Best Marriott Hotels for Traveling With a Dog

planning

Mar 25

Written By Kelly W

If you travel with a dog, you know that not all “pet-friendly” hotels are created equal. Some allow dogs but make it complicated. Some charge huge fees. Others technically allow pets but make you feel like you’re sneaking them in the back door.

After years of traveling with our dog Lincoln, including months-long road trips across the U.S. and Canada while working from the road, we’ve stayed at a lot of hotels. Over time, one brand consistently made life easier: Marriott.

Many Marriott hotels are genuinely pet friendly, and some are especially great for road trippers traveling with dogs. In this guide, we’ll walk through the best Marriott hotel brands for dogs, what makes each one good for pet travelers, and why we keep coming back to them when we’re booking stays on the road.

If you’re searching for Marriott pet friendly hotels or trying to find the best hotels for dogs on a road trip, these are the brands we recommend first.

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this section are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them—at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we genuinely love or have personally experienced ourselves. Learn more here.

Why We Book Hotels When Traveling with a Dog

For the first few years of our Travel Seasons, we stayed almost entirely in short-term rentals. We liked having more space, sometimes a yard for Lincoln, and being able to settle into neighborhoods with walking trails and quiet streets.

Eventually, we shifted from Airbnbs to hotels in order to take advantage of more loyalty points, predictable pricing, and the kind of amenities that make long trips easier, such as reliable Wi-Fi, quick check-in, laundry, breakfast, and locations that are easy to access on road trips.

Although hotels are becoming more pet-friendly every year, there’s still one catch we’ve run into over and over again: pet fees vary wildly.

Some hotels welcome dogs for free. Others charge a one-time fee. And occasionally you’ll stumble onto a property charging something like $100 per night, which is how we once ended up changing hotels mid-trip. ($100 per night feels like booking two hotel rooms!)

Over time, we’ve figured out that looking at Marriott hotels first works best for us. Their properties tend to be reliable, the locations are usually convenient for travelers, and their pet policies are typically easy to find on the website or in the app.

What We Look for in Dog-Friendly Hotels

When we’re looking for a pet-friendly hotel, the first thing we do is confirm the specific hotel actually allows pets. It sounds obvious, but not every location within a brand does.

Next, we check the pet fee. Our general rule of thumb is that we try to stay under $75 for the total pet fee, and if it’s less than that or free, even better.

The last thing we check is whether the fee is one-time or nightly, because that can change the math pretty quickly.

Marriott actually makes all of these checks fairly easy. If you visit a hotel’s individual page and scroll down to Hotel Information, the pet policy is usually listed there. The Marriott app also lets you filter for “Pets welcome” so you’re not wasting time looking at properties that won’t allow your dog. (However, it’s still a good idea to confirm what the general app is saying with a specific hotel.)

Marriott Hotel Brands That Work Best When Traveling With a Dog

Over the years, a few Marriott brands have consistently stood out as the easiest places to stay with Lincoln.

Aloft Hotels

If we don’t need a kitchen and are just staying for a night or two, Aloft is often our first choice. Aloft hotels tend to be modern, simple, and welcoming to dogs. Many locations openly advertise being pet-friendly, and some even provide things like dog beds or treats at check-in.

The rooms also usually have hard flooring instead of carpet, which can be helpful. We’ve stayed in several Aloft hotels during road trips and they’ve consistently been easy, comfortable stays with Lincoln along for the ride. Pet fees at Aloft are also generally very reasonable. In our experience, they’ve been the most reasonable out of all Marriott brands.

Element Hotels

Element is another Marriott brand that tends to be reliably pet-friendly. These hotels are designed for longer stays, with kitchenettes, bright open layouts, and plenty of space to settle in for a few days.

We’ve always liked the relaxed feel of Element properties. If you want something that feels a little more like an apartment than a traditional hotel room, Element is a great option.

Moxy Hotels

Friends of ours been raving about Moxy for years, but we didn’t finally try one ourselves until a stay in Virginia Beach. It ended up being a great experience!

Moxy hotels tend to have a fun, modern vibe with smaller but thoughtfully designed rooms, and many locations welcome dogs. The Virginia Beach location was especially memorable because it was right by the ocean, and during the off-season the beach is pet-friendly. Lincoln absolutely loved getting to run around on the sand.

If you’re looking for something a little more lively than a traditional hotel but still dog-friendly, Moxy can be a really great option.

TownePlace Suites by Marriott

TownePlace Suites is an extended-stay brand that works really well for road trips with a dog. The rooms include kitchenettes, desks, and storage space, which makes them practical if you’re staying more than a night or two.

Most locations are also in quieter areas with easy parking, which means quick walks with your dog are usually simple. For longer road trips, TownePlace Suites has become one of the most reliable places we look.

Residence Inn by Marriott

Residence Inn is probably the most comfortable option when you’re staying somewhere for several nights. The rooms are suites, which means you get a living area, kitchen, and more space overall. That layout makes it easy to settle in and gives your dog a little breathing room too.

The only downside we’ve run into is the pet fee, which can sometimes be higher than other brands. Residence Inn properties often charge around $100 for the stay, which isn’t unreasonable if you’re there for several nights but can feel steep if you’re just passing through for one night.

Autograph Collection Hotels

This one has surprised us many times on the road! Autograph Collection hotels are often boutique-style properties, and many of them are actually pet-friendly.

Two stays that really stand out for us are: The National in Oklahoma City and Playa Largo Resort in Key Largo. The National is a stunning historic bank building turned hotel, with huge ceilings, dramatic architecture, and one of the most beautiful hotel lobbies we’ve ever seen. We stayed there over Thanksgiving and were thrilled that Lincoln could stay with us.

Playa Largo in the Florida Keys was another memorable stay. It’s a beautiful waterfront resort that still welcomed dogs, which meant we didn’t have to leave Lincoln behind to enjoy the experience.

These kinds of hotels prove that traveling with a dog doesn’t always mean sacrificing great places to stay. Again, we usually find these hotels by searching pet-friendly near our destination on the Marriott app itself.

Westin Hotels & Resorts

We don’t stay at Westin properties as often as some of the other Marriott brands on this list, but they’re still worth mentioning because they tend to be one of Marriott’s more consistently pet-friendly upscale options.

Many Westins welcome dogs, and while policies vary by property, pet fees are often charged as a one-time fee (usually somewhere around $100-$150). If you’re looking for a more elevated hotel experience but still want to bring your (usually 40lb or smaller) dog along, Westin can be a great choice.

Why Marriott Is One of the Best Hotel Chains for Traveling With Dogs

Marriott has worked well for us because there are so many locations across the country, the quality tends to be consistent, and their pet policies are usually clearly explained before you book.

Over the years, we’ve stayed in dozens of Marriott properties while traveling with Lincoln and like them for a few reasons:

The pet policies are usually clear and consistent
Many locations offer easy outside access for quick dog walks
There are tons of locations, which makes road trip planning easier
If you collect points, it’s easy to stay loyal to one program
Less decision fatigue when you’re booking multiple hotels and filtering through all of the options

Tips for Booking Marriott Pet-Friendly Hotels

We’ve said it already, but our biggest tip is always checking the individual property’s pet policy before booking. Even within the same Marriott brand, rules can vary from one hotel to the next.

Before we book, we usually confirm the pet fee, how many dogs are allowed, whether there are weight limits, and whether dogs can be left alone in the room.

We also take a quick look at the map around the hotel. When you’re traveling with a dog, location matters more than people think, so we like to see if there are nearby parks, walking trails, or quiet neighborhoods for early morning or late-night walks.

And if anything about the pet policy seems unclear online, we’ll often just call the front desk to ask. In our experience, most hotels are happy to confirm their rules and help you avoid surprises when you arrive.