Kick the kibble to the curb! More than merely allowing your best friend a place to stay when you’re on the go, many upscale hotels are now literally catering to canines with fancy options like gourmet grub.  “Pet owners are an attractive demographic,” the L.A. Times reported, “last year spending more than $50 billion on their four-legged friends, a 73% increase in the last decade, according to Dillon Media, a marketing strategy firm. The biggest spenders were people who don’t have kids at home — the kind of traveler who can stay longer and spend more.”

“Instead of just providing doggie beds and feeding bowls, there’s a surge in hotels offering special pet menus,” said Lisa Porter, owner of the website Pet Hotels of America.

The trend sounds like a symptom of swank SoCal life, but the Times’ list also includes lavish lodgings in Seattle, New York, and Canada. Check out their list of coast-to-coast digs if you’re in the mood to indulge your dog.

• “The Luxe City Center Hotel, an upscale boutique hotel in downtown Los Angeles, offers a clever menu for pups, including vegetarian fare, a protein plate, and dishes such as the Working Dog, beef tenderloin with scrambled eggs, baby spinach and brown rice.” All dishes are $15.
• “At the Cypress Inn, dogs have been welcome since the mid-1980s and pet guests have included parrots and pot bellied pigs. Daily Yappy Hour with non-alcoholic Muttinis offered for four-legged drinkers. Menu items include Pooched Egg with chopped bacon, $4; Muttloaf, diced steak with rice, $7, and Something Smells Fishy, salmon with rice, $7.”

“Instead of just providing doggie beds and feeding bowls, there’s a surge in hotels offering special pet menus,”– Lisa Porter,  Pet Hotels of America

•  “Chaminade, a mountaintop retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains, has a new Pooch Patio Menu featuring yappetizers, entrees and desserts. Entrees include grilled chicken and rice, $5.25; K-9 hamburger sliders with rice, $5.25; and salmon, $6.25. During Yappy Hour, pups receive a complimentary yappetizer with the purchase of a guest appetizer.”
• “The Calistoga Ranch greets visitors with a wine bottle filled with organic pet treats and a “Happy Tails” newsletter featuring information on local pet-friendly wineries, restaurants, and hiking and walking trails. Dog beds have velvet sheets by Italian linen company Rivolta Carmignani and a down-filled cushion. The menu is priced according to dog size, with little dogs charged $8 and large dogs $13 per entree; it includes dishes such as ground beef and rice and diced chicken and pasta.”
• In Seattle, “The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, a downtown landmark, offers pets a menu that includes items such as tenderloin steak and Fiji water, $35, and bone-shaped cookies, 3 for $8.
•  On the East Coast, canines and their companion can find furry refinement in New York City. “The luxury Surrey Hotel partnered with a gourmet biscuit company, Bocce’s Bakery, to provide canine guests with an in-room biscuit menu. Upscale menu offerings, all $14, include beef Bourguignon, chicken cordon bleu and truffle mac & cheese.”
• While traveling up North, Whistler, Canada has a fun place to “paws” for the evening: “The Fairmont Chateau Whistler offers three courses for hungry pooches, who can dine on egg and gizzard pudding for breakfast, baked grits and cheese for lunch, and lamb and rice stew for dinner from the Furrmont Club menu.”  — Casandra Armour