Taking A Sniff At New Luxury Hotel For Dogs

Are you a dog? Is your human going on one of those vacations" sometime soon?

Then make sure they book you at the Hydrant Hotel in Riverhead.

All your drool-inducing dreams will come true at this new, high-end facility, with a wide range of luxuries available right at the tips of your fingers—er, paws.

From spacious suites and wide-open play areas to a park-sized nature trail and a future swimming pool, you are sure to feel as if you on your own vacation while being pampered at this roughly-10,000-square-foot resort situated on 4 acres on Raynor Avenue.

The renovated building previously housed a potato barn, an auto body shop and Newsday offices. The Hydrant had its soft opening on December 4, when it started taking reservations for the holidays. It not only offers boarding, but also serves as a day care with grooming and training services.

Owners Anthony and Rebecca Pollina, self-proclaimed dog lovers who have seven canines of their own, said they wanted dog owners—like yours—to have a place to provide fun things for their furry family members to do.

"This is not a boarding facility. We want to make this a destination for you to come with your dog—socially, as well as for business, as well as for vacation. We really want to offer something for everybody,” said Mr. Pollina, the hotel's CEO. “Our whole concept here is that we wanted to create a place people can feel really good about bringing their dog."

The facility boasts 63 standard and "condo" suites, plus four "luxury" suites, all containing hammock-style beds, which means no sleeping on hard surfaces. It'll be like sleeping on a cloud! The Pollinas also said they would like to install—wait for it—televisions in some of the suites, so you can still keep up with the Kardashians on your vacay if, you know, you're into that kind of show.

And for all you cats out there, there are eight suites that each include five tiers of climbing space. The Pollinas said they plan to add more.

You can tell your humans that the rates for boarding and day care will be similar to those at the Pollinas' other facility, DogTown day care, located in Southold. Overall rates will vary depending on the type of suite, time of the year and what extra services your human books for you, but they are $45 per night for dogs and $28 for cats—in both cases plus $5 for the holiday season. Doggy day care costs $32 per day.

Whether you book one day or a few, your humans can relax knowing that your health will be monitored. They can also request all sorts of special perks tailored especially to your personal desires.

Don't interact well with other dogs? Have them ask for private playtime, where it's just you and a hotel staff member engaged in an awesome game of fetch, or whatever else you like to play.

Don't know a lot of tricks? Your human can schedule some training time for you to learn a command or two.

Don't indulge much? Make sure your human requests a pre-bedtime treat. The hotel offers everything from peanut butter-stuffed Kong toys to doggy ice cream.

Don't smell so good? They can also schedule a grooming session so you can be squeaky clean when you go home.

Ms. Pollina, the hotel's president, said she also plans to incorporate aromatherapy, so you can feel relaxed if you get anxious in new places.

There are features your humans can appreciate, too. When they drop you off, they can do a little shopping for treats, food and toys that you can enjoy when you go home, and they can also grab a cup of coffee from the Aldo's Coffee kiosk on their way out.

Humans still not sold? Allow Mr. Pollina to convince them.

"You’re booking an awesome trip to Jamaica. Are you going to book it at a hotel or a hospital? And do you want that hotel, when you get there, to be a full-on resort, have drinks on the beach, and offer everything under the sun to you at your disposal, anytime you want? That’s the same concept we want for our dogs here," he said.

"That’s really what the appeal is, that we’re here solely to cater to your dog while you’re on vacation," he continued. "So while you’re sipping your drink on the beach in Jamaica, your dog is here having a blast and going to bed exhausted every day. And then just to start it over the next morning. That’s what we’re looking to do here."

The Pollinas have owned DogTown since 2008, where most of the same services are offered, except on a smaller scale.

Three years ago their own dogs, plus the humans, moved from Greenport to Riverhead to open a larger facility, having developed the concept for the Hydrant Hotel just the year before.

“We set ourselves up here knowing we were going to build this,” Mr. Pollina said.

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