living area, he discovered the panoramic front window and stopped bouncing around long enough to take in the fantastic view.
A Best Friends adoption specialist, Jessica is excited about the opportunities the Roadhouse will give both prospective adopters and Sanctuary animals. “It’s an awesome environment for people to get to know their potential new family members, since adopters will be able to see the animals in a real-life, home-like setting before actually heading home,” she says. “They can get an idea of how a pet responds to normal household noises, see how a dog does off-leash in the dog park, see how they behave in public settings, and even see how they handle a quick trip to the spa.”
That’s right, there’s an off-leash dog park and a self-serve pet-washing facility on-site. Guests can help their dogs tidy up after a romp in the dog park, which features a super-fun splash pad that operates in warmer weather. The pet-washing station is perfect for any pet who might end a long day on the hiking trails covered in Utah’s beautiful red sand or smelling a little less than stellar.
It’s not just dogs who are preferred guests at the Roadhouse. There are two Roadhouse rooms designed especially with cats in mind. Ori, a cat with special needs, had the chance to try one out on a recent sleepover. It took him a few extra minutes to feel like he could relax in his guest room, but his hesitancy was understandable. Although Ori has been at the Sanctuary for three years, this was his first sleepover. That’s because he has Manx syndrome, which makes him incontinent, and his back end is a little wobbly. In the past, that has kept Ori from going on sleepovers in other hotels or Airbnb-type accommodations. But not here at the Roadhouse.
“It’s an awesome environment for people to get to know their potential new family members, since adopters will be able to see the animals in a real-life, home-like setting before actually heading home.”
~ Jessica Harrington, Best Friends adoption specialist
“We can be a lot more flexible with people about the timing of sleepover checkouts and returns. With a little bit of a heads-up, we can get them a sleepover buddy for a night.”
~ Amy Kohlbecker, cat care manager
At the Roadhouse, it’s all about the pets. Cat care manager Amy Kohlbecker says: “The Roadhouse is nice because we can have cats with special needs come here. It’s customized for animals, so there’s not as much risk of them getting stuck under furniture and such. We can also be a lot more flexible with people about the timing of sleepover checkouts and returns, and they don’t have to do a volunteer shift before they can take a Sanctuary pet on a sleepover. With a little bit of a heads-up, we can get them a sleepover buddy for a night.”
HAVE FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND, WILL TRAVEL
As Brooks Bradbury, Best Friends’ general manager of hospitality, explains: “As an extension of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and our tradition of warm hospitality, the Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile is a place where we can welcome the public, engage newcomers in our mission, and nurture relationships among our volunteers, members, donors and adopters.”
And in case you’re wondering about the funding for the Roadhouse, you can rest easy: The hotel is being financed through a bank loan that will be repaid from income generated by the Roadhouse itself. Funding won’t come from donor dollars or Best Friends’ operating budget. Once the loan is paid off, all Roadhouse income (minus upkeep) will be used to support animal care. Paradise found.
So many things make this a truly unique and special place. For instance, some rooms have adorable built-in wall cubbies for dogs and cats. (Special thanks to Salt Lake City–based architects from WOW Atelier for their innovative designs.) Then there is the Mercantile, a welcoming common area with a breakfast bar, where you can purchase pet necessities and Best Friends and Roadhouse branded items. But don’t take our word for it. Come and experience it for yourself — and don’t forget to bring along a furry fourlegged friend or two. Then again, we have plenty of sweet potential guests at the Sanctuary who match that description, and they would love to join you for a sleepover.