And your golden retriever was staring at you with those big brown eyes while you packed your suitcase. And I felt that in my soul.
The worst part of any trip is leaving your dog behind. You’re already stressed about the flights, and now you’re fretting about whether he’ll eat, whether he’ll cry, and whether whomever is watching him actually cares.
Real talk: Most of my dog boarding experiences have felt like taking my baby to a sad, fluorescent-lit waiting room.
But being a real hotel for dogs is a different energy. This has to do with cozy beds, playtime, and staff that actually loves dogs.
I spent way too many hours reading about this after my cousin’s retriever came home from a bad kennel looking traumatized. So I wanted to share 10 hotel for dogs ideas that’ll make you feel good about leaving.
#1: The Dog Hotel Suite That Makes Boarding Look Like a Five-Star Stay
If you’ve ever had that feeling of dread when you drop your dog off at the local boarding kennel and she stares at you through the chain-link gate with a look that haunts you the rest of the trip, you’ll love this.
These are floor-to-ceiling glass-front suites, built directly into a white-tiled wall. There are two rows of three, and each suite has a small recessed ceiling light and a security camera in the corner. Every suite also has an acrylic glass door with chrome latches, a soft colored mat (blue or grey), a metal water bowl and a personal pee tray for overnight stays. We want your pets to feel comfortable and not cold on a concrete floor so no wire cages!
This is a very affordable DIY project that I did with my kids. You will need modular cube shelving units, cut-to-size acrylic panels and piano hinges for the doors. Line the inside of each cube with a washable velvet mat and slip a small LED puck light into the top corner.
One thing to remember: The camera should be mounted in the back corner of the room, but high enough so that you will have a full view of the entire room. Make sure the camera is not too close to your dog, so you don’t stress the dog out with a lens pointing at his face.
I’m thinking that a neutral color palette (white tile, grey mat, chrome hardware) would photograph beautifully and clean wonderfully.
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @doggo_bkk
#2: The Glass-Door Suite — Where Your Dog Gets a Room Better Than Most Airbnbs
Your dog comes inside from the yard, shaking mud across the hallway, and flopping onto your freshly washed duvet. Sounds familiar? Now imagine if she had her own space, and it was designed for her.
It’s a whole corridor of private glass-door suites! This honestly looks like a boutique hotel for humans, not dogs. Each suite has floor-to-ceiling sliding glass panels with black aluminum frames, grey textured wall panels and tile flooring inside each room. The open suite on the right shows a raised dog bed platform, a double stainless steel feeding station, and a colorful dog portrait mural on the back wall, that Shih Tzu painting is everything.
The hallway floor is running in light wood-look vinyl plank, to keep the whole corridor clean, easy to mop and away from muddy paws.
It’s a DIY project, but a glass-panel interior door could work for a spare bedroom, too. The reason is it lets you check on your pup without opening the door every five minutes and having the bowl elevated off the floor takes some of the neck strain off larger dogs (like my goldens) who have to bend over to eat.
I stick to darker colors for the same reason. It hides the pet hair a lot better. And we have 2 dogs who shed!
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @_halodogs
#3: The Bulldog Pool Club — Because Your Dog Deserves a Lawn With a View
Two chunky, wrinkle-faced English Bulldogs are standing on perfectly trimmed grass right at the edge of a blue mosaic-tiled pool. And you know what? It looks better than most backyard pool setups I’ve seen on Pinterest.
A cool vibe! I liked the upscale outdoor resort style. Think lush green lawn, shaded kennel structure in the background and that gorgeous pool with small square blue-and-white ceramic mosaic tiles on the edge. Both Bulldogs are wearing silver chain collar links.
Get this look at home with artificial or natural turf, kept at 1-2 inches. Add a pool edge with 2×2 cm mosaic ceramic tiles in cobalt and white. Add a shade sail or corrugated metal pergola anchored to the back.
Keep the pool edge at least 12 inches of flat grass between the water and where your dog stands. Bulldogs and water do not mix, babe. That breed sinks fast.
Also, if your dog spends time near the pool, check to make sure chlorine isn’t bothering his skin and causing a yeast infection around the paw folds.
Rinse your wrinkles and paws after every swim. Dry them completely.
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @hotelcaninocaboverde
#4: The Indoor Play Yard That Makes Your Dog Feel Like They’re Literally Outside
This room was built for my golden when she is bouncing off the walls because it’s been raining for three days and she just needs to run.
As you enter Asgard Dubai’s indoor play yard, it’s hard not to feel like you’ve stumbled into a backyard. The room is filled with wall-to-wall artificial turf in a deep, saturated green, and there are light blue paneled half-walls all around, giving the room an open, airy feel. There’s even a realistic-looking faux olive tree in the corner, and a small red fire hydrant prop tucked up in one corner.
The play equipment in the middle is a modular dog agility set which is basically bright yellow, red, green and blue pieces of plastic you stick together to make tunnels, ramps and arched bridges.
I just bought my puppy an artificial turf bed because my dog likes to dig at the concrete outside when she has to go potty. This way, it keeps the area clean and cushioned for her and I don’t have to worry about mud getting all over the floors of my Pinterest worthy mud room!
The blue lower-wall panels are a great idea and a steal. It protects the walls from scratches and helps to extend the “outdoor” illusion to your puppy.
If your turf makes you dreaming about your backyard play corner, why not pair it with one of these 7 cozy dog beds you can easily make yourself? The right spot for the little one after a play time.
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @asgard.dubai
#5: The Dog Suite That Looks Like a Tiny House (And Your Pup Will Lose It)
Picture dropping your dog off somewhere and actually being happy about it. No sad concrete kennel smell, and no chain-link fences. Just this!
Each of these individual suites is constructed of dark-stained pine wood frames that are shaped like tiny A-frame houses. The units are suspended from the ceiling with thick natural rope and metal hardware. Each unit also comes with glass-paneled doors and lever handles so your dog feels enclosed without being trapped in the dark. The bone-print navy mat on the floor and the stainless steel water bowl complete the bedroom-like feel of the unit.
And you wouldn’t believe how much it mattered. My cousin’s dog used to shake the whole car ride to boarding school. But when she was out in places like this, she didn’t bark the whole weekend.
And I have to say that I love the two tone wall treatment that you have done on the wall where the bookshelves are. I like that it pulls the white colour in the lower part of the room together without conflicting with the wood in the upper half of the wall.
Keep this in mind: the rope suspension system is not just for looks, but it also helps to keep the frame lightweight and removable, and make the deep cleaning of the suite floor a two minute job.
I finished out the pine frames with a non toxic wood stain (to protect against drool, and Paw smudges!).
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @mu.creating.spaces
#6: The Sleepover Suite Your Dog Deserves (Yes, It’s Real)
Imagine if you will dropping your dog off at the groomer and not feeling a little bit guilty. No cold kennel smell, no concrete floors. Just soft beds, warm lamp light, and my dog watching Bluey on the wall mounted TV.
There are two elevated cot-style dog beds in this room – one is dressed in a cream fleece blanket, the other has a blue paw-print fleece cover. There are bone-print waterproof mats on the floor in grey and navy, and the small framed photos of dogs on the wall are set in a cluster gallery style. There is even a small cross and a “Love Family” decal! This room almost feels like someone’s living room!
A torchiere floor lamp will provide that cozy warm glow rather than bright overhead lighting. Make sure you have two or three floor mats instead of one large rug. You should try having a cartoon on for them as they respond well to familiar sounds and light movement on the screen.
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @workingforwags
#7: The Balloon & Play Zone That’ll Make Your Dog Forget You Ever Left
Just imagine your little golden coming home from daycare, completely wiped out but with that happy, satisfied energy… that’s what this play space gives off.
My dogs absolutely love the red and blue plastic castle climber, and there is a built-in slide! There are a bunch of orange and blue latex balloons scattered everywhere, and a polished concrete floor that is easy to clean after the zoomies. Dogs love chasing the bouncy balloons, but they can’t destroy them!
Get a Little Tikes-style playset, or other castle-style playset (most I’ve seen are $60 secondhand or less). Throw in a bag of 12-inch latex balloons in bright colors. Add a small stainless steel bucket and a couple of tennis balls for texture.
Playing with balloons help anxious dogs gain confidence. It’s unpredictable movement, soft texture, and pop-risk keep their brains fully engaged.
Change the balloon colors each week so that they never get boring.
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @k9sonlywestla
#8: The Agility Play Yard — Because Your Girl Deserves a Whole Playground
Picture this: your golden is losing her mind with excitement the second she spots that perfectly manicured green turf. no muddy paws. no torn up backyard. just pure play energy.
Behind me you’ll see a lush green turf field with an orange traffic-style agility cone weave pattern that gets a dog’s brain and body working at the same time. The walls keep the dogs contained and at the other end of the field is a wooden-fenced lounge area for you (or your staff) to watch the show.
To recreate this with your dog, you will need 6-8 standard orange agility cones, a roll of pet-safe artificial turf, and a worn canvas ball.
And here’s what’s so smart about this: using the cone weave pattern helps your dog focus and burns off energy faster than a regular fetch session ever could. This is great news, as even a small backyard patch of 10×15 ft is sufficient.
Space the cones 3 feet apart for a beginner dog. More advanced, trained dogs can handle them closer, without needing the buckets.
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @jeffurrys_petcare
#9: The Pink Play Paradise — Where Your Golden Could Literally Live Full-Time
Imagine how fabulous it must feel to finally be somewhere where your dog doesn’t smell like wet dog and sadness.
This place is a full indoor dog daycare with the blush pink walls, a white epoxy floor and even a couple of topiary trees in the middle of the play zone! It’s Pinterest for the dogs. The cloud-cutout dividers between the sections? Chef’s kiss. I believe dogs get visual stimulation and comfort without overwhelming the other dogs around them. This probably helps them feel less anxious and keeps the tail-wagging high.
The boxes are built with low pink partition walls (maybe 3-4 feet tall) to create play pods. The pods are big enough for multiple dogs to fit in without getting crowded. The trees are potted ficus standards in black planters. Real planters. Not fake.
As if that wasn’t enough, the flooring is quite cute as well. It’s made out of white epoxy resin which is non-porous, so it will be easy to clean and safe for your girl’s joints.
I think I’m going to try and stick to the same color palette for my bathroom. Just one color on the wall, white floor and green plants, that’s it. Just three elements so it doesn’t look chaotic.
They keep a decently low staff to dog ratio so that your dog actually gets looked at. For example, when I picked up my dog the dog handler said “your dog is feeling energetic today.” I was surprised they could even tell.
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @mydogtel
#10: The Dog Toy Hotel That’ll Make You Ditch the Plastic Bin Forever
And girl, you know that moment when you step on the squeaky giraffe at 7am when your coffee isn’t even ready yet? This is the perfect setup.
This cute little wooden house shaped toy organizer is seriously everything! It’s made from a cozy natural pine wood and has a little peak on the roof. It’s filled with two open cubbies and stuffed with cute plush animals, rubber chew toys, and rope pulls.
I recreated this with an IKEA FLISAT dollhouse shelf. I filled the lower cubby with larger stuffed animals like a plush giraffe and a leopard print squeaky and a floppy dog toy. Then I stacked the top shelf with rubber spiky balls and rope toys. I added a pink bone chew toy on the floor as a landing-pad piece.
The best part: open shelving means that if your dog wants a particular toy she can easily pick her own toy out. No digging around in a bin of toys, no looking through a basket, no messing around. My golden just trots up to the toy shelf and grabs what she wants.
I rotate toys weekly so that my dog’s shelves don’t get old and she’s interested in playing with her toys. I also keep heavier toys on the bottom shelf so that it doesn’t get all top heavy and topple.
📸 Photo credit: Instagram @petvibenewyork
The One Thing Most Dog Owners Miss Before Boarding Their Pup
Now that I’ve made this mistake, I cringe when I think about it.
Yesterday, my cousin dropped her dog off at a new place to board him. She forgot to bring something for him to smell that he has from home. Her dog spent the 3 days anxious, barely eating.
What are you teaching? You tell the dogs that they will be leaving. They do not bond to places they bond to scent anchors.
If you’re planning on booking your golden into a dog hotel, pack a worn but unwashed t-shirt of yours. It will keep their cortisol down for the first 24 hours, which is when they are most likely to get stressed.
Another danger is booking a facility where your dog is required to play with other dogs all day. It may sound like more fun for your dog, but golden retrievers are very social dogs and need to be able to rest or be alone from time to time to help manage the level of anxiety that they feel in their environment.
Try this first: Ask them how many quiet hours they have per day. If they do not know, walk away.
Your pup deserves to rest, not to be in chaos, even if it looks fun.
Your Floors Deserve Better Than Paper Towels and Prayers
I wish I could send you a plate of cookies because you are the sweetest, and I know you are exhausted with the muddy paw prints and the golden retriever chaos. But, I can’t, so instead I am sending you this rug. Pick one. Just order it. That’s it.
I did it last spring after my cousin’s dog destroyed my favorite piece from my entryway. It’s the best decision I ever made. No more panic-cleaning! }
Your home can look Pinterest-perfect AND survive dog ownership. Those two things aren’t opposites anymore.
i’ll have to think about that…..which style do you like better??? the washable runner or the other one that will definitely have her nap on first????
Amr Mohsen is a software engineer who traded his keyboard for a leash — at least on weekends. His love for dogs inspired him to share what he learns as a dog owner and enthusiast, bringing a detail-oriented, research-driven perspective to every article he writes. If it’s about dogs, he’s probably already looked it up twice.
