Win a Stay at a Pet-Friendly Best Western

We were just 20 minutes out of the house when our small child asked, “Are we in Maine yet?” We live in New Jersey, and traveling with an 8-year old (he’s 9 now) and a pet means taking a lot of breaks. Without stopping, northern New Jersey to the southern tip of Maine takes 7 hours.

If you forget something for your dog, there's a good chance that the pet-friendly Best Western hotels will have it on hand.

We, however, visited friends and family, and our 7-hour trip took 2 days; but that’s part of the vacation–getting there. We usually map out kid-friendly and pet-friendly places to visit. Our first stop in Maine was Best Western’s White House Inn. It’s easy to spot because of the large white columns clearly visible from Interstate 95.

Presidential Decor

Best Western’s White House Inn has presidential memorabilia throughout the hotel. They even have a cardboard cutout of the president. Jordon had his own room, but he wanted to sleep on the sofa bed, which he thinks is way cool.

Located in Bangor, Best Western’s White House Inn is close to Acadia National Park, and just a few hours to Baxter State Park where we were going on a moose tour.

The White House Inn was quite welcoming. They tempted us with warm chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies when we checked in, and we noticed they had biscuits for dogs.

The White House Inn is just one of many Best Western pet-friendly hotels. The slogan here is, “Pets are welcome when accompanied by their ‘parents.’” There is a $10 fee per pet, and there is a large outdoor field just for people walking and exercising with their pets; and another plus is–children under 12 stay free.

Breakfast Included

In addition to welcoming dogs and cats, the White House Inn serves a complimentary continental breakfast. I’m a morning person, so getting up early doesn’t bother me. However, when I travel, I want to eat breakfast at my hotel. I tend to sleep a bit later than usual and like going downstairs for breakfast. So, the eggs, cereals, yogurt, fresh fruit, breads and pastries were a great way to start my day.

The White House Inn also has wireless Internet access in the rooms, as well as a seasonal heated outdoor pool, whirlpool tub, fitness room, walking paths, gas grills, movie rentals, free parking, and RV and truck parking, plus cold weather hook-ups, and other amenities.

Best Western in South Portland

On the way back from our moose tour, we stayed at the Best Western Merry Manor Inn in South Portland.  While we took a look at a few different rooms, we opted to stay in the Maine-themed rustic cabin. Best Western’s Merry Manor Inn has a handful of themed rooms. This one was outstanding.  Jordon declared it as “extremely elegant.”

The two four poster beds, over sized deep tub, mounted toy moose heads on the wall, (I like the toy ones—not the real ones. I just never understood taxidermy.), old fashioned toys that Jordon could play with, a pet bed, large desk with lots of stationery, and Internet access were welcoming and whimsical.

Doggy beds are available at most pet-friendly Best Westerns.

Best Western’s Merry Manor Inn has a year-round outdoor heated pool. I know Maine winters can be brutal, so I don’t know about the pool then. But in the summer it’s grand. Plus, there is a kiddie pool, hot tub, and fitness center. And a full cooked-to-order breakfast served in Governor’s Restaurant on-site is included with all rooms.

Pets are welcome here, and they must be supervised at all times. Best Western Merry Manor Inn is just minutes from beautiful Maine beaches and close to great shopping—like the LL Bean outlet.

Enter Our Contest

Pet News and Views, GoPetFriendly, Doggy Bytes, and Doggie Stylish have teamed up with Best Western to offer one lucky winner a $300 gift card to a pet-friendly Best Western in the U.S. or Canada.

With more than 1,000 pet-friendly Best Westerns to choose from, you are sure to find one that is close to a destination of your choosing. To make your hotel search even easier, Best Western has a handy search tool to identify all of their pet-friendly hotels within the Best Western chain.

How the Contest Works

The contest started on June 16, 2010 (there’s still time to enter!) and ends on June 28 at 11:59 EST, and you get FOUR CHANCES TO ENTER.  Click here for details.