KANAB, UTAH—Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile, a pet-centric, 40-room lodging option in Kanab, Utah, will open its doors to travelers—and their pets—on August 15, 2019. The new hotel, which is owned and operated by Best Friends Animal Society, will provide complimentary shuttle transportation to and from the organization’s nearby Sanctuary, as well as organized Best Friends member activities, including volunteer opportunities and pet sleepovers. Revenue from the Roadhouse will support Best Friends’ efforts to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters by 2025.
The Roadhouse features 30 regular rooms, eight suites, and two two-level suites, while the Mercantile houses reception, a common area space for guests, a complimentary vegan continental breakfast bar, and retail that includes Best Friends and Roadhouse branded merchandise as well as vegan grab-and-go items, beer, and wine.
Guests can feel comfortable bringing their pets along for the trip with pet-friendly features such as guestrooms outfitted with special fabrics and materials, pet introduction doors—a two-door entry that ensures the pet will not slip out, room furnishings built 18 inches or higher to avoid pet entrapment or accidents, nooks for sleeping featuring pet mattress, as well as communal complimentary pet washing stations and fenced-in park with a water feature, and pet walking services and sitting, upon arrangement.
Tens of Thousands of Visitors Annually
“Every year more than 30,000 travelers visit Best Friends Animal Sanctuary,” said Brooks Bradbury, Director of Hospitality, Best Friends Animal Society. “These visitors need a lodging complex that will cater not only to them but pets, too, including those who travel with their own furry companions and others who might be considering adopting from our Sanctuary.”
Designed by WOW Atelier of Salt Lake City, the hotel is comprised of two simple, low slung structures—the Roadhouse and the Mercantile—that sit unobtrusively within Kanab’s landscape of flat open land and undulating hills.
The Roadhouse will provide an ideal in-town location for activities for guests and the community, including Best Friends presentations, musical performances, videos, lectures and discussions, art fairs, farmers markets, yoga classes and more that will further engage visitors in a Best Friends designed experience.
Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile is located at the center of the “Golden Circle” and serves as an ideal base camp for day trips to Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon National Parks and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
