San Francisco | Joie de Vivre, California's largest boutique hotel collection, has made canine check-ins at its pet-friendly hotels even more welcoming for dogs and their owners. At its 15 pet-friendly boutique properties in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, and Southern California, dog owners can now bring their pets along for the journey without worrying about weight limit restrictions or pet fees being imposed for their stay.

"In the past eight months, we've nearly doubled the number of dog-friendly hotels in the collection," said Joie de Vivre Founder and CEO Chip Conley. "We wanted to make our pet-friendly hotels even more hospitable to dogs, so we scrapped weight restrictions and standard pet surcharges so that more of our guests can enjoy traveling with their pets."

Almost half of Joie de Vivre's 35 boutique hotels welcome pets. In San Francisco, the collection offers more dog-friendly hotels than any other hotel group. In addition to the 10 dog-friendly properties in San Francisco, there are three dog-friendly hotels in the East Bay and Marin County and one in Silicon Valley. In Southern California, where the group is expanding rapidly, the new Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach and Hotel Maya in Long Beach welcome dogs and their owners. A third boutique hotel in Southern California - the Pacific Edge Hotel on Laguna Beach - will join Joie de Vivre's pet-friendly pack when it becomes a Joie de Vivre hotel this fall.

In addition to eliminating weight limits and not charging a fee for pets (provided there is no damage to a guestroom and dog owners abide by pet policy rules), Joie de Vivre's pet-friendly hotels also offer special amenities for four-legged guests. These include in-room dog beds, dog food, water bowls, toys, and even a doggie turndown service. Each hotel offers different amenities and some offer fee-based grooming or dog walking upon request.

For more information or to book Joie de Vivre's "Something to Bark About" package, please visit or .

Note to Editors: There is no additional charge for a dog staying with its owner in a guestroom provided there is no damage to the room and the guest follows the hotel's pet policies.

About Joie de Vivre | San Francisco-based Joie de Vivre () is a collection of creative lifestyle businesses. Founded in 1987 by Chip Conley, Joie de Vivre manages nearly 40 boutique hotels, more than 20 restaurants and four spas, and is recognized for creating some of the most innovative hospitality services and products and designing one-of-a-kind properties. Joie de Vivre also manages residential projects with hotel-style services and amenities. As California's largest boutique hotel collection, Joie de Vivre Hotels is becoming the hotel brand synonymous with the California travel experience, offering a wide range of unique urban, suburban and waterfront boutique hotels that cater to leisure and business travelers in all market segments. Joie de Vivre hotels are located in San Francisco, Marin County, Silicon Valley, San Francisco East Bay, Big Sur, Sonoma County, Santa Cruz, Sacramento and Los Angeles. In 2009, Joie de Vivre continues its California expansion with hotels opening in Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Venice Beach, Santa Clara and Laguna Beach.

Kristina Hjelsand
Senior Public Relations Manager, Joie de Vivre
415.364.5581
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