[2008] What happened to the Pet Friendly Timeshare Thread?

[Egret1986]

The Colony in Virginia Beach allows Owners to bring pets, but...

At an update meeting recently, I asked about pets. I was told owners are still allowed to bring pets IF their contracts state PETS ALLOWED. My contract says no pets allowed, I can't. The sales rep we were talking to owns two SL weeks and his contract allows pets...and he has a dog. He said they have to honor the contract. So I thought he might know what he was talking about. No pets with exchanges tho.

you can't bring them on an exchange.

 

[Hophop4]

I don't know if an owner who has "allow pets" on their contract exchanges back in thru RCI will be allowed to bring a pet. But I would think they would treat it as an RCI exchange and not allow it.

 

[bobby]

I think Silverleaf 1243 Oak 'n Spruce Resort in Mass. takes pets

 

[Hophop4]

The pet rule with Silverleaf right now is iffy. I am hearing different rules. Exchanges not allowed, owners ok, some resorts yes some no. If pets are brought be sure to have all vaccination documents with you. Please be sure to call the resort first before bringing pets.

 

[mompsc]

Pet friendly timeshare resorts

Just came back from the Celebration World Resort in Florida for the Spring Break. It's not a world class luxury resort, but it's good enough for us especially we can bring our dogs with us. $50 pet fee per pet per stay is very reasonable.

I wish there are more resorts that will take pets especially in Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head areas.

Silverleaf Apple Mountain used to take pets with a pet fee, but that's not the case any more.

 

[ryanthekiwi]

This thread is old but still useful. Here's a bump.

Add from Interval (not sure if it's also on RCI)

Banff Rocky Mountain Resort in Banff, AB, Canada.

I've been told there is a pet cleaning fee but not sure yet what it is. I wasn't advised of any weight limit and there better not be as I have a 110# Great Dane puppy who will probably be 130# by the time I go in July!

 

[dreamin]

Banff Rocky Mtn Resort Pet Policy

Here's the resort's policy from their website:

PETS : Small pets are allowed at the Resort for $25.00 CAD/pet/day, plus taxes, up to a maximum of $75.00 CAD/pet/week, plus taxes. Maximum of 2 pets per room. NO EXCEPTIONS. You must advise Customer Service or the Resort prior to check-in. No allergy-free units are available when travelling with pets. Pets must be secured by owner in a portable carrier for any housekeeping services.

We've stayed there twice and had our dog with us. He's 45 pounds. At the time, I didn't know there was a size limit. I paid the $75/week and they never asked the weight or size of our dog. He was 11 & 12 years old at the time - quiet and well behaved. Not sure if a great dane pup could be classified as "small"! It's a great place for pet owners as we did some wonderful hikes with our Kobi (part Australian shepherd, part Collie). The units are small but it's one of our favourite resorts.

 

[pwrshift]

My Dalmatian will be 16 in a few months, way past the 12-14 year lifespan, and for years I took her on one trip a year, usually to a pet friendly hotel with a ground floor sliding door exit. Wentworth By The Sea www.wentworth.com in NH was the one we went to for the last few years and I highly recommend it.

Looks like her traveling days are over as she's losing control now and I don't want to create any problems for the hotels or for me. I know there will be a sad day in the relatively near future, but travels with your pet feels great.

Brian

 

[Steve]

My Dalmatian will be 16 in a few months, way past the 12-14 year lifespan, and for years I took her on one trip a year, usually to a pet friendly hotel with a ground floor sliding door exit. Wentworth By The Sea www.wentworth.com in NH was the one we went to for the last few years and I highly recommend it.

Looks like her traveling days are over as she's losing control now and I don't want to create any problems for the hotels or for me. I know there will be a sad day in the relatively near future, but travels with your pet feels great.

Brian

Hi Brian,

I'm sorry your dog is getting too old to travel. I love traveling with my two dogs. That's one of the reasons that I so enjoy going to Four Seasons Aviara and Scottsdale. It's really fun having them along.

However, one of my dogs is 12 and he is slowing down a bit. He is still a good traveler, but he certainly doesn't walk as fast or enthusiastically as he used to.

Dogs lives are far too short...even when they out live the normal life span. Even if she can't travel any longer, I hope you still have some good times ahead with your Dalmation.

Steve

 

[JanT]

Brian,

I'm so sorry to hear that your sweet Dalmatian can no longer travel. What wonderful memories you have of your travels together. Know that your sweet girl holds those same memories and loves you for all of the care and love you have given her.

Jan

My Dalmatian will be 16 in a few months, way past the 12-14 year lifespan, and for years I took her on one trip a year, usually to a pet friendly hotel with a ground floor sliding door exit. Wentworth By The Sea www.wentworth.com in NH was the one we went to for the last few years and I highly recommend it.

Looks like her traveling days are over as she's losing control now and I don't want to create any problems for the hotels or for me. I know there will be a sad day in the relatively near future, but travels with your pet feels great.

Brian

 

[JanT]

Steve,

We are at Aviara right now but didn't know it was pet friendly. We have seen people with dogs walking around but weren't sure if they were staying here or not. There is no info provided that talks about it being "pet friendly." Do you know if they have a weight/size limit?

J

I love traveling with my two dogs. That's one of the reasons that I so enjoy going to Four Seasons Aviara and Scottsdale. It's really fun having them along. Steve

 

[Steve]

Steve,

We are at Aviara right now but didn't know it was pet friendly. We have seen people with dogs walking around but weren't sure if they were staying here or not. There is no info provided that talks about it being "pet friendly." Do you know if they have a weight/size limit?

J

Hi Jan,

I think the weight limit is 50 lbs, but I'm not sure that it is enforced. I know it has not been in the past, but it may be now. (Both of my dogs are small cocker spaniels that don't weigh that much put together. So I haven't worried about that too much.) There is a $150 pet fee which is charged if you are in a 2 bedroom villa. It is less if you are in a 1 bedroom or studio.

However, they made a change a while back restricting who can bring their dogs. It used to be that anyone could bring them. Now it is only owners that can bring their dogs. Four Seasons Scottsdale, on the other hand, still allows exchangers and renters to bring their dogs.

Hope you are having fun at Aviara!

Steve

 

[JanT]

Thank you for the info, Steve. We love larger dogs so we probably wouldn't meet the 50 pound limit. But, if they didn't enforce it that would be great! We lost both of our big girls in the last year and a half so sadly we don't have dogs to travel with now. But, we will remember the rules for FS Scottsdale for the future. Certainly it could change before we get other dogs though.

We are having a wonderful time. It's a beautiful resort and we're just kind of being lazy here. Out for some good food and enjoying our time together - that's been about it but it's been perfect!

Thank you again!

Jan

Hi Jan,

I think the weight limit is 50 lbs, but I'm not sure that it is enforced. I know it has not been in the past, but it may be now. (Both of my dogs are small cocker spaniels that don't weigh that much put together. So I haven't worried about that too much.) There is a $150 pet fee which is charged if you are in a 2 bedroom villa. It is less if you are in a 1 bedroom or studio.

However, they made a change a while back restricting who can bring their dogs. It used to be that anyone could bring them. Now it is only owners that can bring their dogs. Four Seasons Scottsdale, on the other hand, still allows exchangers and renters to bring their dogs.

Hope you are having fun at Aviara!

Steve

 

[stugy]

For everyone's information, Oak and Spruce (Silverleaf) in Ma no longer allows pets. We loved taking our little Scottie with us on vacation but knew it would not last forever when we saw other pet owners walking away from their pet's "business". And of course, others would complain when their children were out playing and walked or fell into the "business." Do people not clean up their own back yards?
Pat

 

[pwrshift]

Steve and JanT ... Thanks for your kind words about Tandy. She's sitting here right next to me as I play on my laptop. For almost 16 years she has been my shadow following me everywhere around this big house. Whenever I come home from shopping, work, timeshares, etc., she grabs her squeaky toy that says 'I love you' every time. Wow, there'd be no more divorces if spouses did the same.

Brian

 

[GregGH]

.....We love larger dogs so we probably wouldn't meet the 50 pound limit. But, if they didn't enforce it that would be great! .....
Jan

Hi

At Four Seasons Aviara I think pets are Ok for owners - but I do not know for non-owners ... When I called a few years ago I think it was 50 #'s and I said my 'girl' was over that - they quickly snapped back in typical FS manner ..."oh we would never ask a lady her weight" ...

Pretty sure 75#'s is the weight limit now ... biggest thing is a FRIENDLY dog. Kept running into a couple of terriers .. those are just plain unfriendly. When you stay at Aviara you are know by your pet's name ... in our case --'oh Katie ..how are you ...' when we would walk into the Meadows. When we would walk thru without Katie we would be asked ..oh where is Katie.

Weight is a stupid criteria ... friendly nature is much better ... on way back we stayed at Caesars Palace in Vegas and they 'bent' the 50# rule. This was the first time we took our pet to FS and drove across USA - was a great time but sure took a lot of pre-planning. With luck we talk the 'boss' into doing it again next year as our winter break.

Greg

 

[luv2vacation]

I have a question for those of you who take your pets on vacation:

How do you manage the long car rides?

My oldest daughter has a 110# yellow lab & I would love to take him to VA with us when we visit my younger daughter & grandson. It is ~2-3 hour drive. She would like to try but is very nervous about it since he does not really do a lot of car rides - and never longer than a half hour. He is big but EXTREMELY calm & docile. He really is a sweetie!

 

[MuranoJo]

It's important to stop every now and then to give them a break and a walk. Trouble we have is even finding places to let them out at times.

But our dogs (German Shorthairs) are used to riding for extended times and generally deal with it pretty well with breaks. We start them out at a young age, so they're pretty used to it.

 

[abbekit]

Our dogs love riding in the car but we started them with short rides around town while we do our errands. Too hot here in Texas to do that in spring or summer though.. After those 15-20 minute rides they have learned to like longer rides.

We've taken our older dog (50 lbs) on a number of timeshare vacations (Silverleaf resorts) up to 8 hours away. Just stop every few hours for a break.

We are looking forward to a few trips with our new young dogs to pet friendly hotels soon. They are calmer than our older dog in the car. We take them often for pleasure trips to area parks for long walks so they associate the car with a good experience.

 

[Kagehitokiri2]

size relates to potential property/guest "damage"

 

[pwrshift]

A hotel I stayed at every year just revised their weight limit from 50 lbs to 20 on their website. I called the GM there to ask about it and he didn't even know it had been changed, and said that it's the under 20 lb dogs that cause the most damage and noise pollution. He changed the rule for me on my reservation in case there was a check in problem and was going to fix the web site restriction.

Last Sept 3 adults and 2 dogs drove from Toronto to Hilton Head to stay for a week in a VRBO 3 bdrm home, with private pool and all the amenities you could ever want...the dogs were just fine on the trip...we stopped on the road 2 nits each way in pet friendly Marriott's.

Brian

 

[GregGH]

The more you do 'dog' vacations - the smarter you get. Our last trip we started off planning assuming we would use Sheration's but quickly found the weight limit and fees to be too difficult to handle. Instead we used Trip Advisor and verified the best rated La Quinta's for out trip from Detroit area to San Diego ( Bowling Green KY, Mobil, AL, Bilouxi, Galveston (just fair), Houston(with family), Fort Stockton (not much to choose from), Las Cruces (Hotel Encanta), Tucson(Windmill Inn ) ... on way back we tried Drury Inn's and really liked them Las Vegas(side trip-Ceasars) Albuquerque, Oklahoma City(Colcord Hotel), Nashville then home. Sort of skipped the 5 weeks at Aviara - the purpose of the trip.

We had options in case we wanted less travel or could make more travel time and could call and re-set a new spot with La Quinta - since we had the uncertainty of weather to deal with. The few non La Quinta and Drury's especially Hotel Encanta in Las Cruces and Colcord in Oklahoma City were nice 'changes' but we had to be more certain that it was our stop over for that night. We took our time going down more than on the way back --with more spots staying 2 days to see the area.

Happy traveling with you dog(s) ... plan ahead.

Greg

 

[Mona E]

Timeshares that allow pets via exchange

We too, travel with a dog. She is a 'rescue' and we are not comfortable leaving her with a sitter, or in a kennel. Thinking of selling our timeshares, because pets are not allowed. If anyone knows of any timeshare resorts that will allow pets, via an exchange, please post. I have called several and even those who allow pets, only allow 'owners' to bring pets. Even one motel had a reasonable rate, and 'allowed pets' but I didn't find out til I started checking the fine print that they charged $40 per night, per pet. Thanks for any info.

 

[mamiecarter]

Timeshare Resorts Need To Update Pet Policies

More and more people in urban areas have dogs. The pup is a big part of their family. It is also a prime status symbol to have a nice purebred pet. Guess who uses timeshares? People who live in urban areas. We love to get away to where it is nice and green.

If timeshare resorts allowed pets they would have more happy owners. Solve a lot of financial problems. Those cleaning fees add up.

They could also make me happy by having a boarding kennel on site so I could check my pet out in the morning and check them back in at night. Or they could work out a deal with a local pet boarder to do the same thing. I wouldn't mind paying for this.

My guess is that with the increasing popularity of pets timeshares will simply become less popular and less financially viable. Too bad because timeshares can be a nice vacation solution.

 

[gkbiiii]

Any updates on the pet list, as I just adopted a new Pug!