Doggy hotel ;)

haha, I just stumbled across this, and thought that it was quite adorable! :) enjoy!

Pets lapping up luxury
ByANABELLE de GALE
Miami Herald

TOP DOGS: Concierge Richard Luna serves Diante at the Mayfair House, which caters to the dogs of hotel guests. Treats include, below, Champ Pagne (bottled water) and pâté shaped like a cat. MARICE COHN BAND/HERALD STAFF

You lucky dog.

Staying in the pet house suite. Ruff life.

A new kind of South Florida hotel is going to the dogs. From canine chefs to bowwow butlers, Miami is home to some of the country's premier five-bone resorts.

''We treat them as well as our two-legged guests,'' said Wayne Gales, director of sales at the Mayfair House in Coconut Grove. ``For us, it's not an ordeal. It's an opportunity.''

The Man's Best Friend packages -- which start at $215 a night -- offer Rover the choice of getting some shut-eye on a four-poster, cream-quilted doggie bed or a French provincial pillow.

When checking in, humans get mimosas. Pooches, Champ Pagne. Translation: fancy-schmancy, chilled bottled water. There's a twice-daily walking service, a personalized collar and spa treatments for you and Rover.

''We'll even see to it that they get matching nail polish,'' Mayfair General Manager Jon Wubbena said.

GOURMET CHOW

If Rover is a finicky eater, the pan-seared ground chicken with carrots and brown rice is ''ideal for those on low-fat diets,'' according to the Doggie Menu.

There are also scrambled farm-fresh eggs, poached Atlantic salmon and hearty beef stew. The beef tartar (''beef tenderloin finely diced, served chilled accompanied by anchovies and capers'') goes for $24 a plate.

But what's with the service charge on the Doggie Menu?

''Dogs,'' Wubbena said, ``are not the best tippers.''

The Loews Miami Beach Hotel caters to vegetarian dogs. We swear.

The pet room-service menu was developed by a veterinarian to offer the proper nutrition needed to help pets deal with travel stress, the hotel says.

Mutts obliged, say pet owners, who more and more are bringing their canine companions along on vacation. In the past three years, 14 percent of travelers -- more than 29 million Americans -- have traveled with their furry friends, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.

''People want to go where their entire family is welcomed, which includes their dog,'' said Tara Kain, president of Dogfriendly.com. ``Hotels are discovering that throwing out the welcome mat for pets is big business.''

That includes the folks at the Ritz-Carlton in Coconut Grove.

Their Bones 'N Bits menu is canine dining at its finest. Well, so says the hotel's four-legged food critic, Churchill. The hound, who belongs to Ritz general manager Marco Selva, has taste-tested and approved everything from the poochie sushi to the beef mambo combo.

A BUTLER FOR ROVER

At the Ritz, Rover gets his own butler, who takes him to the park, puts on a doggie movie and brushes his coat.

Neighboring Grove Isle has ''highly trained'' dog walkers, who fetch up to $50 for keeping Rover company while you're out on the town, General Manager Ron Burleson said.

No bubbly at check-in; instead, pups are given monkeys. Stuffed ones.

Pedigree papers aren't required, but at Grove Isle, there is a weight limit: 30 pounds.

So just who is lapping up all this luxury?

SELF-ABSORBED

Well-heeled dog snobs. Like terriers Diante and Deja, owned by Jen Klaassens of Fort Lauderdale. Diante cannot pass a mirror without stopping to admire himself.

''They are seasoned travelers,'' Klaassens said. ``We pamper ourselves, so why not pamper the pups?''

She does. Klaassens frequently makes the short trek south for a weekend in Miami.

When the Mayfair recently began offering its Man's Best Friend packages, she packed the pets.

The adorable devils tossed their cookies in the lobby. The concierge took care of it. In the room, they marked their territory -- three times.

Housekeeping responded quickly.

''They are very spoiled and love the attention,'' Klaassens said.

Indeed. Gourmet milk bones in gold-trim dinnerware, the same stuff used to serve the human guests, greeted the terriers in their room.

As did a kitty-shape cake made of peanut butter.

That's life in the doghouse, Gales said, adding: ``It's all that and a box of biscuits.''

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