Good beer, nice (but very sunny!) courtyard

I wasn’t actually sure if I’d be able to bring our pup, with no reviews and I couldn’t find a phone number anywhere to confirm, but apparently they’ve only been open for a few months! The guys inside were very nice and informed me we could place orders inside and bring our food/drinks out to the courtyard (main entrance is street side, but there’s a door directly from the courtyard).

We ordered some drink, I got a wrap, and the pup got a large bowl of iced water. It was a nice place to stop and if I’m back, would love to try some other beers, but with a completely uncovered courtyard, it’ll have to be after dark or on a cloudy day! That said, the courtyard is nice and sheltered from the busy road and there is ample parking.

Jun. 25, 2023

VERY pet friendly staff, but the hotel is VERY much under renovation

It’s tough to be fair to the Ashore, as it seems it was recently acquired/and is currently (as of June 2023), going through a TON of renovations. That said, we were there for a veterinary conference, and brought our pup Tobi along because they are pet friendly and would surely be ready for a conference full of people likely to bring their pets.

First off, there is a $250 pet fee per stay. We knew about this because I researched it ahead of time and it was less expensive to bring Tobi than it would have been to board her for a long weekend. My husband had long before booked the hotel because it was the conference venue, so we called a few days ahead of our trip to 1) ask if the pet fee was per stay or per night, and 2) let them know we were bringing our dog and to ask if they needed anything ahead of time (this was our first time bringing Tobi on a trip). We were told that no, there isn’t anything they need ahead of time, but they reiterated the $250 dog fee. We said we were fine with the fee, and they said they’d note it on our reservation that we’d have a dog. On the one hand, we were glad they made sure it wasn’t a surprise to us, but on the other, it almost felt as if they didn’t actually want us to bring our dog.

Upon arrival a few days later, we parked and I got out of the car to let Tobi stretch her legs. I saw a woman walking her Boston terrier, so I asked her where she was walking her dog because Ocean City, MD does not allow dogs on the beach or boardwalk during the summer season. She didn’t really have an answer for me, but did say there used to be a dog run of sorts, but the area was currently covered up with things related to the ongoing renovations.

We went inside to check in, and front desk agent informed us that she couldn’t find our reservation. After some searching around, she found the reservation using the email address on the booking, but said there wasn’t anything about us bringing a dog, and again reiterated the fee ($265, with tax). Luckily, they were able to move us to a floor with a hardwood floor (presumably, pet friendly floors have hardwood floors for easier cleaning. Not sure about other floors).

We had time to kill before the room would be ready, and I still needed my pup to relieve herself, so I asked an employee where I could walk Tobi. Bob, an older gentleman who was very kind and played with Tobi, suggested the beach/boardwalk. After being reminded about the summer season rule, he said we could try early in the morning before anyone is really out there, but someone might call and report us. Otherwise, he suggested walking on the bayside.

Our route ended up becoming walking out of the hotel, taking a right and crossing Coastal Highway at the first light (Old Landing Road), and walking down into that neighborhood. It’s residential, but about 1/2 mile down, you walk along Devil Island Recreational Area. It’s a lot of marsh area, so you can’t go in, but a pretty area to walk, and there’s a dog waste bag station, a bench, and a trash can! We saw a lot of other Ashore guests walking their pups throughout the weekend, all with the same idea and nowhere else to go. We walked Tobi on that route three times a day, but made sure to take Tobi around as much as possible on walks to nearby dog friendly restaurants or to play at Gudelsky Park (“Stinky Beach”), to make sure she got enough activity.

Thankfully, our room was one of the mostly renovated ones and pretty generous in size. The only real issues were that 1) our bathroom door didn’t close, and 2) the refrigerator was not a regular mini fridge. The cabinet was sized for a regular mini fridge, but inside, was a teeny tiny fridge (I took a photo and a friend said “it’s a beauty fridge! I have one for eye masks and cooling gels”) that could house maybe eight cans of soda. Luckily, all we really needed to fit in there were half open cans of wet dog food, but unluckily, the tiny beauty fridge’s cord didn’t actually reach any outlets, so we had to put it on a nearby table. (I learned later that guests were able to request larger fridges, but we didn’t bother)

We ended up with a double bed room, and thankfully so, because despite the fact that we had just taken a nice long walk, Tobi hopped up on a bed and immediately peed on it. I did my best to clean it up, but was already thankful that we had paid the pet fee, and made a note to get more cash for a housekeeping tip. Housekeeping thankfully, was able to replace the soiled linens and we didn’t have any more issues.

While we had been well aware of the pet fee (and made us of it), it doesn’t seem that was the case with some other pet owning guests I talked to later. I had to get a new key the second day (due to my husband misplacing his), and the front desk agent inquired if we had filled out pet registration forms and reminded me that there was a $250 fee. Considering I was asking for a new key to get back into my room, it felt pretty obvious that I was an existing guest, so of course, we would already be well aware of the fee/have done the registration, but who knows.

Overall, our individual hotel stay was fine. The room was good (minus the bathroom door/fridge situation), and the staff was SO incredibly friendly to Tobi. Bob became her new best friend, and so many other staffers gleefully said hello and/or pet her (after asking permission). While everything wasn’t in place due to renovations, it was clear to me that the staff themselves were pet friendly. I’m very interested to see what things are like when the hotel renovations are done (renderings look incredible!), and during the off season, when dogs are allowed beachside. We’ll be back, but definitely AFTER renovations are all done.

Jun. 25, 2023