The brewery’s name, King’s Road, refers to the establishment’s original address on the historic Kings Highway. King’s Highway is America’s oldest road, originally laid out from 1650 to 1735 in the American colonies. The “King’s road” was built on the order of Charles II of England, and used by post riders to deliver mail. It was eventually widened and smoothed to accommodate horse-drawn wagons and stagecoaches. In New Jersey, the highway was built in 1681 by the Colonial Assembly. The road passes through 8 different historic districts and 6 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Kings Road brew crew took craft beer to the next level by opening a brewery and tasting room in 2017 on King’s Highway in Haddonfield, New Jersey…a previously dry town since 1873!
Kings Road has a Mug Club. Each club member receives their own personalized numbered mug that hangs from the ceiling of the brewery’s two tasting rooms. Mug Club members get specially-priced pours from their very own mug each time they visit.
In 2021, Kings Road Brewing Company opened up a location in Medford New Jersey that included a dog friendly outdoor seating area. On October 3, 2021 Porter joined us for our first visit.
This was a bit of an emotional outing for me, as Margarita had always been our brewery/winery companion. As you can see from the unedited photo above, I think she joined us in spirit and was laying right next to Porter. Porter had many admirers and received an abundance of hugs, kisses, and belly rubs while Brian and I enjoyed our beer tasting.
The atmosphere here was fun, the staff were welcoming, and the beer was delicious! We were also lucky enough to catch the finals round of the King’s Road Steinholding contest, which was very exciting to watch (I think we may need to start training for next year’s competition)!
If you and your pup are ever in the Haddonfield or Medford areas of NJ, be sure to check out King’s Road Brewing Company!
Located in the Fairmount Neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA, and set in a 19th century firehouse, Jack’s Firehouse is definitely worth a visit! Jack’s Firehouse is located directly across from Eastern State Penitentiary on Fairmount Avenue.
Margarita
Margarita
Even though we sat at the dog-friendly outdoor seating area, Brian and I each took a moment to explore the inside of this unique establishment. Most of the original mahogany interior, wooden plank flooring, and yes, even the brass fire pole are still intact! There is also a racing shell suspended over top the bar.
What great history this place has! The fire company that originally occupied Jack’s was Truck A, now referred to as Ladder Company 1 and located on Parish Street in Philadelphia. Truck A was the first paid Philadelphia Fire Department in 1871.
We enjoyed a glass of wine and ordered the Calamari with Hot Pepper Chips, Carrots, and Hot Lava – and it was absolutely amazing! We enjoyed being able to take in the historic, yet sometimes eerie views of Eastern State Penitentiary.
Located in the Fairmount Neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA on Fairmount Avenue, Urban Saloon has outdoor seating, is dog-friendly (they even bring our a bowl of water for your pup!) and is situated directly across from Eastern State Penitentiary.
Margarita visited here in 2019
Margarita
Margarita
Cello was here on April 27, 2014!
Limoncello
Limoncello
“Not a worry in the world, a PBR on the way – Life is good today. Life is good today.” ~ Zac Brown Band
It was exciting, yet eerie to enjoy a glass of wine at their outdoor seating area while gazing at the historic Eastern State Penitentiary.
Named after a perfectly poured pint of Guinness, The Bishop’s Collar is located in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA on the corner of 24th Street and Fairmont Avenue.
This was our first stop after my Birthday Hike at Wissahickon Park. Here we enjoyed Risotto Balls appetizer, served with marinara sauce (YUM!)… and of course washed them down with a Bloody Mary (Jen’s choice) and a pint of Boddington’s (Brian’s choice).
The atmosphere was fun and lively on this day, as the Flyers were playing. Cello enjoyed people and dog watching along Fairmount Avenue, and we very much enjoyed our food, drink, and the jubilant atmosphere here!
Kelly Green Brewing Company, located in Pittman, NJ, is open Wednesdays from 5 – 10PM, Thursdays from 5 – 10 PM, Fridays from 3- 10 PM, Saturdays from 12 – 10 PM, and Sundays from 12:30 am – 6 PM.
You can take a tour any time during brewery hours, and if you don’t plan to hang out in their tasting room, you can bring your growler in to be filled with your favorite Kelly Green Brewing Co. beer.
Right now their beer cannot be bought in stores – it is brewed and sold exclusively at the brewery.
We enjoyed the beer, the atmosphere, and the fellow beer drinkers here!
After Margarita was blessed by the Pastor at the Blessing of the Animals, we headed over to see The Stone Pony. We then decided to check out the Asbury Park boardwalk. There are several dog friendly eateries on this boardwalk. We decided to try Pop’s Garage – and were glad we did!
With authentic Mexican cuisine and delicious drinks, how could we pass it up!?!
The staff was very dog friendly and set up a water bowl for Rita.
The food was delicious, and the drinks were amazing! If we are ever back in Asbury Park, we will definitely be visiting Pop’s Garage again!
Hammonton, NJ has several wineries that we have visited, but we had never tried a Hammonton brewery. We loved the beer and the atmosphere here!
Tasting room:
This brewery is a small craft brewery in downtown Hammonton, NJ. Their focus is brewing IPA’s and Saison style beers, which are available in their tasting room and distributed all over NJ.
The beer selections in our tasting were delicious, and the brewery was extremely dog friendly!
My tail points to English Chestnut… trust me on this one!
Yup – we have everything, Dad! Now let’s go home and play fetch!
Margarita was a great shopper!
*Please note- not all Lowe’s Home Improvement stores are dog friendly. The company leaves it to the store manager’s decision, so be sure to call ahead if you plan to take your pup along with you to shop in a Lowe’s store.
We had a blast here enjoying some very tasty beer selections, and meeting other people and their dogs! A German Shorthaired Pointer came in and immediately warmed right up to Margarita!
We enjoyed doing a beer tasting here – so many great choices!
Margarita wanted to know why SHE wasn’t offered a tasting!
I just love their keg Christmas tree!
We will definitely be back to Flying Fish Brewing Company!
Brian and I have always searched for dog friendly wineries to try. Just recently we began trying the dog friendly breweries in South Jersey, not realizing just how many there were! Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing Co. has definitely been added to our “favorites” list!
To start – check out the cool over-sized Connect-Four game at the brewery entrance!
The beer here was delicious, and the people were friendly and knowledgeable.
Best of all, the brewery has two skeeball machines, a spin wheel and fun house mirrors – and they donate a portion of the proceeds from skeeball to a different charity each month! When we visited, the charity-of-the-month was the Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees, NJ!
The brewery was very festive for the Holidays, and even had a beer can Christmas tree.
I highly recommend their Funnel Cake beer!
I love that they have a bunch of board games available for people to play while enjoying a few of their beer selections!
Another stay at the campground in July 2017 in our Class A:
We had never camped here before – but were pleasantly surprised at the roomy camp sites, beach bar and restaurant, and pool. This campground even has a hotel on the grounds, AND even has a dog beach!
This hotel had a great dog-friendly set of rooms that each had sliding glass doors that led out to a private, enclosed potty area.
We received the best gift ever this past Christmas – the Petcube camera – and used it for the first time here. We were able to attend the banquet all while keeping and eye on the pups!
After all of our winery visits on the Shawangunk Wine Trail, how could we resist stopping here for a bite to eat!?!
Limoncello at the Orange Inn was opened by brothers Luigi and Victor Kapiti in August of 2006. These brothers renovated what was once a rundown restaurant and inn. The Orange Inn was a Goshen Landmark, dating back to 1790. Many historical figures were guests at the inn, especially from the Revolutionary War era. The inn’s well-known guests ranged from George Washington to James Cagney.
During the Civil War, the Orange Inn was used as a haven for escaped slaves. The building itself is built on the foundation of an old prison!
Located across the street from the World’s oldest harness racetrack – Goshen’s historic race track – many people would come to the inn (especially to the bar within the inn!) after the races.
We enjoyed a snack of fried calamari served with Thai chili sauce – which I highly recommend if you ever find yourself visiting Limoncello at the Orange Inn!
Whitecliff is an artisanal, family run winery fashioned by the current owners and founders from the ground up, in what was an empty field thirty years ago.
The view of the White Cliffs from the tasting room patio was magnificent!
Arriving at the winery, there was a driveway lined with artistically painted doors – really cool! This driveway leads you right through the heart of the vineyard.
They had a great list of wines to choose from here! The dogs were allowed in the tasting room – but with this view, who wants to sit INside?!
Check out the storm drain!
Currently, White Cliff Vineyard is one of the largest vineyards in the Hudson Valley, with over 20 varieties of grapes planted in their vineyard.
We enjoyed the wine, the dog-friendly atmosphere, and the view at this vineyard!
The wineries along the Shawangunk Wine Trail just keep getting cooler!
Adair Vineyards, located in New Paltz, New York, is housed in a 200+ year old barn, once occupied by cows and horses.
The winery has a stream running by with the Shawangunk Mountains in the background.
The winery also supports several animal related charities including:
Pets Alive Animal Sanctuary: a no-kill animal rescue, located in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, This organization’s mission is to improve the lives of companion animals everywhere by any means possible, including rescue, adoption, advocacy, collaboration, intervention and education.
The Sato Project: dedicated to rescuing abandoned & abused dogs from Puerto Rico. They have rescued and rehabilitated over 1,200 dogs, and are working towards systemic change through education and partnerships on the Island.
The tasting room and gift shop are located in the loft of the barn and the wine making area is below – and dogs are allowed inside!
We decided to do a wine tasting here, as this winery had many interesting wines to choose from!
The loft of the barn – the tasting room – was really neat!
The setting is a 37 acre estate that overlooks the historic Hudson River Valley. The grounds were stunning!
This winery had delicious wines, also was very dog friendly. The allowed Cello and Hooch to come inside to the tasting room – this was Hooch’s very first time INside of a winery’s tasting room!
The inside of the winery was really unique as well!
This winery was SO neat! So far, we are very much enjoying the Shawangunk Wine Trail!
We found a dog friendly brewery along our travels on the Shawangunk Wine Trail! We almost missed the building – until we noticed the “RD” on the door 🙂
Rushing Duck Brewery, located in Chester, NY, not only has great beer – they are super dog-friendly, and the dogs are allowed inside!
Just 2 guys hanging at the brewery:
Cello decided to volunteer as the brewery bouncer during our visit:
When Cello wasn’t checking out new patrons, she was enjoying her time with her Pop!
This brewery has some really great beer selections! I highly recommend the Zingerbier!
Established in 1839, this winery is located in the village of Washingtonville, in Orange County, New York. This winery really has some great history behind it!
Hooch was ready to go on his first-ever solo adventure!
We found it! This beach is located at the base of the Ocean Drive Bridge, on the Longport side, across from the fishing pier.
Walking on the path leading to the beach:
Along this path we saw the sweetest thing: A tribute to a dog who once loved to play on this same beach. A basket of toys were left in memory of Scruffy, so that other dogs could enjoy the beach as much as Scruffy did.
A great tribute to a dog who once loved to play on this beach!
Hooch was checking out the toys he could borrow while playing on this beach.
The beach was a pretty good size, with many families enjoying time with their dogs off-lead both on the beach, and in the water.
Hooch is not ready to be off-lead, so he enjoyed running in the water on his leash. Even though he was on-lead, he still somehow managed to steal a tennis ball from a Jack Russell Terrier!
Hooch LOVED playing in the waves:
Hooch was unsure about this “moving water” at first!
Then he decided to just go for it!
He loved jumping the waves!
Having a blast in the Atlantic Ocean!
We were both soaked, exhausted, and full of sand after this trip!
“Double Trouble,”…What an appropriately named destination for our two Hooligans’ first hike of 2015 !
There are conflicting stories about how this area got its name. The most common legend focuses on the dam at Cedar Creek. Sawmill operator, Thomas Potter, may have “coined” the words “Double Trouble” after heavy Spring rains washed out the dam twice in the 1770’s.
Another myth says that muskrats in the area were relentless at chewing on the dam. When a hole was discovered from the muskrats’ constant gnawing, workmen in the village would say, “Here’s trouble,” and rush to repair the leak. One day, two holes were discovered at once, and a village worker overheard the owner say, “Here’s Double Trouble.”
Welcome to Double Trouble State Park!
Located on the eastern edge of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, and encompassing over 200 acres, Double Trouble State Park provides a fine example of a typical Pine Barrens community centered around the logging industry and cranberry agriculture. Isolated Pine Barrens communities such as this one (and Batsto) were built to be entirely self-sufficient, and their survival depended 100% on the success of the particular industry the community was built around. This area has a natural cedar forest, and stream, which provided both raw materials and water power for a substantial lumber industry from the 1700’s to the 1900’s. As workers cut down the timber, the cleared cedar swamps created a bog environment – perfect for growing cranberries. Cranberry culture began at Double Trouble Village in the 1860’s. By the 20th century, the Double Trouble Company was one of the largest cranberry operations in the state.
Did you know that today, with approximately 3,600 acres of cranberry farms, New Jersey is currently the third largest cranberry producing state in the United States? Cranberries in our parts are known as the “Jewel of the Pine Barrens!!” Interestingly, New Jersey’s leading cranberry farmer, William S. Haines, is located in Cello and Hooch’s birth-town of Chatsworth, NJ! Haines has over 700 acres of cranberries on his Chatsworth Pine Island Company Cranberry Farm, and his family’s history of cranberry cultivation dates back to 1895. Cello and Hooch’s birth-town also is also home to both an Ocean Spray juice company plant (one of the leading cranberry juice companies), and one of New Jersey’s largest festivals… The Cranberry Festival, a celebration of New Jersey’s cranberry harvest, offering a tribute to the Pine Barrens and its local culture. There is a huge, diverse presentation of local artists, craftsmen, and wineries – some offering demonstrations, and all providing items for sale. And of course… there’s “everything cranberry,” including cranberry jam, jelly, chutney, ice cream, cranberry wine!
Ever wonder how Cranberries are harvested? It’s really pretty cool…First, Cranberries grow in the bed of a bog. Cranberries have pockets of air inside them. Because of this, cranberries float in water. When the cranberries are ready for harvesting, the bogs are flooded to dislodge the fruit from the vines. Water reels, nicknamed “egg-beaters” are used to “stir-up” the water in the bogs. When the water is stirred, the cranberries disconnect from the vine, and float to the surface of the water! Wooden or plastic “booms” are used to round-up the berries, which are then lifted by conveyor, or pumped into a truck to be taken to a receiving station to be cleaned and processed. Pretty neat, huh?!
Cranberry cultivation still continues today in several bogs at Double Trouble State Park. Some of the bogs in the park are maintained and harvested sporadically by farmers who lease the bogs, since the purchase of the park by the state in 1964. Here are pictures of cranberries being harvested at Double Trouble State Park
Double Trouble State Park is also listed on Weird NJ for an unusual and explainable event that occurred here! The pictures below captured this “weird” event.
The water in Double Trouble State Park is “tea” colored, and known as “cedar water” – just like the lake Cello and Hooch live on – and most lakes in the Pine Barren area. This coloring is caused by the tannic acids found in the Atlantic White Cedar trees (which is what our log home is made of) — as well as the naturally occurring iron in the water.
Here is a picture of Hooch swimming in our lake this past summer. You can see the color of the “cedar water” in our lake.
Double Trouble Village has a restored sawmill and cranberry sorting / packing house, both containing working operational equipment. These two buildings were the focus of the village, which also includes a late 19th century one room schoolhouse, general store, bunk house, cook house, shower house, maintenance shop, pickers’ cottages and the foreman’s house. Most buildings are not restored, and look to be left “as is” on the inside (peek inside windows of the buildings while you are here!!) and only the sawmill and cranberry packing house are restored, and open to the public, exclusively during guided tours.
Double Trouble Village was purchased by the State of New Jersey in 1964 to help protect the Cedar Creek watershed. Double Trouble was placed on the State Register of Historic Places in 1977, and on the National Register in 1978.
Cranberry Bogs
Double Trouble School
Operated from approximately 1893-1915, this one-room school is the oldest remaining structure in the village.
If you peek in the windows, you can see the old school desks inside.
Burke House
This was the home of the Burke family from 1938 until 1957.
Mr. David Burke was foreman of the cranberry processing operations until 1967.
Cranberry Sorting and Packing House
Built in 1909, This building was filled with workers who hand-scooped cranberries, sorted them according to size and quality,
and then packed the berries to be transported to a market.
General Store
(circa 1920) The general store provided the early villagers with staples such as oatmeal, flour, and
sugar. From the 1930’s until it closed, convenience items like candy, cigarettes and gloves were sold here also.
Most buildings also had an outhouse out back:
Bunk House
(circa 1900) Also called the “communal house”, this is where single workers lived during the seasonal
cranberry harvest.
Sawmill
(circa 1906-1909) The sawmill produced lumber, shingles and other products for sale and for use in the village and cranberry operations.
Harvest Foreman’s House
(circa 1900) This was the seasonal home of the migrant workers’ foreman.
There are several different trails you can take in Double Trouble State Park.
Trail Guides are available at the trail heads, so that you have a printed map and description of the trail to carry with you.
After exploring the village, we chose the Nature Trail.
This was not the longest of trails, but considering the weather was pretty chilly, we were content with our choice.
The Nature Trail passes along a couple of cranberry bogs, crosses over Cedar Creek, and passes through a cedar forest, as well as a peat bog.
This is a part of the trail that runs in between two bogs:
Parts of the park are open for hunting, so be sure to check with the park office, and/or NJ’s Division of Fish and Wildlife to educate yourself on any hunting activity before you begin your adventure. In addition to hiking, visitors can canoe or kayak their way through the park, using several access points on Cedar Creek. There are also public bathrooms and an Information Center conveniently located in the Pickers’ Cottage (circa 1940), just beyond the parking lot. Pickers’ cottages in the village housed seasonal workers – including family groups. Every year 30-40 migrant workers arrived on Labor Day weekend, and lived in the cottages until Thanksgiving. These village employees worked solely in the bogs, hand-picking the cranberries.
As you can see, we all very much enjoyed the abundant history and unique sights of Cello and Hooch’s first hike of 2015.
What will be YOUR first hike of the year? Cello and Hooch would love to know…go on, now… TAKE A HIKE!
It’s the Friday Pet Parade! Don’t hesitate to join in the Pet Parade, and share your favorite post with others. Visit one (or all!) of the hosts below, and link up to the parade!
This hotel is conveniently located, and is dog friendly. Dogs stay with an added nightly fee. We requested a first floor room located near an exit, since Hooch is still not “100%” at potty training. We were given a room with a perfect location – right near side-exit door, which had a nice grassy area, doggy waste bags, and a trashcan. We were also able to park right at this door, which was very convenient.
The hotel room was clean, smelled nicely, and had extremely friendly staff, who called our room after our arrival to check to make sure we were satisfied.
We tried very hard to get Santa Photos that would benefit a local shelter. We have always done this with Cello in the past. However, this year, we just couldn’t find any that would work with our schedule. I began to search online – and found that the Moorestown Mall in Moorestown, NJ, allows dogs in the mall for Santa photos on Monday nights!
When we got to the entrance of the mall, there was a red carpet leading all the way to Santa in his chair! Boy was it crowded!
Cello waiting patiently:
Cello and Hooch waited in line on the red carpet waiting to see Santa and made friends along the way!
This Santa was GREAT! He was patient, and extremely good with the all of the dogs! He even stayed past 9pm (closing time) in order for all dogs to be seen!
After our wonderful experience at The Green Leaf Pet Resort and Hotel, we decided to enjoy a glass of wine at Cream Ridge Winery, which was only 10 minutes down the road.
Dogs are allowed inside the tasting room!
Cello and Hooch did well on their “Place” mats, and we enjoyed a tasty glass of Sauvignon Blanc !
The wine was great, and the staff couldn’t have been more friendly to both us – and the dogs.
Each person working stopped what they were doing to come over to say hello to Cello and Hooch!
During our Thanksgiving camping stay at Island Resort Campground, we visited the town of Berlin, MD. While leaving The Maryland Wine Bar, and heading back to our car, we stumbled across Sisters. We did not find Sisters listed on DogFriendly.com or BringFido.com (two of our biggest resources for dog friendly places), but we decided it couldn’t hurt to ask. Brian went inside while I held Cello and Hooch outside. He came out giving me the “thumbs-up,” so in we went!
This was THE coolest place! It was a gift shop, and a wine bar all in one! They had comfy couches where we enjoyed a glass of wine.
While visiting the town of St. Michaels for Cello’s Easton Waterfowl Dock Diving event, we visited Flying Fred’s!
Flying Fred’s is named after the owner’s Jack Russel Terrier, Fred, who began to accompany them to work at Five Gables Inn and Spa. The owners decided to open Flying Fred’s to display their love of animals through this pet boutique so that other animal lovers like themselves could enjoy the unique gifts and accessories.
The boutique is named after their Jack Russel Terrier, Fred, and his amazing jumping ability!
This was Hooch’s first shopping experience:
Cello and Hooch were both very excited about the toys and treats being purchased!
Cello was making sure the toys were handed over to HER:
We were very excited about the GSP ornament we found here!
In addition to a variety of pet treats, toys, accessories, gifts, and supplies, Flying Fred’s also hosts various events such as “Yappy Hour” on the 1st Friday of each month, the Jack Russell races, pooch porch parties, and more. Dogs are allowed inside, but must be under their owner’s control, leashed, and cleaned up after all times.
If you are every visiting St. Michaels with your pooch, a stop at Flying Fred’s is a must!
Right outside the store, in the sidewalk cement, we saw this (our initials!):
While visiting the town of Annapolis, we decided to follow a friend’s recommendation and stopped at the Rams Head Tavern for a bite to eat and some cocktails. Rams Head has a pretty extensive history dating back to 1703.
This tavern is very dog friendly, and even has a doggie menu!
After our awful few nights at the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Andover, MA (read about our experience HERE), we decided to check out of that hotel, and check in to the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Somerville, MA. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!
This was more like it! The hotel was new, clean, and the staff were SO nice! We were so glad we switched hotels for our last night in MA!
We were on the 5th floor, and Cello loved being able to lay on the bed and look out at the street below:
After we had grabbed a bite to eat at Charlie’s Kitchen, we headed over to Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub, located in Cambridge, MA in Kendall Square. Read more about Tommy Doyle’s HERE.
Tommy Doyle’s had a nice outdoor seating area, where we enjoyed a glass of wine with Cello and Hooch. Although we didn’t eat here, they had a pretty good looking menu!
Tommy Doyle’s is definitely a great place to get your Irish on if you are in the Cambridge/Kendall Square area!
Each day after Cello was finished for the day at her Regional Event, we ventured over to Cambridge, MA (Harvard Square), and got a bite to eat and some cocktails at Charlie’s Kitchen. We sat in the Beer Garden, and just LOVED it! Read more about Charlie’s Kitchen HERE!
Before going to any dog-friendly establishment that I have found online, I always call ahead to verify that the place is in fact still dog friendly. When I had called Charlie’s to ask if it was true that dogs were allowed, the woman who answered the phone said “If you come, please don’t come withOUT your dog!!” We were thrilled, and we were not disappointed with our visit!
When we entered Charlies, most every employee stopped what they were doing to come over to greet Cello and Hooch as if they were celebrities! We were welcomed at both the bar and the outdoor seating areas. A Pabst Blue Ribbon water bowl was immediately brought out for Cello and Hooch.
Charlie’s had some great choices on their menu – check it out HERE! On our first visit, we could not resist to try the Lobster Roll! It was awesome! Brian chose to get french fries as his side choice, and I got fried green beans as mine (DELICIOUS!!) Our wine was served in cute little pilsner glasses.
Brian and Cello checking out the menu:
On our second visit, we chose to split two of their signature burgers. We ordered one Double Crab Cheese Burger and one Lobster Burger, and again, were not disappointed! Both burgers were AWESOME. Brian tried the sweet potato fries as his side, and I, again, got the fried green beans.
The Lobster Roll and Fried Green Beans:
Charlie’s Kitchen has a super-cool atmosphere, great food, tasty drinks, and is by far one of THE most dog friendly restaurant/bars we have been to!
We decided to try Outback Steakhouse for dinner while we were in MA. Brian and I have not been there in years!
We just HAD to order a Bloomin’ Onion for our appetizer. In addition to enjoying some wine at the outdoor seating area, Brian ordered a steak – and I enjoyed an Ahi Tuna appetizer. The staff were very friendly, and welcomed Cello and Hooch with a water bowl, and lots of attention!
We had stayed at a LaQuinta in Harrisburg, Pa for one of Cello’s dock diving events, and had a wonderful experience. The hotel was clean, and the staff could not be more friendly. Read more about it HERE.
This experience was QUITE different. There were 2 Laquinta’s to choose from for Cello’s Regional Competition. We chose the Andover location, even though it was 20 minutes away, because with the DockDogs discount, we saved $400 at this location. The LaQuinta in Andover was a bit older than the one we stayed at in Harrisburg, PA, and had a very “dirty” feel to it. When we went into our room, it smelled awful. When we told the hotel front desk staff, and instead of changing our room, they gave us the rug deodorizer they use to spray on the rug, and told us to spray the rug ourselves! (SERIOUSLY!?!) We should have immediately checked out at that point!! Our hotel keys did not work consistently, which made it difficult trying to get back into the room with two dogs, and I heard others complaining about this as well. We decided to stick it out in this hotel – but were regretful that we didn’t change hotels after the sight of our room!
I was completely creeped-out in this smelly room! To make matters worse, I had just recently received an email from a friend about a creepy hotel situation just minutes from our home (later found to be false news!)
The following story is from Empire News:
———————————————————————–
Body Found Under Motel Bed, Police Say It Has Been There At Least 5 Years
“Posted on July 24, 2014
MOUNT LAUREL, New Jersey –
Stunning news this morning out of New Jersey, as reports of police discovering the body of a young woman under a motel bed have been confirmed. The owners of the motel asked that their name and location be omitted from news reports to protect their business.
The body, which has yet to be identified, was found by a person staying in the room.
“I dropped the television remote, and when I went to check under the bed I found her. It was like something out of a scary movie,” said Aaron Silver, the man staying in the room.
According to initial reports by the medical examiner on-scene, it appears as though the body lay undisturbed in the room for about 5 years. There was a normal amount of rot and decay on the body to suggest that it had not been moved or touched over the course of that time.
The motel has not made a comment about the issue but have told police that they are constantly cleaning their rooms and have no idea how this could have slipped beneath the cracks.
“I clean that room every day. I noticed a smell several times, and told my manager,” said Anita Rodriguez, a housekeeper at the motel. “He told me to just use extra Febreeze in the room and it would go away eventually. I always hated cleaning that room.”
Motel representatives say that all their rooms are cleaned daily, but that it is not the policy of the company to make their housekeeper check under the beds.
“They do a heavy clean of the rooms to sanitize for guests, but when it comes to under the beds, they just run the vacuum around the edges. Who really looks under the bed, anyway? No reason to waste anyone’s time,” said Charles Dyson, a representative of the motel chain.
“It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen,” said police chief Joe Goldsmith. “I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my time on the force, but to think about all the people who’ve stayed in this room, with a dead body beneath them, and they didn’t know about it? It gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
Police have seized room and occupant records for the last several years, and are trying to trace the person or persons who may have stayed in the room around the time of death.
“Funny thing is, the records also show literally almost 1,000 complaints from people who stayed in the room over the years. Everything from a bad smell to an ‘eerie feeling.’ Several people even asked to switch rooms in the middle of the night,” said Goldsmith. “The motel really should have checked out that room a little more closely.”
