Before booking, the useful question is not whether a hotel accepts dogs but on what terms it accepts yours. A hotel that welcomes a small, quiet dog in a ground-floor room may decline a large dog, a pair of dogs, or any dog at certain times of year, and the fees attached to a stay range from a modest nightly charge to a deposit that changes the arithmetic of the whole trip. None of this is hidden, but much of it sits behind a short line on a website saying that dogs are welcome, so the checking has to happen before the deposit, in writing, while walking away is still easy.
Fees: What Is Charged, Per What, and When
Ask what fees apply and how each one is structured. Is the pet fee charged per night, per dog, per stay, or as a cleaning charge added at the end? Two dogs for four nights at a per-night, per-dog rate is a very different figure from a single flat charge, and owners regularly misread one structure as the other. Ask whether the fee is payable in advance with the booking or settled at departure, and whether it is refundable if you cancel within the hotel's ordinary cancellation terms.
Ask whether any part of the charge is a deposit held against damage rather than a fee you simply pay, and if so, how and when it is returned. Ask about extras that behave like fees even when they carry another name: charges for a dog bed or bowls provided in the room, for additional cleaning after checkout, or for using a particular entrance or exercise area. A polite written list of every dog-related charge, agreed before booking, prevents the particular misery of a surprise line on the final bill argued over at a reception desk with a car already packed.
Size, Breed and Number Limits
Ask what size or breed limits the hotel sets, and ask in concrete terms rather than accepting an assurance that dogs of all shapes are welcome. Some hotels cap weight, some exclude particular breeds, and some accept any dog but restrict larger dogs to certain rooms, floors or buildings within the site. If your dog sits near a boundary, a weight limit or a room type, say her actual weight and breed plainly and get the acceptance confirmed in writing, because the member of staff who helps you on arrival may apply the written policy more strictly than the person who took the booking.
Ask how many dogs may share one room. The answer governs multi-dog households completely, and it often interacts with the fee structure, so a household of two or three dogs should establish both answers together: the maximum number permitted, and the total charge for that number across the whole stay. Ask also whether the limit differs for a suite, a cottage or an annexe if the property has several kinds of accommodation, since the generous option is sometimes available one building away from the restrictive one.
Damage Terms: Cleaning, Repairs and Deposits
Ask what the damage terms say before your dog has any chance to test them. What counts as damage rather than ordinary use: muddy paw prints, a scratched door, a chewed skirting board, an accident on the carpet? What does the hotel charge for each kind, is there a set scale or an assessment after checkout, and how are disputes handled if you disagree with a charge? Ask whether a refundable damage deposit is taken, how large it is, and what must happen for it to come back in full.
Then get the provider's agreed terms confirmed in writing, covering fees, limits, numbers and damage, and keep that confirmation with your booking. Should the written terms make bringing her the worse option, the sitter you have chosen back home can be given narrow, expiring entry via Care Pass, while KinsLe records that the entry was limited to the period you set.