We recently went to NYC to see Lizzo at Radio City. That is a post in itself, but would just be graf after graf of effusive gushing, so I’ll resist.

We stayed at The Dominick Hotel because I’m fortunate to have a best friend who really appreciates the finer things in life, and has determined we’ve reached an age where traveling should include luxuries. He and I don’t always see eye to eye on that, but I always enjoy when he takes the reins and books exactly what he wants. I’m also fortunate that he indulges me and my harebrained, two martini-fueled ideas. Like when I decided I wanted to celebrate my dog’s birthday with a Central Park picnic.

You’ll recall that we live in Washington, D.C.

He agreed to this concept, so long as we could still stay at The Dominick Hotel at Spring and Varick Streets (the old Trump Soho). He called the front desk and… we were in like Flynn. Well, a 30-pound dog was in like Flynn. Cappie is not exactly 30 pounds. So he called back and said Cappie had put on a little extra weight, would she still be allowed to stay? No problem, we were told.

We show up and indeed, no problem. In fact, Cappie was greeted like a queen. The doormen seemed genuinely delighted to welcome her each time we arrived at the Soho spot. In fact, I noticed they were much kinder to Cappie and her caretakers than they were to parents with children. Interesting.

The weekend was a picture perfect last gasp of summer weekend, and with 90 degree temperatures it seemed crazy not to spend a day lounging at the fabulously sunny 7th story pool. Would Cappie be bored in the room alone? No need to worry, she was welcome poolside. To her chagrin, she wasn’t actually allowed into the pool. The sushi bar chef / bartender appeased her with a big bucket of water to cool off and splash around in. This was, of course, highly over the top and very much appreciated.

The Dominick is just a few blocks from the LeRoy Street Dog Park, a feature of the Hudson River Park and Greenway. It’s the definition of an urban dog park — fenced in, all concrete, heavily trafficked, but kept meticulously clean and the pets and owners were really friendly. There’s a water feature that Cappie loved to splash around in (it was clear that Cappie was not a New Yorker the instant she dove into the splash pool as if it were a watering hole, not a vaguely depressing, slightly suspect shallow pool of hose water). Given that I didn’t think a wet dog would endear us to The five-start hotel staff, we dried off in the sunshine over a beer a few blocks up at Pier 45.

While the staff was terrific, the pool an unexpected treat, and the hotel itself beautiful (the decor is a bit dated, but crisp lines and neutrals never really go bad, they just go out of vogue), you are paying a pretty penny for the experience. It’s a five-diamond property, and the prices are commensurate. On top of the nightly rate, there’s a $250 one-time pet fee. This charge gets you an undersized dog bed, a doortag saying there’s a dog inside, two bowls and a feeding mat to borrow for the weekend. The “pet package” was underwhelming. The doortag was important, because it’s how housekeeping staff knew whether or not to come into the room when you were out of it (the staff will not enter the room if the dog is unaccompanied inside, for their safety and the dog’s).

Overall, highly recommend. Especially if you’re an American Express user and can book through Preferred Hotels and Resorts. The Dominick is a part of their “Legends” collection. The breakfast credit and resort credit are great benefits, especially since the room service breakfast is top notch.

Although fair warning, once you give your dog a five-star experience, she will question the AirBnb cabin you take her to next. Your husband might, also.

Uncategorized Dog hotel travel